"The sky is fake! It's fake I tell you!"
"What."
Being effectively the 'second in charge' of their base, Monarch handled any urgent meetings and requests that needed to be brought to her attention. Having Intrepid, an Eagle Union carrier barge into her office late at night with an officer in tow was not how she wanted to spend the time just as she was about to retire for the day. Deciding that the agitated carrier in front of her wasn't going to give her a straight answer, she instead turned her attention to the officer standing awkwardly behind her.
"And you are?"
"Lieutenant-Commander Darvey, I am the Warfare specialist officer for this base."
A Warfare specialist? They usually handled the navigation and safety of a ship, they weren't needed by Kansen anymore, but instead were posted on ships still crewed by actual humans.
"Miss Intrepid is speaking the truth, we have reason to suspect that the sky is indeed 'fake' as she so describes."
Monarch blinked at the two of them upon hearing him. The sky…was fake?
"Explain."
In one fluid, and quite frankly exaggerated motion, she took out a picture from her pocket and nearly shoved it in front of her face. It was an image of the night sky, presumably of the one above their base. Clear skies, bright stars, and the bright two full moons, so what was wrong with it?
"I…don't see anything wrong with it?"
"The stars are fake! It's a fake sky! It's one giant dome or something-"
"I think I can explain it better, please let me." Darvey cleared his throat before he began to speak. Intrepid sulked for a bit but eventually allowed him to explain to Monarch what was going on with the sky.
"While stargazing isn't something that we rely on for navigation much these days, it is still a widely known skill that all Warfare officers must be competent in. Intrepid brought this to my attention three days ago."
"I honestly thought I was going crazy! But the stars looked weird on my own telescope, so I asked him if he also noticed the same thing…"
"Which then led us and a few others to stargaze. It's not that the stars didn't move, but rather the constellations that are there, seem to all move…randomly."
Monarch knew where this was going. When using the stars to navigate, one had to look at the stars like a compass. With some complex mathematics and measuring, one could figure out the direction and location they were currently in. This was all possible because the constellations and various stars moved in a set pattern, or rather 'sets' that were always constant. The key was that they were constant and near-unchanging. With them being random, however…
"The initial guess we had was that this world we found ourselves in operated under new laws of physics. However, we have since noticed that the 'stars' are not actually stars from space, but rather a projection."
"There's a lot of complex astronomy that went into it, but that's what the observatory has come to the conclusion with." Intrepid quickly added in as well.
Monarch probably couldn't have understood it even if she explained it, so she just took them at their word. So, the sky was fake, that tidbit honestly scared her somewhat but she didn't let that overtake her.
"Then…what do you suggest we do? If anything at all?"
"Beacon buoys. Just in case some patrols get lost, they can at least uplink with the beacons near the base to find their way back since they can't use the stars for navigation. It's a stopgap solution at best, but for our current purposes it will do."
Sighing, that was another thing she had to follow up with now. Making a note in her notebook, she asked if there was anything else potentially world-shattering that she needed to know about.
"Nope! That's it, but I'm here to ask If I can go on an expedition!" Intrepid asked enthusiastically, what was with the Eagle Union and their personalities?
"An expedition…and for what exactly?"
"I want to go far enough to see if the stars have the same random patterns there as well. If it did, then we can confirm that the effect isn't localized and affects the entire planet as well."
Monarch leaned back on her chair. The proposition wasn't unsound, in fact, it served a purpose, but she was hesitant to authorize any expeditions with all of those creatures still out there. So far they were able to deal with them effectively, but what if those were just the weakest of the bunch? What if they had leaders like the Sirens had? Encountering the equivalent of Purifier in this world was too much of a risk to authorize for now, but she may have a different solution. Their contact expedition to the village tomorrow still needed air cover, and with Intrepid being one of two fleet carriers currently in Gibraltar, she was a good choice to pick.
"Alright, fine. You may come with me tomorrow on our expedition to a nearby coastal town, I can't guarantee we will be staying there until nightfall, but-"
"Okay! I'll see you at the pier tomorrow!" Intrepid gave her a thumbs up and a bright expression. Monarch expected more resistance to come from her, but she was surprisingly straightforward about this.
"Far be it from me to question your medical knowledge, but do we really have to bring all of these…things?"
The odd thing about this world was that the weather was the same as it ever was, bright and sunny, with few clouds covering the sun. It was also the same moderate temperature as well, so at least they weren't being tossed around in the Arctic winds like some far-flung Naval base in the Northern Parliament. No, the weather was quite spectacular if Beatty had to say so himself, a perfect day for a good stroll outside. Only that he and Jervis, a J-class Kansen following along with him were to be part of an expedition today. In his professional opinion, her nurse outfit resembled more like something from the Royal Maid Corps, but that wasn't going to stop her from performing her medical duties as his scribe for the duration!
