Chapter Thirty-One: The Frigid Sense of Winter

Vincent Avidus loomed glaring out his office window. It was raining heavily in Washington, the frigid droplets of water beat rhythmically onto the ground while people went about their daily business holding umbrellas or books above their heads. Vincent smiled; he was preparing to protect this nation and the people who compose it. The silent acquisition of the TA was in his mind the best deal he ever made. Revelations was making billions of dollars with their Shade line and now had full control of their usage. Technically the board of Revelations which mainly composed of elderly nobility had power over the Trinity Alliance and their branches in London and Quebec, but the truth was that Vincent had complete undisputed control. He was the youngest and most intimidating member of Revelations filled with dreams of his own ambition.

The war had slowly begun to drag against his will, battles weren’t breaking out as often as he would have liked. His hands rustled in his pants pockets while he walked over to his desk. On top of the wooden desk were scattered pieces of paper all of which were reports from Revelations in regards to a new weapon he ordered for development. As his right hand picked up the sheet of paper that was on top of the clutter he began to smirk thoroughly pleased.

“The war will end, and once it ends I’ll have complete authority over the main governments of the world…heh, I must admit I didn’t expect it to be this easy.” He began to laugh subtly; suddenly the knob on his dull gray door began to turn as the door itself creaked open.

“Sir…we’ve just received a report that the TA Naval Fleet along with the USMF, and the USAF have finally made their way to the North Sea just outside of the Netherlands and Germany. What are your orders?”

Vincent smiled as he looked back at his young secretary. Her glowing bright red hair and tiny freckles that covered her blushing cheeks, she wasn’t a bad sight to look at.

“My orders? I don’t think my orders are any mystery. Tell General Copiare to launch the Shades, and to make sure that the package is guarded.” Vincent replied grinning as he slowly sat back into the comforts of his chair. Thunderous sounds echoed amongst the sky while thin bursting streams of lighting struck the ground.

            His crimson hair blurred his vision while he sat in the constraints of his Viper’s cockpit.

“Carlos any idea just what the hell we’re doing here in EAP territory?” Anthony questioned breaking the silence.

“I’m sure we’re going to find out soon enough. I highly doubt that Avidus dragged us all the way down from Mars to go on vacation….” Carlos replied.

“A vacation sure sounds really nice right about now.” Eric replied.

“Unfortunately we’re not going to get a vacation until this damn war is over….and I think that’s what this is about…” Anthony said sullenly.         

Both Eric and Carlos glanced over their shoulders looking back at Anthony and his chrome Viper.

“I hate the fact that we’re down here, on Earth fighting. On Mars is one thing, there’s no real civilian issue, but down here, there’s civilians everywhere….and if I think we’re about to do what I think we are then I can’t imagine how many innocent lives are in danger…”

“You’re right Anthony…civilian casualties are definitely at risk. But there’s nothing we can do about that now.” Eric replied.

Carlos sighed; he too despised the idea of commencing an operation clouded with so many rural areas. The fact was that while the war was public knowledge it was all transpiring so far away, every person on Earth felt disconnected with the war since it was on Mars, but now that it was about to be dragged to Earth reality was about to become a heck of a lot scarier. Since England was on the edge of the North Sea it wasn’t too suspicious to see a TA naval fleet floating over the ocean waves.

“Military action is important to the nation, it is the ground of death and life, the path of survival and destruction, so it is imperative to examine it….”Carlos muttered under his breath. Both Eric and Anthony looked back at their Red Fury commander confused.

“Commander….”

“What should we really be doing? Should we be spending more time examining the validity of this war and try to find out where it’s taking us? Or should we just shut up and obey orders….the life of a soldier is a difficult one.” Carlos replied.

Suddenly the alarms began to sound; it was time for the operation to begin, although most of the soldiers weren’t aware of the operation’s true goal. Aside from Red Fury no other USAF squadron was present; they were expected to be skilled enough to get the job with 3 Vipers. 2 battalions of Shade units were preparing to launch from the carrier, 30 units in all.

“Commander Redentore please launch….your only objective is to protect the crimson Shade unit which holds the Titan…..do everything in your power to make sure that unit is protected…” General Copiare’s voice trailed. By the tone of his voice it was apparent that he had his own reservation about the operation; Operation Omega.

“General? What’s going on…” Carlos asked even though he knew the General was not bound to give him full details.

“Carlos….just, once the Titan is in free fall make sure you and you’re team gets the hell out of there…”

“Huh? You’re not making any sense…General, are we attacking Berlin?” Carlos asked, he knew that Berlin was the location for the EAP’s central government.

