Chapter 12 (Eagles Wings)

--------------------------------------------------------------

YEAH!!! I'm on vacation for a little bit. :) SO HAPPY!!! Between school and work I haven’t had more than three days off in over a year. I will so be enjoying this. Anyway I will not be planning on taking a break from my writing so we will see what all I get out there. Thanks for all of those who are still reading I hope you enjoy.

Znomad

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Roza POV

I was staring off into the ocean wondering about my new life and what might have happened to my friends and family. I had not thought of them in so long. I sighed and knew that most of them would have been killed in the taking of our city and the rest were probably all serving as slaves. I shook my head to clear those dark thoughts when I heard someone clear their throat behind me.

“Yes” I said as I started to turn around expecting Nemi to be there asking me some form of question or maybe requesting that I try that strange nano or nanite whatever he called that thing.

“Hi” I heard a distinctly non deep male voice say and as I fully turned around was shocked to see the beast kin there. I immediately dropped to a knee and bowed in her presence.

Asena POV

“Uhh please get up.” I said in surprise at the bowing figure before me.

“Thank you oh princess of the blessed goddess.” Roza said not looking me in the eye.

“Please stop this nonsense and look at me.” I said exasperated by how this was going.

“If you you wish princess.” Roza said looking up at me slightly.

“First” I said now that she was actually looking at me. “I am no princess nor am I blessed by some goddess. I am Major Asena and serve with Colonel Nemi.

“You are also not from this world?” Roza asked with a perplexed look on her face.

“Correct I am not from this planet. Why do ask?” I questioned.

“You seem to be a beast kin of the wolf clan and with your appearance and the color of your hair you belong to the royal family.” Roza explained.

“Please sit and tell me more.” I asked well sitting down on one of the benches and Roza quickly took a seat across from me.

Erich POV

We had posted up near the major fisheries of the kingdom on the coastal border and prepared quick response units to the most likely targets of the kracken we had also decided to acquire some vessels for the purpose of scouting the shore line for signs of the giant sea beast. My magicians had been trying to locate the exact location in their scrying pools and with every attempt we have narrowed down its location and once have even been able to pick up some survivors from a locally destroyed fishing ship.

The sun was setting after another long day with no concrete location on the kraken. I entered my command tent and sat at the assembled desk in the rear of the tent. With a sigh I removed my helmet and placed it on the desk. A dark shadow seemed to materialize out of the side corner of the room and a heavily scarred woman's face showed itself as she bowed down on a knee in front of me.

“Kendra please rise. I have told you many times that bowing to me is not necessary.” I said with a shake of my head.

“Thank you my lord.” Kendra said as she raised her head up but remained on a knee in front of me.

“What do you have to report on targets in the area?” I asked as I looked down at a map on my desk.

“We have reports that a few slave ships have decided to risk the run even with the kraken in these waters. Our people have discovered one such ship and its location.” Kendra said as a fierce and brutal gleam seemed to cause her eyes to sharpen to ice cold blue.

“Very good. I assume that you know what to do then.” I said as I looked up at Kendra with an equally fierce look flowing through my eyes.

“It will be done my lord” Kendra said as a feral grin covered her face and she again disappeared into the shadows.

A matching feral grin covered my face but as I looked down at the desk I grimaced. Groaning I got back to the paperwork of the commanding general of the Human Empire it would be another long night of signing prepared documents. Oh how I wish I could go back to being the carefree young soldier.

Emma POV

It had been two days I think since that horrible man had entered the room I was in. I now knew that we were on a ship and a poor young male slave brought us one meal a day or at least I think it was once a day it was hard to tell when you lived in fear in a dark black room.

I had cried myself asleep every night and had not stopped praying to the goddess of light but I had started to have doubts that I would ever escape this living hell. The horrible screams and crying that echoed through the ship every so often made me cringe and curl into a ball in the corner. I always felt guilty that I was glad that it wasn't me and would send up a prayer to the god of the underworld with the hope he would be gentle with their soul.

A strange silence suddenly descended upon the ship before screams and cries seemed to flow through the ship. My door swung open and the evil pig man stood in the doorway. As he stepped into the room I heard a whistling sound before in shock I watched a sword pierced through the man's stomach. Blood and some of his intestines started to come out of the hole the sword left as it was pulled out by a shadowed figure.

The man stared in shock and tried to hold in his guts before another whistling sound pierced the air and the man's shocked face was split down the middle. Blood and some brain matter had splattered onto me. I did not say a thing and with slightly dead eyes watched as the dark figure seemed to fully emerge in front of me it kneeled down in front of me and pulled of its face covering. A kindly looking older woman with greying hair and warm brown eyes looked down at me as she took of my chains.

