The SES Whisper of Truth hung in space above the yellow green of Rirga Bay. O’Deorain the Truth Enforcer stood at the edge of the ship’s bridge overlooking the swirling miasma of gasses that enveloped the planet. Contemplating the mission ahead, they stared down into the bleak in silence, save for the low murmur of the crew’s chatter. That quiet was broken by the familiar metallic clicking and chugging of cryopods cycling through the vessel. The Truth Enforcer quietly descended the bridge to greet their constituent. A mountain of a helldiver; outfitted in forest green with the Beast of Prey armor and Apollonian helmet, emerged through hissing steam onto the bridge.
“Good morning, Benjamin. It’s been a while. How was the cryosleep?” O’Deorain’s tone was calm and smooth as they addressed him.
“Ugh, I never get used to it. Always wake up tired.” Benjamin responded with a yawn and stretch. His neck cracked audibly as he loosened his muscles from the freezing temperatures. They exchanged a quick yet firm handshake with each other, with the Truth Enforcer lightly tapping Benjamin on his shoulder with their other arm. “It’s good to see you, O’Deorain. It means High Command’s not just sending me to my doom.”
“Careful, Sergeant.” The enforcer responded with a gentle sternness. “That’s beginning to sound like dissident talk. Besides, our supreme High Command wouldn’t resort to such forms of… execution. Nevertheless, I would still do everything in my ability to bring such a beast of yourself home.” O’Deorain let out a soft amused chuckle.
“Suppose you’re right.” He replied with a smirk. “Still, good to see you.”
“It is likewise, Sergeant.” O’Deorain said, giving a slight nod in response. “Now then, we have other squadmates to greet before the mission briefing.”
“Reinforcements? Any information on them?” The sergeant inquired.
“Two young veterans. Interesting service records. You’ll see soon enough.” They answered, pointing to the cycling cryopods. They watched as a soldier in olive drab trench uniform stumbled out of the steam.
The first to arrive stretched and yawned off the last bit of cold before approaching her constituents. ‘
“Good morning, fellow divers, Cynthia Mannington, at your service.” She had a cheerful lilt to her voice with a posh British accent.
“Truth Enforcer O’Deorain. Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Cynthia.” O’Deorain replied, quietly assessing the saluting soldier.
“The pleasure’s all mine. Big fan of your work, the Truth Enforcers. Bloody good show, always keeping those dissidents in line.” Cynthia responded with sincerity. “Chuffed to finally meet one.”
The last helldiver arrived shortly thereafter. That same hissing sound stopped the others’ conversation for a moment while they watched. He was equipped with a fire safety officer's gear and a field chemist's rebreather helmet. The soldier shuffled meekly from his pod, clutching a small plush doll. It was a cutified version of an ancient heritage Japanese animation pop idol. He didn't speak a word, yet saluted upright while clutching the doll.
“You must be Sebastian Cat.” O’Deorain addressed the new arrival with a cold analyzing tone. “And this must be… Miku Cat.” The enforcer approached the soldier, who only nodded in response to the questions asked. “May I?” O’Deorain gingerly held out a hand to their young squadmate. Sebastian hesitated for a moment, staring down at the plush doll in his arm, but ultimately handed it over to the enforcer with trembling hands. They held it up, inspecting it closely and delicately. They raised the arms and legs of the doll, and, for a fraction of a second, it seemed as if O’Deorain’s visor lit up in red. Sebastian's body shivered, his eyes locked on the freshly separated doll. Confused at what he might have just seen. “Hm… seems to be in good condition.” The enforcer took a moment then spoke in a lighter, almost comforting tone. “Keep her safe, Sebastian.” They handed the doll back to the quaking soldier. He relaxed when he had the doll back in his hands.
“Cynthia Mannington” She eagerly stretched out her hand to Sebastian, who timidly accepted it with a handshake.
Benjamin quietly scrutinized the interactions of the young divers. He knew the type of person that O’Deorain was, but these recruits seemed too wholesome. Too green.
“Who’s this big chap?” The unperturbed Mannington asked while approaching the sergeant.
“Sergeant Benjamin John.” His tone was cold as he offered his massive chiseled hand to Cynthia. She took his palm in hers, wincing as he nearly crushed her fingers with his vicegrip of a handshake.
