Highfleet: Uncharted Skiesby Stalin with Da SpoonChaptersPrologue: Tarkhan... You may wish to see this...Chapter 1: Shining SunChapter 2: Gaze to the NorthChapter 3: Skybound We RoamPrologue: Tarkhan... You may wish to see this...Author's Note Be advised, this story contains heavy spoilers for Highfleet, and I highly recommend you play the game for yourself before you read this story, or you could just watch it on youtube. You have been warned. Prologue: Tarkhan... You may wish to see this... Aboard The Sevastopol, Bridge Section. Standing at the center of the bridge is a lone man. A man who has gone through many trials and battles to get to this point. He is Grand Duke Mark Sayadi Salemsky, son of the emperor of the Romani empire, and Tarkhan of the fleet. Beside him stands his trusted comrades, General Pyotr Ignatovich Shahin, former infantry general and the duke's second in command, and Admiral Daud Sharif Rahmatovich, former commander of the first squadron of the expeditionary fleet, and originally the Duke's superior, before becoming his trusted friend. Finally, Prince Fazil, last of the Elaou dynasty, and the current legitimate ruler of Gerat. Together these four men have faced the many challenges that the deserts of Gerat have hurled their way, from countless battles with enemy ships, to the nuclear ash that blots the sky and cools the world. As they stand aboard the Sevastopol, the look out the main observation window, to see before the city of Khiva, and the thing they have been fighting tooth and nail to control. The Khiva nuclear reactor, a massive construct responsible for providing power to much of Gerat, and a highly strategic resource originally controlled by the forces of the Gathering, now finally under Romani control, as the fleet of the Grand Duke slowly hovers above the city. Pyotor turns to the Duke, as he speaks in a happy tone. "This is truly a grand day for the Romani empire. Now that the Khiva reactor rests in our control, we can finally bring them to the table and force upon our negotiations." Admiral Daud slowly nodded in agreement. "Indeed, our enemy will have no choice but to comply if they wish to have any form of power during the coming nuclear winter that we have brought upon this world." Prince Fazil speaks through his mask, in a more somber tone. "With the reactor secured, we can ensure that our people will at the very least have hope to survive through the cold and darkness that shall descend upon Gerat and the rest of the world. My people will finally be free from the tyranny of the gathering, and hopefully, we can eventually undo the radioactive hell we have brought upon this world in our great war against the enemy." The Duke looks back and nods in agreement to the words of his trusted comrades and officers, as he looks back to the massive reactor, and then looks to his operations command officer, who was currently working at a radio managing the fleet, as he issued an order to the officer. "Order our Typhon nuclear carrier to deploy a team of nuclear engineers and commence diagnostics of the reactor." The operations officer nods as he turns back to the radio, adjusting his headset, tuning the frequency, and issuing an order. "Typhon-1, this is Sevastopol-0 Advanced Operational Command, you are ordered to deploy a team of nuclear technicians for diagnostics of the reactor systems." After a short while, a reply is heard. "Confirmed, deploying a nuclear diagnostic shuttle." After the message is relayed, a short time afterwards a small shuttle can be seen launching from the bottom of the Typhon. The Duke then receives a recommendation from the admiral. "If I may Duke, I believe it is best we order the Novorossiysk and Longbow to deploy their aircraft on a sweeping run to ensure no enemy forces remain within the perimeter of the city." The Duke nods, as he turns to the operations officer, who is already in the process of tuning the frequency to carrier command. "Carrier command, this is Sevastopol-0 advanced operations command, you are ordered to deploy aerial scouting craft, secure the perimeter of Khiva, and establish total air superiority." and after a short while, as the roar of jet engines can be heard, a squadron of six aircraft soar by the observation window while a reply is sent. "Confirmed, aerial security squadron launched, commencing sweep." The Duke has a smile of pride on his face. He fought tooth and nail for this victory, he sacrificed many valiant lives to get to his point, and he was going to ensure that their lose was not in vain. [End Song] A few hours later... By now, the entire fleet was fully refueled, the tanker ships fully filled to ensure the fleet had maximum fuel efficiency, as the aircraft finally return from their scouting run and land on both of the carriers runways, and the nuclear team finalize their diagnostics, before finally activating the reactor, with radiation suddenly spiking, which is to be expected as the reactor slowly warms up. The Duke and his comrades smile at the sight, looking upon their victory, before a worried look can be seen forming on one of the detection system operators, as the Admiral turns to address them. "Is there a problem, operator?" The operator turns, his face filled with confusion and slight amounts of fear. "Well, I'm not sure, the radiometer says the radiation is continuing to rise, yet it has no effect on us... In fact, it seems some sort of... Energy is building up within the reactor... I... It's nothing I have ever seen before..." The Admiral looks back to his officers, as they all exchange the same worried glance, before Prince Fazil speaks to the operator. "Can you not disable it?" "No, your highness! Its... Charging something up!" The Duke has a worried look on his face, before he quickly grabs the mass fleet command radio and warns his people. "All crews, prepare yourselves! Unknown energy pulse imminent!" And before he could even pull away from the radio... BOOM. A massive burst of green energy envelops the entire fleet in an instant, as it vanishes with a trace... The only trace left is the smell of the burnt methane from their engines, and the reactor as it slowly dies once more, dooming Elaat with it's final breath. Unknown... The sound of warning alarms and alerts blare, as the Duke slowly gets to his feet, and turns to see the Admiral struggiling to stand, as he extends a hand, which is grasped as Admiral Daud pulls himself up. "Much appreciated, Duke... Now... What happened?" General Pyotr slowly walks up to the observation window, a look of astonishment on his face, as Prince Fazil stands beside him, and soon the Admiral and Duke, as they look upon a foreign sight. Instead of sand, there is