Chapter Three: Treated Accordingly
Falmart– The Capital —The Main Throne Room of The Imperial Palace-The Saderan Empire
Emperor Molt Sol Augustus sat on his Throne in his grand palace preparing to listen to a report how the battle against the invaders from another world had gone, if his plan had gone as he hoped it would help strengthen his position and leave no one to challenge his authority, He was certainly dressed in his finest clothes and had his polished rings and his long flowing red cape. As his attention was focused on his sole companion in his throne room, Count Marcus was the Internal Minister of the Empire. And the emperor knew that he was not above planning all sides to his benefit. As of now however he was just here to deliver the details of the Battles of Alnus Hill. He finished his report with. "Along with the dead and missing we expect that the remaining Allied forces will have lost up to sixty thousand of their warriors and as a result many of the remaining Allied kingdoms have been left leaderless as their forces march back to their respective territories." The Minister look at his emperor and he replied quickly with a dark chuckle. "As expected our neighbors no longer present a threat to the empire, but as for these invaders of another world we must burn every village from here to Anuls Hill, poison every drinking water source and siege every crop of food and take the livestock that we can, that will stop any army and leave them vulnerable." The Minister took a moment to think about the order. "Scorched earth tactics, your highness?" He asked somewhat surprised he decided to voice his concerns. "I worry about the possibility of defectors and the loss of tax revenue." Something caught the emperor's attention. "Defectors, you say?"
The Minister looked up at him. "There are motions to have you recalled the Senate, beginning with Marquess Casel." To his surprise the emperor chuckled. "This is a good opportunity to take care of the entire Senate in one swoop, let us order the council to investigate." He was interrupted by a sudden opening of the main door and a voice called his attention. "Your highness." Stepping forward into the light was his third daughter Pina Co Lada dressed in her armor that signified her as the leader of the Rose Knights Order and he'd given her that as a ceremonial duty of older warriors who didn't want to retire and several other noble daughters were along side her, he knew that she was becoming increasingly frustrated with being pushed aside at every opportunity but perhaps this entire situation was just what he needed to give her something to do. She knelt before him and after a moment for him to look her over he ordered her to stand and say what was on her mind. "It is of course about the invaders on Alnus Hill, I had learned of the pitiful defeat of the Allied forces and was wondering what our empire plans are to do to liberate our holy land."
Minister Count Marcus spoke first. "Surely we can take this opportunity to retake the hill." Pina retorted quickly. "What complacency, That will not help us stop the enemy invasion!" Molt spoke up in agreement. "Pina, you are correct, But we are far too ignorant regarding the enemy that occupies Alnus Hill." The Emperor thought only for a moment before continuing. "This is perfect, Could I ask you and your Order to scout their position?" Pina was stunned by the question. "M-Me?" She asked stammered. "With my order?" Molt replied quickly. "Of course, are you and your Order prepared for the task or are they merely play things?" Yet again Pina was stunned by the opportunity to prove herself she quickly bowed and said. "Yes your highness, I understand." She couldn't believe her own ears at what had just happened. A chance to prove that her order was meant for more than the ceremonial honor guard. She couldn't wait to see what came next.
Atmos—Terra Cyclonia— Capital of the Cyclonian Empire—Master Cyclonis's Office
As the reports from the soon to be completed base on the other side of the Gate came in, Master Cyclonis had been in a bit of a routine to help keep her ever growing rage in control and use it to help her contribute to defeating this newest and primitive foe. She would wake up at her normal time of about first sunrise got dressed in her finest uniform and cloak,and then proceed to eat breakfast then go to ether Terra Bogaton, Terra Gruesomus or some other Prison Terra to see how each one was treated since she had given the order to treat the captured enemy soldiers the same status as civil war criminals, however to help smooth out their holdings against other prisoners who were not a part of the Saderan Empire and were simply vassal states they were given a chance to be treated with respect and civility unless they were seen as being unreliable in giving information. But they were not allowed to be used in her military manly due to them not having anything to offer other than numbers of the standard military personnel and she had more than enough people in her army to handle the situation, so the vassal soldiers were nothing but useless and would be able to go back to their homes and families and retire if they refused then they would be sent to the prison testing facility for the rest their short useless lives.
Much actually interest was given to those individuals called, Demi-Human beings who were a mixture between beings of animals and native creatures. Such individuals were not uncommon on Atmos, Suzy Lu and her Blizzarians came immediately to mind, along with the Merbs and the few surviving members of the Bogaton scientists who had reluctantly agreed to join the Cyclonian empire as long as they were treated with respect and dignity. The possibility of such wildly diverse and powerful creatures under her banner was an opportunity that she didn't want to waste.
Atmos— Terra Bogaton—Cyclonian Empire's Top Weapons, Armor, Aviation and Space Research facility
Cyclonis had been able to take a full day after to view new arrivals from the Battles of Anuls Hill. And she chuckled darkly remembering the reports of the artillery bombardment that destroyed the first two assaults, which gave her a glimpse into what her army was evolving with their new technology. She was quite impressed at the detail of burned landscape and the parcel carpet of enemy corpses it inspired her to commission painters to go out into the other side of the Gate and paint details of ether battles or the aftermath if they'd done it for their own civil war then why not use this as another example of propaganda and to document the progress of her military prowess. Not to mention a nice tribute for her troops morale, and perhaps even generate some interest for artists to come out and see if they can understand their talents in this particular area of civility in her empire.
