Operation: Warden

[DeletedUser13682]

Over an hour had gone by, and Rolf was very bored indeed. Suspicion had been raised by the Med and Psych officers entering the Assembly Chamber, strange looks on their faces. About 10 minutes before they were called back in, Rolf sent a zip file copy of the messages, and a note, all encrypted in Helmfrid Code, to his personal electronic vault, back in Danzig. Then, the time had come for them to enter. What greeted them was surprising. Standing there at attention, Rolf couldn’t help but worry about the grimaces that had crossed the faces of the council members, as well as the Med and Psych officers. The screaming of Councilor Fowler was unexpected, as was the M&P lieutenant’s explanation, as was Fowler’s follow up.

Then came the vote to blot out their memories from the military mind, something that Rolf didn’t even think was allowed under the Collective Wehrstrafgesetz and Wehrdisziplinarordnung (equivalent to Armed Forces Act 2006 or UCMJ). And the vote itself was against the WSG and WDO. “I protest, not only on the grounds that the information handed to you was not intentionally altered or manufactured by any member of ODS 3, but that this entire process is illegal under the Collective WSG and WDO. There is no proper conviction, no proper trial, and no proper courts marshal! It is clearly outlined in both military and civil documents that in cases such as these, the Truppendienstgericht (military court) is the only authority able to judge and sentence! The Council cannot do this legally.”

Commander Wentworth, thought Rolf, was at least partially responsible for this. He hadn’t been subjected to this farce of military justice. He had presented this information as legitimate to the Council, and yet, had not only avoided this horrible turn of events, but had been promoted! Then it dawned on Rolf that the Council may be in on it as well, if only to cover themselves in promoting a slaver to Vanguard. ODS 3 was the loose end they needed tying up, and Rolf felt that no matter how hard he tried, ODS 3 would have to challenge this conspiracy from the outside, as disgraced civilians.

 

[Deleted User - 819397]

Trace was impassive throughout the waiting process, and took the bad news silently until the whole "dishonorable discharge" concept was brought up. The Kriken Military Code clearly stated that any one of their member to be given such a sentence was to kill themselves as soon as possible. This...right when he was potentially going to be promoted to PC...he'd have to try to contact his superior as soon as he could to see if he could possibly reinstate him...otherwise, he'd have to follow the Kriken Code...it was absolute in this regard...he could not disobey.

 

[DeletedUser31931]

Frank heard everything with shock, He heard lieutenant Rolf's defence of them and his heart raised but it was quickly crushed when he realised that it had all been a con. Of course the council wouldn't want to admit that a slaver had been made a vanguard. They were going to be erased from all of history and nothing could stop them except maybe this. "Excuse my interruption for I am only a lowly serviceman but I have a proposition to offer. You refuse to believe that the data we have presented you is true yet I think I can prove it. Give us three months and send one of your most trusted officers with us. Let us track down the base of the slavers or go investigate Adaris and we will prove to you that the files are not fake. Gentlemen and women, I beg of you. Give us this chance and we will not prove you wrong to trust us."

 

[DeletedUser]

Tom snarled as the accusations were hurled at them, before the Lieutenant and Frank tried defensive arguments.
Tom stepped forward and saluted. "Sirs, this data was not fabricated, I personally received the data from the FSD, on the instructions of Gunnery Sergeant Vortag and the honourable Lieutenant, it is impossible for us to all have faked data that exactly corresponds and came form the same source, the transfer of which is located in our ECs, if the data is fabricated, then it was fabricated before we downloaded it, in which case we have committed no greiviance against the Collective, and are exempt from punishment.
We presented the data as we found it, if it is false, then to punish us puts the cart before the horse, so to speak."

 

[DeletedUser28032]

