Chapter Six- The Storm
No plan survives contact with the enemy. Ramirez knew that all too well, and pondered on the abject arrogance of the Nasr Navy in trusting entirely on the maelstrom of the North Dannel Straight to shield their capitol from destruction. Much of his memory and old ship had not been functional, but he had enough of his technology to teach the Valuan engineers how to construct more powerful engines, ones capable of fording the sky rifts.
His flagship, the Monoceros, was equipped with the engines, as well as upgraded cannons and other various elite improvements. Being close with Lord Galcian had it's benefits. The ship was a dark black color with a red stripe down it's long nose. Rows of cannon lined the deck, and his bridge was situated to perfectly overlook any situation. The ship was tipped by a large 'horn' fashioned from Silvite material smelted from his old ship, which could withstand the fury of any weapon. It was not even close to the specifications of the Delphinus, the prize ship of the Armada, but he was not shocked the pampered Prince Enrique got the best toys.
Vice Captain Baker was a practical man in many ways. He knew his duty, he was a calm professional in battle, and he knew what pleased his superiors and how to keep his mouth shut. Such prudence had made him the prime candidate to be the second in command to the cold Ramirez. The last two had been killed by the Silvite, and he still survived, which he figured meant he was blessed by the Moons. "Admiral, our ships are almost through the rift. The storm is big and deep, but the entire task force is moving steadily. All is according to your plan."
"Good," Ramirez replied, looking out on the bridge from behind his platinum-blonde bangs. "The reconnaissance picket?"
"They just radioed in their report, m'lord. Not a single Nasr ship of war stands guard over the harbor at this late hour. Karzhai's blockade of the South Dannel is still in position. Nasrad is defenseless. We can take the city without destroying it."
"Yes, I suppose we could," The dark, wiry man looked over at him. "But that is not our purpose. Once we are in clear sky, mark course for Nasrad at full rudder. The task force will assume standard attack formation just in case."
"As you wish." With a slippery smile, Baker faded away in a manner that baffled even the Admiral. It was no wonder he had lasted this long in the Armada. The storm shutters were all closed over the bridge's window as unchecked winds battered their heavy armor, whipping around at incalculable speeds.
Although they were shrouded in the swirling cloud cover of the maelstrom, twenty Spectre-class cruisers were formed up in a spread around the Monoceros. The newest type of warship, they all looked like blockier versions of the Delphinus, and made up the entirety of his fleet with their similarly enhanced engines. Their firepower, along with his flagship, would prove more than ample for their purpose.
They were going to wipe Nasrad, jewel of the desert, treasure of the Red Moon, and the heart of organized resistance to the Valuan Empire, off the face of the map by sundown.
0-0
Daccat was quite possibly the most famous man in the history of the civilized nations. The greatest air pirate, he was feared as a genius engineer and master tactician, and rumors stated that he was the first man to discover the secrets of large-scale steel forging, long before Valua became an industrial superpower. His flagship, the Jolly Roger, was able to travel to Deep Sky, a feat never replicated beyond his lifetime. He had seen all six of Arcadia's moons with his own eyes and traveled to each land across the world.
In retrospect, the fact that he had placed a pair of ancient and powerful magically-enchanted statues to guard his ancient treasure wasn't that astonishing to Gilder. He frowned, glaring up at the enormous heads as they took up positions on the opposite sides of the group. "Keep on your guard," He instructed to the teenagers, who all drew their weapons.
They circled above them, their crystals beginning to glow. "They're starting their attack," Vyse guessed in alarm. Gilder took aim and opened fire, although the two shots he got off ineffectively lodged in the stone sides of one of the guardians. He didn't manage to pull the trigger a third time as pain shot through him.
In shock, he dropped the firearm, falling to the ground and not noticing his comrades falling as well. Bands of quick-moving light passed over them like a tornado as Sinistra and Destra performed their Death Waltz. The air became pale and cold, as Aika passed out, followed by Vyse quickly. They faded slowly into the enveloping void.
Fina remained just barely alert enough to feel the energies of Vyse, Aika, and Gilder all beginning to fade away. Somehow the statues were draining their very life essence. As a Silvite, she was naturally resilient to such an attack, but she felt her own strength wavering as well. She needed to act fast to prevent the end. Cupil, attack the crystals... they're the source of power. The small being was in agony as it felt it's master's life begin to slip away, but she told him again and he moved to obey her command.
