Praetorian HQ, Olympia, Mars
The room had two entrances, in addition to a large window of the most secure acrylic, which displayed the city of Olympia prominently and in full view. Busy people who spoke in rapid, clandestine whispers and were tapping away on brightly-lit screens walked briskly through the hallway with lapideus steps, their clearance removing them from any threat they might otherwise pose. Yes, despite a few possible blunt objects scattered around, the room, the meeting room, the glorified hallway of the Praetorians was rather secure. And in the midst of it stood a nameless man with a stout reputation; there stood Ulysses. A celebrity of espionage and subterfuge so unknown that most did not notice as they passed him, and those who did only did so with a subtle glance before returning to their screen. His beard clung tight to his face, hiding in their roots for fear of his razor, while above, his black hair settled nearly, much longer but restedly combed to his professional standards. His uniform, the uniform of all Praetorian commanders, was trim and sable, angular and formfitting in its fall.
The agent squinted at the red Martian sky, and with eyes narrow, he could make out the impish Phobos, hung high and lazily over the ruddy landscape, hiding from the eyes of the citizenry, but was present in their minds nonetheless, the malformed asteroid being a joke of the system since ancient times. He knew that Deimos, smaller but there all the same, was somewhere else in the Martian sky. A familiar figure entered Ulysses' peripheral vision, but he said nothing until it spoke.
"Looking for Phobos?" He said. He too looked for the small moon, but his Janari eyes weren't made for such human endeavors.
"Not hard to find," Ulysses responded. He stepped back to face his superior, General Banelo, the director of all Praetorians, and the commander bowed in respect. "General," Ulysses said.
"At ease, Commander," Banelo replied, and Ulysses obliged him, straightening his back. "How were the Free Nests?" The human smiled, having spent the last few months in the southern confederacy, doing usual Praetorian political work there, as well as pursuing more...devious endeavors.
"I should've brought more bug repellant, but it was fruitful. Planted a wave of new recruiters, set up some comms…" He trailed off when his black eyebrows knit in consternation, before continuing, "but you already know this, so I'm unclear as to the purpose of your asking."
The Janari sighed. "It's called being friendly, Commander Oculto. You should give it a try." He exhaled. "Now are you ready to head to the warzone?" The General began walking towards the door, beckoning Ulysses to follow, and they continued to the next room.
"Of course, General, once I learn the details of the operation." There was a large, gold table in the middle, complementing the hungry blood-red walls. As Ulysses and the General walked in, the subordinates who were examining a presentation on a holoprojector in the middle of the room hurriedly exited, and Banelo went to the console, uploading a picture of the upper Orion-Cygnus arm to the projector. Zooming in, he displayed a detailed map of the Resurrection-Scorpine war, complete with dots indicating the current location of Martian mission bases. Ulysses quickly found his seat.
"As you know," the General began, "You are to consolidate the varied anti-Resurrectionist militias under one banner." The screen shifted, displaying an overlay of troop locations; both the Scorpine government forces and the anti-Res militias. There was also a basic list of militia categories; Scorpine irregulars, Xuhajann reclamationists, foreign volunteer outfits, coalition-sponsored mercenaries. These were further broken down into those beneficial to the needs of the State and those that were not. Those that were not, Ulysses knew, were to have their leaderships replaced with commanders more amenable to Martian needs. For a bit longer, General Banelo rattled on more information that the Commander already knew; build more bases, outfit the new army, bring in more mercs.
Eventually, the General pulled up a new diagram onto the holoprojector, one of a large naval vessel. "You will be lended full command of a cruiser; the Calypso. She will act as your base of operations, and is to primarily remain in orbit of the Scorpine capital of Scorpius."
Ulysses nodded. "Of course, General. I understand the importance of the situation at hand. I promise you I will not allow this mission to fail."
"Good." Banelo turned off the holoprojector, which made a pleasant sound as the hologram dissipated. "You will depart tomorrow morning, the shuttle to the spaceport will pick you up from your residence. You'll find the Calypso waiting." The Commander stood and gave a curt bow, before turning to leave. "And Commander," the General said, stopping him. "Good luck."
Ulysses smirked. "I have the power of the Martian State at my disposal. Luck is unnecessary."
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