“Bloody hell, man” She snapped her hand back. “Don’t have to break my bloody fingers.”
“We don’t need weaklings on the mission. If a little handshake breaks you, you’re not ready for the Illuminate.” He barked insensitively. “I’m not gunna waste my time carrying you back in a bucket. I have enough to worry about.”
“You what mate?!” She raised her voice to a near shriek as anger welled beneath her helmet. “I’ll have you know that I’ve–”
“Cynthia. Benjamin. That is enough.” O’Deorain spoke slowly and calmly, but with authority. “We have Illuminate to fight. We can’t be at each other’s throats already.”
“It won’t happen again.” Benjamin said gruffly. “Sorry, O’Deorain.”
“Right…”Cynthia scowled, glaring at the older man.
“Nor do we have the time.” They continued. “Follow me to the bridge and I’ll brief the three of you there with our objective.”
Sebastian saluted with the other two following suit before they began to make the short journey.
“Where are we dropping, then?” Cynthia chimed in, recovering her mood quickly.
“Rigel Sector. Rirga Bay.” The enforcer responded. “We have major orders directly from High Command to liberate this planet.”
Boots on metal echoed through the ship as they passed the rest of the destroyer’s arsenal and crew. When they arrived at the Galactic War table, it was displaying a small colony cluster on the fetid planet. Orange indicators blinked on the map to display the location of their objectives amidst the terrain.
“Now then, we’ve been tasked with restoring the freedom of this colony and the destruction of aliens’ architecture throughout it. In layman's terms: raise the Super Earth flag and destroy the Monolith.” O’Deorain gestured to the area just above the Illuminate structure displayed in the southeastern quadrant. A craggy rock face just outside of the colony walls. “We’ll land here. It appears to be outside of the Watcher’s normal patrol routes. That should give us the time we need to prepare and the edge we need to launch a precision assault on the monolith. We’ll wrap around from the west; clearing out any emplaced Illuminate vessels on the way to stake our claim here for Super Earth.” They pointed once again to an orange indicator on the map. “From there we can make our way to the extraction point. Any questions?”
Benjamin and Sebastian both shook their heads.
“When do we get to spill some ink?” Cynthia quickly quipped with a scoffing laugh.
“Dropping in T-Minus 3 minutes. Expect heavy voteless density and brace for the… inclement weather.” O’Deorain replied to her question bluntly. “Benjamin will assume operational command once we make groundfall. He has the most… hands on experience with dismantling the Illuminate.”
Sebastian looked at the frightening beast of a Helldiver before him. He sighed silently. “What?” Cynthia murmured as she glared beneath her visor.
“If there’s no more questions, then report to your hellpods.” The Truth Enforcer continued and climbed the short staircase to their hellpod, followed by the sergeant.
“Hellpods primed.” interjected the intercom.
“Stay close when we get down there. We’ll need to move fast and if you fall behind I’ll leave you there.” Benjamin said in a gruff tone as he arrived at his pod. “Just don’t stand too close.”
The sergeant stepped into the footholds. There were two loud thunks as the machinery accepted the human payload. Cynthia didn’t have time to gripe. He descended into the pod.
“He’s an awful pleasure isn’t he?” Cynthia chimed in after.
“He’s not as mean as he seems, Cynthia.” O’Deorain replied. “Besides, I’ll be watching over you the whole time.” She felt an ominous glare cast over the enforcer's visor.
Sebastian tilted his head a little. Then he began the walk to his pod holding Miku close to him and taking a deep breath. He took a brief glance at Cynthia, then O’Deorain. The Truth Enforcer nodded. Thunk Thunk. The young man descended as well.
“Well then, I suppose I don’t wanna be the rotten egg.” said the spritely sapper as she swiftly sauntered towards the final pod. “Sorry, old bean.” She chuckled before slotting into the footholds. Thunk Thunk. Another pod was filled.
The Truth Enforcer cast one last gaze out over the lids above their companions. Thunk Thunk. A siren wailed out as the last helldiver was loaded into the barrel of the destroyer. The massive gun was fired and the four brave warriors began to scorch their way through the skies of Rirga Bay.
