Darkening Skies: The Cyclonia Ascendant
The Storm Hawks world concept is copyright to Nerd Corps and Asaph Fipke.
Aerrow, Stork, Piper, Starling, Junko, Finn, Radarr and other Sky Knights are the intellectual property of Asaph Fipke and copyright to Nerd Corps.
Master Cyclonis, Dark Ace, Ravess, Snipe and the Talons are the intellectual property of Asaph Fipke and copyright to Nerd Corps.
Repton and the Raptors are the intellectual property of Asaph Fipke and copyright to Nerd Corps.
Ageless Specter, Lord Xivor and The Ancients are the intellectual property of AgelessSpecter and used with permission.
Marrshal, Psychos and Lord Astrel are my intellectual property; please credit them as such if for some reason you use them.
Chapter 5
"A frontal attack? How can they be so ignorant?" Piper griped as she and Aerrow walked back to the Condor after attending a meeting with the Sky Knights some days later, "I mean, they tried that before with the Aurora Stone and it didn't work, what makes them think it will this time? And they didn't even take my suggestion seriously when I presented an alternative plan for the counter-attack. Sometimes I wish they would finally recognize us as full fledged Sky Knights so then we could actually make a difference in these meetings." Aerrow simply walked alongside her, content to let her finish venting her frustration before he said anything.
"It's okay Piper, we'll just do it ourselves, besides this isn't any harder than when we raided Cyclonia a few years back." Aerrow said as he noticed another Sky Knight walking towards them.
"Excuse me; I'm Nimbus, one of the Sky Knights from Terra Meteora." The man said as he caught up with the pair, "I'm sorry about the reception your plan received back there, so many of the other Sky Knights prefer to follow the lead of the Rex Guardians and you know how 'honorable' they can be. I for one think that your plan has more promise to it and would be happy to assist."
"Really? Thanks, we'll need all the help we can get to make this as successful as possible." Aerrow said and the trio neared the Condor's boarding ramp, "If you'd like to join us for an impromptu briefing aboard the Condor, we'd be happy to have you."
"Sure, anything to help." Nimbus said as the three walked up the boarding ramp, Aerrow giving Piper a little nod. Piper understood; this was a little convenient and, while it was improbable that Nimbus was anything other than a Sky Knight, Starling's recent warnings about Shar had them all on edge a little.
"Glad to hear it, while Aerrow gathers the other Storm Hawks, would you help me carry some things out of my room?" Piper asked nicely as Aerrow headed for Finn's room.
"Sure." Nimbus said evenly as the two walked to Piper's room. Once inside, Piper began pulling out various maps and charts as well as some design specifications. At random intervals, she would ask Nimbus to hold something for her while she checked under or behind where it was. One of the items she tossed to him happened to be a blocker crystal, and as Nimbus caught it, she cast a covert glance backward to see if anything happened. Despite the presence of the blocker crystal, nothing appeared to be happening to Nimbus, although he could have hid a cloaking crystal elsewhere. Just to check, Piper made sure to 'accidentally' drop the blocker crystal. Aside from a flash when the crystal passed by Nimbus's weapon belt, nothing unusual happened.
"Sorry about that." Nimbus said as he bent down to pick up the crystal, "I really should be more careful, blocker crystals like this are hard to come by. How did you manage to get your hands on one?"
"Just lucky I guess; although the thing was a real pain to refine, let me tell you." Piper said as she put the blocker back in its holder, "So you know about crystals then?"
"Not really, except for weather altering crystals, most of what I know is hearsay and information I manage to glean from the books I have. But they're mostly history and engineering books so they don't really contain too much pertinent information."
"History and engineering? That's an odd combination."
"Well, I'm the mechanic for my squad; the history is more of a hobby really." Nimbus explained as the two headed up to the bridge, "I really don't plan on being a Sky Knight forever, no offense, but it's just not for me. That's maybe part of the reason why I'm helping… I know it sounds selfish, but the faster Cyclonia falls the sooner I can indulge my real interests and helping you sounds like it will bring about that dream a little faster."
"Well, I guess I can't blame you." Piper said, not entirely certain how to respond. After all, this guy seemed to have less than stellar motives although he seemed to be more free-thinking in his approach and was motivated, always a plus. Time alone would tell.
As the two entered the bridge, they found the remainder of the Storm Hawks waiting for them. Nimbus took up a position next to Starling after setting the items he was transporting down while Piper setup her presentation. Aerrow started to walk over to help, but Piper waved him off; this presentation would not take long to set up in any case.
"Okay everyone." Piper said as she finished setting up her supplies, "From what we know of the mining terra from the Sky Knight meeting, the terra had significant defense lines. In addition to a Sky Knight squadron, the terra also boasts numerous cannons both shielded and unshielded and a barrier of clouds hiding it from view. Inside this thick cloud layer are numerous floating mine fields guided on a precise schedule and massive rock spires that stick far up into normal traffic lanes. Since the Cyclonians have seized control, it's a fairly safe bet that the Sky Knights are gone as well as most of the defensive turrets and thanks to the freighter captains we know the safe routes through the cloud bank. That leaves only the Cyclonians as the real threat, and we know that there were five destroyers with the assault force. That number has decreased to two, although that is still a substantial force, especially considering the power of each destroyer and how many Talons they each can deploy. Although the other Sky Knights think they can overcome these obstacles, I think we might like to try a plan with more finesse and less risk to the individual."
"With this in mind, I paid close attention during the meeting and found something very interesting." Piper continued as she rolled out a subterranean map of the mine terra. "As you can see here, there is a cavern system that opens out the side of the terra below the line of any sentries they may have stationed in the mining complex. These caves have another exit located inside the defensive perimeter. We should be able to sneak inside and plant some explosive crystals onboard the destroyers. That way, we can sabotage them prior to the arrival of the Sky Knights. We can then return to our skimmers and commence a more formal assault. With us adding to the pandemonium caused by the detonations, the Talons will be unprepared for the Sky Knight assault that is soon to follow. We'll have to be careful not to be spotted, but otherwise, I think we're good to go. Any questions?" After waiting a few minutes to see if anyone had any questions, the Storm Hawks quickly went to their stations and launched, since they needed to arrive a significant amount of time ahead of the attack proper.