Looking out from her personal quarters window she noticed that her flagship had already gone through the Clocking Crystal shield and was circling around the entire Terra before going to a specific location that had already arranged for a welcoming reception, and briefly wondered what the enemy must think about her personal flagship destroyer. The Dreadful Vengeance was a upgraded version of the former bulky Cyclonian destroyer that had like much of the empire's weapons and tactics had evolved. Cyclonis herself had taken great interest in designing the new destroyer along with her best engineering team, which was an incredible improvement over their models in the war. Gone were the bulky engines, cannons and instead were replaced with the new smaller engines that were faster and required less Power Crystals to operate, they were also quieter and less likely to be damaged by a collision with its own cannons. The weapons were also charged with now being small artillery pieces and could easily be switched to the ether larger artillery pieces or the new smaller weapons that could fire multiple times of Crystal energy and almost be considered to be a precursor to having unlimited ammunition at least to the soldiers and scientists, but it certainly would only fire up to about Forty thousand rounds until needed a reload of new Crystal ammunition. A scientist had dubbed the weapon: Chaos Electron Cannons they were designed for close range shooting with enemy ships and Skimmers but now was seen as a useful weapon against the dragons that the enemy possessed. The design of the ship itself was a slimmer and less overly grand in the middle with a sort of greater emphasis in smoothing out the rough edges of the hull and making the decorative elements more practical for fighting purposes.
The end result was a far more elegant and lethal design that was painted in a dark purple with crimson red stripes and of course a giant insignia of the Cyclonian empire on the back end each side of the ship with a smaller one on the landing deck, which all three had been painted in dark purple to emphasize that it was their leader's own ship. Cyclonis was quite enthusiastic about her new ship and wanted to copy some of the weapons for other ships of similar capability, her thoughts were intruded upon the ship finally landing on the Terra and a intercom called from the Master's desk. "We have the Nightcrawlers detail ready for your departure, Master." Putting her cloak back to its original position of covering her face she levitated her staff to her right hand and headed for the Nightcrawlers security detail that were standing by after going through the welcoming ceremony she was immediately greeted by a report from the leading scientist who brought her up to date with the latest developments of their weapons.
The Master half listened to the report as she and her staff moved through the facility to observe the new arrivals of prisoners and their introduction to their new environment, but unlike the barbaric practices that the enemy seemed to enjoy like slave labor and trade Cyclonis had made that type of practice illegal seeing it as a outdated and ineffective practice which was why any prisoners who were captured were now used as test subjects for the progression of new weapons this helped increase their effectiveness and got rid of potential dangerous insurgents, this practice was not uncommon and Cyclonis herself had found it to very effective in getting rid of civil war criminals and incompetent officers who had been seen as nothing but obstructionists and idiotic in the art of strategy. The smarter ones knew that this was a fate worse than being thrown into the Wastelands, which was how she liked it. Fear is a powerful motivator but I must remember that Respect is stronger and I think today I'll demonstrate that. Cyclonis thought as she and her colleagues made their way to a observation station.
Bogaton Observation Station One
Unlike the testing grounds of Observation Station Four this station was converted for new arrivals, to introduce them to their new surroundings and provide information about where they were. The observation station was also hidden from view by the prisoners thanks to the Cloaking Crystals to make sure they had their attention focused on the speaker who was to give them a sort of welcome speech. As the last of the three hundred prisoners were arranged into a single file and then ordered to stand at attention as a Officer from the Shadow Secret Police Force dressed in a standard military uniform of Crimson Red long sleeve shirt and pants, black combat boots with a cap that protected the officer's head from the surging heat of the local Terra and a Sword in a Decorated Scabbard on the officer's belt and black gloves. Cyclonis was observing this for two reasons. First because she wanted to see how the new prisoners would react to their situation and secondly because she wanted to possibly relax with everything happening so fast she rarely got a chance to see how her soldiers were treating her enemies. I should have a meeting with the warden of this and other prisons to make sure they understand my orders. The leader of All Atmos thought as she saw the officer strolling to the center of a bandstand that was meant to help the prisoners understand were to look, the bandstand was empty except for a few black flags of the Cyclonian empire complete with the red bird that looked at its prey. And a microphone that was placed in the center corner of the bandstand that viewed the prisoners.
