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Chapter Three

The Anean Star Empire

Haroma System, Haroma III

Darkmire Mountains, Frostfall Palace

December 20, 7996 Haroma Year

The past week had been mostly a blur for Cadogan. Life was certainly different, and debatably better, while living at the Palace. Given that he wasn't a proper Palace Guard and not needed at all times, he was getting paid for easy days while working, effectively, from home. As well as the emperor, he also was able to meet most of the rest of the imperial family in person as they might have showed up at the Imperial Palace or Frostfall Palace up in the Darkmire Mountains.

Not all was good, of course, as the Agebbians had gotten much more belligerent, and this was followed by further demands from the Geminorians and the Avantians. In an emergency session in the War Room that Cadogan was allowed into, DEFPOS in the Empire was raised up to 2 in preparation for a possible war. For the most part, the people aren't aware of the DEFPOS increase, unless they readily noticed the military moving around the Empire.

For the past few days, as a result, Cadogan had been reassigned to Frostfall Palace with nearly around the clock protection for the Emperor. He didn't mind, as he much preferred Frostfall to the Imperial Palace. It was out of the way, well hidden, well defended, and allowed some rather amazing sights of the lowlands below. And, of course, he got a much nicer room. Since it wasn't coming out of government funds, but instead that of House Xaimoungkhoun, much better furnishing was purchased by the house's vast funds.

Nearly midday, Cadogan was in the Great Hall, eating a provided lunch while going through a few reports from around the planet that were made for his attention. Most of them were just reviews of the more powerful psionics on Haroma and current locations. He flipped them away on the datapad, not interested in reading about them currently. There was a certain... feeling of liberation with not being shackled to the Bureau and his handlers. The only people he answered to was Captain Vasiliev and the Emperor, and Chief Acquarone but he seemed content just letting the emperor control everything.

As another disguise of sorts, Cadogan had gotten another uniform with the move up to Frostfall. Since the Palace Guard had no authority at Frostfall, the emperor gave him a House Xaimoungkhoun uniform. It was a much nicer uniform than the Palace Guard one, but Cadogan noticed it was an even heavier and thicker material. The uniform was all white, likely to blend in with the largely arctic environment that House Xaimoungkhoun operated in, with a red stripe down the center, much like the opposite of the Palace Guard uniform. On the left arm was a dark blue arm band with the House Xaimoungkhoun coat of arms in a white circle. Other than the arm band it was much like a typical Anean uniform.

The two large doors at the front of the Great Hall slammed open, startling Cadogan, but making him look over nonetheless. A group of soldiers - at least two of them being a general and an admiral - were entering the Great Hall with an escort of various officers from both branches. Cadogan figured it was going to be another meeting with the Emperor, detailing some sort of military strategy. Instinctively, he kept his head down and let the officers pass by with nothing more than a glance from a couple of them.

Cadogan finished his lunch and tucked his datapad into the tunic of his uniform. He picked the plate up and crossed the Great Hall into the kitchen. The assistants in the kitchen, not used to having people bring them the plates and such back, actually thanked him as he did so. As he stepped out, he noticed a few other officers coming into the Palace. As before he only got a glance or two as he stood and let them pass. He was curious of course as to what this entailed, but he knew better than to try to get into the War Room without a proper invitation.

He would have gone back to his room and waited for a message from Isaiah, but that message came as he took a single step. Pulling out the datapad and flipped to Isaiah's message, he was slightly surprised by how... undescriptive the message was. It simply told Cadogan to meet with Colonel Masin. It was simple, but it was a rarity for him to have to meet with the head of House Xaimoungkhoun's military forces.

Nonetheless, without overthinking the matter at hand, Cadogan headed in the direction all the officers were walking, but instead made a left once through the double doors on that side of the Great Hall. The colonel's office was set aside behind the barracks, and the barracks were placed past a long hall. It was nice living in a palace dug out of the mountain nearly 8000 years ago, as keeping to a foundation wasn't required, but it also made things mysterious. There were dungeons and halls still unexplored of the Palace as there hasn't been enough money to spare to actually explore.

The barracks were large enough to house the company of House Xaimoungkhoun soldiers. There was no dedicated mess hall or such things, due to everyone eating in the Great Hall. At the back of the barracks, situated behind an otherwise unremarkable door, was a private quarters for Colonel Masin, a human and an AGF veteran that had taken the oath of loyalty to House Xaimoungkhoun. His demeanor certainly reflected that oath if he were ever asked about where his loyalties lie.

"Agent Gavin." Masin said as Cadogan approached. "Emperor Xaimoungkhoun told me you'd be in fairly soon. Close the door and take a seat." Cadogan closed the door and sat in one of the two seats in front of the colonel. "Looks like you have an off-world assignment." The colonel said while flipping through a couple different datapads. "This will be a deniable operation, so you're aware, so don't fuck up."

"Yes sir." Cadogan said, knowing the very basics of respect that he needed to show. "What does this entail?"

Masin set a pad in front of Cadogan. "Subject Janele Wilkie." He said, knowing he'd get the reaction from Cadogan. "I know you know her. Bureau doesn't keep a good hold on its files despite all the secrecy they act like they have. Anyway, your mission is to recover her by any means necessary and bring her back here to Frostfall. Emperor Xaimoungkhoun believes that she will be a quite useful asset and you have the most experience with her."

"Why her?" Cadogan asked, having been quite content never thinking about her again as long as he had the chance.

