AN: Quick update, since it's a short chapter. However, with this, the big battle officially begins!
Also, big announcement: I have decided, after long consideration, that Empire's War will officially end the Dark Wars series. Originally, the plan was for a 5th installment, but in the course of writing the 5th, I realized that the course I was taking the plot had strayed way too far from the original, techno-magic setting that I had created for the Dark Wars. As such, all relevant plot elements will be resolved in the chapters to come. If there are any particulars you'd like to know about (such as character developments, events, etc...), please let me know in a review so I that I can answer as best I can.
Well then, enjoy!
Marquis Black
The day began as usual for John Verre, of the Imperial New Britannia First Warning Division. The sky was blue, a few clouds here and there, and the forecast predicted sun throughout the day. At age 25, John was unmarried, a contented bachelor, and had woken up to find his one-night stand quite asleep. He'd discreetly gone out of her bedroom, made his way back to his own flat, and had there taken a shower, gotten dressed into his black-and-red officer's uniform (he was a Lieutenant—the third highest rank in the division), had a decent breakfast, and was now on his way to the wharf, where a specially-commissioned ferry would take him over to his designated watch tower.
These tall, spindly concrete structures had been made to look out for surprise attacks. With the advent of Technomancy, after all, had arrived the use of magic to cloak ships from radars. That being said, Watchers like Verre were commissioned to look for unusual disturbances in the air. The odds of a surprise attack on New Britannia, however, was slim, considering the well-hidden nature of the archipelago. Beyond the MAG Cannons and the rest of the technological defences, Gifted of every social denomination had also contributed by setting up massive wards along the border, hiding the archipelago from sight. The only way in was through one of the special ferries or an Airship. Even better, no one really knew where the archipelago was, thanks to its many protections, so Verre was never worried when he went to work. In fact, he felt it was the easiest job in the entire archipelago. They were paying him to relax in the sun, practically.
So when Verre reached his post that morning, he greeted his crew of five with a huge, easy grin, and a wink towards the one female of his group, who merely sighed in annoyance at her happy-go-lucky superior.
"Morning ladies, gentlemen, Ted," he added while looking directly at that particular member of his crew. Verre had always looked disappointed at him due to his particularly horrible habit of being, as Verre considered it, the sappiest man he'd had the misfortune of knowing. The man named Ted merely gave a long-suffering look at one of his crewmates, who grinned.
"Morning, Lieutenant," greeted one of the others under his command.
"So, lay it on me, Corporal," said Verre as he walked through the room, a skip in his step. "Anything new today?"
"Nothing, sir. Same as usual. Blue skies, birds every once in a while," reported the addressed man as he looked through his binoculars.
"Had a few big waves at one point, though, sir," put in Ted meekly, only to receive a condescending look from Verre.
"Janet," Verre always gave Ted a hard time this way—by calling him female names. "If I thought waves a few meters out from the coastline was weird, then I'd still be in grade school. As I'm not, however, let's assume that I actually realize that waves can exist out here. In that case, what you've just told me is perhaps the lamest observation I've ever heard. Now, if you see a whale doing a triple back-flip five meters over water, then let me know about it so I can send you off to the rehab centre, because it would be obvious that you've obviously been inhaling too much happy-powder. Am I being clear, Ted?"
"Yes, sir," replied Ted sulkily.
"Good," with that, Verre turned his attention back to relaxing as he took a seat at his desk, enjoying the easy breeze of the open ocean. He even raised his feet onto his desk, much to the frustration of his only female subordinate, who twitched every time he broke protocol. Of course, all it made Verre do was grin in response. He so loved to rile her up.
"So, any interesting news from the Capital, sir?" asked one of his crew—a man called Andrew Johnson, who hailed from Halifax. Tall, brown-haired and well built, he looked like he stepped right out of a recruiting poster.
Verre sighed aloud in a bored fashion. "Nothing much, really," he replied, bored. "The Emperor of Japan is in on an official visit. Beyond that, nothing extraordinary."
