“You dare challenge my commands, Lieutenant? By the Holy Emperor, I am a Baron! My orders may or may not be the wisest, but it is not your place to give voice to doubt! It is my duty, assigned to me by the will of the Great Phoenix, to give orders, and it is your duty to carry them out without question or hesitation! Because I am feeling merciful, I will not punish you for your transgressions. Now, unless you want to be put in front of an incinerator squad, you will go back to your men and get ready to charge the enemy lines.”

- Lord Eureo, Imperial Baron of the Holy Phoenix Empire and Commander of the 11th Imperial Army Battlegroup. 

Two weeks passed like a blur, and soon, the time had come for the young Wolf to leave the prison he spent almost three months in.

Alexander checked over his clothes in his living quarters one last time. Soon, a ship, an actual naval ship, not a starship, would take him and a number of other Disciples of Agony to a port in a coastal metropolis by the name of Persh. There, they would be asked a few brief security questions before being allowed to leave.

Technically, he wouldn’t be arriving at the port as Alexander Wolf, son of the traitor Gerard Wolf and a prisoner of Darkbane Prison. No...he would be arriving as a measly Lieutenant of the Darkbane Prison Security Forces by the name of Jonah. 

Warden Locke spent quite the time searching through the prison faculty to look for someone who physically resembled Alexander. Since most of the identity verification would happen on this side of the water, Alexander didn't need to forge things like fingerprints or blood type or pupil scans. At the same time, if he was trying to take the identity of a middle-aged man or a woman...that just wouldn’t work.

Jonah was just the right choice. He was a few years older than Alexander, but after a quick haircut, Alexander resembled him closely enough. Jonah was only added to the list of transferring faculty after he was chosen, so his family back home wouldn’t be expecting him. 

One funny thing was that the managers at the Darkbane Security Ring were a little annoyed by the number of people who requested to be transferred just weeks before the contract came to an end. Some of the requests were denied. Still, Warden Locke made sure Jonah’s request went through. How the Darkbane Security Ring would find replacements of the transfers on such short notice...that was another issue. 

As of now, Alexander was wearing a grey shirt and a pair of plain colored pants. Mostly due to the constant chaos and warfares, clothing style never really developed much over the past centuries, especially when it came to the commoners. The materials and the cost might have been different, but the styles were similar to what people wore centuries ago. 

Alexander was unarmed, as it was against the rules for Imperial soldiers to bring their service weapons home when off-duty. As much as Alexander preferred having a weapon by his side when walking into a city where everyone might want him dead, he simply didn't have the option. 

As he finished examining himself and making sure everything was fine, Alexander stepped out of the washroom and took a final glance around the living quarters. The quarters were definitely comfortable. As a matter of fact, they were some of the best quarters on this island. Yet, he couldn’t stay here. Not when he still had vengeance to claim. 

Slowly, Alexander turned around and made his way out of the door, a backpack on his back. The backpack held a normal array of items, including some credits, some personal clothes, and a few books that Jonah brought over to the island. Since the planetary network couldn’t be accessed on the island by most devices, many staff had to resort to more primitive methods of entertainment such as physical or electronic books. 

Oh the horror...

The young man walked out of the hallway of District 1. Soldiers and staff he came across all paused their steps and nodded at him in salute, but Alexander simply lowered his head and moved along. Finally, he marched out of a thick metal blast door. 

As soon as he stepped out of the building, Alexander could feel the warm sun bathing across his skin. Back when he wasn’t a broken man driven by the desire for revenge, Alexander loved the sun. He loved the warmth and comfort it brought to him. Now, Alexander simply kept on walking. 

Several hundred meters in front of the young man was a port designed to handle ships capable of transferring hundreds of people. This port was one of the few places whose water depth could handle ships that big. As such, it was very well defended. Sniper towers oversaw anyone within the two-kilometer radius. Elevated positions became home to machine-gun nests, designed to put any forces that tried to storm the beachhead in a world of hurt. 

A group had already gathered up in front of the port. There were around three hundred faculty members and soldiers who preferred a change of occupation. Of course, all of them have become Disciples of Agony, and following their transfers, Alexander would be able to hold some influence within many aspects of the planetary government and the planet itself. It wouldn’t be enough influence to achieve much, but it was something at least. 