"Classified." Masin said, getting a rather annoyed look from Cadogan. "You don't have clearance to that. I'd have thought you of all people would understand that."

"Who is my handler for the mission?" Cadogan asked out of habit from working with the Bureau and going on a few operations with them.

Masin, however, just laughed. "Handler? You're on your own. You can handle that right?"

Despite the response he got when he asked why, there was something rather nice about not having anyone constantly watching him or telling him what to do. "What equipment do I get?"

"Standard combat armor, standard assault rifle, forged military release papers, and a false military ID." Masin said. "Both can slip past security without much trouble thanks to the ID and papers. We have access to the systems they'd check the numbers on, and we can send back a confirmation."

"There's a lot to this." Cadogan said, making an observation in the hopes of getting more information about all of this.

"This is big. I'm leaving it at that. Just trust us on this alright? The Emperor likes you. He won't send you into a dangerous situation you can't handle intentionally."

Though words usually did little to calm him, he accepted that. "Alright. Yeah, I'll take that. Seems fair enough. So get Janele and come back to Frostfall?"

"Not quite. There will be more information when you report back in with your successful extraction." Masin said, taking his datapad back now. "If you're ready to depart, I have a ship on standby for you. I have a platoon of Xaimoungkhoun enforcers on the way to Remnora Novus anyway, so you can slip in with them."

"Will do sir. Is that all?"

"I'll upload anything else you need to your datapad. Stop by the armory for your equipment. Dismissed Agent." Masin said.

Cadogan stood up and left the office, thinking about everything that was just said and trying to make sense of all this. It was... odd, to say the least. He was also conflicted regarding this. He was a Bureau agent, and his extraction of a high tier psionic from Bureau custody would cause... problems, to say the least if he was discovered. And, more importantly, the last person he wanted to deal with was Janele again. But orders were orders, after all, and he had to follow them.

Attached to the barracks was the armory, and Cadogan stepped inside. The Quartermaster, who was simply known as that, stood up the moment Cadogan entered the armory. "Over here." He said, getting Cadogan's attention and leading him behind the desk. The Quartermaster set a fairly large case on the desk and opened it. Within was the armor and weapon as Cadogan was told he'd be getting. "Colonel told me to get this ready ahead of time. Take it, and I'll see you when you turn it in in a few days."

Cadogan took the case in hand left without another word. This all was rather unusual, more so than usual anyway. Everything was fairly well planned and everything in order for what should have otherwise been a bureaucratic mess. On the other hand, this is a noble house and they likely weren't constrained by very much bureaucracy. Whatever the case may be, Cadogan was determined to figure out what the overall plan is.

The shoulder strap on the case eased the carrying of it. It wasn't too heavy, no more than about 50 pounds, but he knew he'd be carrying it around quite often now until he got in place to extract Janele. Thoughts were flowing through Cadogan's head regarding just what all of this would entail. He needed immediate transportation to Remnora Novus. He could probably contact a trader stuck at Haroma Station. He had the money to spare and there were plenty of traders that wouldn't question him if the money was right.

Recalling what the Colonel had said, Cadogan pulled his datapad and read over the file he had received. He quickly discarded the idea of finding other transportation, and then he remembered that the colonel had just said that he was to board a ship with Xaimoungkhoun soldiers. It would, he figured, be enough to get him to the planet at the very least. He almost turned around to ask the colonel where the ship would be, but that was mostly answered as a platoon of soldiers walked past him, one of which getting his attention with a pat on the back. After the initial surprise, Cadogan noticed he hadn't let loose a burst of electricity.

As he followed the soldiers, Cadogan pulled out his phone and called Jaylene. He made sure to get her number just in case it would be necessary. It rang several times before it was answered. "Hello?" Jaylene said, obviously having been asleep.

"I don't think I'll ever know the differences in time between Haroma and Remnora Novus." Cadogan said. "Sorry about that."

She perked up with his voice, and the change surprised him. "Oh. Cadogan."

"Yeah. I am on my way back to Remnora Novus and I'd probably need you to pick me up at..." he glanced at his pad, "New Senzovona Spaceport."

"Why are you heading back?" She asked.

"I'll tell you more when I arrive." He made sure to sound firm in that, to make it clear it was best not to keep asking. "I am leaving for the ring soon, so it will still be some time. I'll call again when I am in system. When is your leave up?"

"Ends in a couple more days still."

"Perfect. I'll see you when I get back alright?"

"Will do." She said, sounding rather happy suddenly, and she hung up. Whether by accident or not, Cadogan couldn't tell.

The platoon of soldiers had crowded into the elevator, made to hold significantly more than that, and they awaited the rise to the top. The entirety of Frostfall felt like a maze of sorts. For Cadogan, he was still trying to learn his way around. This elevator made it easy. It simply ran from the Great Hall up to the private quarters nearly 1,500 feet above the Great Hall. Those upper areas were more easily accessible compared to the maze of the lower palace.

It took the elevator several minutes to reach the top level of the Palace. The top level was devoid of any living quarters. Instead, it was where most people arrived. A landing pad outside could support any Anean shuttle, save for the heavy transport, and the hangars were built into the mountain. Unless the Emperor took his own ship out, the AMS Adamant was always landed in there, and there was more than enough room for several other small ships, or one large private yacht or a destroyer. There was some discussion Cadogan overheard about expanding the hangar to allow more ships to land. In another corner of the floor was Doctor Regulski running the infirmary.