grass. Instead of darkness, there is light, instead of frigid cold, there is warmth. And as the four officers look to each other, they all know one thing. They are no longer in Gerat... Chapter 1: Shining SunSunlight. A thing the Tarkhan had not seen for so long... The last time the Tarkhan saw the dunes of Gerat illuminated in true sunlight was several weeks ago, as the nuclear ash had slowly blotted out the sun in the sky, leaving only traces to fall through the dark clouds in the air, barely lighting the sands and cities. Seeing the light flood into the bridge was almost overwhelming, with the Tarkhan and his compatriots raising their hands and shielding their eyes from the sudden light. As their eyes slowly adjusted, they slowly stepped forward, as the rest of the crew on the bridge looked on, with mixes of amazement, excitement, and horror on their faces. The first thing they noticed, was that the ground was... Green... There was grass, and flowers, entire plains of greenery. No sand to be seen for miles. Off in the distance, a small river of water could be seen, actual water. The Tarkhan's jaw had sufficiently hit the deck at this point, totally amazed by the sight before him. His compatriots had similar looks of awe on their faces, with even Prince Fazil visibly astonished, even if his expression was hidden by his mask. Then they looked up, as they saw a blue sky, with white clouds. Not a single cloud of dark ask in sight, the full beauty of the daytime sky on full display. It made the Tarkhan want to cry, but he remained firm. The next thing they noticed was... It was warm. Originally, they could easily see their own breath, as the hulls of the fleet's ships were chilled to the core, their crews suffering from hypothermia even in the hottest of engine bays. Now, they actually felt heat flowing around them, the ice that had formed on the bridge's outer window quickly melting off. The first to speak up, was General Pyotr, as he built up the courage necessary. "It's... Beautiful..." The Grand Duke could swear he saw a tear roll down the general's face, as he quickly wiped it off, and straightened himself. "I mean, It is quite a unique sight." Prince Fazil nodded, speaking through his visor with a somewhat shaky voice. "Indeed... I have not seen something like this in all my life... It is quite amazing." Admiral Daud quickly cleared his throat, grunting heavily as he spoke up. "One thing is for certain, we are definitely no longer within the dunes of Gerat." The Admiral stated, sounding a bit more well composed than his compatriots. Grand Duke Mark Sayadi finally spoke up as well. "Indeed... I doubt we may even be on Elaat anymore." Everyone nodded in agreement, before the ship's radio system began flooding in with messages from the other ships in the fleet. "This is Lightning-2, crew is currently freaking the hell out, require plan of action!" "Varyag-3 calling in, anyone know where in the hell we are!?!" "Novorossiysk-1, deck crews currently disoriented and in a state of panic, require situation report and new orders immediately." "Typhon-1 reporting, nuclear payload is currently stabilized, however landing is required to complete further checks." "Archangel-3 radioing in, current heading and location unknown, we need orders Admiral!" Quickly, the Grand Duke marched over to the radio, grasping the phone as he spoke into it. "All fleet crews, calm down and evaluate yourselves. We are currently attempting to determine our location. For now... Commence landing procedure, the ground seems flat enough to support the fleet until we determine a proper course of action." A series of collective acknowledgements sounded out over the radio, as the Duke looked out the window to see all the ships of the fleet slowly descending to the ground, slowly powering down their engines, making touch down on the grass plain below, as Daud spoke to the helm operators of the bridge. "You heard the Tarkhan, take us down to the ground." The helm operators nodded, quickly working as they tuned frequencies, relayed orders to sections of the ship, adjusted thruster power, diverted fuel, tuned power output, and set heater values to compensate for a lack of cold air within the ship, no longer requiring heating up the cold frosty interior it was reduced to on Elaat. Slowly, the massive ship shook as it descended from the sky, an operator reading their current height in the air. "Five hundred meters. Four hundred meters. Three hundred meters. Two hundred meters. One hundred meters, everyone get ready." And as the massive vessel touched the ground, a final cheer was heard from several of the operators. "Landing confirmed, good work everyone." As the massive Sevastopol slowly touched down onto the ground with it's landing gear, the engines began cooling as some of the ships crew leaped from the outer exits onto the ground, simply burying their faces in the grass, basking in the sunlight, and rejoicing. Others were skeptical, some outright refusing to exit the ship. It was similar across the whole fleet, with some greeting this new world with enthusiasm, others with skepticism and fear. The main ramp of the Sevastopol lowered, as Mark Sayadi and his compatriots slowly marched onto the grass. While controlling their excitement and joy, it felt good to simply feel the grass beneath their boots. Prince Fazil then commented on the Tarkhan's decision. "The call to land was a solid idea, Tarkhan. The crew have not seen something like this... Possibly ever, so this could do wonders for our morale, even if it is foreign land." Admiral Daud nodded in agreement. "Indeed, even I have to admit, it is quite an experience finally touching true grassland once again..." Daud said as he reached down slowly, and began to touch some grass, a surprisingly exhilarating feeling. General Pyotr considered partaking in the touching of grass himself, but hesitated, stopping himself and turning to the Duke. "Well, I can sufficiently say this is the strangest occurrence I have ever personally witnessed. And no, my extreme cigar smoke inhalation induced hallucinations do not count." The general said, earning a slight chuckle from Admiral Daud, who was promptly shoved by the Tarkhan's shoulder. "It is safe to assume that we are indeed on an alien world. As such, our first objective, is to establish our current directions, location, and any potential landmarks." The duke says pulling out a compass. Surprisingly, the compass functioned well, pointing in the directions it was supposed to, with West and East facing the exact ways. Knowing this, the Tarkhan and his compatriots felt slightly relieved. At last the tried and true compass method could guide them in this unknown