#storm hawks aerrow | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

malarkay · 8 months

Text

Inside the Wire Chapter 14

During their final battle with the Storm Hawks, Cyclonis is stopped just short of destroying the Dark Ace. Victory, however, eludes them. With Cyclonia fallen, and escape to the Farside cut off, they're forced to confront the consequences of their actions.

~Three years after the fall of Cyclonia~

Piper surreptitiously wiped her sweaty palms against her pants legs, eyes fixed on the small crowd of reporters, scientists, and relief organization leaders that had gathered to watch the unveiling of the ASE. The Rebel Ducks were also out in that crowd, along with Wren and Dove. She worried about Wren. He looked so much older than he had when she first met him, not even five years ago. He looked tired. The destruction of Terra Gale had hit him hard.

The crowd was huddled under a large canopy of heavy canvas. A second canopy covered the makeshift stage, where she, the rest of the Storm Hawks, and the Sky Knight Council were gathered. The canopies, however, did nothing to protect them from the icy wind. It bit right through her uniform as if she were wearing nothing at all. She looked away from the crowd and toward Aerrow. Radarr, perched shivering on Aerrow’s lap, gave her a disgruntled look. He stopped hugging himself long enough to make a sweeping gesture toward the podium, his chittering a clear demand to just start already. “I’m waiting for the weather to die down a little before we start,” she told him apologetically. “Besides,” she smiled, “this makes for a good demonstration.” Radarr did not look impressed.

Black cumulonimbus clouds towered above them, overshadowing the terra and making the gray sky look even darker. Streaks of red lightning flickered within those clouds, and walnut-sized hailstones rained down from them. They had to wait out the hailstorm before she could properly address the crowd. Even with a microphone, it would be difficult to hear her over the din of the hailstones battering the canopies and pinging against the hulls of the nearby ships.

After another few minutes, the hail died down. Taking a deep breath, she walked up to the podium, tapping the microphone to make sure it was on. “Ladies and gentlemen, I’d like to welcome you all here today to the unveiling of a device that, I believe, will profoundly impact thousands of lives for the better,” she began. Her proclamation was met with polite applause from the crowd and much more raucous clapping and whistling from Aerrow, Finn and Junko. She grinned over at them before continuing her speech. Later, she wouldn’t remember a word she said. All she knew was that people clapped at the appropriate places, it was over faster than she anticipated, and then it was time for the demonstration.

She looked up at the ASE, a twisting spire of silver metal that towered above them. She had made some significant alterations to the original design to make the aesthetic less Cyclonian. That had been Cyclonis’ idea, and after the disaster with the Atmosian Academy of Crystal Tech, she’d readily agreed to redesign the outer casing. After all, the ASE should radiate an aura of hopefulness, not intimidation. It had ended up looking pretty cool if she did say so herself.

Opening her satchel, she carefully retrieved the ASE’s power source from within. It was a diamond-shaped crystal the colour of the sun and the size of a grown man’s fist. The crystal glowed brightly as she held it up like an offering to the ASE and willed it to float out of her hands and up, up, up to the little alcove that sat just below the top of the spire. As it nestled into place, the ASE activated. Light pulsed from the top of the spire, fanning out in all directions, and the storm dissipated. The clouds burned away, the wind slowed to a moderate breeze, and the sky turned a dazzling blue. The air began to warm to a comfortable temperature as the sun’s rays touched down onto a terra that had not felt sunlight in who knows how long.

If she didn’t have the crowd’s attention before, she certainly had it now. They inundated her with questions, too many coming at her too quickly, and all on top of one another. She put her hands up, gesturing for them to quiet down. “I’m happy to answer any questions you have later. But first, Chairman Tern would like to say a few words.”

She ceded the microphone to the Chairman, then went to sit with her squad, who all gave her back pats as she passed them. “You did great, Piper!” Junko told her enthusiastically, shooting her two thumbs up, and she smiled and thanked him.

The Chairman’s speech was all about how historic this event was and how the Council pledged to build more ASEs for the refugees who lost their homes in the war and had yet to find new ones. Nine terras would be transformed, and the necessary infrastructure would be put into place to turn each into a self-sustaining community. He ended his speech by officially naming today’s terra New Gale.

