Octavia walked the halls of a grand chamber filled with people walking in all manner of directions. The sounds of her footwear resonated with the polished marble at her feet, as it did with every other. She was in the Terran Republic Senate Headquarters in orbit of Jupiter.
It was a grand facility in orbit of their largest gas giant. It had its detachment of ships and defenses, only second to Terra itself. Since it was home to the Senate that represents all Terran systems, security was a must. As such, security details were seen posted at many checkpoints and entrances sporting similar armor the marines wore but were tinted with navy blue on the composite armor, and the letters “T.R.S.C.” were laser-etched on the front and back of the chest.
She continued walking when she reached an office that led to one of the docking ports on the far edge of the station. The glass plane that was on her right revealed a steel gray ship, smaller than a Corvette but larger than some heavy and large ships. It was her government-issued ship, and with it came its escort, worthy to take on some larger pirate fleets she's seen.
As she made her way to the gate, she was stopped and screened by security. Even as the highest rank in the military for her branch, she was still subject to searches and scans. You could be the Terran Chancellor and you would still be searched.
She recognized their tight adherence to protocol and let them do their jobs. As they finished, she made her way into the office, where she was met with a familiar face.
“We ready to go or what, Juna?” The man said nonchalantly.
Instead of a suit, like most of the civilians, he wore the standard ODR battle dress with silver markings on his pauldrons. And instead of a helmet, he had a cap that matched the gray and steel camo theme of his uniform underneath the armor.
“It's Octavia in public, Titus.” She returned with a sneer.
“Fine, fine. Octavia. Are we ready to go or do you need time to change?”
“I'm fine as I am. It's best we leave now. Is our escort ready?”
He nodded as he stood, using his arms as support, from his seat, “They're ready. We were just waiting on you.”
They passed through the docking tube to their ship. It was long and windows lined the sides of it revealing parts of the station and the whole of Jupiter, with a big red spot looming in its atmosphere like an eye peering at her.
They were then met at the end by a pair of Raiders that stood at attention upon their arrival and opened the doors to the ship. Titus and Octavia rendered a salute in response as they entered through the ship's doors. They were subsequently followed, and they took their post on the inside of the ship beside the docking entrance.
The ship was luxurious in design, with black polished flooring and white, sleek designs for the walls. They walked forward and were met with an open-concept central chamber with overhead ship-grade glass. The scene was serene and quiet with the curvature of Jupiter, in all its glory, helping illuminate the central chamber.
They then made their way up the stairs that lined the sides of the chamber toward the bow. They passed an area where food and drinks were served and into a room with a long table that could fit ten. One on each end and four on the long sides of the table. It was empty and only Octavia and Titus were present.
The room had glass run around the entirety of the room revealing a new facet of scenery, although it was more of the same at this point, but spectacular nonetheless.
Titus then brought up a device from one of his cargo pouches and talked into it.
“We're ready to depart. Take us to Hades.”
Sounds of affirmation were sounded, and the ship began its disengagement protocol from the docks. The ships rocked slightly, and the ship started its route. Paired with it were two Corvettes, a squadron of medium fighters, and a heavy frigate.
Octavia spoke, soon after ordering from one of the waiters that worked the bar, “Tell me, Titus. What do you think of this new race?”
He poured a drink from a bottle of whiskey into a small glass before answering, “They could have been great friends. Instead, they chose the path of destruction,” he said, taking a sip.
“I couldn't agree more,” Octavia replied, “However, you know what the senate said. We can needlessly slaughter their entire people in retaliation. Hell, the authorization of the APHENT Round was generous as is.”
“I was surprised they let you squids use such a round. I'm just waiting for them to mobilize all the rest of the ODR. They're itching for a fight.”
“Well, what about your Fourth Battalion? They seem like the most bloodthirsty out of all your battalions. Especially Raptor Company.”
Titus chuckled at the notion. A hint of pride was apparent in his laugh.
