All of the papers across the entire Atmos were on fire after the story broke. Someone mapped Terra Deep and also, from it, brought an Albino Sky Shark nearly the size of a cruiser. Soon the newly named Typhoon Ravens became celebrities to all of the Atmos, be it free or Cyclonia.
"Whoa now. That is quite the catch," a member of the Absolute Zeroes says before showing the newspaper to Suzy.
Suzy raises an eyebrow as she looks at the newspaper and sighs. "That hoser is going to need a big fat break," she mutters, biting into her frozen pie.
"Isn't that the one you are friends with?" another one asks.
Suzy slowly nods, her ears flopping down against her back. One of the other girls smirks as she notices the look Suzy is giving to the picture of Dustin and his crew. "Yeah. If they come around, we throw a party for them finally dealing with that too."
"Maybe Suzy will finally get laid too," another female teases.
Everyone laughs at the blizzarian's blushing face, and Suzy frowns at them. "Alright, hosers! Clam it up!"
Starling hums as she eats a sandwich while reading the newspaper. She had just delivered her report to the Atmosia council, and now she is reading how Dustin and his crew had done the impossible yet again.
'Do more of this, and you might end up on a poster somewhere. At least you are part of a guild and not either side…yet,' Starling sighs, chewing away while reading as calmly as ever. Her skills in going undercover coming forward without her even thinking about it.
'He has been in Cyclonia a lot. He is even refitting the Tailwind there. At this rate…' Starling thinks as she considers him joining Cyclonia because of that, and he blames the Sky Knights for his mother's death. 'I need to do something.'
Cyclonis smiles as she reads the paper. Once again, Dustin has validated any relationship she has developed with him. And for those houses still making a ruckus against her isn't as chatty now. Half of them are even talking about setting up new trade lanes near the Terra Deep since the monster is dealt with. Though, Murk Raiders are still an issue. But with her grandmother's passing, she is now the one to make that call. Already people in the court approach her, swearing allegiance to her in hopes of gaining favor. The one who stands out the most is the Dark Ace. The traitor of the Storm Hawks.
'A notable mark. Maybe he and Dustin can become friends because of their hatred for sky knights. Though he was a Storm Hawk at one point, so that might complicate the issue,' Cyclonis thinks as she leans on an arm. 'Though there is another issue. According to what I heard, he is a glory hound who always seeks fame through skimmer battles, killing sky knights in one on one duels. How will he react to the changes Dustin and I have discussed?'
Cyclonis taps a finger against her desk as she keeps reading. 'And everyone will want a piece of that ship in some shape or form. Maybe they will be cheap and order the harpoon guns. Easier to manage than the new metal and ore that became valuable months ago to him, a unique engine that one man and a merb can only make, and just the layout alone. Please ask for harpoons to shock other ships and animals. It would make the headache on Dustin ease up,' she hopes as she looks out the window of her office to see the Tailwind docked back in the bay area they are now allowed to use for their own sake. Before, it was just loaning off, but after this catch, it only cemented their ownership of it. And considering the unique systems needed to operate and maintain the airship, it stands to reason to give them an entire bay to play with.
"Master. We have a report. You will not like this," a nightcrawler says, handing her something.
Cyclonis frowns as she takes the paper and looks it over. Her speed reading increases as she starts to rush through the information. "Has Dustin seen this…?" she asks, almost knowing the implications as she stares at the engine on the image of the advertisement poster of a brand new skimmer.
"Well, no. Not as of yet," the nightcrawler answers before thinking about what his men are feeling at the moment since they are watching over the captain.
"Shit!"
Dustin pauses while taking a drink from a food stand as he looks toward the castle in the distance. "Huh. Weird," he mutters to himself before grabbing the drink and walking away. He hums as he sips away, walking down the street to help clear his mind. Daria did mention a good walk will clear his head enough to make way for fresh ideas and answers to their current problems. And that's what he did. A simple walk through the city to at least look at the place. At most, he only came here straight for supplies or materials. But he was never taking in the view.
Besides whatever he heard from the Atmosian side, this place is in great contrast. The streets are clean, people are walking around, carts and skimmers drag supplies around to wherever they need to go, and it is very sunny instead of dark and gloomy like most propaganda views this place. Maybe the Atmosians should hire another photographer or artist to 'brave the dark world.' Dustin scoffs in jest as he sips away while passing by some shops.
A little desert barkery filled with kids out of school now and wanting treats with their allowances, a candy shop connected to the bakery, clothing, regular day-to-day tool shop for the average homeowner, bank and loan place, and a skimmer shop—all the daily needs of a beautiful, bustling city besides regular offices and low-level jobs.
Dustin hums as he sips his drinks before suddenly stopping midstep. He then slowly lowers his drink and starts to walk backward until he is standing in front of the skimmer shop and turns his head to look through the window. He sees the skimmer bikes lined up as usual with any skimmer shop. The thing that grabs his attention, though, is the one being spun around on a pedestal and shown off through the glass. And it's not the skimmer itself that is catching his proper attention. No. It is a giant ass engine. It is sitting on it and almost going over the rider's head by placing the size of their dummy in the driver seat. After examining it a bit longer, Dustin's eyes widen, then narrow, and he walks inside. When he comes out, it is in a vehicle with one of these skimmers in the back and a driver handling the ride. The place they were heading is the Typhoon Raven's private hanger.
