As the rear ramp opened she put up her headset back and climbed out of her seat. "Where are you going? We are staying with the Osprey." Red pointed out in confusion.
Salem looked at her copilot and smiled. But before she responded there was a voice behind her, coming from the captain. "She is fine. Sergeant Wintry and Sergeant Kalil will be coming with me. The rest of you stay with the Osprey and make sure it is not tampered with." Captain Cornwall ordered before leading the way down the ramp being met with another man with a uniform and military rankings indicating he was Lieutenant.
As he approached he seemed flustered and his uniform was disheveled and unorganized. [First I have to bring this commoner captain to the brig to interrogate that federation scum. Then I have to reach out to my father to figure out what that empty box was supposed to contain.] "A pleasure to meet you Captain Cornwall. I am Lieutenant Trevers, the ship is busy so I will escort you to the brig where Admiral Jakobs and the captain are talking."
Captain Cornwall waved his hand, "please lead the way if you would."
As they followed the suspicious Lieutenant to the brig Salem listened in on the thoughts of others as they passed them by. Most of them were people working or going to do something to secure prisoners or make repairs. The only odd one out was this Lieutenant Trevers and an officer that was wandering the hall trying to locate several missing cargo crates. She would tell her captain about it when she got the chance.
They walked into the brig where ten full armed and kitted out in Infantry Armor security officers were standing around the room. Each of the cells were filled with prisoners from the Crystoph Federation. In the middle of the room was Captain Tory of the Flower of Sister sitting in this improvised meeting room in her formal red and black uniform with her medals hanging on the right side of her uniform coat. Across from her was a man in a beige and green uniform with stitches on symbols on his coat. He was missing his right arm and had clear scarring on the right side of his body while he had a cybernetic eye replacement, all of which clearly happened years ago because the lines that come with age had formed over the scars.
A quick peek into various minds around the room revealed that several sections of the Flower of Sister had space compromising bulkheads around the exterior of the ship which is where their formal meeting rooms were located. Hence the meeting room, which was supposed to be in a nicer environment, being located in the brig.
Captain Tory stood up and saluted, getting a salute from Captain Cornwall in response. While Salem listened in on the thoughts around the room as they did formal introductions before sitting and beginning their talk.
The guards and prisoners of war were not thinking anything important. Captain Tory was thinking about why Captain Cornwall came personally for the formal interrogation of the Crystoph Federation Admiral. Admiral Jakobs was worried about his surviving troops while feeling annoyed that Cornwall was the one that was accepting Jakobs' surrender.
But the most hostile thoughts had to be coming from Lieutenant Trevers. [This stupid bitch is going to kiss this commoner Cornwall's ass now. I should dispose of evidence before those administrators locate the boxes and written records I have not destroyed yet. I need to find an opportunity to leave.]
Captain Cornwall sat across from Admiral Jakobs while Captain Tory stood a step behind Captain Cornwall. "Admiral Jakobs, you look better than the last time I saw you. How long has it been? Twenty? Twenty-Five Years?"
Jakobs grunted in annoyance. "Twenty-Three years. The skirmish at West City on Planet Argon in the Babylon System. I remember it well, after all I left that battlefield with these scars that you gave me. But you are only a captain? I thought you would have risen higher up the rank by now." Jakobs smirked as he recalled that battle.
It was still during a period of time after the Grand Hexarian Empire's collapse when things were unstable in the region. The Vexical Empire had clawed out its territory for the most part but it was still struggling to get its neighbors to take them seriously despite their lack of mecha. An idea that most nations still find laughable and the reason why the Crystoph Federation declared war.
The Vexical Empire, still wanting to prove the might and power of their Infantry, decided to launch a blitz invasion into the Crystoph Federation. Babylon System which was once a trade system with a heavy mech presence and multiple mecha research facilities seemed like the perfect target since a number of Crystoph Federation designed mecha came out of the system.
Jakobs at the time was in a Walker Class mecha during that time. One of the smallest classes of mecha with only power armor being smaller but not falling into the category of mecha. Walker mecha were two legs and two arms attached to a central block where the pilot was located. The pilot had a viewport instead of cameras for interactions. Inside the mecha there was enough space for the pilot to sit and operate the mech. But there was only enough room for a sidearm and an emergency kit inside the cockpit.
During the initial attack Jakobs was part of a formal long distance parade and as one of the flag-bearers he was only holding the Argon Flag attached to a metal pole and was not holding in weapons. So when the fire began raining from the skies and military installations were destroyed they reversed the parade as they raced back to their base.
Only they never made it as aircraft firing on them forced them to take up a position in a quarry. For three days the sky burned day and night as the rubble of the orbital station and remains of several spaceships were caught up in the gravitational pull of the planet. Jakobs unit was able to accidentally locate the forward operating base of the Vexical Empire that was planetside. But before they got a chance to even formulate an attack plan they themselves were attacked by the unit Cornwall was a part of.
They had noticed the scouts from Jakobs' unit and followed them back. Once they found the location at the quarry they launched their attack. At the same time a full-scale assault of the final stronghold of Argon was underway a fair distance away. In the midst of the battle, Jakobs' unit managed to turn the tide of battle when a sudden wave of electromagnetic energy passed over them. Completely disabling Jakobs' units mecha.
Cornwall's unit took advantage of this and executed the pilots while they were trapped in their mecha. But the infantry from Jakobs' unit managed to hold out in the entrance to a mine while Jakobs' mecha was stuck at the entrance of.
Cornwall himself came up with the solution as they tossed incendiaries into the mine and smoked out the infantry that took the chance to run. All of which were quickly executed while those who did not leave the cave eventually died due to smoke inhalation. Jakobs was burned alive in his metal mecha with half of his face being melted off.
A few days after Cornwall's unit left a group of civilians located him and nursed him to health. But with their limited technology they had to amputate his highly damaged arm and could only do so much with damage to the right side of his body. Jakobs was later tracked down and arrested as a prisoner of war by Cornwall's unit. Which is how these two adversaries previously met.
"Yes, well, I am not one to deal with political nonsense. So punching some stuck up nobles saw me held back in going up the ranks." Cornwall shrugged nonchalantly, not really caring about the attempted insult. But was still intent on biting back, "but you on the other hand." Cornwall slightly chuckled, "I figured you would have learned to not get captured by now."
"What I learned is that valuing my soldiers' lives earns me respect and underhanded tactics are not worth the effort." Jakobs spat out in disgust a vein bulging in his forehead as he leaned forward.
"Underhanded tactics?" Cornwall scoffed, "do you mean like sending those disgusting things to sabotage my ship?" Cornwall asked playing his cards once the other party was heated to catch him off guard.
"What?" Jakobs seemed completely confused. His mind was equally confused as he thought of the orders he was given as well as the intel that was provided by Fleet Command. The Wing of Pegasus was supposed to be having engine trouble and the other ship's were similarly unmanned. It was a prime target for attack to break the stalemate that had formed between the Vexical Empire and the Crystoph Federation. So he was ordered to go at full speed to this location and to take control of the planet, destroying all military targets.
Jakobs knew nothing about the saboteurs that had made it aboard the Wing of Pegasus. But there was someone else who had begun to realize they were in far worse trouble then they first realized.