“There's a reason I sent them,” Titus started after a second sip from his glass, “Raptor Company is the longest-running company of raiders with the most experience under their belt. Officially, anyway. But the reason I sent them is because of their Company Commander.”
“And who did you send that you felt was the best choice to head an assault on a foreign entity?”
Her food came, and she started eating, waiting for a response.
“A lieutenant…” he started, gauging her reaction, which showed when she nearly choked on her first bite.
“A lieutenant? In charge of spearheading the ground assault? Who the hell did you send over a seasoned Major or Lieutenant Colonel?”
“Okay, I’m going to stop you right there because, well, we don't get many O-4s and 5s who last long in the Raiders. They mostly always switch branches once they hit O-4, so we've adapted to delegating a lot of responsibility to the lower-ranked officers. And let me tell ya’, O'Brian is one of the best Raiders I have. He'll get the job done.”
“You place an awfully lot of faith in him,” she said, cutting into her dish and placing a small bite-sized chunk into her mouth.
“Well, he has the highest rate of completion for missions and a fierce loyalty to those he protects and serves with. His methods may be questionable, but they are effective. Especially where the lives of fellow Terrans are concerned.”
She conceded to his arguments and finished her food, while he ordered a dish of his own. “I'm told we have some POWs. Is that correct?” she inquired.
“That's right. We got the eggheads running tests and analysis. Now is the perfect time to break their morality and learn about our enemy, inside, and out.”
She fiercely agreed with his logic. When it came to light that humanity was not the only sentient species, the senate was ecstatic. That was, however, short-lived when it was revealed to them the kinds of atrocities they did on first contact.
Humanity has fought against itself for so long that it was a wonder how they were able to achieve commercialized space flight. Talks came that perhaps we were the first to initiate hostile contact, but it was quickly stomped out by the video evidence from a lone pilot who managed to barely survive them.
The Secretary-General of the Republic quickly set in motion to reinforce our borders and called for the production of more ships. They've enlisted the help of civilians with last gen military ships in addition to the militias. Humanity was at war and right now, a single battle group was waging war across their systems.
During all this, she was introduced to new technology that could revolutionize their own. The key is Athena and Minerva. She was briefed on the creation of Athena after the battle of Draxis, but the issue of Minerva arose when it was found out she had budded from her parent program, Athena. She wasn't the only one thinking it, but if they could replicate that process, they could recreate a new classification of A.I. and do away with the Personal Assistant style A.I. present on all ships to date.
Not only that, but she would have to wait for the conclusion of their war for that the opportunity to present itself. And from what she was told, the program that calls itself Minerva had wreaked havoc on the enemy's cyber department.
Her thoughts continued as she ate in silence alongside Titus. The trip took approximately a week in slip-space, and they slept in cryogenic pods to speed up their perception of time.
When they were released, they received a call over the intercom that they were approaching Hades Station. Titus was found putting a squared cap over his head with his armor still equipped.
“Approaching Hades Station. The shuttle is ready for you.”
They made their way to one level up and to the aft section of the ship, where they were met with a small shuttle. It had one seat for a pilot and six seats in the aft compartment. They wandered onto the ramp and took their seats. They were accompanied by a pair of Raiders, who took their seats closest to the doors in the shuttle.
They lifted off with the hangar doors opening from above, but not much could be seen except for the pilot's seat and from a small viewport from the ramp door. The trip took no longer than several minutes when they landed in a hangar and the rear ramp opened with a hiss followed by a thump. They departed the shuttle and were met with a dreary scene.
Hades' station was embedded in a large asteroid within the rings of a gas giant. It was made several centuries ago sometime after humanity was sufficient in faster-than-light travel. The hangar they found themselves in was dilapidated and workers dressed in orange were seen cleaning the panels while watched by a set of guards with their weapons at the ready.
They made their way to the central pair of doors that led into processing. As they made their way, before they reached the doors, they opened abruptly and a man in a white worn-out lab coat approached them.
“Good Day! I'm Doctor Hale. Chief Scientists here at Hades Station. Come, come! I know why you are here.”