The officer jested wildly with their hands to get a translator as close to the officer as possible. The translator was much like the others who were unlucky enough to be captured at the 'Battle' of Terra Atmosia and had endured torture, horrific suffering almost unimaginably for any imperial soldier of the Saderan Empire unless they were wanted by the Emperor's Oprichnik and to them this was far worse. The Translator was dressed in a orange jumpsuit with the Cyclonian bird on his chest with a serial number in the corner of his right arm, he looked devastated but did his job and introduced their captors. "Our Master has greatly presented you with your lives." The officer gave them a moment to reflect on that before some one muttered. "Thank the bastard" little did any of the prisoners know that they were being constantly monitored and volcanically recorded such rude comments would soon be knocked out of them the officer continued. "You are all prisoners of the Cyclonian empire and you all have been branded as enemies of Cyclonia and you will be treated accordingly by our rules and laws of wartime conditions." Cyclonis nodded in apparent satisfaction at the procedure and was curious about something that caught her eye some of the more newly arrived soldiers seemed even more angry when the enemy arrived. She had immediately asked a senior officer for an explanation for this display of insolence. "They are newly recruits from Terra Atmosia, Master and they are extremely anxious about revenge against the unprovoked attack and their families who were violated." The senior officer explained Cyclonis took a moment to understand that did it matter whether these prisoners were not in the battle of Terra Atmosia, well in her opinion No because they still have barbaric practices like slavery and and called for the officers who were detailed to watch over the newly arrived enemy prisoners and she ordered them to gather at least five of the most least important people in this group and make an immediate example of them.
A full three hour was spent trying to figure out just who was the least high risk of losing information about their enemy. "We have found the five perfect to make an example of." A Officer of the Shadows said Cyclonis wanted the officers to dispose of the prisoners in their own way to which they happily complied. Stepping out on to the center of the bandstand were the officer who had been giving the prisoners their introduction, the translator and about four guards dressed in the same uniform as the officer. The translator said. "We will now honor your galette bravery in the fight against us." The officer gestured toward the five lowest ranking soldiers of the newly arrived prisoners that were frogmarched into view of the prisoners and unsheathed the sword from their scabbard then continued to speak and the translator did his job." These five will now be tortured to death in a show of bravery by their resistance against our superior forces." Many cried outraged by such a shocking statement by their captors but due to a security detail of Nightcrawlers that kept them from being severely disorderly. The spectacle went on without any interference from the prisoners and they began with a simple slit of the throat with a small dagger for the closest unfortunate prisoner to the officer who had been speaking. Then the second prisoner was killed by the unsheathed sword and had his head split right down the middle and stopping at the neck. The third was shot multiple times with the strange Hand Cannons by another officer, once in the chest twice in the neck then finally once in the head, and thanks to the fast reloading technique the officers were trained for of their Crystal ammunition that switched from each shot the chest was quickly frozen as if it were put through a ice bath, the neck hits where the same effect but the head shot quickly caught on fire as the dead creature began to hit the floor of the bandstand. The last two were simply decapitated by an officer's blade.
In less than two minutes it was over, Cyclonis had watched with very keen interest in the officer's tactics in displaying their skills in disposing of prisoners and was very pleased with the swift quickness that was experienced by her and their colleagues. She also had some opportunities to learn how best to handle their Hand Cannons witch was rather limited due to her busy schedule but she had a good understanding of the nature of the new weapon. And was fairly confident about how they would effect the battlefield in their favor but they needed to remember their roots of hand to hand combat and her own leading role in evolving her own empire, as the spectacle died down and the prisoners were forced into there cells she pulled herself from the observation station and turned to the staff of scientists and bodyguards." I want the video record of this event sent to my office once it is completed, with no cutting out any of content is that understood?" There were nods and Cyclonis began to take her leave with her staff in her right hand to a different part of the facility. Her Nightcrawlers in her wake.
Terra Bogaton —Aircraft Research Station Two—The Cyclonian empire.
Walking through the various aircraft parked in a row for Cyclonis's benefit was extremely intimidating for the engineers and aerodynamics teams who knew what the consequences of failure would bring, but so far their leader seemed to be in a fairly good mood. She inspected the different types of vehicles aligned to view and addressed them all with respect. Her presence alone was terrifying for all of the staff currently touring with her but it was made worse by the constant silence of her Nightcrawlers who were extremely quiet and looked like statues that could move when ever they did. Their leader spoke in her normal soft tone as she occasionally asked questions about how much damage could each craft handle before becoming too damaged or the what materials were most difficult to obtain. That last question surprised the engineers gave her their honest answer on the matter, to which Cyclonis replied.
"I'll see what I can do to help resolve this problem. Our Empire has been in control of this entire world for almost half a decade and there should be no more hard to obtain materials regardless of priorities in a war, we are fighting ignorant savages who believe that we are the 'so-called' barbarians." Her took on a feral tone like she was changing her true power that was deep within her. Cyclonis inwardly calmed herself and she shook her head as if she was a stern teacher then continued in her soft normal manner.
"The work that I see here is very promising for the evolution of our technology and our ability to strike back at any enemy that might challenge us, you all may not be warriors but you provide the tools that the warriors need in the fight and that is just as important as being a warrior, in a war engaging a weapon is essential for defending against the enemy and that is your duty to protect your home and family together with your experience and determination we will take the fight to the enemy and obliterate them!" This speech was meet with thunderous applause. She turned to the head of this station. "Carry on with your duties , and long live the Cyclonian Empire!" As Cyclonis left a choirs that appeared to be one being chanted. Long live the Cyclonian Empire!" After going to one of the main observation stations she requested that a bombing run test with one of their new jet engines crafts.
