Resilience (Under Revision)

Location: Griffonstone
1000 A.B. - After Banishment
Time: 3:00 PM

The carriage bumped along the uneven streets of the capital as the princess and her escort made their way to the castle. Amongst the cobblestone paths were the citizen of Griffonia, many of them battered and ragged as they rushed up and down the streets, most hardly sparing a glance at one another or the carriage. Those that did stared with weary eyes as they watched the carriage make its way through the crowded road, but quickly looked away whenever a guard looked over.

Princess Aleta sat in her seat with her head drooping downward mainly out of exhaustion but partially because she could feel the hopeless griffons outside of the carriage. The rumbling of the cart gradually came to a halt before the voice of the driver outside snapped the princess out of her drowsiness.

“Princess Aleta, we have arrived at the castle.”

Rubbing the ridges of her eyes, Aleta straightened out her feathers before making her way out of the carriage. They had stopped before the the iron gates of the castle. The massive white columns of the citadel once stood brightly over the the city of Griffonstone, standing proudly upon the tree the royal family had settled on. Now however, the castle has lost all of its original gleam, the white walls cracked and fractured as the windows were near the same state of disrepair. The iron gates taking on a brownish hue as they began to rust shut, while the courtyard that was once filled with endless flower beds now laced with hardy crops meant to lessen the strain of the starving masses below. It was obvious from the sight to any outsider that Griffonia was on the verge of collapse.

The princess stepped onto the cobble stone road and barely stifled a yawn as she made her way to the gates, the entourage of guards following after her.

“Thank you, Nux. You are relieved for the rest of today.”, Aleta spoke out towards the driver as she made her way past the front of the carriage.

“Thank you princess.”

Nux and the guards pulling the carriage made their way back into the crowded streets as Aleta made her way to the castle gates.

The two guards in tarnished armor stood at attention as the guard to the left of the strained to push the rusted gate as it scrapped along the ground.

Making her way through the crop gardens Aleta glanced up to see a formally dressed griffon standing before the large wooden doors of the castle.

Putting on a weary smile, Aleta confronted the royal duke of Griffonia, her uncle.

“Good evening uncle Mortimer. What brings you to the castle at such a hour?”

“Ah, Aleta!”, He gave her a tight hug before stepping back. “I was worried that you might have been hurt given how your messenger was rather vague on why your return would be delayed. You shouldn’t make an old griffon worry that much.”

“I’m fine uncle, it was just a few rocks that fell off the mountain side and landed near the road.”, Aleta replied in a soft tone.

He gave her a stern look.

“Falling stones are nothing to take lightly. Just a week ago some traders from the zebra lands had suffered a loss due to a landslide. You should have taken the road along Fanghorn forest instead of going around three talon peak.”

“And taking the road along Fanghorn would have taken me at least another three days.” Aleta nearly growled out as her temper spiked, before sighing and rubbing the base of her beak. “Time that I don’t have.”

She looked up to see Mortimer giving her a concerned look and felt a wave of guilt come over her.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. It’s just that . . . I have a lot of things to deal with and I’m on edge right now.”

Mortimer’s worry didn’t leave his face as he gave her a tired smile and rested a claw on her shoulder.

“Hey, I’m not mad. If I could I would take the weight right off of your shoulders rather than see you this way.”, He reassured Aleta. “We’re griffons we will prevail no matter what, we’re too stubborn to do otherwise. Just like your father.”

That gave Aleta a small chuckle before her face took a somber look.

“How is my father?”, Aleta asked in a quiet voice.

Mortimer was silent for a moment as he thought over how to respond. After a while he let out a sigh.

“My brother’s condition hasn’t improved. I had the royal physician look over him for the past few days, but she says she has never seen a sickness like this before. He sometimes seems completely fine, hungry even, other times he is retching out blood into the sink and groaning loud enough to be heard throughout the castle. I . . . She doesn’t know what else she can do now.”

Aleta stayed silent as Mortimer spoke, her face betraying no emotion even though on the inside she could feel her restraint not to cry start crumbling. Taking a shaky breath Aleta looked up to her uncle and gave him a tight hug.

“I’m sorry, but I need to go. The ambassador of Crete should be here soon”, She let go of Mortimer. “I can’t afford to keep him waiting. Thank you for being here.”

“Of course.”, Mortimer said softly. “I’ll leave you be. I’ll make sure to visit more often too. Goddess knows you need someone to talk to that isn’t a stuffy politician or snobby ambassador. Don’t tell the minotaur I said that.”, Mortimer whispered the last part with a smile.

Aleta let out a small laugh before bidding Mortimer farewell. She pushed open the large wooden doors and turned back to watch as her uncle made his way through the castle gates and into a carriage waiting for him. Closing the door behind her, she took a deep breath and put on her best politician face as she made her way to the throne room.