“It will be okay dear. You are safe now.” The women said and with hope finally fully rekindled I collapsed into her open arms crying my thanks and being so relieved I did not know how long I cried but I knew I finally made my way up to the open deck and happily collapsed in open air and fell asleep seeing the other former slaves all celebrating, mourning, or falling asleep for the first time in a while knowing that they had survived and were safe.

Nemi POV

It had been a few days since Asena had awoken and Sy seemed to be taking his time and waiting at this point. My project for exploration was going well. I had brought in both Asena and Roza for pointers on what to do or suggestion on what to add to our vessel. The most challenging thing was the innocent thing that Roza had said as I tried to explain what sonar did to locate other ships or even fish. Her response was like using locating magic with a innocent expression. It took me over a day before I had refined a new stealth concept to hide our ship from the new strange particles. It was incredibly inefficient and required a designated pair of AI’s to run to keep the balance proper but in the end I employed a battery of them throughout the two islands and put one on the ship.

With the help of Asena I made a combination of disruptor arrays using the particles in their own version of a harsh emp and slightly crude EMP. After asking Roza about this she said that many battle mages use a version of this attack to try and disrupt magical communication within an enemy's army. I simply upped the purification to affect the living things of this world as well. It seemed to short circuit the strange mana pools as I had taken to calling them after Roza’s many patient explanations. I was unable to make it lethal or permanent but it worked much like a flash bang in the way it shocked and stunned almost any living organism in this world from what I had learned from Roza and the various experiment I conducted on myself and the living creatures and plants of the island.

Out of honor of our old and trustworthy starship we decided to name the ship the S.S Albatross and keep it in the avian family. As the Albatross was fully equipped it was capable of atmospheric flight. I tried to not make it flashy to this world yet still give it the space and abilities that I needed it to have.

The Albatross stood in proud glory and at one hundred and fifty meters length and sixteen meters across at the beam and sexily tapered down to ten meters across the draft. Roza exclaimed that this was the largest ship or construction that she had ever seen other than castles in size. Both Asena and I thought the ship was a little small overall but that it would make it up in equipment. With the ships hyper advanced engines it was able to cruise easily at forty three knots and maxed out in the water at seventy one knots. The largest benefit of the technology that we had with the engines was the fact that it dampened any sound that we created to a near nothing and with a clever use of shielding and grav drives made the wake of the Albatross much smaller than even the pirate ship when it went full speed.

I was proud of having created a working ship fully with my own hands and planning. The sense of accomplishment that I felt was surprising. The emotions that I could now fully feel could both both immensely gratifying and infernally confusing at the same time. It was a strangely paradoxical feeling yet it was a strangely fully organic feeling or at least I believed it to be so from some informative analytical conversations with the AI’s. Although they can be a bit annoying to discuss things with their presentation on logic and probability as well as cold hard fact was top notch.

After three whole days of no sleep and hard work The Albatross was fully constructed in all of its glory. It weighed in at a little over ten thousand long tons without any grav drives running. The outer hull of the ship was painted in nice striped grey and blue theme that broke up the horizon and made the Albatross hard to see on the water especially in any inclement weather according to the modeling and countless simulator hours done by the piloting AI.

I was excited by the idea of being able to travel and see the world. I really liked my new island home but I was going to see this new world I had started to think of as a brand new home.

Jonah POV

I was currently tied up in the middle of some forest to a tree. I saw two figures looking at me with dark glares and barely held in killer intent that still caused an ominous feeling to project from both of the individuals.

“Tell us what happened traitor.” The very nondescript male elf asked with a suddenly expressionless face and monotoned voice.

“Nothing really. I just got separated from the princess and Emma sir. Really I promise.” I said with a pleading tone knowing deep down that this man would never believe that story even if was the truth.

“We shall see Jonah. We shall see.” The man said as he slowly placed his pack on the ground and started to remove some hunting and skinning knives. He slowly laying out a well cured roll of leather he placed over a dozen implements of hunting and butchery before me.

“Please believe me I have done nothing I beg of you do not harm an innocent.” I begged as my face paled and I cringed away as he reached forward and grasped my chin forcing me to look straight into his piercing cold gaze.

“Jonah my name is Sergeant Major Hayha and that women over there is the commanding General of the Elfin rangers. We have found proof of your guilt both in your belongings as well as by witness accounts in the dark and hidden districts of the fair harbor city.” Hayha said to me in a perfectly calm and monotone voice. The lack of emotion and his obvious intent shook me to my core.

