Space Odyssey: Spectre

"Is your friend okay?" Steel asked. Corporal Tani was just finishing her story. They had decided to exchange stories over breakfast.

"Yeah, just cranky. He did hear you had managed to sever the bastard's hand. He wanted me to thank you. But to think you already awakened your third ability. I suppose the real combat environment helped. But it will stop eventually. Then you will hit the plateau that all soldiers hit. Just remember to push through." Tani told him.

Steel nodded, "I will. Hey, what is going to happen to Waterswan?"

"Two Cruisers are staying behind in this system. They will be going from continent to continent wiping out the remnants of the Kitinol. Then they will set up a mining colony and an orbital colony station." She explained.

"It is the edge of the system and they want to lay their claim early. Well then I guess we are just going to be stuck at the shipyards for a few days when we arrive." He remarked.

"Eh… it will not be too bad. We are going to the Oculus Station, it is a rather large colony station orbiting a farm planet. Talus-7 I believe. Oculus Station is famous for two things: it's large ship repair yards and…" She smiled at him, "it's wine. Kalil and I are actually both from Talus-7 so we should know."

"Understood sir. I will endeavor to enjoy myself."

"And relax."

"And relax." he repeated in understanding. But until the two day journey there was over. He would get some time to interrogate Sender, that should be relaxing enough.

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"Admiral Lee," The fleet commander seemed angry, "There is a reason you have yet to reach beyond admiral despite your remarkable abilities. It is that attitude of yours." He then sighed, "but nonetheless you have done a remarkable job."

Admiral Lee narrowed his eyes, "you say that but something is wrong." He then thought of something, "was I right? Have they attacked in full force?"

"Not full force but yes you were right. The Victorium have already taken one of our colonies on the edge of our territory. We lost all contact with the military vessels and assets in the area. Thankfully they do not seem to be executing civilians." The fleet commander still sounded annoyed.

"Unfortunately, fleet command in general does not care about civilian casualties. You volunteered me for that front didn't you?" Admiral Lee asked.

"I did, because you care. While you are there you will have full access to the footage and any updates on military hardware as we make them. Thanks to you our technology should be advancing so we can defend against the Victorium." The fleet commander remarked before handing him a data chip.

"Very well, how about the Border of Downfall. Were we able to get what I wanted to know?" Lee asked as he flipped the data chip in the air.

"Actually, yes and no. We managed to intercept a message about the Border of Downfall. It is on the chip. But as for the crew, they have all become classified due to the nature of their mission so we are still struggling to find it all out. But they did have several cadets aboard so we believe it might be possible that you encountered new blood."

—------------------

"Sir, our cutters are back. We lost three of them. It appears that the military was there with a fleet. They were able to fight off not just our ships with ease. But they were able to fight off the federation and an alien group we have never seen." A soldier reported.

The Union commander grumbled as he looked at a star map. "The alien group is called the Victorium. Our sibling groups in other nations have reported their appearance everywhere along the borders. They are not enemies but they are not allies either."

"Sir our spies report an absolute victory at Waterswan-2 for the military. Only one ship was badly damaged. The one commanded by Captain Mendez, the Border of Downfall. Its destination is classified but it is going to have to be grounded and needs to be repaired." Another soldier reported.

"Hmm… track it but do nothing else. How about our forces on Talus and Kamot Prime?" He was less worried about the dead he could not avenge and more about the living he could still save.

"Talus Prime is seeing success with guerilla warfare and we have also been able to step up recruitment on the planet. The nobility were well known for their abuse of power on the planet. A few spies of the nobility were killed, but neither the military nor the imperial family have tried to infiltrate us." Another soldier reported.

"It will only be a matter of time." He then looked at the person that had the Kamot Prime report. He looked pale in the face.

"The Hellion Corporation has a strong foothold on the planet and they have been pushing out corruption in both the government and the nobility. The emperor and military have let them have their way on the planet. Any dissent and anger we could have used has been lost. They have also assisted in reacquiring any lost weapons we stole." The soldiers' report caused several to sigh or grunt in anger.

"Do the soldiers on the planet still have any technology on the planet that is experimental that they haven't reverse engineered?" The commander asked.

"Only a few handheld guns. Most of the bigger stuff has either been ditched or reverse engineered."

"Good tell them to leave the planet with what they have. The Hellion Corporation are like dogs with a bone. It is best to stay out of their sight. For future reference avoid destroying their buildings or stealing from them. For now we will stick to solidifying our presence in Talus. We will also plan to make our presence known in the Sister System next. The nobility rule like dictators, they even run an underground sex slave trade. We will get waves of support from the lower classes when it becomes known." The commander decided as he stood up and waved his hand dismissing all but two.

One of the remaining two went and locked the door causing the windows to shutter shut. Then the lights turned off and red ones replaced them. The emergency lights were on. "What do my two spymasters have for me?"

"In the government we have turned away another six disgruntled people. But none of them really stuck out as remarkable. We have our eyes on another eight people by next week, but I am not as hopeful." The first one responded before looking at the other one.

"Our spies have found three possible recruits in the military. Only one looks remarkable and like an actual recruit. But I am weary since it was the imperial guard that initially found her." He handed a paper file to the Union Commander.

He looked over it and frowned, "why was her family killed?"

"Her father was the target of an Inquisitor's hard response when he was discovered making a deal with us. The attack on Kamot had just occurred as well." The spymaster explained.

"What was the deal we made with him?" the commander asked.

"That is the problem, we did not make a deal with him. We went to him but when we heard his demands we rejected him. The onsight person made a note that the man asked us to assassinate his wife. He was apparently having an affair with another woman. While he offered up his children as spies, they never knew." The Spymaster sighed, already familiar with the file.

"Who ordered the hit on the family?"

"It doesn't say. They kept it hidden in case the daughter went for revenge. Have you seen her talent?" The spymaster was asked.

"Mind reading… bypass the imperial guard. Take on contact with the girl yourself. But be upfront with her. Keep in mind that she might be a spy so avoid revealing your identity until you can find the identity of her family's killer." The commander then thought of something, "you said the inquisitors knew we made a deal with the father but we hadn't. Could someone have been masquerading as us?"

"Possibly, it could be the same people that had the location of the bombs moved to make the attack on Kamot Prime far more deadly than it was supposed to be." The spymaster suggested.

"Hmm… I agree. But I am starting to think the lack of military and imperial infiltration is because they have already infiltrated us. Review our spy network, pay close attention to people with personal connections to the imperial family. That moronic first prince is always doing something reckless so he is a good start." The commander hated fighting in the dark. It always came with the risk of a false flag being sent up.

"Nothing to counter the military?"

"There is nothing we can do. More than half of our people are military personnel, us included." He explained.

"What should we do about your son? He is still hunting down the imperial record. He really wants to kill all the members of the imperial family. He has not found it but I am sure with his talents it will not be long." The spymaster stated.

"Haa… he only blames the imperial family for not helping us after what the Archduke did to my wife, his mother. Let him be for now. He does not see the dysfunction that exists throughout the empire. To be fair… neither did we before it was too late." The commander contemplated the past.

"It was over seventeen years ago, the current emperor was still under the thumb of his father. He could not fight the nobility's corruption head on." One of the spymasters declared.

"My son only sees his rage. It is why we left this nation to reposition ourselves and view the galaxy from a new angle. What we found was that power corrupts no matter the chain which is why we need the Union to keep those in power in check." The commander declared.

The twin spymasters nodded and then left, unlocking the room as they did so.