Aleta sat upon her throne as she watched the throne room’s massive wooden door get pushed open and a large minotaur walk in.

He easily towered over the tallest guards in the throne room as he made his way towards the throne, his armor clinking softly with each step. If not for the royal blue coat that he wore over his shoulders one could easily mistake him for being a grizzled veteran. His face was peppered with scars while his hands were adorned with the same wear, a testemant to why minotaurs were such a enduring people. Stopping before the throne, he didn’t give as much as a bow before speaking with irritation lacing his tone.

“Princess. The king does not enjoy having his time wasted so speak swiftly.”

His voice was gruff as he spoke up towards Aleta, his face doing nothing to hide his annoyance as he stood before her.

“I apologize envoy Iron Hoof, I know that you were getting ready to leave with your entourage this evening however, I wished to discuss one more thing before your leave.”, Aleta spoke politely as she inclined her head towards the minotaur.

“And what would that be?”, Iron Hoof asked.

Lifting her head up, Aleta pulled out a small scroll on besides her on the throne. “I wish to discuss payments concerning Griffonia’s debt towards the Kingdom of Crete. I-”

Aleta didn’t finish before she was cut off by a mirthless laugh from Iron Hoof.

“The only thing to discuss pertaining to your debt is how the Kingdom of Crete will intervene once you fail to settle it in the next three days.”

Slowly lowering the scroll in her claws, Aleta took a deep breath before continuing.

“The Kingdom of Crete will have its investment back, however it will be impossible to do so if not given time. Intervention from Crete would only make it certain they will never get repaid.”, Aleta responded, keeping up her polite façade.

“That may be so, however it’ll be more reliable than any proposition you may try to make.”, Iron Hoof raised his voice slightly. “Griffonia is already in debt to more nations that I can count on one hand, this is because your grandfather, king Grover, killed himself searching for the idol and your fool of a father spent millions of relief funds into the same fantasy. There is no assurance that if the Kingdom of Crete were to alter your debt in anyway, that Griffonia will be able to pay back.”

Aleta felt her claw clench slightly after that jab towards her father. Her father had worked day and night and sacrificed his blood and health to protect their nation from greedy eyes. While the mistakes he made were undeniable in his pursuit for the idol, he did everything he could to try and better the country he loved so much.

“I will not deny the destructive actions of the royal family in the past however, I will not allow for blatant disrespect in front of a member of the royalty.”, She took in a deep breath and unraveled the scroll beside her. “I understand the concerns that your king may have that Crete’s efforts will be rewarded, that is why I have ceased all expeditions for the idol. As of now the royal family has lined several different campaigns to promote industrial, agricultural, and mining subsidies, to make sure Crete will be repaid however, with Griffonia in its current state it will be impossible if not given any financial leniency. While we will be unable to pay back Crete now, you can be assured that your kingdom will get much more that what is owed by this time next year."

Iron Hoof’s eyes widened for a moment as he stared at her, before he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a slightly crumpled letter from inside. The letter had nothing unordinary about it, but once it was turned over, Aleta could feel the breath hitch in her throat. There on the lip of the envelope was a broken seal of the Crete royal family.

“I'm so glad you said that.” Iron Hoof couldn't help but chuckle as he held of the letter. "King Minos never had any intention to extend your dead line, so I was worried that this meeting would be a waste of time because of that, but since you have admitted that Griffonia will default on their loans. I have been authorized to give you this. " He brought the parchment close as he read out loud. “With the current state of the griffon kingdom the United Coalition of Independent States has deemed the nation a massive creaturtarian disaster and a colossal failure of management by the royal family. It has been agreed that the Kingdom of Crete has permission to vassalize Griffonia in the goal to improve the lives of her citizens and will not be hindered by any member of the UCIS alliance. If the royal family refuses to accept vassalization from an official representative of the Crete, then such action will be seen as a deliberate attempt by royal family to retain their status of control over a tyrannical government and will be met with a declaration of war from the minotaur empire.” Iron Hoof lowered the letter and gave it to the princess to look over. “I will ask you once. Do you relinquish control of Griffonia and accept vassalization by the Kingdom of Crete?”

Every head in the throne room was turned to look at the pair as the princess read over the document twice not believing it was real. Her claws shook as he felt over the parchment paper to see if there was any imperfection, any way this could have been a fake document and found none. Desperately looking for a solution she looked up from the paper and to the envoy.

“This...this is fake. Equestria would never allow for the Kingdom of Crete to imperialize Griffonia, any declaration of war against Griffonia will be met by immediate resistance from the royal sisters.” She spoke shakily.