Standing once again within the council chambers Jacquen began to feel nervous as he saw the looks upon the gathered council members as his fears that they were indeed in more trouble than they had originally anticipated came true. However this was quickly replaced by a burning fury as he was first accused of being a liar and then stripped of all rank and unceremoniously thrown out of the collective to return back to his homeworld in disgrace throwing him down to the lowest levels of Sicariun society.
Such an insult to his honour couldn't go ignored, the others could make their protestations of innocence in a vain hope of having the ruling reversed but Jacquen wouldn't bow down and kiss their boots whilst snivelling about how it wasn't his fault.
With a snarl Jacquen made to launch himself across the room and have these pompous fools back up their accusations with blood as was tradition among his people only to have the large scaly arm of Vortag clamp across his throat trapping his body against the big sergeants. Hissing and snarling he tried to free himself of the iron grip however it quickly became apparent that this wouldn't be possible so he decided to take a different course of action.
Sinking his sharp pointed teeth into the skin between his thumb and finger, Jacquen clenched his fist in order to produce blood before holding it out before the council members “By per anima mea däte sanguine ad Nocte Mater, utinam tu transiens tarda sit et cum magna angustia*” his said in his hissing voice, though the words were spoken calmly enough it was clear that whatever he had said to the councillors was anything but friendly, the Sicariun council members face suddenly turning very pale.
With the words said Jacquen ceases all attempts to escape and simply snarls “Release me ox” over his shoulder to Vortag.
Once out of Vortag’s grip Jacquen rips the pins from his collar and hurls them at the councilmen before storming out of the room, he wasn’t going to snivel he’d made his decision.

* ”By my soul I pledge your blood to the Night Mother, may you passing be slow and with great anguish”

 

[DeletedUser31931]

Frank saw Jacquen's outburst and saw the Sicariun council member's faces and he swore in his head. There was no way he was going to get that permission now. He then translated the words and his face turned pale. What the hell had Jacquen been thinking?! So what they were under charge, that had just landed the rest of them in even worse trouble. He decided he had had enough of this. If the council didn't go his way he could expose the data he had found about commander Wentworth's call back home. But that'll be dismissed for the same reasons. he thought and sighed. He couldn't win could he.

 

[DeletedUser]

He did nothing at the angry defenses the former crew of ODS 3 hurled at the arranged council -- at first. Fowler calmly went back around the table - the sound of his shoes made almost no sound against the floor as he did so - and rested himself in the chair as the symbol of the Collective pinned to Jacquen's uniform flew across the table and bounced once. He opened each of his hands upwards, almost like he was calling upon a higher power, and began to speak to the now disgraced crewmen -- the few who remained to listen.

Jack had listened to the proceedings with the slowly mounting foreboding that a man sitting in the waiting room of a hospital for his mother's body to be wheeled out. Sweat began to break out upon his brow and his gorge rose as Kevin Fowler's speech had risen to bite them. His heart beat frantically in his chest as the speech reached its climax and the vote was called. Then, as each had slowly raised their hand in solidarity, it all fell away. All the stress, the lump in his throat disappeared, as did the sweat upon his brow. Later, as Jacquen stormed away, Jack followed him out, leaving the others inside.

"You have no rights in this matter, Helmfrid. This was a joint investigation between The Collective" Fowler put one of his hand upon the desk in front of him - to accentuate his point - "and the Armed Forces." Fowler pointed towards Commander Wentworth "You can scream and cry about your scheme having gone awry all you want, but you will find all the paperwork has been filed. You all disgrace your uniforms."

Adding his voice, Wentworth nodded "I filed all the paperwork while in transit. Now report to the desk in the lobby, there your uniforms will be stripped from you."

Outside, in the lobby, Jack moved towards the desk that - previously - the Quarian secretary sat at. It was now manned by three armed guards - all human - and a severe looking woman with overwhelming scorn in her eyes. Jack's feet barely left the floor and his chin was barely lifted from his chest, as he stared at the floor. Stopping in front of the desk, he reached to his collar and removed the pin he worked so hard to earn, sitting it on the desk before him, next to where all the others would go. Two of the guards went around the desk, shouldering their weapons. Lifting his arms to his sides, Jack stared at the pin that was once his -- laying upon the black marble of the desk in front of him. He barely felt it as the men roughly jerked his jacket off, leaving him only in his dark blue pants and white undershirt, the symbol of so many years of his life emblazoned over the heart.

There was only one thing to do now, Jack turned away from the desk and went to the airlock, where Jacquen already waited for the shuttle to arrive that would take them out of The Assembly Hall, back to the habitable rings. Jack put his arm against the wall and laid his forehead on it. "I can't believe it." he whispered, loud enough for the Sicariun standing beside him to hear.

 

[Deleted User - 819397]

Trace was impassive as they took the pin and what little of the uniform he could wear off of him. He still wasn't sure if this meant he was out of the Kriken military too...if so, suicide was the only way he could maintain any form of honor. It didn't matter that he believed the data was correct...all that mattered was his betters thought otherwise, and to an extent that they would kick him out of the military. He, therefore, must be in the wrong.

