Valkyria

by Ink Blood

  “It is a matter of urgency,” he continued, but again none of the crew seemed to move. They did not seem to even blink.

  “The Inquisition are preparing for war! I must speak with your captain!”

  “You are from the Empire,” said a soft yet forceful voice. “Is that not correct?”

  Seran turned around to see a young lady walking toward him, a long barrel rifle in her hands.

  “How did you guess?”

  “Your sword. Only a Dragoon pig of the Empire would carry a chainsword.”

  “Well then, should I be saying ‘oink’ instead of speaking like a man?”

  “No,” said the young lady. “You should simply not be here. You come here claiming the Inquisition is preparing for war, but the Empire is doing the same.”

  Seran nodded. It was true that the Empire had been increasing its military might recently. Production of airships and tanks had doubled at least, but Seran was certain it was because of the intel from spies such as Lord Eerhart and the actions of the Inquisition that those spies had reported on.

  “We only seek to defend ourselves,” he said.

  “Do you truly believe that?"

  “Of course I do,” he replied. “The Empire only seeks to protect its citizens!”

  The entire crew within the hangar burst into laughter, filling Seran with a sense of anger.

  “How dare you laugh!?”

  “And how dare you shout at us?”

  The young lady stepped closer to him, the end of her rifle pushing against his chest.

  “Now, tell me what you want,” she said. “And make it quick.”

  “I know the location of a secret project the Inquisition is working on and I must speak to your captain.”

  The young lady stared at him in the eyes, hers appearing to burst into flames as she looked at him. He could feel the disgust and contempt she felt for him. However, after a few long seconds, her rifle fell from his chest.

  “Very well. Let us go to the bridge and see what you have to say. But know that I am right behind you.”

  *~*~*

  36

  EINAR

  “And then they left the compound to return to the fortress,” said the man from the air-taxi. He had said his name was Seran, a Dragoon from the Alexandria Empire.

  “What about the girl?” Einar had to ask. “Did you hear her name?”

  “I did not,” replied Seran.

  “But you are sure of the clothes she was wearing?”

  “Yes, why?”

  Einar turned to Irving, his eyes burning.

  “That is Alexia. I am sure of it! Those are the clothes she always wears!”

  “Very well,” said Irving. “So it appears as though we have two issues here; an Inquisition super weapon, and your sister accompanying this man.”

  “She would never work with them,” said Einar.

  “Of that I am sure. From what Seran has told us, it sounds as though her mind is not her own at the moment, although I do not understand how the Inquisition would have done that.”

  “I need your help,” said Seran. “I need to destroy their super weapon.”

  “And why,” said Nate, “should we help scum from the Empire?”

  “Because you strive for equal ground in war,” said Seran.

  “Not true,” said Irving. “We strive for peace. However, I do agree that we need to find a way to destroy this super weapon.

  We cannot allow any one side to have a weapon that will give them superiority in war. That would only lead to more death and more violence. It would create an arms race between the nations that would surely spiral out of control.”

  “Exactly,” said Seran.

  “Well then,” continued Irving. “Here are our terms. We will assist with the assault on the Inquisition’s facility, but we must bring back Einar’s sister. I will not allow her to come to harm, do you understand?”

  “I do,” said Seran.

  “Good. Then there is just one more issue for us to iron out. How large would you say their ground defenses are?”

  “From what I could see, there were at least a hundred foot soldiers within the compound. However, they are not the biggest threat. The Tempest is.”

  Einar jolted.

  “The Tempest?”

  “Yes,” said Seran. “It is stationed above the compound, fully armed as far as I could tell.”

  “That certainly changes the situation,” said Irving. “Nate, please take Einar to the mess hall. Seran and I will discuss this further and hold a briefing before we arrive at Midland.”

  Nate gave a salute, which Einar copied. He did not want to leave the room. He needed more assurance that Alexia was safe, but he was part of the Valkyria’s crew now. He knew he had no choice but to follow orders. After all, he owed the airship and her crew his life, Haze’s life, and the life of the man who had died rescuing them. He turned and followed Nate out of the bridge and down the stairs into the bowels of the Valkyria.