“You can’t do this I am a noble.” I shouted out.

“Oh poor Jonah I am afraid that nothing can save you. Perhaps the dark gods will show you mercy but I doubt that.” Hayha said as he approached me and with a swift strike I felt a strange numbness invade my body and blackness enveloped me.

Hayah POV

“Tamara please leave what I am about to do can not be unseen or unheard.” I asked looking over towards the General.

“I am a General and I have and will see things that I do not appreciate however this is needed to ascertain the princess and to avenge the Queen's honour.” Tamara said in a clear voice.

“Very well.” I said proud of her courage to see what many officers would never be willing to see.

I took the unconscious Jonah down from the tree and carried him to a nearby meadow. The information that we had discovered had truly been despicable. The traitorous scoundrel had drugged and sold Emma to slavers and it was still unknown where exactly the princess was located. The rumors had it that a dark and mysterious cult or organization tied to one of the rogue nation states had desired to take her away.

Near the center of the meadow a small copse of trees stood. Some ropes were spooled on the ground and the trees were mostly around three times my height. I laid Jonah down and with Tamara’s help stripped him down. With a little effort we tied ropes to each of his limbs and hoisted him into the air. His limbs were each fully spread out and he was fully suspended in the air. I went back into the woods and retrieved my knives it was time to get to the hard part of my job.

Tamara POV

I stood on the edge of the trees and puked my guts out for the fourth time the questioning had started. I knew that Hayha was a deadly warrior and enforcer but for the first time I realized how and why most of the soldiers and ranger looked upon him with a terrified awe in their eyes. He had started by removing the finger and toenails on Jonah to awake him. After that he skinned the poor bastard alive. I have never seen someone so skilled to the point that barely a drop of Jonah’s blood touched the grass. His screams however were terrifying and utterly horrible.

That was not the worst part after confirming the sale of Emma to a known seller of sex slavers Jonah made a particularly sexual comment about the princess. With simple and cold precision Hayah had heated a knife red hot with magic and then. Urgh….

“Damn Hayha did you have to go that far.” I said grabbing a water skin and rinsing out my mouth to purge the taste of vomit.

“Yes.” Was Hayha’s simple yet very loaded answer.

“He had told us what we needed to know already damnit.” I grumbled.

“He was not sorry for what he did and the comment about what he wanted to do to princess Shonna just expound on that fact. Also he has committed one of the worst crimes in my book. He sold a virgin into the life of slavery.” Hayha said with a sad shake of his head.

“But you castrated him.” I said still in a bit of shock.

“Yes I did.” Hayha replied.

“That wasn't enough for you? I mean did really have to go cover him in honey and then lead a group of army ants to him” I said as heroically held in my urge to vomit yet again at the gruesome picture of Jonah being eaten alive by the bugs.

“You and I both know that he was never going to get out of this alive.” Hayha said calmly.

“But how could you do such a thing?” I asked looking at him.

“I neither enjoy it and it brings me no pleasure but his death will be seen and serves a purpose. For I do what I must as soldier.” Hayha said with a sad face and sorrowful voice.

“I understand.” I said as I suddenly remembered all the campaigns where I required information and had sent out troops to get by any method possible including torture. I shook my head in shame at the thought of how many had done something like this following orders by uninformed commanding officers or even on my command.

“It will be okay. At least you know realize more of the true pressure and responsibility of a commanding officer.” Hayha said with a sympathetic look.

I nodded my head in acknowledgement and walked away to retrieve our horses. For the first time I wondered about not the glory of war or being honoured for some conflict as one of the great generals. Instead I thought about peace and the truth of what war and the decisions that many leaders made without thought of possible repercussions or death. I vowed that I would make a change at least in the Rangers. With newly forged goals and a sense of purpose I walked onwards and held my head up for I would create a legacy that the soldiers would accept as one of greatness.

---------------------------

Hey so FYI, I love being on vacation. :) Who doesn't right.. ;) I have hit a great milestone. I have as of this post typed and posted just over a hundred pages. YEAH!!!! Well I hope you all enjoy this chapter.

Again I do appreciate any and all comments on the story. At this time I have read and looked over every single one of them.

Emma got saved :) To make this very clear I will have nothing to do with a character being forced to go through non consent during the present or at any point in the story. Obviously Roza has to deal with what happened to her in the past and others may have had tragic backgrounds. This will be in the past and not brought up in any detail. Many people do and have to work through tragedy of physical or sexual nature, I know I still do. So I felt like including some of the realism into the story without it getting too dark.

Please let me know what you think though on how the story is progressing. I hope you all are enjoying the characters.

Thanks,

Znomad