Andrew nodded thoughtfully as he casually wrote down observations made by his observation partner, Cally Kline.
"Storm's coming," the brunette announced casually as she pointed her binoculars towards the horizon. "Bearing North, North-East," she added. "Looks like a rough one."
"Lower the storm-proof windows?" asked another of the team. Verre shook his head.
"We're not in danger just yet. No need to take away this nice breeze," he told his team.
"But sir, protocol—" protested Cally as she turned towards him, binoculars now pointed down.
"—state that safety windows are to be lowered only when the immediate circumstances demand it. I know, corporal," Verre told her, interrupting her, mid-protest. "However, immediate circumstances do not state that there is a pressing need to lower the glasses, and for all we know, it's entirely possible that the storm will veer off course."
Cally grudgingly agreed verbally, though she was clearly not convinced that this would be the case. Sure, she was only nineteen, but she'd been working in the Division for a full year now, and her observations were hardly ever incorrect. Of course, due to age, and (she suspected) her sex, she was constantly passed over for promotion. If she hadn't, then she was sure that she would command one of the Division teams herself.
The next hour or so, she believed, would prove her to be, once again, correct in her assessment on the storm. Fuming silently at the unfairness of her situation, the blue-eyed blonde turned to her work again, holding her binoculars high as she ignored the oncoming storm and kept a steady lookout.
Of course, it wasn't like she expected anything extraordinary to happen. Much like Verre, she held unwavering confidence in the archipelago's many defensive systems and wards. As far as she was concerned, there was absolutely no way that anything could find the well-hidden archipelago.
So the team leisurely, for the most part, passed away the afternoon with the occasional chit-chat, and the odd actual report. The only high point of their day, however, came when the Emperor of Japan stopped by on a surprise visit, to see how the British defence system worked for possible adaptation to the Japanese Isles. It had been very nerve wracking for Verre specifically, as he'd only received word of the oncoming delegation minutes before it happened. As such, he'd had the entire crew work like maniacs to tidy up the place, which looked like a bachelor pad on a good day.
The visit itself was pleasant enough, however. The Emperor was much more intimidating than any of the team had imagined, what with a stunning resemblance to most portrayals of Oda Nobunaga, the renowned Demon King of old, but he had nonetheless been extremely courteous, if a bit silent for a man of his rank.
The Emperor had merely asked a few questions regarding their daily operations, and had seemed a bit disappointed at the seemingly lack of complexity, which Verre was quick to explain was a result of years of uninterrupted secrecy. The actual alert-status operations were, Verre explained, far more complex and took far more precision work. He was forced to admit, however, that none on his team had any hands-on experience in these procedures, and Verre himself had only theoretical knowledge of them, due to his officer training. It had been embarrassing to admit, but a lack of reaction from the Emperor had left Verre with a sense that perhaps he had not totally bungled.
"Think we passed?" asked Andrew after the delegation left; most of his companions were sighing in relief at the departure of the delegation. Only a shrug from his superior answered him.
"It was touch-and-go for a while there," noted Cally as she looked towards the horizon, binoculars up. "Especially when they asked about the emergency procedures."
"S'not our fault," protested Ted, mumbling. "Only reason to activate them is to be attacked, after all. Who on Earth could ever find Harrisburg?"
For once Verre agreed with his meek subordinate as he watched towards the horizon, hands clasped behind his back. Who on Earth could find Harrisburg? With all its defences, there was absolutely no feasible way for anyone to find the hidden archipelago.
Little did he know how wrong he was.
"CONTACT!"
Cally's call struck them all so suddenly that it took them a few seconds to react appropriately.
"What?"
"Where?" demanded Andrew as Verre stood there, dumbstruck. Cally quickly obeyed and pointed out with two fingers towards the storm she'd pointed out earlier.