“Yes….just make sure you guys get out of there….Get at least 12 Km away from the drop point.”

“12 km….General?” Just then the communications link closed leaving Carlos stranded in the shadows of deceit.

“Commander? Is everything alright?” Eric asked.

“Just….just launch.” Carlos replied.

The collective sound of the thrusters and boosters ignited boomed into the sky with a loud but soft humming sound. The knee joints on the Shades bent as each unit launched into the crimson tinted sky. The sun was setting slowly as darkness prepared to sweep over the area, an ideal time to strike. Reluctantly Carlos’ Viper flew into the sky followed by Eric and Anthony. Red Fury began to fly in their typical “V” pattern just behind the steadily flying Shades. In the middle of the Shade was the crimson MF holding onto a single massive launcher that was attached to the back of the torso and swung just under the right arm facing forward.

As the TA soldiers continued to advance alarms immediately began to roar in all EAP nations in the area, mainly the Netherlands and Germany. EAP politicians were shocked to even think of an attack on Earth, one that in their opinion was completely unwarranted. Most believed that the war would never spread to Earth, but they were wrong. Soldiers began to scramble from the military bases at Den Helder in the Netherlands and Aurich in Germany. Berlin even though it was the location of the EAP central government was not equipped with any Night-Wings or any other EAP weapon. As the sleekly designed Night-Wings dashed into the sky holding onto their standard plasma rifles the TA fleet continued its path.

“Here we go. Shades disperse and intercept the enemy targets. Red Fury along with the Titan Shade will continue towards Berlin flying over Bremen in a straight path to the EAP central HQ. We only get one shot at this so don’t fail!” General Copiare bellowed. In the pit of his stomach he knew this was wrong, but since Revelations, specifically Vincent Avidus was in command he had little choice.

It only took a few seconds for the battle to start raging onwards. The Night-Wings had a clear advantage since they were designed for aerial combat and the Shades were just equipped with flight packs to be able to battle in the air. The 30 Shades quickly broke away from the Titan Shade all flying towards the oncoming 40 units of Night-Wings just deployed.

“Alright, while they deal with the Night-Wings we need to make it to Berlin…..”Carlos began to calculate their current speed and the distance to Berlin on the control panel.

“According to our current speed we should make it to Berlin in just less than 15 minutes. That’s 15 minutes of baby sitting. Now let’s go!”

“Roger.” Both Eric and Anthony replied.

The Vipers swung around towards the Titan Shade, with Eric on the right, Anthony on the left and Carlos in front. Their turbines constantly creating enough thrust to keep their current speed, while they began to separate from the group two Night-Wings began to lock onto them.

“Crap, I’m locked….need to shake them from my tail!” Eric screamed.

            “Got them.” A random Shade pilot screamed. Suddenly a Shade sped past the two Night-Wings while firing its energy rifle. The crisp crimson beam pierced through the two angular thrusters extending from the shoulders of the EAP MFs causing them to spiral towards the water below. Both Night-Wings crashed into the violent waving water. The collision sent a pillar of water to thrash into the air a few meters high. Eric sighed, he felt some what relived that he was saved.

The battle treaded on, dozens of blinding explosions filled the sky along with thunderous sounds piercing the hearts and souls of the people who lived in the towns nearby. Chrome debris flung towards the ocean as Shades and Night-Wings alike fell from flight. Unfortunately for the EAP the 40 Night-Wings sent out was all that they could produce, the majority of their MFs were on Mars which now appeared to be a bad decision. Red Fury and the Titan Shade successfully made it to Germany. Hundreds of thousands of people stood on their roofs watching as the mysterious grouping of machines zoomed over their city.

            “General!...” One Shade pilot screamed as his MF was sliced in half by a passing Night-Wing. The explosion taking his life in an instant, that very Night-Wing suddenly exploded. Another Shade sped out from the smoke that was created from the explosion. Husbands, fathers, brothers, sons, Wives, mothers, sisters and daughters were separated from their family as their lives were abruptly taken from existence. Each one reminiscing of their entire life in a tenth of a second, war was truly an abomination. While the MFs continued to clash over the raging ocean Vincent Avidus continued to smile as he watched due to a live satellite feed.

“Where is the Titan?” Vincent abruptly asked. His question caused the few military personal in the room to jump up from their seats.

“Ummm….one second. Just let me pull up the data from its radar device…..umm…here we go, they are now passing over Brandenburg. They should arrive at the drop point within 5 minutes.”