He led them past security, and they walked through a small tunnel and were stopped shortly after reaching the end. It wasn't so much Octavia, as it was Titus.
“Sir, the knife.” one of the guards said, pointing to his rear.
“Oh, right, forgot.” he said as he drew the knife from its sheath from the back of his torso armor that was placed near the lower back, “Armor stays on though.”
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The guard nodded silently and placed the knife in a bin and then given to a clerk behind him as the three continued down the hallway.
To their right was a series of cells with individuals clad in yellow that could be seen from a raised walkway. They were human and some would have their yellow jumpsuits rolled halfway as they did various activities.
“Here is the main block. Prisoners here are mostly pirates and smugglers. We have them working the asteroid for minerals at a snail's pace until they serve their time or die. Every so often, they really do get forgotten,” Dr. Hale spoke with blatant disregard.
They moved on beyond the areas with the human prisoners before they made their way to a door at the very end of the long hallway.
“Beyond here is probably what you're here for.”
The sign above the doors was labeled as the Laboratories. Octavia remembered Titus' words about finding out about the enemy both inside and out. It made her shiver but understood that it was necessary. They entered and walked past another tier of security when they were met with a hallway that extended to the left and right with one side being all glass that peered out into the exhibits of alien prisoners.
“They call themselves Sellians, but I'm sure you knew that,” Hale spoke as they took the route to the right.
“From our dissections, they're not very different from us anatomically. They have a heart, a pair of lungs, and so on. They are the same in that sense.”
He continued on the makeup of their biology. They were carbon-based, and they breathed our air in similar portions to Earth's. Of course, this much was disclosed after Draxis.
“Did you really have to cut them open, Doc?” Interjected Titus, “I'm sure you could have gotten that info from an invasive scan. Surely, we have at least one here.”
Doctor Hale stopped and turned to meet the General.
“Where’s the fun in that?” he replied with a fanatical expression, “You gave me a job and that's precisely what I'm doing! Dissections of humans were banned so long ago that the art is practically nonexistent! Besides!” he said with a dramatic pause, “The ones dissected expired long before I got to them; self-inflicted. I can show you the video!”
Both guests denied the offer as the doctor continued his ramblings, “I am doing what you ask before the TRSC crack down on such progress!” He said before finally turning back towards their intended destination.
The conditions the Sellians were subject to were indeed distasteful, but they weren't bad. However, Octavia couldn’t feel empathy for the enemy, pity at best. She was well versed in what they did to their first two systems and was recently briefed that they had taken human slaves and knew what they could be subject to. As a result, she held no particular empathy for their prisoners.
When Hale stopped, they were met with a set of separate doors. They entered the closest one, and it was dimly lit with a table and some chairs. The only light provided from the room opposite of them had a singular entity that was chained to a seat.
Octavia then asked, “Who's this?”
“Apparently, he was a recently promoted chief captain that was captured during the battle over Tola, in the Verbus system. Our latest conquest.”
“Can it understand me?” Titus asked, which Hale nodded.
“Yes sir. They have a translator around their neck that can translate in real-time. Turns out they had our language parsed after Dema.”
Titus groaned and stated that he would enter. Hale happily obliged and both he and Octavia remained in the dimly lit booth. They saw him enter and the Sellian squirmed in his seat, the chains rattling as he did so. He then entered the room, meeting the gaze of the prisoner. It shot daggers with its eyes that were colored unlike anything he had seen. He stood by the door as it closed and spoke when he confirmed the door was secured.
“Well, well, well. Not so good being on the opposite end, now are we?” he was the first to speak, but the Sellian remained silent, “You know, there's a lot we don't know about each other. Why don't we introduce ourselves? You can call me Titus. And you are?”
The alien waited a moment before speaking, “I…am Dalogon. I am a Chief-Captain to the Sellian Fleets.”
“I'm gonna get straight to the point, Dalo. My people would like to know where our people were taken and who took them.”