  “This is crazy,” said Nate. “First we lose Charles, and now we are going to face the Tempest?”

  “Why are you scared of the Tempest? This is the Valkyria,” said Einar.

  “Yes, and I have only been on this ship for a few days. I know nothing of its actual combat ability. But I do know the Tempest and the devastation it wrought on Three Peaks during the First War.”

  “Three Peaks? Is that where you come from?”

  “Yes, and I wish we had stayed there. Then maybe Charles would still be alive.”

  Nate’s voice almost sounded like he was hissing as he spoke, and Einar knew that it was time to stop asking questions. They walked through the corridors to the mess hall in silence.

  Inside the hall he saw Haze, dressed in a white kitchen uniform, and could not help but laugh a little. He strolled over to her and smiled.

  “How is the new job?”

  “I think it is going well, although it is a bit boring. We only have gruel and mead at the moment, so there is no real cooking involved. I am just serving up slop to the crew when they come in.”

  “It may be dull,” said Einar, “but at least it is safe. I promised I would keep you safe and I will.”

  “I know you will,” said Haze with a smile. “What happened with that air-taxi?”

  “The man was from the Empire, and he has found my sister!”

  “Really?”

  “Yes,” said Einar, his head tilting toward the floor. “She is with a leader of the Inquisition. Irving said that her head seems like it is not her own, whatever that means…”

  “I see,” she replied, her voice quiet and apprehensive. “But at least we know that she is alive, and where she is.”

  “She is in an Inquisition fortress,” said Einar. “One that the Valkyria is going to attack.”

  “We are going to battle?”

  “Yes. Captain Irving is talking to the Dragoon now, trying to formulate the best plan for the assault.”

  “So that means you are going to be out there in the battle?”

  “Well I am a gunner now.”

  “I see,” she said as she leant forward. She gave him a kiss and smile meekly. “Please be careful out there.”

  *~*~*

  37

  NATE

  The Valkyria’s propellers were spinning at full speed, shaking the airship as it tore through the skies toward the Midland Island. The crew had gathered in the mess hall that now performed the role of the briefing room.

  The tables had been folded away leaving only chairs and benches to fill the room, themselves lined up so that everyone sat facing Captain Irving. Nate had taken a seat in the middle, but had been told to move to the front row and now sat next to Einar. Anastasia sat with her co-pilot Sherry, a few seats to the left of Nate, whilst Seran had been given a chair next to Irving himself.

  “We will arrive at Midland soon,” said Irving, his voice booming throughout the mess hall. “We expect a near immediate response to our presence, and therefore you ar
e to being assault as soon as you have cleared the hangar bay. Do not hesitate.

  Your main focus will be to take down the enemy’s aerial forces. However, be warned that the Tempest is currently in the vicinity.

  The Valkyria will concentrate her fire on the Tempest, but will offer suppressive fire on the enemy’s smaller vessels when possible. Then, once the ground team has disabled the fortress’s main defensive cannons, you will move in and assault the factory. Any questions?”

  Nate glanced around, trying to be conspicuous whilst looking for anyone who raised their arm. No one did, so he knew he would have to ask his question. After all, he had to know who would take out the anti-airship cannons. He could not let the Inquisition use something that he and Charles had invented.

  “What are we going to do about the anti-airship cannons? I am probably the best suited to disarm them, sir” said Nate.

  Irving looked at him with a smile, but it seemed to be a smile of pity rather than anything else.

  “I am sorry Nate, but we need you to pilot the Seadawn. It is our best weapon against the Inquisition’s forces. Seran is going to infiltrate the compound from the ground, using a drop pod so that he does not draw attention to himself.

  From there, he will detonate a bomb that will knock out their power generators, disabling the cannons.

  “But sir,” said Nate.

