Chapter 25: Job’s Not Finished
The latest wave of hawkmen attack on the hangar bay had slowly thinned out. The line of lionmen phalanx held firm as the sound of arquebus fire interspersed with explosives. And beams of high-pressure brine dropped flying hawkmen to the floor in great numbers.
For Princess Melia of Aquaea, the battle had slowly been sapping her energy. Sweat fell down her cheeks, and she felt lightheaded. In truth, she was drying up. And consciousness began to feel like a luxury she could afford to make do without.
It was then that she felt a gentle touch on her shoulder.
The right hand of Rick was upon her shoulder, the left hand holding the arquebus almost casually.
“Shark girl,” he said. “Go to your aquarium and take a break.”
“But…”
“I can tell you’re drying up. And so is Turtey.”
As Rick said this, he pointed towards the Aquaean sea turtle firing another round of brine. But the water beam was smaller, and the pressure was not quite as consistent as it used to be.
“Remember that you’re fighting out of your element,” Rick continued. “Literally.”
Melia nodded, her face almost sullen. “Okay. Sorry, Ricardo.”
But Rick smiled at her. “No. You’ve been great out here. But this battle’s been going on for some time, and we all need our rest. Don’t worry, we’ll be fine for now.”
Upon hearing this, Melia smiled and saluted. “Right. Thanks, Ricardo!”
Now with joy and relief in her heart, Melia called upon Turtey. The hawkmen attack was all but over, and the two Aquaeans began making their way to the Star Surfer. They climbed up the stairs leading to the main entrance.
Melia opened the airship’s main entrance, and her eyes widened as she saw…
“Nia!”
Indeed it was Nia Ennis, clad in her familiar custom cut uniform, inspecting the medic gun she seemed ready to use, and perfectly conscious and well.
“Melia?”
But the Shark Princess was already rushing towards Nia, and before she knew it, Nia was holding Melia who had jumped into her arms.
Melia pressed her head onto Nia’s shoulder. “I’m so glad you’re fine.”
Nia hugged Melia tight. “I’m sorry I’ve made you worry, Melia. But I’m back now, and I’m ready to help.”
The Shark Princess said nothing as she remained in the arms of her big sister in all but name. For Princess Melia of Aquaea, all was well once more.
***
Claudia, or Actae, took a deep breath as she resisted the urge to panic. Another communications call, another district had fallen into Cainite hands. Looking upon the three-dimensional map she had drawn up with the projector, she could see clearly what the army of Cain was doing.
They had been hopping from district-to-district, taking control of strategic city districts before connecting them with bridges. The ultimate goal was clear: The Royal Palace of Ra. And like a snake coiling itself around its prey, the Cainite army were slowly surrounding the royal palace. The serpent, as Actae could clearly see, was almost complete.
And as she was processing all these setbacks, she got another call. This time from the fleet currently engaged in the battle over the city. A headstrong, perhaps desperate, ship captain ordered a boarding action on the Cainite flagship: the Avenger of Sevenfold.
The result was… less than encouraging. Emperor Cain himself was on that ship, and as soon as the attack began, the slaughter started. Led by the Emperor himself, the Cainites first repelled the attack. Then the ship itself was taken, with Emperor Cain single-handedly killing the ship captain.
With a heavy heart, Actae turned to her king on his throne. Horus was still busy with Thalya in his arms; in his hands was a harp; her king, as Claudia could clearly see, was fiddling while Ra was burning. Actae frowned, she could have sworn she had gotten the king to focus just a few moments before; the hands of the Kruptosian Princess was clearly behind this.
“My lord!” cried the bereaved servant.
“What is it, Actae,” Horus said, stopping whatever cacophony he was making with his instrument.
Tears of anguish flowed from the hawkwoman’s eyes. “My lord,” she said again. “We have lost. The enemy is at the gates. All is lost.”
Horus frowned, and got up from his seat. He threw Thalya aside, rather rudely.
“What!” the hawk king said. “Let me see.”
With that, Horus flew towards Actae and towards the map. With willful grasp, he held Actae close to him, their faces almost touching.
“Listen to me, Actae,” Horus said. “It’s not over, not until I say it is.”
In response, Actae pointed weakly to the map, showing the dire situation. “But…”
Horus, having regained a sliver of his sanity, looked towards the map, and studied it closely.
And the hawk king shook his head. “It doesn’t look good, I will admit. But this is far from over, Actae. You have to believe me.”
Slowly, Actae nodded, the words of her beloved, despite his drunkenness, struck true. And she was keenly aware of how close they were to each other. In her mind, this was the time. The time for her to confess her true identity as Queen Claudia.
Yet it was not meant to be.
Horus continued, “Then call what remains of our warriors in the inner districts to converge upon the royal palace. If they want this place, then they can take it. But they will have to pay for it in blood.”
“Yes, my lord,” Actae said with a smile. “It will be done.”
The confession would have to wait, but Actae was ready to do the bidding of her beloved for the sake of Ra.
But further behind both Horus and Actae, right next to the hawk king’s throne was Thalya, having just brought herself back to her feet after being thrown unceremoniously from the lap of the hawk king. She looked towards the two hawkfolks, and had nothing but hatred for those two. In her hand was a knife; she had pilfered it from under the hawk king’s pillow—surely placed there in case of assassins, and he had been too drunk to really notice.
Thalya smirked, having tasted the irony of the very weapon Horus kept to keep himself alive will soon be used to kill him.
***
Abel looked up to see the Royal Palace of Ra hovering at a distance above him. With the fresh wind breezing over his face, the UEC Captain almost forgot that he had been engaged in battle.