Once at the top, the platoon left the elevator and walked into the hall the led into the hangar. While the building itself tried to maintain the appearance of being an upscale palace, the hall into the hangar was just bare metal walls and floors. This hallway went on for about two hundred feet before there was a small security checkpoint, and then a sealed door into the hangar. The security officers just waved the platoon through.

Inside the hangar was the AMS Adamant, the Emperor's personal ship from when he was a Senator, as well as a few House Xaimoungkhoun ships. Several, sitting in single, smaller hangars on one wall of the structure, were heavy transport shuttles made to move a platoon of soldiers and a pair of MBTs. There were a pair of corvettes sitting in their own hangars. The top of the hangar opened, causing quite a bit of snow to fall down into the hangar, and still more coming down from the snowfall. A corvette was being rolled out of its hangar by a pair of workers making use of maintenance mechs.

They are very light ships, having little armor and just the bare essentials, but they would be quite uncomfortable for a platoon of soldiers unless one, or both, cargo bays were fit to support them all for the day or two it would take to travel to Remnora Novus. Once in place under the now open doors on the roof of the hangar, the corvette was opened for boarding. The platoon, still silent, marched aboard and split up, heading into the cargo bays. Cadogan followed the smaller of the groups, figuring he was supposed to do that.

As predicted, the cargo bays had been refit as living quarters of sorts. It was lacking in any privacy, but they were still beds and still looked comfortable. If Jaylene came through for him, he'd likely have a proper place to stay while he plots and plans his recovery of Janele. He didn't see any reason why Jaylene wouldn't let him stay really, assuming of course he told her what he knew.

Remnora Novus Capital Spaceport

Xaimoungkhoun Private Sub-Terminal

December 22

The flight was cramped and quiet. With 20 people aboard, not counting the actual crew to fly the ship, there was a sense of claustrophobia. Not one of the soldiers spoke either, which made the flight all the more unbearable. Cadogan's attempts at speaking to some of the soldiers, and managing it once, was quickly silenced by their superior. That wasn't normal, but there was something about the soldiers that he just couldn't place.

Nonetheless, they arrived at Remnora Novus and the first thing Cadogan did was call Jaylene. He moved to the cockpit of the ship to ask the pilot where exactly they were landing. He was given a less than direct answer, but he worked with it and hoped Jaylene would be there waiting for him. He definitely needed the ride, and a shower. That was another reason in particular he hoped that she'd let him stay with her for a few days.

Landing was quick and silent. Cadogan let the platoon off first, and they left the ship in silence. He stepped off soon after and watched as the platoon headed off down the hall, being led by what Cadogan guessed was an officer belonging to the house as well. Cadogan fixed the strap on the case and started walking toward the exit, following the signs as they directed him to the underground main entrance.

Near the exit, however, he saw exactly why he had his papers on hand. A security checkpoint was set up. The only redeeming fact about this was that the lines were moving along fairly quickly. Cadogan got in the shorter line of course, and waited. In all it took about 20 minutes before he finally reached the checkpoint. He set the case down onto the scanner with a dull thud, and then stepped through the scanner.

Of course, as he expected, an alarm went off when the case went through the x-ray scanner. He kept calm, of course, as the security officers attempted to open the case. If they weren't going to ask him for the code, which Cadogan only knew because it was sent to his datapad, then he wouldn't tell them. Because of their frustration in failing to open the case, Cadogan couldn't help but laugh at it.

Finally the officer in charge spoke up. "Sir, what is in the case?"

"Class B Assault Rifle, Warfighter XII combat armor." Cadogan said despite wanting to make a joke about how they already looked at the case.

"Why do you have these?" The officer asked now.

"Discharged from the military and I was allowed to keep them." He said, again calmly and making sure to keep that clear. "I have my papers if you want to check them."

"That won't be necessary. You look like a soldier." The officer looked over the uniform, which Cadogan had almost forgotten he had been wearing. "House Xaimoungkhoun right? Serving the Emperor. Good man. Take the case and go on."

"Thank you sir." Cadogan said, picking up his case and throwing it over his shoulder again. He hadn't expected that response, and nor did Masin he figured, but it was definitely made things much easier.

Past security now, Cadogan walked out to the main atrium of the spaceport. The main atrium was the largest part of the building, covering several levels, and marking all arrivals and departures on several very large screens. He had actually never gone through this part of the spaceport, always having arrived at the Bureau part of the port. There was something oddly relaxing about the rushed feeling in the atrium.

Cadogan stuck to the stairs to get down to the lower levels, knowing the elevators would just take longer. In a few minutes he was on the lower level and looked around for Jaylene, thinking that she maybe came inside. He did a couple laps around the lower level, watching everyone, but couldn't find Jaylene. It was disappointing, but since there were cars waiting outside, he figured she'd be out there.

As he stepped outside, he quickly noticed his own car. He expected nothing less, and Jaylene was waiting for him, as expected. Cadogan approached the car, and noticed that Jaylene had fallen asleep. Part of him wanted to make sure to scare her, but he needed to rely on her for the moment so he walked over to the passenger seat and tapped on the window. It woke her up, but it startled her. As soon as she saw Cadogan she smiled. First, he opened the back door and set the case across the back seats and made sure not to damage the leather. Once in place, he got into the front passenger seat.