The Chairman waved her back to the podium, and she spent the next hour answering questions from the crowd. Trying not to mention a certain Cyclonian’s name to the press when discussing the development of the ASE was exhausting, but they had agreed that it was for the best. Fielding the scientists’ more technical questions was easier.

When the Q&A session was over, she met up with the guys, who had bailed on the science stuff to talk to the Rebel Ducks. “The hero of the hour!” Florian, the Sky Knight of the Ducks, greeted her as the rest of his squadron cheered. Dove nearly knocked her over with the force of her hug before moving aside to let Wren take her place. He took her by the shoulders, smiling up at her with glistening eyes before pulling her in to kiss one cheek, then the other.

“This means so much to us,” he told her as he embraced her. “So much. Thank you.” ~*~*~

The demonstration of the ASE was today, Piper had told her. She didn’t want to wait to hear how it went, but it was a weekday, and she wasn’t allowed to take her radio out of the cell block. There was only one solution: feign being sick. No doubt she would have to endure an angry tirade from Ravess later for sticking them with extra work, but it would be worth it.

Waiting in line after breakfast, she hunched over a little, arms crossed across her stomach. A passing guard stopped when he noticed. “Alright, what are you hiding?” he asked.

“I’m not hiding anything; I’m just not feeling well,” she told him.

“Sure you aren’t,” he said skeptically. He beckoned her out of line. “You know the drill,” he said. She planted her feet shoulder-width apart and put her hands on her head, making sure to grimace a bit in pain as she straightened. When his search didn’t turn up anything, he frowned. “Sick, huh?” he said, still sounding like he didn’t believe her.

“Stomachache,” she confirmed.

“Scale of one to ten?”

She deliberated for a moment before settling on a number. “Seven.”

He scratched his chin, considering her answer. “Alright. I’ll walk you to the infirmary.”

At the infirmary, a cursory exam and a few tests didn’t turn up anything obviously wrong with her. The medic hadn’t heard of any viruses going around but conceded that she could have eaten something that had gone off. She was given the day to recuperate and sent back to her cell. Once she was locked in and the guard had left, she clicked on her radio and tuned it to the proper station, keeping the volume low.

Lying back on her cot, she laced her hands behind her head as she settled in to listen.

She grinned a little as Piper gave her opening speech. She sounded really nervous and spoke too fast, but she got through it. She should have given her a few pointers on public speaking, but she hadn’t thought she’d need them. She always seemed so effortlessly good at everything….

It was a good thing she wasn’t actually sick, or she would have made herself gag with that thought. Her feelings for Piper hadn’t changed, despite the fact that the inevitable had happened and she and that Sky Knight were together. She’d accepted that relationship in the same way she accepted everything else that had happened to her these last few years. Through gritted teeth. What she did not have to accept were stupid, fawning, lovesick thoughts like the one she’d just had. She had to nip that in the bud. What if she slipped up and said something like that to her out loud? She’d rather jump off the edge of the terra without a parachute.

She refocused her attention on the radio. There was a prolonged silence, followed by a loud murmur of wonder from the crowd. The reporter who was covering the event gave a brief description of what he had just witnessed, and she smiled. It sounded like the ASE was working perfectly. Piper had tested it out beforehand, obviously, so they knew it should. But something working during the trial run didn’t always translate to it working when it mattered. The more complex the machine, the truer that became. And the ASE was quite complex. She knew they had both been nervous that it would fail them today and was glad their fear was unfounded.

She frowned when Piper passed the microphone onto the Chairman and rolled her eyes when he began to speak. Leave it to the Sky Knight Council to take credit for something it had nothing to do with. The Council hadn’t designed the ASE. It hadn’t built it. Even the funding the Chairman was pledging to use now wasn’t Atmosian; it was reparations from Cyclonia. She took a deep breath, trying not to let her mood be soured by the Council inserting itself into her and Piper’s project. But it was difficult.

She rolled her eyes even harder when the Chairman dubbed the terra New Gale. Did the Galeans really have to be granted the first transformed terra? They couldn’t have named it New Cascade instead? In her estimation, there were people more deserving of a permanent home than those rabble-rousing miscreants, like widows with five young children to support. She took another deep breath and reminded herself that it wasn’t her decision to make.