As he unloaded a veritable treasure trove of everything from medical supplies to research equipment, he replied back to Jervis who was helping him with it.
"We are in a brave new world, my dear girl! As such, everything from microbial life to new pathogens may be present. Having sufficient protection and equipment to identify them quickly may prove extremely beneficial to us in the long run. Have they loaded the universal carrier yet?"
"No, not yet. Regardless, what do you think we will find there? I heard from Albion that the town resembled Toroan towns near our base. Mayhaps we aren't actually in another world?"
Plausible, but until they actually got there, everything was still speculation. He and a small squad of Royal Marine escorts were to board a troop transport crewed by Manjuu to the edges of their destination while being escorted by several Kansen. Once there, they will board a troop transport and proceed into the town through land. Consideration for startling the local populace, and therefore authorities was given so that was the plan which was agreed on.
As Beatty turned around, his eyes widened in surprise as he saw an old colleague also in the staging area, lounging around on top of a box.
"As I live and breathe!"
Calling out to him as he got closer, his old colleague stiffened his posture before turning around. His eyes also widened in recognition.
"My good man, it has been too long has it, Lieutenant Blackadder?"
Blackadder looked aged compared to the last time he saw him. Evidently, the years of service in the armed forces had taken its toll, but his smooth black hair and moustache still looked impeccable. As any self-respecting officer should have.
"Captain now, actually."
Captain? The last time he saw him in Sudan, he was still a Lieutenant in the army, but that begged the question of why he was here. Royal Marines made up Gibraltar's local garrison, so his appearance here was confusing.
"I thought you were still in the army, what changed?"
"Ah, I am still in the army. It's just that some unfortunate circumstances while transferring have led me…"
He gestured to the busy docking area around them, as supplies were carted to and fro warehouses for the base's operations to function. Gibraltar was created to be a near-impenetrable fortress, yes, and while they had supplies to last a good while, the food situation was arguably the most pressing matter. Rationed canned foods could last their base for a long time, but he wasn't sure if canned beans were all he wanted to eat for the duration of their stay here. The existence of that town implied agriculture, and agriculture implied fresh produce, leading to a new potential supply of food.
"One moment you're waiting to board a transport back to London, and the next an act of God appeared over the sky above you. Not sure if I'd take it over the weather back home, to be honest, but beggars can't be choosers I suppose."
"I see…well, I guess it's great luck that you're here with us right now!"
Interestingly, Blackadder didn't react to his joke with any reaction. What a spoilsport.
"Now then I don't suppose you're actually coming with us on this journey? You are dressed in full uniform and all, so one has to wonder…"
"Ah, yes. I have been told by the commander to follow along with the expedition, owing to my experiences with other…deployments. And before you ask, under this specific circumstance, I am under the command of Major General Melchett…"
Well, if being cut off and sent to another world was an extreme circumstance, then taking stock of all personnel was probably alright to do. Melchett was the officer in charge of the Royal Marine garrison of Gibraltar, the man was eccentric, to say the least, but Beatty could see that he was at least a good man. A fun drinking partner if you will, but somewhat of an oddball at times.
"Well, in that case, it will be my pleasure to welcome you with me on this adventure!" He held his right arm out for him to shake, and upon seeing Blackadder return the gesture, he noticed small pebbles of black crystals on his finger rubbing against his hand.
"Oh my, did you touch those crystals accidentally?"
"Pricked on one of them as I headed out of the bunker a week ago. It used to cover my entire finger, but now it's down to that. Made applying lotion feel weird for a bit, but it did help prevent my finger from being cut one time, so maybe it isn't so bad."
Beatty inspected his finger for a moment longer before relenting. So far most of his patients had shown similar progressions, some slower, some faster. But all of them had the constant effect of the crystals steadily disappearing, and more bloodwork had confirmed this. An experiment yesterday had wielded an interesting result, over time, a black crystal suspended in a test tube filled with blood usually reserved for medical use had actually dissolved a part of the crystal. Never had he ever seen any material like that dissolve in blood, so in addition to new lands to discover, there were also new scientific discoveries to record!
"Alright, it looks fine from my end, do let me know if it acts up or anything alright old chap?"
"It's a pricked finger, hardly anything to worry about. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a squad to meet."
As he walked away, Jervis showed up behind him with the rest of his equipment in tow with her. "Are you quite done yet? Loathe as I am to admit, but I do need some assistance in getting all of these boxes up the ramp…"
"Oh, good heavens! Don't tip it like that, the fluid may leak out!"