He heard the grim human mutter he couldn't believe it as he joined him and the Sicariun in the airlock. In his clicking, insectile voice, Trace joined the conversation. "Yes...but at least you two have clear paths now...I have to wait to see if I'm no longer a Kriken officer before I know if I need to kill myself...you already know that's the only option." So saying, he turned toward the airlock and waited for the shuttle.

 

[DeletedUser]

Tom stood silent as he took off he handed in his uniform and stood beside teh airlock, waiting for the shuttle.
Listening to the whispered conversation between the other members of ODS 3, Tom joined in, "Back to working in the PDD on Thropol III for me, either that or I'm going merc again." He whispered, still slightly dazed from the Collective's amazingly biased decision.

 

[DeletedUser31931]

Frank walked into the air lock in a daze having been stripped of his jacket. He heard everyone and had a thought. "Guys. I have an idea. My father might be able to help us. He won't like it but I can hold him political hostage. I have the data hidden in a safe place. Every single drop of data I would need to hold him hostage. If we get him to fund us and we break into his house. I can call in a couple of contacts. All of them mercenaries. We drag Adaris back to the home-world alive and put him on a civilian trial where we expose our evidence. I can get programmers and medics who can back us up. I have the connections and we all have the skills. If we are going to kicked out of the military then we will go with a bang and if we can't get Adaris back alive then we'll drag his sorry carcass to Eroes. Who's with me?"

 

[DeletedUser]

Tom listened to Frank's zealous plan, before sighing, "I dunno, Thropol III's nice this time of year, and I'm getting a bit old for this. so...." He tailed off.

 

[DeletedUser31931]

"Then go the Thropol III as a war hero and not a disgraced lunatic soldier who faked evidence about Vanguard Adaris." Frank replied to Tom.

 

[DeletedUser]

Tom smiled in response to Frank's statement. "And the alternative is we go rogue, like some bad film cliche?" He almost laughed.

 

[DeletedUser31931]

"We wouldn't be rogues. We'd be soldiers on a mission. Just because your badge is sitting on that counter back there means you aren't a soldier. You've still got friends. Honours and debts you need to pay back. If we leave this then quite a few civilian ships will be lost to the slavers and Adaris." Frank finished and he slumped back. "Oh I don't know!" he exclaimed "I'm just trying to think of a way out and I can't exactly find one."

 

[DeletedUser28032]

A single murderous glance and flash of evilly pointed teeth was enough to persuade the three guards that the uniform wasn't worth them loosing body parts, it was a well known fact…Well… rumoured that Sicariun's had a tendency to bite off ears, noses and fingers when they didn't have access to their wickedly sharp knives as this one was, let some other poor schmuck try and pry the uniform off of his body.
Sat within the shuttles passenger bay Jacquen wasted no time in ripping apart the braid he'd tied his hair into especially for the meeting with the councillors, his hair hanging in a dishevelled mass about his head and shoulders giving him a near feral appearance as he glowered at those that entered the compartment.
As Jack came to stand beside him, resting his head upon the wall Jacquen rhythmically drummed his fingers upon his chair in barely contained rage, had they thought to check his EC a second time the council would have been horrified to find their pictures within it, even those of the medical corps wouldn't escape Jacquen's wrath, they had signed their own death warrants as soon as they had decided to dishonour him with their accusations.
Listening as the others spoke of desperate plans to get themselves reinstated Jacquen suddenly found himself becoming further enraged as the Kriken spoke of suicide "What is it with you aliens and taking ones life!" he snarled throwing furious looks in both Trace's and Jacks direction before continuing "I am going to the Blackout bar to get drunk and then I am on the first shuttle to Volantis to sign up for the Talon Company” it hadn’t taken Jacquen long to decide to join the barely legal mercenary outfit as equally renowned for its military prowess as it was for accepting the jobs that nobody else would touch in truth it was a miracle that the collective hadn’t outlawed them already. By joining their ranks he hoped to not only avoid returning to his homeworld for a life of degradation but also to earn sufficient funds to follow through with his vendetta against those that had wronged him.

 

[DeletedUser]

"Talon Company?" Tom asked the Sicariun, he'd heard of them, mercenaries, sounded fair enough. "Is it Sicariuns only or do they alllow humans as well?" he asked.

