Chapter 5: Declaration
Chapter 5: Declaration
Not everyone can be trusted, not even your close allies
Southwestern Urban Areas, Gryphus, Griffin Kingdom
April 23rd 2020, 1214 hrs
“All civilians proceed to fly towards the capital. This is not a drill. I repeat, this is not a drill,” a griffon Royal Guard shouted through the megaphone, hovering above the tangled mass of griffon civilians below while his subordinates helped to ease the traffic flow of the civilians.
“Mommy!” A young griffon cub cried out. The cub was still covered by white downy feathers, and his wings were still not strong enough to lift him up into the skies. The young cub sniffled as he stumbled a bit, completely ignored by the other griffons as they flew up to safety.
Chaos. That was the right word to describe the situation on the urban areas surrounding the capital. The Neue Gryphus Forces had yet to arrive, but Valdar already took action by sending the Griffon Royal Guards to the urban areas to evacuate the civilians. Many confused griffon families were forced out from their homes and instructed to fly towards the capital.
“Daddy!” The cub cried out again, being in the verge of tears. Luckily for him, a Royal Guard heard his last cry and rushed over to help the little cub, but his way was blocked by the heavy traffic of panicked civilians.
The guard flew up and finally got the cub’s location. Without any further delay, he dived down and reached the cub’s location. The cub was frightened by his appearance, but the guard quickly took off his helmet and assured to him that he was here to help.
“What’s your name little buddy?” the guard asked.
“Erich… ” the cub answered meekly.
“Erich? That’s a good name,” the guard smiled. “My name’s Red Tail. Don’t worry, Erich, we’re going to find your parents.”
The cub, Erich was hesitant at first, but after Red Tail assured to him again. He finally nodded and let the pastel brown griffon carry him. Red Tail flew up, trying to get a bird’s eye view of the civilians below.
“Red Tail!” The pastel griffon turned around when he heard that. His superior was the one calling him. “What the hell are you doing? This is no time for sightseeing!”
“Sorry, Colonel Tallman, sir,” Red Tail apologized as he showed his superior the frightened Erich sitting on his arm. “I found this cub, sir. He’s lost and I’m trying to find his parents.”
Tallman sighed in response, “Fine. But once you’re done babysitting, report back to me, Sergeant.”
“Yes sir,” Red Tail said as he saluted his superior. “C’mon buddy, let’s find your parents.”
The cub only nodded in response as the pastel brown griffon flew above the civilians, constantly asking them for any information.
Meanwhile
En-Route to Gryphus Command Center, Gryphus, Griffin Kingdom
1214 hrs
Riddle, along with Black Star, Kestrel, and the recruits flew towards the command center after they heard the air raid siren. Most of the recruits’ reaction was shock and confusion, They didn’t expect a war to happen today, yet alone a full scale one from the industrial state.
“Damn, I never thought they could’ve done such a thing!” Stalker growled, earning a groan from Rave.
“We all didn’t see it coming, Stalker,” she squawked. “So shut your large, overgrown beak and fly.”
“What did you say?” Stalker snapped.
“Shut your beaks. Both of you!” Kestrel yelled, silencing the two griffons. Kestrel sighed as she turned her attention to her front. The command center was getting closer with each flap of their wings, but she also noticed that Riddle was flying faster than any of them, as if his life depended on getting there in time. She looked to the side and saw Black Star flying beside her, his eyes full of thought and focused on his front. She snorted in disgust and distanced herself away from him.
Kite tried his best to keep up, but his little showdown against Black Star earlier left him severely exhausted. Rave noticed this and flew back to help the small griffon get back into formation.
“I got ya, pipsqueak,” Rave said to him. Kite only nodded in response.
Soon the group reached the command center, and they were quickly greeted by the old griffon operator and Valdar. The recruits and Kestrel bowed to the latter while Riddle gave Valdar a handshake and Black Star just gave a simple nod to him.
“Good to see you here,” Valdar began before motioning them to the main control room. “Come, there’s no time to waste.”
The group followed the orange griffon to the main control room. On the way, Riddle got acquainted with the old operator.
“My name is Saetos,” the old griffon said to him. “Call sign Altair Alpha. Main radio operator for the Gryphus Command Center. It’s good to see you in person, Mr. Wonderfalke.”
“Likewise, Saetos,” Riddle nodded. Along the way, Kestrel noticed that after acquainted himself with Saetos, Riddle moved to Valdar and whispered something to him. Valdar soon nodded grimly, and Riddle spread his wings and took off into the opposite direction.
“Where is he going?” Kestrel asked.
“He’s got some business to take care of,” Valdar explained. “He’ll be back.”