  “I know what you are going to say,” replied Iriving, interrupting Nate. “And once the power supply is broken, you may destroy them from above when you get the chance. However, we need you in the air, not on the ground. Do you understand?”

  “Sir,” said Einar. “I have a question.”

  “Go ahead.”

  “How will Seran deal with the soldiers on the ground after the bomb has detonated?”

  “Well,” said Seran. “The Captain and I have spoken a great deal about that, and we feel the best way to deal with them is to take a page from your book, so to speak.”

  “I do not understand,” said Einar.

  “We will draw the Creatures of the Midland to the compound, and allow them to distract the soldiers. Hopefully there will be enough gunfire, explosions and bodies to keep them occupied so that I may escape undetected.”

  “You jest, surely,” said Nate. “Those things will tear the place apart!”

  “And the people,” said Einar. “What about my sister?”

  “It will take time for the Creatures to get into the compound,” said Irving. “Seran will take out the power and then search for Alexia. Once he has located her, he will take her to the clearing between the factory and the fortress where Anastasia and Sherry will extract them both.”

  Nate’s muscles tightened at the thought of going anywhere near the Creatures again. He did not want to see any person meet the same fate as Charles; especially not a member of the Valkyria’s crew.

  Before he could raise his concern once more, the door to the mess hall burst open and one of the lookouts ran into the room.

  “Captain! We have arrived!”

  “Very well,” said Irving. “Everyone! Get to your vessels and prepare for battle! And prepare to come back alive!”

  The crew stood from their chairs and benches and filled out of the mess hall, running down the corridor to the hangar bays. Nate jumped into the cockpit of the Seadawn as Einar clambered into the gunner’s turret.

  “I sincerely hope you are not a waste of space,” said Nate. “Charles was an amazing gunner. You need to be the same.”

  “I will do my best,” said Einar.

  “We will see how good your best is. You had better be worth losing Charles for,” he said as the hangar bay doors began to open.

  Nate moved the Seadawn into take off position and increased the power to the propeller. Thrust the flight stick forward, the Seadawn was thrust into motion, shooting out of the hangar bay and into the open the sky. Behind him, the rest of the Valkyria’s fighter air-taxis left the hangar bay like a swarm of bees, and he saw a drop pod fall out of the bottom of the Valkyria. It begins, then.

  *~*~*

  38

  NATE

  The squadron flew toward the compound, the trees below speeding past. The skies were clear, except for a large silhouette hovering about the fortress. The Tempest was waiting for them.

  “They are launching,” said Nate as he saw dozens of smaller silhouettes flying out from the Tempest, itself now turning and moving toward them. As it sailed out of the light of the sun, Nate’s eyes opened wide as he stared at the monstrosity of an airship.

  Whilst not as large as the Valkyria, it was still large enough to deserve the title of “terror of the skies” that it had been given during the Revolt War. Its three decks were covered in guns, and Nate could see the musketeer decks on the sides of the Tempest as well. He also noticed that the air-taxis were not coming from hangar bays, but rather from runways on the top of the airship.

  The squadron closed in on the Inquisition’s air-taxis, all of them painted solid black. Nate glanced to the left to see one of his wingmen, Louis, veer off to the north to find the nearest pack of Creatures.

  “I hope you are ready for this,” he said to Einar as he pulled the lever that increased the power to the propeller. The Seadawn sped up, with the rest of the squadron moving into attack formation behind them and began to open fire at the Inquisition’s ships.

  The first of the enemy air-taxi squadrons flew straight toward Nate and his team, forcing them to break formation and split apart. One of the Inquisition’s ships took up position behind the Seadawn and began to open fire. Nate twisted the controls from left to right, rocking the Seadawn so that the majority of the shells flew past them. The rest connected with the Seadawn, but the armor plating deflected them.

  “Now is the time to show us what you can do, kid” said Nate.

  “Yes, sir,” replied Einar.

