Contingency Plan Ravernal

Sector Zero - Airstrip Nine

Internal Clock - Year 58, Month 1, Day 14 - 12:02:27

It's surprising how quickly one can work when under pressure.

In the span of just thirteen days, the Akkarrian factories were churning out instruments of war, electricity powering their conveyors and machines. Unfortunately, the only energy stations that could be utilised in a short notice were ones that burned coal, with thick smoke billowing out of cooling towers. Dirtying the atmosphere was something that Arkon wished to avoid, so reactivating renewable and nuclear power plants was going to be a priority.

The workforce may have been culled by the transference, but a significant portion of the factories had emerged with only minor or superficial damage. Worker units don't need sleep or breaks of any kind except to briefly recharge, and with thousands and thousands of these tireless workers assembling planes and ships, the orders had been completed with no major issues. 

A brand-new G43 sat on the runway, its cockpit filled with an artificial pilot and a powerful radio transmitter mounted to its top. The first expedition into Aelna would be towards the north, as the south had been ruled out due to the storms. 

Finishing the pre-flight checks with no problems to speak of, W-15rvomc40b broadcasted a quick message to Arkon themselves:

>>> CHECKS COMPLETE | NO ISSUES <<<

Satisfied, the A.I. gave its response:

>>> CLEAR FOR TAKEOFF <<<

The maintenance bots quickly moved away from the plane as its two massive propeller engines spun to life. The sounds of a century old airframe could be heard around the entire airfield, with Arkon admiring the bots' handiwork from a wall mounted camera. The G43 carefully taxied towards the runway, which had been painstakingly cleared of debris while the pre-flight checks had been in progress.

After arriving at the start of the runway, the two propellers proceeded to spin up to full power, the plane slightly rattling with the sheer power running through its wings. A slow crawl, maximum speed, and then the first aircraft since the transference was airborne. 

>>> TAKEOFF SUCCESSFUL | HEADING NORTH <<<

Qua-Toyne Principality - Countryside

Central Calendar - March 24th, 1639 

The sunny skies of Qua-Toyne were occupied once again by riders, this time from the Sixth. Two veteran Wyvern Knights, Marl and Grant, were idly chatting in the sky as their winged beasts flew side by side on a routine patrol. Below them, small villages dotted the land, verdant grass interrupted by cozy houses and bustling cobblestone streets. 

"I wonder how that Elias guy is going," came a thoughtful mutter from Marl.

Grant tilted his head slightly at the mention of the name. "Who?" 

"You really haven't heard of him? Been living under the stables?" 

"I'm not really one for gossip, so yeah. What happened to him?"

Marl gave a low chuckle at that. "Apparently he tried hitting on Ine in a bar. You know, the Captain?"

Grant joined in the chuckle, the two friends having a moment to laugh at the poor rookie. "How badly did the guy's ass get beat?"

"He got let off, actually. She realised it was an honest mistake, and some of the guys are even saying she liked it."

"Damn, really?"

"Who knows. Probably just a rumour though."

Marl vaguely registered hearing a faint droning in the distance, but put it out of his mind for the moment as he thought of something else to say. "Oh yeah, what do you think about that weird box thing that the Fourth found?"

Grant pondered the question for a moment. "Apparently not even Information Analysis could figure out what it was. I've got a bad feeling about it." 

Marl had opened his mouth to reply, but closed it when he heard the droning again. It was louder this time, too loud to ignore. 

"Marl?" A look of mild concern washed over Grant's face upon realising that his friend had fallen silent.

"You hear that?"

The concern was replaced with confusion as Grant strained his ears. "Yeah actually, what the hell?"

The two riders started anxiously scanning the skies, looking for the source of the noise. They were still as blue as ever, with no indication of where it was coming from. As they did so, the noise was getting louder and louder, coming from... the left?

"Grant!" Marl shouted. "Look left!"

The pair had turned around just in time to witness what had been emitting the sound. A gigantic winged... thing had just passed overhead, the air roaring with turbulent winds and a deafening buzz. The winds were so strong that they nearly fell off their wyverns, but managed to hold on with a yank of the reins. 

"Holy shit!" Grant swore. "The fuck was that?!"