Bogaton Observation Station Four
Unlike the previous visit there were few of the bulky war destroyers remaining out on the test site many were destroyed with the developments of their improved artillery capabilities and some were regularly used as targets for simple aerial strikes by the jet fighters to improve the pilots ability to focus their attacks on immobile targets, along with the countless craters from other strikes.
Viewing from the same seat was almost like She was right there next to her and the feeling was incredibly frustrating and only helped give her more energy in trying to find her and make her tormentors understand what war is. Shaking her head clear Cyclonis listened to one of the scientists explaining witch of the newer jet aircraft that would be demonstrated for their leader, they nicknamed it: Screeching Striker thanks to a megaphone built into the aircraft near the edges of the wings and made to retract into the Switchblade when transforming into its motorcycle form. A few prototypes were sent to the Battles of Alnus Hill for a proper performance in the field. And the results were satisfactory enough to make adjustments thanks to inputs from the pilots, who were very pleased with the performance of the new engine but complained about the constant noise of the screaming horn. To counter this problem they added a switch that would retract the megaphone into the wings and a second one that turns it off and on. Cyclonis could see prisoners being thrown into the testing ground by a hovering transporter ship a couple of feet above the surface that caused some to fall over one another but without causing any broken bones as a scientist says that the aircraft is awaiting her approval for takeoff she delays just long enough for the prisoners to look around in bewilderment before giving an order to send some reconnaissance drones into the soon to be devastated area and with that she orders the aircraft to proceed.
The Testing ground Ten minutes before the Ariel Test begins—Terra Bogaton—The Cyclonian Empire
Getting up from being pushed out of the strange metal beast Alexis Augur rose along with what looked like ten of his companions all wearing the armor of either the Saderan Empire of the Vassals, as others began to rise to their feet some looked about with either bewilderment or more often fear. He could see that no one had any weapons to speak of and that the majority of his companions were like him from the Saderan Empire and only about four were from the vassals. All knew about the enemy that they faced had weaponry beyond their imagination and the name of this threat was known as the Cyclonian Empire, which was a shock to everyone who had been captured for all their lives they only knew that the Saderan Empire was the only empire in the world and the most powerful in all of Falmart no known power could stand against its mighty. But this enemy was different and clearly extremely dangerous to the very future of the— Augur lost his thoughts as a sound began to crept into the sky and all the vassal soldiers began to ether run into the desert wasteland or just stood there as if in a trance. With the majority of Saderan soldiers himself included looked for the source of the noise that seemed to grow louder with every passing moment.
Then they saw it coming from the east a strange flying beast that seemed to shore up extremely high levels that only the dragon riders could reach, finally realizing what the enemy intended to do someone shouted. "Run for cover!" And that seemed to get the attention of the statues of the remaining vassal soldiers and everyone else. it was then that Augur saw the ones that had a head start against everyone else and would probably be the only ones to make it to the decaying ruins of a strange structure that must have been a ship. As the flying enemies still dove on them the nose only seemed to grow louder and more aggressive, he tried his best to not get distracted by looking to see if they were closer as another soldier had done and that caused him to stumble and fall on his face. He took action to protect himself and dove into the ground and tried to make himself hidden from the air as the noise finally felt like it was Right there, Right behind him! And then nothing happened nothing came from the strange flying creatures they just passed through them still screaming with that horrible sound. After about a few moments that felt like hours Augurs stood up and looked for the enemy stunned that such creatures were capable of sounding so terrifying.
Before trying to catch up with the rest of his colleagues and tried to think of a plan to get back to Falmart and give warning to the emperor of this powerful foe. He sighed if he was going to get out of this situation he would need all the help he could possibly get.
Bogaton Observation Station Four
Watching the prisoners run as if they were bugs going to a nearby food source was interesting considering some were more instructive than others and some had acted as if they were turned into a statue. The Commander of the operation had thought that Cyclonis had only wanted to see the prisoners react to the jet fighter's horn and didn't give the pilots orders to ether drop bombs on them or use cannon fire. That showed good subordination and restraint in the command structure of Cyclonis's military at least during demonstrations, she knew from experience that emotions sometimes took hold and that caused complications in battles.
But she had drafted techniques that helped put their emotional strength into following orders. She was viewing the latest developments of the probes and was asked if the pilots could use their weapons to destroy them she replied without looking away from the holographic footage. "I want two of the pilots to use normal bombs and the other two will use their cannons and incendiaries bombs to make sure they are dead, is that understood?" There were nods and still without turning away from the footage she asked. "How fast can the pilots be armed?" A officer of her air forces reply came quickly. "About three minutes, Master." She nodded approvingly. And then sat back in her chair and a small smile came to her face. "I would expect nothing less." A moment before her orders could be fulfilled she added. "Oh and have the artillery and rocket launchers on standby with a mixture of Crystal Cluster munitions and Incendiary just incase we require them to take care of any remaining survivors that make it to the pitiful war wreck." She said casually over her shoulder. And some soldiers went to comply with their Master's orders.