 

[DeletedUser13682]

Commander Wentworth had plotted against them as well, this was certain now. Even so, they hadn’t been afforded a trial, and Rolf was about to argue this point, when he noticed that everybody else had left, leaving him alone in the room with the Councilors. Rolf looked at each Councilor in turn, then said to them, “It is not I who has disgraced the uniform, but you, Councilors, who have disgraced, not only justice, but the entirety of the Collective, and all her peoples. I swear to you that this will not go unpunished, and that we shall meet again. Good night.” Rolf walked toward the exit, but before he left, he turned around, and gave the Councilors a salute.

Outside of the Assembly Hall, armed guards waited for him to remove his jacket. He did so, but when they tried to take his familial medals, ribbons, and cape, he stopped them from doing so. “Those items are Helmfrid, not Collective property. I can’t be held responsible for anything that might happen if you attempt to take them again.” After that was done, Rolf used his EC to make a call to a former fellow officer of ODS 2. “Lieutenant Sobel, it’s me, Rolf. I need you to grab all my personal effects from my room and office, not my uniforms, everything that isn’t Collective. My rifle is personal, my sidearm is not. Yes, my sword is. I’ll let you keep the decanter of apple juice. I guess you can keep the computer setup. Alright. Send it to 14 Blotstrasse, German Quarter, Habitable Ring 3. I’ll be staying there for the next few days. I’ll send a note back with the men you pick to deliver my possessions. Sure, let’s meet for a drink tomorrow. Blackout Bar. I know where it is. See you there, James. Wiedersehen.”

Rolf arrived in the airlock, where he picked up the end of the conversation about joining Talon. “I don’t want any of you to join that PMC, but since I am not your CO anymore, I can’t stop you from doing it. They were considering legislation to ban Talon on Earth a few weeks before we left. I don’t know if it passed, but I’m sure it did. If it did, similar legislation will pass on other worlds, and soon the Collective will make Talon illegal.” After a moment’s pause, Rolf spoke to those gathered. “It was an honour serving with you men. Something I wouldn’t change for anything. I truly do believe we were the first step in a fully integrated military force. Now, maybe that is the real reason we were disgraced the way we were, we may never know. But what I do know is that I will find a way to get back at those who did this misdeed. First, though, I must attend some personal business. I require two weeks. At the end of that time, if you want to help me, meet me at 28 Helmfridstrasse, outside of Danzig, Germany, back on Earth. That will be my base of operations.”

 

[DeletedUser31931]

"I'm in." Frank said hearing Rolf's plan. "I'm not a planning man. My strategics aren't very good but you are sir." Frank stood up and saluted "I was honoured to serve under your command sir." He said "Now I'll meet you there in two weeks. I'll call in a debt a friend owes me to pay the fare. Anyone needing lodgings can come share with me. I have a three bedroom apartment with a few sofas and you can sleep there." Frank finished. Rolf had a plan and Frank was willing to follow it to the end of space to get his name cleared. Then the ship stopped at the Warden "This is our only chance to get any of our personal belongings guys." Frank said as he disembarked. He stepped onto the ship and passed the guards. When they inquired (as he had no pin any-more) he told them he had been discharged and was here to collect his stuff. They escorted him to the room where he grabbed his few possessions including his pistol and his chain-gun although he had to put that in a locked case.The Collective were unable to take away his gun license as that was separate from the Collective military. Frank shoved the rest of the stuff into a medium sized black rucksack that he was given. He boarded the shuttle and checked to see who was still there.

 

[DeletedUser]

Tom saluted Rolf, his former commander, before striding through the corridors to his own cabin, which he entered and collected his battered rifle, which was non-regulation, and therefore his property, he collected up his personal belongings and stuffed them all into a large black bag.
He exited his cabin and made his way back to the shuttle, he boarded it and sat on the benches, waiting for departure.

 

[Deleted User - 819397]

Trace didn't leave with any of the others to collect his belongings, as everything he truly needed was with him already...his invisibility and the Imperialist were a part of him. The rest was irrelevant. He waited until everyone had left before approaching Rolf. "For having to work with different races from different backgrounds...you did an adequate job." he said awkwardly, not used to giving such high compliments. "I do have a question though...sir," he inwardly was surprised at his use of the honorific...any sort of title a Kriken saw fit to use meant they truly respected the person. "You're talking as if your life is continuing after this discharge. I don't understand that. You have to kill yourself in order to have any sort of honor left, now that you've been dishonorably discharged...so what is this talk of revenge? You won't be alive long enough to do it."

After getting the reply, he returned to his seat, lost in thought...humans were definitely a different species...