Thankfully, the Chairman’s contribution to the proceedings ended there, and Piper returned to answer questions. The demonstration’s success seemed to have done wonders for her nerves because she sounded much more natural and relaxed. She enjoyed listening to Piper talk as much as she always did, enough that it almost didn’t hurt that she was getting no credit for the invention. She took a third deep breath. That was what they had agreed upon. It was necessary if they wanted to see the project through to its completion, and that was more important than her ego. She needed to remember that. She glanced at the photo of her grandmother she kept tacked to the wall above the sink and whispered the mantra she had adopted when she decided to pursue these projects with Piper.

“I’m not you.”

The next evening, she bummed the daily paper and a stick of gum off one of the guards. Chewing the gum, she tore the article that hailed the ASE as ‘groundbreaking’ from the newspaper with painstaking care. She stuck the wad of gum to the back of the article and tacked it on the wall next to a feature about the vapour mills.

Another success under their belts.

~*~*~

~Four years after the fall of Cyclonia~

The Seraph Spectator

Amazonia Stands By Controversial Action Despite Sky Knight Council’s Charter Threat

By: Baz Taghavi

Terra Amazonia finds itself the center of controversy following a violent clash between the forces of Chieftess Antiope and insurgents that left nineteen, including insurgency leader Nikoleta, dead. The inclusion of the Screaming Queens in the skirmish drew sharp criticism from several fellow Sky Knight squadrons as well as the Council itself.

“It is a Sky Knight’s sworn duty to protect all citizens under his guardianship,” Harrier, the Sky Knight of the Rex Guardians, said. Harrier, no stranger to controversy after his involvement in the polarizing trial and sentencing of the former empress of Cyclonia and her top general, continued, “To take up arms against them, except as a last resort to save innocent lives, is an egregious violation of The Code.”

Chairman Tern of the Sky Knight Council echoed the sentiment. “The politicization of Sky Knight squadrons will not be tolerated. These squadrons exist to protect their people from external threats. They are not the government’s personal mercenaries.”

When asked how the Council intends to address the issue, the Chairman had this to say. “We are in the process of discussing possible diplomatic sanctions against Amazonia, which could include the revocation of the Screaming Queens’ charter.”

If the Screaming Queens’ charter were revoked, they would no longer be recognized as an official Sky Knight squadron and would lose all the rights and privileges that come along with the title.

Chieftess Antiope remains steadfast in the face of the Sky Knight Council’s censure, maintaining that her actions aimed to restore law and order to a terra besieged by insurrectionists who posed a clear danger to law-abiding citizens. “This was an Amazonian matter, and it was handled as such,” Antiope defended. “Atmosia and the Sky Knight Council have no business involving themselves in sovereign affairs uninvited. The Screaming Queens are, and will continue to be, Amazonia’s Sky Knight squadron, with or without their charter.”

Terran governments across the Atmos are divided on the issue. While some have come out in support of the Sky Knight Council, others have voiced concerns that it is overstepping the boundaries of its authority. With no clear consensus for or against the proposed sanctions, only time will tell what the Council will choose to do.

~*~*~

“I hear the Council actually went through with it,” Cyclonis said once the greetings were out of the way.

Piper frowned. The Screaming Queens’ charter revocation had made quite a few waves, and for good reason. Only twice before had a Sky Knight squadron had their charter revoked, and both times, the situation had been much more cut and dry. The Council’s decision to go through with it now was proving to be fairly unpopular.

“The Council did what it thought was right,” Aerrow said.

“And what do you think?” Cyclonis asked him.

“What do you?” he shot back.

“I think if it were me, and one of my governors put down a rebellion on their terra, I would commend them on a job well done. Problems tend to spread; it’s best to stop them early.”

“In that case, I agree with the Council’s decision,” he said flippantly.

Cyclonis exhaled sharply. “A thoughtful response, as always.”

“You know I don't like talking politics with you.”

“The world won't end if you admit that you agree with me occasionally.”

“I'd rather not test that.”

“Can we not talk about Amazonia?” she cut in finally, pulling cups and a jug out of the bag they had brought with them. “We’re supposed to be celebrating.” Since their last visit, the ninth and final ASE had been successfully activated. She poured the drinks and slid one of the cups over to Cyclonis.

“What is this?”

“It's a juice blend,” she answered, careful not to glance at the guard and raise any suspicions. “Finn insisted on mixing it up for his birthday.”