Too engrossed in his conversation with Blackadder, he had blundered and neglected to mention that some cases had fluid inside of them! Running over, he secured everything with Jervis and boarded the ship. Less than half an hour later, their small task force set off from port, directly headed towards the coastal town. Was this perhaps what the great explorers of old felt like? When setting off on their ships into a world unknown, did they feel the same things he did? Awe and uncertainty? Bravery and the desire to discover something new?
All of those thoughts were going to be answered in a few hours anyways, and in the meantime, he did what any good doctor did, record notes. Maybe someday it could get published for the masses to read about, what a dream of his that was!
"Monarch, my reconnaissance planes have found a potential landing site! It's a calm beach near the town, should we begin making course corrections?"
"Affirmative, you're leading us now then, Albion."
Monarch changed course and subsequently notified the rest of her fleet to begin doing so as well. Just as she was about to call out to the destroyer closest to her, she suddenly remembered, or rather, was unable to remember her name. Taking out a checklist of all the Kansen with her on this expedition, she went down the list once more.
'Monarch
Intrepid
Takao
Albion
Murmansk
Jervis
Carabiniere'
Ah right, that's her….
"Carabiniere! Follow ahead with Albion to secure a landing zone!"
"Si, Signora!"
A few more minutes later, the beach came into view, and there couldn't have been a more perfect landing zone. If it was a civilian beach, it could have been packed with tourists and other beachgoers, curiously though, it was completely empty. A shame, as she thought the weather today was excellent for such a trip.
Since they were trying to not scare the local populace, their docking facilities could not be used, such was the reason why they had to do an amphibious landing. Jumping back up onto their lead transport ship carrying their Royal Marines, she greeted Lieutenant Beatty, who was making a sketch of the shore in front of him.
"Ah, is it time already?"
She nodded. "Indeed, gather your men, once the landing craft has landed, we will begin making our way inland toward the town."
With their force being a pure reconnaissance/expeditionary one, only a dozen Royal Marines led by an Army Captain of all things began loading onto amphibious landing crafts carried by the transport ship. Two universal carriers were loaded onto a separate one, reserved for them entirely, those vehicles formed the basis for their transport in this expedition.
Within minutes, both landing craft were deployed and began making their way towards the shore. The Manjuu pilots were careful to not accidentally run into any rock formations or coral reefs just in case, but as the ramp dropped down, it seemed that their worry was entirely unfounded.
Now on the beach, Monarch addressed the assembled Kansen and Royal Marines, their pre-made plans coming into effect. "Alright! You all know your part in this operation. Those with me shall board the first carrier, while those following Lieutenant Beatty shall follow him to the second one. Everyone else is to remain here and protect the lead transport, we aren't expecting any hostilities, but do still keep a lookout for any potential dangers."
Those sea creatures for instance, which was why aside from Albion and Intrepid, Takao was also brought along as extra protection. Her swordsmanship was going to be very useful in this regard.
Regardless, the plan was two-fold, once they reached the town together, if permissible, Beatty was to go and investigate whether or not the disease they faced was present here as well, while Monarch went to contact the town's local authorities. Albion's reports of it seeming like a town comprised of Toroan architecture gave her hope that they could find help.
"Advance!"
The two carriers started moving, past the beaches and onto a dirt path that presumably led toward the town. A few minutes later, they came across a sign that indicated a place just up ahead of them, Carabiniere was brought forward to translate since she was also well-versed in the Toroan language.
"Hmm…it states the town of La Marina is ahead of us, but…"
"But?"
"The spelling and grammar of the sign feel weird. I can still read it fine, but it doesn't seem like the Toroan language, at least not fully. It may be a regional dialect that I have never heard of."
Odd, but it was good to know that they were at least able to communicate in this world. Moving on, they followed the signs until they reached the top of a hill looking down upon the town. The walls that it was behind were crumbling, in some areas there were even massive holes in them, indicating signs of battle. Immediately, she wondered if the Toroan civil war also fought a battle here, but that thought was quickly pushed aside.
"Monarch, this is Albion, my planes see another town further down the road from the one you are currently near."
Hearing Albion's radio message, she used her optics to zoom into the distance, and indeed, there was another, much smaller town further down the road. That one looked even more destitute and broken than the one closest to them, why was there such a difference between the two? The 'buildings' that made up the smaller one, at least from what she could see, were entirely made up of shacks and the like. She felt the close proximity of the two was suspicious, perhaps they could…yes, that could work.