A lot of the Former Destroyers were sent to testing sites around Atmos to become nothing more than bulky targets for Newer and Better Weaponry. The main reason was because there were just so many of them and because they were actually commissioned by Her Grandmother and the war didn't really permit her scientists and engineers to draft new designs. Once the war was over she immediately had a majority of them decommissioned and some were left to be used for museum purposes. Cyclonis herself wasn't particularly fond of them and much like when she first began to take command of the Empire she was more than happy to take out old fashioned ways and lead her Empire into a new era. Times for the Old fashioned ways are firmly changing and I will see that no one stands in the way for us to evolve. She thought as she could see the last of the prisoners making their way into the decaying ruins.
The Testing ground—Moments Before the Second Ariel Test — Terra Bogaton — The Cyclonian Empire
Alexis Augur had been utterly terrified by the strange screaming creatures in the power of the enemy. And he was far from being alone in that regard, all his colleagues were shaken by that terrifying feeling they could have died but their were still alive were they being toyed with? It wouldn't be out of the question. As he made his way to meet with other prisoners in the strange rusted structure of metal and they all took a moment to catch their breath before looking about at their new surroundings. One of the vassal soldiers who had been the first inside was the first to speak. "Our forces heard that very sound on the battlefield and were immediately struck with explosive magic!" He practically yelled placing his hands on his head as if to stop the noise. Another Vassal soldier continued. "I was in the last desperate attempt to retake Aluns Hill from the enemy, it was night we were attempting to sneak our way to surprise them off guard only to be met with strange flying bright lights that gave away our position in a matter of seconds they used their cannons to attack us i along with my fellow soldiers followed the order to charge right at the enemy dispute the bombardment when they stopped firing and a counter strike was launched—" his story was interrupted by the fearful sounds of the screaming creatures who were again dividing to their location, some like Alexis tried to hide in a nearby room and others simply covered their heads and waited.
As the screams of the enemy creatures grew louder they felt the entire structure begin to shake obviously the enemy was dropping some kind of bomb like the one that the vassal survivor spoke of. Something shifted outside and a loud explosion caused a huge section of the wall where the people who had chosen to stay right where they were had been flattened by a large metal thing that was on fire. The screaming didn't stop another explosion shook the structure and a nearby room must've been badly damaged by the blast. Because a section of the room the remaining soldiers were hiding collapsed and a small part of the roof caved in.
It felt as if hours had passed before the structure was completely quiet but everyone present was hesitant to leave their little hidden area, eventually after about two minutes but it felt like months taking the lead Alexis carefully walked towards the newly opened door and was greeted by the sunlight from the gaping hole in the ceiling. Looking around he noticed that this room was almost identical to the one that they chose to hide in. Only with some of the walls on fire from the bombs and some of the metal walls looked like they were from a heated cook pot or an iron rod used to forge new weapons, his focus was immediately shifted to the sky searching for the enemy creatures that had caused them so much trouble. Another one of his colleagues had joined him and voiced his concerns about the situation. "Wh-what is our plan?" His voice was shaken by the experience understandably and they needed a strategy to get out of this terrible place, but where do they go it was a desert much like a desert area that the empire had claimed was rightfully theirs. Alexis thought for a moment trying to figure out how to look for a way out of this.
"We could try to make our way out of here in darkness and attempt to find where the enemy bases their strange creatures." Alexis said and looked at his remaining companions and saw that the only ones remaining were about four imperial soldiers of the empire left with him that was five and the remaining vassal soldiers must have been killed by the bombing or the collapse of some of the walls, he sighed and continued. "We'll have to be very careful about the enemy flying creatures and be even more cautious in avoiding them." He tried to gaze at the horizon to see if there were landmarks of any kind but he couldn't see anything until he saw something in the air and his pulse quickened and he shouted with all his might. "Their coming back for a second time!" He and his colleagues tried desperately to find somewhere deeper in structure to shield themselves against the attack. Unlike the previous one these didn't scream like demons and were extremely quiet and none of them could tell how close they were getting it wasn't until the structure once again shook with dust and debris of rust from the explosions and the survivors were scattered around the area trying desperately to not move.
A sudden loud explosion occurred outside the structure and the hole that the first blast created must have been bigger than Alexis saw because out of the corner of his eye he saw that the second bomb that was coming toward them flying right through the hole and detonated a fractured piece of the heated metal killing three more of his brothers in arms in a instant there were only him and one other person. Out of the ten soldiers he'd been with on this Other World desert far beyond their homeland in only a few hours Alexis knew that he had to get out of this horrible land and somehow get back to his empire and tell the tales of suffering that was happening here. He saw that his remaining colleague didn't make the bombing unharmed and saw that his left arm was burned to the bone and he must've been in shock for the pain not to reach him, Alexis himself felt something dripped on his right foot and he gasped in utter agony as he saw his right hand was cut off by a flying metal object during the shaking of the structure and he quickly looked for something to stop the bleeding. When a different sound appeared it was different from the screaming creatures that earlier had attempted to bomb them but he could see in the corner of his eye that whatever was coming was also metal and it looked like a barista bolt but a more smooth version. He had no doubt that they probably had explosive magic on them as well.