Cyclonis eyed the cup dubiously. “That was a couple of weeks ago. Is it still good?”

“It's very well preserved,” Aerrow smirked.

She raised her cup, and the other two followed suit. “To the successful completion of our project,” she toasted before taking a careful sip. Cyclonis’ sip was much less careful, leaving her spluttering and coughing hard enough to draw the guard’s attention.

“Everything okay over there?” he asked from his place at the door.

Cyclonis waved off his concern. Or was it suspicion? “Swallowed wrong,” she claimed after recovering. Then, to them, she asked more quietly, “What's in this?”

“Yes,” Aerrow answered with an amused grin.

“You could have warned me!”

“We did warn you,” Aerrow said.

“When?”

“‘Finn. Birthday. Well-preserved,” she pointed out. “I thought you got it!”

“I didn't!”

“Clearly,” she laughed, which set off Aerrow, too. Cyclonis’ reaction to their laughter was predictable. “We had the same reaction when we first tried it,” she said to smooth things over as Cyclonis glared at them in offence. “Finn has a heavy hand.”

Cyclonis’ glare didn't abate. Instead, she snatched her cup back up and drained it in one go, her only reaction this time a suppressed grimace as she set the cup down and slid it back across the table at them.

“Wow,” Aerrow said, still grinning, and picked up the jug to refill the cup.

“Aerrow, no,” she told him.

Aerrow hesitated, but Cyclonis gestured for him to continue.

“Cyclonis, no!” But neither of them listened to her. “This was just supposed to be a fun little toast! You’re going to get us all in trouble,” she warned them as Aerrow handed over the refilled cup to Cyclonis.

“We are having fun. And no one’s getting in trouble. I can handle myself, and even if he does start getting suspicious, he's cool,” Cyclonis insisted, with a little side nod toward the guard.

She mentally questioned how well Cyclonis could handle herself, considering she'd never heard her refer to anyone as ‘cool’ before, least of all one of the guards.

“See? We’re having fun,” Aerrow agreed, offering to top off her drink. She put her hand over her cup and shook her head, and he topped up his own cup instead.

They were right, though. The rest of the visit was fun. She relaxed and finished her drink as they talked about nothing of any real importance. Aerrow and Cyclonis always got along better when they loosened up a little, and Finn’s concoction certainly helped with that. It turned out that Cyclonis got downright giggly when she had a couple of drinks in her. She smiled, though she felt a little sad at the discovery. She always got a little melancholic whenever Cyclonis said or did something so Lark-like that it made her realize all over again how little she'd actually been acting that day.

It wasn't until Aerrow tried to finish off the jug by dividing it between the three of them that the guard cleared his throat, drawing all eyes to him. The guard shook his head. A bit sheepishly, Aerrow stoppered the jug and stowed it and the empty cups back in their bag. It seemed even the cool guards had a limit, and the limit, in this case, was two drinks.

The meeting drew to a close not long after that. Even with just one drink, she felt a little lightheaded as she got up alongside Aerrow. Cyclonis stood, too. Or tried to, at least. She hadn’t quite made it all the way up before dropping back onto her chair. She couldn't blame her. She remembered leaving Finn’s party to go to her room, needing a break. She had intended to rejoin the festivities once she felt a little less dizzy, but she’d made the mistake of sprawling out across her bed and was quickly lulled to sleep by the slow spinning of the ceiling above her instead. She'd woken up the next morning, having not moved a muscle all night, her mouth as dry as the desert and her head pounding. That had been after three cups of the stuff. Aside from Stork and Radarr, the boys had woken up in even worse conditions. It had not been a good morning to be aboard the Condor.

The guard snorted, shaking his head as he walked over to the table. “This was a one-time-only thing,” he said, his voice casual, but the look he gave her and Aerrow made it clear he expected compliance without any arguments.

They nodded in agreement.

Satisfied, the guard turned his attention to Cyclonis. “Let's try that again, lightweight,” he told her, taking her by the elbow to steady her when she stood. She stayed standing this time, shaking off his support once she had her feet under her.

“I’m fine,” she claimed, and after one last round of goodbyes, they parted ways until next time.