Jaylene reached over and grabbed him, pulling him into a tight hug. "Welcome home. How long are you staying?"

"Only a few days I think. Working for the Emperor right now." Cadogan said before they let go of each other, but shared a quick kiss as Jaylene started the car up again. "He sent me out on an assignment."

"What kind of assignment?" Jaylene asked as she pulled onto the road.

"I... don't know, I admit." He said, putting his seatbelt on. "Wants me to recover a psionic."

"Why?" She asked.

"I don't know. Needless to say I don't have much in the way of clearance. But I wanted to know if you wouldn't mind me staying with you for a few days."

Despite what he had said, Jaylene still sounded rather excited. "Yeah, of course! Wait. You live right next to me. Why not move into there again?"

"Bureau is watching it, and I am supposed to be on Haroma. There will be questions to everyone if I show up at my condo."

"Oh. Right. Yeah, of course you can stay with me, but you have to tell me more about this secret mission you're on when you know more." Jaylene said, giggling just a bit.

"Of course. That would only be fair. But, to extend on that, this psionic I have to get... I don't think she's the only one I'll have to get while I am back." Cadogan said. "I hope you wouldn't mind if she stayed as well."

"Oh." Jaylene said with a far different tone now, this one slightly annoyed.

Cadogan knew, or at least figured, what was coming next. "I hate her, so you're aware. She was one of my cases. I don't know what the Emperor wants with her, but I'll have to keep her on hand, especially once I take her from the Bureau."

Once more, her tone changed again, and now sounded much friendlier. "Yeah, I guess that's fine. But you're staying with me."

"Staying how?" Cadogan asked, curious, but almost knowing where this was going.

"Well I wouldn't let you sleep on the couch."

The two conversed for the rest of the trip back to the condo. Out of paranoia with being back on Remnora Novus, Cadogan watched all around for anyone pursuing them. The last thing he needed was to have the Bureau already following him around for whatever reason. Satisfied that nothing was following, Cadogan calmed down just a bit, but still struggled to relax. Something felt off, but it couldn't be placed.

Once back at the condo, Jaylene parked in what used to be Cadogan's usual spot. Cadogan took his case out of the car and threw the strap over his shoulder again and picked up the pace to catch back up to Jaylene. Once at their floor, she led the way this time. It was just a minute, if that, before they were in her condo. At Cadogan's request, she closed the door and locked all of the locks as he set the case down on the floor.

"So what do you have in there?" Jaylene asked as Cadogan typed the code in to unlock the case. Once the assault rifle and combat armor came into view, she simply said, "Oh."

"Yeah, I doubt I'll need it, but the emperor was making sure I was safe." Cadogan said as Jaylene grabbed the rifle. "What are you doing?"

"This is the newest model." Jaylene said. "I love these rail rifles. Fires a 50 gram projectile at 1.25 kilometers per second. Impacts with 39 thousand joules of force. Beautiful weapon. Only has a 15 round magazine, but still a brilliant rifle. ASF and AGF aren't even getting these until Imperial Arms drops the price per unit. Doesn't surprise me that House Xaimoungkhoun has them. Lucky bastard."

Cadogan found her fascination with the rifle to be quite amusing and he couldn't help but shake his head in amusement. He took the rifle back and stuck it in the case. "Whatever the rifle may be, I hope I won't have a use for it."

"I hope you won't either. I don't know what you'd use it for anyway, but no matter." Jaylene said. "So, you said you needed a shower on the ride. Might as well get it now you're back now right?"

"Sure." Cadogan said, standing up and quickly getting the jacket off. "Definitely would feel better after a shower. Being packed into a cargo bay with ten men for a couple days isn't fun."

Jaylene laughed. "Oh I'm sure you have_all kinds_ of interesting stories." She said with a wink that clearly sent her mind off into a place he hadn't intended.

"I assure you I do not. I might just hop over to my condo and grab clothes though." Cadogan said, honestly considering it, but unsure if the cameras were on or not. "It's that or these uniforms.

"I'll put the uniform in the wash for you once you get in." Jaylene said with a smile.

It slightly surprised him, if only because he hadn't expected her to say that so quickly. "Thank you. Right, I'll just... put them in a pile outside the door once I undress. That work?"

"Yeah, that'll be fine. Now go, get clean, I am starting to smell you now."

Without needing anymore encouragement, Cadogan quickly walked down the hall to the bathroom. Once inside, he closed the door, stripped down, and jumped into the shower. Without even caring to let the water heat up, he turned on the shower and let himself get hit with the ice cold water. Even if was hardly fun to stand under, he was already feeling a little cleaner. He heard the door creak open, and looked past the curtain to see Jaylene grabbing the clothes as she said she would, and he realized that he didn't set them outside the door as he said he would.

He got back to the shower once Jaylene was gone again, enjoying the hot water washing away the past two days. Being packed into that cargo hold was certainly not fun in any stretch of that word. The food was... nonexistent. That hadn't occurred to him until this moment that he didn't even eat for the past two days. Water was passed around, but not food. He'd take care of that once he got out of the shower. More than likely Jaylene would be more than happy to cook something for the both of them.

The water pressure on the shower fell just a bit, and he figured that meant that Jaylene just turned the washer on. At least she did make good on that, though Cadogan knew that she would do that much. He just stood under the water, letting it run down him before even starting to properly clean. The warmth just felt better than he had expected. He was going to take a while in here, enjoying it, and reminding himself not to go without a luxury such as this again. If he can help it, of course, he'll keep up on it.

