The sound of a loud whistle called out into the air, and the response would be a mass of footsteps. All the stepping turning into a cacophony of shoes and the odd coughs. The sunlight beamed down onto the hard, cracked, dry concrete ground. The conrete ground would be surrounded by extremely tall concrete walls, with red bricks on the edges and spools of barbed wire wrapping around the tops. Along a certain length of the wall, small outpost rooms were perched. These rooms were wrapped around in glass, and angled slightly downward. Outside the walls, dense jungle. Inside the walls, The complex. Terra Zartacla's cells, exercise yard, and offices.
The prison was surprisingly full. Something that would otherwise be concerning, were it not for the fact that this was barely a week after the Sky knights' united attack on Terra Cyconia; lead by Lightning Strike, and his Storm Hawks. The attack had failed, the Sky knights and their squadrons had been imprisoned, and this would only be the beginning their nightmares.
The staff were plentiful. Powerful, tall Cyclonian men. wearing standard issue uniform, sunglasses, and hat to block the beating sun off fo their faces. The men all stood fast in a line, quiet, stoic. The prison officers all stood and watched as the many, many inmates walked single file into the prison proper.
The prison interior would be blank, more or less monotone, and devoid of distinguishment. the prisoners all turned a corner, and faced a whole wing. An entire corridor, with cells big enough for two or three inmates sprawling along both sides of the almost endless hall. At the far end of the corridor, stood the head warden, who would be a little shorter than the others at the prison, a little younger, and was just a little chubby around the lower belly. He wore a larger hat, the brim was much wider, and hid most of his short, blond hair. His look was not emotionless, instead it was one of harshness and contempt.
'Come on now! Three in a cell! Start up here!' He shouted, pulling all the Sky knights into their cells as fast as reasonably possible. Soon enough, the cells were filled, the corridor empty, and the cell doors both shut and locked. 'Now then boys' He continued to speak. Loud, clear, and with a southern drall. He slowly started to pace down the corridor with hands behind his back. 'I am your warden, but you can call me Mr. Moss. You are in my home, and that means you play by my rules. Failure to do so? Well, let's say that it ain't gonna be pretty' He chuckled a little before pausing a little bit and continuing. 'Y'all are held here at the Empress' pleasure and believe me, with Zartacla this full, she will not be the only one taking pleasure in this. For those not as sharp in the head, allow me to spell it out for you. There is no leaving this place. Ever' The Warden stopped halfway down the hall, noticing something in the corner of his eye. He peered into the cell to his right. 'Y'all are Storm Hawks' he spoke to them, softer and quieter. 'I've been aching to have some extra fun with you three' Mr. Moss smiled as he looked around to the other cells around him whilst still peeched on the door. 'Now where are yer buddies? Surely there was more than three of y'all in that big blunder of a fight, or are you the only ones left?' He teases.
The inside of the cell stood three men, two were tall and thin, and the third was a little shorter, but much broader in the shoulders and much stockier. The two that were taller were fairly opposite each other in features. One had unruly black hair and a goatee, and the other was blond, and his hair was slicked into a mohawk that resembled a rooster's comb. The shorter Storm Hawks had brown hair which slightly curled into a mess on the top of his head. The taller, messy haired Storm Hawk scowled at the warden and responded to him. 'You already know that only one of us is all you need'
Mr. Moss burst into a short fit of laughter. 'Let's see if you'll stay as fiesty after a short stay in my walls' Mr. Moss backed away from the bars and kept walking down the corridor with a renewed smile. 'Y'all will see soon enough, there is no escape, no salvation, and no hope' At the end of the corridor, Mr. Moss turned around and looked back up the wing of cells. 'So you all just settle in, nice and comfy' He added, chuckling as he then turned away and walked out of the wing.
Back in the Storm Hawks' cell, the blond nudged the black haired member. 'Hey, Wolfe, how do we know if Gale is in place?' He whispered.
'We don't. We just have to trust she'll be there waiting for us, as per the plan'
'And what about Ace?' The blond also asked.
'He must be here, somewhere...' Wolfe assured. Trying to comfort himself, as well. 'Until then Jasper... you, me, and Bluster just need to hang on. Don't let this place break you'
'If that's the case...' Bluster, the shorter, brown haired member began, 'Then we have to lay low. We'd even need to turn a blind eye to what happens around us' Bluster reached out and grabbe the bars on his cell door. 'Let there be no other place than that of spiritual pressure to exhibit the greatest evils of man'
Hearing Bluster's allusions, Jasper started to get spooked. 'You don't think everyone will go crazy, do you?' Wolfe placed his hand on Jasper's shoulder and gripped him assuredly.
'They're sky knights' Wolfe said, 'They've been trained for this, as have we. I just hope our training and planning has paid off'