A small, squeaky throwing-star hit the purple crystal of Sinistra. It could not have dodged the attack if it had cared, but it cared a lot as a spiderweb of cracks began to appear on it's crystal. Before it could do anything, it shattered, the pieces falling down past the metal platform and landing around the prone forms of the humans. It shivered, and Destra pulled away from it, the mysterious light fading from around them.
The Death Waltz was broken, but the energies siphoned from them did not return. Vyse gasped out for breath, shaking as he felt a numbing cold, and was unable to move on his own. Aika was still unconscious. Gilder got enough of his senses back to grab vacantly for his pistol, and fumbled with the cartridge box under his coat for fresh ammunition.
She knelt next to the three of them, bowing her head and focusing all of her energy into a prayer to the Moons. Moons, purify our souls, she thought, feeling the lunar energy in the room begin to increase. In a flash of dazzling light, six rainbow spheres appeared in the air, forming a large ring around her and her friends. Combining at the top like a cone, the energy rained down like a heavy downpour, filling each of them with energy to replace that stolen by the Waltz.
Gilder struggled to his feet, squinting and looking as Destra and Sinistra angrily circled the platform from above. "... Wha happened?" He asked. "Wait... the attack..." He turned over to look at the teenagers, but they were all fine or relatively fine. "Aw, man!" Looking at Sinistra he glowered. "Now you're gonna get it, asshole."
The sound of gunfire startled Vyse to movement, sitting up to watch the muzzle flashes from the Blue Rogue's guns fill the darkened chasm. The silver bullets did very little to the hard stone rocks physically, and the power within each was useless, as Sinistra was not alive in any sense of the word. "Damn!" She turned to Fina. "Looks like we'll just need to take down their physical forms. Fina! Enchant these guns with Red magic again!" Tossing them the short distance, the timid girl somehow managed to catch both of the heavy Nasr pistols.
Vyse sighed. "Powerful... stuff... don't quite feel that good still." Despite his woebegone complaints, he turned to look at Sinistra. He noticed Destra seemed to be acting oddly, and when he looked over at the statue-head which still had a crystal, he saw it descending rapidly. "Ah crap! Duck!"
Attempting to ram them was a good thought given it's mass and utterly solid build, but they were quick enough to evade the attack and send the floating head gently soaring over the other side of the shadowed depths beneath them. It spun around, and opened it's mouth wide, eyes glowing again. Aika opened her eyes in time to see a trail of molten lava spew from it's mouth, right for the platform.
At the last second, Vyse raised his swords, crossing them and building up what spirit energy he had left. "Pirates of old, defend our cause," He implored, hoping that his weakened power would somehow he augmented by the presence of Daccat's magic on this island, and make a strong enough Skull Shield.
A large floating skull appeared in the air before them, and absorbed all of the lava before vaporizing back into nothingness. He blinked for several seconds, then gave his friends a confident smirk. "Knew that would work."
Fina had been filling the guns with Red energy during that time, and handed them back to Gilder. He smirked and twirled the weapons, his fingers instantly seeking the nimble triggers. "We need to hit both of those things hard. Let's see how this works." Aiming for both of them, one with each pistol, he began to fire again. Explosions blossomed through the air, rocking both of the statues back and chipping off pockmarks on the aged stone features of both.
Aika flipped up to her feet, drawing her boomerang. "Payback time," She said angrily, tossing the weapon. It twirled a graceful arc through the air, leaving behind a small path of wind in it's wake. Striking Destra, she made a sizable dent in it's surface before her weapon returned. She kept up the attack. "Moons! Give Me Strength!" Summoning up what knowledge of the obscure Purple Magics that she had, she knelt down, feeling the violet energy surround her. Panika... the spell of confusion. Targeting Sinistra, she launched the spell.
The spell seemed to bounce off the sturdy foe, and it turned around to start another attack for a moment. They all dove out of the way again as the head went sailing past, sparking against the metal for several seconds and leaving a dent on the platform's surface. When it reached the other side of them it kept going, and barreled straight into it's partner with a mighty crash.