world. "Well, gentlemen, let us prepare to fly through these uncharted skies." The Tarkhan said to his comrades, as they turned back to the ship and slowly walked up the ramp and back inside, heading for the navigation room. Meanwhile, In the skies above Ponyville... Rainbow Dash was currently snoozing upon her favorite snoozing cloud, happily snoring, along with Twilight Sparkle, who was sitting beside her friend, reading a book, having recently discovered that clouds are good places to read. Twilight then suddenly felt something. A tingle in her mane, a twinging in her wings, an itch in her horn. It felt like a massive pulse of some unknown energy had just washed over her, her fur standing on end. She felt slightly unnerved, her acute sense of magic meant she would know if it was magic or not, and yet, it felt nowhere near what magic would feel like. Whatever caused it was big. Twilight slowly looked over to her still snoozing friend, clearly unphased by this burst of energy. Feeling it was not worth waking her friend over, she just nervously went back to reading. However, the thought of the unknown source of energy continued to linger... Chapter 2: Gaze to the NorthAboard the Sevastopol. The Grand Duke stood in front of a large table, with his comrades standing beside him, as they looked at several photos taken by three recently dispatched reconnaissance T-7 supersonic jet's, deployed from the Novorossiysk carrier. The photos featured several landmarks, cloud formations, mountains, lakes, and other standard reconnaissance data recorded by the instruments of their aircraft. The aircraft were ordered to only recon within a one kilometre range from the carrier. The data was at least somewhat calming, showing that they were in a remote area, with good water and cloud cover. Prince Fazil was the first to speak. "I must admit, I did not expect us to have wound up in such a... Nice location, at least by the standards of Gerat." Admiral Daud nodded. "Indeed, we could've likely ended up somewhere way worse." General Pyotr was busy inspecting one of the photos closely as he commented on something. "It would appear this planet has similar plant life to that of our world, including trees, flowers, and quite green grass, so oxygen is no doubt plentiful." The Grand Duke nodded, as he examined the atmospheric readings taken by the Sevastopol's engineers. From the looks of it, there was barely any sign of carbon emissions in the air, and the air had plentiful amounts of oxygen and other standard air based elements. Knowing this, he also discovered something rather odd... The gravity on this planet was slightly lower than on Elaat, meaning their airships would need less fuel to fly through the air, and calculations showing this would result in saving over twenty-five percent of their fuel reserves. Luckily, they had completely filled up on fuel at Khiva, so the worry of running out was low. "Have we located any potential signs of intelligent fauna?" General Pyotr shook his head. "Negative, no signs of any kind of fauna within the one kilometre scanning radius." "I see... And what about our standard navigational instruments?" "From what we have seen, our compasses, longitude and latitude scanners, altitude readouts, sonar and radar are all functioning properly, so this planet is indeed similar to ours." "Good, so we will not be fumbling in the dark." Admiral Daud slowly nodded. "Indeed, and as Romani Fleet Code dictates, when the operating area is totally un-charted and lacks records, chart course straight north." The General and Duke both nodded in agreement. "Indeed. Pyotr, give the order to the fleet to set course for the north." "Yes, Grand Duke." The General quickly made his way out of the room, and towards the bridge, entering as everyone saluted him and he saluted back, before walking over and speaking to the central communications officer. "Alert the fleets to prime engines for take off, the Duke has ordered us to fly directly north." "Yes, General." The officer saluted and quickly turned to his work station as he adjusted the radio, attuning it to the command frequency, as they spoke into the microphone. "All ships, initiate take off procedures and set course for direct north, at zero degrees." The General turned to the window to see all of the currently landed ships slowly beginning to ignite their engines, while the crew in the bridge hustled around into their seats, flipping switches, adjusting knobs, and turning keys, as the ship began to shake, with alarms blaring, until the engines fully ignited, and the Sevastopol rose into the air. The Grand Duke and his comrades soon entered the bridge, everyone saluting as the Duke nodded, before walking up and looking out the front viewing port. The duke watched as the Sevastopol and the rest of the fleet slowly rose into the air, before they all ignited their forward thrusters and set off. The ship itself slightly rumbled, the sound of the metal hull creaking and straining, a common sound on most Romani ships who see deployment for extended periods of time. The Duke then turned to the communications officer and issued an order. "Alert the Novorossiysk to send forward a reconnaissance jet squadron, and tell them to go to a maximum of five kilometres." The officer saluted as he turned to the radio. After a few minutes, the Duke watched as multiple jets took off from the tarmac on the top deck of the carrier, observing as they disappeared over the horizon. Admiral Daud could not help but smile, seeing the fleet in the air once again, with the sky clear and the path through the wind charted. However, his smile soon vanished as he turned to the Duke. "Sayadi, if we were to theoretically encounter intelligent alien fauna, perhaps capable of communication, what are we to do?" The Duke entered a state of deep thought and contemplation, thinking to himself about what it would be best to do when encountering an alien species. It honestly depended on their intentions, motives, and beliefs. If they were hostile, the fleet would likely be forced to defend itself. However, if they were neutral, or perhaps even friendly and welcoming, negotiations could be conducted, and maybe even a treaty between the empire and the alien race. Whatever it would be, the Duke was unsure for now, as he turned to Daud. "We would simply have to wait and see how they would respond to us." As the fleet soared across the skies, leaving behind a trail of smoke, slightly fogging up the sky, a few bunny rabbits emerged from their burrows, watching the metal behemoths streak across the sky with intrigue, before retreat back into their burrows. Several birds and avians flew alongside these massive titans of