Darkening Skies: Death of a Dream
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
Piper silently slammed her fist into a side panel of the Condor's bridge, frustrated at how badly they had failed in their goal. They had been so close to retrieving Aerrow, if only Master Cyclonis had not been there with the Dark Ace, they would have saved him by now. It was clear to her now though that Master Cyclonis would not take any chances with her new servant and would do anything in her power to prevent the Storm Hawks from recovering him. If they were to save him, they would need to wait until Cyclonis let down her guard and grew confident, but that would mean the end of Atmosia, the end of the dream of freedom. No, that was unacceptable, they had to defend Atmosia to the best of their ability, she had already realized this and she would not back down now. If she wanted to save Aerrow, then she needed to step up her plans and do what was necessary to capture him, particularly since the next strike the Cyclonians would make would target Atmosia itself. It was the only logical option left to them really; the Sky Knight Council had recalled every remaining squadron to the terra in order to prevent any further loses before the final assault came. It was hard to believe that everything essentially came down to this next battle; the fate of Free Atmos would be decided in only a few days at most and Piper feared that it would not end well for the Sky Knights, especially considering the reports that were coming through from the scouting parties that were monitoring Cyclonian troop movements. According to these reports, Terra Rex had become a nearly impenetrable fortress of Cyclonian power with twelve destroyers and nearly fifty Cyclonian frigates with countless Talons. Such a massive force could only be intended for an attack on Atmosia itself… Piper was certain of it now, since the Cyclonians had 'proven' the Sky Knights could not win, a strike at Atmosia would permanently destroy morale.
In frustration, Piper shook her head to clear it of such thoughts; to simply contemplate the inevitability of the assault on Atmosia would only amplify her fears about this coming battle. Better to focus on the strategies they would need to employ to stand a chance at victory, and with Harrier now captured by Cyclonis, perhaps the other Sky Knights would listen to her. She quickly grabbed and rolled out a map of Atmosia itself, looking for anything that could provide them with a tactical advantage. She quickly spotted a potential advantage: the lower lands of the terra might provide the perfect staging ground for a counter-attack straight up into the Cyclonian invasion force, provided they hid themselves well. In addition, other Sky Knights could hide elsewhere on the terra itself and provide a second wave of reinforcements… that would help to make it seem like there were many more Sky Knights than there actually were, an important psychological advantage. Another thought occurred to her suddenly with regards to numbers, something that was not shown on any map: Repton and his Raptors were currently being held prisoner on Atmosia. Considering their recent treatment at the hands of the Cyclonians, perhaps they would be willing to join the fight; the only problem was how to present the situation to them. If they truly knew how bad the odds were, Repton might decide to join the Cyclonians instead, just to be on the winning side. At the same time, they had to be made aware of just how bad things were; otherwise they would simply run in fright as soon as the massive Cyclonian fleet appeared. Better to know where the Raptors stood now than to have them desert the battle, and the threat of what would happen to them if the Cyclonians managed to conquer Atmos was likely to be a powerful motivator to convince them to join the Sky Knights. Time would tell, but Repton was no fool, despite how easily they usually were able to humiliate him and his squadron.
"Surely you jest." Repton growled at the female Sky Knight who sat across from him in the cell they both currently shared. The only difference was that she would be allowed to leave whenever she wished while he was condemned to remain confined. Even considering the situation though, it was insulting that she had come to him to ask for help in fending off the impending Cyclonian assault on this doomed terra. The Sky Knights would clearly lose, there was no profit in it for him or his Raptors and he would risk the ire of Cyclonis by helping these stubborn fools.
"I'm serious; surely you must be able to imagine what our world will be like under the rule of Cyclonis." Piper replied evenly, not willing to concede the fight just yet. Certainly Repton was able to see that he and his Raptors would all suffer equally under the dominion of Cyclonis, why would he not admit to it?
"And if we help you, her wrath will be a thousand times greater than otherwise. No thank you, I'll cut my losses now." Repton grunted in a half-defeated tone.
"We might not lose, there is still some chance we may achieve victory. Besides, how can you not want to pay the Cyclonians back for their betrayal of you and your squadron?" Piper added, going for the vengeance angle. For a long time after her question, silence reigned in the cell, disturbed only by the quiet sounds of the other prisoners down the hall. Piper hazarded a look at Repton's downcast face, quickly seeing that the Raptor leader was lost in thought. It was a difficult decision to make and Piper did not envy Repton the conundrum he now faced. At long last however, Repton looked up at Piper, a placid expression on his face.
