by Ink Blood
“Go to the side of the enemy. Fire cannons at second floor. Aim for exhaust shielding.”
From the bridge, a light began to flicker on and off as well, confirming the message had been received. The Valkyria’s engines picked up speed and the vessel began to move again.
The Seadawn turned around again, and pulled up beside the Valkyria, following it as it moved to the site of the Tempest and opened fire. Sheets of metal and Inquisition soldiers were blown out of the vessel, falling to the ground below. Nate flew the Seadawn below the Valkyria and away from the two ships so that he would have a long enough run toward the Tempest.
The Valkyria continued to fire, launching its cannonballs directly into the shielding for the exhaust. Burst after burst of cannon fire hit the metal plates, each one denting them more until finally they gave way, snapping off the Tempest and tumbling through the air.
“The plates are down,” shouted Einar and Nate yanked the handle to turn the Seadawn around as quickly as possible. He aimed his approach so that he was directly facing the ends of the exhaust and began firing the front cannons.
In a matter of seconds the exhausts burst into flames, the fire travelling up the tubes and into the Tempest. The Valkyria must have seen what happened as well as it veered away from the massive airship sharply whilst continuing to fire upon it.
Explosions began to erupt within the Tempest, smoke billowing out of the windows. As the Valkyria moved away from the Tempest, flying behind it, it fired one more barrage from its cannons, splintering the Tempest’s engines.
At that moment, there was another explosion, but this one came from below them. Nate looked down to see the power supply building in flames.
“Good lord,” he said. “The Dragoon actually did it!”
He span the Seadawn towards the compound and dove down low.
“Einar! Get ready! We are going in!”
*~*~*
39
SERAN
Seran barged out of the remains of the power supply building, Firethorn’s motor churning and its teeth spinning. A Creature ran straight for him, so his rolled forward and brought Firethorn’s blade through the Creatures torso. All around him Inquisition soldiers screamed in fear and in agony as Creatures swarmed the compound.
Above him, he could see the smoke funneling out from the Tempest. He smiled. Finally, that damnable war machine will never be used again. He ran across the open yard toward the fortress at the back of the compound, darting between vehicles and storage containers so that neither the Creatures not the soldiers would be drawn to him.
Blood now covered the dirt and grass in the yard, and had sprayed onto the walls of the buildings and containers. It was a horrifying sight, and one that Seran hoped he would never have to see again.
“When all of this is done, I am seriously going to request a holiday,” he said as he ran through the shadows toward the fortress. “That girl had better be here,” he continued.
He climbed up a pile of containers to get a view point of the yard. The Creatures were winning, as expected. Seran had not heard of anyone surviving a surprise attack by those monsters. However, the soldiers were still fighting back, and we starting to rally themselves. A line of soldiers with automatic rifles had formed between the Creatures and the fortress. Yet Seran knew it would not be enough to hold them at bay. There were simply too many. He had to find the girl fast. The line of soldiers was moving toward the Creatures, leaving space behind them for him to run through. So he did, and he reached the main entrance to the fortress.
Carefully, he opened the door, trying not to bring attention to himself. Behind him, the Creatures launched themselves at the line of soldiers, consuming them all.
He stepped inside and closed the door behind him. The building was old, with images he had seen in books of the old world. He remembered the carved stone archways and large ornate organs from the books. In the old world, the fortress would have been called a cathedral.
Seran moved to the left hand side of the giant hall, hiding behind the pillars as he moved further into the building. It was silent inside, except for the constant screams from the battle outside.
He reached a set of stone stairs the wound upward in a circle. Taking one last glance at the large hall, he reassured himself that no one was there, and moved up the stairs. She had better be here. At the top of the stairs he found himself on a long balcony with two doors. The stone pillars continued upward along the side of the balcony, so he quickly moved to them and made his way forward between them.
As he continued, he heard a deep yet crackling voice from the second room and noticed that the door was ajar. He moved in closer and hid himself just behind the large oak door.
Inside stood the cloaked man. He was standing over Alexia, who was hunched over a chair.
“Well, my dearest Alexia,” he said. “It seems as though she has decided your part in this play has come to an end. You have played it well, but I am afraid we no longer need you.”
The cloaked man stepped away from Alexia, turning toward the nearby window.
“I shall not kill you. Do not worry about that. She has decided that your death would better aid our cause if it came from the Creatures down there. As such, it is time for you to sleep.”
He waved his hand over her head. At that same moment Seran felt that the air seemed to freeze. Alexia keeled over and flopped to the floor whilst Aeon nodded.
“Now then, it is time for me to exit the stage. Preparations for the next act of this play must be made.”
He turned and began to walk toward the door. Seran leapt backwards and moved behind one of the pillars, enveloping himself in shadow. He watched as the cloaked man exited the room and launched himself from the balcony before landing softly on the ground floor below. He walked over to the main entrance and flung open the doors.
Creatures poured into the fortress, but they all parted and seemed to stay clear of the cloaked man as he strolled out into the battlefield.
“How the hell?”
