Terra Rium...A Warmer Welcome

The Storm Hawks had been moving behind Gubbio's carrier for at least twenty minutes now, and everybody's nerves were a little on edge. Stork was constantly checking the pressure gauges and atmospheric read-outs. Finn was keeping himself busy by polishing ever last tiny bit on his crossbow as he sat on the couch. Junko was looking over everybody's skyrides in the hanger, double checking to see if they were still in proper working order. Aerrow hadn't stopped staring out the windshield, and Piper was trying her best to make a map from the different course corrections they had been making while following Gubbio.

A beep from from in coming transmission served to brake the tense silence of The Condor's bridge. Piper moved to answer the call. "Hello?" She asked into the microphone, already having a good idea who was on the other end.

"We're about to clear the cloud sea." Harley's voice came over the radio. "We have a dock made just for you, it will be lit up by flares that you should be able to see once you clear the clouds." There was a pause as Piper heard the sounds of a microphone being passed to someone else.

"Remember what I said before." Gubbio's gruff voice came over the radio now. "Your pilot and little mascot are to remain on your carrier."

"I still don't understand why you have a problem with them." Piper said, her voice carried an annoyed tone. "Stork and Radarr are are a member of our crew, our family."

"You have to trust me when I say that is really for the best." Gubbio said, his voice sounded tired. "We're coming through now, you should be clear in a moment. We'll see you on the ground." There was a sharp click as the transmission went silent.

Piper moved away from the communications console, making her way toward the windshield to get a good view of the oncoming terra. The shadow of Gubbio's freighter disappeared from in front of them and the clouds began to thin. As they flew forward, the clouds almost seemed to pull back like the curtain on a stage.

They could see the terra below them. It wasn't one of the largest terras they had ever seen, but it was far from small. Every inch of it looked like it was covered in greenery, resembling a jungle. In the distance they could see flares signaling them down, directing them towards a makeshift dock that seemed to hang off the terra, scraping into the cloud cover. The clouds themselves made for the most interesting sight. They seemed to move around the terra, almost as if avoiding it. They swirled around the terra to make an ever shifting dome of clouds, completely covering it.

"I wonder why the clouds move like that?" Aerrow asked as he gazed out the windshield.

"It must have something to do with the natural energies in the clouds." Piper said as she took in the environment. "Something down there must have a kind repulsing effect on the clouds. It's actually kinda beautiful though, the way they swirl around."

"Oh yeah, beautiful." Stork said as he gazed down at the terra. "A forest packed with who knows what kind of creatures. Practically a breeding ground for all kinds of viruses and bacteria." Stork shook off the thoughts of possible infections as he focused on piloting. "In a way, I'm glad they don't want me on their terra."

"Always looking on the bright side." Piper said with a slight grin as she shifted her gaze to the fidgeting pilot. She gently put her hand on his shoulder in a friendly manner.

Stork was immediately aware of Piper's hand on his shoulder, trying his best not to react. He felt as though his insides were trying to wiggle out of him, and his heart began to race. Thankfully, before his face turned a darker shade of green, she pulled her hand back and went back to looking down at the terra.

"I can see the town." She said quickly, pointing down at a small gathering of houses not far from the dock. "Not exactly very welcoming looking."

As The Condor came in closer to dock, Aerrow and Stork could make out that the dwellings were a bit primitive looking. They had most likely been built using the local trees and other materials, giving them a strong rustic look. What stood out the most were a series of gun towers that surrounded the settlement. These were made of metal with powerful anti-aircraft guns mounted on each one.

"Looks like they spent more effort on building those defense towers than the actual town." Aerrow said as Stork pulled into he dock. "Of course, looking at the guy who leads them I can't say that's really a surprise."

The Condor jolted slightly as it came to rest by the dock, a pair of strong looking grappling arms extended out and anchored The Condor in place.

"Well, let's go meet the locals." Aerrow said with a slight feeling of dread building in his gut. I just hope the locals don't mind meeting us. He thought to himself as he and Piper made their way through the ship and out onto the docking port. Junko and Finn were quick to follow. The team moved quickly onto the recently built dock, looking around and not actually seeing anyone.

"Hello?" Aerrow asked with a raised voice as he stepped forward onto the ground. He took a few more cautious steps forward looking out into the distance at the houses just beyond a small bit of brush. The leaves began to move on a bush just in front of where the team was standing and Serrow found himself unsure of exactly how he should react. I don't want to draw my weapons on someone that I'm here to protect. He kept himself calm as he continued to watch the shaking bush.

