Hello again. It's me again!
Coming to you with another chapter of The Will of Revenge. So, the last two chapters were spent mostly on looking at the state of both galaxies and some of our heroes, it's time to move on with the story. After all, it has to happen sometimes, doesn't it? So, let's see, how are we standing with things.
Let's get to it!
Chapter 3
May 5, 2166
17:03
Unknown location
Red glow of the sun slowly started disappearing beyond the horizon, giving way for the starry sky over the big city. Populace moved across the streets, talking in their own language, carrying about their business. Their reptilian mouths opened and closed with every word, sometimes interrupted by the sounds of engines. In the sky, smoke from engines of ships leaving the atmosphere could be seen.
However, among the numerous reptile-like creatures, was someone who was more mammal-like. A man, dressed in a purple-gray uniform, with a briefcase in his hand, while his second hand was in his pocket. He passed the populace of the city, which was giving him weird looks with their reptilian eyes, but by the time he spent here, he just didn't care, that locals seen him and others like him with a certain…disdain.
Now, he had different things to do. The meeting he just had was very tiring and he really didn't want to do anything else anymore today, except laying down in his apartment and drinking himself to sleep.
With the corner of his eye, he noticed a long, black car approaching. He was well aware, what car it was, so he just stopped, waiting. Finally, the car stopped, driver's door opened and driver stepped out. He went to the back, opened the back door and pointed inside.
"General Maio, please."the driver said.
Herm Fule Maio sighed and proceeded to get inside of the car. Driver closed the door behind him, while Herm placed himself on the seat, while driver closed the door and returned to his place. Limo started moving seconds later.
General wasn't even surprised by all of this, as well as when he saw the person seating with him. Only one person had this kind of car for himself.
"I see that you are hard at work."the man said.
"As always, Emperor Zorzal."Herm replied.
Zorzal El Caesar, Herm's leader, reached into the minibar inbuilt into the limo wall in front of them. He poured them both from a red bottle and gave one of the glasses to Herm. General took the glass.
"Fentioshian wine."Zorzal said."Jikai said, that it's the best in entire Erecan Dominion."
"Well, if he said that."Herm said and took a sip.
Immediately, he felt the sweetness and cold of the wine going down his throat. He shook.
"Well, it surely lives up to his name."he said."Now…"He put down the glass."Why would you go all this way to pick me up?"
"Answer is simple."Zorzal threw up his arms."I just didn't want to wait for the report until tomorrow and simply wanted to hear everything you heard on your meeting with governor Akrij."
"Understandable."
"So, what did you got from our Erecan allies?"
Herm looked at his briefcase. It wasn't the first time he went to meet the governor. Actually, he did this numerous times.
It all started fifteen years ago, when Emperor Jikai ur-Rijis III of Erecan Dominion appeared and gave them an offer they accepted. Following that, Jikai called his transport vessel, which brought him to the planet, hidden from the sight of Otherworlders by a masking device. It was big enough, that they filled all half a million people that were with them and left.
Once they arrived on this Erecan colony, the long period of getting used to began, as Saderans had to get used to living in this new environment, which they did surprisingly fast. They learned how to use Erecan technology, thanks to their experience with Alantian tech, and adapted, learning Erecan language to communicate with the specie and local customs, although some would say, that they still had their ignorance for other cultures.
With them settles at new place, the time for preparing for what was going to happen came. Fifteen years they spent building their army with help of Erecan and 'other' allies. Now, under the name of Sons of Sadera, to show that they truly were the sons of their nation, they were doing the last stretches for what was going to come.
The meeting Herm just attended, was about the delivery of more weapons for the army.
"Meeting went surprisingly smoothly."Herm said, opening the briefcase."They accepted our demand and are going to get to it immediately."
He gave Zorzal a document in Saderan and the Emperor studied it from top to bottom for few few minutes in silence, interrupted only by the sounds of car engines.
"Over six hundred tanks."Zorzal read."That would allow us to equip two more full armored legions."
In Sons of Sadera's army, the unit sizes were as simple as in all other armies, except that company was called centuria, battalion was called cohort and division was called legion. And for Zorzal, armored legions were the most important parts of his new army.