Marl strained his neck to stare at the behemoth that was now heading away from them. It was nothing like he had ever seen: a humongous winged creature of some sort, its skin shining with an almost metallic quality from the sun. Its wings weren't even flapping, and yet the alien animal sliced through the air at blistering speeds. Some kind of symbol was seemingly painted near its rear: a grey hexagon, with blue highlights. Suddenly, a haunting realisation dawned on him: the beast was heading towards Maihark.

The Wyvern Knight took a deep breath and recollected his thoughts, his veins coursing with adrenaline. "Grant!"

Grant was still shaken from the encounter, but managed to pull himself together. "What is it?"

"Whatever that is, it's heading for Maihark! Get on your manacomms and warn command! I'll try to tail this thing for as long as I can!" 

Grant sharply nodded and tapped his wrist to activate the arcane radio. "Maihark Command, this is Grant Adran from the Sixth," he began, slowly and deliberately. "A huge, unknown, aerial object is heading towards your location."

As he was speaking, Marl gave a tug on his wyvern's reins. His leather gloves wrapped tightly around the thin straps, an unsaid command showing through his actions. The mount gave a growl of understanding and picked up the speed, its wings beating the air as if it were fighting for its life.

A stern, deep voice came as a reply to Grant. "Pursue the object and remain in sight range but do not engage. I repeat, you are not to engage the object. We are scrambling available wyvern forces to defend the city."

"Understood."

A few swipes changed the recipient to Marl instead. "Command says to chase it but not attack. Don't know if we can keep up, that thing is fast."

"Damn... alright." 

Grant was right. The object was so fast that it still seemed to be getting farther away, even as his wyvern was almost tearing its wings off from the exertion. While Marl still had the chance, he took a moment to get a good look of the winged being again. He hadn't noticed those two strange appendages on the underside of its rigid wings, which seemed to be where that incessant buzzing was coming from. What creature even was this?

The second realisation of the day struck him then and there. This wasn't a creature at all. It was a mechanical construct, made with technology that made even the proudest wyvern look like a fly. It was still alien though; no country he knew could have ever built this atrocity.

As the behemoth shrank into distance, a wave of anxiousness flowed through his body. Living being or not, it was still heading to the economic heart of their nation. He didn't know whether its makers were there for hostile intentions, but he did know that this event would change Qua-Toyne forever. Seeing no point in giving further chase, he slowed his wyvern down and let it recover from the effort of the pursuit, still heading for Maihark. Hopefully, it wouldn't be a pile of burning ruins when he got there.

Qua-Toyne Principality - Wyvern Control Tower

Same day

"Curse our fucking luck."

A low mutter came from a manacomm operator, lost in the endless shouts and magical chatter of the Wyvern Control Tower. The situation had gone from an average patrol to a frenzy of sorties after the report by Grant had come in. Carefully constructed magical devices relayed information to the uniformed handlers from the wyvern riders, each one saying the same thing: the object was stupidly fast, and the wyverns were unable to catch up to it.

A fist slammed down onto a wooden desk, jostling the manacomm receivers with a resounding bang. "What are we even meant to do?! Every damn unit we've sent has failed to intercept this thing!" came a cry from junior operator.

An older operator spoke up, his robes adorned with more intricate patterns and insignias. "Have every wyvern in Maihark take off immediately," he said in a grizzled tone. "We will have a head start then, which should hopefully be enough to catch this beast."

He shook his head. "This city is the lifeblood of Qua-Toyne. The consequences will... I cannot even bring myself to consider them. They must succeed."

The atmosphere in the room felt heavy as the rest of the operators nodded in understanding. The shouts and chatter were replaced with strict orders towards the riders, professionalism overriding panic. 

A runway close by housed groups of wyverns in a row, some growling in annoyance at having been dragged out for a sudden sortie. Nevertheless, they sprinted down the flat patch of dirt and then launched themselves into the air, their powerful wings fighting the wind and their riders eager to end this menace permanently. The ground crew, unaware of the rapidly approaching sky monster, simply beamed in pride as the wyvern knights soared into the air. 