Seran spoke quietly, but could not comprehend what he had just seen. How does someone survive a jump like that? And why did the Creatures ignore him?
The questions repeated in his mind over and over, but he did not have time to dwell on them. The monsters would find both Alexia and himself soon enough. He had to get them both out of the building.
Seran stood up from the shadows and ran into the room, closing the door behind him. The room itself was largely empty, with only a small desk and two chairs.
“Dammit,” he cursed. “Nothing to barricade the door with?”
He frantically looked around and saw another door on the opposite wall. Seran picked up Alexia and put her on his shoulder before opening the second door and finding himself on a veranda outside. There was no way for them to get down, and he could see more Creatures running into the fortress.
Above him he could see Anastasia’s air-taxi circling, waiting for his signal from the clearing. Making a split second decision, he lay Alexia down on the veranda and pulled out Firethorn, starting the motor. He knew the noise would give away his position, but could see no other way to gain Anastasia’s attention.
As the chain-sword roared into life, he slammed it into the stone wall that surrounded the veranda sending sparks into the air. He continued to drive Firethorn down into the stone until he saw Anastasia’s air-taxi turn and begin its descent toward him.
“Good, she saw it!”
As the air-taxi came closer, he could hear a myriad of footsteps closing in on the other door. He picked up Alexia again, holding her like a child in his arms as Anastasia pulled the air-taxi up to the veranda and Shelly opened the side hatch.
“Here,” Seran shouted as he passed Alexia to her. The door behind him burst open, and the Creatures filed into the room. “Get her in quickly!”
Sherry pulled Alexia into the air-taxi and strapped her into one of the passenger seats. As she span around back toward Seran, he felt a sudden pain in his arm.
One of the Creatures had reached him.
He looked up at Sherry, who now had tears streaming down her face. He grabbed the Creature’s head and smashed it into the stone wall before turning to face the others, bring Firethorn up from the wall.
“Get that door closed! I will hold them here!”
“But,” said Sherry.
“Get going,” said Seran, not letting the young woman finish. He began hacking through the Creatures as Sherry closed the side hatch. Anastasia pulled the air-taxi away from the verdana.
Seran continued to hack and slash away at the Creatures, but there were far too many. He knew that. He turned to look at the Sherry and Anastasia. They were moving away from the fortress. He smiled.
“At least I die a hero,” he said as the rest of the Creatures swarmed over him. Seran had never know such pain, but after a few seconds the bites and the clawing seemed to fade away as everything went dark. At least I die a hero.
*~*~*
40
EINAR
The Tempest drifted further toward the ground, flames consuming the airship like a wolf eating its first meal in weeks. Einar span the Seadawn’s cannon to the right, the bullets flying through the sky straight into the engine of another of the Inquisition’s air-taxis.
“The Seadawn really is fast,” Einar said as he continued to fire, taking out two more enemy fighters.
“That was the idea behind its design,” said Nate. “Charles and I wanted to make the fastest fighter in the known world.”
“You certainly managed that,” replied Einar. “Head’s up! Six more coming around.”
“Understood,” said Nate as he wrenching the Seadawn’s navigation lever. The fighter dropped in altitude almost instantaneously, flying underneath the Valkyria.
One of the air-taxi fighters chasing them was caught in the Valkyria’s fire, the shells tearing the small airship to pieces in a split second. The Seadawn tilted into a near vertical rise after passing the last of the Valkyria’s girders.
“Hold on tight,” said Nate.
Einar gripped the cannon hard with his hands and pressed his feet against the sides of the cockpit. Nate pulled hard on the Seadawn’s lever and the airship’s nose tilted further upward until finally they were upside down and flying over the top of the Valkyria. From above the massive airship they could see the battle from a distance. The Inquisition’s air-taxis were falling like flies under the constant fire from the Valkyria and her own air-taxi squadron. Anastasia’s ship was flying toward the Valkyria at great speed, dodging past falling debris.
The Tempest finally crashed into the ground, exploding into pieces of metal that flew up in every direction. Debris cut through air-taxis, both from the Inquisition and the Valkyria.
The Seadawn continued forward, Einar feeling the blood rushing to his head as Nate increased the power to the engine, increasing the airship’s speed. As they passed over the Valkyria, he put the Seadawn into a nose dive before leveling out underneath the Valkyria once again.
Einar watched as the air-taxis that had been following them attempted to pull up as well, opening fire on them as they tried to level out. It was like shooting fish in a barrel, each one falling apart as the bullets ate through their hulls.
“That was the last of them,” shouted Nate.
Einar looked around at the battlefield, seeing the remaining Inquisition air-taxis crumbling in the air.
“Good,” he said. “We are almost out of bullets!”
“Roger that,” Nate replied. “And Einar… You did well!”
The Seadawn turned around, pulling up next to Anastasia’s air-taxi. The two airships flew toward the Valkyria’s port hangar bay as the hangar door slid open. Behind them, the remaining air-taxis from the squadron fell into place, ready to land.
Nate brought the Seadawn down at the far end of the hangar in order to leave room for the other airships, the Seadawn bouncing slightly as it hit the floor. One by one the rest of the squadron flew into the hangar bay and landed, filling the hangar in minutes.