"Exactly, my lord."Herm nodded."I planned for tomorrow to sign the orders of creation of 14th and 15th armored legions."
"Good, good."Zorzal nodded."The more the better."
"Indeed, my lord."
They both took another sip of their wine.
"And how are our other forces preparing?"
"General Margas is taking good care of 1st Armored Legion. Same goes for general Kerrel and 2nd Armored Legions. Elite has to be elite after all."
"I have to agree. And how is the rest of our preparations?"
"I'm going to tell everything to you and the others on our our next meeting in five days in General Staff, don't worry."
Zorzal huffed.
"You know I hate waiting."he said.
"I know, Your Highness, but just wait a little longer and everything will be ready to go."Herm assured him.
"I know, it's just…I just want to finally do it. To take back our legacy. To see that stupid grin disappear from my sister's face. And to personally chop off her and Diablo's head, for their betrayal."
"We all want to do it. But you are well aware, that everything is about to end. As you said three months ago, the time has come to take what is ours."
"And we'll all make sure for it to happen."
Right then, the limo stopped.
"We're here."driver said.
"Thank you for the ride, Your Highness."Herm said, standing up.
"Herm, we were friends for years."Zorzal stated."I will always help a friend in need and you know it."
General nodded and exited the limo. But before he could go, he was stopped by Zorzal's voice.
"Herm?"Sudden coldness in Zorza'ls voice actually surprised Herm and made him gulp.
"Yes, Your Highness?"he asked.
"Know, that if you should fail, I won't be so considerate, though."Emperor stated."To none of you."
A cold hand grabbed Herm's throat. He gulped.
"As you say, my lord."he said and bowed.
"I wish you good night, then."
And with that, the limo carrying the leader of Sons of Sadera drove away, leaving the general alone. He looked after the vehicle for few more seconds, before he finally turned and went to his apartment.
May 6
13:57
Taurus III, Leender Spaceport
Giant building of city's spaceport was as busy as all such places in all of colonized space. Thousands of people were going through here daily, with numerous tourists and simple workers being the majority. After all, Leender was the biggest city on the planet, with around two million people living in it, although being pretty young city.
The door of the main building opened again and large group of people left, while another group entered in. But among these exiting ones, were four people standing out.
First of them was an athletic man, with short black hair and green eyes. He was the most noticeable, as unlike other people, he was dressed in dark green uniform with general insignias on his epaulets. His chest was decorated with numerous medals.
Next to him, was a woman dressed in elegant blue dress, with black hair reaching half of her back. Her Eastern-like face was decorated with a pair of almond shaped, deep blue eyes and a small bag in her hands.
Next to the woman were two others. First had long, auburn hair tied in a ponytail and also deep, blue eyes. She was wearing jeans and trainers, with black tank-top and brown jacket. She held her hands joined in front of her all the time.
And the last one, the youngest of the bunch, was a teenage girl with blonde hair reaching her shoulders. She was dressed almost the same way as the auburn-haired one, but her jeans were black, with numerous holes in them and she wore a green T-Shirt, with denin jacket. Her green eyes were looking at the phone in her hands, to the irritation of the other three.
All of them had some kind of suitcase with them.
"Could you stop looking at your phone all the time?"the oldest woman asked.
"I'm busy, sorry."the girl replied, still writing something on the phone.
"Nina, you shouldn't look at the screen all the time."the second woman said.
"You're not my mother to tell me that."princess Nina Ordell, the fourth in line to throne of Soutland, replied.
"Nina!"queen Imri Ordell-Halmer, wife of current king, exclaimed, hearing what Nina said."Don't speak in such a manner to your sister!"
Princess Ellia Ordell, third in the line to the throne, lowered her head.
"You're the one to say it?"Nina replied."You're the only one who wasn't born into the Royal Family."
Imri was about to say something, when the man quickly pulled his wallet and gave some money to Nina.
"Nina, could you go and find us some form of transport that could fill four people?"the man asked.
Nina looked at the money and quickly snatched it.
"Sure."she said.