New Senzovona

Spinward Suburban District

Only a couple hours after having arrived on Remnora Novus, Cadogan was already sitting outside Janele's house in his car. The car stood out, of course, but the tinted windows prevented himself from being noticed. It was a feature he rarely used, but he had a variable tint system, allowing him to totally block out viewing from the outside, or making it entirely transparent.

"So, you're waiting on her to do what exactly?" Jaylene asked as she sat in the driver's seat.

Cadogan had changed into his armor and had his rifle in hand. He was mostly plotting his approach on the house at the moment, wanting to make it seem slightly trained even though he has no idea what he would be doing. He was trained in more basic things than military action. The rifle felt odd in his hands for that reason, having never used anything other than a pistol while on duty.

Jaylene, as Cadogan's request, had put her own Warfighter armor on. Hers was in ASF white, rather than Cadogan's Xaimoungkhoun grey, but they were the same model of the armor. She, like Cadogan, had put on a face wrap to only leave the eyes showing once the helmet was on. Cadogan had to add a bit of padding to fully hide his markings, lest they glow through the wrap. Jaylene didn't have to worry about that, but she didn't want to be identified somehow.

"Waiting on her to appear, so I know whether or not she's actually here." Cadogan said, watching the windows with Jaylene's rangefinder. There was some movement in the same window that Cadogan had seen her from a couple weeks ago. He zoomed in where the movement was and saw a pair of eyes appear. The gold colored eyes told Cadogan that was her. "There she is." He started to open the door before noticing a car pull in and quickly closed the door again. "Hold on."

"What is it?" Jaylene asked.

Cadogan watched the car, and then saw the agent as she stepped out. Agent Tresha Hamilton. Something about that shouldn't have surprised him, of course, as she was another very powerful psionic. "Agent Hamilton. This is going to be, problematic."

"Why?"

"Tier IX Hydrokinetic." Cadogan said, watching Tresha as she approached the front door. Like Janele had done for Cadogan a couple weeks ago, Tresha wasn't even at the door entirely before Janele had opened it. He noted that there was no conversation as Tresha entered the house. What surprised him more, however, was when Janele looked at him, right in the eye, and winked. Whether she knew he was there or not, he couldn't tell, but... there was definitely something wrong. "I am moving. Stay on comms and keep me alert."

"Will do. Be safe." Jaylene said before starting the car again, just in case.

Cadogan took a moment to prepare himself before throwing open the door and rushing out, making sure to close it behind him. He ran toward the house quickly, armor weighing him down far more than he was used to. Despite the weight, he was at the door in a matter of seconds, and quickly threw it open. There wasn't a scream of surprise as Cadogan entered with his rifle raised and scanning the room. He continued down the hall, into the kitchen and saw nothing out of the ordinary, save for a red hot burner on the stove.

"Janele." Cadogan said fairly loudly. "Janele, where are you?"

His respond was slightly drowned out, but he still heard her say, "Downstairs Caddy."

He growled at the name, but turned around and opened the basement door to the house. Despite his better judgment, he slowly proceeded down the stairs, stopping where the wall cut off and a banister replaced it. "Janele, I am not here to hurt you. Will you let me talk to you?" He asked, wanting to make sure he wasn't in immediate danger.

"Come on down Caddy." Janele said after sighing.

Cadogan stepped down the final few steps, only to have to dodge a bullet from a pistol. It hit the wall to his left. Instinctually, he fired a round at the source, hitting Tresha in the chest and dropping her in one shot. Janele meanwhile was sitting on the couch, sprawled out, and smiling at the situation now. It took just a moment for Cadogan to realize that Janele had taken control of Tresha and done that.

"Excellent shot Caddy." Janele said with a smile. "How does it feel killing the woman that saved your life?"

That hadn't even started to register until Janele said it. He knew she was dead, or at least dying, as he could sense her fading away now. Had he been a religious sort and thinking it would comfort things, he'd have run over to say some last few words, but he didn't as it would be useless, and probably be what Janele wanted. Naturally he was being torn in several directions at once. He wanted to run over and try to get some sort of forgiveness for the shot, then he wanted to just shoot Janele for that, but he kept his professional demeanor and his mind of the mission.

He didn't answer the question. "Janele. Why?"

"Wanted to see what you would do." She said, getting up. "Very nice though, quite impressed. You look good in the Warfighter. So what are you here for?"

"I am on a mission, and you are to be recovered and brought to Fr- Haroma." Cadogan said, almost slipping and saying it was Frostfall.

"Oh. The Emperor needs me again then. Good, things are progressing then. Smart choice Caddy. We should leave. The Bureau will know she was shot and they'll have people on the way already. Your car is outside right?"

The fact that Janele knew more about this than he did was disturbing, but it was to be expected in a way. Cadogan was now trying to put things together to make sense of what this plot could entail. There was quite a bit wrong when the death of a high tier Bureau agent was treated this nonchalantly. There was, certainly, more at work that he expected and he'd definitely press the Emperor for more information.

"Yeah." Cadogan said, letting Janele lead the way out of the house. He wanted to keep an eye on her now. "How did you know I was out there?"

"You don't hide too well. Your car is obvious." Janele said as she reached the top of the stairs. "Plus I could sense you. Agent Hamilton mentioned it, so I had to control her for the moment so she didn't report it immediately. I figured you'd act once the door was closed, and you're rather predictable."