steel, curiosity getting the better of them as they perched on the outer railings of the ship decks. Certain crew members saw these avians and simply shooed them away, or offered them some bread crumbs. It was very clear to the wildlife, that something truly unknown had arrived in their land, and while their intentions were unknown, they seemed to be truly powerful. And as they soared north, the sun itself seemed to gaze upon them in intrigue. Chapter 3: Skybound We Roam A silent little blue-jay rested peacefully in it's nest of twigs and leaves, happily snoring as it was tucked away within it's tree. The quiet whistling wind brought with it serene tranquility and a cool breeze. However, it quickly found it's tranquil rest violently interrupted by an ear splitting sound as it's tree shook, covering it's ears with it's wings as the very sound barrier itself was broken. As it peeked out of it's nest, it saw four long smoke streaks across the sky, as four large metal constructs soared above. These sleek flying constructs of steel and power, known as the T-7 Interceptor jet-powered aircraft, flew in a diamond formation, with their squad lead at the head. Chuckling on the radio, one of the pilots designated Novor-3 also known as Russel addressed their fellow airmen after the achievement of breaking the sound barrier so easily. "Novor-2, that was a sick ass barrier break, nice one." "Roger that, Novor-3, just wanted to try and catch up after you damn bastards left me in the dust." Novor-2, AKA Kurtis said with a light chuckle before Novor-Lead came on the radio. "Now now, simmer down partner, it ain't a competition, Novor-2." "I know, Novor-Lead, I know." Soon, Novor-4, AKA Roger spoke up. "This is Novor-4, just wanna comment that the situational analysis report was right, it certainly does feel like our planes are lighter than on Elaat. Feels nice being able to turn without blacking out for once." "Affirmative, helps us with flying these things, and means we don't gotta burn as much fuel too, so least we can run longer flight missions." Novor-Lead, or by his real name Belikov, said, as he made a quick glance at his displays, looking at his fuel gauge and confirming that the jet had actually burned through only half of the fuel it would have burned through by now on Elaat, which made him feel a bit better about being stranded on an unknown world. Taking a quick peek at his radar, he could see the three dots representing his wingmates. On his speedometer he saw he was keeping a modest 150 kilometers per hour, as he and his squad were ordered to stay only marginally ahead of the fleet. His radio began to buzz with a message from the fleet behind them, as he quickly switched to the frequency and answered. "This is Novor-Lead, go ahead." "Novor-Lead, this is Novorossiysk Air Command, the Grand Duke has ordered that should you encounter any potential intelligent alien life to immediately divert course and return to the fleet to land for debrief. Even if they engage you, you must pull off and retreat. I repeat, do not retaliate in the case of coming under fire, retreat immediately." "Roger that Air Command, we'll be careful. Novor-Lead out." The frequency then ceased it's signal as Belikov switched back to his squadrons frequency. "Just got word from Air Command, if we encounter or detect any form of alien life, immediately pull off and return to the fleet." "Roger that." "Here's hoping it's just us on this new planet." "Knowing our luck, we sure as hell won't be." Belikov couldn't help but feel a slight chill go down his spine. What if they did encounter alien life? What if they were hostile? What if they spoke a language his people did not understand? It would be quite a strange experience. Who knows, they could be talking pastel ponies with wings and horns, but that's impossible right?... Right? [Sevastopol Operational Command Bridge.] Mark Sayadi Salemsky sat in his command chair on the main deck of the bridge, between the chair of his general and admiral while The Prince was out on deck enjoying the nice breeze. Outside the window, the sun could be seen slowly descending over the horizon, while the moon slowly rose over the hills, as the fleet all engaged the large spotlights on their ships to guide them forward. Pyotr could not help but comment on the planet's unique features. "This planet definitely appears to have a unique time zone... Night has fallen 2 hours earlier than on Elaat. We will need to likely adjust our shift schedules accordingly." Pyotr said as he sipped a bit from a coffee he had recently brewed, as admiral Daud nodded. "One thing I have noticed is the abundance of wildlife and other forms of life and fauna on this planet. Many trees and small animals scurry around on the ground below, so if were to ever run out of rations, we could always go gathering and hunting for food. We have the equipment to do so, in fact we have an entire specialist task force trained for hunting animals." "Though we never had to use it on Elaat, mainly due to their being hardly any forms of wildlife within the dunes of Gerat. The other parts of the planet were not much different, with many of our animals going extinct." Pyotr chimed in. "Right, of course. Plus, there was hardly any life on the dunes of Gerat. It is a good thing we could always stash up on food at the local towns, and at Khiva we stocked up on extra, even though some of them may have gone bad." The Grand Duke was currently busy focusing on the display screen mounted to the ceiling in front of his seat, as it displayed the entirety of the fleet, including each ship, their crew status, and their fuel reserves. The fleet had in total about fifteen ships, some being small, some being medium, and some massive. The fuel levels were pretty level, thanks to the planet's low gravity being less demanding of fuel. The crew were all doing quite well, though some were slightly worried of being on an unknown world, while some rejoiced at the thought. The Duke himself however, was more intrigued than anything. If they were too far from home to establish contact with the empire, perhaps they could establish a colony here. They had the manpower, and a good portion of the fleet had female operators, so if worse came to worse, procreation could occur. But it was better to fully scout out this planet and potentially meet with it's inhabitants. He expected by now that Novor Squad would encounter something any second now. Suddenly, the radio buzzed to life, as the operator answered. "This is Sevastopol-0 Strategic Command, come in." "This is Novor Squad, we have made contact with unknown biological entities. Repeat, Novor Squad has made contact with unknown biological and airborne entities!" Those words, even if the duke was expecting them... Made his blood run cold.