Stone met stone, and the surviving crystal of the other statue broke apart upon impact. The two massive foes heaved against each other with all of their might, locked in an intense struggle and leaving the humans to watch. Vyse turned to Aika. "Hey, that's a pretty cool move. I didn't know you did a lot of Purple Magic."
"Fina taught me some of it," The redhead chirped, nodding to the timid girl, who looked away and seemed embarrassed by the small attention. "You know, when I wasn't too busy getting dirty with her." She stuck out her tongue, seemingly not embarrassed by that at all anymore. It was a different story for Vyse and Fina, who both got a shade of red unmatched by the Red Moon itself.
Gilder chuckled. "Well, while they're busy fighting, I say we nab the treasure and make for the boats." They all turned, seeing the walkways leading to the enormous chest at the other side emerge from the shadowed depths and allowing them access. They reached the other side quickly, approaching the treasure chest. On one hand, they saw it with someone approaching reverence and stalled, but they also realized that Panika wore off after mere minutes, and so if they didn't want to face Daccat's golems again, they would need to make haste.
Naturally, the oldest Blue Rogue was the first to approach. Lifting open the lid without any resistance and finding it unlocked, he peered inside and gasped. "W... wha? What the hell is this?"
"What the hell is what?" Vyse asked, walking with the girls to either side of him to peer into the rich container. What he saw struck him dumb, too. At the bottom of the well-padded chest was a single ancient gold coin and a withered piece of parchment scribbled in a script that resembled Nasrian, but was not the language of the desert nation. Picking it up, he blinked. "Um... I can't read this. Fina?"
She nodded. "I believe I can translate Redite. Let me see... 'Brave souls that come seeking my treasure... do not be discouraged. You already have the most valuable treasures in the world. Comrades, trust, cooperation. That is treasure with true value in this world. Signed, Daccat'."
Aika frowned. "I don't believe this..."
Gilder started laughing seemingly spontaneously, a jovial and deep laugh of amusement. "Ahaha... old Daccat's sense of humor was as legendary as his cunning and skill. That son of a Huskra... oh, that was a good laugh. Laughing beats gold any day of the week in my book."
Fina smiled gently. "Well, this treasure has reunited us all... and friends are more important than any treasure. Captain Daccat was a very smart man." Cupil agreed, vigorously circling his master and her friends and chirping away.
The other girl's frown only deepened. "Friends are important and stuff, but he could have at least left some money for our troubles..." She looked up at the battling stone heads and said, "Wonder how long until they notice us again... humph. All these old legends, first Pyrynn, then Rixis, now Daccat's Island... all kaput! Almost no treasure anywhere. All we got were a few moonstones and a set of armored robes we found in hidden chests along the way."
He smirked. "I bet the greatest air pirate of all time spent all his cash when he was still alive. You can't take it to Deep Sky with you, y'know." The teenager joined Gilder in another laugh.
"Yeah, but now we're still poor," Aika objected, throwing the rhetorical water onto Vyse's mood.
"Let's get back to Nasrad," Gilder said, reaching into his coat. "First, I'm going to leave a small surprise for the two chuckle heads up there." He pulled out a long red tube with a small rope connected to the top. "Go on back to the ships and wait for me." They nodded, running back through the walkways while Gilder set up the Red moonstone dynamite charges so that their power would flow mostly up into the cave, where the stone figures were, and hopefully obliterate them altogether. After he had laid his bombs carefully, he lit the joint fuse and set off at a run. By now the Paniked golem was returning to it's supernatural senses, and spotted Gilder right before he ran off into the cave. The two stone constructs turned to follow, but were cut off by the blasts.
The force released was more than even he expected. Flames nipped playfully at his back, although he didn't feel much like staying around, and ran as hard as he could. The explosive force inexorably pursued, and he found a shortcut into the harbor where Skiff Three was sitting at anchor with Vyse waiting. Leaping out of the cave, he tumbled onto the ground and narrowly avoided the gushing flames, which soared into the sky. The ground was shaking badly.
"You alright?" Vyse called from the side railing of the deck. Gilder got up and brushed himself off, joining him moments later. "Ok. Pull up the anchor, I'll get the engines ready. The girls are gonna shadow us on the way home." Raising the sails to their full and billowing masts, pulling up the anchors and lines keeping the ship aground, and jump-starting the modern engine all took a few minutes, but soon enough they were airborne again, sliding nimbly out of the passage they had come in.
