Summary
War never changes. It is always the cause of a massive loss of life, and where a few heroes rise to the top. After losing their home world to the Niflheim Empire, the Insomnian Fleet, led by Admiral Regis, is the only thing that stands between the Empire's constant encroachment and the utter destruction of their people.
Noctis, Gladio, and Ignis are junior officers of the Insomnian Fleet, which is to be expected given who their parents are. They're good pilots, some of the best, but even they are unable to avoid disaster when a ship that cannot be seen or tracked enters a battle of attrition.
Prompto Argentum, a Niflheim born master smuggler, is hired by an unknown company to capture one Noctis Lucis Caelum, and deliver him alive and unharmed into equally unknown hands. Simple enough for someone as experienced as Prompto. But what starts as simple winds up being anything but as nothing else goes according to plan.
This little plot bunny has been bouncing around in my head for a while now while I've been on a sci-fi kick. Not sure how far it will go, but I have ideas for a few chapters. It's completely cannon divergent and won't follow the story of the game at all (though I may use some events as inspiration). This chapter is a little shorter than my usual, but was just something for me to try out and see if the theme fits. Let me know if you enjoy it :)-l-l-l-
"Noct!" Ignis shouted, feeling his heart drop in his chest as the red glow of the explosion coloured his face. No, this could not be happening, no no no!
"Iggy!" Gladio's voice came over the com. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Gladio's fighter wizz by overhead, pulse lasers firing, sending another Empire fighter up in flames. "Pull yourself together and look for an escape pod," he snapped.
Ignis swallowed, took a breath and closed his eyes. When he opened them again he was composed and in control once more, pushing aside the after image of watching his friend's fighter explode, with them helpless to prevent it. "Right," he muttered, and he gunned the thrusters of his ship, activating the scanners to look for any sign of an escape pod in the wreckage, trusting Gladio to cover him from enemy fire.
-l-l-l-
Admiral Regis grit his teeth as he watched the holographic image of the battle play out before him, his hands tightening on the cane he was forced to use when standing for long periods of time. The battle was… not going well. Not poorly, for the most part they were holding their own, but they were not making any headway either. At this rate they would be forced to concede this sector to the enemy, something that he was hoping to avoid.
Now though, he was more concerned with the fate of his son, out there in the emptiness of space. He had watched his son's fighter blink out from the display, indicating its destruction, had heard the other's re-coordinating their actions with the loss of one of their commanders. He had always known this was a possibility, they all did, not a person in this room didn't have a friend or relative or both out their fighting and not everyone was going to make it back alive. But it was one thing to know it, and another to feel it.
"I found his pod," Ignis's voice came over their coms. "There are life signs on board."
Regis closed his eyes and allowed himself a breath of relief, but it wasn't to last and his eyes shot open in alarm as Ignis continued.
"Wait it… it's gone."
"What? Gone? Gone how?" Ulric demanded.
"Just… just gone. It was on my sensors, I had the cargo scoop open ready to collect it, and then it disappeared," Ignis replied. He was rattled, Regis could hear it in his voice. Unsurprising; Ignis was like an older brother to his son, but nonetheless unusual for the usually composed young man.
Clarrus, Regis's right hand man and Vice Admiral of the Insomnian Fleet, stepped forward. He held open the mic as he spoke his orders, "Scientia, return to base, your sensors must be faulty. Send the co-ordinates you last saw the pod to Guard unit. Guard Unit, use the co-ordinates Scientia sends you to locate that escape pod; you're on search and recovery. Glaive Unit One, cover the Guard Unit. Glaive Unit Two, press the attack, left flank, co-ordinates incoming."
Clarus glanced to Regis as he stepped back to the responses to his orders and the Admiral gave him a small nod of approval. For now, that was all they could do.
-l-l-l-
Prompto sped away unseen from the battle, leaving the turmoil behind him. His ship was running silent and while in that mode it couldn't be picked up on any scanners, so long as he remembered to eject the thermal pods every now and then to keep the engine cool. Consequently it meant he couldn't inspect his new cargo no matter how much he wanted to. He had a contract to keep and his reputation meant he had to get away without anyone from either side even knowing he was there. So far he was successful, but it was tricky and required his concentration; it took careful flying not to allow any of the debri or a stray shot to strike him.
Only once he was well clear of the battle did he take his ship out of silent running mode and set it to auto. At the press of a few buttons he saw a screen of the cargo bay where he had the escape pod stored and smirked to himself when he saw his target out and about, or rather stomping about, looking every bit the irritable royal shit he was reported to be.
Instead of going immediately to the cargo bay, however, he opened a line to his employer. "It's done," he said. "The raven has had its wings clipped."
The woman on the com screen in front of him rolled her eyes. "Really, Prompto, this isn't one of your intrigue stories," she said, her tone tired.
Prompto just laughed. "Oh come on, it's more fun this way!" She just shook her head in response. "Fine, fine, I'm on my way to you."
"He's uninjured?" she asked.
Prompto glanced at the other screen, the one showing his captive. He did look a bit singed around the edges, he was forced to admit. And even though he was up and walking around, he was holding one arm close to his chest. "Not entirely, but nothing life threatening," he said with a nonchalant shrug. "It couldn't be helped, not like he was just going to jump out of his fighter if I asked nicely, no matter how charming I am," he said, flashing her his best alluring smile.
"Nice try," the woman said dryly. "Get moving. And make sure to patch the guy up at least, we need him on our side."
"Yeah, yeah," Prompto said, flipping a hand to her and leaning back in his chair, snagging a packet of chips and popping a couple in his mouth.
"Seriously Prompto. And be careful around him. I'll see you soon," she said before the screen went blank.
Prompto turned in his chair slightly to watch the target lean angrily back against the pod. He glared at up at the camera and Prompto was met with striking dark blue eyes. He grinned. So the navy brat had already found the camera. Well at least he was observant if nothing else. Well, sort of. He hadn't found the medical supplies kept in the cargo bay in case of emergencies, but that wasn't really all that surprising since they were through one of the hidden doorways. Noctis Lucis Caelum, navy brat of some notoriety, would not have any reason to suspect anything was not as he could see.
But he was still holding his arm as though it were hurting him. Feeling a twinge of sympathy - it was Prompto who had shot him out of the sky after all - he activated the mic and, for the lols, pinched his nose. "Welcome to the SS Chocobo. This is your captain speaking. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for flying with us today and to inform you of this ship's amenities. You are currently in the cargo hold, one of two rooms where you will be remaining for the duration of our flight. To your left is your cabin, equipped with a basic bathroom for your comfort." He triggered the door to open. To his credit, Noctis only glanced towards the doorway before going back to glaring at the camera. "I'm sure you'll find everything you need in there, including some medical supplies under the sink. Now get comfortable, relax, and enjoy the ride. I hope you choose the SS Chocobo for your next abduction. Have a good day."
Prompto turned off the mic, but not the camera, and grinned, quite pleased with himself. He still had to figure out how he was going to feed the guy but continue to protect himself; the little cabin attached to the cargo hatch didn't include any kind of kitchen. Normally if he was smuggling people they were willing and had actually hired him. This was the first time he was smuggling someone unwilling, let alone such a high value target as the son of the Admiral of the Insomnian Fleet. But he was sure he would think of something. After all, he didn't have his reputation as the best smuggler in the Empire for nothing.