"I suppose I don't give you enough credit." Cadogan relented.

"No, you really don't. You never have. But that's fine, I understand." She said as they left the house. "Tier VII Hydrokinetic." She said as they got closer. "Interesting choice of company Caddy. Still, can't fault you for that, you use what you can get right?"

Cadogan had no answer for that. Janele opened the back door of the car and quickly got in, followed by Cadogan in the front seat just moments later. Jaylene pulled out of the parallel spot and onto the road, acting as normal as possible now. If anyone was going to head for the house, she wasn't going to attract any undue attention.

"So, this is the woman?" Jaylene said, looking in the mirror back at Janele.

"Yes. I am the 'woman'." Janele said already annoyed. "Janele Wilkie. You are..." Jaylene almost spoke up and told her name, but was stopped as Janele continued. "Commander Jaylene Garret, ASF. Interesting choice of company Caddy."

"Caddy?" Jaylene said, laughing as she drove. "I am going to call you that now."

"You should. He loves the name Jay. Mind if I call you that?" Janele said in the back seat.

"I don't mind. Most friends call me that anyway." Jaylene said. "I like you. Caddy, why did you say you didn't like her?"

Cadogan, needless to say, was already annoyed by this sudden double teaming. "I had my reasons. Things are becoming a bit clearer though. Can we just get home and keep talking there?" He said.

"Yeah, might as well see where you two are staying." Janele said. "I'll have to report in anyway, the emperor is expecting me now."

"You too?" Jaylene said. "Caddy, when are you going to tell me what is going on?"

"When I finally figure it out." Cadogan said.

A pair of Bureau IFVs passed the car, but showed no signs of stopping as they drove down the road. That was followed by a pair of Bureau patrol cars, and again neither slowed as if to turn around and pursue them.

Remnora Novus, New Senzovona

Central Residential District

Arrival back at the condo was rushed and as quiet as possible. Given that Cadogan and Jaylene were both in combat armor, they couldn't really risk being seen for too long lest they get attention they don't want. There was no one in the halls, and Cadogan used his trick to get them up to their floor without any stops. Considering what they had done, it was necessary, even if underhanded.

Once inside, Cadogan and Jaylene both got to work getting their armor off. That took only a few minutes as the Warfighter was made for rapid equipping and removal. Janele, meanwhile, looked around the condo before settling into the living room after taking Cadogan's datapad. He almost said something about it, but remembered that anything that might be on that pad, she was probably allowed to know about.

Cadogan sat down on one of the couches to relax a bit, and looked out the windows toward the deck. He stared at it for a moment and saw curtains at the ends of each side. Figuring there would be gunships flying around now, Cadogan got up and closed the curtains, plunging the room into darkness before Jaylene turned the lights on. She said not a word about that as Cadogan sat back down.

"Caddy, looks like we have new orders." Janele said. "Mission changed. Miranda Ward was also going to be targeted for liberation from the Bureau, but she has been executed already. Doesn't surprise me."

"Which part, the execution or that she was targeted?" Cadogan asked. Jaylene sat down next to him and pulled him close. He didn't complain of course.

"Both I guess. Manipulating metals can be quite useful, even if she wasn't a Tier IX. And I know that the Bureau is that... hostile? No. Brutal. Yes, brutal I think is what I am looking for."

"Alright, you have a point."

"I don't know how you stuck with them for so long. Isn't it nice not being constrained by them? House Xaimoungkhoun trusts you to carry out a mission on your own. The Bureau would assign you a handler you have to listen to. Even at home you had cameras watching you 24/7." Janele said.

He tried not to show it, but Janele was right. In one week House Xaimoungkhoun put more trust in him to carry out far more complex operations than the Bureau did for small things in 27 years. He tried to rationalize that a bit by saying the Emperor had less things to worry about and thus they could take the risks... but he knew in the back of his mind it wasn't true. The Bureau kept a firm hold over every agent, and refused to give them too much leeway lest they possibly become a risk. House Xaimoungkhoun just relied on the fact that going against the House would have dire consequences, but there was a certain honor in serving the Emperor, or an actual noble, rather than just a civilian leader.

"Anyway, we need to get off the ring and head back to Haroma." Janele said, seeing that he was definitely thinking that over.

Cadogan's phone let out a beep, and he was quickly snapped out of his thoughts. He knew the beep. For his Bureau phone, it was the sound he assigned when things went very wrong. With hesitation Cadogan reached into a pocket on the uniform he was still wearing and pulled out the phone. The alert he received would definitely make things more difficult.

"Jaylene, when is your leave over?" Cadogan asked.

"Ends in... two days." Jaylene said. "Why?"

"Ring-wide red alert." He said. "That's martial law. You have a ship. I don't see why you couldn't get us off the ring. The Bureau can't keep an ASF officer on the ring, particularly one that's second in command of a dreadnought. If they did I am sure the Emperor would come down hard on them."

"I know he would." Janele said.

"I could probably manage that." Jaylene said. "Captain would probably send a shuttle down."

"So I guess we're just going to sit around for a couple days?" Janele said while pulling the lever on the chair and reclining back. "I am fine with that. Cadogan, get rid of that phone though. The Bureau will probably be able to find you."