"Just don't try using it in any other way."the man pointed out.
"As if I could."Nina scoffed.
Girl walked away to the car park, where numerous taxis, vans and buses were waiting. When she was gone, Imri turned to the man.
"Harl, you should tell her something."she said.
General Harlen Ordell, Commander-in-Chief of Soutlandian Armed Forces, just threw up his arms.
"What can I do?"he said."I tried talking to her per Arlan's request, but it didn't work."
"Guess this is just how kids are these days…"Imri sighed.
"Considering how much has changed?"Ellia said."Yeah…"
They all agreed. By the last fifteen, Soutland, just like the entire Flare Prime, went through numerous reforms and changes. New policies, form of governing, currency and customs were introduced. Military was it's own thing, but civilian life was also becoming different. As of now, Soutland was the biggest nation on Flare Prime when it came to digitization. Computers, TVs and other such things started appearing in houses all across the country, not only in cities, but also even in smallest villages. Even Falmart or Araluen were not as digitized and things such as Old Port Spaceport were true prides of the Kingdom.
And of course, because of that, social media and Internet started gaining a lot of popularity.
Imri looked in the direction Nina went.
"And she was such a sweet girl before…Eh…"she sighed again.
"As you said, this is how kids are these days."Harlen stated.
"Do you think it's because…?"Imri had a sudden thought, but stopped with it.
"Because of what?"general asked.
"Because she's not first in the line to the throne?"queen risked.
"You don't mean…"Ellia suddenly paled.
"No, I would never think of her like about Zander."Imri quickly said.
They all shuddered. Although it was almost two decades since Zander's Coup, the memories of that time were still fresh in their minds, considering that they were in very middle of these events.
"Even Nina wouldn't try and follow Zander's steps."Harlen stated."We all know, that she still can't forget all that happened."
"True."Imri nodded.
"By the way, Harl."Ellia turned to him."Why did we go with commercial flight instead of our Orman?"
King Orman I Ordell was Royal Family's private yacht, used for various occasions. Normally, when not used, it was stored in Old Port Spaceport.
"What? You miss the luxuries?"Harlen risen his eyebrow.
"Of course not…I'm just…surprised."Ellia replied."Weren't you scared, that someone here will recognize us?"
"Haha!"Harlen laughed."Of course people would recognize us! It's our Colonization Zone after all!"
Taurus III was in a pretty peculiar situation. Planet itself was twice the size of Earth, but had ten times smaller population than Emloy, only at fifteen million people, spread between several larger cities and numerous villages, which doted the planet's surface from North to South. However, while colonization of Flareian System was pretty easy, considering it was almost an exact copy of Solar System, Taurus III was the first Earth-like planet outside of Flareian System. Immediately after the news reached Flare Prime and Earth, numerous countries started claiming it.
Knowing, that this could lead to a conflict, UN quickly decided to work. On a special meeting, it was decided what they will do. And so, planet, and all other planets that would be colonized in the future, were to be divided into so-called 'Colonization Zones', so zones, over which respective nations could enact their authority.
There were currently six C.Z.'s on the planet: Sountlandian, Skandian, Nordian, Araluenian, Saderan and, surprisingly, Australian. And although almost all people living on the planet were GGW refugees, they didn't pay much attention to who controls which C.Z. as long as that wasn't some tyrant.
"Then again, why did you pick the commercial flight?"Imri repeated the question.
"Answer is as straight as a stick."Harlen replied."I wanted to show the normal people, that in the new era, Royal Family is not just some higher class of people and that just like common people, we can use public transport."
"Was that really needed?"Ellia asked again.
"Well, almost entire country loves us, but there are still…elements."general replied.
"Oh, right."Imri agreed."Arlan said, that some weird groups of people suddenly started appearing around the country."
"Yeah…But don't worry, we're taking care of them."Harlen said, before realizing what he did.
Imri and Ellia risen their eyebrows.
"So it's true?"princess asked.
"About what?"Harlen tried to downplay it.
"About these executioners that travel around the country to take care of any enemies of the government."Imri explained.