Suddenly, a leg shot out from the bush followed quickly by a short bald man tumbling out after it. Aerrow rushed over to help the man to his feet. He was wearing a pair of tan shorts with a simple white button-up shirt, a well worn pair of hiking boots on his feet. He used a cane to steady himself as he proceeded to smack some dirt off his clothes, after he finishing he looked up at Aerrow with a warm smile and bright green eyes. He extended his hand to Aerrow. "Pleasure to meet you, my name is Francis."

Aerrow took the man's hand and nearly had his shoulder wrenched from it's socket by the force the man was putting behind the hand shake. Aerrow managed to free his hand as he smiled at Francis, quickly introducing himself and his present teammates. "We have two more on the ship, but Gubbio said it would be best that they didn't come on to the terra."

"Yes, Gubbio mentioned them yesterday after he got back from meeting you." Francis said, his smile changed to a slight frown. "It's true, unfortunately. Your pilot would be nothing more than a target for this worried lot. And you furried friend...well, that's a whole other matter that's hard to explain."

"What do you mean?" Aerrow asked, his curiosity piqued.

"It's not really my place to say at this point." Francis said, his voice sounded a little tired. "It's Gubbio's decision on whether or not to trust you."

Piper moved up to the man, looking around to see if anyone else was going to pop up. "Where is everyone?"

"Oh, well you see, they're a bit shy around new people." Francis said cheerfully as he began to move back toward the town, motioning the Storm Hawks to follow. "Can't really blame them. They've been living an isolated life for a while now." He continued to move into the the small settlement. "The last new person to set foot here was Stryker, and he wasn't exactly the most pleasant fellow." Francis said as he moved toward what seemed to be the center of the town, sitting down on a circular bench that was set around a large stone.

"We know what you mean." Aerrow said as he moved up next to where Francis had stopped. He looked around at the houses, catching small glimpses of eyes that were peering at him from behind curtains. "So why are you so friendly when everyone else is hiding?"

"I'm a bit different from everyone else here." Francis said, his grin faltered for a moment before he continued. "I've been around since this settlement began almost twenty years ago, before then I traveled all around the Atmos. I became used to dealing with various types of people."

Aerrow looked around again, the feeling of so many sets of eyes staring at him was causing him to feel a little uncomfortable. "What's taking Gubbio so long?" He asked to no one in particular as he continued to look around.

"He'll be along in a moment." Francis said as he looked up at Aerrow. "There's something that they have to do as soon as they come back to the terra."

"What?" Finn spoke up now, he was feeling a little impatient. "Write in their journals or something?"

Francis looked over at Finn, his casual grin changed to a serious look. "Their doing a small ceremony." He said with a slightly sad tone to his voice. "They're paying their respects to the original squadron that guarded and died for this terra."

Finn stayed quiet as he looked at Francis, unsure of what to say.

"Original squadron?" Aerrow was beginning to feel confused. "The way Gubbio acts, I just figured he always protected the terra."

"In a way, he has." Francis said, his voice started to sound distant as he thought back to older days. "But there was another team that protected this terra back when we first came here. They stayed on to protect the terra as it's official squadron. They were a brave group, but they were caught unprepared on that fateful day. When they fell, Gubbio took up the responsibility and wouldn't let another team on the terra."

"What about Stryker?" Piper asked, moving closer to to haer the man better.

"Stryker was a middleman between us and the Sky Council." Francis explained, shifting his weight on the bench to feel more comfortable. "He over saw the mining operation and transport of crystals. In exchange for our mining and providing the crystals, we're allowed to continue our existence as a settlement."

"I'm not sure what you mean by that?" Aerrow said, something in the back of his mind was nagging him but he couldn't put his finger on it. "You sound like this place isn't a real colony."

Francis smiled, giving Aerrow a playful look. "I guess you could say that. We are real just not officially recognized by the Sky Council. Here's something I'm sure you haven't noticed. What's the name of Gubbio's squadron?"

Aerrow looked around at his friends, searching his memory to try and remember. Everyone gave Aerrow a shrug or a shake of the head, indicating that they didn't know.

"They don't have one." Francis said with a slight laugh. "Gubbio never saw much point in a name for a team that would never be registered as a real squadron. He isn't an actual sky knight either. They gave him the title when he refused to let another squadron assigned to the terra. They didn't like the idea of dealing with the leader of a terra who wasn't at least a sky knight."

"So if Gubbio isn't a sky knight..." Aerrow began but was silenced by Francis raising his hand.

"Gubbio is a better sky knight than most I have met in my different travels." Francis said, giving Aerrow a dtermined look. "How he got the title title isn't as important as what he does with it."