Turning about, they found the Aventura idling nearby. Upon sighting them it slid sideways, nimbly getting up behind them closely. Aika tossed two ropes over to them, which they caught and secured to the deck, effectively linking the two small craft. This dual-configuration sailing ship looked bizarre, but with all their sails billowing and the Nasrian engines at full power, they set off towards the south at full speed, eager to sleep in the warm bed of civilization.
They repelled the occasional monster attack and met to coordinate their maps and navigation, but for the most part all four pirates were left alone with their thoughts of the turbulent and wonderful day. The blazing sun was low in the sky, and Gilder noted they only had an hour or two of light left before nightfall.
I wonder what we'll do next, Vyse mused. We're still after the Moon Crystals, and we've only got two so far... maybe we'll have to go to Valua next. I wonder where the other Crystals are... maybe there are more continents beyond the rifts that limit us. I should ask Fina about it later.
"Land ho," Gilder called out after another half-hour of sailing, as they approached the coast of Nasr on the horizon. "Hm... let's adjust course to the west, looks like we're coming in on the main continental mass instead of Nasrad harbor..." Feeling their way along the hot and sandy shoreline, they soon located the large and proud city. "Finally! Nasrad, dead ahead." Red light bathed everything as the sun was preparing to set, and made a beautiful sight as they pulled into a docking slot near the metropolis of alabaster and fire.
They did not notice the vague speck on the horizon, approaching from the same direction they had a short while ago. Setting lines and anchor up and landing the ships in protected hangars for the night, the rogues regrouped and walked up the large staircases leading out of the docks district and into Nasrad proper.
"I was hoping if we had enough treasure we could buy our own ship and keep hunting for the Moon Crystals," Aika sighed. "Guess that washed up bad."
Gilder chuckled. "No worries. You three are a lot of fun, you know. I think I could help you out. The Claudia should swing by any day, they're usually free of Clara's clutches by now. I could take you on and help you. Certainly seems adventurous enough for my tastes." David'll probably taste it more sour, though. More work, more danger, and saving the world sounds like charity work. He lazily looked up at the sky, and blinked. "Woah... um... ah crap..."
Everyone turned to look up, and saw a heart stopping spectacle. Twenty-one Valuan airships were approaching the city, spread out in professional attack formation and looking ominous, their steel hulls framed against the dusk sky. "The Armada!" Someone called out, and the streets quickly degenerated into shock and panic. The Nasrians looked up and saw their greatest fear hovering over them like the specter of death.
"How'd they get past Karzhai's Fleet?!" Gilder demanded, but he never got a reply. The telltale thundering of cannon filled the air of the city, and the ships lit up, their guns opening fire. Streaks of flame marked the passage of one of the hundreds of shells that started raining on the city. A dozen shots hit the Nasultan's palace in an instant, turning it from a proud enclave into a burning ruin. Flames sparked everywhere, the Valuans working to bombard the city as hard and fast as possible. The ground rumbled. It was almost like the Rains of Destruction all over again.
Defenseless against the obliteration, citizens panicked, running back and forth, dodging rubble, or simply shutting down in unreasoning horror, staring bleakly up at the harbingers of death in the sky. The air pirates all watched the destruction of Nasrad commence, the mighty skyline soon reduced to smoldering ruins.
A shell struck the Desert Provost Inn, Aika and Fina's home away from home during their shipwrecked time. The building exploded, rubble falling around them and barely missing Gilder. This snapped the older man out of it, and he shook himself, looking over in a disturbed fright to the others. "Everyone! We can't just stand around here or we're dead! Get to the docks! Let's get the hell out of here!"
Vyse blinked a few times, then nodded. "There's nothing we can do against that fleet anyway," He said hoarsely, turning and shoving his way through the panicked throngs trying to all swarm to the docks. They saw sheets of flame covering the hangers, some boats out in the open had already sunk out of place from direct hits or fire damage. Citizens crowded anything that could fly, trying to flee, but Valuan soldiers had arrived and started to cut down anyone to ran, herding the terrified masses away from their escape.