Technically, Alexander could just remain in the safety of the prison and wait for the departing Disciples to gradually infiltrate Valorian. Unfortunately, it would take a handful of low-level Disciples years, if not decades, to accomplish anything important. Alexander couldn't wait years, much less decades. If he wanted to achieve something soon, he needed to leverage his powers as a Lord of Agony, and to do that, he needed to get off this island. 

Among the transferring personnel was Vice-Warden Jason Stone. He put in a last-second request as well, and it was unsurprising that the higher-ups permitted him to return to the mainland while refusing the same demands by other low-level personnel. This transfer was welcomed by almost all parties involved. Warden Locke was glad to not have to see Jason's face again for a very long time. Jason himself, upon realizing the level of control Locke was given over the facility, wisely came to the decision that remaining in the prison wouldn't be the best for his future. 

Of course, most importantly, Jason would be able to leverage his rather impressive family background after returning home. He probably wouldn't be able to get to converting right away, but if he could land himself a position in some Imperial fleet, well...the potential was certainly there. 

These transferring faculty were joined by their former commander, Warden Henry Locke. The Warden was originally going to be among those transferred, but after being converted, he withdrew his transfer request and remained on the island to make sure everything would go on smoothly and discreetly. He wanted to ensure that this prison would remain as a secret base of operation where all future visitors, prisoners and faculty alike, would be made into Disciples of Agony in service of Alexander.

He still missed his family. There was no question about that. Yet as of now, he had something more important to him. 

Standing behind Warden Locke were two squads of soldiers clad in black body armor. Their expressions, emotions, and even genders were hidden behind their black helmets and even blacker shield visors. They were here to ensure the transfer process went smoothly...or that was what the official story was. This time, they were ready to serve a darker purpose. 

“My Lord.” Warden Locke gave Alexander a quick nod as he noticed him approaching. “Good luck on the trip.” 

“Thank you, Warden.” Alexander replied without turning. His eyes were trained on the sea, where he could distinctly see the form of a ship approaching. He could feel himself growing a little anxious. If just one step went wrong in what was going to unfold, then the world would know about what happened here. 

Unsurprisingly, that wouldn’t be great news for Alexander. It wouldn’t be long until a sizable force of the CSF or the Obsidian Marine Corps assaults the prison. The Darkbane Prison Security Forces were tough, and especially so after their transformation to Disciples, but they lacked the firepower, air support, and numbers to achieve anything significant. 

This entire plan had to be flawless. One mistake, even if this was just bad luck, and all would be doomed. Yet Alexander had no choice but to do this. 

Warden Locke clearly noticed the anxious look on Alexander’s face. He was concerned too. Maybe even a little scared. If he was exposed, both he and his family would pay the price. But he was a veteran, and no matter how hard his heart was beating, his brain remained perfectly calm. It was a skill he learned in countless meatgrinder battlefields. Stay calm and you may die. Panic, and you very certainly will die. 

“Don’t worry, my Lord. We have everything planned out. I heard that years ago, the transport ship would have a few escorts, but a while back these escorts got scrapped and had their materials used on starships. Ships that run on water are useless in an age like this.” 

The Warden explained. They have gone over the plan several times, but running over things one final time could never hurt. 

“The communication satellites are designed to block out communications from and to the entire coastline around the island. Like the prison, the only way the ship can contact the mainland is via a specifically designated Computing Interface placed in the Captain’s cabin. Of course, if things go according to the plan, they will never reach the CI.” 

“The only minor issue is the number of guards on the ship. There should be around two hundred armed crew members on the transport ship. Their job is to prevent the ship from being hijacked, which is exactly what we’ll be doing. Nonetheless, we have plans for them as well.”

Alexander nodded slowly as he took deep breaths in an effort to calm himself. He was very aware of his own strengths and weaknesses. He might be a decent fighter, especially in melee, but his knowledge of strategies and tactics was simply lacking. Warden Locke knew what he was doing, and it was only right for him to trust the man. This was especially true since the Warden would never be able to betray him. Alexander didn't need to know everything. He just needed to trust people who did know things. 