The group soon reached the command center, and most of the operators who had gone out earlier returned to their post and were relaying new information to the Royal Guards and other units, such as squadrons and medical support on various locations all over Gryphus.
Saetos immediately rushed to Marcus’ post and asked him, “What’s our current SITREP?”
“The situation is slowly stabilizing, sir.” Marcus responded. “The evacuation hit some walls here, but is proceeding smoothly. About 43 percent of the civilians are now safe behind the walls of Gryphus.”
“Alright, what’s the status on the bogies?” Saetos asked again.
“That’s the strange part, sir, they’re not going anywhere,” another operator responded. “Most of the bogies have assembled into two teams, but they’re not entering the Windshear Region.”
“They’re hesitating?” Saetos mused.
“No,” Valdar shook his head. “They’re planning something.”
He then turned around and faced the newly formed squadron.
“Captain, I need Aquila squadron to be ready if anything goes south,” Valdar said before opening a saddlebag he brought with him. The group watched as Valdar pulled out three radio communicators along with three portable radars into view.
“Put these on. A little bit of info, Captain: since Aquila is a special unit in our military, you will not be wearing vests. Instead, your squad ID has already been installed in these devices’ software, so other units will be able to recognize your squad just by reading their radar or by making radio contact with you.”
Surely enough, when Kestrel and Black Star activated the communicators and radars, the squad’s, ID along with the emblem were detected on both sides of the radar devices. Black Star’s ID was registered as AQUILA 2, while Kestrel’s was AQUILA 3. Black Star handed over Kite’s devices, in which he accepted before activating them as well. Now, Black Star’s and Kestrel’s radars showed a third signature registered as AQUILA 4.
“But what about Sir Wonderfalke and the other recruits?” Kestrel asked.
“He already took his, and he’ll be joining you soon in the battlefield,” Valdar explained. “As for the recruits, they will provide some assistance to the Royal Guards evacuating the citizens. They will be under Major White Tip’s command.”
“Well, you heard him. Off to your station now!” Kestrel ordered sternly.
“Yes ma’am,” The recruits yelled in unison as they bowed to Valdar before exiting the command room. After that, Valdar ordered Aquila squadron to be dispatched to their post immediately. Their post was an area dubbed Sector 27, a major urban district home to thousands of griffon families. Black Star left without saying a word while Kestrel and Kite bowed before their king before exiting the room.
Valdar returned his attention to the operators as he watched them performing their duties.
Gryphus Airspace, En-route to Sector 27, Gryphus, Griffin Kingdom
1225 hrs
Aquila squadron flew towards the south in a tight V formation with Kestrel in the lead and both Black Star and Kite beside her. The trio watched below as the slow moving traffic of civilians flowed smoothly towards the capital. She still doubted Black Star, and because of that she wouldn’t let him to lead the squad. Black Star just shrugged nonchalantly and let her be in command, remarking that “He wasn’t fond at leading anyway,” much to her annoyance.
After a good three minutes of radio silence, their comm began to crackle into life as Saetos’ voice came through the radio.
“This is Altair Alpha to Aquila Squadron 017. Report current status.”
“This is Aquila 3 to Altair Alpha, everything looks good, and the evacuation is running smoothly from our view,” Kestrel answered. “We’re still heading towards our post.”
“Roger Aquila. Be advised that your post has been changed. You’re now assigned at Sector 37 due to a large number of bogies converging near that location.”
“Roger that, Altair Alpha, but what about Sector 27?” Kestrel asked again.
“Not to worry, the 68th Tactical Griffin Squadron, “Crimson,” along with 28th Tactical Griffin Squadron “Silver” will cover that area,” Saetos answered. “You will be tagging along with the 78th Tactical Griffin Squadron “Verde.” Contact them as soon as you have radar contact.”
“Roger, Altair Alpha, will contact allied squadron when we have radar contact. Aquila 3 out,” Kestrel said, ending the transmission before turning her head around to face Kite. “Alright Kite, this is the real deal. Stay close to me, and stay frosty. Remember everything I’ve taught you.”
“Yes ma’am,” Kite nodded. Kestrel then turned to face Black Star.
“And you, don’t do anything stupid,” she spat. “If you try even a little–”
“Don’t worry. I’ll be the last thing on your mind, Turmfalken.” Black Star said, cutting her off. Kestrel responded with a simple glare which he ignored completely. Kestrel just sighed in annoyance before turning right towards Sector 37 with Black Star and Kite in tow.
They flew in their current heading for about 10 minutes before Black Star noticed several friendly contacts on his radar.
“Turmfalken, I have multiple friendly signatures showing up on my radar. It must be Verde.”
