The warmth of daylight. A cool gentle gale soothed in tandem. The once ash-ridden skies had thankfully vanished from all traces, liberating the shining sun to reveal the bright blue sky. Were it not for the ruined cityscape it was as if war had never occurred, let alone a battle just yesterday. The early morning of Farbanti harbor was a beautiful reward for those that persevered.
And yet, Cleveland was in no mood to appreciate the scenery. She could not bring herself to accept the gift.
Not when there were those who could never see such things ever again.
She remained knelt by the shore, facing the horizon. She stared off into the distance as if to admire the day but the beauty was not what lay in her sight. Gazing into the distance, her mind was if adrift on the calm waves, floating aimlessly in the open but empty sea. Her mind drifted, bringing with it only her thoughts for company.
Why? Why her? Why did she go through with it? Why couldn't she had done something different?
Cleveland gave a heavy sigh.
She felt a familiar presence by her side. "I was wondering where you were."
"I wasn't really hungry this morning," Cleveland answered as Helena knelt by her side. Like the young cruiser, Helena looked out into the empty ocean. Her eyes shone with memories, past feelings, and regrets for what could have been. Together, they shared the sentiment.
"... What happened wasn't your fault," Helena softly assured.
Cleveland said nothing, letting the silence answer for her. Of course her friend had a point - the fate that befell Raven and the others were beyond her control. There was little Cleveland could have done to prevent it. But the truth did little to assuage her.
No, it wasn't her fault that they died. They met their fates from someone else's hand: Tanager's. It was her order that the Aquila Vanguard died from. She's the reason! They may be enemies, but Cleveland and Raven found a mutual respect for each other. Tanager was their commander and she left them for dead! The very thought simmered inside of her, the idea, the audacity that anyone could do this to their own. It was wrong, it was betrayal! It was-
Her hand felt a warm embrace and Cleveland snapped out of her trance. When she turned, she was greeted by Helena's concerned visage. In an instant, Cleveland anchored herself back to her side, letting go of her anger with another sigh. It wasn't like her to be this way. She just felt that Raven and the others deserved better.
The knight glanced down to see Helena's gloved hand on top of her own. Cleveland turned her hand over and reciprocated the embrace. Tender fingers intertwined, the rite was complete.
When Cleveland glanced back up, she now saw a warm smile staring back at her.
The pair turned back to the sea but something caught Cleveland's eye. Bobbing along the waves, something approached the pair, delivering it straight into her hand by a surging tide. Fishing it out of the water, the duo were surprised to see it was a square scrap of cloth - a handkerchief. Unfurling it, neither found anything of note. But as they turned it around, a bigger surprise astounded them. On the back, inscribed in cursive and having miraculously withstood the forces of nature, lay a short but recognizable message:
A rush of wind, the sound of the sea
In the endless blue, we take flight
Cold and vast, the oceans stretch to infinity
But by your ebony wings
Our flock is whole, my heart is complete
Of all desires given by the world
All I have is but one
- S
"Ebony wings… flock… desires… 'S'..." Cleveland stopped and so did Helena. The two exchanged glances, already on the same page. Looking back, Cleveland held the cloth gingerly, recognizing its sanctity. Together, the two ships reread the poem. Every word now held greater meaning; every line absorbed more diligently, copied and stored in both readers' minds - the last will and testimony of the late Sparrow. And by extension, all of the Aquila Vanguard.
As she recorded the words to her heart, Cleveland vowed she would remain by her friends' and sisters' sides no matter what. Alive or dead, they will always be together.
The young knight then folded the handkerchief. In half, again and again until it was like a tightly-wound ball, bereft of blemish or fouling. The pair had their own thoughts as Cleveland folded the handkerchief. She held it before her in the palm of her hand, its content secure. The soaked cloth elicited a trickle, whereupon a faint scent of perfume rose from it.
Cleveland held her gaze upon the cloth one last time before she gently laid it down. A surging tide picked up Sparrow's handkerchief where it then returned to the sea. Both Helena and Cleveland watched as it sailed away on its lonely voyage out to the horizon. It drifted further and further, until it vanished in the blue waves, never to return to earth.
Cleveland wondered if it had slipped beneath the waves, to reunite with its owner. To reunite with Raven, or the others - Condor, Finch, Magpie. It no longer mattered whether it marked any of their graves. Their memories blurred together as one and left the realm of reality like a dream.
The two remained quiet for another minute before Helena softly broke the solitude. "Ready to go back?"
Cleveland sighed as she rose, shaking the weight from her knees. "Yeah, let's."
The pair got up and as they turned around, were stopped by the appearance of Kestrel. The carrier stood, facing their way with a solemn expression.
The three stood in another moment of silence. Neither said a word - everyone had already understood each others' feelings.
When the lull ran its course, Kestrel took a breath. "Good morning, Cleveland, Helena. Did you rest well?"
"Er, yeah I guess we did," Cleveland nervously replied, glad to feel warmth coming back in her mannerisms. "How about you?"
"The night was… exhausting," the carrier answered. "I fear there is far more to accomplish before we are done returning this land to peace... That is why I need you two to follow me back to base immediately."
The Eagle ships looked at each other. Kestrel's look of concern only fueled their own. Without a word, the two fell by the Federation carrier's side as she lead the way back to their provisionary base. Whatever questions they had, they were more afraid of the answers.
Cleveland took one last peek at the sea. The day was only just beginning, with the tranquil blue sky and glimmering sea tempting her with positive disposition. But the possibility of it being a ruse unsettled her. The deception of peace - the war was not over just yet.
