"If I leave...then Cyclonia will fall within a matter of days" The Champion of Cyclonia's words shattered the silence that had forged into a tense glass between Master and Servant. Cyclonis' request was a bizarre one, had things been different he would have corrected such a strategical error but he was too consumed in anger to care for her or his own well being, he just wanted to burn lines in the sky and never look back.
'Seems I am finally going to get what I deserve'
"That is why your banishment shall only be temporary, your rage is causing is a liability in my Empire, and whilst it rules you, Cyclonia is no longer your Terra"
"I'm the liability!?" He spun around, fury frothing at his lips as he stared into the witch's back. "You're the one who has allowed this defiance to infect your people!
"Enough! I need some time to think, please leave...I don't want to have to call the guards" She spoke an empty threat; he could hear it in her voice. They both knew that no amount of guards could stop him, it was merely a gesture.
"Fine" He turned back and marched, disappointment staying his feet and at the same time a bizarre tingling sensation of what felt like freedom surging in his heels as he headed for his skimmer. No sooner had he taken 3 steps did he hear her panicking voice call after him but it would only fall on unyielding ears.
"Do you regret being with me? Almost spoken weakly, as if she feared what response he would conjure but there was no point spiting her, it would only cripple his plans further and as such apathy guided his reply.
"I am a soldier...I don't have the luxury to look back...but with you, it's the future I can't bear to look at" The words he spoke weren't cloaked in deception, if anything it was the most truthful thing he had said to her this evening, regret was the furthest emotion from his mind in regards to their past but thoughts of the future sent terror down his spine like an electrical conduit.
"Ace..." The gentle request held no meaning to him anymore, his hands were already twitching in yearn for the throttle of his vehicle and the anticipation of immanent freedom made him ravenous for the sweet sensation of clouds.
"While I am banished, I am your humble servant no longer" And with those words he left; her, Cyclonia, servitude...for the first time in years he was finally free and even with what had conspired, he couldn't be happier...regardless of how 'temporary' this agreement was.
'Clutch, Brake, Throttle, Release, Drive, Jump, Fly...to where?'
Thousands of times he had left that hanger. This however was the first time that he had no direction, no commands, no orders-nothing.
"Guess it really doesn't matter where I go, I'll let the accelerator decide" He mused to himself, smirking as he gazed into the cloud horizon that blanketed the mountains before him, listening to the sound of his Switchblade's engine roaring as it screeched through the skies. The Dark Ace performed countless aerial stunts, flying through clouds, jumping off his skimmer and falling through clouds, gliding over the Atmos and all because he could.
It wasn't until sometime of indulging in such exhilarating activities for his untamed spirit to calm itself. Seated upon his Sky Ride once more, he examined his radar. Didn't seem too interesting, nothing but wastelands below...which from memory, was not correct at all. He dove his vehicle downwards, plummeting under the clouds and began patrolling at the top of the canyons that gave passage to the serpent ridden lava. Again and again his crimson eyes scanned along the mountain sides but he could not find what he searched for.
'Something isn't right, it used to be just there...but there was no record of any conflict down here and there aren't even any remains from it's existence'
Halting in mid air, he studied the radar once more. The device was operating normally, registering the configuration of terrain which matched with what he saw. Taking one last scan of the area, he flew his Skimmer down to the molten hell, landing on the hot earth bank-barely ten metres away from the river of fire. Dark Ace walked cautiously towards the mountain side, curiously extending his hand out in front of him.
'Clank'
The metal brace on his backhand found something that his eyes could not see. Roughly one hundred metres off the mountain's face was the place he was searching for...the Maelstrom Mining Facility; One of Cyclonis' side projects that was kept out of even Cyclonia's eye sight...but this was taking the suggestion too far, the Facility no longer emitted an ID signature, which means someone still resides here and they don't want to be found. Slowly drawing his sword he strained to even visualise the outline of the structure but to no avail, its cloaking technology was definitely on par with the current issue he utilized and that alone deeply disturbed him.
'This facility was constructed at the start of the Reclamation War but it stopped production over 6 years ago...how can it possibly have modern technology if it is for all intents and purposes, inactive?'
Ace charged his blade and then drove it into the invisible structure before him. As the electrical discharge disrupted the cloaking field, his jaw dropped. The ancient facility he remembered had been modified into a military grade base, fully augmented with the latest technology available to Cyclonian forces.