Prologue: Tarkhan... You may wish to see this...Author's Note Be advised, this story contains heavy spoilers for Highfleet, and I highly recommend you play the game for yourself before you read this story, or you could just watch it on youtube. You have been warned. Prologue: Tarkhan... You may wish to see this... Aboard The Sevastopol, Bridge Section. Standing at the center of the bridge is a lone man. A man who has gone through many trials and battles to get to this point. He is Grand Duke Mark Sayadi Salemsky, son of the emperor of the Romani empire, and Tarkhan of the fleet. Beside him stands his trusted comrades, General Pyotr Ignatovich Shahin, former infantry general and the duke's second in command, and Admiral Daud Sharif Rahmatovich, former commander of the first squadron of the expeditionary fleet, and originally the Duke's superior, before becoming his trusted friend. Finally, Prince Fazil, last of the Elaou dynasty, and the current legitimate ruler of Gerat. Together these four men have faced the many challenges that the deserts of Gerat have hurled their way, from countless battles with enemy ships, to the nuclear ash that blots the sky and cools the world. As they stand aboard the Sevastopol, the look out the main observation window, to see before the city of Khiva, and the thing they have been fighting tooth and nail to control. The Khiva nuclear reactor, a massive construct responsible for providing power to much of Gerat, and a highly strategic resource originally controlled by the forces of the Gathering, now finally under Romani control, as the fleet of the Grand Duke slowly hovers above the city. Pyotor turns to the Duke, as he speaks in a happy tone. "This is truly a grand day for the Romani empire. Now that the Khiva reactor rests in our control, we can finally bring them to the table and force upon our negotiations." Admiral Daud slowly nodded in agreement. "Indeed, our enemy will have no choice but to comply if they wish to have any form of power during the coming nuclear winter that we have brought upon this world." Prince Fazil speaks through his mask, in a more somber tone. "With the reactor secured, we can ensure that our people will at the very least have hope to survive through the cold and darkness that shall descend upon Gerat and the rest of the world. My people will finally be free from the tyranny of the gathering, and hopefully, we can eventually undo the radioactive hell we have brought upon this world in our great war against the enemy." The Duke looks back and nods in agreement to the words of his trusted comrades and officers, as he looks back to the massive reactor, and then looks to his operations command officer, who was currently working at a radio managing the fleet, as he issued an order to the officer. "Order our Typhon nuclear carrier to deploy a team of nuclear engineers and commence diagnostics of the reactor." The operations officer nods as he turns back to the radio, adjusting his headset, tuning the frequency, and issuing an order. "Typhon-1, this is Sevastopol-0 Advanced Operational Command, you are ordered to deploy a team of nuclear technicians for diagnostics of the reactor systems." After a short while, a reply is heard. "Confirmed, deploying a nuclear diagnostic shuttle." After the message is relayed, a short time afterwards a small shuttle can be seen launching from the bottom of the Typhon. The Duke then receives a recommendation from the admiral. "If I may Duke, I believe it is best we order the Novorossiysk and Longbow to deploy their aircraft on a sweeping run to ensure no enemy forces remain within the perimeter of the city." The Duke nods, as he turns to the operations officer, who is already in the process of tuning the frequency to carrier command. "Carrier command, this is Sevastopol-0 advanced operations command, you are ordered to deploy aerial scouting craft, secure the perimeter of Khiva, and establish total air superiority." and after a short while, as the roar of jet engines can be heard, a squadron of six aircraft soar by the observation window while a reply is sent. "Confirmed, aerial security squadron launched, commencing sweep." The Duke has a smile of pride on his face. He fought tooth and nail for this victory, he sacrificed many valiant lives to get to his point, and he was going to ensure that their lose was not in vain. [End Song] A few hours later... By now, the entire fleet was fully refueled, the tanker ships fully filled to ensure the fleet had maximum fuel efficiency, as the aircraft finally return from their scouting run and land on both of the carriers runways, and the nuclear team finalize their diagnostics, before finally activating the reactor, with radiation suddenly spiking, which is to be expected as the reactor slowly warms up. The Duke and his comrades smile at the sight, looking upon their victory, before a worried look can be seen forming on one of the detection system operators, as the Admiral turns to address them. "Is there a problem, operator?" The operator turns, his face filled with confusion and slight amounts of fear. "Well, I'm not sure, the radiometer says the radiation is continuing to rise, yet it has no effect on us... In fact, it seems some sort of... Energy is building up within the reactor... I... It's nothing I have ever seen before..." The Admiral looks back to his officers, as they all exchange the same worried glance, before Prince Fazil speaks to the operator. "Can you not disable it?" "No, your highness! Its... Charging something up!" The Duke has a worried look on his face, before he quickly grabs the mass fleet command radio and warns his people. "All crews, prepare yourselves! Unknown energy pulse imminent!" And before he could even pull away from the radio... BOOM. A massive burst of green energy envelops the entire fleet in an instant, as it vanishes with a trace... The only trace left is the smell of the burnt methane from their engines, and the reactor as it slowly dies once more, dooming Elaat with it's final breath. Unknown... The sound of warning alarms and alerts blare, as the Duke slowly gets to his feet, and turns to see the Admiral struggiling to stand, as he extends a hand, which is grasped as Admiral Daud pulls himself up. "Much appreciated, Duke... Now... What happened?" General Pyotr slowly walks up to the observation window, a look of astonishment on his face, as Prince Fazil stands beside him, and soon the Admiral and Duke, as they look upon a foreign sight. Instead of sand, there is grass. Instead of darkness, there is light, instead of frigid cold, there is warmth. And as the four officers look to each other, they all know one thing. They are no longer in Gerat...