The great city wall surrounding Nasrad took another hit, a massive chunk of the granite surface splintering off under the explosive force of the shot and sending waves of rubble into the already agitated mob. The scene was one of literal fire and brimstone, horrifying in every degree. The steps ran red with the blood of innocents, the pirates stepping through it, trying to reach their own craft.
A dozen Nasrian troopers with rifles drawn were advancing on the Valuan dock guards, and a gunfight ensued. The utter chaos around them and simple numbers and tactical ability soon saw all of the troopers slain, with more and more Valuans unloading to reinforce their comrades and cut down the ebony-skinned masses.
Somehow in the pandemonium of the fight the four of them slipped through the massive clusters of people, heading for their hangar, which was dead ahead. Another shell promptly dropped onto the building, demolishing it and ripping apart Skiff Three and the Aventura with a thunderous and vengeful blast. "Our ship," Fina cried out in alarm. Without their only means of escape they would be trapped in the city under fire, probably killed by the advancing Valuan battalions.
Wheeling around, they found their only escape had been blocked by the encroaching wreaths of fire. The screams of the dieing, explosions, and a thousand other horrors drifted over the city like a curtain, thick sheets of black smoke rising from every quarter. Still, the Valuan ships continued their thunderous cannonade, aiming to completely reduce the city so not anything stood above a story high in the confines of it's useless walls.
"We're cut off," Vyse said, scowling. "There has to be another way through..." He paused and trailed off as a figure walked through the fire. It did not touch him at all, and he seemed not to even notice the obstruction. Through the choking heat emerged a shadowed figure that slowly gained definition, and Fina's face took on a recognizing disbelief.
The man standing before them was thin but had muscles, much like Vyse. He was dressed in a tight black uniform with gold trim and leather admiral's pants, with white gloves and dark boots. His pale skin led up to his utterly beautiful face, half-concealed by bangs of off-white hair that fell to around his shoulders in a neatly maintained style. His eyes were not beautiful, but full of malice and hatred that seemed to radiate out of him like the heat of the fires he was seemingly immune to. At his side was sheathed a sword, in a notched scabbard of fine silver.
He spoke, his voice low and dark, like his eyes. "Fina... so you are here. I've been looking for you." He stood before them, regarding each of them in turn before his gaze rested solidly on Fina.
She gasped. "R-Ramirez?" It is true... oh, oh no... Emotions flooded over her and Cupil began to shiver ominously just from the bleed-over provided from the telepathic bond to the girl. Her wide and beautiful eyes were fully open in shock.
"Hey, you know this guy?" Aika said, turning to face Fina, slightly crouching and ready for a battle, even as apocalyptic noises blanketed them and cannons roared still from the airships overhead. Fina did not reply, did not even look at her, just kept staring into the orbs of agonized hatred that belonged to the newest Admiral in the Valuan Armada, and the only other Silvite alive.
Vyse stepped forward, fists balled and also ready for a fight. "Are you the man who led this attack... this... massacre?" Gilder and Aika got up their fury as well, backing him up to either side.
"Yes. From this day forward, the Red Continent, Nasr, and all of it's people are the property of the Valuan Empire." He looked Vyse right in the eyes and even the bold teenager felt a solid shiver in the back of his mind. He pivoted his torso to draw his sword, pulling it out and smoothly pointing it straight at his heart. "And I've come to take you all back to Valua. Surrender or you all die." There was no questioning this man was deadly earnest.
Vyse was about to spit back a defiant reply and draw his own blades, when he felt a soft hand stay his arm. He looked over, and saw in Fina more fear than he'd ever seen in anyone in his life. She looked imploring at him and shook his head. "No... please... he's too strong, we can't fight him... not yet..."
The Blue Rogue stared back, silent for several moments. Fina... Then he turned to look at Ramirez, closed his eyes, and sighed. "We... surrender."
"A wise choice," Ramirez coldly said, bringing his special blade up and holstering it again with another fluid motion, staring them down. He addressed his next statement to the six Marines who had also come through the flames, easily protected by their bulky armor. "Capture the air pirates, seize the Crystals, and place them aboard the Monoceros in maximum-security quarters." Aboard my flagship will you remain prisoners for the two-day journey to Valua... and then you will all be killed... except for you... Fina... They rumbled past him, surrounding the Blue Rogues with lances drawn. They all bowed their heads slightly and followed the barking commands of the Marine sergeant, who ordered them to move out.
