Darkening Skies: Unity of the Master
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 1
It has now been a little over a year since we fled the advancing Cyclonian forces on Terra Bast and became a roving group of associated carriers. During that time period much has changed, particularly within the grand Cyclonian Empire born out of our defeat on Bast. The first sign was the building of tall spires on every terra, generally somewhere near the geographical center of the landmass. As we discovered on one of our next raids, these spires held some kind of portal crystal that allowed the Cyclonian fleet to respond to an attack within minutes of our initial attack. The second sign was more ominous and consisted of the fortification of Cyclonia proper with two new terras. The first one to appear was a volcanic terra that was quickly built up as a manufacturing center and foundry; while the second new landmass was a massive towering ring of land that formed a defensive wall around the entirety of Terra Cyclonia. Combined with the four floating fortresses that now orbit the central tower of Cyclonia, this defensive perimeter has made infiltration of the terra difficult if not impossible, the only way left to enter being through one of the four gate tunnels through the defensive ring. Clearly Master Cyclonis is hiding something within her capital, and we each have our own pet theories as to what that might be.
Another major change occurred in the social makeup of Cyclonia, and was a chance I had honestly never expected. In fact, it surprised everyone. About two months after the battle on Terra Bast, Master Cyclonis declared a new social structure whereby the populace would no longer be divided into servants and Talons, but instead would now include a third class, citizens. Citizenship was available only to those who proved themselves to be the best in their field, whether they were servant or Talon, and had many perks such as the right of free enterprise and a limited form of democracy as well as freedom to do as they wished provided it did not endanger the Cyclonian state. It was an effective lure and many terras that had been resisting Cyclonian rule immediately applied for full membership in the empire. In exchange, every former Atmosian was granted citizenship and life supposedly continued on much as before except everyone was united under a single command and some new laws were imposed. They had intended to use the freedoms granted by citizenship to assist our resistance. In reality however, something changed. Since accepting citizenship, the people of every terra have become pro-Cyclonian, completely rejecting the heritage of the Sky Knights. Even the historians of Terra Rex had to flee or else be tried for spreading Sky Knight Propaganda. It has only been recently that we have been able to discover the cause of this strange change in behavior: Master Cyclonis has constructed some form of loyalty enforcement crystal on every terra. This has essentially eliminated any thought of open rebellion, although protests are still allowed as was evidenced a couple months ago when the citizens organized a protest opposing a new tax system. Regardless, it was not a positive development, particularly since these crystals were well hidden to prevent their destruction.
The question of course was raised as to where the materials for all this building came from, although it was fairly easy to find out. With the exception of the two new terras around Cyclonia, the materials for all the new structures and vessels Cyclonia had built came from the former terras of Free Atmos. The new terras were likely created using some new kind of crystal that Master Cyclonis had forged.
Despite all these set backs, we have not been without significant victories. Primary among these was the discovery of what had happened to the missing Sky Knights: they had been captured and imprisoned in crystal by Master Cyclonis, held in a macabre gallery in the throne room of Cyclonia. Using samples I was able to obtain during a covert infiltration, those among us skilled in crystal manipulation have begun to work on a means to free our comrades. We have continued to harass the Cyclonians at every turn, attacking any target possible before disappearing as reinforcements arrive. It has been slow, but we have been slowly wearing the Cyclonians down without taking too many losses ourselves and that is what is really important. My one fear is that the others will grow tired of the fight and decide to simply surrender to what seems inevitable, but I doubt the others will entertain thoughts of that variety yet. Morale, fueled by a determination to reclaim what has been lost, remains high despite the shortage of supplies that has begun to plague us with increasing frequency. To remedy this, I have sent a small team to infiltrate the nearby city- terra of Terra Polis and procure what we need.
-Starling, personal journal entry written fourteen months after the battle on Terra Bast.
Stork covertly glanced around the corner of one of the many buildings crowded together on Terra Polis, checking to make sure that there were no Talons nearby. So far, they had been fortunate and no Talons were visible, which in his mind was cause for even greater concern. No doubt this was some kind of elaborate trap laid out to ensnare them and lure them to their dooms. At least the end would come quickly…
"See anyone Stork?" Finn whispered quietly as he held his crossbow at the ready.
"No, no one seems to be about, although I'm beginning to think that surrender might not be such a bad idea…" Stork said with a nervous chuckle.
"Snap out of it, that's just the stupid crystals located here trying to take over." One of the other Sky Knights snapped quietly, "Don't let them!"
"I know…" Stork replied miserably as he turned back to check around the corner. "The storehouse is just across the way, no guards appear to be present."