Chapter 1: Shining SunSunlight. A thing the Tarkhan had not seen for so long... The last time the Tarkhan saw the dunes of Gerat illuminated in true sunlight was several weeks ago, as the nuclear ash had slowly blotted out the sun in the sky, leaving only traces to fall through the dark clouds in the air, barely lighting the sands and cities. Seeing the light flood into the bridge was almost overwhelming, with the Tarkhan and his compatriots raising their hands and shielding their eyes from the sudden light. As their eyes slowly adjusted, they slowly stepped forward, as the rest of the crew on the bridge looked on, with mixes of amazement, excitement, and horror on their faces. The first thing they noticed, was that the ground was... Green... There was grass, and flowers, entire plains of greenery. No sand to be seen for miles. Off in the distance, a small river of water could be seen, actual water. The Tarkhan's jaw had sufficiently hit the deck at this point, totally amazed by the sight before him. His compatriots had similar looks of awe on their faces, with even Prince Fazil visibly astonished, even if his expression was hidden by his mask. Then they looked up, as they saw a blue sky, with white clouds. Not a single cloud of dark ask in sight, the full beauty of the daytime sky on full display. It made the Tarkhan want to cry, but he remained firm. The next thing they noticed was... It was warm. Originally, they could easily see their own breath, as the hulls of the fleet's ships were chilled to the core, their crews suffering from hypothermia even in the hottest of engine bays. Now, they actually felt heat flowing around them, the ice that had formed on the bridge's outer window quickly melting off. The first to speak up, was General Pyotr, as he built up the courage necessary. "It's... Beautiful..." The Grand Duke could swear he saw a tear roll down the general's face, as he quickly wiped it off, and straightened himself. "I mean, It is quite a unique sight." Prince Fazil nodded, speaking through his visor with a somewhat shaky voice. "Indeed... I have not seen something like this in all my life... It is quite amazing." Admiral Daud quickly cleared his throat, grunting heavily as he spoke up. "One thing is for certain, we are definitely no longer within the dunes of Gerat." The Admiral stated, sounding a bit more well composed than his compatriots. Grand Duke Mark Sayadi finally spoke up as well. "Indeed... I doubt we may even be on Elaat anymore." Everyone nodded in agreement, before the ship's radio system began flooding in with messages from the other ships in the fleet. "This is Lightning-2, crew is currently freaking the hell out, require plan of action!" "Varyag-3 calling in, anyone know where in the hell we are!?!" "Novorossiysk-1, deck crews currently disoriented and in a state of panic, require situation report and new orders immediately." "Typhon-1 reporting, nuclear payload is currently stabilized, however landing is required to complete further checks." "Archangel-3 radioing in, current heading and location unknown, we need orders Admiral!" Quickly, the Grand Duke marched over to the radio, grasping the phone as he spoke into it. "All fleet crews, calm down and evaluate yourselves. We are currently attempting to determine our location. For now... Commence landing procedure, the ground seems flat enough to support the fleet until we determine a proper course of action." A series of collective acknowledgements sounded out over the radio, as the Duke looked out the window to see all the ships of the fleet slowly descending to the ground, slowly powering down their engines, making touch down on the grass plain below, as Daud spoke to the helm operators of the bridge. "You heard the Tarkhan, take us down to the ground." The helm operators nodded, quickly working as they tuned frequencies, relayed orders to sections of the ship, adjusted thruster power, diverted fuel, tuned power output, and set heater values to compensate for a lack of cold air within the ship, no longer requiring heating up the cold frosty interior it was reduced to on Elaat. Slowly, the massive ship shook as it descended from the sky, an operator reading their current height in the air. "Five hundred meters. Four hundred meters. Three hundred meters. Two hundred meters. One hundred meters, everyone get ready." And as the massive vessel touched the ground, a final cheer was heard from several of the operators. "Landing confirmed, good work everyone." As the massive Sevastopol slowly touched down onto the ground with it's landing gear, the engines began cooling as some of the ships crew leaped from the outer exits onto the ground, simply burying their faces in the grass, basking in the sunlight, and rejoicing. Others were skeptical, some outright refusing to exit the ship. It was similar across the whole fleet, with some greeting this new world with enthusiasm, others with skepticism and fear. The main ramp of the Sevastopol lowered, as Mark Sayadi and his compatriots slowly marched onto the grass. While controlling their excitement and joy, it felt good to simply feel the grass beneath their boots. Prince Fazil then commented on the Tarkhan's decision. "The call to land was a solid idea, Tarkhan. The crew have not seen something like this... Possibly ever, so this could do wonders for our morale, even if it is foreign land." Admiral Daud nodded in agreement. "Indeed, even I have to admit, it is quite an experience finally touching true grassland once again..." Daud said as he reached down slowly, and began to touch some grass, a surprisingly exhilarating feeling. General Pyotr considered partaking in the touching of grass himself, but hesitated, stopping himself and turning to the Duke. "Well, I can sufficiently say this is the strangest occurrence I have ever personally witnessed. And no, my extreme cigar smoke inhalation induced hallucinations do not count." The general said, earning a slight chuckle from Admiral Daud, who was promptly shoved by the Tarkhan's shoulder. "It is safe to assume that we are indeed on an alien world. As such, our first objective, is to establish our current directions, location, and any potential landmarks." The duke says pulling out a compass. Surprisingly, the compass functioned well, pointing in the directions it was supposed to, with West and East facing the exact ways. Knowing this, the Tarkhan and his compatriots felt slightly relieved. At last the tried and true compass method could guide them in this unknown world. "Well, gentlemen, let us prepare to fly through these uncharted skies." The Tarkhan