“Status report,” Commander Mundus Moriens said as she sifted through the recent documents pertaining to the Lv-1 classified information about the operation that was about to take place.
The Sergeant Major of the Milites Tempestas Attachment, Aegri Somnia, stood with refined repose as she scanned over the commander with unthinking, unnerving, eyes. “We have been on standby for approximately twenty-one hours and are awaiting further orders.”
“Further orders?” She looked over the intelligence one more time before finally splitting her attention away from the words on screen to the modified woman standing in front of her garbed in the most expensive piece of equipment she has ever seen.
Commander Moriens took her e-cigarette by the butt and set it in her lips, taking a soft drag to calm her nerves. “Your orders are to remain standby. After we’ve reached the threshold, operation will begin. For now, have you briefed your attachment on the mission statement?”
“Yes ma'am,” the Sergeant Major would nod, “They’ve been briefed on numerous occasions throughout the twenty-one hour duration.”
“Good,” Commander Moriens took another drag, “We move out as soon as we hit the threshold. However, there is something of importance that I must ask you as the supervisor of this operation. Why out here? There’s nothing out here but space, space, and more space.”
“Ma’am,” there was a slight pause before an answer was made, “We have reason to believe that there is strange activity going on in this sector of space.”
“Strange activity?” She took another drag before heaving it out a slow manner, “Why do you say that?”
SergMaj. Somnia’s deadpan look slowly peers the commander up and down before heaving out some air in a stiff sort of sigh. “We don’t have sufficient evidence to support this theory, but by decree of Her Holiness we believe that the Scourge are involved as well as an Obelisk.”
Com. Moriens would slowly put the e-cigarette down before slowly standing to her feet and leaning on her desk watching the stars outside the window. “The Scourge? Well it’s not too surprising that the Scourge is involved somehow. How about something new like hostile xenos? Or something of the sort. I’d really like something like that.”
SergMaj. Somnia, who had been standing there with an unmoving gaze, nodded and spoke with blutness and clarity, “We don’t always get what we want in the end.”
Com. Moriens nodded in response and came off the desk, “Dismissed.”
SergMaj. Somnia made an upward-open-palm salute before leaving.
“All work and no play they say,” Com. Moriens took her e-cigarette and dragged it some more, “What a load of strok-shit.”
⟐ ⟐ ⟐ ⟐
When the threshold was met, Com. Moriens called for a ship-wide call to action. Every ablebodied crew member on this vessel was sent into a uniformed frenzy. Weapons operators were rushing to their stations, and even the pilots took to the bridge to prepare themselves for the inevitability of seeing Scourge combat after months of
zero contact with the hostile xeno-race. Everyone, in the back of their minds, knew that whatever this classified mission entailed they could never speak about to anyone. This was high-level classified, and should anyone release undoctored information that wasn't sanction by Her Holiness then they'll be sentenced to death on grounds of treason. Thus, this was a very serious matter than everyone on this vessel knew what consequences were in store.
However Com. Moriens was unfazed by the weight of empirical consequences baring down upon her very shoulders. She simply didn't have the mental capability to worry about what the Empire might do to her if she committed treason. Now wasn't the time for that, what she needed to focus on was what was in front of her. A covert military operation was underway, and this needed her utmost attention.
"Status report," ordered Com. Moriens as she looked over at her Ship-of-the-line Lieutenant 1st Degree, Lucia Celeris.
ShpLnt1st. Celeris saluted with her palm upwards before turning towards the holographic display of the battlemap. "As of now we have one confirmed ship sighted negative twenty degrees off the port-bow. It seems to be in static position, no real dynamics have been detected as of yet. However, our main objective is to investigate the source of the transmission we received a couple months ago. We believe that it is this massive vessel here," she points the mining ship
Gilgamesh, "We gathered, from the transmission, that this vessel might as well be a mining vessel of a Vasioian-like xeno-race. Though, as of now we do not know whether the secondary static vessel is of this xeno-race or if it's hostile. We'll need to practice extra caution when sending the stormtroopers in. It is advisable that we keep all hands at the ready just in case that static vessel turns dynamic and fires upon us."
Com. Moriens looks to the other officers who were contemplating the given state of affairs. The CIC was filled with murmurs of various tactics that didn't ease the obvious tension in the air, and it only took Com. Moriens a couple of seconds to realize this fact. So, she decided to break the ice by going forward with the operation. "Send in the stormtroopers.. We'll decide what we need to do from there.."
ShpLnt1st. Celeris nodded making the call to the staging bay where the stormtroopers await the order.
⟐ ⟐ ⟐ ⟐
Down in the staging bay, SergMaj. Somnia looked at the attachment that stood in tight lines of four. However, before SergMaj. Somnia could say anything she immediately got a call from up the chain of command. Her face showed no sort of emotion, but her mind did race. It was time. It was time to really fulfill their duty as heralds of death and protectors of Her Holiness.
SergMaj. Somnia gestured her hand towards the catapults, and without even uttering a word the tight lines pivoted on their heels, turning to their left, and walked with synchronized march-steps. This march would end at the catapults where the officer would flick her wrists towards them, and as result each soldier, in teams of two, boarded the tubular dropships. Eventually, all the soldiers, including the Sergeant Major, were loaded onto their respective catapults. And a couple seconds later, these tubular vehicles launched themselves from the sides of the vessel before turning some degrees and blasting off towards the
Gilgamesh.
⟐ ⟐ ⟐ ⟐
"Have all HPRL-0s trained on the secondary craft in case it decides to move." Com. Moriens barking orders at the communicators who transferred these same orders down the chain.
"Yes ma'am," the communicator said doing exactly as she is told to do.
'
As long as we keep on the alert we shouldn't have any problems.. But I'm starting to get a terrible feeling in my gut.. Looks like we're in it for the long haul..' Com. Moriens thought this as she watched the signatures of each catapult aiming for various places on the massive mining vessel. Her eyes never wavering from the battlemap.
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