"Hopefully a sign of overconfidence, after all, we haven't been seen in this sector of Atmos before so they have no reason to expect a raid, eh?" Billy Rex added; an eager grin on his face, likely the result of his excitement at doing something so risky. With quiet nods to each other, they all reached the same conclusion and quickly made their way across the street to surround the storehouse entrance. Without a word, Stork silently began working on the locks, opening the door a moment later as he successfully cracked the locking mechanism. The raiding party slipped inside, breaking up into pairs and heading for the different sections containing the food, crystals and parts they needed to maintain their resistance. Knowing that teammates work best together, Finn made sure to divide the pairs by squadron, meaning that he was stuck with Stork. Together the two of them made their way to the crystal storeroom, only to find the chamber completely empty.
"I knew this was a trap…" Stork said as someone began applauding them from above, likely from one of the catwalks ringing the room.
"Congratulations, you are getting much better at this whole game of infiltration, this time you managed to make it through my third line of sentries before you were spotted. I commend your efforts, since that now means you are enough of a threat for me to engage you directly during one of your raids. Well, excusing the rather nasty incident forty seven days ago, but you really should have known better Finn." The voice of Nimbus rang out as the lights in the vault turned on, revealing the spy and at least a dozen Talons.
"Nimbus!" Finn said in a scathing tone. The infernal man had been dogging their footsteps every step of the way for years now, laying subtle traps and taunting them whenever possible. As Finn had found out some time ago, the weasel played the overconfident yet foolish part well, but it was all a charade, the scar on his leg near the femoral artery was evidence that the man took everything seriously. In that fight, Finn had not even been able to fire a shot before Nimbus closed the distance between the two and stabbed him. He had learned a valuable lesson from that engagement though: do not underestimate the traitor.
"Actually, I must confess that is not my real name, just could not resist playing with you Sky Knights a little. If you want the real Nimbus, you can have him back." The suddenly nameless man said as his tossed the limp form of the reluctant Sky Knight onto the floor in front of Stork and Finn.
"Fine, Shar then." Finn shot back, trying to throw the man off balance.
"Not quite, Shar has been dead for some time now." The man said as he leapt down onto the warehouse floor, landing with a feline grace. Privately, Marrshal conceded that Shar was not really dead, but it was best to sow as much confusion as possible and this whole charade would certainly accomplish that. As he approached the duo, he saw that Finn had just reached a decision on what they should do next.
"Stork, Finn has decided that you should run and get the others, you should go and do that since otherwise your fellow Storm Hawk is going to join Shar in the afterlife." Marrshal said mockingly, enjoying the look of surprise that blossomed on Finn's face as he correctly recited the exact decision the blond Storm Hawk had reached.
"Stork… do as he says, he's right; that was what I was going to say." Finn said hesitantly as he dropped into a fighting stance.
"Not going to waste time shooting me?" Marrshal taunted as Stork raced out into the hallway to find the raid members. "You know, it is rather interesting that I was able to predict where you would strike, is it not?"
"Do you ever be quiet?" Finn asked in irritation, having heard this exact same question at least four times that he could remember.
"Afraid not, deal with it… So, as I was saying, it was easy to figure out what your next move was, given previous battle data." The spymaster said as he whirled and flipped at Finn with dual knife hands in an attempt to cut off his nerves with each blow. Finn managed to dodge the first two strikes, but a third one caught him mid- thigh on his left leg, causing everything below that point to tingle with partial numbness. In response to the hit, Marrshal spun up into a leap and slammed back down with a crippling axe kick that Finn barely managed to dodge in time. The worst part though was that the spymaster kept up his monologue the entire time by using his shapeshifting abilities to enhance the effectiveness of his lungs. "You see, with the capture of Atmosia I was able to find out exactly what each terra was good at producing, storing, growing, and etcetera. I then observed that your fleet was looked a little ragged around the edges in the last full on confrontation. Knowing that you Sky Knights take such pride in your skimmers, I concluded you would be conducting a raid for crystals and other supplies. So I thought to myself: 'Where are they least likely to hit?' And what do you know; here you are exactly where you should be!"
"Dude, you need a hobby…" Finn retorted as he ducked under another knife hand. Unfortunately, that put him right him the path of a vicious whip kick that sent him flying across the room and into a wall. As he recovered, he looked up to find his opponent staring down at him, wearing Nimbus's face as if it were his own.
"Dude, what are you?" Finn stammered as he looked at the unconscious form of the real Nimbus lying on the floor across the room from him. Even from this distance, he could tell his fellow Sky Knight was uninjured externally, so whoever this guy was, he was using a cloaking crystal of some kind.