  He squeezed the triggers on the cannon and shells tore out of the barrel, through the air and straight into the body of the Inquisition’s ship. The vessel span out after the shells ripped its wings apart, falling to ground and exploding into pieces.

  “Well,” said Nate. “That was a good shot. Keep it up and this may actually work!”

  “Will do, sir!”

  The Seadawn flicked around to the left, pulling in behind another enemy air-taxi. Nate squeezed the trigger on his level, starting the auto-cannon on the front of the Seadawn, each shell hitting its target and taking out yet another vessel.

  “Incoming,” shouted Einar, and Nate glanced behind him, seeing the Tempest entering the fray. A large cannonball was flying directly toward them.

  Nate wrenched the flight controls backwards, bring the Seadawn’s nose up sharply, the ship rising higher just in time for the cannonball to fly past them. However, it shot right into one of the Valkyria’s other ships, disintegrating it in seconds.

  “Dammit,” said Nate. “Those cannonballs are going to destroy us!”

  “Maybe not,” said Einar. “The Valkyria’s here.”

  Nate looked out of the window, and saw the Valkyria closing in. It began to open fire on the Tempest, drawing the attention of their cannons.

  “Right then,” said Nate. “Then we need to concentrate on the fighters.”

  The Seadawn made a long turn to face the other direction, allowing Nate to see the full scale of the battle. There seemed to be hundreds of small air-taxis flying around, bullets streaming across the sky. Every few seconds, one of the ships would either shatter into pieces or fall toward the scream and explode.

  Below them Anastasia and Sherry managed to shoot down one of the Inquisition’s ships, but had four on their tail. Their ship ducked left and right, but it was no use. The other air-taxis were following them perfectly.

  “We have to help Anastasia,” shouted Nate as he put the Seadawn into a dive. “I will try and take out a couple, and you take out the others after we got past!”

  “Understood,” replied Einar.

  Nate could hear the wi
nd rushing passed as the Seadawn dived. He fired the front cannons on a constant stream. Within seconds bullet holed riddled the two ships closest to Anastasia, and the Seadawn raced passed the other two. Einar opened fire and shredded them before the Seadawn pulled up suddenly. Nate’s stomach felt like it fell out of his body as the Seadawn leveled out.

  He glanced upward to see Anastasia give him a salute before pointing to the ground. Below them, the trees swayed and parted, birds fleeing the forest. From between the trees came a sea of Creatures, following Louis’ air-taxi.

  They scaled the fences in such numbers that the fences collapsed. Hundreds of Creatures poured into the compound, the guards opening fire in panic.

  “I truly hope that Dragoon knows what he is doing,” said Nate.

  “He has too,” replied Einar. “My sister is down there somewhere! I should be down there with him!”

  “We need a gunner, Einar! If we lose the battle up here, there will be no one to rescue your sister!”

  Nate pulled the Seadawn around and back into the battle. The Valkyria and the Tempest were exchanging cannon fire whilst the air-taxis were buzzing around them. However, the Tempest had also began firing its smaller rotary guns at the Valkyria’s fighters.

  “We will not win this unless the Tempest falls,” said Nate.

  “But the Valkyria is hardly damaging it,” replied Einar.

  “Then we need to do something,” said Nate.

  He flew the Seadawn close to the Inquisition’s flagship, dancing left and right to avoid the shells from the rotary guns. As the Seadawn shot along the side, he noticed that the vessel’s exhausts extended from the side, rather than the back. They were protected by armor plating from the front, but an attack from the correct angle and the side could ignite them.

  “I have an idea,” he said to Einar as he turned away from the Tempest and flew directly toward the bridge of the Valkyria. “Get the communication light ready!”

  Einar turned around in his part of the cabin and picked up the large light, aiming it toward the bridge of the Valkyria.

  “Now, pass me the cable with the switch. I need to make sure the message is shown correctly!”

  Einar threw the cable down the cabin to Nate, who picked it up and began switching the light on and off, whilst saying his message aloud to himself so that he sent it correctly.