Hallo! This is my first fanfic, so reviewers, please be nice! Saerphe is my older sister and she's helping me edit and stuff.
So, on with the story!
The Factory
"All right, guys, we've got a mission on our hands!" Aerrow called to the other Storm Hawks as he and Piper entered the bridge. Finn and Junko rush over to the conference table, nearly knocking over the jar of sandcakes as they went. Stork pricked up his ears from his place at the helm. Radarr leaped up onto Aerrow's shoulder. Piper spread out a map on the table.
"The Cyclonians have built a major weapons factory on terra Saharr. It's a well strategised position too; terra Saharr is a major trade base, so they'll be close to the resources they need to build these weapons. The factory is really heavily guarded, so we'll need to sneak in as covertly as possible." Piper laid out the map of Saharr and pointed at a spot somewhere in the middle of the desert, indicating the position of the factory.
"Fortunately, the factory has a major flaw in its power core," Piper continued, looking up at her team-mates, "If it overheats to a certain point, the entire system will short-circuit, cutting off production. Then it's up to the Sky Knight Council to finish the job." Aerrow scanned the maps carefully.
"How do you plan on over heating such an enormous power core?" Stork asked from the helm, flicking his ears. Piper held up a bright orange crystal.
"If we launch this blazer crystal into just the right spot in the core, it will heat up enough to cause a lot of damage to the system." She thought for a moment. "We'll have to plug the air vents though, so that the air can't circulate and cool it down."
"Set a course. If we start traveling for Saharr now, we should get there by tomorrow." Aerrow concluded after a short silence. Aerrow stayed on the bridge when Finn and Junko left.
"Are you all right?" Piper asked, meeting his gaze. The sky knight turned to look at her.
"I don't know… I've got a strange feeling…" Aerrow replied blankly. Piper tilted her head at him.
"Could be Astherian Gut Sickness. No cure…" Stork said in a paranoid voice.
Aerrow grinned.
Piper and Aerrow left the bridge together, and Aerrow then went to his room to take a brief rest.
Piper left to her room to finish harmonizing the blazer crystal.
The following trip was short and uneventful, but seemed to take days for the Storm Hawks to reach Terra Saharr.
They reached Saharr, but Aerrow had the constant feeling that he was being watched. Junko was always distracted by some shiny piece of metal a Saharrian trader was selling. He was still moping about what the vulcabats had done a few weeks ago. A black-robed man bumped into Finn and didn't even notice. The man had a hood over his face. Junko bought some sandwiches for everybody while Piper looked in the crystal shops for extra blazer crystals. They would probably need them, because Piper only had one left. Aerrow gathered his squadron and started to travel to the factory. What they didn't know was that you would have to travel straight through nomad territory to reach it. They were in for a rough time, indeed.
They set up camp and went to sleep.
Aerrow awoke the next morning to find he was in a nomad camp. His whole squadron was there, except for Junko. There was a rope lying on the ground. He realized that his wrists were bound. So were Finn and Piper's. She probably didn't know that there was a nomad camp between them and the factory.
He could hear voices outside, but couldn't tell what they were saying. They were all speaking at once. The most he could decipher was "Outrageous! Why would they do such a thing?! They better--". It was a woman speaking. She sounded young, but responsible. Then a man walked in. He looked important. Beside him walked the black-robed man who bumped into Finn the day before. Both men had hoods on. Aerrow was the only one who was awake. The man gave a gesture and pointed at Aerrow. The man with black robes untied Aerrow's bonds. Aerrow stood up.
"Why do you trespass on our territory?" the man said as he pulled down his hood. The man seemed to be about seventy years old. He had a big, grey beard, blue eyes and a tall, thin stone staff.
"We are trying to find a Cyclonian weapons factory so we can get rid of it." Aerrow replied. The man told the robed man to untie Finn and Pipers bonds. "That factory is causing a lot of trouble for us, too. The smoke coming from it is spoiling our food and the grime is poisoning our drinking waters."
"I am Elder Dozu, of the Lorka nomad tribe. My son, please let these people see your face." The black-robed man pulled down his hood and a black-haired, blue-eyed face greeted Aerrow and his friends. "Your friend has quite the appetite." the Elder said. "He beat my younger brother in a stink-egg eating competition. But mind you, it was quite close. 33-37!" Finn and Piper awoke, and stood up.
"Where are we?" Piper asked, staring around. Aerrow went over to her
Aerrow replied "We're in a nomad camp. I think we can trust these people." Piper greeted the elder and followed him out of the tent. Aerrow told Finn where they were and exited the tent, the still-sleepy sharpshooter in tow.
Junko was outside, standing beside a wobbly man who looked to be about sixty years old. And very full. "We have to start traveling soon. Or we won't be able to get rid of the factory." Aerrow said to the elder.
The elder replied "We will send one of our best warriors to travel with you from now on. Kestrel, you will go with them." The elder had told a black-haired man carrying a long bow to go with them.
"As you wish, my Elder. We will leave immediately." Kestrel turned and trotted off, the Storm Hawks following close behind. Once again, the Storm Hawks started travelling toward the factory, with a new ally by their side.
Kestrel was a very nice person, and had an aim that could rival Ravess's. His long bow had a story to it. It was made on Terra Amazonia, Kestrel's homeland, And Kestrel bought it before he left and came to Saharr. He had nasty tangle with a Saharrian Razorbat and awoke the next day in a nomad camp, the same one Aerrow and his squadron found themselves in. The nomads bandaged him and gave him training to actually use his bow properly. "I owe the Lorka tribe a lot." Kestrel said, concluding his story.
The one exiting event was when Kestrel let Aerrow try his bow. They had to sleep in a drafty tent that night. "Now I know why I only use swords…"Aerrow said gloomily the next day. They continued travelling toward the factory. They reached it the day after. It was a big, grey metal building with a Cyclonian symbol on it. There was a very large storehouse next to it. That's where they're keeping the weapons already made. This isn't going to be easy at all. Aerrow thought. There were heavily armed guards at every possible entrance. This would be very hard, indeed.
Two guards started to walk toward the storehouse. "This is our chance. We can knock out the guards and take their uniforms." Aerrow whispered to his squadron. Aerrow and Kestrel snuck up to the guards and bashed them over the heads with a couple of rocks. "We'll need to find three more uniforms." Aerrow whispered to Kestrel. He nodded and picked up some more rocks. The first two had smashed into pieces. Luckily, there were three guards at the main entrance. And one of them was particularly big. About as big as Junko.
The guards were very heavily armed. Two of them had crystal staffs and the big one had a huge hammer with a Firebolt on the end. Aerrow was right that it wouldn't be easy.
Thanks for reading, and please review! But no flames, or I'll use them for a barbeque. Mmmm... Steak.