Preview: Stormrunner

Before anyone gets up in arms about a new story, this was a prompt that basically ran away with my muse for a day and I thought I would share what came of it and see if there's enough interest there or not before I go crazy brainstorming stuff for it.

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Somedays you just woke up and knew it’s going to be one of those days.  

Granted, most people didn’t set out to intentionally make it one of those days, but that was how things worked out sometimes.  Not every day could be spent lounging on the shores of a southern lake while drinking something fruity.  Sometimes you had to suck it up and deal with Imperial bureaucracy no matter how tedious it was.

Beneath the ship, the Storm raged as it always did, churning ever onward as they rode along the tides towards their destination.  At least the sky above remained clear—as nothing was worse than being caught between two storms while sailing—well aside from the lone cloud that stuck out like a blight on the azure expanse.  Almost as if someone had placed it there to intentionally mar the scene. 

Shaking that thought off, Marosa Arnet, Rosa to her friends, Mars to those who wished to die quickly—It was a long story, but stick around and you might just get to hear it—turned and headed back below deck of the transport.  It was a cramped thing, with a crew of four and no real seating areas.  It was hardly a pleasure cruiser, but that was military stock for you. 

Utilitarian to a fault and kept simple enough that the lowest common denominators could keep it functional.  Rosa was one of three guests being brought along for the ride, the other two wore masks much as she did, their identities meant to be kept hidden from the rank and file, and for now that suited her just fine. 

Once they docked, she would have to contend with the next leg of security, which would be a bother.  Complications would be inconvenient, and so many tended to slip up on security protocols.  Rosa was hopeful that any mistakes would be to her benefit and wouldn’t be difficult to work around if caught after the fact. 

That slip up back in Palen almost got her killed.

At least the site manager was quick to smooth things over once he was aware of the misunderstanding.  Unfortunately, the poor guy that tried to arrest her was fired on the spot.  Rosa felt bad for him, but such was a risk of the job and pissing off the higher ups was never a good way to climb the ranks. 

Looking at the two fellows currently in the cabin with her, she gave them a short nod then kept her mouth shut.  The crew around them weren’t cleared for state secrets beyond the location of the production facility, which meant no in-flight small talk to pass the time.  Boring to be sure, but better to not give something sensitive away by accident. 

Said crew members were keeping an eye on them out of the corners of their eyes, never looking directly, but it was hard to miss the attention being kept on the high profile passengers.  It wasn’t every day that Imperial inspectors would pass through, especially ones that only answered to the Emperor. 

There were no windows within the hull, a security measure in most cases, but Rosa’s credentials stated she was cleared for such things and nobody objected when she stepped out for fresh air.  Her companions could do the same if they wished, but neither of them seemed willing to give up the warmth of the cabin for the brisk winds of a ship in flight this high above the cloudbreak. 

A gentle chime sounded, a simple instrument clinging when the speaking pipe was opened.  “We’re beginning the final approach, please secure anything loose, including yourselves.” 

One of the crew members sighed, closing the panel they had been pretending to work on for the last two hours, and took their own seat, pulling on fasteners to keep them from flopping to the floor, or worse, in the event of a Cadescence Swell.  

Thoughts of freak weather events aside, Rosa was fairly calm given what was about to happen.  Yes, people were going to be upset with her arrival given it was unscheduled, but they would get over it in due time. 

A sudden bout of vertigo signaled that the ship had left open air and entered into the docking bay of the base.  She knew it was somewhere within the Western Imperial isles, likely Neiman or Cordova, but she didn’t know for sure.

The ship rocked gently, then lurched to a stop as it slipped into the docking station, rougher than most civilian transports but not horrible.  Clamps thumped into place along the hull, echoing within the small seating area and just like that the crew were back on their feet and moving to take care of their landing duties. 

Rosa stayed seated, waiting for their escort to come greet them.  She could tell that her two compatriots were getting nervous with each passing moment, but this was hardly her first inspection.  Their nerves seemed to crystalize when a man in an officer’s uniform came down the stairs from the flight deck.

“Inspectors.” 

Rosa regarded the officer that had just stepped up to them.  His uniform was a deep blue that bordered on black, pressed immaculately by whoever did his laundry.  Not a spec of hair was out of place, all tucked neatly within his cap.  The medals pinned to his vest showed that he was a veteran of the Iilaska campaign and had attained the rank of Commodore second class. 