As they followed Ramirez through the fire, he made a small path for the prisoners to follow. Fina stared at him and shivered. "Ramirez... why... why are you doing this?" Nothing makes sense... something's changed about him...
Ramirez did not reply, but merely looked ahead. A transport was docked in one of the few undamaged ports, another four Marines standing a vigilant guard over it. He watched them all pile onto the hovering metal skiff, the Blue Rogues utterly surrounded by the enormous Valuan soldiers. The pilot induced the ship to take off, flying into the sky to join the ship at the head of the fleet that was bombarding Nasrad heaviest.
When they reached the flagship, they were stripped of all equipment, weapons, and the Red and Green Moon Crystals were taken by an officer, who stared greedily at the brightly-shining crystals. Fina said, "No!" But a rough shove from one of the soldiers quieted her.
"Take them away," He said in a high Valuan accent. "Separate the men from the girl. Bring the Silvite to the special cell. The Lord Admiral's direct orders." They were quick to obey- tarrying on a directive from the feared combatant courted death in Ramirez's task fleet. Vyse and Gilder were shoved in one barred cell, and Aika was put directly across the hallway from them. The soft rumble of the ship under them changed, and they all noticed that they were now underway.
Fina was spirited away through several secured passageways into a conference room of sorts and shoved in, the door barred and slammed by the two troopers, who then took up a vigil in front of the portal. She looked around- an oak table full of maps and various papers sat with a dozen padded seats in the middle of the room, and a small glass window was at the other end of the large room. Otherwise, the black metal was seemingly bare.
"Why..." She repeated softly, sitting down in one of the chairs and resting her head. Cupil nuzzled her sadly as she began to cry, confusion and hurt overwhelming her. She was captured by Valua again. Ramirez was working for the Empire. Everything had gone so horribly wrong, just hours after he had finally seen Vyse again.
Sometime later, the door creaked open, and she looked up, to see Ramirez entering the room. Sitting up, she stared over to him, and he stared back. No hint of emotion ever graced his face as he examined her tear-stricken visage. "Fina," He said lowly.
"R-Rami..." She hiccuped, thoroughly devastated and falling back on her old childhood nickname for her best friend and beloved companion, her only human contact besides the Elders in her youth. "W-why?"
He hesitated for a split-second, and then his face hardened again into a mask of wrath, screwing up into a glare that he cast down onto her with as much anger as he could wrench up from his heart. "My motivations are none of your concern now, Fina. All you need to know is that I now serve Lord Galcian, and not the Elders." With that, he turned around and walked out of the room, leaving her to start crying again.
The task force had left a small occupation army in Nasrad to set up a provisional government, raised the Valuan flag over the desolated husk of the Red capitol, and then left the same way they had entered the harbor- through the North Dannel Straight. Making their course due-west, they hugged the Great Barrier Reefs for nearly a day before turning off and starting diagonally across Mid Ocean, headed for the Imperial Capitol. In that time, the prisoners were all left to their own devices, fed twice with sub-quality food. Ramirez did not again approach Fina, who had run out of tears and simply laid her head on the table, silent in her misery.
0-0
Prince Enrique was going to a unique gathering. A special, exclusive club of higher-echelon officers and noble servants convened in total secret every week. They were intellectuals who discussed the flaws of Valua's expansionist policies, humanitarian concerns, and other things which would have gotten all of them drawn up and quartered if anyone had known.
His trick with sabotaging the Grand Fortress to allow the Blue Storm to narrowly escape was a brilliantly executed plan, but it had horrible backlashes. He had to pretend to know nothing as dozens of loyal men were killed for mutiny. It broke his heart to see his friends and trusted troops die because of a choice he made. Therefore, he had stayed away from the group, even after he had heard about it, until one day, when his curiosity finally overcame all his better judgments. He donned a traveler's cloak, and set out.
The Upper City streets were as rich and lavish as they always were. Enrique always liked to see happy subjects, but it was at best bittersweet when he weighed the carefree elite crust of Valua with their lower half, which lived in intolerable squalor and poverty. The cloak he had adorned was an expensive, noble one, so as to blend into the crowds, and he was not noticed.