said to his comrades, as they turned back to the ship and slowly walked up the ramp and back inside, heading for the navigation room. Meanwhile, In the skies above Ponyville... Rainbow Dash was currently snoozing upon her favorite snoozing cloud, happily snoring, along with Twilight Sparkle, who was sitting beside her friend, reading a book, having recently discovered that clouds are good places to read. Twilight then suddenly felt something. A tingle in her mane, a twinging in her wings, an itch in her horn. It felt like a massive pulse of some unknown energy had just washed over her, her fur standing on end. She felt slightly unnerved, her acute sense of magic meant she would know if it was magic or not, and yet, it felt nowhere near what magic would feel like. Whatever caused it was big. Twilight slowly looked over to her still snoozing friend, clearly unphased by this burst of energy. Feeling it was not worth waking her friend over, she just nervously went back to reading. However, the thought of the unknown source of energy continued to linger...
Chapter 2: Gaze to the NorthAboard the Sevastopol. The Grand Duke stood in front of a large table, with his comrades standing beside him, as they looked at several photos taken by three recently dispatched reconnaissance T-7 supersonic jet's, deployed from the Novorossiysk carrier. The photos featured several landmarks, cloud formations, mountains, lakes, and other standard reconnaissance data recorded by the instruments of their aircraft. The aircraft were ordered to only recon within a one kilometre range from the carrier. The data was at least somewhat calming, showing that they were in a remote area, with good water and cloud cover. Prince Fazil was the first to speak. "I must admit, I did not expect us to have wound up in such a... Nice location, at least by the standards of Gerat." Admiral Daud nodded. "Indeed, we could've likely ended up somewhere way worse." General Pyotr was busy inspecting one of the photos closely as he commented on something. "It would appear this planet has similar plant life to that of our world, including trees, flowers, and quite green grass, so oxygen is no doubt plentiful." The Grand Duke nodded, as he examined the atmospheric readings taken by the Sevastopol's engineers. From the looks of it, there was barely any sign of carbon emissions in the air, and the air had plentiful amounts of oxygen and other standard air based elements. Knowing this, he also discovered something rather odd... The gravity on this planet was slightly lower than on Elaat, meaning their airships would need less fuel to fly through the air, and calculations showing this would result in saving over twenty-five percent of their fuel reserves. Luckily, they had completely filled up on fuel at Khiva, so the worry of running out was low. "Have we located any potential signs of intelligent fauna?" General Pyotr shook his head. "Negative, no signs of any kind of fauna within the one kilometre scanning radius." "I see... And what about our standard navigational instruments?" "From what we have seen, our compasses, longitude and latitude scanners, altitude readouts, sonar and radar are all functioning properly, so this planet is indeed similar to ours." "Good, so we will not be fumbling in the dark." Admiral Daud slowly nodded. "Indeed, and as Romani Fleet Code dictates, when the operating area is totally un-charted and lacks records, chart course straight north." The General and Duke both nodded in agreement. "Indeed. Pyotr, give the order to the fleet to set course for the north." "Yes, Grand Duke." The General quickly made his way out of the room, and towards the bridge, entering as everyone saluted him and he saluted back, before walking over and speaking to the central communications officer. "Alert the fleets to prime engines for take off, the Duke has ordered us to fly directly north." "Yes, General." The officer saluted and quickly turned to his work station as he adjusted the radio, attuning it to the command frequency, as they spoke into the microphone. "All ships, initiate take off procedures and set course for direct north, at zero degrees." The General turned to the window to see all of the currently landed ships slowly beginning to ignite their engines, while the crew in the bridge hustled around into their seats, flipping switches, adjusting knobs, and turning keys, as the ship began to shake, with alarms blaring, until the engines fully ignited, and the Sevastopol rose into the air. The Grand Duke and his comrades soon entered the bridge, everyone saluting as the Duke nodded, before walking up and looking out the front viewing port. The duke watched as the Sevastopol and the rest of the fleet slowly rose into the air, before they all ignited their forward thrusters and set off. The ship itself slightly rumbled, the sound of the metal hull creaking and straining, a common sound on most Romani ships who see deployment for extended periods of time. The Duke then turned to the communications officer and issued an order. "Alert the Novorossiysk to send forward a reconnaissance jet squadron, and tell them to go to a maximum of five kilometres." The officer saluted as he turned to the radio. After a few minutes, the Duke watched as multiple jets took off from the tarmac on the top deck of the carrier, observing as they disappeared over the horizon. Admiral Daud could not help but smile, seeing the fleet in the air once again, with the sky clear and the path through the wind charted. However, his smile soon vanished as he turned to the Duke. "Sayadi, if we were to theoretically encounter intelligent alien fauna, perhaps capable of communication, what are we to do?" The Duke entered a state of deep thought and contemplation, thinking to himself about what it would be best to do when encountering an alien species. It honestly depended on their intentions, motives, and beliefs. If they were hostile, the fleet would likely be forced to defend itself. However, if they were neutral, or perhaps even friendly and welcoming, negotiations could be conducted, and maybe even a treaty between the empire and the alien race. Whatever it would be, the Duke was unsure for now, as he turned to Daud. "We would simply have to wait and see how they would respond to us." As the fleet soared across the skies, leaving behind a trail of smoke, slightly fogging up the sky, a few bunny rabbits emerged from their burrows, watching the metal behemoths streak across the sky with intrigue, before retreat back into their burrows. Several birds and avians flew alongside these massive titans of steel, curiosity getting the better of them as they perched on the outer railings of the ship decks. Certain crew members saw these avians and simply shooed them away, or offered them some bread crumbs. It was very clear to the wildlife, that something truly unknown had arrived in their land, and while their intentions were unknown, they seemed to be truly powerful. And as they soared north, the sun itself seemed to gaze upon them in intrigue.