~*~*~

~Five years after the fall of Cyclonia~

She glanced down at the newspaper's front page, the headline immediately grabbing her attention. A sick sense of glee flooded her, and she couldn't help the laughter that escaped her at that moment.

"Knock it off," the guard who'd handed over the paper ordered. "You're creeping me out."

Ignoring him, she turned to head back to her cell and found that her outburst had caught everyone's attention.

"What happened?" Snipe asked.

"Whose death are we celebrating?" Ravess astutely followed up on her brother's question.

Ace remained silent, but his smile was one of anticipation. She grinned at him, one that felt almost foreign to her now, though it had once been so familiar, as she held up the paper so he could read the headline. His dark laughter set hers off again.

"You guys are demented," the guard complained from behind her but didn't make any further attempt to quell them.

"Who died?" Ravess asked again, annoyed at being kept out of the loop.

"Chairman Tern," she answered, the glee settling down into a feeling of satisfaction.

"Oh, that is gratifying," Ravess said, a smug smirk replacing her annoyance.

"Who's that?" Snipe asked, prompting the swift return of Ravess' annoyance.

"The head of the Sky Knight Council," Ravess told him. He still looked lost, so she went on. "The frail old man you threatened to squash like a bug when he told you you were going to prison for twenty years?"

"Oh, him! Wait, does that mean we don't have to be in jail anymore?"

"No, you idiot, that's not how that works.”

"Oh," he said, disappointed. That news quickly killed his interest in the conversation, and he disappeared back into his cell.

Handing off the newspaper to Ravess so that she’d leave them alone, she went back to her cell, taking a seat on her cot. Ace followed, sitting beside her.

“Congratulations on outliving your first enemy,” he said, gently nudging her.

“You, too.”

“Technically, he isn't the first enemy I've outlived, but thank you.”

Silence settled between them. The joy she'd felt at the news was beginning to fade, replaced with a feeling that wasn't guilt so much as an acknowledgment that she should feel guilty. She knew what the Storm Hawks would say. They'd say it was wrong to celebrate someone’s death, that it wasn't something good people did. But the self-recrimination she tried to muster up in response to her initial reaction wouldn't come. The fact of the matter was that she was happy Tern was dead, even if that happiness was slightly dampened by the unwelcome turn her thoughts had taken. She, more than most, had every right to celebrate his passing. He was the reason she'd been imprisoned here now for twice as long as she'd ruled her empire. He was why she'd be imprisoned here for the rest of her life. She knew what the Storm Hawks would say to that, too.

“You’re thinking too loudly.”

She shrugged.

“Do you still wish they had executed you?”

She frowned at the question. Dying would have been easier. She believed that now more than ever. The past five years felt like a lifetime, and that was just a fraction of the time that still stretched out in front of her. But….

Her eyes travelled to the little collection of newspaper articles that papered the wall, displayed right next to the photo of her grandmother. She may have lost her life’s purpose when Cyclonia fell, but she had been lucky enough to find a new one. Perhaps a better one, though something deep inside her twinged painfully at that thought. Her gaze flicked over to Ace, then down. Not everyone was as lucky in that regard.

“No,” she finally answered, watching him out of the corner of her eye as she did. Tension she hadn't noticed him holding onto drained out of him at her response. She leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder. “Do you?” she asked, even though she dreaded his response. She held her breath as she awaited it.

“No,” he said after a moment's deliberation. She exhaled, choosing to believe that he was telling her the truth. He draped an arm around her shoulders, his hold tightening into a brief side hug before loosening enough to allow her to escape whenever she grew tired of the contact.

They stayed like that for a long time.

~*~*~

The funeral of Chairman Tern was a massive event. Aerrow had never seen anything like it.

An entire day had been dedicated to the Chairman lying in state, the Storm Hawks tasked with guarding the casket as throngs of people passed through the Council Hall to pay their respects: Sky Knight squadrons, dignitaries, and civilians alike. He had worried initially that he would have trouble with Finn. While he was growing up and getting better with responsibilities, he was still a work in progress. Complaining whenever he was stuck with a boring job was still one of his favourite pastimes, and there was no denying that the job they'd been given was boring. They’d had to stand at attention, still and silent, as they watched the line of people pass by. It was a recipe for disaster. But Finn had surprised him, doing the job with all the seriousness it demanded and no complaints. It helped that there were five of them when only four guards were needed. It allowed them to take rotating breaks throughout the day. It also helped that Finn had been the one to spot and tackle a protester who had slipped past security outside, stopping him before he could deface the white casket with the electric red soda he was about to throw at it. Finn had ended up covered in the soda instead, earning an extra break so he could get cleaned up before returning to duty. Aerrow thought he might have milked that break a little, but not enough for him to prove it even if he wanted to. Overall, the day had gone off without a hitch.