Getting out of her vehicle, she went up to Beatty who was in the carrier behind him. "There are two towns in front of us, I don't want to waste time having all of us move from one to another, so I'm sending you to the further one ahead. Report back on the radio once you've arrived, Albion and Intrepid are on standby for air support if you do run into trouble. Captain Blackadder! You and half your men are to follow along with him, make sure he's protected from any threats."
A series of affirmatives reassured her, and they set off again down the hill. Mid-way, there was a crossroads leading into the town and further down the road. Bidding the other group farewell and good luck, Monarch was left with Carabiniere and half a dozen Royal Marines in their vehicle. The closer they got to the gates, the more things felt 'off' to her. Despite the region they were in being near-identical to Toroan coastal lands, there was a distinct lack of-
"Halt, driver!"
Suddenly skidding to a stop, Monarch noticed sentries posted at the town's gate before them. Narrowing her eyes, she noticed that instead of any rifles or any sidearms, they were armed with…halberds? Wait, no, the one on top of the walls had what appeared to be a crossbow of all things? She was about to mistake them for a medieval town guard, but their uniforms were most definitely something modern based on their style and appearance. Did the police of that town have no firearms, like the London police force?
No, it was better safe than sorry, if armed soldiers suddenly showed up in front of them, they risked a confrontation that she wanted to avoid. "Lance Corporal, hold position off the road and conceal yourselves. Carabiniere and I will be entering the town alone, whatever you do, do not antagonize anyone. If you hear shooting, prepare to burst into the town and hail us through the radio. We are not here to begin a war, understood?"
"Yes, my lady!"
Good. At least this way we can remain incognito should the worst occur…
As the two Kansen proceeded on foot the rest of the way, Monarch looked over the sentries once more. Aside from their archaic weapons, there was nothing too odd about-were those bird feathers on their heads?
Meanwhile, the second group reached their objective in no time at all. Beatty, feeling the anticipation swell up in him, found that he became ever more restless as the seconds went by. Stopping right in front of the smaller town's 'gate', if the veritable hole in the wall could even be called that, he looked at Blackadder who simply shrugged in response. There was a foreboding feeling in the back of his mind, but he hoped that it was just a situation of one town being poorer than the other. Memories of similar shack towns in the South Africa campaign were fought down vigorously.
"Alright, tight formation lads and shoulder arms. We don't want to scare the local civilians now, do we?" Blackadder commanded, and a standard formation was formed near-perfectly.
"Hmm…"
"What is it, Jervis?"
"Why aren't there any townsfolk ahead of us? Do you think they're having a siesta?"
Ah yes, the Toroan tradition of having a siesta was quite well-known to those in Gibraltar. In fact, many businesses have begun adopting it, much to the chagrin of recent arrivals from the mainland. Imagine going for lunch and finding out the diner is on siesta until late afternoon. Personally, he didn't mind it much, but he could see why some were infuriated about it. But anyways, he didn't see anyone ahead of him, leading him to believe that it may have been abandoned.
"Hm. Our reconnaissance didn't mention it being abandoned... Keep a tight formation and don't shoot first. We are here to find the local government in charge just like Monarch is doing. Now then, we're wasting daylight here, let's head in already."
As they headed in, the foreboding feeling only grew larger and larger. All around them, he felt like they were being watched. A similar feeling to various ambushes he was on the unfortunate end of. Murmansk and Jervis flanked his sides, their riggings were not deployed but he still felt their unease all the same.
"Beatty, mayhaps we do not overextend? I'd hate to be one of the first casualties of this new land."
"You feel it as well, don't you? We're surrounded, but how many there are is another question…"
Clack
A small rock, the size of a sugar cube, clacked to a stop right in front of him. Immediately looking up, he saw what appeared to be a small boy peeking out from an alleyway in front of him. They locked eyes for a split second, causing him to shrink back into the corner.
"Wait lad-! Damn, he's gone, at least we know this town isn't abandoned, but where is everyone?!"
After a brief moment of silence, as everyone in their group took a good look around, Murmansk suddenly called out and pointed in front of them.
"Oh hey, is that a clinic ahead of us?"
A few dozen metres in front of them, there lay a larger shack building that was considerably bigger than the others around it. Hanging right in front was a sign that said 'Clinica' in bright red colours. Quickly guessing what it meant, Beatty decided that was as good as any place to begin searching for answers. Maybe the doctor inside could help him? After all, they were in the same profession.
"Murmansk, Blackadder, you and your men hold position outside. Jervis and I will head inside, we're better suited as medical officers anyways."
"Alright, but if you do find trouble inside, be a dear and don't get captured. I'd hate to have to shoot our way inside to get you."