“5 minutes….guess I can wait a little longer than. How is our fleet doing?”

“Not too good sir, they’re down to 4 Shades, we’re still out numbered by the EAP. They have 6 Night-Wings remaining.”

“Whatever, I don’t care. They’ve already served their purpose. The Titan can’t be stopped now. It’s just a matter of time.” Vincent replied taking his seat.

            “Commander….we’re nearing the Berlin limits.” Anthony said.

Carlos began to feel sick; the nausea wasn’t something he was used to. Even though he didn’t know what was going on from a soldier’s perspective, he knew that it wasn’t good. He had his own theories, none of which he had actually thought would come to fruition. Suddenly his display screen lit up with the image of the Titan Shade’s pilot.

“Thanks…you’ve done you’re job now head back otherwise you might get caught in the explosion.”

“Explosion….what the hell are we dropping?!” Anthony screamed back.

“The RV-X666-TITAN….a fission bomb utilizing Uranium-235….” The Shade pilot barked back.

Immediately each of the pilots froze, they never dreamed that the TA would be dropping a nuclear bomb on Berlin. It seemed barbaric and completely drastic in their opinion. Anthony struggled with his quivering fist inside his cockpit. He never fathomed the evil of the TA, or just the evil that dwelled inside of mankind to reach this extent.

“Damn it! Commander we have to stop this!” Anthony screamed back.

“…There’s nothing….there’s nothing I can do.” Carlos replied.

“Sir….we can’t let them drop a nuke on Berlin! That’s….” Eric was cut off by Carlos. “It’s an ORDER!....” Carlos screamed back. It hurt him deeply that he couldn’t do anything about it that he would have to watch around 3 million people die.

“I…I can’t watch this.” Anthony screamed as he pulled on the throttle. His Viper’s engine began to pump out an increase in propulsion sending the aircraft farther forward. Just as he felt that he was just in his decision he forced his Viper around locking onto the Shade. Both Eric and Carlo’s eyes widened, Anthony was too enraged to even think about the consequences of his action.

“You idiot! If you fire than you’ll kill us all!” Eric screamed.

Anthony began to breathe heavily as the Shade sped past. He wanted to go after it but his senses began to calm him down as much as a person in this situation could be calmed down.

“If you want to do something about this….then we’ll do something about this. But on a larger scale. If you attack the Shade then you will most likely trigger a nuclear explosion killing us and the people below us…” Carlos replied.

“So what the hell are we supposed to do? Just watch 3 million people die!”

“No….let’s get out of here. I want nothing to do with Vincent Avidus or the TA….not anymore.” Carlos replied sullenly.

“What are you saying?” Eric said as he glanced over his shoulder.

“I’m leaving this army….probably going back to Mars. If I stay here on Earth I’m sure I’ll be court martialed. But they won’t bother to look for me if I’m on Mars…” Carlos replied as him and the other two Red Fury pilots continued to fly away from the Shade.

“I’m going with you….I hate the TA…” Anthony replied.

“I see…I’m not sure what I’m going to do once I’m up there though.”

“….why don’t we try and find other soldiers who feel the same way we do?” Anthony questioned.

“And what? Start a rebellion?” Carlos replied sarcastically.

“Ummm…yeah. I’m sure they’re soldiers on both the TA and the EAP who feel the same way. We can fight off both of them and save Mars from becoming tainted by the sins of humanity.” Anthony replied.

“Well…I guess it’s worth a shot. I mean what else can happen to me? What about you Eric?” Carlos asked.
Eric had thought it over, although he didn’t like the idea of not being able to see any of his friends and family, he needed to fight for what he believed in.

“Yeah….I’m in.” Eric replied.

Suddenly the ground shook as a vehement sound shattered their ears. They knew what it was and they refused to turn around to look at the tragedy. They just kept on going hoping to escape their own sins.

            The massive bomb exploded a few meters above Berlin causing a radioactive shockwave to engulf the city. Buildings were wiped from the ground; the heat incinerated the structures along with any unlucky soul to still be on the street. There was no point in warning the citizens; there was no time to escape the range of the highly destructive bomb. As the towering mushroom cloud roared hundreds of meters into the sky the entire world sat in awe. Signals were cut leaving Berlin engulfed in radiation and flames. The flames engulfed the rummage of building; nothing was left in existence at ground zero. The ground was singed emanating death, the further away from ground zero the less damage, but the damage was still severe. Just on the border of Poland, 70 KM away from the city that was wiped from existence people fell to the ground, tears running down their faces completely appalled with the actions of the TA. Life was extinguished from Berlin, the death toll in the millions, nearing the 3 plus million people who occupied Germany’s capital city.