"Your leader once said that if we joined you, the other Sky Knights would not hold our previous actions against us and we would be free to do as we wished. Does that offer still stand?" Repton asked in a quiet tone.
"It was never rescinded, although I will confess that not all Sky Knights will be as forgiving as Starling was… But, provided you do not continue hunting Sky Knights, they will learn to accept and respect you in time." Piper responded solemnly.
"Very well then, perhaps a chance for freedom from Cyclonia is worth fighting for after all." Repton said earnestly as he stood up. It might be futile, but at least then the Raptors would go out fighting rather than whimpering in some corner like a leaper.
"Glad to have you on our side after all." Piper said as she stood as well. While the Raptors would only add a few pilots to their defense force, they had proven to be more capable than some Sky Knight squadrons and that skill would be invaluable in the battle to come. At least she had managed to accomplish this one victory, now she only had a million things to do before the Cyclonian assault to ensure some chance of victory or at least survival…
Terra Rex…
Master Cyclonis sat in the shadows on her mobile throne room that had been hastily constructed on Terra Rex, contemplating the future of the Cyclonian assault. Marrshal had assured her that their victory at Atmosia was inevitable, but now that she had time to think, she realized that there was a large obstacle to their success, manifested in the form of the Ancients. There was no guarantee that even her two champions would be able to win against such powerful and tenacious opponents and if they managed to capture Night Aerrow then they would surely purify him of her influence. The thought of losing him conjured up a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach, a feeling she recognized as anxiety… Did he truly mean that much to her? The answer immediately came to her: yes, he did mean that much to her, she did not want to go through life without Night Aerrow by her side. While the same was true of the Dark Ace, this was more intense; it went beyond the bond she shared with the Dark Ace, it could almost be called… love? Her mind instantly rebelled at the thought; she was the dark heart of Cyclonia, the very incarnation of malevolence on their world. She could no more be in love than a Merb could be amiable. Yet, she had a Merb under her command who seemed to live a normal life, well, about as normal as a spymaster of Cyclonia could be. Certainly nothing was impossible and had she not told Aerrow that she found him cute?
"My lady?" Marrshal asked, startling her from her perplexing musings.
"What is it Marrshal?" she asked, irritated that she had not been allowed to unravel the confounding mystery her own emotions presented her with.
"You are deep in troubling thoughts… Perhaps if you are willing to share, the advice of another may bring some peace to your troubled mind." The Merb said in a sage tone. His offer was peculiar and earned him a suspicious glare from the master of Cyclonia.
"Now that is odd, why would it matter to you what my thoughts are?" Master Cyclonis retorted, sarcasm heavily tainting her voice.
"Truth be told, after all you have done for me, I would be remiss if I did not help you in some way beyond what is expected of me as a spymaster. You have done me many favors, overlooked flaws that you would have punished any other man for and I wish to show my gratitude." Marrshal replied; an oddly solemn note in his voice, "I believe that is what friends do for each other and I have noticed a certain camaraderie between us. Not as strong as between you and the Dark Ace or Night Aerrow, but they are not here to comfort you right now and I would hate to see you struggle through this alone."
"I see." Master Cyclonis responded cautiously. This was odd behavior for Marrshal, he had always been an odd person but his idiosyncrasies generally seemed to run more on the psychotic side rather than characteristics generally attributed to a friend. Once again, the prospect that Marrshal was not entirely sane crossed her mind, but as usual was quickly dismissed. There was little doubt that Marrshal had some psychotic tendencies, anyone in his line of work did if they wanted to survive, but he often hid his true nature behind a mask of professionalism and his peculiar logic with regards to his job. Perhaps he really was a different person under all those layers of deception, no one would likely ever know for certain. Still, this was an excellent chance to get a look at the actual person Marrshal was, what harm could there be in soliciting his advice this once?
"I think I am… in love." She stated flatly after another moments pause for consideration.
"Interesting…" Marrshal said in an odd tone, any change in his expression hidden by the shadows of his hood. "I had suspected as much for a time now and, though I have little experience with this subject, I can nevertheless offer my opinions and hope they help in some small way. Would you care to hear conciliatory advice or exploitive advice?" he continued. Master Cyclonis had to work to keep from rolling her eyes at his question; she should have suspected that some maniacal aspect of Marrshal's personality would cover the subject of exploiting love.
"Both I suppose… at least one of them will probably help."