The next day was the funeral itself. Tern was eulogized by Councilman Griffin, his square jaw tight with grief, his baritone voice adding to the gravitas of his speech. He learned things about the Chairman he had never known before, like how he and Griffin had been Sky Knights together when they were younger, Griffin leading the Rex Guardians while Tern led the Red Eagles. He wondered if that's why the Chairman had been so willing to believe that Carver hadn't betrayed them of his own free will. He learned that he had been married for 48 years before illness claimed his wife and that he had lost a son and a daughter in the fight against Cyclonia. Hearing that put his attitude toward the Cyclonians into perspective. He slipped his hand into Piper’s, holding on tight. His nightmares, when he had them, were almost always about losing the people he loved the most. He didn't want to think about what that must feel like for real.

Once the eulogy was complete, six burly pallbearers lifted the casket and carried it outside, where the procession from the Council Hall to the Sky Knight Memorial began. The Storm Hawks and the Sky Knight Council followed along behind. The route to the memorial was lined with security to keep the way clear from mourners and protesters. Above them hovered a news ship, multiple cameras pointed at the procession below, broadcasting the funeral to all corners of the Atmos. It didn't take long to reach their destination. The memorial itself was a large marble wall inscribed with names. Flanking the wall were two ornate cauldrons that burned with eternal flames. A raised stone platform sat a short distance in front of it. The pallbearers carried the casket up the steps of the platform before lowering it down into a deep depression carved into the stone.

As they did, the three remaining Councilmembers lit torches from the cauldrons and carried them up the steps, observing a moment of silence before tossing the torches into the depression. By the time they and the pallbearers had descended the steps, the casket was fully engulfed in flame. Reaching a safe distance from the blaze, they turned and snapped to attention. As one, the Councilmembers, pallbearers, and Storm Hawks saluted the Chairman one last time.

The fire would be allowed to burn itself out. Once it did, and the ashes had cooled, they would be carefully collected for later scattering. And finally, Tern’s name would be added to the wall, carefully chiselled into the marble by one of Atmosia’s most skilled artisans.

That evening, he was invited to attend a private, Sky-Knights-only gathering at The Galleon, a pub that was known for catering to a high-end clientele of Sky Knights, politicians, and other wealthy Atmosians. He'd never been before.

A lot of Sky Knights, current and retired, were in attendance. Griffin and some of the other oldtimers took turns regaling everyone with old war stories and tales of scrapes they had gotten into with, and sometimes against, each other. All of the stories were kept lighthearted. No one wanted to bring down the mood. They'd all had enough of that over the past few days.

“Those were the good old days,” Harrier said wistfully after one of the retired Sky Knights finished a particularly gripping tale of heroism.

“Harrier, you're what? Thirty-five? What do you know of the good old days?” Councilman Amsel teased him.

“Enough to see how fast everything is going downhill,” Harrier said. “Decorum has gone straight out the window. Just look at the protestors who tried to disrupt Chairman Tern’s funeral. Completely inappropriate. And over what? Some petty disagreements over a decision the Council made?”

“People have a right to protest,” Suzy Lu pointed out.

“There's a time and a place,” Harrier argued. “And this wasn’t it. But that’s not the point. The point is that we used to be able to put aside our differences for the common good. We used to be a united front. What happened?”

“The war ended,” Griffin said simply.

“So that's it, then? We don't need each other anymore?”

“How much have you had to drink?” Suzy Lu asked, prompting quite a bit of laughter from the people within earshot.

He looked quizzically at Starling, who he had been sticking close to all night. “Harrier’s known for getting a bit melodramatic when he's drunk,” she quietly explained to him, and he nodded in understanding.

“Stop trying to make everything a joke,” Harrier chided Suzy Lu. “War or no war, there’s strength in unity.”

Suzy Lu bared her teeth at Harrier’s tone. “You sound like a Cyclonian.”

