Chapter 3
Imperial Palace, Rosetta
1700 hours, May 23rd 1450 A.B.S
In the Imperial palace in Rosetta, High Empress Rosaline Christina Augusta III sat majestically on her throne as she listened to the Representatives from Western Union. Two guards stood by either side of her and watched the men from the Union with unbridled hostility.
She was a symbol of beauty and power at the age of nineteen even after her mother had passed away from illness. She wore a one piece, brown lace gown and a veil that covered her eyes. She had fairly dark smooth skin with pretty long straight black hair like a raven that fell to her waist. Her face was covered but her soothing brown eyes could be seen from the outside.
“We shall not join in the war,” she repeated with authority and the men flinched.
“But your highness, you can’t simply sit back and watch those barbarians in the North gain power,” Representative Thomas Jack pleaded. “It would also be bad for your city.”
“I understand your plight,” she said softly. “But I cannot send my people to die in a war they had nothing to do with.”
“We have Intel you’ve been helping Pirate’s store their ships in your shipyards,” Representative Daniel Hughes threatened. “That can make you an enemy of the world.”
“I am sorry to hear that. This is a free region and if there are any such people we will bring them to justice ourselves. Have a good day gentlemen, I have a parade to prepare for.” she said dismissing them and waited until they had left, and the guards closed the door behind them.
She screamed gibberish as she threw her veil on the floor with her face flushed, “Who do those monkeys think they are, threatening me. I have a mind to rip out their balls and… (Due to the intense obscene nature of the following words, we’ll skip over them).” Rosaline cried out as her eyes flashed with then caught her breath as she calmed down.
She stomped off to her room, ignoring the fussing maids and shut the door behind her. The walls of her room were pink which always made her want to puke. A queen sized bed with pink curtains spun at the centre of on a rotating platform. Plushy pink dolls littered the floor and she stepped on them as she went into her closet which was where her real room was.
Her closet was the size of a commoner’s bedroom but it was more than enough for her. The walls were red and posters of ships and maps filled the room. A small bed and a desk were all that were in the room but they were more than enough for her.
More than anything, she wanted to fly into space but because she had been born a princess, all her dreams had been shattered. Then those damned Union dogs had come next to try and force her people into war which had only worsened her situation. She flung herself onto the bed and buried her head in her pillow.
After her episode of self-pity was over, she locked her closet and sat down on the disgustingly pink bed and let the maids into her room. She silently followed them to the bath house and let them scrub her entire body. They dried her off and dragged her back to her room where they ran around, picking clothes for her to wear before settling for a chocolate brown Cinderella gown with matching brown elbow gloves and an annoying high heel. They put on the dreaded make up and Rosaline sighed as she settled into her role as the ‘sweet princess’.
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Phoenix entered into Imperial airspace and immediately a transmission came through.
“Unknown, this is an unscheduled entry into Imperial airspace. State your name and purpose for visit,” a female voice announced.
“This is Captain Sora Hawk of Phoenix speaking. We would like to resupply our ship and carry out maintenance,” Sora replied. He and Crow had agreed a long time ago that when they became Pirates they would add their names together to form the Captain’s name. April had frowned at the name: Sora Crow, so they had decided Sora Hawk was much better.
“Welcome to Imperial airspace Phoenix. We hope you have a pleasant stay. May the winds grace your wings.”
After a bit of debate, they decided to stay at a shipyard close to the palace. The shipyard was situated on the ocean so ships had the option of staying on land in hangars or submerged in the aquatic hangars below. They needed a paintjob so they decided to park on land.
The airport they landed in looked like a half-eaten donut from the sky. There were five big hangars for Dreadnought class battleships, which were arranged in a semicircular pattern and a single long runway stretching out to the sea. The hangars were all connected to a building that circled the shipyard by a transparent walkway. A railway line ran directly from the building to the city.
They taxied to a stop and waited as a Jet Bridge connected itself to the docking area of the ship. Sora ran through the bridge to a small room with a door blocked by an armored guard holding a heat rifle. He motioned for them to follow him when Tsel and Crow had caught up with him.
The door slid open and they entered a hallway with windows that overlooked the hangar. He stopped at a large circular door and pressed a button on an intercom by the side of the door.