General pulled on his collar. Of course, that rebellious groups, which could be a danger to the Royal Family and government, were being taken care of by the execution groups from Soutland's special forces, which were taking orders straight from Harlen. And of course, this information couldn't leave the halls of Ministry of Defense, because that wasn't what modern nation would do in era, when life of other beings is one of the most important principles of the country.
"Just don't start spreading this information to everyone you meet."Harlen whispered.
"Who do you think we are?"Imri huffed."We would never do that."
"National security is the most important."Ellia added.
Generla nodded.
"Excuse me, sir and misses."a young voice said.
The three turned in that direction, only to see a man, dressed in camouflage pants with desert pattern, yellow T-Shirt and military grade boots. He had short, black hair and blue eyes. On his back, he had a travel bag.
He approached the three and stood next to them.
"Are you, sir, general Harlen Ordell by any chance?"he asked.
"Yes, that would be me."Harlen replied, eying the man from top to bottom."And who are you?"
The man extended his hand.
"Major Timothy Albeit, United States Marines."he introduced himself."I'm supposed to observe the Offworld Storm on behalf of US military."
"Oh, then…"Harlen took his hand and shook it."It's a pleasure to meet you, major."
"Same here, sir."Tim said."I would never expect to meet someone as famous as you."
"Am I that famous?"general snickered.
"I guess many soldiers or military leaders heard about you, sir."Next, he looked at Imri and Ellia."And your companions are…?"
"Allow me to introduce."Harlen said and pointed at the two."Queen Imri Ordell-Halmer, wife to king Arlan I Ordell and princess Ellia Ordell, third in line to Soutland's throne."
Two women giggled, hearing Harlen's 'official' tone. Tim, in the meantime, bowed.
"It's a pleasure to meet you."he said.
"The pleasure is ours."Imri said.
Ellia only nodded.
"I guess you want to know, what people related to Royal Family are doing here, instead aboard their limo or something?"
"No, sir, it's your own thing, so I shouldn't dwell on it."
"At least he's well brought up."queen stated.
"True. And stop with that 'sir'. Call me Harlen."general smirked.
"If you say so."
"And why are you traveling the same way as we do?"Ellia asked.
"Simple."Tim through up his arms."US won't waste money to send only one major to another galaxy, even if it's needed."
"Understandable."Imri stated.
Tim then noticed, that Ellia wanted to ask something else, but clearly wasn't brave enough.
"Is something the matter?"he turned to her.
"Uh…um…"princess said."Your last name…I think I read about it somewhere…"
Major nodded.
"You must have probably read about my older sister."he said.
"And who is your sister?"Harlen asked.
"Unfortunately, WAS."Tim sighed."It was colonel Jessica Albeit. Or, more known under her husband's name, Jessica Richards."
"Wait…"Harlen frowned."THAT Jessica Richards? One who led scout missions beyond the Gate before Resistance performed full-scale offensive? The one which commanded Marines of Task Force 03? Hero of Great Galactic War?"
"Same one."Tim nodded."I see you are well informed."
"I lead all of Soutland's military, I have to."general threw up his arms.
"I always looked up to her in everything. When I needed something, she was here to help me."Tim looked at the sky."We all really miss her."
"We?"Imri asked.
"Yeah. I'm not her only sibling. Actually, I'm the youngest of the four."Tim explained."Jessica was the third of our bunch, with Sandy being the second and Jason being the first. All four of us were fighting in GGW and us three are still in the military, per family tradition."
"Great tradition."Harlen stated.
Right then, Nina came running back to them.
"And this is princess Nina Ordell, fourth in the line to the throne."Harlen introduced her.
Nina looked at Tim and risen an eyebrow.
"And who is he?"she asked.
"I'm maj…"Tim started saying, but Nina waved her hand to stop him.
"Yeah, cool."she said."I found the cab that will…Ouch!"
She started massaging the back of her head after Imri hit it.
"What was that for?"Nina asked.
"You shouldn't talk like that to newly met person, you know it!"Imri stated.
"Yeah, sorry."Nina mumbled.
"Anyway, we will be going."Harlen said."I'll see you later."
"Of course, Harlen."Tim said and walked away.