When they arrive, Dustin sees a dark blue and black raven emblem being painted onto the hanger in a few places showing they owned the bay. Dustin quickly pays the driver with a polite smile as his crew unloads the skimmer and takes it inside. Once inside and the door closes, his smile drops, and his engineers start to dismantle it. The R&D hearing of this new skimmer comes to look at it. The more they saw, the more they began to sweat. It is Dustin's design though incomplete and with several flaws. If you push this skimmer too hard, it will either break apart, or the engine will blow up.
And this news of Dustin buying a skimmer didn't pass by Cyclonis unnoticed. When she heard of Dustin, the man who hates skimmers after he told her how done they were in this era, buying one, she is sure this is something to do with the news she has gotten. And a quick walk down to the Typhoon Raven's hanger confirms this as she finds him and his crew setting up a remote-controlled dummy in the skimmer's seat and Dustin being walked through the controls by a Cyclonian engineer.
"I must admit, I am surprised you went and got one," Cyclonis says, making most Cyclonians salute her as she walks up beside Dustin. "Want a new ride for yourself?" she asks, keeping her knowledge about this situation hidden for now. She can't risk the rage and anger that she knows Dustin is holding inside for many years onto her for knowing.
Dustin didn't respond, but his anger practically washes off of him in waves as he instantly sets the skimmer to go full throttle, and Cyclonis watches as the skimmer explodes not eight seconds later without even hitting anything. Everyone slowly looks toward Dustin and watches as he stares at the smoke and fire cloud falling to the wastelands below. Only to then be shocked as his hands squeeze and break the controller apart without flinching. "When I find the asshole who stole my engine design to strap an incomplete version onto this deathtrap, I will personally harpoon the bastard or bitch onto the roof of the mouth of a lava eel and make them suffer," he hisses out as his expression doesn't change. Neither does his tone, but they can feel the anger radiating off of him. Even Salv, who can see the fiery waves coming from her captain, slowly hides behind some crates as it hits her in full.
'This is the first time I think I have ever seen Dustin/the boss pissed/so mad,' was the collective thoughts of everyone who watched him.
Dustin then slowly turns to Cyclonis with a level glare at her. "Order your troops to track down every one of these skimmers and scrap them. If one person gets hurt by this, the entirety of your people will suffer."
'This is the first time anyone has dared ever to give me an order. I see you truly have no fear of me,' Cyclonis thinks, putting a hand up, stopping her nightcrawler guards from even thinking about doing anything that might in any way hurt the relationship she is making with him as this already is starting to strain it even if he didn't blame her for this…yet.
"Angus…take the roll call of every one of your division despite if they are a researcher or an assistant," Dustin orders in a more calm tone, but still anger can be felt from him.
Angus shakily salutes. "Y-Yes, sir," he stutters before rushing off back into the Tailwind.
Dustin slowly breathes out as he then grabs Cyclonis's arm to the shock of everyone and him dragging her into the airship with everyone watching. Cyclonis grunts as she is shoved into an office chair in his office and planning room while he sits behind his desk. "Who the sky shark and flame-spewing eel in the wastelands make your skimmers in Cyclonian territory?" he asks as he massages his pulsing forehead, not noticing Cyclonis stopping her nightcrawlers from going after Dustin again after dragging her here.
"We have a few families who lead that field, but you want the one who put out that model. You want the Arnor house. Before we continue, you should be aware of a few things that have been happening over the last few months since you left. After seeing what your Tailwind could do briefly after your retrofit, the Naval board has been pushing all our manufacturers for better quality. Especially the skimmers," Cyclonis informs.
Dustin briefly closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. And now Cyclonis is reminded of what Dustin reminds her of. Her grandmother. He isn't mad. Just very disappointed. And with a mother and father, this is the worst thing if you are family or a child. And in this case, the skimmer manufactures are now his kids. "And so they did something stupid," he mutters before slamming a fist on one of his file cabinets. Cyclonis becomes shocked for a moment before seeing Dustin hold up a hand. "No. Not mad. That is how that cabinet is open. If you try to jam it open, then it won't work. So, now I know where this design got stolen from. The question is who," he sighs, massaging his head.
After a bit, Angus enters and informs Dustin a low-level assistant is missing. Cyclonis wordlessly looks at a nightcrawler who leaves. "They are a distant relative of the Arnor house. He isn't much help, and a big reason he is even a part of the R&D is family connections," Angus explains.
"So most likely he thought he could earn a lot of money and favors if he steals one of the incomplete schematics I let the R&D and the engineers use to help with work?" Dustin questions.
Angus shakily nods while watching Dustin stare at an interesting part of his desk.
"I will go now. We need to head this off. I will leave you to discipline your crew as you see fit," Cyclonis says, getting up, already making up her mind to head straight to Duke Arnor's office and meet with him. After all, he is vulnerable right now, and what better time to put one of the wealthiest houses of her court in her debt.