Nodding in confirmation, he and Jervis walked up to the rickety wooden door of the clinic and knocked on it gently. No response was heard for a few seconds, before a voice on the other end was heard, in hushed tones.
"Who's there?" It was asked in something resembling Toroan, and he could just barely make it out as such. The accent was unlike anything he had ever heard before, which was odd since he was quite proficient in that language.
"We're doctors in the Royal Navy, we're seeking answers about the state of this town, may we head inside?"
Again, no response was heard. A dozen seconds later, the sounds of locks being unlocked were heard, and the door opened slowly, only to reveal-
"You are…Victorian, yes? Your accent sounds like you are from that region…"
A woman opened the door for them, and aside from the doctor's coat she was wearing, there was one feature of her both he and Jervis instantly locked onto. It was the large, black feathered wings that protruded out of the woman's hair. After a few more moments of awkward staring, and a confirmation that they were indeed a part of her body by seeing them twitch, he quickly cleared his throat and answered her.
"Um, right yes, we are… Our party has been…stranded in this region, and as such we are finding knowledge about our current location. May you point us toward a town mayor or the local authorities?"
The woman had a look of confusion in her eyes as she responded to his question.
"This…is the town where all the infected live. If you want the authorities, La Marina up the road is where you want to go, but there's no guarantee that they will help you. Especially because you are foreigners."
Actually, that sounded exactly like their usual dealings with the Toroans. You see, they weren't exactly happy that the Royal Navy had occupied a part of their lands, and as such often treated them with contempt and suspicion. Regardless, what exactly did she mean by where all the infected live? Was there some sort of infectious disease spreading around? If so, she should have been wearing a face mask.
"Infected with what, if I may ask?"
Instead of responding, she looked down at her hands, causing Beatty to do so as well. The very same black crystals that some in Gibraltar had, were present on the back of her hand, causing him to widen his eyes in surprise.
"Oripathy, what else?" The woman seemed to reclude a slight bit back into the clinic as if she anticipated the response that Beatty had.
"Ah wait! My good lady, we're here to ask about the condition, I assume you may know about it? Several of my…patients are afflicted by it as well, I merely want to know about its nature and treatment options."
"Treat…ment?" Her look of suspicion turned into a full glare now. "What kind of doctor doesn't know about Oripathy?"
"Evidently this one. I come from…lands far away, and as such, I ask that we as fellow doctors help one another in these trying times. Please, I just want to know how to help my afflicted patients."
The feathered woman before them twitched the wings attached to her head once more and sighed. Opening the door fully, she put her hand out and introduced herself.
"Josefa, I am the doctor in charge of this clinic…"
Beatty readily shook her hand with enthusiasm, seemingly surprising her as she was taken aback by how quickly he shook it.
"Lieutenant Beatty of the Royal Navy, my pleasure."
As she led them further inside, she gave them a cryptic warning. "I…should warn you. This clinic isn't like the military hospitals you're used to, we don't have enough supplies to care for everyone here…"
"Hm? Ah, I wouldn't mind lending my expertise to help you. Jervis here is also a trained nurse, and we also have some medical supplies that we…can…share…"
He clearly underestimated how big the clinic was from the outside. Rows and rows of bedridden patients, all who had similar bird-like appendages on their bodies covered nearly every corner of the entire floor. Some had just bare rags, while others didn't even have a hospital bed to sleep on, instead on the cold and hard stone floor. The one thing that all of them had in common, however, was the black crystals protruding out of their bodies, with the amount of them higher than anyone he'd ever seen back in Gibraltar. Some people had their entire arms covered by them, while others seemed to have a much milder case.
"By Jove…" Jervis had a similar reaction, as she placed a hand over her mouth.
"If you really do want to help us…we could really use some essential supplies. Basic equipment like bandages and other disinfectants are in extremely short supply-"
"Say no more, Jervis go and take Captain Blackadder to grab all of the supplies on the carrier. Hurry!"
Nodding, she quickly made her way out of the clinic and outside. Some of the patients in the clinic looked at him in fear or concern, but Josefa quickly went and assuaged their fears.
"So, is it as bad as this where you are from? I admit, compared to other infected camps in places like the Ursus Empire, we already have it better…"
This is better?! This is no better than the camps in South Africa, how did it even get this bad?!
Speechless, Beatty could only stare at the squalid conditions that wouldn't be fit for a prison, let alone a bloody clinic! No, he swore on an oath all those years ago to do no harm, and his duty as one who practiced the healing arts had to be followed. Taking out a pair of medical gloves from a box, he put them on and looked at Josefa dead in her eyes.
"Well then, may we begin?"
AN:
Be civil in the comments below.