With that, the four went to the taxi Nina found. It was a white van with a holographic plate with word 'Taxi' placed on it. Driver invited them in and they seated themselves inside, Harlen on the front seat and the three in the back. General turned to them.
"Okay, you know the plan?"he asked.
Imri and Ellia nodded, while Nina just threw up her arms.
"Really?"the three asked in sync.
"What?"Nina looked at them."I don't even know, why are we here."
"Wha…Damn it…"Harlen face palmed himself."Nina, we told you already. You three have to represent the Royal Family during Offworld Storm maneuvers."
"Couldn't Arlan come here then?"youngest princess asked.
"You know, he is the king, so he has a really tight schedule."Ellia pointed out."Not to mention, that he wanted to stay with Deven and Risa."
Prince Deven and princess Risa were Arlan and Imri's children, with Deven being older and thus, the first in line to the throne and Risa being the second.
"He could hire some babysitter."Nina threw up her arms.
"You know how he is."Imri said."Besides, because Offworld Storm is still two weeks away, we will have a lot of time to see around the city and maybe do some shopping."
"At least something good."Nina smirked.
The three women giggled, while Harlen just sighed and turned back towards the front.
"Hard travel, huh, general?"the driver asked.
"Not as hard as you think."Harlen replied.
"Alright, where to?"
"First, we're gonna drop off the three at Fertis Lane Hotel. Then, to the Colonization Zone General HQ."
"Understood, sir."
The vehicle then proceeded to go to the hotel, where they dropped off Imri, Ellia and Nina, and after that, Harlen was dropped off at the C.Z. General HQ.
May 8
23:00
East of Fort Alnus, Falmart
Twelve M5 Schwarzkopf tanks were cutting through the night, rumbling their tense threads. Wide sandbank of Alnus' training grounds was a perfect place for armored mock battles. Captain Verius Fegran, commander of the company, which was slimmed down by three tanks, had the last target in front of him. Light elevation in front of them was a temporary HQ and supply base of the enemy. Position defended by a platoon of tanks was going to soon change into a smoking crater. Artillery was waiting for Verius' orders for few minutes already. Direct fire by M991 self-propelled howitzers was supposed to pin the enemy down, allowing the company to get in firing range. Anti-tank defenses dug in on the hill couldn't withstand that. Then, shattered defenders were to rout, at least that was the plan. Hill was perfectly visible, clear top seemed completely dead. Verius was well aware, that these were only appearances. On the slopes, teams equipped with AT weapons were waiting. Same was with flanks. Captain was smiling against his will, seeing the approaching victory. He had no idea, how wrong he was.
"Six's down! Tank destroyed!"Commander of Third Platoon shouted, as if he was skinned. Verius was stunned, for few seconds he looked at the tactical screen, blinking with red of destroyed tank. They said there was no enemy there.
"Captain, we have four contacts on right flank, they're pounding Third Platoon."Tank's driver, after not hearing commander's reaction, reported the thing, which was clear to everyone, especially to Third Platoon.
"Third and Second Platoon to the right, First and Fourth, follow me."Verius put everything on one card. If artillery takes down the AT positions, they won't have a problem destroying the HQ and won't take losses. Behind them was a company of BTR-120s, which troops had to provide cover and support to the armored fist. Two platoons surely had to blast three tanks to shreds.
"Captain, Third Platoon lost two tanks, it…Third tanks destroyed. Third Platoon ceased to exist…"Commander of Second Platoon, which automatically took over the command after virtual death of Third's commander, said in despair.
"Who the fuck is there?!"Verius hit the white steel inside of the tower so hard it rung.
"It's probably Gerhi, only his platoon is capable of such miracles."Driver didn't hide his fascination with the dance, which was performed by the three M5s, blasting with their 125mm guns. Square figures in infrared were gracefully deceiving the gunners. They deserved their name. Verius looked at the screen. He just noticed, that one of enemy tanks is marked as destroyed. Only two were left.