“It’s me, open up,” he said and the door hissed as it slid left and upwards. They followed him into a somewhat larger room with a sleeping salesman on his counter and a door which led to the connecting passageway.
“Wake up drunk, you’ve got customers,” the guard said as he nudged the man with the butt of his rifle.
“Wha… who?...” the man mumbled as he woke up and picked up a bottle of wine on his desk. He wasn’t fat but he had a big belly from excessive drinking. His dark messy hair was like a rat’s nest, and his dress shirt looked like three shades of puke.
“Name’s Gabe,” he slurred. “What can I do you for?”
“You parked in the wrong hangar friend,” the guard said as he waved goodbye to Tsel.
“I’m the captain!” Sora yelled at his retreating form before returning his attention to the natural disaster in front of him.
Gave gave them a once over as he took a gulp from his wine bottle. “Pirates, huh.”
“How’d you know?” Sora asked
“Been running this here shipyard my whole life,” he replied. “Seen ‘em come and go. I can smell yer kind from a mile away.”
“I think you’ve had too much of that, crazy coot,” Crow jeered.
“Oh? A talking bird. Now I’ve seen it all. And this here’s me elixir of life,” Gabe replied. “I ain’t losing her anytime soon.”
“We would like you to spray our ship with this design,” Tsel said before Crow could retort, handing a piece of paper to Gabe. “Also, there are lists of materials we need and we would like them bought and loaded.”
“How long will it take?” Sora asked
Gabe looked at the design and whistled softly. “What is this, a Dreadnaught? No its smaller, Leviathan? No too wide. This here’s an interesting girl. Don’t worry I’ll take good care of her. She’ll be ready in three days.”
“Can you recommend a place to stay?” Tsel asked.
“Imperial Star’s a winner. It’s close to the palace and if you’re lucky, you might meet the Princess,” he replied
Sora happily paid him, then passed the door and entered the transparent walkway. He hooted exactly as he looked at the oceans raging below his feet and passed through the door at the other end into a mall.
He marvelled excitedly at the interior of the mall. The shops were neatly placed next to each other and they sold snacks and some mini electronics. The ceiling displayed a magnificent mosaic of some battleships fighting a battle in space. There were floating arrows that pointed to the train stations so visitors never lost their way.
“Pretty nice setup,” Tsel said when he joined Sora.
“Completely different from that ugly military base,” Sora laughed as Crow perched on his shoulder.
“First, some clothes for me,” he said and ran into a clothes shop.
Minutes later, he was looking at himself in the mirror. He stood at 5”8 with long waist length navy blue hair which he tied into a low ponytail with a slim red ribbon. His smooth, almost girlish face featured sky blue eyes and thin lips. He dressed in a white short-sleeved hoody on a red round collared shirt with black pants.
“Not entirely hideous.” Crow chuckled as they made their way out of the shop.
“Next! Food at Imperial Star."
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In a lavish room on the eleventh floor of Imperial star, Thomas Jack relayed his report to his superior through his pod.
“She refused again?!” Major Theodore O’Reilly screamed and Jack cringed reflexively. Major O’Reilly was also known as ‘Red Hot’ Oreilly because of his high temper and how he always turned red from each outburst. Nevertheless, he was ruthless in hostile takeovers, and was one of the best strategists which had helped in his quick increase in rank.
“I’m sorry Sir, I tried my best,” Jack muttered.
“Obviously not enough, you good-for-nothing meathead. I’m implementing Operation Meteor as of now. Get your men in position!"
“But sir, that’s…” Jack stammered.
“An order,” O’Reilly screamed, cutting him off and shut off the connection.
“Oh dear,” Jack sighed as he sat on the couch. “You should have agreed quietly Princess.” He opened a private channel as he sighed in resignation. “To all units stationed in Rosetta. Operation Meteor has been invoked. I repeat Operation Meteor has been invoked. All units should report to their squad captains for debriefing.”
All around the Imperial city, men and women stopped their site-seeing as they prepared for the worst outcome they could have hoped for.
A/N: Sora excitedly arrives in Rosetta while the Empress wishes she could leave it. Meanwhile a dark shadow looms over the peaceful city. What is the mysterious Operation Meteor? Find out in the next Episode of Sky Hawk.
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