Mastakon’s Pressure

“General Retvik! It is a pleasure, no, an honour to see you again so soon!”

General Mastakon was an unusual Rethan at the best of times. While very little was known about his Legion of loyal vok, a lot was known about him, his strange antics, his overly friendly tone. All of it was a soft, bumbling cover to disguise whatever strange things the 9th Legion was up to. Mastakon grabbed Retvik’s hand, shaking it fondly, as he dragged Retvik into what was quite obviously a heavily armoured bunker.

“It is… a pleasure to see you too…” Retvik couldn’t help but stutter as 9th Legion soldiers rushed around, doing goodness knows what. They all seemed very busy, all preparing for something, but all their actions were done silently, without a single word muttered. The only beings talking in that building were Mastakon and Retvik, no one else, and there were certainly no phone calls or other external communications going on, outside of Olanet connections and the odd ping of a received email.

Mastakon continued to drag Retvik though dark and gloomy corridors, lit only by small ground lights that turned themselves off as soon as no one was around. They finally ended up inside an equally dark and gloomy office, the only real difference being that the floor was no longer polished concrete but basic, green carpet. Mastakon sat Retvik down on a stool then hopped over his desk, sitting down on a rather plump chair, the only extravagant thing in the office.

“So! The plan! It is simple enough! We fly you up on one of our ships, up to the satellite, you board it, you install the software we give you, you wait for the process to finish while resting in the satellite’s living area, which will take approximately four days, then you climb back on our ship and come back down to Retha. Sound good to you?”

“Uh, no, not at all, ser…” Retvik replied somewhat bluntly. “Why are you sending me instead of literally anyvok else?”

Mastakon tutted. “You know, most Rethans would accept a job from the 9th Legion immediately.”

“I am not most Rethans. Why will you not answer my question?”

“I will, I am just disappointed in how reluctant you are. Especially since you do not normally have an issue with suicide missions.”

Retvik rolled his eyes. “Just tell me why you want me to do this.”

With a sigh, Mastakon opened a drawer and pulled out a single sheet of paper, his tone changing completely. “This satellite, as you correctly assumed, has little to do with the Olanet. It was originally used to spy on religious groups and cults via the Olanet but a newer satellite has taken its place, due to the fact that a Deity discovered what this satellite was doing and tampered with it, blocking anything to do with Temthans. This satellite is to be repurposed with a Deity-tracking device, specially devised by our friends in the 6th Legion. But the 6th Legion has no satellite tech capabilities and needs us to get the software up there. We are simply using you to cover our tracks, since you are the sort who deals with Deities on a more… personal level, and would act as a deterrent when it comes to godly interference. Is that more to your level of understanding, Retvik?”

“That is absolutely insane…” Retvik grunted. “If anything, using me is more likely to draw attention to the satellite.”

“Hence why we are covering it as a philrethanic mission, you are going up there to fix an Olanet satellite and providing better network coverage to millions, also proving that any Rethan can do anything if they put their mind to it.”

“It is still… risky… and obvious…”

Mastakon leaned forward. “Retvik, you are a respectable Rethan and you have done a great deal for the Rethavok as a whole. But you know you owe me. I made sure Gath stayed safe. I helped clear his name. All I ask from you is a week of your time, so we can help protect our fellow Rethans from the threats of gods.”

Retvik took a long, drawn out breath. “I do not owe you. I repaid my debts to you when I covered you for your mistakes in dealing with the Ksithans and their religious sects on Portalia. But you are correct on one thing, we do need to protect our fellow Rethans. I know first-hand what they can do. For that reason, I will assist you.”

With a large grin, Mastakon clapped his hands and leaped out of his chair cheerfully. “Wonderful! Let’s get you suited up!”