Cadogan stood up and pulled back the curtains to the deck. He slid the glass door out of the way and stepped onto the deck. It had been a while since he had to throw anything. He pulled his arm back and launched the phone forward, only to have it go up at too high an angle, hit the deck on the floor above, and just fall to the ground at the base of the tower. Jaylene and Janele hadn't noticed that, thankfully. At the very least, the impact with the ground should break everything in the phone.

With that done, he walked back into the condo, closed the door, and then closed the curtains again. "So I guess just sit around. I am fine with that." Cadogan said while taking his seat with Jaylene again. "Only a couple days right? Janele, why don't you tell them that. Maybe we can get extraction sooner."

"I can tell you right now that House Xaimoungkhoun has no assets here." Janele said. "It would take a couple days before anything would arrive, and by that time Jaylene would be off leave and on the way to her ship."

"Alright. Sit and wait it is then. Should probably keep lookouts though. Who knows if the Bureau will show up and scour this building searching for you?" Cadogan added, that thought just coming to mind.

"Great, I am already back in the military." Jaylene said. "You're right though. Let's get lunch and we can talk about what we plan to do while we eat."

Janele and Cadogan couldn't really argue with that. While Cadogan had eaten after the shower, he figured Janele was probably hungry. However, since Jaylene cooked before, he volunteered to do it, leaving Jaylene and Janele to talk. For Cadogan, that was perfectly fine. The last thing he needed for the next few days was for them to hate each other for silly reasons.

December 24

Cadogan was awoken by the loud rumble of starships engines above him. For just a moment he thought that everything that had happened was a dream and that it was just another normal day for him, waking up in his bed. That thought disappeared quickly as he had to work himself out of Jaylene's rather firm grip around him. Once out of the bed, he walked over to the window and looked out. In the distance he could see the light, but above there was just a shadow obscuring a sizable portion of the city. He opened the window and then lifted up the screen to look outside and upward. Approaching the spaceport at a low level was a Welhan Class Dreadnought.

Now knowing what the noise was, and hearing how much louder it was now that the window was open, he closed both quickly so he didn't wake up Jaylene or Janele before they should have. Granted it was about 7 in the morning now, he figured they could use the extra sleep afforded to them by the Bureau and their search.

Yesterday the Bureau had done a sweep of the building, breaking down doors of those that didn't respond and searching them for any psionics. Cadogan made use of his false papers finally and presented them, and they came back as all clear. Jaylene, of course, submitted to their checks. Janele, however, didn't have it nearly as easy. She hid, always with Cadogan in the way of the Bureau agents so there didn't immediately sense her. It took a lot of coordination, but eventually they were satisfied and left, apologizing for the inconvenience. With the search through, they rested easy knowing the Bureau wouldn't be back.

Despite his less than best efforts, Jaylene stirred awake as the window was closed. She rolled over to look at Cadogan, then rolled back over and started to fall asleep again. It didn't last very long though. "What time is it?"

"Too damn early." Cadogan said. "Your ship is here though, so I guess whenever you're ready we can leave."

That seemed to spur her on, as she quickly got out of bed. "Thank the gods. Let's get dressed and head out." When she noticed Cadogan suddenly surprised by the burst of activity, she added, "ASF is strict on times. We should head out now to make sure I don't get a reprimand."

"Alright. That seems fair enough I suppose." Cadogan relented as he went looking for his House Xaimoungkhoun uniform. He'd let Janele wear the AGF uniform that came with the armor to get a little less suspicion. Like all uniforms, it was made for unisex use anyway.

Before he headed over to Janele's room, Cadogan made sure to throw a pair of pants on. Since he didn't want to dirty the Xaimoungkhoun uniform yet, he had asked to borrow Jaylene's clothes jokingly. And yet, she let him wear the pants at least. He had been surprised, initially, when she had pants made for men, but it took him just a moment for him to piece together how that actually made more sense.

Cadogan left his and Jaylene's room and walked across the hall to Janele's. He knocked once before opening the door and stepping in. She was sitting up as he entered and probably instinctually wrapped the blanket around herself. "We're getting ready to go. Jaylene's ship arrived and we need to move quickly."

"Alright. About time." Janele said before shooing Cadogan from the room so she could get dressed.

Jaylene was already out of bed and getting into her ASF uniform, which she had hung up in her closet. She also already laid Cadogan's Xaimoungkhoun uniform out. When the ASF got a uniform overhaul a few decades ago, the dress uniforms took on a much different appearance. Rather than the old, solid white of the past, they were turned grey for the officer and enlisted personnel, while the admiralty got black and white uniforms.

It was clearly slightly more militaristic, and much more... plain. It was a solid grey color, with rank bands around the sleeve - which was new - and the shoulderboards were able to still accommodate the Anean rank insignias. The peaked cap was also grey, with the ASF symbol on it. The chest had room for some medals - also new - as well as the campaign ribbons and the ribbons for other medals not able to wear directly. What was different, compared to the old uniform, was a simple zipper up the front, hidden by an additional fabric flap, and a high collar.

The idea was to make the uniforms look more organized and make them weigh slightly less when the unnecessary aiguillettes and other medals were removed. The much more formal parade dress uniform was used for particularly formal occasions. It was also much easier to put on, as Jaylene was fully dressed, down to the jackboots, before Cadogan could even get to his tunic. She just smiled, put her cap under her arm for the moment, and headed out of the room and let Cadogan finish getting dressed. He peeked out of the room and saw Janele leaving her room with the AGF service uniform on.