Amid the clear skies, a faint streak of white slowly made its way across.
Silence.
As crowded the situation room became with questions and thoughts on everyones' minds, barely a word was uttered as ships filed in. As typical of the briefings, Fort Grace and Andromeda stood at the head. Yet, their restless frowns and reticence made for rather cold - and concerning - reception.
It was only when the last member slipped through the door that either of them finally spoke up. "Alright, everyone's here. Let's begin. We don't have much time."
Concern turned to anxiousness. It filled the air like a freezing draft.
Andromeda quickly brought up the display, showing the map of the continent. "We've uncovered vital intel of our enemy's next move. From what we've gathered so far, the remaining Aegir Fleet have retreated to Megalith, a superweapon that was secretly under development. Megalith is a satellite-control facility that can shoot down asteroid fragments in orbit. Those fragments are then sent hurtling down to earth. In short, Tanager has found a way to weaponize them."
The audience was held captive by this announcement. More questions silently surged within the crowd, sparking to life in the form of raised hands and voices.
"What's the range?"
"Would this even work as well as they think it will…?"
"Do we know what Tanager's target is?"
"It's got to be our cities..."
Fort Grace surveyed the crowd but rather than address the questions, she turned to the intelligence vessel with a grave nod. Strumming some keys, Andromeda updated the display. All over the land, once dotted with names and landmarks, fields of circles filled the map one after another, coinciding with those names. St. Ark, Los Canas, San Salvacion, North Point, Farbanti. The whole continent had become covered. Numbers filled each circle, rapidly ascending. They all fed towards a single row of digits that swelled to an innumerable height, marked by three simple words to denote that number's meaning:
Total Projected Casualties
The ships' questions were then answered before their very eyes.
Where the mood was once that of uncertainty, it now shifted unanimously to horror. Andromeda couldn't help but share their sentiment.
A figure immediately stood up, brimming with impatience. "What the hell are we waiting here for, then? We've got to stop them!"
"I understand your trepidation, Tennessee, but let us not act brashly," Ark Royal suggested. "It would do us no good to leap into the jaws of our enemy. No doubt they await us."
Sheffield rose from her seat, as did Edinburgh. "Just give the word and we will set off immediately."
"No. A covert operation would take too long." All eyes turned to Fort Grace as she stood alone at the front. "We have very limited intel and and even less time. Megalith is already operational; meteorological reports are already confirming freak meteor showers and occasional impacts throughout the continent that are increasing in severity and frequency. If we are to put an end to this, we mustn't delay."
With another press of a button, Andromeda sent the display fading to black before it flashed to the next frame. A dense network of harshly-colored lines were laid against a dark backdrop, resembling almost like a circuit before everyone soon realized it was in fact the blueprints of their next destination - the map of the hell they were to descend into next. Gasps, whispers, and silent curses were heard as the audience beheld the sight, aware of how terrible its grandeur would be in person.
White Valley rolled her eyes at the reactions. "So what, it's big. So how do we blow it up?"
"We're not sure," the intelligence vessel admitted. "All intel we gathered about this were fragmented remains from the Aegir Fleet database that barely survived their torch 'n burn op. From the looks of things, Megalith is a bunker with multiple hardpoints for automated defenses. Its exterior will be reinforced and hardened against any and all conventional attacks. Where this thing's controlling the OLDS satellite from or any weak point, we can't tell.
"We know what Megalith will do, but what to expect from it… we will only find out once we get there."
"And get there we will..." The room fell to quiet as Fort Grace turned to face everyone, garnering their attention with their eyes. Fort Grace took note of the stares: some eager, some weary, many anxious and restless. For all their familiarity with being tools of war, the carrier could see that many could never be familiar with fear - the fear that comes with the battle that would decide the fates of many.
Perhaps her own eyes were the same.
Fort Grace took a breath. "... It's become clear that Tanager won't take her defeat kindly. After Stonehenge, after San Salvacion, after Farbanti… but not once did we ever expect that she would try to destroy everything. The madness that gripped her into starting this war now wants her to prolong it. And now, with each passing minute, more and more people will have their suffering prolonged. More and more will die in this war that should have never begun, from a cause that should never have been endorsed.
"But our cause is just. The Delta Coalition was founded on one important mission: to protect the sanctity of the Usean continent from aggressors. People from all countries, ships of all histories, we've all fought, suffered, and risked our lives for each other. All our trials, all our battles, all our setbacks and triumphs - it was all to defeat those who wanted to take away our freedoms, our land, our waters, our skies. The land is finally liberated, but the enemy that started this all is still at large. Our principle has remained unchanged… until now.
"Now, on this day, the Delta Coalition has a new mission, probably the most important mission in the history of this continent: stopping Tanager, no matter the cost!"
And with that, the eyes that exuded fear disappeared, replaced only by fiery determination. The stakes that once weighed heavily in the air was now seemingly lifted from their shoulders, everyone standing tall for one final effort - the last battle.
This time, Fort Grace was certain her own eyes were like everyone else's. Like a mirror, the carrier reflected the rising mood with a determined look. "Everyone to the docks; get what repairs and preparations you can. The seas belong to everyone; it's time we take back our shattered seas!"
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
HistoricHippos:
One last filler-ish chapter before we go on to the main event. Felt that I just needed to throw in a quick scene that references the hangar speech you'd hear when prepping your plane for the final mission of AC04, with Fort Grace's own speech being adapted from it. Although the last part personally feels a bit too on-the-nose.
Next up: the battle of Megalith!