"Lieutenant, you have to sweep them out of there. One platoon of 120s is following us, rest go towards the hill. Secure the flanks and await further orders."Verius looked at the screen and cursed under his breath. Fifth tank just fell victim to Gerhi's platoon."Fucking virtuoso…"
They were five kilometers away from the hill. The tactical screen didn't look that good. They destroyed one of Gerhi's tanks, rest routed, evading the massacre. Active and passive defense systems, connected with great talent and training of the crews could elevate the armored battle to higher levels. Verius' company just learned that. From twelve tanks, he had seven left. Three protected the flank with four BTRs, other four had the untouched hill in front of them.
"Artillery, hit the target, I repeat, hit the target."
"Copy, payload inbound."Commander of the howitzers' battery sighed, as if he waited for that order for years.
Tactical screen flickered, digital explosions were tearing the slope of the hill, throwing digital chippings around. Circles, showing the range of the explosions, were blending together in harmony of rendered explosions. System reported. Thirty eight percent of enemy living force was supposed to be annihilated on the hill. If data in Verius' computer was correct, two platoons of infantry had to die in ruined entrenchments.
"This is Baras."major Turon Baras, commander of the battalion, said."Training's over. You did well, Fegran."
"Could be better…"Verius muttered.
"All commanders, be in battalion's staff building within the next forty five minutes."
"Understood."came the common reply.
Half an hour later, Verius' armored company, BTR-120 company, artillery battery and infantry were coming back to their base in Fort Alnus.
Fort Alnus, the first Resistance military base on the planet, was known to basically everyone. After the last war, it was given under the jurisdiction of Falmartian Armed Forces. When it was fully reconstructed, it became a home to soldiers of Royal Alnus Armored Combat Battalion and 19th Infantry Battalion of 10th Armored Brigade of 1st Royal Saderan Armored Division. Alnustown, still sitting in the shadow of the fortress, grew because of that, as now, it had to also fill in one thousand eight hundred soldiers alongside their families, not to mention the base's standing garrison and all of the other support staff.
Column of vehicles made their way to the vehicle park and there, all were disembarked by their crews. Verius send his troops away shortly after. Only two people stayed.
"Well, that was a bummer."captain Hernik Polerius, commander of Fourth Platoon and son of Bargry governor, said.
"Yeah…"Verius sighed.
Next, he looked at his other companion.
"And you shouldn't show off like that."he said.
"What can I do?"captain Voiteus Gerhi, commander of Fifth Platoon, smirked."I'm just good at it."
"But you still had to run."Hernik pointed out.
"It wasn't running, it was a planned retreat."Voiteus stated.
"Yeah, sure."
"Wanna fight over that?"
"I say: why not?"
Verius just shook his head and sighed.
"Guys, do you really have to be like that?"he asked."We're on the same team. Behave like you should, or I'll send you to the solitary."
"You can't do that."Hernik stated.
"Wanna find out?"
Immediately, they both went quiet. They both knew, their commander had some strong connections, which he fortunately decided not to exploit.
"Alright, let's go, or the old man will whoop out asses."Verius said.
"Sure."the two replied.
Three commanders then proceeded to walk through the alleys of the base towards the HQ building. They were let in by two guards and after walking through the corridors, they reached the briefing room, which was filled to the brim. There were commanders of combat units, such as Verius, but also commanders supply, logistics and anti-chem defense. As always during trainings, all of them were very busy, just like the combat troops. Some of them looked tense, while others, which had actual combat experience from Anti-HO Campaigns, just stood there, waiting, unmoved by anything.
Also, what wasn't surprising, considering the changes that happened to country's policy, not all of them were Human. Except of Faliens, like Elves, Beastmen or Dwarfs, he could see some aliens from the Milky Way, like Nashini or Shakayans, which after settling on GGW, decided to settle on Flare Prime. And there was a lot of them not only in 10th Armored, but in the entire Falmartian Armed Forces, as both Faliens and aliens made up one third of 650,000 soldiers serving in FAF.
Commander of the 10th Armored was also a Nashini, the first alien to reach such a high position in Falmartian Army. Colonel Nashi'Rad stood in front of the soldiers, eying them with approval. Once they stood in front of him, they stood on attention and saluted.