Respectable, and not even a slight to the surprise inspection.  The last one had sent a Lieutenant Commander due to the unannounced nature of what she did, and she made her displeasure known.  Not that anyone on this station would be aware of that incident. 

“Commodore,” Rosa said, rising to her feet.  Her silent compatriots stood as well, offering a respectful salute to the ranking officer.  “Apologies about the short notice, but after the latest breaches of security, we felt this couldn’t wait given the sensitive nature of your work.” 

“Of course,” the Commodore said.  “If you would follow me, we’ll get you cleared and you can begin your work.  The sooner we’re cleared, the sooner we can resume testing.” 

“Your work here is extremely important to the Empire,” Rosa agreed.  “I’ll try to get my men out of your hair as quickly as possible.” 

The Commodore bowed his head ever so slightly and turned sharply, retracing his steps up to the deck.  Rosa jerked her head, signalling her compatriots to follow.  Harsh light spilled through the open door as Rosa stepped out onto the open deck, squinting as she did.  The setting sun was right in line with the storm layer, lighting up the shipyard. 

The roiling clouds down below were cast in a crimson glow that was quite beautiful.  It was unfortunate that she couldn’t stop and admire the view, but she had a schedule to keep.  The Commodore was waiting just off the ship, and Rosa stepped down the ramp to join the man.  He gestured towards a pair of petty officers which would verify her credentials as well as check for contraband. 

She’d already gone through this once when boarding the ship, so she wasn’t too concerned, but there was always a chance that something might get flagged that really shouldn’t.  That was the trick to the inspections, they expected something to either go wrong, or to be shown to be lacking. 

One of the officers stepped forward and began to wave a wand over each of her compatriots, finding nothing as expected.  She nodded as the second officer began to wand her as well, and didn’t so much as flinch when the wand sounded an alert along her boot.  Rifles came up, their cores primed and ready to fire. 

“Your boots, ma’am,” the Commodore said. 

She nodded, stepping aside to where a bench beside a table was waiting.  Her compatriots moved to stand at the end of the table as she bent down slowly, unfastening the offending boot before sliding it off.  It was taken rather forcefully by the petty officer who immediately began inspecting it as closely as he could.  Her second boot followed, placed on the table to the side as she sat back ramrod straight on the bench and waited for them to find their prize. 

She could tell her compatriots were growing more nervous by the moment, but this was all as expected.  The petty officer removed the sole of her boot after a moment, then pulled out a glowing blue stone as if he had just found gold. 

As if such trinkets weren’t sold on the open market for a trifle. 

“It’s a datacore, ser,” the officer said to the Commodore. 

“Good find, officer,” the Commodore said.  “Care to explain this, ma’am?” 

The bit of sarcasm applied to the ma’am wasn’t appreciated, but altogether expected given she had been caught with contraband.

“You may verify that it is blank save for whatever cheeky message my security officer saw fit to include within.  I never did understand that man’s sense of humor.”  Rosa then turned to the inspecting officers.  “Good work locating the dummy core, as the previous security terminal missed it.” 

“Of course they did,” one of the Petty Officers muttered. 

“Any other contraband?” the Commodore demanded. 

Rosa couldn’t help the smile behind her mask.  “That’s for your men to discover and for my final report to reveal.” 

The man grumbled, but gestured for them to continue their checks.  Her second boot was picked up and she began to secure her first now that it was returned to her.  By the time she got it laced the first joined it once more.  The data core was not returned. 

“Nothing else we could find,” the Petty Officer said after a few more moments. 

The Commodore scowled, but didn’t bother to repeat his prior question.  “Very well, we shall continue the inspection.” 

Rosa was glad that the mask hid her smile and she simply nodded, following the man as he led them deeper into the clandestine facility.  Two airlocks had to be cleared before they were inside the facility proper.  From there they passed by multiple offices where paperwork was processed and reports filed. 

Ahead of them, a woman walked with her head down and a file clutched close.  She wore a bonnet over her hair, a few strands of orange the only indication of hair color she could see.  Her clothes were nice enough, but not to the standard of the military which stood out given how high profile the facility was.  Her blouse had subtle hints of cleaned stains and a few frayed stitchings around the sleeves.  Her skirt was down to her knees, with stockings that rose to cover the rest of her skin, but that didn’t do anything to hide the fact that she had a furry tail that matched her orange hair hanging close to her legs. 

Just because she was testing the facility didn’t mean they wouldn’t be testing her as well, which meant that she would need to address the oddity, much as she might not want to.