Aerrow was about to ask more, but was interrupted by the sudden appearance of a figure rushing across the open area. "Grandpa." The familiar boy they knew as Rick was running towards the seated Storm Hawks took a moment to stare again at the old man and then shift they're gaze back to Rick.

I guess we know here Rick got his friendly attitude from. Aerrow thought to himself as he watched the Rick approach.

Francis got to his feet, leaning onto his cane for support. "Rick, I wondering when you would coming running." Francis said to the boy as he looked at him with a smiling face. "Where is your father?"

"He's coming, he's always so slow coming back from the there." Rick said as he turned his attention to Aerrow and company. "What do you think of the place so far?"

"It's..." Aerrow paused as he looked around at the buildings. "...quiet."

Rick rolled his eyes and turned his attention to the surrounding buildings. "Come on you scaredy-cats! There here to protect us! They're the Storm Hawks!"

"Stop shouting so much!" Gubbio appeared from the brush just beyond the edge of the town, the rest of his squadron were just behind him. Gubbio made his way over to Aerrow, taking long strides at a casual pace to close the gap. "Welcome to Terra Rium." He said as he approached Aerrow. He noticed Francis was standing next to Aerrow, giving a small nod to the old an. "I see you met my father-in-law."

"Was just telling them a little of our history." Francis said as he smiled at Gubbio.

"Not too much I hope." Gubbio said as he gave Francis a hard look.

"No, that still remains your decision." Francis said with a small sigh. "But I wish you were a bit more trusting, like you used to be. She always liked that about you."

Gubbio didn't say anything to Francis, only shifted his gaze from Francis to the Storm Hawks. "Feel free to look around, except for you Aerrow." Gubbio said as he began to step away from the group, back toward the direction he came from. "We have business to attend to."

Aerrow turned to look at his friends. "Look around and get a feel for this place." He said as he began taking steps to follow Gubbio. "Keep an eye out for anything interesting." He quickly picked up his pace and followed Gubbio through the bush.

The remainder of the team found themselves standing opposite of Brahm, Harley and Quin. Finn was quick to break the ice. "So, where does a guy go to get a hamburger here?." He said in a playful tone to Harley.

"Back the way you came." Harley said with a slightly annoyed tone. "There aren't any wild animals on Terra Rium, so most of us are vegetarians."

"Your kidding me, right?" Finn asked with a nervous smile.

"Not really." Francis spoke up. "It's a lifestyle you get used to after so many years."

"It's really not so bad." Rick said with a smile.

Quin stared daggers at Finn. "But if your hungry for a little protein, I can point the way to the closest thing to meat we got around here."

"Sounds tasty." Junko spoke up as he licked his lips in anticipation.

Rick and Francis shared a chuckle that left the others feeling they were being left out of a joke.

"Follow me." Quin said, his voice still carried an annoyed tone. "I'll take you to Vix's place." He said as he turned to start making his way towards on of the larger buildings towards the end of the street. "I guarantee you've never had food like this before." He finished with a slight laugh.

Finn looked at Piper with a feeling of dread clear on his face. "Some how that makes me more nervous than facing Cyclonis."

Piper rolled her eyes and moved to follow Quin, curious to find out what was on the menu.

........

Aerrow moved to catch up with Gubbio who was already moving at a fast pace through the jungle path.

"So what exactly did he tell you?" Gubbio asked once Aerow had caught up.

"He mentioned that there was a squadron before yours and that your squadron and terra aren't officially recognized by the Sky Council." Aerrow said simply as he moved in time with Gubbio. "I just don't understand why it's like that."

"There's not much to it." Gubbio said simply as he looked at Aerrow with a side glance. "They won't officially sanction us, and I just don't care."

"But what about the squadron before?" Aerrow asked, eager to know the truth brhind Gubbio's past. "What happened to them?"

"Repton." Gubbio said with a tone that told Aerrow he wasn't going to say anything more than that.

Aerrow looked around and realized they were heading for where Gubbio's freighter was docked. "Why are we going back to your ship?"

"We both have questions." Gubbio said simply. "I figured it would be simpler to have you on hand when I get my answers." A grin spread across his face that left a cold feeling running up Aerrow's spine.

It was time to interrogate Repton.

Longer chapter than I realized it would be. And I have a feeling there are plenty of questions going through your heads about now. Well the answers are coming. I'm just currious if any of you have a clue as to what's coming. (insert evil laugh here.) Anyway, next chapter might take a bit longer to get out. Some things have popped up on my end that will be taking up a bit of my time, so it might be a couple of days. Gives you all plenty of time to read and review. See you next time.