Chapter 3: Skybound We Roam A silent little blue-jay rested peacefully in it's nest of twigs and leaves, happily snoring as it was tucked away within it's tree. The quiet whistling wind brought with it serene tranquility and a cool breeze. However, it quickly found it's tranquil rest violently interrupted by an ear splitting sound as it's tree shook, covering it's ears with it's wings as the very sound barrier itself was broken. As it peeked out of it's nest, it saw four long smoke streaks across the sky, as four large metal constructs soared above. These sleek flying constructs of steel and power, known as the T-7 Interceptor jet-powered aircraft, flew in a diamond formation, with their squad lead at the head. Chuckling on the radio, one of the pilots designated Novor-3 also known as Russel addressed their fellow airmen after the achievement of breaking the sound barrier so easily. "Novor-2, that was a sick ass barrier break, nice one." "Roger that, Novor-3, just wanted to try and catch up after you damn bastards left me in the dust." Novor-2, AKA Kurtis said with a light chuckle before Novor-Lead came on the radio. "Now now, simmer down partner, it ain't a competition, Novor-2." "I know, Novor-Lead, I know." Soon, Novor-4, AKA Roger spoke up. "This is Novor-4, just wanna comment that the situational analysis report was right, it certainly does feel like our planes are lighter than on Elaat. Feels nice being able to turn without blacking out for once." "Affirmative, helps us with flying these things, and means we don't gotta burn as much fuel too, so least we can run longer flight missions." Novor-Lead, or by his real name Belikov, said, as he made a quick glance at his displays, looking at his fuel gauge and confirming that the jet had actually burned through only half of the fuel it would have burned through by now on Elaat, which made him feel a bit better about being stranded on an unknown world. Taking a quick peek at his radar, he could see the three dots representing his wingmates. On his speedometer he saw he was keeping a modest 150 kilometers per hour, as he and his squad were ordered to stay only marginally ahead of the fleet. His radio began to buzz with a message from the fleet behind them, as he quickly switched to the frequency and answered. "This is Novor-Lead, go ahead." "Novor-Lead, this is Novorossiysk Air Command, the Grand Duke has ordered that should you encounter any potential intelligent alien life to immediately divert course and return to the fleet to land for debrief. Even if they engage you, you must pull off and retreat. I repeat, do not retaliate in the case of coming under fire, retreat immediately." "Roger that Air Command, we'll be careful. Novor-Lead out." The frequency then ceased it's signal as Belikov switched back to his squadrons frequency. "Just got word from Air Command, if we encounter or detect any form of alien life, immediately pull off and return to the fleet." "Roger that." "Here's hoping it's just us on this new planet." "Knowing our luck, we sure as hell won't be." Belikov couldn't help but feel a slight chill go down his spine. What if they did encounter alien life? What if they were hostile? What if they spoke a language his people did not understand? It would be quite a strange experience. Who knows, they could be talking pastel ponies with wings and horns, but that's impossible right?... Right? [Sevastopol Operational Command Bridge.] Mark Sayadi Salemsky sat in his command chair on the main deck of the bridge, between the chair of his general and admiral while The Prince was out on deck enjoying the nice breeze. Outside the window, the sun could be seen slowly descending over the horizon, while the moon slowly rose over the hills, as the fleet all engaged the large spotlights on their ships to guide them forward. Pyotr could not help but comment on the planet's unique features. "This planet definitely appears to have a unique time zone... Night has fallen 2 hours earlier than on Elaat. We will need to likely adjust our shift schedules accordingly." Pyotr said as he sipped a bit from a coffee he had recently brewed, as admiral Daud nodded. "One thing I have noticed is the abundance of wildlife and other forms of life and fauna on this planet. Many trees and small animals scurry around on the ground below, so if were to ever run out of rations, we could always go gathering and hunting for food. We have the equipment to do so, in fact we have an entire specialist task force trained for hunting animals." "Though we never had to use it on Elaat, mainly due to their being hardly any forms of wildlife within the dunes of Gerat. The other parts of the planet were not much different, with many of our animals going extinct." Pyotr chimed in. "Right, of course. Plus, there was hardly any life on the dunes of Gerat. It is a good thing we could always stash up on food at the local towns, and at Khiva we stocked up on extra, even though some of them may have gone bad." The Grand Duke was currently busy focusing on the display screen mounted to the ceiling in front of his seat, as it displayed the entirety of the fleet, including each ship, their crew status, and their fuel reserves. The fleet had in total about fifteen ships, some being small, some being medium, and some massive. The fuel levels were pretty level, thanks to the planet's low gravity being less demanding of fuel. The crew were all doing quite well, though some were slightly worried of being on an unknown world, while some rejoiced at the thought. The Duke himself however, was more intrigued than anything. If they were too far from home to establish contact with the empire, perhaps they could establish a colony here. They had the manpower, and a good portion of the fleet had female operators, so if worse came to worse, procreation could occur. But it was better to fully scout out this planet and potentially meet with it's inhabitants. He expected by now that Novor Squad would encounter something any second now. Suddenly, the radio buzzed to life, as the operator answered. "This is Sevastopol-0 Strategic Command, come in." "This is Novor Squad, we have made contact with unknown biological entities. Repeat, Novor Squad has made contact with unknown biological and airborne entities!" Those words, even if the duke was expecting them... Made his blood run cold.