A flash of a smile appeared on Iron Hoof's face as he responded. “Equestria hasn’t partaken in a war for a millennia. If the sisters were to come to Griffonia’s aid they would not only have a majority of their forces under prepared, excluding their royal guards, but they would also suffer backlash from their own xenophobic ponies and permanent damage to Equestrian-Crete relations. In addition to this, with the return of Princess Luna, Princess Celestia will not risk a war anytime soon. Your alone princess, there will be no back up.”

Silence reigned through the throne room as Aleta stared down towards the ambassador. Her heart was beating in her ears as she frantically tried to imagine any scenario, any excuse that would prevent what was seemingly inevitable.

Slowly she let here eyes travel along the court. The very room where she remembered her father carrying her on his shoulders as he spoke to flustered nobles. The room which was once deemed one the most wealthy and politically vital locations along the eastern world. The room she called part of her home.

Glancing down towards the guards that lined the walls, she saw them looking back. Each one of them had hate flowing from their gazes, not towards her, but towards the minotaur ambassador that stood smirking in the heart of their home they had fought and defended countless times.

'We will not fall without a fight'

A fired suddenly burned within her chest fueled by pride and anger that burned away the fear that was threatening to consume her. She turned to glare down towards Iron Hoof. “No. Griffonia will never submit to an overlord. We will fight till the very end, in the streets, and the valleys, and the plains, and we shall never surrender our freedom.”, She stepped down from her throne and walked towards Iron Hoof, his smirk didn’t leave his face even as she stared daggers into him. “We refuse to give up our home and we never will. Tell that to your king.” She stood defiantly in front Iron Hoof’s eyes and he let out a soft chuckle.

“I was hoping you would say that. It would be boring to see a kingdom fall without its capital being burned to ashes first.” With that, Iron Hoof turned to leave the room, ignoring the rage waffing off the guards who’s eyes followed him as he left through the heavy wooden doors.

Aleta stood there watching as Iron Hoof turned down the hall with his guards and left her line of sight, then she let out a shaky breath. The fire that sparked in her chest died as quickly as it was born leaving her with the full weight of what just happened on her shoulders.

“L-leave. All of you. Now.” She whispered it under her breath so faintly she thought that no one heard it, but apparently they did since the guards all begun to exit the room and close the doors behind them.

She stumbled over to her throne before slouching down on it and putting her face in her claws. There she did something she hadn’t allowed herself to do for since she became princess. She cried. There fresh tears streaked down her feathers and stained the seat below her as the full impact of what happened hit her.

‘I’m sorry mother. I failed.’

27 Hours Later

Location: Epsilon 12 Command Base Alpha
Date: [3.30.64237]
Time: 5:00 PM

Jack’s brow was furrowed as he stared down at the data pad before him. Upon the screen was statistics gathered from a recent surface scan from one of the last satellites left in orbit. For the most part the planet was rather normal, the nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere was stable, even more so than when humans still lived on it. The oceans we were showing lack of any major contaminants, the magnetic field was still strong enough to deflect most of the UV radiation impacting the planet, hell even the temperature was at a pleasant 70 degrees Fahrenheit on the majority of the planet. However, what really was running circles around his head was everything else.

Mass amounts of exotic radiation seems to blanket the planet from the bottom of its oceans up to the exosphere with evidence pointing to how it may even affect other celestial bodies. Creatures traced back to ancient human regimes seemed to inhabit the planet ranging from griffons to dragons, other creatures were completely unknown to Jack such as a few individuals that were equine in nature but supported wings and a long spiral bone growth from their forehead. On top of all this, it appears that the rotation of the planet was altered in a way where there are now twelve hour days and twelve hour nights with the sun now orbiting the planet along with the moon.

“Its like a child decided to rewrite the rules of nature.”, Jack mumbled out loud to himself as he set down the data pad on the wooden table before him.

“ALDO.”, Jack called out. “Are the scans of the nearest xeno settlement complete?”

ALDO’s monotone voice filled the cavernous command room as he responded “Long distance biometric scans completed. Data compiled. Transfer to internal database completed.”

As soon as Jack had discovered that the warm bodies so close to the base weren’t any of the montallum he immediately began studying these creatures and the planet. For the past few days after he had awoken he had ALDO run scans all along the surface of the planet, even contacting some outposts that were still partially intact to help. There was no evidence that these creatures had arrived to the planet from interstellar travel, nor was there any evidence of a sub-lightspeed space craft that landed on the planet for the pass 60,000 years. This means the only way these creatures came to be was that they evolved here which like most other things now, should be impossible.

Letting out a sigh, Jack set down the tablet and rubbed the bridge of his nose with his fingers.

‘God why couldn’t I just have died as well?’

Looking back up he called out to ALDO again. “ALDO. What is the current status of the base restoration?”