“I can see that.” Kestrel said in annoyance as she tweaked her comm for a bit to find the right frequency. Once she got the right one, she opened a new channel and spoke to the speaker.
“Verde Squadron 078, this is Aquila Squadron 017, Aquila 3 speaking through. Confirm your ID.”
Almost immediately, a voice belonging to an adult griffon replied through the comm.
“This is Verde 1, call sign Jet. We confirm Aquila, it’s good to be flying with you today.”
Soon enough, the Aquila fliers could see ten griffon fliers ahead of them. When they moved closer, all of the griffons were wearing green vests with numbers from #1 to #10. The leader, a griffon who went by the name Jet, noticed their arrival and flew over to greet them.
“So you’re Aquila Squadron,” he began as he scanned every single member of the new squad in front of him. He’s genuinely shocked when he saw Black Star. “Certainly an odd bunch… but I could never expect you to be leading this squad, captain Turmfalken.”
“Oh, I’m not leading, Jet,” Kestrel stated. “I’m just a stand in. The leader will be here shortly.”
“I sure hope that he won’t miss the opening attack,” Jet replied. Now his eyes rested on Black Star. “And you… what are you doing here, Blake?”
“I was going to ask the same question to you, Johann,” Black Star answered. “I thought that you’re still doing community service as punishment for your actions during the war.”
“Actually, I finished them all. Cutting up loose ends from the war wasn’t easy, but I did it,” Jet smirked. “What about you, Blake? I thought you were next in line to enter Tartarus.”
“Valdar gave me some slip; that’s all there is to it.” Black Star explained. Jet seemed satisfied with this short explanation. It was true that he’s one of the many griffon soldiers who participated during the Equestrian War. They were truly deceived by Red Cyclone’s words until Black Star revealed every dirty secret Cyclone hid behind his wings. Jet was disgusted by his actions, truly feeling regret after the war, for he was one of the griffons who managed to get equine blood spattered on their talons.
After the war, Valdar was chosen by the people to lead the Griffin Kingdom, and his first rule after re-establishing harmony with Equestria was to punish those who were at fault during the war, including himself. Many traitorous griffons were either banished or executed, while the others who stayed loyal to the kingdom received an extended community service, which included the dismantlement of both the Fortress Intimidation and the Burning Talon.
Jet really paid his debt to the kingdom, and now, he could be free to fly in the skies once again.
Suddenly, an emergency notice was sent to their radars as Altair’s frequency opened up again.
“All units, be advised, another group of hostiles is converging with the first two groups positioned near Sector 27 and 37,” Saetos announced. “Strong magical reading confirmed on the new groups.”
“Magical?” one of the griffon units’ leader sounded through the radio. “Altair Alpha, are you saying that the new group consists of unicorns?”
“It’s highly possible, Crimson 1,” Saetos said grimly. “All units, maintain your positions. We need to… Wait, hold on. The magical reading just spiked through… ”
All griffons tensed when they heard this sudden information. A few seconds passed before Saetos spoke again. This time, he opened a widespread frequency, so the other units could hear him as well.
“All units working on the evacuation, speed up your efforts, the bogies are preparing to teleport through the Windshear Region. All squadrons, battle formation! They’ll be in front of your face at any second.”
“Alright, that’s our cue,” Kestrel said to the two griffons behind her. “This is Aquila, we’re ready.”
“Verde here. Ready to engage.” Jet announced.
“This is Silver 1. My team is ready.”
“Crimson Squadron here. Ready to attack.”
“This is Colonel Tallman of the 15th GRG,” Tallman’s voice sounded. “We’re continuing the evacuation ,but we will engage if attacked.”
“This is Major White Tip of the 12th GRG. The same goes for us!” another Royal Guard division leader announced.
“Us too,” another one added. “Let’s do this!”
As soon he finished that declaration, a thunderous yell was heard from everybody’s communicators. Even the squads gave out their battle yell, ready to strike the invaders. They soon winded down as Saetos started to announce the magical reading from the command center.
“Magical reading at 89 percent… 92 percent… 95 percent… 98 percent…”
Each griffon team saw a magical bubble forming right in front of them. The Royal Guards also saw a similar sight on the ground. The Royal Guards took out their weapons while the griffon squadrons narrowed their eyes.
“99 percent… teleportation… NOW!”
As soon as Altair finished his sentence, the bubbles bursted into a sparkling confetti.
On Sector 27, a team of ten adult pegasi hovered in the bubble’s place. Their leader was an adult dark blue pegasus stallion with a dark brown mane and eyes. His team wore gray vests and their cutie marks were concealed by an emblem: a wasp. But some of them wore purple vests and had a different emblem.