“It’s done….” One of the military personnel said softly. He was still in shock over the order; he could barely comprehend the actual attack.
Vincent grinned devilishly while rocking back and forth in his chair which sat at the front of the elongated table.

“Vincent….what….what have we done?” One of the elders of Revelation mumbled.

“We’ve initiated the final phase of this war. Soon it will all be over…..Use anger to throw them into disarray…” Vincent mumbled.

“What?...anger….what are you talking about?”

“It’s so simple. The EAP will be sent into a fit of rage. And when people, especially military factions are swallowed by anger they become clumsy and prone to defeat. That is exactly what I just did.” Vincent replied.

“Vincent! Do you have any idea how many people lived in Berlin!?”

“About 3,393,933….am I close?” Vincent replied.

“…no….that’s exactly correct….” The elder replied.

“Well if you are done ranting about the past, then I’d suggest we look to the future of this war. I want the remaining naval fleet to station at Sunderland on England territory. There they will await further orders and will resupply.” Vincent replied.

“Vincent….what have you done….”

            “Adam…we need to talk…” Stephen muttered as Adam continued to watch the mechanics working on the repairs for Blue Dragon. They had been working on it for about 2 days now and were almost done. Once they finished he would have to face Rebel in the Azure Cup Finals, something he had been waiting for the entire tournament.

“Yeah what’s going on?” Adam asked. He turned around, his brown hair flowing through the air. Stephen just looked back at his brother blankly. His eyes rolling down at the cracked pavement under their feet, he wasn’t sure how to tell him the news.

“The TA has already made their final move against the EAP….” Stephen started.

“Huh? What happened?”

“Adam, maybe we should talk somewhere else, in private.” Stephen replied looking back at Sharon who was quietly standing behind Adam wearing a radiant smile like always.

“Oh…” Adam replied as he glanced back at Sharon. “Hey, I’ll be right back. Make sure those guys finish quickly.”

“Ok.” Sharon modestly replied.

Adam and Stephen began to walk out of the MF hanger. Once they left the hanger they entered the corridor which connected the hanger to the main living quarters and lounge. Stephen began to sigh as he leaned forward, his hands resting on the thin rail which ran on the wall. His eyes began to wander to the outskirts of space as he stared at the rotating Earth.

“So what’s going on Stephen?” Adam asked.

“Berlin….it’s gone Adam.” Stephen replied.

“What?!” Adam jumped back colliding into the opposite wall from the shock. He knew Berlin was the EAP’s central HQ. But just the idea of Berlin being attack frightened him, which alone meant the war was slowly moving to Earth. But the fact that it was gone brought a whole new level of fear. “What do you mean it’s gone?”

“I mean it’s gone. The TA dropped a fission bomb on Berlin….everything within a 15 km radius was destroyed.”

“A nuke…..they dropped….a nuke…How many people died?”        

“Adam….”

“No, I want to know.”

“Ugh….around 3.4 million…” Stephen reluctantly replied.    

Adam became eerily quiet, his eyes quivering at the thought of being up in space while the war was becoming extremely chaotic. His fist began to shake rapidly as his anger swelled.

“There’s nothing we could have done…Vincent Avidus has complete control over the TA right now. Once we go back…”

“What? What are we going to do when we get back? This war is getting far too out of control. I’m going to put a stop to it.”

“Oh really? And how do you plan on doing that?”

“I….I don’t know….” Adam muttered, he hated admitting the fact that he didn’t know what to do.

“Listen, right now you need to focus on the tournament and Rebel. I’m afraid this might turn out to be a nuclear war; we’re going to need to stop the war before it gets to that point. I’ll try and talk to other military Generals and see if we can get Avidus out of power and put someone honorable to take the position. Right now that’s all we can do..”

“…fine…but he’ll pay. Vincent Avidus will pay for this….” Adam mumbled as he walked into the hanger. Sharon’s eyes lit up the minute he entered the two then embraced.

She hugged him tightly as he just stared at Blue Dragon.

            Rebel smiled sitting in the corner of his room. The television screen still flickering.

“It has finally begun. I will make sure humanity does not survive….” He mumbled as he broke out into a surrealistic laughter. A laughter that coldly echoed throughout the inner layers of Prosperity while Luscious smirked taking a final sip of his Merlot.