“You,” Rosa snapped. 

The woman jumped, her folder going airborne for a moment before the papers spilled across the hall.  A shrieking yelp followed as the woman dropped to her knees and immediately began to mutter platitudes and apologies as she gathered the spilled papers back into the folder.  Rosa calmly reached down and picked up one of the sheets, and read it over. 

“Technical details of Project Stormpiercer?  That seems a touch sensitive to be transported so flippantly, wouldn’t you agree Commodore?” 

“Agreed,” he said.  He snapped and the two Petty Officers stepped forward and grabbed the woman by each arm. 

“No, I was only doing what I was told!”

“And who ordered you to do this?” Rosa demanded.

The woman’s eyes flicked towards the Commodore for a moment before all the flight fled from her.  “The Archanists.” 

That was the Imperial name for a minor group of rebels that operated off of the Hanging Flotels near the Commonwealth.  It was a perfectly feasible group to credit for any infiltration, especially one headed up by someone that carried Wild Blood within them.  The Commonwealth was one of the few places in the world where they gave Wilders equal status, and the Empire generally frowned upon that.

Wars had been fought, including the Iilaska Campaign that the dear Commodore had participated in.  The Empire technically lost that engagement, but won the greater exchange.  Not that they would ever admit it out loud. 

“We will have her executed immediately,” the Petty Officer said.  

The woman began to shriek incoherently, and it didn’t take an Imperial Investigator to see the game being played.  She fought and thrashed, then one of the Petty Officers punched her rather forcefully and all the fight left her at once. 

Before they could move to drag her off, Rosa’s hand fell on his shoulder.  “Belay that.” 

“What is the meaning of this?” the Commodore demanded. 

Rosa didn’t answer right away, instead taking the file again as she thumbed through it.  The documents seemed to be in order, with all the appropriate markings to denote classified materials.  Even the specifications within seemed to be correct for a Stormrider, but it didn’t take her long to spot the flaw.  Her lip quirked as she snapped the folder shut. 

“These specifications are for the Arnul class Scout line, not some secret Stormpiercer.” 

“You know your ships,” the Commodore said after a moment.  “It seems you managed to catch our own little egress test.”

“Next time, don’t use such a tried and tested vessel for your false secret,” Rosa said simply as she turned back to face the Wilder woman.  “You may return to your regular duties.” 

Relief flooded her features even as she winced, clutching at her stomach. 

“Go see one of the site medics first,” Rosa continued.  “You’re an Imperial asset, I’ll not tolerate subpar performance under my watch.” 

The Commodore’s face had turned a rather fun shade of maroon over that, but Rosa wasn’t about to allow someone to come to harm over something as simple as a test.  To add to that, she decided that this was the perfect opportunity to get another piece of the puzzle in place. 

“Number two, you shall accompany her while one of the Petty Officers escorts you.” 

The masked man seemed to jerk a bit in surprise, but was quick enough on the uptake to snap a proper salute at her before he moved to the woman’s side and Rosa could just tell that he wanted to help her, but was holding back. 

Goddess save her from good hearted men. 

“Commodore, you may continue escorting us,” Rosa said firmly, daring the man to question her instructions.

Pragmatism over the fear of reprisal won out and the man begrudgingly continued down the hall, leaving the two behind to see to the woman’s injury.  Step one cleared, just not in the way Rosa intended.  Sometimes plans needed to be adapted on the fly, and this was one of those situations. 

Jonathan knew what to do, even if he was nervous about it.

The next portion of the building were the barracks, where the on site staff slept.  Rosa directed her Number Three to begin some basic contraband checks while she let the Commodore go over the more mundane parts of the inspection.  As he droned on, she was starting to feel a bit mean spirited, so she picked a name at random from the list of Admirals she knew and decided to be a bit vindictive. 

“You know, I was once involved with an inspection of a then Captain Wiswell,” Rosa said, looking off as her Number Three found a magazine that was certainly not within regulations.  “It was routine, we weren’t looking for any particular reason, just making sure that we kept up to date.” 

“I am familiar with ensuring that everything is running as intended,” the Commodore said, clearly eager for a touch of gossip.

“Did you know the man was adept at refining Elesum?” 

The Commodore’s eyes widened.  “How did he make Admiral if you caught him?” 