He was silent, but he began to repeat his introduction before being promptly silenced with a backhand from Titus. He recoiled and blood dripped from its mouth and a new wound was generated from the strike. He then grabbed the Sellian by the head gripping his hand over it like a ball.
“Tell me what I need to know. And maybe I can stop.”
When he didn't respond, Titus began with one of his digits and broke it backward to a position unnatural. Dalogon screamed and cycled his breathing trying to maintain consciousness.
The action taken by the interrogator were archaic and Octavia knew this, as did Titus. You could cause pain in all manners to an individual for information, but it would normally result in false intel. The reason being that the prisoner would spout anything to get the pain to stop. A name? A place? Anything revealed had a high probability of being untrue. It was also why she believed that the physical interrogation by Titus was nothing more than a personal grudge.
As Titus was prepared to break the second finger, Dalogon managed to squeak out a barely audible whisper, “T-toska…”
Titus leaned in, “I need more than that, my friend. Who are they? What do they do?” This time he spoke in a soft and comforting tone. It looked like tears were beginning to form on the edges of the Sellian’s eyes.
“S-slavers…f-for the union!” He began to cry, “P-please! I-I have a family!” Titus took to a seat in a chair opposite Dalogon and spoke to him in the same previous manner.
“I gotta tell you, Dalo. Those people who were taken had families too. Husbands, wives, mothers, daughters, sons, grandparents. Except you wanna know what we got from one of your raids?”
Dalo shook his head. Instead, he just listened, pain apparent on his face. All the while, Octavia looked coldly at the interaction.
“We saw you kill the elderly, the sick, the men. Your people took the women and children to god knows where. No, I want you to tell me where they might have gone, Dalo. You don't want something bad to happen to your crew, do you?”
He fervently shook his head no, and tried to speak, “T-the Toska… They're slavers from the union! I swear that's all I know! D-don't hurt them!”
“You see… That might be kind of difficult to do. I need something more. Something you're not telling me,” Titus said as he reclined in his seat.
“I swear, I only followed orders! I don't even know where they would take them!”
Titus sighed at his reply, “That's not what I need, Dalo… Then let's make this easy. Who gave the order.”
With that, Dalo's expressions sealed and he hung his head low. He opted to remain loyal and stopped talking. Octavia recognized that beating him anymore would probably result in stern silence, and she was sure Titus knew this as well. However, his next tactic would throw Octavia severely off guard.
“Looks like beating you won't really make you talk. Well, not like it actually works…” He said while requesting a pad that had a live feed to the human inmates.
“You see, interrogations with violent bodily harm really don't yield many benefits. An individual can take a beating and still be loyal, or, they just end up giving false information. Either way, I've tried to be nice, but you just like to be quiet. Breaking some fingers probably hurts too, I would know…”
He tapped away on the pad and Octavia and Hale could only watch, “Perhaps the well-being of your compatriots might yield some, incentive…” he turned on the monitor behind him, facing the Sellian. It was the Inmates they had passed earlier.
“You know, human prisons can be a wild place. Hierarchies are made by making others submit, either through violence, or sexual…” The Sellian squirmed some more in his seat but remained silent, “And from what I've seen and heard, anatomically, you're very similar.”
He turned on the volume and the everyday clamor of the inmates could be heard. Dalo's eyes darted around the screen with frantic urgency.
“Tell me who ordered the taking of Terran slaves!” his yell reverberated in the small room. When he was met with silence, he proceeded with his plan.
The doors opened with a buzz and the camera panned to the door and a lone Sellian was pushed through the door. She still wore her jumpsuit, but instead of yellow, it was orange. The guards that pushed her through retreated through the doors and the eyes of the inmates turned to her with a predatory stare.
“You see, normally, we have laws against this sort of thing. You can't really have women in the same prison space as men. Because of them,” he pointed to the yellow shirts, “They haven't spoken to a woman, let alone see one so close, in years. But as far as I'm aware, most of our laws only apply to us, not you. And the cordial attitude we have with your people, the civilians, is nothing more than a courtesy.”
He spoke into the microphone on the data pad as the inmates stared at the female, not knowing if it was a test.