Einar finally let go of the cannon’s controls, his arms flopping to his side. It was hard to catch his breath, the adrenaline still pouring through his viens. He watched the rest of the squadron landing until he felt a hand on his shoulder. Looking up, he saw Nate smiling at him.
“I cannot believe I am going to say this,” Nate said, “but you can be my gunner any time.”
Einar smiled and stood from his chair, extending a hand to Nate.
“I would be happy to.”
They shook hands before looking out of the cabin’s windows. Anastasia’s air-taxi had landed, but a group of guards had surrounded it.
“What are you waiting for,” asked Nate. “Get out there and see your sister!”
Einar and Nate climbed out of the Seadawn onto the floor of the hangar bay and saw Anastasia walking toward them.
“You two,” she said, “are by far the craziest people I have ever seen!”
Einar felt his heart sink, and he could see the embarrassment and disappointment on Nate’s face.
“And yet,” she continued, “I would not change that for the world!”
Einar’s eyes opened wide as he watched Anastasia lean toward Nate. Her lips pressed gently against Nate’s cheek before she pulled away and smiled. She turned to Einar and wrapped her arms around him, holding him tight. She let go of him and stepped back, her head facing the ground.
“Seran,” she said. “He did not make it.”
Einar felt a sudden wave of guilt run through his very soul. He had not even noticed that Seran was not in the hangar.
“The Creatures got him,” she continued. “He… He died saving your sister. I never thought a man from the Empire could care for others…”
“We should hold a funeral,” said Nate. “No matter where he was from, he died a hero. He deserves a hero’s send off.”
“I agree,” said Einar. “If it were not for him, who knows what the Inquisition would have done to the world. And I would probably never see my sister again.”
“I will speak to Irving,” said Anastasia. “But for now Einar, go and see her. Just be prepared.”
“What do you mean?”
“Whatever it is that the Inquisition did to her, it may take time to wear off. So be gentle with her, alright?”
He nodded and stepped past Anastasia, heading toward the growing crowd of guards near her air-taxi. As he approached, they all moved aside to let him through. Tears began to pour down his face, his mouth forming a smile so large that it hurt his cheeks.
Alexia sat on the floor, her legs bent at the knees and her arms holding her weight. He knelt down in front of her and placed a hand on her shoulder.
“Alexia,” he said. “Finally I have found you.”
She looked up at him, her eyes seemingly empty.
“Who are you?”
*~*~*
EPILOGUE
AEON
The ground seemed to crack as Aeon walked across the debris. Bricks, bodies and machinery lay strew across the ground, his fortress in ruin. He stepped into the throne hall and gazed upon the burnt husk that had once been Selina.
“Farewell, my dear Selina,” he said as she passed over her body and moved to the throne, which appeared unscathed. His skeletal hand brushed over the gold and brass of the chair, finding the release button in the arm rest. He pushed it.
The sound of churning motors erupted from beneath the chair, and Aeon smiled.
“So, the elevator is still functional,” he said as the chair rolled itself backwards, revealing a square hold beneath it. A steel and iron platform rose up, with railings around three sides of it. Aeon stepped onto it, and pulled the lever on the side of the railings. The platform jolted briefly before descending.
Beneath the fortress the air was still, unaffected by the events that had befallen the world above.
For minutes he descended, past rock and earth, until finally the small elevator shaft opened up to reveal the main
hangar bay for the factory.
It had been built in a large cave they had discovered when the Inquisition first took control of the Ringlands, and was large enough to fit three Tempest class battleships, or just one of his new flagship; the Dreadnaught.
As the elevator reached the end of its journey, Aeon gazed upon his masterpiece. Three times the size of a battleship, able to carry over one hundred fighter-class airships, and carrying the artifact he needed to make his dreams come true. He flicked his cloak behind his legs and stepped forward, head up high.
“Everything is going just as she predicted,” he said as he stepped aboard the Dreadnaught.
A member of the Dreadnaught’s crew approached him and saluted. Aeon waved a hand and the crew member relaxed his stance before speaking.
“Lord Aeon, the Dragoon’s remains have been secured and are awaiting you in the laboratory as instructed.
“I am glad to hear that. She will be pleased. You may return to your duties, soldier.”
The soldier gave another salute before turning around and marching down the corridor. Aeon nodded to himself and smiled.
“Soon, my dear Haze. Soon.”
*~*~*
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Gareth was born in Luton, a small multi-cultural city in the middle of England, but was raised in a small village an hour away from Cambridge. As an adult, he moved around Europe, living in Bulgaria, the Netherlands, Ireland and Turkey, before settling back in England with his wife, within the historic market town of Bourne.
Gareth has always been fascinated with science fiction and fantasy, reading the greats such as Lord of the Rings and Neuromancer as a child. In his teen years, he became infatuated with cyberpunk and steampunk, in part because of Ghost on the Shell and Last Exile. From that point, his imagination expanded constantly, and he researched various books, television shows and movies on the subjects.