"Very well, first off, let us cover the obvious: you are human and all humans have emotions, even if you work to suppress them as you have in favor of becoming purely malevolent. That being said, you should not be ashamed of falling in love with another, rather, you should embrace it as part of who you are. Explore these feelings and find out the true depth of your capacity for love and you will be a better person for it. You will find that being in love can make you happy in a way nothing else can. Being in love can drive you to greater heights of inspiration and creativity and can motivate you to fight on when others would have given up. Or, if that is too mushy for you, you can exploit love to learn how it motivates others to act the way they do and learn how to hurt them the most. Use this as an opportunity harden yourself and become truly malevolent, without care or concern for others by forcing the one you love to reject you and hurt you in ways you never thought possible." The spymaster explained with a calm demeanor, as if he were discussing the weather. For her part, Master Cyclonis could not help but stare in semi-horrified shock at what Marrshal had just said.
"I…" she managed to get out before Marrshal held up a hand to indicate he was not yet finished.
"Now I personally have largely rejected emotion and would not follow either of these paths, but that is not for everyone. My advice is simply based on how I have observed others respond to being in love and, truth be told, I find the first path to be preferable to the second simply because the wholesale rejection of love can only lead one to the madness that often comes from such loneliness. But ultimately, it is your decision and if you think you would rather reject love then I support your decision. If you decide to embrace it, I support your decision and if you decide to deny it then I will still support you."
"I see… thank you Marrshal, you have giving me quite a bit to think about." Master Cyclonis said at last, the numbness left from the horrific nature of his original conclusions rapidly fading now that he had further explained his stance.
"I am glad that I could assist you in this regard, however; though I am loath to presume to give you orders in any matter, the time is not right for you to fully explore your feelings. That kind of soul-searching can be a long process and our goals are rather time sensitive right now, perhaps it would be best to simply take the steps necessary to protect Night Aerrow now so that you can determine how you truly feel at your leisure and unhindered by the taint of denied love." Marrshal quietly whispered to her, ensuring that no Talon would hear.
"It is presumptuous of you, but you're right in this regard, I cannot let my personal conflicts interfere with my long-term goals… I think it is time to reveal my latest crystal creation." Master Cyclonis replied in an equally quiet tone, the fact that Marrshal had concluded that Night Aerrow might be the object of her affections not particularly surprising her. "Summon the other Talon commanders to me and I shall show them something which will make us unstoppable."
"As you wish my lady." Marrshal said before he quietly slipped out of the throne room to find the other Talon commanders.
"This better be good, I was enjoying that sandwich you made disappear." Snipe groused at Marrshal as the five Talon commanders gathered outside the impromptu throne room on Terra Rex.
"Do hold your tongue." Marrshal sniped back harshly as he leapt off to top of the archway over the throne room door and landed silently in front of his follow commanders. "I never do anything without good purpose behind it; if you and your better half would ever communicate you might realize that." Marrshal continued.
"Huh?"
"I think he means if you and your brain ever communicated you might be more perceptive." Night Aerrow responded hesitantly a few seconds later, not entirely sure if that was the actual meaning of Marrshal's thinly veiled insult.
"Why didn't he just say that then?" Snipe asked in a confused tone.
"You are missing the point as usual…" Marrshal rejoined as he backed up to the doors of the throne room, "Regardless, our master has something she wants to show you all and it is assured that this is far more important than some sandwich which is now floating in oblivion."
"Okay, but I still don't see why you had to kill my sandwich…"
"You cannot kill what is already dead, now unless you want to be able to finish eating that sandwich, you will be quiet until our master is finished. She is ready for us now; it would be rude to keep her waiting any longer." Marrshal rasped as he quietly opened the throne room doors, showing the other Talon commanders inside. Once the others were inside, he quietly closed the doors and walked a third of the way around the ovaloid dome and quickly traced a design on the surface with his fingers. Immediately a secret door opened in total silence and Marrshal walked through as the door closed as quietly as it had opened. Upon emerging from the short passageway on the other side of the door, Marrshal stepped up beside the throne Master Cyclonis was seated in; taking pleasure in the surprised looks that crossed the faces of Ravess and Snipe, both of whom were still not used to the spymaster's methods of sneaking around.
"Ah, I am so glad everyone could make it to this little unveiling ceremony." Master Cyclonis announced in a grandiose tone. "As you all are no doubt aware, a new threat has presented itself, a threat which is able to counter even our best commanders. These Ancients are a powerful group of Sky Knights and even Marrshal has limited information on them, so as of now we cannot find any weaknesses to exploit. This means that we must overpower using brute force."
"That's where I come in right?" Snipe interjected suddenly, earning him a wrathful glare from everyone present.