“You have ten minutes,” Dalo squirmed harder in his seat and started to yell, begging him to stop. “S-Stop, you can't do this!”
Titus delivered another backhand to Dalogon, “THEN GIVE ME NAMES! You can make this all go away if you speak up! If not, then I will almost feel bad for the girl!”
After several agonizing seconds, the yells of the female were apparent over the speakers as the prisoner men tried their best to tear at her jumpsuit. She tried to claw at them, but their muscle structure was even less than many human women, so all the prisoner had to do was hold her wrists with only one of his own. She continued to kick and scream, calling out a name he didn’t know, and couldn't care less about. So Titus continued to sit while the inmates continued to tear at the female's jumpsuit while disregarding their own. They began making progress with the top portion and little on the bottom half, a struggle apparent in their effort to strip the female when Dalogon yelled a name to get the barbarity to cease.
“TORLAK! He was the one who made the initial order! Chief-General Torlak! Please, stop them!”
Titus pressed a button and the guards rushed the group with ferocity, beating them away with metal batons and taking the female away before retreating behind the door she had come through. Several of the inmates tried to circumvent the guards, but they delivered a swift swing of their baton, causing the inmate to recoil from the hit, with his nose now crooked. But all prisoners were repelled away enough for the guards to retrieve the alien female.
“I-I'm sorry… I'm sorry!” Dalogon repeated until Titus left the room with the sobbing Sellian and returned to Octavia and Hale.
“Well, I doubt that was legal,” she said, her face emotionless but her heart full of pity.
“We have a solid lead and one of the people to bring down. I'm going to send word and update target dossiers for the fourth battalion. Besides, it's not like they made much of her,” replied Titus as he wiped his knuckles free from Sellian blood.
“They tore off the top half of her jumpsuit. How is that ‘not much of her’?” she replied with a tint of scorn. He revealed the female he used for the interrogation on his data pad. The top portion of her clothing was obviously missing, but the lower half remained intact.
“We swapped it out with a sturdier fabric. Any longer and she really would have been in trouble. Besides, I own this station. What I say, goes.” he said, placing his military cap on his head, “Have we received word on the authorization of the T.R.U. Task Forces?”
Octavia shook her head to his question, “No, not yet. They might authorize it if we can capture both the War Council and this General Torlak. Until then, we just have to wait.” She straightened her clothing and gathered what items she came in with as they began to depart, with the cries of the Sellian still audible until the door closed behind her. “There’s still plenty we don’t know, so we’ll have to tread lightly with their deployment. The Senate is still deciding how we are to approach the Union, so a full on assault is a no-go.”
“That why we have them. Their doctrine isn’t to go in guns blazing, but to be covert. They’ll need state-of-the-art ships to slip in undetected and do their jobs. Think you can bring that up?” Asked Titus of Octavia, to which she replied.
“I’ll run it through, but you might need to deliver some documents of your own. I won’t do your homework for you.”
Titus sighed, conceding to her demands, and turned to Doctor Hale, his employed resident Chief Scientist, “Keep doing your work with the Sellians and report back to me when you have more to report. Physical, mental, their genome, all of it. Try to switch over to more humane styles of research while you’re at it. I don't need the TRSC investigating your prior subjects,” The doctor nodded with a dejected response inaudible to the two and saw them off as they entered the ship along with their escorts.
“Think we can recover all who were taken as slaves?” Octavia asked Titus as he took his seat aboard the shuttle.
“All I know is that we have orders to decimate their army in any way we can. And I intend to have my men act on those orders until told otherwise. But no, I don’t we’ll be able to recover all of who were taken. Face it, there will be some who will never see home again. I can only speculate what they’re going through. But for right now, we need to settle the score with the things that started it,” he replied, now leaving Octavia alone to her thoughts as he continued to tap away on his persona device.
Octavia conceded and rested in her seat for the upcoming trip back to the Senate. “At whatever the cost,” She mouthed in a whisper audible only to her. “I can only pray we end this quickly…”