For just a few moments, Abel felt a moment of awe as he finally looked closely at the Royal Palace. The purplish look of the flying castle was apparently from the float-stones infused into the building; and the chains on the four corners of it seemed to be there to keep the palace connected to the floating city as a whole.
Enosh had been planning for Cainite soldiers to climb up those chains while troops with the wings of fire would support them. Emperor Cain himself had assured Enosh through communicator that he would give some additional air support for the attack.
Yet even with all that, the prospect of assaulting the Royal Castle remained daunting. More districts would have to be taken, the whole palace needed to be surrounded.
With that in mind, Abel turned to Enosh, who was giving written orders to a Kruptosian soldier before sending him off.
“Enosh,” Abel said. “How is our progress? Did we capture all of the surrounding districts?”
The Dragonguard Captain frowned. “That’s just it, Abel Ramsey,” he said. “I have just received reports from my troops. The hawkmen are withdrawing from the remaining districts to fortify themselves at the palace.”
Abel furrowed his brows. “Wouldn’t that leave them at the mercy of anti-air guns?” He paused. “You do have anti-air guns, right?”
“Yes, we do,” responded Enosh. “And it would have been child’s play to slaughter them had they been foolish enough to gather themselves in the open air as you had implied.
“No, Abel Ramsey. They are fortifying themselves inside the palace, presumably with King Horus within reach. Look…”
Enosh pointed to the sky, and lo, the gates of the Royal Palace opened, revealing a series of stairs that slowly began extending downwards. Abel looked with open eyes, resisting the urge to open his mouth, as he saw the stairs moving ever closer to the ground.
From the looks of it, the descending stairs would land onto a city district under Cainite occupation.
Asmunikal of Simba hopped with feline grace and landed near Abel, and spoke,
“Abel of Ramsey,” she said. “The hawkmen, they…”
“I know,” Abel said, pointing to the still descending stairs.
Asmunikal’s eyes widened also as she saw what was going on.
Abel continued, “Let Muwatalli know about this. We got work to do.”
Enosh stepped forward, as he interjected, “Indeed you do. But I suggest your group rest for a while. Let us take care of this assault.”
Abel furrowed his brows. “Really?”
“Indeed,” said Enosh. “Your strength will be needed inside the palace where the hawk king surely waits. And let us not forget Thalya.”
Asmunikal crossed her arms. “That woman have caused us so much trouble.”
“Nike!” Abel said, his tone scolding.
But Enosh shook his head. “No, no, the lionesswoman is right. Yet…”
Abel and Asmunikal looked towards each other in confusion, with the pause doing nothing to help their understanding.
Enosh coughed. “Forgive me, I do not intend to share personal business. My point is that your strength will surely be needed against King Horus. As for this opening assault, I have no illusions of its ease. Yet I have promised great rewards for whoever made it to the gate first.”
The words of the Dragonguard Captain brought a smile to Abel’s lips.
And Asmunikal interjected, “Understood, Enosh of Kruptos.” She turned to Abel. “We must rest then, Abel of Ramsey. Our task is not yet complete.”
***
The reunion between Rick and Nia was warm, though understated. Yet again, Nia refused Rick’s offer for a hug, and Rick responded through the only way he could: a fake pout.
The control room of the Star Surfer had now become a war room as Rick and Melia—though mostly Rick—explained Nia everything that she had missed from the alliance with Cain, the meeting with Enosh, the ongoing assault on Ra, and the battle at the hangar, and everything else, though in no particular order as Rick was not a particularly good storyteller. Nia herself took sometime to process everything and could only answer with a, “Whoa.”
“Yeah, whoa indeed,” Rick said.
Nia crossed her arms. “Now what?”
“Thankfully the hawkmen assault here have been dying down,” Rick explained. “Just got word from Abel that the hawks are now converging upon the Royal Palace to defend it. Truth be told, I don’t see any more sustained assault on the hangar happening. Can’t be too careful, though.”
As Nia heard this, she straightened herself. “Right. Then let’s head out and meet up with Abel.”
“Huh?” Rick said.
Nia grinned, and brandished her medic gun. “Job’s not finished, right? And besides…” Her expression turned grim. “I want to check up on Actae, and maybe even Horus.”
“Who’s Actae?” Rick furrowed his brows. “Is there something I’m missing?”
“A lot,” responded Nia. “I’ll explain to you on the way.”
“Got it,” Rick said, nodding. “I’ll get some lion warriors to to escort us. The rest will stay here with Parthas to defend in case of hawk stragglers. Also…”
“Yeah?” Nia said.
Rick took a black helmet lying on the control room’s console, and handed it to Nia; it was a helmet of a Cainite soldier. “You might want to put this on. In case some Cainite soldier got a little too loyal, if you know what I mean.”
Nia took the helmet in hand. “Right.”
At this point, Melia interjected, “Let me and Turtey go too.”
Nia shook her head, her hand on her hips. “Absolutely not! Rick already told you to rest and rehydrate in your room. So you’ll sit this one out, young lady.”
“But…”
“No buts.”
Melia nodded obediently. “Okay, but I have a favor, Nia.”
“Of course,” Nia said, her tone now sympathetic. She ruffled Melia’s silver hair. “Go for it.”
“I want… for you to kiss Abel as soon as you see him.”
Nia’s face turned red. “What? W-will you…? Just go to your room, Melia.”
“Yes, Nia,” Melia said; but as the Shark Princess said this, she was grinning the whole time.
To be continued…
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