"What is this!?" He yelled, anger and confusion poorly shielding the fear that began to claw at his spine as several gun turrets appeared from the Facilities structure and targeted him, eye to barrel.
"This is the Separatist's hidden base of operations, unfortunately your reward for finding us will be death, nothing personal Dark Ace, it's just that your death will make our mission tenfold easier" The sarcastic tone of the female over the loudspeaker irked him in what seemed to be his final moments yet even as he stared death in the face his inquisitiveness drove him to speak
"You know who I am?
"Of course we do, we are Cyclonian just like you; don't tell me you have forgotten that you are Cyclonia's superstar? The girl's contemptuous tone would have seen his blade at her throat but she did have the persuasive argument of over twenty auto cannons aimed at his head. The goal was merely to keep her talking, Ace knew that if you can't control the game, play by their rules and not your own.
"How is it possible that you have managed to remain undetected for all this time?" His question had a near obvious silver lined compliment to it, as much as anger's beacon for sword to meet flesh echoed within, Ace dampened the urge with reminding himself of his rapid demise should he play his cards wrong.
"Oh, I see what you are trying to do, stall the bad guys huh? So you can go and tell that witch we are here? Nice try! But I've wanted to hang you up as an ornament for way too long to let you pull that lame routine"
'What the fuck is wrong with this girl?'
"I no longer serve Cyclonis" He called out to the loudspeaker, struggling to contain the panic as the gun turrets spun up in preparation for firing.
"I don't believe you" The gun turrets almost reached the crescendo of rotation frequency, Ace clenched his fists, both trying to keep his cool while simultaneously preparing to be ripped to shreds by crystal shards.
"Why else would I be roaming the Atmos? He called out, the death machines making an ear splitting noise as the danced on the edge of unleashing pure hell.
"I don't know...but I still don't trust you and you are still going to die" Ace swore that if he lived to see another day, he would kill this annoying girl.
"Wait! Are you in charge of this rebellion?" Sweat almost pooled on his brow as he began to feel the heat of the friction of lead from the gun barrels hit his skin.
"Not exactly, I am second in command though, why does it matter? The turrets spinning stabilized, they spun at a more even frequency. The Dark Ace swallowed hard, trying to glance back at his skimmer and wondering if he could make the sprint before the turrets wound back up again. Collecting himself, he spoke again.
"Because if you were in command you would understand that I would be far more valuable alive than dead, especially under the circumstances that I no longer serve your alleged enemy" As soon as he said that deal breaker, Ace already dreaded a more than likely reality; he could either be torn to shreds by gun turrets, or be the prisoner of this sadistic psycho.
"Hmmm, that does make sense...alright...we'll take you prisoner, it's not like you can ever get out of this place...alive."
The station deactivated its cloaking shield and so did two guards either side of him. Ace felt a sensation akin to embarrassment, his pride would have been wounded for the fact of failing to hear the breathing of the close proximity men, only they weren't men but instead machine.
"Impressive" He muttered, as the guards let him feel the heat of their Firebolt crystal's on his back as they prodded him with staves. Upon entering the mountainside facility, Ace was baffled at the modern technology the building utilized. As the guards escorted him down the corridors, he deftly made notes of the structural layout; it was always useful to know where you are going during an escape. The harsh reality of the facility being located next to a river of lava started to make sweat bead on his brow.
'Figures, I trade one prison for another. Even for me, getting out of here won't be easy; The place is practically a maze and bound to be crawling with more of those synthetic stealth units...even if I do manage to get outside, there will be those damn turrets waiting for me...on the bright side I guess I will be able to satisfy my rage with butchering these rebel scum once I'm free but for now, I have a reputation to live up to'
Another automatic door opened to reveal what appeared to be the central control room for the station. The entire room was encircled by computers; lighting up the screens seemed to be a mixture of lava flow and crystal mining diagnostics to strategic layouts to Terra Cyclonia. Ace's eyes ran over several soldiers he recognized operating the vast array of technology, a few of them even shooting surprised glances in his direction-to which he replied a sadistic smirk, one that ensured an agonizing demise once he escaped. In the room's centre was an android like figure conversing with a woman who sat on one of the edge of a centre table.
"Mistress, here is the man you requested be taken prisoner" The gaurd announced in a static tone, ushering Ace forward towards the young woman who swiftly slid off the table and approached him. He felt his heels cement into the iron floor; walking towards him was a crimson haired girl with a scar over her the left of her turquoise coloured eyes. A short leather jacket encompassed her iron chest plate and revealed a battle firmed torso, while sheathed daggers adorned her long pants-everything about her screamed a battle lust he could relate too very well.
