Inquisitor's Promise (Act Two, Chapter Five)

Aeneas has to keep his promises. His father's mission will be completed. And while he's at it, he will become Galatea's lord and Inquisitor. But love and politics are an explosive combination.

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Chapter Five: Search and Rescue

“And that’s what we are fighting against,” Aeneas stated. The Inquisitor was in the auditorium of the airship with the soldiers under his command. They had just watched the last moments of Lieutenant Giovanni Rossi of the Venetian Star Force. Although his body was gone, the Holy League was able recover the wreckage of his starfighter. And from there, the chip which contained the recordings of his last moments.

There was a silence amongst the crowds. At this point, they had heard of the Grey Globe. But to see what it was capable of for themselves, even in recording, was eye opening. As expected, Aeneas was swarmed with questions for quite some time.

By the time Aeneas had left the auditorium, his airship was close to its destination.

“Veneto,” Lavinia said. “Only thinking about being in that floating city makes me queasy.”

Aeneas chuckled at his cousin. “I almost forgot that you’re scared of heights, Vinia.”

Lavinia gave Aeneas a quick glare but chose to let the teasing go, she wanted to change the subject.

“Anyways,” the deep one girl said. “Are you going to touch base with your lady friend?”

“She’s in San Felipe,” Aeneas answered without betraying a hint of emotion.

“Not her,” Lavinia said in frustration. “The Medici girl, Aeneas! I know the rumors, you know.”

But Aeneas rolled his eyes in response. “Just because I am friends with Giulia doesn’t mean that there are romantic feelings between us.”

“You’re such a nerd, Aeneas,” Lavinia snapped. “I know she’s in love with you. That girl has nothing but frowns on everyone but all of a sudden smiles when you’re around.”

“That’s true,” Aeneas conceded.

But their conversation was cut off when Aeneas’ nav-comm beeped. The Helmsmen of his airship was calling for him.

“Lord Inquisitor,” the crewman said. “We are being hailed. I suggest you take care of this. The Venetians look ready to blast us out of the sky.”

Aeneas rushed to the communications room of the airship. It was located not too far from the deck, a good thing given the urgency of the situation.

“This is Inquisitor Aeneas Aquilanus, please hold your fire!” Aeneas said over the airship’s communications system.

“Aquilanus, you say?” the masculine voice could be heard on the other side. Aeneas recognized that voice, there was no mistaking it.

“Doge Norberto!” Aeneas cried. “Please call off your fleet! We wish to gain entrance to Veneto.”

“That’s a negative, Inquisitor,” Norberto answered.

“Why not?” Aeneas asked. “Why is everyone in such a high alert?”

“Mind your own business, Inquisitor!” Norberto spat out.

“The Holy Father had commissioned a ship for his new Captain General from your Venetian Arsenal,” Aeneas raised his voice. “This is my business!”

And there was silence from the other end. The Inquisitor could tell that the Doge was weighing heavily on what to say next. After what seemed to be a long time, Aeneas finally heard Norberto’s voice again.

“We were attacked, Inquisitor,” Norberto said with turmoil in his voice. “Our ship La Serenissima had been shot down. And my darling bambina was in there.”

“You mean Giulia?” Aeneas asked.

“Yes, her,” Norberto answered. “She’s a Lieutenant of our Sky Force, stationed in that ship.”

Aeneas was well aware of Giulia’s new position, having talked to her before. He couldn’t help but feel anger towards the Doge, the Inquisitor knew all too well that Giulia hated being in the military. And now she was dead.

“You should have known that this sort of thing might happen,” Aeneas angrily scolded the Doge.

“I know,” the Doge said regretfully. “I just want her back. Please save her, Inquisitor.”

“You mean she’s alive?” Aeneas asked. Suddenly, the anger he had felt deep within had receded.

“Yes,” Norberto answered. “The ship survived, but it crashed right on our border with Slavia at the Mediterranean Marshes…”

“… and you can’t risk provoking the Tsar with a rescue operation that could easily be seen as an invasion attempt,” Aeneas finished. “And thus, you want the Church to do it for you.”

“What do you say, Inquisitor?” the Doge offered.

“Why couldn’t you contact the Slavians about this, surely they might understand,” Aeneas said. While he was more than happy to pull off a rescue mission, especially for a friend like Giulia, he needed to know everything he could about the situation.

“Alas, Inquisitor, Mediterranean orcs are attacking the ship as we speak,” Norberto answered.

Aeneas nodded. “I understand, Lord Norberto. Leave it to me.”

With that, Aeneas’ airship left for the Slavian border. As the airship got closer, Aeneas received messages asking for help from ‘Lieutenant Giulia de Medici of the Venetian Sky Force’. The Inquisitor knew that he had to move quickly.

As the crashed figure of La Serenissima became visible, Aeneas’ army could also see groups of mostly green-skinned bandits attacking the ship.

Aeneas made sure that his crew had maintained radio silence, he wanted to catch the orcs by surprise. It was important for the Inquisitor to do so given the size advantage that greenskins had over baseline men. But with surprise and organization, the Inquisitor’s Army was sure to triumph.

While the bandits were busy attacking the Venetian ship, Aeneas landed with his ground troops far from La Serenissima. The trees of the Mediterranean Marshes were useful in masking their presence, especially with the bandits more focused on bashing their way into La Serenissima.

Aeneas made sure that Lavinia and her swarmlings were at the forefront. In addition, many of them were also hidden within the waters of the marshes. Meanwhile, the Roman and Nepolian troops were stationed at the back. The snipers were at the hills, including Shaka. As for Aeneas himself, he placed himself in between the Italians and the Pacificans; an ideal place to direct the flow of the battle.