Dustin sighs as everyone leaves before hearing quiet metal clanging to look up to see Salv peeking around his doorway. "Hey Salv…" he greets, and she slowly steps into his office. "I am guessing you want to make sure I am not angry at you?" he asks, watching as she sits where Cyclonis sat.
Salv nods before trying to smile. "Can you blame me? Your anger was so powerful, I could literally see it and had to hide," she explains and blushes.
Dustin chuckles a few times. "No. I am not angry at you, Salv. I know you won't cause trouble unless you are messing with your brother. And even then, if I was angry at you, I won't promise death to you like that. I would talk with you, so relax," he promises, smiling at her.
Salv smiles now, wagging her tail behind her. "Good. At least I know I would be scolded first," she jokes.
Dustin chuckles and shakes his head amused. "Yeah. Me scolding a raptor. Though, that was with Viper a few times," he adds as an afterthought and hears the raptor in front of him giggle behind a hand. "Yeah, so relax. You can keep going as usual. But do tell if you see anything weirder than usual. I hate for this to be a common thing, okay?" he asks, watching the tail wag.
Salv nods. "Sure. You'll be the first to know," she promises before getting up and starting to leave. She then stops as Dustin eyes her and her happy tail. "Oh, right. You will have to replace my eye crystals soon again," she informs, looking back at him, and he can start to see the dim light from her eyes.
Dustin sighs. "Sure. Just tell me when ready," he promises and gets a wave off from her as she walks away. Dustin groans as he leans back in his seat and rubs his eyes. "I wonder if that eye crystal can work on me with the number of headaches I get?" he asks himself.
'How did it go so wrong?' Duke Arnor thinks as reports start to come in of their latest skimmer exploding when being pushed. The Talons were demanding an explanation, and soon the Naval board would hear of this too. News from a few direct skimmer shops of his house is telling of how the Talons are taking all the new skimmers and scrapping them without even saving anything, saying it's a total recall of all the new skimmers that were made. His house would be ruined. Why did he listen to that idiot relative of his? Arnor stops. He knew why. He was looking for a solution. Any solution, and when an easy one was presented, he took it and rushed it through production, thinking any bugs would be fixed with repairs and fine-tuning.
Arnor was brought out of his bumbling mindset when a nightcrawler entered his office. 'So this is it. I am to be done away with to cover up this embarrassment,' Arnor thinks as that is usually what a visit from the nightcrawlers means for a noble until he stops in shock as the next to enter is the new Master of Cyclonia. Master Cyclonis herself. "Ma-Master Cyclonis," he stutters in fear, standing from his seat and bowing his head slightly as Cyclonis stands in the middle of his office and looks around. "I assume this visit is about…my new skimmers?" he asks, terrified now by his tone and fear of looking at the leader.
"You are correct. I just came from a test of your skimmer. You will never guess who ran the test," Cyclonis says, making her way in front of his desk before slamming her hand down onto it. "One of the greatest geniuses of our time and the one you stole the engine from and possibly jeopardized the relationship I have been developing between Cyclonia and him," Cyclonis says, acting angrily to judge what kind of man he is as she already knew the truth.
Duke Arnor's eyes widened. It is worse than he could ever have imagined. If he had destroyed the relationship that Cyclonis has been developing painstakingly for years now with Dustin, then not just him, but his entire family would be exterminated as traitors to the crown, and their suffering would be the stuff of legends. "M…the fault lies completely with me. I bought the plans when they were brought to me. Only I am to blame for this. Please. Take my life as compensation, but please spare my family. They were not involved with this at all," Arnor says after a moment of thought.
Cyclonis slowly and quietly breathes out. "Who did you buy from?" she questions, stopping the nightcrawler from getting closer.
"A distant member of my family. I barely know him. Much less his name. All I know is he is with R&D and somehow got his hands on the plans. I recorded the transaction for the plans in this ledger. It was two months ago, around the time the Tailwind left Cyclonia. After he got his money, he left Cyclonia. I guess he is going somewhere to hide out now as he knows he stole the plans," Arnor says, handing Cyclonis a ledger for her to look through.
Cyclonis raises an eyebrow as she opens the book and finds the last few entries. "I see now," she says, tossing the ledger book at a nightcrawler who catches it. "Then, consider this the only lucky day of your entire life," she states, frowning still. "Where would this bastard go?"
"My guess to the fringe of our territory in the west since most of the talons are in the east to face the rebels," Arnor informs, surprised.
"Start looking there. Now, Duke Arnor, I will make this entire situation go away, but remember you now owe your fortune, your title, and the lives of your family to me. I expect true loyalty in return," Cyclonis instructs her nightcrawler guards before returning her attention to Arnor.
Arnor gives a bow and shakily smiles. "Y-Yes…thank you, master Cyclonis," he thanked the leader as Cyclonis started to walk out of his office. As soon as she does so, the nightcrawlers leave as well, shutting everything behind him before they leave one window open as the last hops out. Arnor suddenly sighs and falls back into his chair, staring up at the ceiling and trying to figure out how he survived an incredible ordeal.