"Hello Dark Ace...so glad you could join us" As Ace stared into her eyes, he saw a reflection...not of himself but of his own eyes in hers and for the first time, he understood what it was like to be on the receiving end of his own vehement gaze.
"The pleasure is all mine I assure you" If sadistic rage had a sound, then it's screeching symphony could be heard between the two fierce warriors as Ace's volcanic eyes burned into her sinister turquoise irises.
"Return to your posts droids and be on the lookout for more Imperials." The young woman commanded and the two robots turned and exited.
"If you're expecting a strike force then brace for disappointment, I came here alone" Toe to toe they stood off against each other, her size, muscle tone and weapon choice reflected flexibility but Ace had the advantage of reach and strength-an interesting duel simmered on the hilts of their weapons as anxious finger tips from both fighters quivered at the anticipation for bloodshed.
"Observation; My scanners register no attempt of deception, the human speaks the truth" The uniquely designed machine cut the tension between the two as it addressed Ace's prior statement.
"If you say so General..." She exhaled with disappointment and began to walk off before smirking and leaning up to the Rogue Knight's ear.
"See you around Ace" He couldn't help but grin at her words that oozed a sweet promise of violence, as early on as their acquaintanceship was-they both knew it would end blade to blade. As he watched he walk off he couldn't help but respect her, Ace had never met someone who shared his lust for conflict and the young Separatist seemed to be quite eager to satisfy that desire.
'If I didn't want to kill her so badly, we would probably have been good friends in another time.' He mused as the automatic door closed behind her and his attention returned to the odd automation that apparently held the rank of General.
"Preliminary Statement; Greetings sentient, I am called T.E.X; Tactical Experimental Xenobot. I am in command of this facility and the entire Separatists Union-what is your purpose here? The dialect spoken by the droid was gravelly, static so heavy it almost overlayed the robot's speech as a makeshift voice tone-either way, Ace was going to need to get used to talking to this machine, he had a feeling he would be in this facility for an indefinite period of time.
"I have defected from Cyclonia and heard a rumour that such an organization existed that was dedicated to overthrowing the Empress" As he spoke those words, the automation seemed to calculate what had been said as a chorus of buzzing and whirring poured sounded from its mechanical head.
"Interjectory Amendment; Incorrect, you're defection is not registered in the Cyclonian databases" It's lifeless light's for eyes made it's reaction impossible to read, he could not predict its responses like he could with humans...the machine yielded absolutely nothing in the way of emotional flaws-something he had often pondered having.
"My defection was only recent; I doubt the Empress would have had time to document my leave. Besides General, I am sure a man of my power and knowledge would serve you well" Already was the Rogue Knight treading lightly around attempts to deceive this hyper aware droid, using evasive statements that only encompass half of the truth seemed the best way to go, wear the hat for the occasion as the saying went.
"Rectification; Your time parameter correction has been factored. You're assistance would significantly increase our chances of success, however the percentage of logic in your motives is disturbingly low" The thought of scraping this talkative droid had already passed through his mind several times and only ignorance of the machine's true capabilities steadied his hand as it fought against said resistance to silence the machine announcing what type of speech format it is using every time it speaks.
"Recollection; As prior mentioned, the probability of defection for the Dark Ace is next to impossible, it is however more than likely you will feed our forces false information in an effort to benefit Cyclonia.
"Conclusive Threat; To negate deception you shall be tortured to raise the probability of correct data, after data is extracted you will be integrated into our forces where you will be granted an opportunity to prove your loyalty to the Separatist Union."
The Rogue Knight had his mission and he took a brief moment to allow his thoughts to wander back to Cyclonis and how much she knew of all this. A soft torque noise of the automation's synthetic joints had the robot's arm pointing towards the door the woman had used. Taking one last glance at the treacherous soldiers that eyed him, he left before the droid could speak again, sparring himself the torture as he made his way to the torture chamber but as he marched down the corridors with heartless wall mounted turret's for tour guides, he burned the faces of those disloyal dogs into his mind, swearing their defiance would be served the proper retribution from his blade. The Rogue Knight had survived things in his life only whispered about in nightmares and he knew he would survive whatever these rebel mongrels could do to him but whether Cyclonis could was something that brought him pain in his many hours of suffering to come.