In his last moments as the strange bolt was closing in Alexis could only pray that someone would get out of this terrible nightmare and warn the emperor of these monsters.
Bogaton Observation Station Four
A rocket struck near the hole that was created by the bombs and the incendiary bombs that actually managed to break off on of the old engines and caused it to crash into the hangar. The rocket exploded causing the remaining overhead deck to be launched into the air like a kicked can and slam back into the destroyer's front deck before more rockets hit different areas causing smoke to make visibility less than impossible. Thanks to the probe Cyclonis was able to actually see how the prisoners reacted she had to wonder what they were thinking, possibly a fantasy about escaping or more likely searching for the Switchblades. Her attention was taken away momentarily by the presence of a new soldier who came into the room and waited for permission to speak and after three more rockets hit the center of the old war destroyer she spoke in her normal calm voice. "Speak." The soldier bowed and gave his report. "General Starling has reported that the base is nearly fully operational and requests that a reconnaissance team be assembled to investigate near local villages."
Cyclonis didn't hesitate and replied immediately voice becoming venomous and threatening the turn into the creepy reverberation of that channeled the power within her. "Of course send to her that she is authorized to begin selecting the most skilled candidates for the expedition and she has the authority to choose a Security detail of about Ten from the Shadows, but I'm afraid one of the newly appointed generals will have to be recalled from the base and be sent to the capital at lest for a short time." The soldier bowed and rushed to comply with his orders, as Cyclonis herself also turned and decided that she would be needing to take care of some other matters at the capital. She summoned her personal flagship to be ready for transport back to Cyclonia along with the latest reports from the different departments of the facility and possibly other things.
Terra Cyclonia Capital of the Cyclonian Empire — Master Cyclonis's Office
The journey back to the capital was uneventful and standard as if it was a normal routine day and in a way it was. The newer prisoners had seemed content or more likely much too confused to actually understand what was going on and they were, to Cyclonis that was in a way disappointing but hopefully there would be some who would have a better grasp of their situation would be more entertaining than the ones who looked like statues. As she stepped into her own office she went over to her desk and sat down to catch up with other mates that were discussing the probe samples from other side of the Gate and some were more interesting than others but what was most surprising was that the probes looked as if the landmass didn't have the same type as the Cyclonians were use to. As much as it was very fascinating it was also a bit concerning the altitude difference could cause some problems with breathing or possibly headaches but thankfully no reports were made of the generals or her soldiers stationed on the other side. But the possibility remained so she began to drift a letter with urgency to General Starling and explained that she should report back any complications that she may witness.
Cyclonis then glanced at a report from a different prison facility and it remained her of someone she needed to talk with for another couple of hours and then have another meeting with someone else if a meeting prolonged then the General back from the other world will have to wait. No helping it and in the end it scarcely matters from what the enemy had been currently capable of the Cyclonian army could take as long as it wanted. Cyclonis then sent for a guard to bring her some tea with a side of lemon slices, it was going to be another few hours before her meeting would start properly. She sighed lightly and went back to paperwork on her desk wondering what would the new prisoners would think about the situation they'd be facing in a matter of time. Cyclonis was fairly certain of that but had to remember to balance it with finding her and not getting overeager about the punishments that she would personally inflict upon this idiotic and savage enemy.
In time I must remember to find her in one piece, once more reconnaissance probes can be brought to the other side she will be found, and I shall take all the time I want with this enemy.
Falmart—Atmosia Hill—Cyclonian fortress —Center of the Gate
General Starling looked over written letter from the Master herself and grunted in thought as she sent for one of her adjutants to bring General Dove and Lynn into her headquarters. Finally completed after weeks of work and named for not only the battle that brought them here but also for the construction and maintenance teams that were deployed from that very Terra. Cyclonis had seen it as a sort of moral boost for the terrible suffering that this barbaric enemy inflicted upon them. The stone fortress already had about four working airfields, enough barricks to support the troops and a large amount of anti infantry weapons built into the paths of the hill and was said to look like a large star with about seven points of towers that were built with newly developed cannons capable of firing at an enemy about ninety yards away. A large black flag with the crimson red bird of the Cyclonian Empire had been erected in the center of the fortress, and fuel plant had been built near the four airfields and had been designed for anti air defenses.
