X41: Intricacies of Command

Once again, she stood within the command room. Kazuki was present, glaring at the table as Eliza felt a sense of dread overcome her, he looked more worried.

"We have a positive ID on Svenn Janstein, codename Afterlife." reported Sato, placing a thousand holographic datapads onto the command deck. "The Ptolemy-2 Station. We all know what they'll try to do. Several vessels docked across the station are harbouring Loyalists. Our objective is to eliminate the Loyalist presence on the Ptolemy-2 Station, at all costs."

The room was filled with people that Eliza didn't know. The most important looking people she didn't know were an old man and a middle aged woman, with one single gold-trimmed pauldron, compared to the two gold pauldrons that Kaz and Martinez had. She was squished in between Lilly and Martinez.

Glancing up, Eliza could better see the various intricacies of Martinez's tattoos. From her brief studies and knowledge, she could decipher the meaning amongst the patterns. "Starseeker?" she muttered to herself.

Martinz glanced down at her, nodding. "That it is," he said, before looking back up at the command table.

compared to them, there were a dozen other commanders in the room. Kazuki was still being repaired whilst the briefing happened, Eliza's mind was filled with worry but she hid it from them all as Archius stepped forward.

"We've received reports of Loyalists gathering near the old Clandestine HQ. They probably intend to retake it as a distraction then use its shields to protect themselves." Archius said, placing both hands on deck.

"I can take Mason and Asphene's divisions down to the surface. We can hold off the Loyalists." assured Martinez, proposing his own plan of action. Eliza glanced as he flicked a holo-card onto the table, showing a battle-field simulation map. 

However, someone else in the room spoke up, it was the middle aged woman, her armour was in a purple trim. "Bullshit, we'll need more divisions on the ground!" said the woman, the name Persephone engraved into a small part of her vestplate. Her voice continued to worry onwards. "At least five thousand! We don't know how many they have, but if they're confident enough to—"

"No, you damn worry-wart." Lilly started, her face filled with frustration. "Martinez is right. We need most of our forces on stand-by… I don't think we need to remind you what happened to your division the last time YOU overinvested; we're not in an attritional meat grinder here - remember that." Lilly's voice was snappy at the purple haired woman, the lady formed a scowl at the beratement.

"Here, here! Let's not get hasty!" shouted the old man, his face, beard and hair as pale as the Eclipse. 

"Thank you… Hosea," said Lilly.

"No! I was… talking about you…" Hosea trailed off, by far looking the most grimmed face and experienced in the room - even against Martinez and Kazuki.

The room fell into a state of chaos as Quinn shot in to defend Lilly; a dozen colourful trimmed groups argued over strategy and tactics… Lilly placed her hands up to her uplink as she turned it off, rubbing her earlobe. Martinez sighed as Kazuki remained silent. Lilly turned to Eliza, scratching her head, "Well… welcome to mercenary politics."

Martinez sighed, turning towards Lilly and Eliza. He said, "It's not normally like this… but the distress of it all is setting in. Plus… not everyone here's an AGENCY hardliner… In fact… half of this room fought against us."

"Wait… what?" Eliza's face twisted in confusion, "Might I ask why they're here, then?"

Martinez mused, "Most of them were Clandestine. In fact, all of us were Clandestine. Money talks, Eliza. Most quickly defected to Kazuki."

"Then…" Eliza trailed off, "I'm guessing Kazuki needs them…"

"Exactly," said Martinez. "But don't think that they're all treacherous… I know many of them myself, even from back in the military. Most couldn't defect, Clandestine likes to have a tight grip around its men. It lost that grip when the then fourth of the seven mercs died… to Kazuki. When the floodgates opened, the war changed."

"We all have the same objective." said Lilly, "But getting there… it's harder than what it may seem."

The three turned back to the carnage as Kazuki slowly stepped forward, placing both hands on the command deck. He calmly spoke in a loud voice, "Silence."

Everyone turned to Kazuki. Their voices cut shut. Eliza noticed the mood change quickly as Kazuki's eyes glared at them. Golden hue and a hollow aura penetrated Eliza's soul as he gripped the deck in mild frustration… 

"There will be no infighting here. We all fight for the same objective. Martinez…"

Martinez stood to attention. "Yes, Kazuki?"

"You will command forces on the surface and in the Sub Levels. Take Mason, Morris, Asphene, Krakow and Namira's units to the surface. Reinforce our existing positions and patrols, but let them take the HQ. Lilly, Claire, Percy, Kellerman, your forces will be under my command on the station. No reserves. We go all in."

Everyone nodded at Kazuki. Whether it was out of respect or fear, they didn't interrupt him.

"Order all AGENCY assets across the Republic to red alert, contact Hosea and order him to stop contract-negotiations outside the Republic." 

Kazuki placed his hands together. "Until we consolidate, I do not want to overstretch our forces. Keep our anti-piracy and security operations online for now, but ensure they are prepared to warp into the Anagora system from anywhere within the High-Table Oversector. Any questions?"

No one spoke. But Eliza had one aching question, she raised her hand. Kazuki nodded at her, acting as if he didn't know her. Everyone shot a glance at the new girl. She felt out of place, but everyone there listened… "The terms of the Judicial Contract don't reach the Ptolemy-2 Station, if we imply it as the police will… It may be safe to presume that doing this will give even further justification to the removal of Anagora's Enforcement Contract."

"It will." stated Kazuki, "But I care about results, not semantics. We will storm that space station. We will rip the Loyalists to shred. We'll show Anagora exactly why they need us."

"Well, at least we're not the ENFORCERS," shouted Archius, jokingly. "We can all go on a nice vacation after this and they'll surely pick up the slack. Beaches on Chinio are good this time of standard-year."

A few in the crowd chuckled at the passing remark. Many had smiles, even Kazuki had some spark in his eyes. Even if he didn't have a single thought or emotion on his lips or eyes, she could feel the aura of his feelings change ever so slightly, it warmed her… It was like seeing a younger sibling and being proud of them… Except, she felt far more proud of Kazuki than Ulysses, but she doesn't blame him.

"Well then," said Kazuki, standing up straight as his exospine mechanisms cranked into gear. Warmth faded to hidden anxiety as she remembered how injured he was. But she understood the necessity of it, and once again she put all her faith in an irrational belief that Kazuki will survive. 

Kazuki commanded his men, "Let's go slit their throats."