"The storm?" asked Ted, sceptically as she joined the two by the railing. He too grabbed his binoculars and looked in that direction.
"Not the storm, you idiot!" rebuked Cally as she handed her binoculars to Andrew, who lifted them up to his eyes. "Hidden in the clouds. One degree west of the clouds. There, slightly protruding underneath the cloud cover!"
A moment of silence ensued as Andrew and Ted adjusted their binoculars towards where Cally had mentioned.
"Well?" asked Cally after a minute of silence had passed, a bit impatiently.
"Contact, alright," confirmed Andrew shakily as he lowered the binoculars. Looking over to Ted, he noticed his comrade was pale-faced and trembling violently.
"A-Agreed," added Ted as he took a step back, letting the enormity of the moment hit him.
Turning towards Verre, the three crewmembers looked at him for direction. Upon seeing him still rooted to the ground, struck with horror and shock, Andrew pressed the issue by grabbing him and shaking him slightly.
"Sir, we need orders! Do we attempt communication and notify Headquarters?" he asked. "What does the emergency procedure say?"
Cally, impatient already and terrified by the arrival of an unknown contact, took matters into her own hands then by taking two steps forward and slapping Verre across the face.
Reeling from the slap, Verre stumbled out of Andrew's grip and looked at Cally with wide, outraged eyes.
"Snap out of it!" snapped Cally. "There's an unknown contact out there, we don't know what to do, and you're the commanding officer here, damnit!" she rebuked him.
Verre glared at Cally for a moment, but then realized that both Ted and Andrew were looking at him similarly for guidance. His two remaining crew members, both of them actually kids doing an internship, had merely frozen up at the news of a potential contact and were obviously of no use.
Cursing himself for his failure to act immediately, possibly wasting valuable minutes in preparing the New Britannia defences, Verre sprung into action. Pointing two fingers at Ted, Verre gave his first orders.
"Contact Headquarters! Notify unknown enemy presence on the North-East horizon, bearing straight for New Britannia!" he snapped out the order quickly. Pointing now to Andrew and Cally as Ted went to work on the communication console, Verre continued. "You two, map out the direction vector of the incoming unknowns and give me detailed reports on every mile they move!"
Smiling, Cally snapped a salute, followed by Andrew, and headed straight for work.
"Move it, people!" ordered Verre. "Our people back home are counting on us!"
As his team proceeded to do their jobs in a frenzy, with Ted snapping at the two interns to help him out, showing a previously unknown side to him, Verre walked towards the railing calmly, hands clasped behind his back as the gentle breeze now picked up.
"We can't make contact with Headquarters!" called out Ted before launching a stream of curses as he tried to make the console work. "Something's jamming our signals!"
"They've spotted us," Verre whispered, his eyes calmly tracking the storm on the horizon.
"How do you know?" asked Cally nervously.
Verre never turned to her, but allowed a knowing smile to grace his handsome feature. He slowly raised his eyes towards the rounded ceiling above, and indeed confirmed his suspicions.
Five werewolves, snarling at him as they hung onto the rounded dome.
"Lads," Verre said stoically as the werewolves approached. Behind him, he heard Ted curse wildly as two more swung into the observation post. The two interns were screaming in terror.
"It's been a pleasure."
Drawing his sword quick as lightning, Verre gave a defiant cry as he swung upwards at one of the werewolves, just as the two behind him lunged at his crew.
Exactly two minutes later, it was all over.
Laying in a pool of his own blood, propped up against the wall, eyes wide, mouth slightly open with a line of blood going down his chin, John Verre's life was extinguished, his heart ripped out, as his crew was slowly killed before his lifeless eyes.
At exactly 5:02 PM that day, every observation post on the New Britannia perimeter was attacked and taken over.
Ten minutes later, the first shots were fired at the New Britannia shields.
And, exactly thirty minutes after that, the first ships of the Death Eater fleet crossed the broken wards into New Britannia airspace.
The Battle of Harrisburg had just begun.