The Inconvenient Audit
02 Feb 2020Ouberos
*recording commences*Date: 2926
Star system: Unknown
Imperial Battlegroup: "Duvall Eternal"
Troop ship: "I am Legion"
"Governor, the soldiers have returned to their pods. Weapons and body armours have been removed from the transports. Utility materials have been logged and returned to quartermasters. Now the mission is complete will we be returning to Achenar?"
"Good. Thats very efficient, as usual I might add. The serial numbers can be reassigned to regular navy units before the senate can request an audit,"
"And my Soldiers? The Federation has recovered some of the dead. Their lineage will have been decoded by now. Do you know how the Senate will respond? I imagine there will be a cloning arm's race? Is the programme going public? Expanded on? Will there be funding to solve the psychosis issue?"
"No,"
"I'm sorry? What do you mean Governor?"
"It gives me no pleasure to tell you this but you will not be returning to Achenar. Lobby groups have projected that the Senate will react badly to the knowledge of the Cloning programme. The evidence the Federation will present is going to be countered by claims of its falsehood. In order for this defence to have any chance to succeed there must be no refutation,"
"So we have to stay out here? In the middle of nowhere? How long for? How will we resupply?"
"Staying hidden in the Black would be sufficient, if it were not for the tenacity of the Federal Agents and their spies. We believe there is a sixty percent chance at least one of your Naval crew is a Federal Agent,"
"So, what, what is it you want me to do?"
"You have been a very useful servant of the Empire. You should know the Duvalls owe you a debt of gratitude. However, to place an Emperor in your debt is to place yourself in harm's way and it gives me no pleasure to inform you that the guns of the Capitol ship are now trained on the We are Legion. I have been instructed that when the Federation break the news, there should be zero evidence of a cloned Imperial army. Once we have fired upon you we will return to the Laboratory and commence an orbital bombardment. By the end of the day there will be nothing left to link the Duvalls to the cloning programs of Walden,"
"But, but, but I have given my entire life to this project, I have been a faithful servant of the Emperor, I,"
"Yes, yes you have and it is very tragic. However, I have no choice,"
"I, surely not, not like this. I've done it all for the Empire, does that count for nothing?"
"There is one last thing, one thing you could perhaps try to bargain for your life with,"
"Yes?"
"The failed ones. The ones with the Psychosis and mental stability issues,"
"Yes?"
"You did liquidate them as requested?"
"I think you should bring me aboard the Capitol ship and we can discuss it,"
"Yes I thought you might say that. Sadly it's not going to happen. I don't suppose I can appeal to your honour one last time? Did you liquidate the crazies or are you still trying to repair them in some hidden little outpost? Are there any of our monozygote sociopathic accidents lurking in some deep freeze that could cause embarrassment to the Duvalls at a later date?"
"Governor,"
"Yes?"
"Fuck you Governor. Fuck you and Fuck the Duvalls, you'll never find them and I swear, one day, one of those accidents will come back to haunt the Duvalls. One day one of them will be more than an inconvenient audit entry. Mark my words Governor,"
"I doubt it. Never mind. It is my sad duty to inform you that history will never remember you, the cloned soldiers of the We are Legion or the role the Duvalls played in all of this. Main battery, fire at will,"
*recording ends*