"Finn, are you alright?" Another Sky Knight yelled as the remaining five people in the team rushed in, weapons held at the ready. "Nevermind…" the same Sky Knight added after seeing the current situation.
"Talons, engage." Marrshal said simply, snapping his fingers to emphasize his point. As the dozen or so Talons leapt down into the impromptu arena, Marrshal himself charged toward the new arrivals, leaping up into the air and slamming the ground near them with Wallop arms. As the group was knocked off their feet, he shifted back to his 'normal' human arms and attacked the nearest Sky Knight. Suddenly an explosion rocked the room as the ceiling began to collapse due to several shots from the Sky Knight carriers that had suddenly arrived. A moment later Starling and several more Sky Knights dropped down into the room, quickly engaging and defeating the Cyclonians present except the lone spymaster.
"Well Starling, it is about time you showed up." Marrshal said in a cheery voice as he vanished in a glowing aura, reappearing a moment later on the roof of the building near the edge where it had fallen in. As he did so, the lower walls of the warehouse slid up to reveal several squads of Talons along with one of the 'tanks' they had used during the battle at Terra Bast. "You see, I have been preparing this ambush for months and you finally took the bait."
"But you said…" Finn started before the figure held up a hand to cut him off.
"Misinformation, I tend to do that sometimes regarding how I figure things out… Prevents people from figuring out how I do what I do."
"Fantastic…"
"Is it not? Well, enough talking for now. Talons commence your attack."
On his order, the Talons moved forward to engage the trapped Sky Knights in battle. However, Starling had no intention of fighting, she had simply recognized the trap when one of the team members reported an absence of Talons and had rushed to rescue her team. A moment later, a lift platform slammed down next to the group of Sky Knights and everyone quickly climbed aboard, easily knocking away the few Talons that managed to reach the platform in time. Before they were even secure in the carrier, the pilot had already begun accelerating along their escape route and within a few minutes, they were safely away from the terra.
As the carrier faded into the distance, Marrshal shook his head in disappointment. This was not how he had wanted the evening to end; too little frustration had been bestowed upon the resistance. Well, even the best laid plans of mice and men… At least he had left them with a mystery and another Sky Knight and that certainly was enough to cause Starling some aggravation. Not to mention he had likely deepened their desperation and that was enough to serve his purposes for now, as well as set the stage for later maneuvers he had planned. With a smile on his face, he vanished into a glowing nimbus of energy as he teleported through the portal crystal back to Cyclonia.
"Dang it! That freak!" Starling raged to herself as she pounded her fist into the table on the Condor's bridge, startling Stork. "We're never going to accomplish anything with him lurking around dogging us! We need resources to rescue our trapped friends and this raid would have given us the materials we need! And to top it all off, we don't even have a clue as to who he might be!"
"Does it really matter?" Stork asked pragmatically, recovering from his initial alarm at Starling's outburst.
"Yes, it does, because if we know who he is, then we can find out more about him, learn about his past and possibly find a way to counter him."
"I see, well, if nothing else, we do know he is devious and prepares for lots of possible outcomes."
"Kind of like you… In the preparation department I mean… Stork, would you say your level of preparation is typical for your standard Merb?"
"Yes, but if you're thinking that this guy might be a Merb, keep in mind that he always appears as a human, even Piper's blocker crystal test confirmed he wasn't using a crystal of any kind to disguise himself and it's kind of difficult to make a Merb look like a human. Even without that fact though, he doesn't display any of the caution Merbs normally have."
"You have a good point there, nevermind then, he probably isn't a Merb, although it was a good theory and fits a lot of the current evidence we have."
"Yeah… Hold up, contact at two o'clock, we have a large carrier of some kind inbound! Oh, we're doomed!" Stork said as he spotted running lights moving through the darkened sky.
"Alert the other carriers that the Cyclonians might have found us, I want everyone at battle stations!"
Within minutes, every Sky Knight in the rebel fleet was awake and poised to engage in a desperate battle. Tension ran thick, increasing exponentially as the dark bulk of the cruiser advanced on their position in complete silence. About five hundred yards away however, the cruiser slowed to a stop and deployed three skimmers which made their way toward the waiting rebels. Starling quickly grabbed a pair of binoculars; curious as to whom these people might be…
"Everyone, stand down, we have nothing to worry about." Starling said as she recognized the approaching figures and rushed to meet them as they landed on the launch deck of the Condor.
"Greetings Starling, it is good to see that some Sky Knights escaped. We are deeply regretful that we had to leave, but we have quelled those who endanger all of Atmos and have now returned to help you." Vespos said as he and the other Ancients bowed in both greeting and contrition.