“Because he had approval,” Rosa said.  At the man’s disbelieving look, she shrugged.  “He used it in sting operations and undercover work.  He learned how to make it during a deep mission in the Commonwealth.  I had to endure a whole debriefing at the time since it still fell under state secrets.  I’ve only been cleared to tell the story for six months and he hates me for it.” 

“I can only imagine,” the Commodore said. 

“Which brings us to your own quarters,” Rosa said cheerfully.  “I wonder if I’ll get a new story to tell from this one?” 

The color draining from his face was certainly worth it. 

“All clear,” Number Three announced, spoiling the fun. 

Rosa turned.  “Even the Commodore’s quarters?” 

“Unfortunately,” Number Three drawled.

Well, it couldn’t be helped and the relief that was clear on the Commodore’s face suggested that her Number Three had actually missed something, which was a disappointment.  That, or he had pocketed it knowing that the Commodore wouldn’t dare report it missing.  Which would mean she needed to have a conversation with the man once they were done with their visit and safely underway.

From there, they inspected the mess hall where Rosa passed on whatever flavorless slop was being served to the masses despite being somewhat hungry.  That the Commodore didn’t offer something prepared from the officer’s menu was a slight that she should have seen coming given the teasing earlier, but it couldn’t be helped. 

The supply rooms came next, the first was loaded with dried meats and grain while the next contained stocks of military basics from clothes to soap.  Then came the armory.  Hundreds of rifles lined the wall, each set in easy reach for an emergency muster.  Blue charge crystals were stored in crates with some set out to be grabbed by any soldiers passing through.

Then came the medical bay.  Jonathan was still beside the Wilder woman who was getting checked over by another Wilder rather than the staff doctor.  She gave her Number Two a stern glare under the mask, which he quickly picked up on.  He offered a shrug and continued his observations.  Unfortunately Rosa had already made as much of a scene as she felt comfortable doing over one indentured servant.  Instead, she focused on the stockpile of white crystal, which was conspicuously not being used to treat the injured woman. 

“You’re well stocked,” Rosa said with some approval.  

The Commodore grinned smugly.  “We run drills twice weekly to prepare for any incursion that might come our way.  Scouts stationed at strategic points will sound the alarm well before any fleet gets close enough to endanger the secrets we are entrusted to protect.” 

Rosa smiled and gestured for him to continue with a slight bow of her head and a tilt of her arm.  He marched on, and she left Jonathan to continue his portion of the work.  So far, Rosa was quite happy with how things were progressing, which brought them to the final portion of the inspection, and the most important secret kept within the facility. 

Stepping through the next set of doors brought them to a new airlock.  The Commodore stopped at the door and held up a hand.  “This leads to the drydock where the latest prototypes are constructed.  You’ll understand that only those with the highest clearance can be allowed inside.” 

Translation; Rosa’s Third wouldn’t be allowed in with her.

“Number Three, you may wait with the Petty Officer,” Rosa said. 

The Commodore smiled, and held his wrist up to a sensor on the wall.  A light flashed from red to green and the first door slid open.  Rosa stepped through and let the door seal behind her.  If ever there was a time for the Commodore to try something against her, this was it.  The far light then shifted from red to green and the secondary door hissed open. 

Beyond, a lone ship sat upon another dry dock, this one unlike anything that Rosa had ever seen before.  The vessel was nearly fifty meters long, and a quarter as wide, with a deck that stretched the length.  Masts extended from the deck, sails ready to be unfurled.  Green crystals lined the hull, but were currently unpowered.  Then there were the cannons, a dozen along each flank as well as two at the bow and stern. 

She was a vessel meant for war. 

“Beautiful, isn’t she?” 

Rosa could only agree, for the ship was everything she had expected.  The gunmetal color would blend in with the storm, helping hide it if it was even half as capable as the reports she had glimpsed at the last inspection hinted at.  The only worry was that it wasn’t ready for service, and as a prototype it might never be. 

“Can she fly?” Rosa asked. 

“She can,” the Commodore confirmed, stepping up to the railing that overlooked the vessel.  “She’s completed all her preliminary test flights, including a dip below the Stormwall.  She’s set to enter active service next week.” 

“Wonderful,” Rosa said. 

That was when the plexiknife dropped from her sleeve and she buried it in the Commodore’s neck.

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Skypirates! That was basically the prompt. I've got a rough world lore sketched out and not a whole lot more. There's a second chapter drafted and that's basically it at the moment. I'd love to get some thoughts on what is essentially a rough draft word vomit of some of the concepts and opening scene!