Disclaimer: I do not own anything affiliated with "Storm Hawks". Characters, places, and other aspects of the story (except for original characters, animals, locations, and some other aspects) that are referenced to do not belong to me.

A/N: Welcome to the sub-arch to end "The Swooping Sparrows: Uncharted". I intend for this to be a three-part sub-arch. Enjoy!

Midnight, Terra Vicis, north eastern sector of Proelium…

Crimson streaks of crystal energy filled the air above Proelium. Screeching from incoming skimmers were heard as the presumable attackers got closer.

Finch quickly aimed his longbow and began taking shots at the incoming Cyclonians. The battle cries echoed in the darkness as visibility became an ever more difficult task.

Entire lines of defenders and fortifications were illuminated by the crystal blasts being exchanged with the attackers. Despite the scattered illumination, it was still difficult to visualize the enemy.

"How are we going to shoot what we can't see?" a soldier shouted in frustration.

"Wait here!" Finch replied as he darted back for supplies.

A volley of shots hammered into the wall beside Finch as he barely escaped into the weapons cache.

He hastily rummaged through the supplies before procuring a crystal-rigged explosive and hastily stashed a bunch more into a brown rucksack before sprinting back to his post.

The sharpshooter grabbed a charge and lobbed the explosive as far as he could. After a moment, it exploded into a ball of flames, engulfing nearby Cyclonians in the process. The light from the flames illuminated a reasonable area where the initial firebomb had landed.

"Throw more of them to the left and right flanks!" Finch ordered.

Resistance members, somewhat surprised by the dancing figures in the inferno, soon followed suit with their own crystal-rigged explosives.

The fields in front of the fortifications soon became clusters of flames as Cyclonian forces continued to press on through the blaze.

Some Cyclonians stubbornly charged through the fire only to be brought down by the agonizing pain of flames lapping at their sides, or a crystal blast hitting them mid-charge.

The Talons were still a major problem as they fired upon the Vicis Resistance's fortifications.

Finch knew the fortifications would hold, at least for now, but the line would not hold forever with the aerial onslaught.

"Incoming!"

Finch jumped behind a barricade just as another strafing run passed the defensive line. As he looked up, a few Vicis Resistance members were sprawled out on the ground, motionless.

"I need medics over here, now!" Finch ordered as he resumed firing at the advancing Cyclonians.

Finch suddenly heard his communicator crackle to life.

"Finch, are you there?"

"Phoenix! It's good to hear from you!"

"We've refuelled, and we're en route back to Proelium. We'll clear your sector first!"

"Gotcha!"

Finch clicked off the receiver and continued volleying shots at the attacking forces.

A few minutes later…

The Talons grew ever closer with each strafing run. The strafing runs inflicted more victims as more medics began rushing between the triage areas.

Cormorant pointed up to the sky and practically jumped with excitement.

"Reinforcements!" Cormorant cheered causing numerous others from the Erutidio contingent to chant similar phrases of relief and happiness.

Finch immediately caught sight of Phoenix's blazing orange blade. He also noticed purple crystal blasts coming from beside Phoenix, meaning Sparrow was nearby as well.

Phoenix's aerial combat group swooped in, effectively beginning a deadly tango in the skies with the Talons. One after another, skimmers began barreling towards the terra. The exhausted Cyclonian Talons fought relentlessly against the freshly refuelled and rearmed Vicis Resistance aerial contingent, but the resistance had the obvious upper hand.

A few hours later…

In the dead of night, the hordes of Cyclonian attackers had finally seemed to die down. Stragglers were routed, and the battlefield was riddled with burnt corpses.

The Vicis Resistance medical corps even had time to move more of the wounded and deceased back to field hospitals located in the innards of Proelium.

Finch surveyed the destroyed fields as the smell of burnt flesh filled his nostrils.

Embers flickered and flew as the night's cold wind swept through the empty battlefield.

"They had it coming man." Cormorant remarked slinging a bag of explosives over his shoulder.

Vicis Resistance camp inside of Proelium…

Finch wearily stepped toward the warmth of a fire created by a contingent of resistance forces. He sat down on a foldable chair near the campfire and picked up a nearby canteen. Taking a swig of the metallic tasting water was not only bearable but welcoming considering the amount of heat he had faced from the fires earlier.

"It's been one heck of a night."

Finch looked up to see Phoenix approaching him.

Finch got up and fist-bumped with his long-time friend.

"We would've been overrun if you hadn't come back when you did."

"Well, without ground forces, they would have stormed into Proelium." Phoenix said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Let's just call it even then." Finch said with a shrug.

The two shared a small laugh as the distant chatter of resistance forces echoed nearby.

"It's getting late, we should get some rest." Sparrow said as she approached her friends.

"Where's Warbler?" Phoenix inquired.

"Servicing skimmers in hangar bay three." Sparrow replied as she joined the duo.

"And Crow?" Finch questioned.

"Helping to organize one of the safe zones. He asked for someone to run some merb cabbage to him." Sparrow informed with a slight smile.

The three friends chuckled wearily at the mention of the putrid cabbage.

"Any chance he's in the same safe zone as Tesia?" Finch pressed on.

"I'm not sure. He's in safe zone five, so you could pay him a visit and ask him there." Sparrow continued.

"I promised her I would go see her at dusk, so I'll catch up with you guys later!" Finch said as he rapidly walked toward his skimmer.

"Safe travels! Stick to our side of the terra!" Phoenix shouted after his sharpshooter.

"I prefer not getting captured, so I'll keep that in mind!" Finch shouted back jokingly as he disappeared into the darkness.

Sparrow and Phoenix chuckled at the remark before seating themselves by the campfire.

The two sat in silence briefly, blankly staring into the fire.

"It's always so tiring." Sparrow whispered as she leaned on Phoenix.

"The missions?" Phoenix whispered back placing his hand on Sparrow's.

"Yeah. Fighting the Cyclonians, running from the Cyclonians, beating the Cyclonians, the list goes on." Sparrow remarked as she continued staring into the flames.

"It's what we do Sparrow. And one day, after we defeat them, we won't have to keep running and fighting." Phoenix whispered as he slowly massaged her hand.

"You really think that day will come?"

"I know it will." Phoenix assured.

"Right." Sparrow agreed quietly as she rested her head on Phoenix's shoulder.