Both Janele and Jaylene were laughing as Cadogan left the room with his uniform on. He turned around though to grab the armor and rifle case off the floor of the room, having nearly forgotten it. He was told to turn the uniform, armor, and weapon in and he'd make sure to do it, even if he wanted the rifle for himself now.

Despite all having different uniforms now, they looked official enough. Jaylene took her communicator out. "Captain, this is Commander Garret. Due to martial law on the ring, I cannot reach the spaceport. I request alternate pick up at my residential building. Just lock onto my communicator."

There was a silence on the other end and Cadogan wondered if she even turned it, but soon enough there was a response. "Understood Commander. Sending a shuttle to your building."

"I have one more request. Upon arrival we must divert to Haroma for drop-off. I have a pair of soldiers here that are working for Emperor Xaimoungkhoun that have been recalled to Haroma, but they were not provided with transportation." Jaylene added, getting an even longer silence now.

"Very well Commander. We're being diverted there anyway apparently." The Captain said. "Just got the order from the Emperor himself a few hours ago once we picked you up, and he said something about a group of people you'd have."

"Interesting. Tell the pilot we'll be on the roof." Jaylene said as she glanced back at Janele. "Let's go." Jaylene said. "Damn the Bureau for shutting down the ring."

"Well, it's why we can't stand them." Janele said.

"Who is 'we'?" Jaylene said, but she didn't get an answer to that question. "Right. Secrecy."

Jaylene led the way, once more, as they headed for the elevators. It would be just a quick ride to the top floor, then they'd access the stairs up to the roof. In all it would take about ten minutes and by then a shuttle should arrive for them. The elevators gave a ping as they reached their floor and the doors opened. It meant they wouldn't have to wait if they hurried up and got inside.

As they rounded the corner, Jaylene only barely jumped out of the way before a pistol was fired. Cadogan dropped his case and quickly opened it, removing the rifle behind the cover that Janele was providing now. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a Bureau agent round the corner with his gun drawn. Cadogan jumped aside and fired a round, hitting the agent in the chest.

"Hold your fire!" A voice shouted. Cadogan kept his rifle raised as he ran over to the corner of the hall, leading to the elevators and pressed himself against it. He peered around the corner to see several Bureau agents and, more importantly, the Director. "Agent Gavin, I know you're right there. Might as well step out."

Despite his better judgment, and only because he looked back and got a nod from Jaylene, he stepped around the corner with the rifle aiming at the Director. "What is the meaning of this?" Cadogan asked.

"You are in violation of Bureau protocol Agent." The Director said. "We were on the way up to apprehend you, and hoped you'd come peacefully. Why aren't you on Haroma?"

"New orders." Cadogan said, leaving it at that.

"Chief Acquarone?" The Director said, genuinely curious now.

"No."

"Who?"

"Emperor Isaiah Xaimoungkhoun. His orders mean far more than yours."

"I knew Haroma was going to be a mistake. In one week you've been corrupted by the Haromians. What a shame." The Director said. "Your death won't be remembered. You betrayed me, you betrayed the Bureau, you betrayed your homeland. You won't be mis-"

Cadogan cut him off with a gunshot, aiming to wound rather than kill, then quickly fired on the rest of agents. The first shot sent them scrambling for cover. Jaylene turned the corner with her own pistol. "Cover me Jay." Cadogan said while he ran for the case, closing it and locking it, then throwing it over his shoulder. He ran back around the corner when Jaylene started firing, putting one round into the chest of one of the more heavily armored agents.

Using the lack of fighting as some cover, he pressed the button by the elevator, and the doors opened. For just a moment, he was afraid that he'd end up being surrounded by newly arriving Bureau agents, but none stepped off and the elevators was empty. Jaylene and Janele ran up, boarding the elevator. Cadogan entered and used his trick to go right to the top without any stopping. Given the intensity of the situation just now, none of them liked the silence as the elevator went up.

The doors opened on a clean floor with no one around. Jaylene pointed at the door on the opposite side of the elevator and ran for it. She pulled it open and the three of them rushed quickly up the stairs, pushing through the door at the top and standing on the roof. Had it been one of the low quality action movies of Haroma, there probably would have been helicopters circling around showing how desperate of a situation this was. But it wasn't, and the only aircraft was the approaching shuttle.

Once the shuttle set down, the three climbed aboard quickly and took their seats. Jaylene told the pilot to hurry up and get them to the Herius Welhan. He did so without a question, and closed the side doors to reduce drag. As the bit of excitement was starting to wear off, Cadogan started to laugh while shaking. Part of him couldn't believe that things went as well as they did.

"The Emperor is going to love this." Janele said.

"I am sure." Jaylene said. "You know, I never had a problem with the Bureau before."

Save for his now occasional bits of laughing, Cadogan quickly realized what just happened. He killed several more Bureau agents, and shot the Director. At the very least he was out of that job, not that he minded. There was something liberating about being an "outlaw" now. Depending on the method the dreadnought used, it would only be up to a day in the dreadnought to get to Haroma. Cadogan couldn't wait to get back to some degree of safety. The ring just wasn't safe now.

Once the shuttle landed, Cadogan was already starting to piece things together. Given what the Director said about "homeland", despite following orders from the Emperor, Cadogan was starting to realize that he was probably involved in something regarding Remnoran Novus secession. If that were the case... it was definitely going to be interesting times.