Harrier glared right back at her. “Because I believe our terras should be more closely allied, not less? That's absurd.”

“How much closer do we need to be, eh? If Rex needs help, just ask, and Blizzaris’ll be there. That’s allies in my book.”

“How’d that work out for us against the Cyclonians?”

“Pretty good, I’d say. We won, didn’t we?”

“Thanks to the Storm Hawks!”

A bunch of eyes turned toward him. Awkwardly, he smiled and waved, not knowing what else to do. Starling silently laughed at him. She had the decency to try to hide it by taking a long drink, but he saw. He grinned and shrugged at her when everyone turned their attention back to Harrier as he went on.

“It wouldn’t hurt to band together more officially. What if the Cyclonians decide to stop honouring the treaty? What if some other greedy little warlord decides to try their hand at world domination?”

“I’m sure if you asked Antiope, she’d agree. Only she’d say it’s the Sky Knight Council you gotta be worried about.”

“Let me make one thing clear: We have no desire to take over the world,” Councilman Canastero said. A rumour had spread through the pub earlier that he was going to be named the new Chairman of the Sky Knight Council. They were just waiting for the official week-long mourning period to end before announcing it.

“Let's not digress. My point is that we were ill-prepared to fight off a full-scale invasion last time, as much as I hate to admit it. And instead of coming together so that nothing like that could ever happen again, we just seem to be growing further apart. Doesn’t that worry anyone else?”

He exchanged a glance with Starling. She tilted her head with a look that said she was surprised that Harrier was making a valid argument. Conversation buzzed around them as everyone began voicing their own opinion on the subject.

“You know, Cyclonis sides with Antiope,” he told Starling with a little grin.

She snorted. “Why am I not surprised? You should tell Harrier; it’ll make him feel vindicated.”

He considered that for a minute before shaking his head. “I'd rather stay out of this.”

“Agreed.”

~*~*~

~Six years after the fall of Cyclonia~

“I guess this was inevitable,” Piper said as she passed the morning paper to Aerrow. The day's top story was about the Tribal Council of Amazonia proposing a referendum to cut all diplomatic and economic ties with Atmosia and its closest allies.

The others read over Aerrow’s shoulder. Finn was the first to respond, “It’s not like it’ll be that big a loss, right? Terra Amazonia’s pretty and all, but that's all they've really got going for them.”

“Except they're one of Atmos’ largest suppliers of fuel and energy crystals,” she pointed out.

“And there are several medications that can only be derived from plants native to the terra,” Stork added. “Including the cure for Scarponian Sleeping Sickness.”

“And cinnamon! And vanilla!” Junko said before gasping. “And chocolate!”

“Okay,” Finn drawled. “I guess they have more going for them than I thought.”

“Not to mention that if this referendum passes, it could start a chain reaction of other terras following,” Aerrow said grimly, and Piper couldn't help but smile at his shrewd observation, even though this was no smiling matter.

“Exactly what I’m worried about,” she agreed.

“How likely is that?” Finn asked.

“If they're ready to cut us off entirely, they must be confident that others will join them. Otherwise, they’d just be hurting themselves. Unless they've already signed a trade agreement with the Cyclonians.”

“The Cyclonians don't exactly have their act together,” Aerrow said, which was and wasn't true. The Cyclonians had put forward several self-governance proposals in recent years, only to have each one struck down for one reason or another. Protests against the Atmosian-led interim government were becoming widespread throughout the Cyclonian territories as more people began questioning the ‘interim’ part. If the Amazonian referendum passed, it could lead to the loss of other allies and give the Cyclonians the push they needed to demand the end of Atmosian interference once and for all.

“Well, the vote is next month, so they must really feel sure of themselves,” she said. “And if it does pass, things are going to change forever.”

Her words hung heavy in the air. Slowly, everyone’s eyes slid over to Stork.

“What? Are you all expecting me to say we’re doomed?” “Well? Aren’t you?” Junko asked.

“I’m withholding judgement.”

Finn scrubbed his hands through his hair at Stork’s words. “Oh man, we’re doomed!”

~*~*~

~Eight years after the fall of Cyclonia~

The last two years had been full of upheaval, as everything they feared would happen did happen. But as the dust settled, Piper realized things hadn’t turned out that bad. Different, yes, but not bad.