As the two Generals entered Starling's H.Q they both passed by many officers of separate sections of the fortress going about their duties or other Shadows's offers just coming out of the intelligence section that monitored any possible threats from the air and land. Starling had killed the leading General who had started the war right after the last night attack on the hill was over because he had nothing left to give them. But had given the order that no prisoner be killed if they were captured and that they were to be taken back to a Cyclonian prison facility in the empire for a proper interrogation and so that left the Shadow operatives with little to do for the time being. However that was finally beginning to change, as the two generals walked into the leader of the armed forces war campaign office they both saluted the figure at the desk who was going through more paperwork, after the usual pleasantries Starling went straight to the point. "The Master has recalled one of you to the capital for something gravely important and the other will be leading an expansion team to go into the nearby villages and persuade them to join our empire, the one who will be recalled is up to me." She took a moment to let the two understand what she just told them and then continued. "I understand that you are both very good team in the field but rest assured that the one leaving will come back in a matter of weeks, the Master also understands the relationship of your skills together and wouldn't do this without the knowledge of the importance." Starling finished and the two generals simply started at each other for a brief moment before turning their attention back to her.
Having to be separated wasn't uncommon in war but it was hard not to have a friend by your side every now and then especially if they were codependent on each other in a fight, but they were both skilled in different ways and they couldn't very well not follow a command from the Master herself. Starling finally broke the silence and said. "General Lynn you will leaving for the capital in the afternoon, I'll have one of my adjutants ready your things so you won't have to worry about wasting time." The purple haired general paused then turned to Dove and said. "General Dove you are to stay here for a moment longer, we have some important things to discus General Lynn you are dismissed." The General waited until Lynn left and the door closed before speaking to Dove. "I'm letting you lead the team because of your greater experience in impossible circumstances and your ability to adapt to complications, Dove I've seen you in training and more importantly we are once again in the same team and this time we will be able to make the enemy look laughable compared to what we have been through." Starling proceeded to list off the equipment her team would be using and what authorization she would have when dealing with diplomacy finally she would be given the team of elite shadow agents to help interrogations if they provided difficulties with providing wanted information.
Dove for her part once the meeting died down and she was dismissed back to her office felt a mixture between being honored by such a privileged opportunity to be the first to lead an expedition in to a unknown and possibly rich landscape on the other hand she would be alone in a sense that she would not be able to have her friend by her side but she knew she would see her again and when they were finally reunited they would be able talk about their adventures. She brightened then wondered who or what her team would run into out there, but whatever it was they were going to be more than ready to deal with any complications. She and Starling were both certain of that.
Atmos—Terra Cyclonia— Capital of the Cyclonian Empire—Master Cyclonis's Office
General Lynn trained for a few hours in one of the antechambers designed for soldiers who wanted to practice their combat skills while waiting for an audience with the leader of All Atmos. She had been training with a few dummy's and a couple of corpses recovered from some of the ceremonial killings of prisoners. Most wore the armor of the Sadern empire and were very easily to dismember and their armor was extremely fragile compared to the blades foraged by Cyclonian blacksmiths and the current blade she was using was drenched with blood, the General herself was also spattered with blood and sweat as she wiped her sword clean with a cloth one of the Master's adjutants came into the room. "The Master will see you now." She nodded and placed the sword over nearby wall were other melee weapons which were there to provide options for any soldiers who wanted to pass the time with their combat skills. Not bothering to take a moment to consider her current look and went to her leader's office, Cyclonis wouldn't be surprised by her appearance it was normal for business to be first and nearly everything else second. She would tolerate her blood stains and sweat but that didn't mean anything could get away with smelling like a foul decomposing animal that was seen as uncivilized, just plain lazy and disgusting.
Lynn entered and once the door closed she bowed and gave the fist palm salute. "Rise General Lynn and please dispense with the normal formalities at least for this meeting, we have a few important things to discuss." Cyclonis said in her calm tone of voice and Lynn noticed that there was a officer dressed in a black suit with a small pin standing in the corner of the office that pin meant the officer was a part of the Shadows the elite intelligence unit that was conducting proper investigations on the prisoners from the another world. They were gaining a reputation for their brutality techniques in acquiring information about everything the Cyclonian empire wanted to know about their homeland, their culture, language, politics and of course their military strategy. Cyclonis spoke again jesting to the officer. "This is one of my lead interrogators who has been working diligently with the savages and is very keen on finding out what weaknesses they have." The officer saluted Lynn before going back to standing to attention Cyclonis picked up a piece of paper and continued. " The prisoners that are being used are nothing more than the ordinary foot soldiers and their officers as well as their nobles have been left alone for the time being, the main reason for this is because of the input from Princess Peregrine." Cyclonis began to lace her tone with venom but visibly calmed herself and continued by asking. "Have you ever met her?"
Lynn simply shook her head and said. "No Master, I have not." Cyclonis's expression briefly softened into a smile and then she actually chuckled before turning to a map in the corner of her office and pointing at a pice of land that Lynn wasn't familiar with, she thought about it and remembered that only supply ships flew in and out of that area and it was off limits to almost everyone but Piper and the Master herself and sue enough Cyclonis proceeded to explain. "This is Terra Klockstoppia, during the war it was one of the few Neutral Terras completely cut off and isolated from the rest of the world, their entire culture was frozen in time and they had no idea how to use crystals and yet they had an entire cave full of them." Cyclonis stopped to let her General take in this news before continuing. "During the last months of the war I sent some Nightcrawlers to investigate this matter thanks to an old document left by my grandmother and It was right they were truly ignorant of the power they held and once the war concluded their government was easily toppled in a bloodless peace treaty between our empires, so as a true of the treaty they would keep their culture intact but be subjected to My laws and procedures however some of them are attempting to obstruct our researchers from obtaining their most valuable history."