He loved the thrill of sneaking out of the Palace and through the streets, undetected as the very Prince of Valua. It was a nice indulgence, an adventure in a life full of stifling formality, regulation, and cold unemotional vacuum left by his absent father and rampant mother. He exchanged idle pleasantries with passersby, making good time towards the designated house, which was nestled comfortably in rows of golden apartment blocks near one of the city's many train stations.
At the door, he knocked, and was challenged for the word. "Esperanza," He replied in a whisper, invoking the name of the settlement to the far south, in Cape Victory on the Nasrian continent near the sky rift borders. It was often used as an example of the Empire's policies gone bad, and the people there had no hope and no reason to go on. Just like that city on the other side, he mused as the door came open and he was pulled inside with an alarmed noise.
"My Lord," The man said urgently, staring straight into Enrique's uncovered face. He had easily recognized the future monarch, for he was Captain Vash, commander of his personal guard. "Moons Alive, what in the name of Yeligar are you doing here?!"
Enrique smiled wanly. "I could be asking the same of you, Daniel." Although the soldier before him was taller and more muscular, with a scar across his face, he was a welcome sight. "Captain of the Prince's Guard at a meeting of the Philosophe Knights? Oh, my. How unbecoming."
"How did you learn our name?" Vash said, his eyes widening slightly. "Oh, this is bad, this is very bad..."
"Do not worry," The prince said, hands raised in a placating gesture. "I am merely out for a royal visit. Or perhaps in an unofficial capacity, no?"
Others had begun to cluster around him, drawn by the fussing of the Captain. Enrique at least passingly recognized numerous faces amongst the group, and they seemed divided. Some were very shocked to find him here, others merely showed joy that he had come. "Enrique," Sergeant Abrams exclaimed, blinking. The loyal Belleza officer was not someone he expected to see, but nonetheless the prince greeted him warmly. A pleasant surprise for once.
Admiral Belleza will want to know this, Abrams mused silently, outwardly exchanging more pleasantries with other guests of the secret gathering. The espionage expert had embedded officers into the Philosophe Knights for months, but had not turned them over to the Empress or Galcian yet, as they seemed harmless enough so far.
His thoughts were interrupted by the clatter of heavy boots outside the door. Everyone tensed up, turning to the secured passageway. "Open up," A voice said, pounding on the door. "Open up! It's Jackson!" With a gasp, several people moved in to open the door, producing a Valuan pilot in full uniform. Ensign JG. Jackson was an officer aboard the HMS Retribution, one of the Spectres involved in Admiral Ramirez's task force which had arrived not hours ago back at the city after several days off on a mysterious deployment.
"I say, Jackson," Someone in the group said, "What's the rush? What's wrong?" They ushered him in quickly shutting the door and moving into the dining room of the estate house before they could attract any more obvious attention.
The officer took double-gulps of air, and composed himself, taking off his pointed-beak helmet and laying it on the fine rug near the couch he sat on. "We just got back into port," He breathed. "Nasrad... we just ransacked Nasrad..." A collective gasp went through the room. "Went through the North Dannel... surprised, the Nasr Fleet didn't even meet us, but we blew away the city... took Vyse the Admirable and Gilder the Unfettered into custody, along with the Silvite girl."
"Blew... away?" Enrique echoed. Jackson looked up in surprise, obviously recognizing him. "What do you mean, blew away? If there was no resistance, we should have just occupied the city, right?"
Jackson shook his head. "No, Prince Enrique. Admiral Ramirez still wanted us to burn it... to disobey invited death..." He looked down. "I couldn't do it, so I got my shift pulled and hid out in my quarters... we pounded the city into dust... blasted civilians clean to Deep Sky with our cannons..." This horrid news sent shockwaves through the Philosophe Knights. Many agreed that they would convene later, spreading out now to share the news. Abrams made top speed to Belleza's command to alert his superior of this development.
Two more palace workers and Captain Vash escorted Enrique to the train station, and they commandeered a train with no difficulty. Setting off across the rail car towards the towering form of the Imperial Palace coming up, Enrique was alone with his morbid thoughts. Oh... what have we done... this is murder.
As he walked up the steps to the palace, his mind was set. I know now what I must do... Mother... I wish it had never come to this. You force my hand.