Amazonia’s referendum had passed, and many terras followed in their footsteps, including Aquanos, Saharr, Blizzaris and Nord. They had formed a loose confederation of terras who maintained complete autonomy over their terras' governance and Sky Knight squadrons. According to what she had heard from Suzy Lu, they did have ambassadors who would come together to form conclaves whenever an issue that affected the alliance at large arose, but none had been called so far. Otherwise, the only thing connecting them was a free trade agreement and a promise to provide mutual aid in times of need.

Atmosia and its remaining allies had responded by strengthening their bonds and rebranding themselves as The Atmosian Federation. The keystone members of the Federation were Atmosia, Rex, Mesa, and New Gale. All of the transformed terras had remained, with the exception of New Ost. Terra Ost had always had strong ties to Blizzaris and Nord and had opted to go where they went. Zartacla, Seraph, and the Stockade all remained under the Federation's jurisdiction.

The Sky Knight Council expanded and became, simply, the Sky Council. A representative from each terra sat on the Council, whose primary role was to legislate common laws for the Federation. Canastero and Amsel remained as the representatives from Atmosia and New Gale, with Canastero heading the Council as Chairman. Harrier retired from his role as Sky Knight when the Federation formed and was immediately appointed Rex’s representative by the terra’s High Lord. He had taken to his new role like a duck to water, unlike Mesa’s representative, who had to be dragged into it kicking and screaming, metaphorically speaking. Terra Mesa's governor finally gave Starling an ultimatum: Rebuild the Interceptors and serve as their Sky Knight, retire, or join the Council. Unwilling to choose a new squadron but not ready for retirement, she has reluctantly chosen the third option.

The Cyclonian territories, which still referred to themselves collectively as Cyclonia despite the terra itself no longer standing, had finally wrestled the self-governance they had sought for so long from the Federation, in no small part thanks to modelling themselves after the Federation, with a few cosmetic differences. Instead of a Council and a Chairman, they had a Parliament and a Chancellor. Each terra now had a governor who was elected by the people instead of appointed by the Master. Each governor served as their terras representative to Parliament, and collectively, they agreed upon the laws and policies that would bind the Cyclonian terras together. Their Chancellor served as facilitator during sessions and lent their seal to legislation as it was passed, but they were largely a figurehead. They didn't possess the same kind of veto or special wartime powers the Atmosian Chairman did. But the Cyclonian people, so used to being ruled by an autocrat, seemed more comfortable when they had someone who appeared to serve a similar function as the Master.

All of the terras who had prided themselves on their independence before continued to do so now. Neon, Tropica, Wallop, Bogaton, Xerxxes, Glockenchime and more tried and largely succeeded at maintaining friendly relations with the different factions that had popped up throughout the Atmos.

And after a few skirmishes and scuffles and growing pains, the different factions did the same. Once it became clear that no one had any desire to expand their influence any further than they already had, everyone settled into an unofficial truce, and all of Atmos was able to enjoy their hard-earned peace at last.

~Ten years after the fall of Cyclonia~

In a barren stretch of sky between Terras Ray and Greemus, the air was rent as if slashed by an invisible claw. The tear in the very fabric of space rapidly expanded into a large portal. Three long, serpentine creatures, each bearing a rider, emerged from the portal into the reddish predawn light. The riders brought their draconic mounts to a halt, hovering in midair as the creatures beat their powerful wings to keep them aloft. They conversed briefly through a series of hand gestures before the middle one flicked their reins, continuing east. The other two peeled off in opposite directions, one going north, the other south.

The portal expanded further, and a large ship slowly passed through. It was unlike anything that had ever been seen in Atmosian skies. The ship itself was like something out of a storybook, a great, multi-decked wooden vessel designed to cut through waves, not clouds. Yet it was held in the sky via a series of steel cables connecting it to a zeppelin as large as it was.

Four more ships soon joined it. They were smaller, single-decked, and bore six gun ports for crystal cannons per side, along with bow and stern chasers. They appeared lighter, faster, and more maneuverable as they surrounded the larger ship, providing an escort as it lumbered its way east.

From the portal, more ships came.

#storm hawks #storm hawks fanfic #inside the wire #master cyclonis #dark ace #storm hawks aerrow #storm hawks piper

8 notes · View notes