With everything in place, the airship launched its missiles as Aeneas had commanded.

The missiles struck right in the middle of the bandit formation. Though their energy shields managed to absorb the damage for many, the explosions had caused a mayhem amongst the bandit ranks.

Taking advantage of the chaos, Lavinia and her swarmlings launched their attacks. Many of the swarmlings burst out of the marsh waters, catching the orcs by surprise. Aeneas was confident of his chances. With the pacifican swarm keeping the bulk of the bandits in place, he began his own attack. The Inquisitor charged with his shield alongside the Nepolian and Roman troops.

The charge paid off as Aeneas was able to punch through the orcish lines. By this time, the bandits were in complete disarray. This was possible because of Shaka and the other snipers who were able to take out the higher-up bandits who had been issuing orders to their subordinates.

Although Aeneas found himself to be at the center of the battle, he did not mind. The Inquisitor made sure to keep himself safe with his testudo shield. Behind the shield, Aeneas was able to direct the battle with two items: his Papal baton and his nav-comm. The baton, given to him by the Pope to signify his newfound authority had been used as the means to mark his own position in the battlefield and direct the soldiers near him. Meanwhile, the nav-comm were used to communicate with other people within his army such as Shaka and Lavinia.

Behind his shield, Aeneas was used his nav-comm to ascertain the battle situation. It was going well. At this point, it was only a matter of time before the battle would be resolved in his favor. Or so the Inquisitor had thought.

The reckless and desperate greenskins launched their counteroffensive, it was centered upon Aeneas’ position. As the orcs crashed into his line, the Inquisitor held firm with the shield wall of his men.

Aeneas barely got a look as a large orc, a veritable giant, charged at him. The creature was not only large but was also adorned by feather caps. Aeneas knew that this goliath was mostly likely the leader of this warband.

The Inquisitor looked to his right and his left as he covered behind his shield. His soldiers were currently in melee with greenskin bandits, the grunts of the offensive. With the seeming stalemate, he could not expect his soldiers to come to his rescue.

In any case, duels were a time-honored tradition in 74^th century battles.

The orc swung his weapon, a large axe, at Aeneas. The Inquisitor was able to block that attack with his shield. Aeneas bashed his weapon at the orc to counter, but the orc was seemingly unaffected.

The bandit leader swung his axe once more at Aeneas’ shield once more, followed by a kick which caught him off-guard. This gave the orc the opening in which he swung his axe once more.

Aeneas moved to avoid in time, which saved his head and his life. But his helmet flew out from the force of the attack, revealing a bloodied face.

Undeterred, Aeneas bashed his shield once more at the orc. This time, Aeneas made sure to put his entire weight behind the push; this was not something that he would normally do but the situation was desperate. The increased force pushed back the orc for a few feet.

This was enough space for the Inquisitor as he planted his shield on the ground activated his weapon’s turret.

With his turret, Aeneas fired point blank at the large orc in front of him. He didn’t let up and continued to fire until the turret had stopped firing due to overheating.

But Aeneas could see that his opponent was still standing despite all that; dazed and bloodied but standing. It was a testament to the strength and resilience of the greenskin race.

Not taking any chances, Aeneas left his turret behind and charged at the bandit leader with his Papal baton. He swung his baton and struck the orc’s head; it was a strong hit and the orc fell down to the ground.

It did not take long for Aeneas to confirm that the fallen orc was dead.

Looking around him, Aeneas saw that the battle had been won as the remaining bandits had surrendered. They were rounded up by the Inquisitor’s soldiers, including Lavinia and her swarmlings; the latter carrying the prisoners like they were pieces of cargo.

At this point, Aeneas’ nav-comm beeped. The caller was a man with a grey hair and beard. Aeneas recognized this man.

“Tsar Nikolai,” Aeneas said welcomingly. “Greetings.”

“Thank you, Inquisitor,” Nikolai responded. “But I was under the impression that there was trouble here.”

“There was, but I took care of it,” the Inquisitor answered.

“I can see that,” the Tsar said. He could see the visible wounds that his interlocutor had sustained. “Perhaps we might be of assistance.”

“I appreciate the offer, Your Highness,” Aeneas said. “But an influx of Slavian troops here may provoke a reaction from the Venetians. They are already on edge as it is.”

Nikolai stroke his beard thoughtfully. “I see,” the Tsar acknowledged. “Should you be in need of help, do not hesitate to ask for my help.”

Aeneas blinked in confusion. “Your Highness?”

“I know of your mission,” Nikolai said. “I have my own, but I believe that our paths may soon merge into one.”

“Then may we meet again,” Aeneas declared.

When the conversation had ended, Aeneas turned off his nav-comm. As he looked around, Aeneas realized that he was standing at the huge access door of La Serenissima. It made perfect sense that the bandit leader would be found in that area during the battle.

As Aeneas was about to figure out a way to enter into the Venetian ship, the door opened; it revealed a familiar figure.

Giulia de Medici stood in front of Aeneas. Rather than the formal wear that she had in Castle Aquila, she was dressed in the dark green military uniform of the Venetian Sky Force.

Aeneas smiled at the girl. Truth be told, he had missed her.

But Giulia’s expression was completely different. And the sour faced Lieutenant pointed her finger rudely at the Inquisitor.

“You are wounded, Aeneas Aquilanus,” she said abrasively. “Come with me to the med bay!”

Aeneas did not have time to answer as the Venetian girl took him by hand and dragged him into La Serenissima.

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