"No, that's not where you come in… Instead, that's where these come in." Master Cyclonis continued, secure in the knowledge that Marrshal would be punishing Snipe in a few minutes. After waiting a second to build some dramatic suspense, she pulled a cloth off a small table next to her, revealing a phasing crystal along with five other red crystals that glowed with an odd light that shifted up and down the visible light spectrum. "Behold the Link Crystals, each one forged to connect each of you to me, allowing me to grant you a share of my abilities as well as remain in contact with me mentally should you so desire. With these crystals I will be able to grant you as many of my abilities as I desire when I desire to do so, this will hopefully offset the unique combat style of the Ancients and allow us to achieve victory over them."
"So do we just carry them with us then?" Ravess asked in a skeptical tone.
"No, which is why I brought a phasing crystal here, these crystals will be phased into you, thus preventing them from being damaged, destroyed or captured under most circumstances." Master Cyclonis said confidently as she held up the phase crystal, each of the Link crystals floating up into the air in perfect synchronization. However, before she could phase out the Link Crystals, Marrshal quickly shot in and grabbed the crystal intended for him.
"My apologies my lady, while the offer of such power is tempting, it is not necessary for my line of work and could indeed be a hindrance. While I will keep the crystal with me, I would request that you neither fuse it with me nor activate its full abilities." Marrshal explained quickly in a rueful tone.
"Very well, I will grant you that request, namely because I'm feeling generous right now… Are there any others who wish to follow Marrshal's example? No? Good, then let us proceed." Master Cyclonis continued in an understanding tone as she phased out the remaining Link Crystals, which then floated into the other commanders. As the crystals floated into each commander, nothing seemed to change with regards to their outward appearance, although Marrshal felt as if a sudden chill had descended on the room. Clearly this was an illusion crafted by his own mind at witnessing such an unnatural power in action.
"Go ahead commanders, test out your Link crystals and see how they work." Master Cyclonis encouraged. The first one to try out this link was evidently Night Aerrow, as his hair suddenly began to darken and his irises turned red, his overall appearance changing as he borrowed the power of Master Cyclonis.
"Fascinating…" Night Aerrow said as he pulled out one of the firebolt crystals that powered his energy swords. A moment passed and the crystal had transformed into a blizzard crystal before Night Aerrow transformed it back into a firebolt crystal. "I could get used to this kind of power…"
"Indeed." The Dark Ace agreed a few seconds later as he transformed one of his firebolt crystals into a shield crystal and back. "With this kind of power at our disposal, crushing Atmosia should be easy."
"That's the idea Dark Ace; I want as little chance of defeat as possible and no unnecessary risks taken. That is also why my Devastator will be going into battle; the Atmosians have nothing that can match the power of my vessel and I intend to make full use of that fact. Marrshal, how much longer until the remaining ships in our fleet arrive and who are we still waiting on?"
"Two destroyers and five frigates have yet to arrive and, although they should be here by mid-day tomorrow, their delay will give the Atmosians time to realize that our defenses are weak. With the threat of an impending assault on Atmosia itself, they likely will not take advantage of this information seeing as they need every available Sky Knight to defend their capital. Nonetheless, it is something we need to be aware of."
"If all goes as planned, it won't be an issue." Master Cyclonis said confidently as she walked back to her throne and took her seat. "That is all for now commanders, make sure you take care of any remaining business before the assault tomorrow, I want everything to be perfect for the fall of Atmosia. Marrshal, you stay, I have a matter I wish to discuss with you."
"As you wish." Marrshal said as the other commanders left. Once they had all left, she turned to face her spymaster.
"Now then, earlier today you mentioned that you had seen a suspicious looking Talon? I would like a full report, seeing as I know what happens to people you think are suspicious." Master Cyclonis said in a serious tone.
"It turns out he was one of the few Merb Sky Knights, from the Shadowed Peak squadron. They are skilled in covert operations, he was sent here at the behest of the Sky Knight Council to finally eliminate any and all rogue Sky Knights who may be in the service of Cyclonia."
"So how many others are there likely to be?"
"There are three members of the Shadowed Peak squadron, but only one, their Sky Knight, has the skills necessary for an assassination attempt, the other two are more skilled at reconnaissance and sabotage. They are not likely to be here, since the task required of them would be outside their area of expertise. The only exception might be the munitions expert who would try to destroy whatever vessel they might be flying. He will be caught if he is on this terra however, rest assured in that fact."
"Excellent, proceed then and make sure you are ready for the attack on Atmosia tomorrow."
"Not to worry, I will be."