Cyclonis walked back to her desk and handed a scroll to Lynn who immediately took it and began to read its contents it read that the nobles captured from the enemy were a very valuable bargaining tool for negotiation. "Their society is very similar to our current foe and as such they will be able to help us with understanding their political and military systems, you are to go to Klockstoppia and help persuade some of their former military colleagues to give us their strategic information and then I shall reward you for your efforts with something very special I have been working on with my engineering department." Cyclonis did not mention that the now puppet leader bore a uncanny resemblance to her missing love there was no need for that she had not been attracted to her just because of her looks she loved Piper because she was probably the only person on the entire planet who had once been able to tap into the power she herself possessed. While Princess Peregrine looked strikingly similar to Her she had no feelings towards the naïve and isolated girl who had never been off her own Terra and just saw her face as a horrible reminder that she needed to work harder to find the real Piper, it would happen every time she'd visit the isolated land and was one more motivating thing that sharpened Cyclonis's mind on her true mission. Lynn bowed and Cyclonis continued. "Officer Arkell shall be your guard and extra support in intimidating the local officials who are responsible for protecting the historic traditions of their land." Lynn said. "I understand Master I shall leave at once."
Cyclonis said. "You are to meet with a local calibrator who has been working diligently with us his name is Regent, he is … a rather tiresome man to deal with but he is very good at listening to my officers once you get all the informative details we require I shall put you into a role more suitable to your true talents as a soldier.For now how ever you are dismissed."
The General bowed, stood at attention and spun on her heel and went to her Switchblade along with her guard. Cyclonis watched them leave and picked up a prototype of the new weapon she had been trying to create with her engineering department. She had dubbed it: The Corrupted Massacre, especially it was a longer version of the Hand Cannon but was equipped with a long blade on the end of its firing line and could easily be removed by a simple twist of the blade as if it were a loose screw, thanks to the Crystal ammunition it used for power it was essentially extremely lightweight and durable. Instead of a single Crystal energy beam firing one at a time it could fire multiple times per second and again because it was Crystal powered it had almost infinite amounts of power.
From her latest tests the new device was capable of firing up to seven hundred feet away and Cyclonis had based its energy on the Hand Cannon thus allowing the weapon barely needed recharging. It was an effective tool in the prototype stage and was to receive a proper test on the battlefield soon enough. And the Master could not be more excited. I wonder how the soldiers will use this on the battlefield and how our enemies will react to our advances in weaponry, they haven't even seen anything yet.
Cyclonis put the weapon back on her deck and went back to the reports of the completion of the fortress on this side of the Gate, which were more simple than the other side due to their need to protect their land and make sure no one would do anything reckless. The possibility that rebels could escape into a new world was frightening and precautionary steps were taken just in case. They will never get even a glimpse of the other side. Cyclonis thought in silence rage. And picked up a new report from Terra Gruesomus, it contained a lot of interesting information on the new Hallucinogenics Crystals and their effects on prisoners it also requested that she visit the Terra to see the effects in person Cyclonis considered the report also said that holographic videos do not show the entire effect.
She called in one of her many adjutants and said that tomorrow she would be taking a day to inspect the prison for two entire days. Perhaps she just wanted to get her hands dirty again after so long that could give her some clarity on the routine she was stuck in. Hopefully she'd remember how much she missed it.
AN: (Disclaimer I do not own any of the properties in this story except for original characters, please do not sue me!)
Okay here it is. I took more time then I thought and it was difficult because the internet has going in and out lately. But it out now, I feel I should clarify that the new weapon is supposed to be a version of a combination of the machine gun and a Bayonet rifle but with extremely lighter weight so the user can make it into a melee weapon and I debated whether or not to just have the part with the weapon demonstration be just an orbital bombardment but instead I went with the classics of artillery and rockets. I also wanted to show what Cyclonis herself does since unlike the original cannon the Cyclonian empire has no other political rivals so it would be kind of boring if we didn't follow up with the leader every now and then plus it gives us some point of view with the captured soldiers.
I do hope that this story will get people into Storm Hawks, there is so much potential for more mature fan stories I may have a few more ideas for other stories but let's finish this one first. I also hope that I made clear that Cyclonis has no interest in Peregrine but when looking at her thinks you look like her But you are Not her!
But what do you guys think about this chapter was it okay or kind of bad? Anyone surprised by the mention of Princess Peregrine or the fact that Dove will be leading the expansion team? The next one will probably skip the Village and move on to Pina gathering information on their new enemy. And of course the eventual colliding of worlds, when we get to Pina going to Atmos is when we'll see how the civil war ended in this story unlike in canon. Please tell me what you think will happen next and give me some constructive feedback or ideas for weapons.
Until the next chapter is ready. Stay safe everyone.