The transport ship came closer and closer, and Alexander quickly retreated to the group of transferring personnel. He observed in silence as the ship reached the dock and extended a metal plank that connected the ship to the dock. 

A man in a black and red uniform led the way down the plank, followed by four armed crew members. The insignia on his shoulder designated him as an Imperial Captain. 

Interestingly, the actual rank of an Imperial Captain in the command structure very much depended on the ship he or she commanded. If a Captain commanded a Dreadnought or a Supercarrier, then that Captain could easily order around a General in the Imperial Army even outside of the ship’s hull. But when it came to the Captain of a transport ship...and one on water, no less, the equation became a lot more different. 

Both Warden Locke and the Captain worked for the Darkbane Security Ring, which oversaw the general security of the Darkbane Prison. The Captain wasn’t directly under the authority of the Warden, but the Warden still outranked him. 

“Sir!” The Captain quickly snapped a salute at Warden Locke. “Captain Dawson, at your service sir!” 

Warden Locke nodded at the man. The two of them have seen each other before as this was the same Captain that brought him onto the island one year ago. He was also the one in charge of the monthly supply runs. 

“Good morning, Captain. You may proceed.” 

Captain Dawson nodded before turning and waving at his men. Slowly, crew members of the transport started unloading the ship. The first to come down were newly transferred security forces recruits and prison personnel. They walked down the plank in groups, and a few of the officers and managers standing behind Warden Locke quickly marched up to them and led the men and women, unsuspecting of what was going to happen to them, into the prison. 

The prisoners came next. Most of the prisoners Darkbane Prison received were taken in throughout the year. Still, there were half a dozen prisoners that came along with this ship. They were dealt with a lot more forcibly as crew members brought them off the ship in shackles and cuffs. A few of these prisoners spat at the crew members, only to receive punches and kicks in return. 

Neither Captain Dawson nor Warden Locke objected or intervened. 

The prisoners were also handed to the guards and taken into the prison. They would be thrown into cells with Disciples as cellmates, and soon, they too would become Disciples. 

Finally, the crew members started unloading a month worth of supply. The protocol was that after all the supply was unloaded, the transport ship would verify the identity of returning passengers before loading them up and departing the island. Of course, Warden Locke couldn’t let that happen as Alexander would never pass the verification stage. 

As the crew members were starting to unload the supply, Locke turned to Captain Dawson. 

“So, Captain...have you ever seen the insides of Darkbane Prison?”

“Uh...no sir.” Dawson was clearly caught by surprise by the question, but he still replied politely. “I have not.” 

“You are in charge of protecting the most secure facility on the planet, and you have never actually seen it?” Warden Locke exclaimed, putting up a mask of surprise. “That’s absurd. Here, I’ll show you around!” He gestured at the main gate of the prison. “Oh, and your crew are welcomed too! I’m sure none of us are in any rush.” 

Captain Dawson frowned. “Sir, I’m not sure this is permitted by protocol…” 

“Oh come on! Trust me, Captain, I know more about the protocols than you! I doubt the higher-ups will be too mad about a quick peek! I'm sure as long as they're notified first, the boys in Persh won't mind waiting a little longer.” Warden Locke was trying very hard to make this work. Much like the Captain, he was also a fan of following the rules, which made this facade especially difficult for him to maintain.

To his dismay, the Captain, while maintaining his polite smile to his superior, held his ground. 

“I am sorry sir, but I will have to insist.” 

Warden Locke nodded slowly, knowing pushing further would only generate suspicion from the Captain. “Of course. Following protocols is our duty as soldiers of the Holy Emperor.” 

Dawson returned his words with a polite smile, followed by a gentle nod. As the Captain turned around to observe his crew members at work, Warden Locke knew things had already started to go wrong. In most cases, Imperial Captains placed in situations like this wouldn’t hesitate to take a quick tour, if only just for the sake of not wanting to reject the suggestion made by a superior. Making friends and allies was an important part of ranking up in Imperial command structures. Once they were inside the prison, well...a lot of things could be done. 

But this Captain was especially stubborn and by the books. This was likely the reason he had this pathetic job in the very first place. 

Slowly, the Warden was ready. Plan A had failed. Fine. But someone like him always had a Plan B. Just like that, he sent out a silent command via the psychic network and sprung a lot of things into motion.