Chapter 18

Black smoke saturated the air; Captain Mors groped through the eye stinging darkness to get clear. This was achieved when he stumbled, while coughing, into a street that had already burnt to the ground. Despair overcame Mors; while he was blinded he didn't see the destruction wrought upon the city and the Earth.

All houses had become smoking ruins, buildings collapsed into rubble, parks and gardens were scorched black along with the rest of the natural world.

War seems to have done exactly what Mors feared it would do; destroy everything. Human nature had found new means of self-destruction and it didn't stop at war. This major conflagration left woman in despair, many had killed their own children, then themselves rather than face a burnt out future. Any survivors there were formed armed gangs that looted whatever scarce resources were left.

The Luftpirat had been damaged and grounded its crew scattered. Mors feared that many would end their lives once the extent of this devastation was realised. How did he fail? He was supposed to stop this. The League, what happened to the League? Mors memory became blurred.

A little white dog stepped out of the ruins and gave a friendly bark. The Luftpirate found a little cheer in its presence, only to lose it when a scavenging gang member seized the protesting canine and disappeared with it into the black smoke. Mors knew what was going to happen to the dog and feared the same would occur to any pretty thing that remained. He didn't even have his pistol. There was nothing he could do for anyone or anything.

The Brandenburg gate was in the distance, flames had surrounded it. Mors noticed people partying in front of it like it was a celebratory bonfire. As Mors approached he saw a little glimmer of hope when flowers and small tufts of grass sprouted out of the scorched Earth.

The Doric columns of the gate had collapsed, sending the statue of the four horse chariot and Eirene, the Goddess of Peace, into the inferno beneath to be consumed by the fires of war.

Four figures stood together in strange revelry while drinking wine from shiny goblets. Captain von Gorian was among the jubilant quartet.

"After years of struggle and effort we won." He roared. "We finally won the war."

Baron von Klugermann raised his goblet. "To Victory!" he toasted.

"To Victory!" The others followed suit.

The next reveler was Kaiser Homunculus, ecstatic that his leadership had brought them to this outcome.

"And where would we be without the man who made all this possible?" Roared the Kaiser. "A humiliated country pressed down by its enemies.

"A toast to the man who gave us the science to achieve this sweet victory."

All three revelers lifted their goblets to the fourth man. "Dr Totenkopf."

Totenkopf, the mad scientist who gave humanity the means to wipe itself out. The man Mors had apparently failed to locate and stop.

All four drank their wine then turned to the luftpirate.

"Greetings Captain Mors." Said Klugermann. "Come and join us. We have won the war."

"You have won nothing." Said Mors. "Civilization has fallen, the Earth is scorched. Your victory prize is a desolate world."

"What did I tell you." Yelled Gorian to the others. "He's never been with us. This is not his victory."

"But it is a brilliant achievement Captain." Said the Kaiser. "Think about it. Our world was but a training ground. We now have the machinery, the armies and the knowledge to wage war and conquer."

Mors felt his despair become fear. Kaiser Homunculus seemed to be heading to an even worse scenario.

The royal figure created in a laboratory tank continued. "There are other worlds out there; Mars, Venus, etcetera. You will take us to each one, and we will wage war with our new science then place them under my dominion."

"So welcome Captain Mors." Added Klugermann as he raised his goblet.

"To Captain Mors." Toasted all four in loud unison, then broke out in mad laughter.

Sheer terror overcame Mors. Not only had he failed to save his home planet he was going to be forced to spread this mad war to other planets. He hated war.

"You have your scientist." Yelled Mors. "Build your own outer space transport."

The revelers broke out of their mad laughter and stared at the luftpirate.

This time it was Totenkopf who talked. "I have been working on that Mors. The vehicles I am developing will eventually travel from planet to planet. But look up at the sky."

Mors looked up as did the victors. A layer of fire blazed across the firmament.

"It's actually nighttime now. The sky fire makes it look like day." Said Totenkopf. "My fledgling experiments in space travel have unfortunatley ignited volatile elements in the atmosphere. This planet is most certainly doomed."

This terror Mors was feeling became intense. The devastation of the Earth was going to be worse; complete and utter obliteration.

"So you must take us to the other planets." Continued Totenkopf. We can commence the first of many new wars and bring the entire cosmos under our dominion."

"Let's drink to war." Toasted Kaiser Homunculus.

All four revelers sculled their wine then recommenced their mad laughter.

The fire in the sky began to fall. Fireballs rained upon the already scorched landscape. The flowers and grass would clearly not have a chance to regrow. A huge blanket of fire roared as it whooshed towards the ground.

All this was lost on the four revelers, they intensified their laughter to insane levels. Even as the fire from heaven flayed their skin from their bones the laughter did not stop.

A window opening snapped Mors to new attention, There was no fire, just darkness and the bright window. Fear still pervaded his mind but now it seemed unfounded. He made his way to the window and felt a refreshing wind.

There was a scuffle outside. Mors looked out the window to see M wrestling with Jonathon Crane, the chemist.

A crashing sound was heard above. Gregor had jumped through the roof and was flying away as if he was fleeing something. Irma Vep was sitting on the grass outside her window, she was afraid, sweat and tears had smudged her dark eye shadow.

Mors climbed out the window; whatever he was afraid of; it was not this fight.

Crane pushed M away then reached for a cylinder he had dropped during the scuffle. M whacked his hand with a walking stick then employed his ambulation aid as a weapon and assaulted the chemist with it. After a few whacks Crane rushed M and pushed the portly gentleman over.

Mors approached Crane then found he could not engage, his fear was debilitating him. Jonathon Crane saw his problem then grinned before emitting a few lion like roars at the luftpirate who normally would have ignored this scare tactic, but now he shrunk in terror at those makeshift threats.

A look of sheer delight fixed Jonathon Crane's face until thick ape-like arms seized him and crushed him into submission. Monk Mayfair dragged the young chemist into a lock-up.

M got up and put a comforting hand on the shivering shoulder of Captain Mors, then picked up the cylinder Crane had reached for and turned the nozzle to closed position.

"It's alright Captain." Said M. "This is not a failure of nerve. It's an inducement of fear done with this special gas.

"I needed chemists for this project. They're all brilliant, but at least one is diabolical."