Qua-Toyne Principality - Maihark

Same day

The skies above Maihark were crowded with multiple squadrons of wyverns, a moblisation of this scale unfamiliar to the residents down below. Many people stopped to stare at the wyverns, while others hid in worry inside of their homes. Others still cheered on the wyvern knights, being unsure why there were so many but still being thankful for their service.

Seated firmly on one of the flying majesties was none other than Captain Ine herself, one of the commanding officers of the Wyvern Corps. Her orders pierced through the idle chatter of the manacomms, crisp and clear. Previous reports had said the mysterious intruder was coming in from the south, so she directed all of the wyverns facing head on to the object, evenly spaced and ready to strike. No wyvern knight dared to deviate from their designated position.

A shout came from the rider closest to her. "I see it!"

The skies became filled with a flurry of reactions as the rest of the knights laid eyes upon the behemoth. Ine's gaze locked onto the metallic construct, her mind briefly running through many different possibilities.

She decided to shelve the thoughts for the moment. "Ascend and intercept the object! Defend Maihark!" she yelled through the manacomms.

In a brillaint display of coordination, the wyvern knights rapidly flew into the air, approaching the alien beast with adrenaline racing through their bodies. Their mounts sensed the impending engagement and opened their jaws, sparks of flame magic forming and dancing within. 

However, just as the wyverns were about to get into attack range, the object proceeded to fly even higher into the sky to the shock of the corps and Ine. Its gargantuan frame grew smaller and smaller as it rose into the atmosphere, well beyond the operational ceiling of any wyvern in existence. 

"By the gods..." the captain muttered. "Maintain a defensive position above Maihark. There's not much else we can do now."

The knights, dismayed at the invader's capabilities, silently complied and began circling around the city.

"Captain Ine to Maihark Command. We cannot engage the object."

The rush of combat now passed, Ine once again stared at the strange construct circling above them. No flapping, a body made of metal and two strange objects underneath its wings like the reports had said. Clearly, this was not a wyvern, or any living thing for that matter. Her mind drifted to the superpowers of Mu and the Holy Mirishial Empire. Rumours said their technology was advanced, but could even they have created this steel airship?

The tension was palpable as the object continued to observe them. They should have been preparing for the Lourians' inevitable invasion, not defending their prosperous port city from a foreign power. The machine never once deviated from its path, completely unbothered by the multiple squadrons guarding the airspace. 

After what felt like hours, the strange craft seemingly had enough, and turned back to where it came. As the rest of the men cheered at the threat leaving the airspace, a question nibbled at Ine's mind. Where had it come from? The Lourians were southwest and the Philades continent straight north, but the only land due south were uninhabited islands. Even if some tribes had banded together into a rudimentary city-state, they could not have created such an intricate construct. Uncertainty loomed over her thoughts as the object disappeared over the horizon.

Sector Zero - The Core

Internal Clock - Year 58, Month 1, Day 14 - 21:39:58

A while after the sun had set and the moon was rising in the sky, the G43 sent north had managed to land back on Contingency soil. 

The existence of civilisation had thankfully been confirmed by the reconnaissance plane, though the aggressive response to the aircraft hadn't been anticipated. It was simply a stroke of luck that the flying reptiles were unable to compete with Anglican engineering. 

During the expedition, worker units had managed to recover one of the missing databanks underneath a pile of rubble, remarkably unscathed. It now sat comfortably in one of Arkon's many server rooms, hooked up to the main grid. A quick search revealed it contained blueprints and research notes for ship-mounted railgun designs; possibly useful in the future but utterly useless in their current predicament. This databank was otherwise one of the more empty ones, with its other contents only being possible improvements and upgrades to schematics that the AI didn't have.

Much of the rubble around Sector Zero had been cleared and was being recycled into usuable materials, with only small pockets remaining. The newly built ships had also been taken out for a test run, and only a minor engine fault which had been quickly repaired was found on one of the corvettes. 

Among the many missing server racks, the one which contained Aelna's language had frustratingly been among them. Diplomacy was going to be a nightmare, with predictions saying it would likely devolve into a game of charades. An apology for the airspace incursion would have to wait, but Arkon resolved to attempt first contact anyway. Worst comes to worst, they could simply learn the langauge the tedious way.