A slight beeping came from the man monitor in the room before ALDO responded.

“Base diagnostic check complete. Presenting now.”

The rotating UNC logo on the main screen shifted to show a simplified data collection on the base’s defenses and utilities.

Running On Site Utility Diagnostics...
...
...
...
...
Diagnostics Complete

Zero Point Energy Singularity: Stable

Backup Nuclear Fission Reactors:
Reactor 1:86% Operational
Reactor 2: 73% Operational
Reactor 3: Shut Down [IRREPARABLE DAMAGE DETECTED]
Reactor 4: 87% Operational

On Site Defense System:
Ion Cannons:
Sector 1: 43% Operational
Sector 2: 73% Operational
Sector 3: 37% Operational (Repair Unit 184 Deployed)
Sector 4: 54% Operational

GtSL Defense: 82% Operational

Orbital Laser: Operational

External Blast Doors: 39% Operational

Alpha Warhead: 100% Operational

Plasma Artillery Cannons: 35% Operational (Repair Unit 21 Deployed)

Rapid Fire Turbo Lasers: 55% Operational

Onsite Garrison: 40% Operational

AA Cannons: 63% Operational

Life Support Systems: Online
Solar Array: Online
Ventilation Systems: Online
Med bay: Restoration In Progress
Command Center: Restoration In Progress
Civilian Complex: Restoration In Progress
Industrial Complex: Restoration In Progress
Barracks: Restoration On Standby
Armory: Redirection Of Power In Progress
Combat Unit Hanger: 90% Operational
Gate A: Online
Gate B: Destroyed
Cryogenic Storage: *WARINING! LIFE SUPPORT FAILURE*
Food Storage: 74% Operational
Water Treatment Plant: On Standby
Ammunition/Arms Factory: On Standby

Running Personnel Diagnostics...
...
...
...
Diagnostics Complete

Personnel Status:
On site personnel: 1
Visiting personnel: 0
Civilian personnel: 0
Military personnel: 0
Site directors: 1

Running Combat Unit Diagnostics...
...
...
...
Diagnostics Complete

Combat Unit Status:
Air & Space Combat Units: 4
Ground Combat Units: 7
Subterranean Combat Units: 1
Aquatic Combat Units: 3
Lunar Combat Units: Unknown
...
...
...
[WARNING. INSUFFICIENT MATERIALS TO CONTINUE RESTORATION. OUTPOST CONTACT LOST. RESTABLISH CONTACT WITH OUTPOSTS TO RETURN THE FACILITY TO OPTIMAL LEVELS.]

Jack furrowed his brow as he read the last line of the report. There were several different outposts scattered all around planet that all connected to the base via hyper relay that were meant to sustain the facility if a critical situation were to occur. Most of these outposts were still intact if not a bit damaged however trying to reactivate them would be impossible without entire corps worth of man power in order to repair them. Which leaves only one option. Contact a xeno nation for assistance.

"Fuck.", Jack cursed under his breath.

Jack moved to pick up the data pad once again to look over the data about the xeno settlement ALDO had scaned before suddenly ALDO's voice ripped through the silence in the room.

"Alert. Scans detecting amassing thermal signatures 30 miles west from structure. Estimated trajectory: Xeno settlement. Estimated time of arrival: 14 hours."

Jack pushed his chair back and stood before the main screen as he watched nearly 10,000 warm bodies start marching towards the tree castle.

"Give me video feed."

The main screen within the control room cleared out and reveled a clear video of thousands of minotaur creatures covered in steel armor carrying spears while a few other were lugging parts of what looked like war machines. Along side them were bipedal doglike creatures in chains that dragged carriages with them, many that seemed to have multiple scars on them.

"ALDO, how the hell were they able to arrive here without tripping our sensors? I thought we have this place locked down in a 200 mile radius?" Jack snapped at the AI as he picked up the data pad and begun retracting some of the external solar arrays that were facing towards the marching army.

"Sensors unable to breach underground without facing severe interference. Estimation: Entities traveled through underground cavities."

Looking back to the main screen, Jack watched as the projected path of the army continued to point towards the tree. An idea started to formulate as he headed back to look over the base's defense diagnostics.

"Perhaps I can use this." Jack whispered to himself. "ALDO, set the base on yellow alert and prime external weapon ammunition. Prepare for weapons hot."

"Command confirmed."

Hey! Its been a while. I'm so sorry for making this update so late and I wanted to get this chapter out way earlier, but I got distracted trying to refine it as best as possible and even now there may be a few things that I could have done better I think. In addition to this I had AP classes, some rough patches, mental health stuff and a bunch of other excuses on why i wasn't writing for a few months. Hopefully I'll be able to get the next chapter out in under five months this time lol.