"Sir!"they all exclaimed.
"At ease."colonel said.
All officers stood at ease. Colonel nodded.
"What can I say, ladies and gentlemen?"Rad started."I actually don't have much to say. You all did an amazing job. Captain Gerhi?"
"Yes, sir?"Gerhi asked.
"Great defense. With three tanks, you took out enemy platoon, loosing only one tank in the process. Some might not see it as anything amazing, but in my book, it is great. Not to mention, that you also managed to withdraw in a well manner."
"Thank you, sir."
"Captain Fegran?"
"Yes, sir?"Verius asked.
"You also did great. You took the hill pretty quick."
"But unfortunately, we lost an entire platoon, sir. For me, it wasn't that great of a performance."
"Unfortunately, in military fields, losses can't be evaded. I'm still proud of the work you all are doing."
Next, Rad took a breath.
"Alright, people. As you know, in less than two weeks, Offworld Storm maneuvers will take place on Taurus III. These will be the biggest of all the joint exercises we did till now. I hope that I will see you at your best there and that we will greatly deepen our capabilities alongside our allies."
"Sir, yes, sir!"all officers exclaimed.
"That's all I have for you. You can go now."colonel said.
Officers then proceeded to leave the tent, with the trio of Verius, Gerhi and Hernik leaving as the last.
"That was pretty short."Hernik said.
"Well, colonel did serve in Nashini military before and I heard, that they always like to do the things quick and simply."Verius stated.
"True that."Gerhi then stretched."Okay, boys, how about we go to the tavern in Alnustown? The drinks are on me!"
"I just hope you have enough money?"Hernik smirked.
"Hey, I might be a peasant's son, but I have enough denari in my wallet."Gerhi replied.
"Okay then. Let's go!"Hernik said.
"Just don't drink too much. We still have to prepare for being transported to Taurus III."Verius reminded."Tomorrow we're moving out to Bargry Space Port to be loaded onto transports."
"Oh, don't worry, it's not like we're gonna drink our asses off."Gerhi waved it off.
One and a half hour later, Verius literally pulled his companions to their barracks, after they drunk too much bear at the tavern. Then, he himself went to his barracks, where he quickly laid down to sleep.
May 9
15:44
Akropolis Space Port
Akropolian Space Port was becoming the most important in this part of the world. Civilian and cargo movement was giving it a profit so big, that they never before would have expect it. Akropolis, at the end of the first half of second decade of new era started being a rival for Sadera. None Milky Way economic potentate could leave one of their biggest markets in Andromeda.
Constantly expanded and modernized space port had to keep up with thousands of inflowing passengers. It was still far from such behemoths like Heathrow in London or JFK in New York, but it was estimated, that in fifty years, it might not only reach their level, but also could surpass them.
Waiting for a check-in, major Felidius fanned himself with a passport in his hand. Passenger flight to Sadera had to happen in forty minutes and queue of travelers was becoming tense, with people wanting to quickly move forward and pass the customs. Felidius was irritated too. He spent last few weeks gathering info through his other coworkers already at place and now, he was just wasting time. And a mother with four squealing children in front of him surely didn't help. He hoped, that his place will be far from them.
Casually, as if he wanted to say 'enough', he turned to look at the other passengers. He noticed some of his group. As a major, he was responsible for them and their mission with his head. He sighed deeply, what had to look like irritation, but a actually was just a way to relax. An order to perform actual mission was much different than any, even most realistic, simulation. Screams of four kids were silenced, when they disappeared deep in the corridor, when the time to get checked has come.
"Good morning, do you have any bottles with dangerous liquids, pocket knife or any other dangerous items with you or in your luggage?"Times were peaceful, but when tensions between two powers in other galaxy were high, security measures were needed.
"No."
He didn't have any of the things named by the official. Why should he? Everything he needed will be given to him at place.
XXX
And this is it for now. A bit shorter chapter, but I hope you feel satisfied with it. We checked on our favorite villains and what are they up to, while preparations for Offworld Storm are still moving forward, with people already arriving at Taurus III to take part in them. What will come out from all of this? Let's wait and see.
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See you soon!