On Sector 37, another team hovered on the place of the teleportation bubble. The team consisted of ten adult mares. Their leader was a yellow pegasus mare with a red mane and eyes with dark streaks of color covering her mane. Her team all wore purple vests, and their cutie marks were also concealed by an emblem: a lilac.
The leader looked at both teams, clearly not impressed by Jet’s squadron or Black Star and Kite’s appearance. But when she saw Kestrel leading them, a smile formed on her lips.
“Well, what do we have here…”
Meanwhile on the ground on both sectors, the Royal Guards and some civilians were greeted by a team of numerous unicorns who wore brown vests. A unicorn saw one of the half eagle lion creatures and immediately attacked without ever giving a single thought.
“We’re attacked!” A Royal Guard yelled through the comm, barely avoiding a concentrated blast from one of the unicorns. “We’re engaging!”
“Damn ponies!” One Royal Guard cursed as he brought up his arrow and took aim at one of the unicorns.
The dark blue pegasus heard the ensuing attack on the ground and smirked.
“All Grau units, you’re all cleared to engage,” he ordered. “Stick to the plan.”
“Roger!” his team responded in unison before rushing to face both Crimson and Silver squadrons.
“Crimson squadron engage!”
“Silver squadron engage!”
Both griffon leaders yelled as they and their squadron both rushed to face the invaders, and soon, both teams clashed with the enemy squadron. Crimson 1 immediately took out one of the pegasi with a single punch, but soon he found himself surrounded, and his wingmate had to bail him out.
Ever since the Equestrian War ended, the griffons now understood not to take the ponies too lightly. Although they’re small and look pretty harmless, the ponies proved themselves to be formidable foes. They were able to hold the griffon’s attack on Stalliongrad, liberated two of their most prominent cities, and managed to destroy two of the griffons’ powerful superweapons.
Veterans of the war now had the basic knowledge to combat the equines, but since their kingdom already reconciled with Equestria, many saw this knowledge to be useless. But now, many young griffon soldiers finally understood that this knowledge might be able to save their asses in this battle.
Silver 1, being one of the veterans who saw first hand of the ponies capabilities, didn’t hold back on this fight. His squadron had the numerical advantage, but he ordered them to use hit-and-fly tactics, he also ordered his wingmates to never hold back. He wasn’t not going to make the same mistake most griffons made during the war. This tactic worked well, and the enemy’s number slowly decreased.
Silver 1 managed to knock out another pegasus, but he soon found himself being a target for the leader, the two tackled as the leader punched his face repeatedly. Silver 1 retaliated with his own claw swipes as well, but soon, the pegasi leader called his wingmates to surround the griffon soldier. Luckily, Crimson 1 and one of his wingmates managed to thwart the attack before Silver 1 could be mercilessly beaten to a pulp. The leader clashed with Crimson 1 for a bit, but when Silver 1 decided to join engagement, he groaned and bailed out.
Seeing his squadron being slowly incapacitated, Grau 1 turned his attention to the ground and saw some of the civilians trying to escape amongst the crossfire between the Royal Guards and the unicorns.
“Grau 1 to all remaining units. Target the civilians, ignore those scumbags and try to take as many as possible. The more you kill, the better the pay.”
His wingmates stopped attacking the griffon forces and dived down to target the civilians. Many of them yelled in excitement at the prospect of getting more bits than they initially thought.
“Alright, more money for us!” one of them laughed.
“Oh no you don’t!” Crimson 1 yelled as he and two of his wingmates dived down and intercepted the pegasi before forcing him to retreat. “Crimson 1 to Altair Alpha, the aggressors are targeting the civilians. I repeat, the aggressors are attacking the civilians!”
The situation on Sector 37 wasn’t very different from the situation on Sector 27. Both Aquila and Verde squadrons battled against the enemy squadron with Kestrel leading the engagement. Black Star always found himself being outnumbered by the enemy, but thanks to his superior defense and quick timed assaults, he managed to prevail.
Kite made sure he used every single last of his stamina on taking out the enemy as quick as possible. Many of the pegasi squad members didn’t even see him coming before they were hit by Kite’s quick claw swipes.
Kestrel herself battled the leader of the squad, the yellow pegasus mare. Kestrel grunted at each attack she delivered to her, but what really made her angry about this situation was that the mare was smiling as she evaded each attack with minimal effort.
“Tsk, is this all you got?” she sneered whilst evading another claw swipe from Kestrel. “Shame really, I really wanted you to go full out on me.”
Kestrel ignored her and delivered another attack in which she effortlessly dodged. The pegasus smirked maliciously as she brought her hoof up and brought it down to the griffon’s head. Kestrel managed to block the attack, but the mare wasn’t done yet. She then smacked Kestrel’s side with her hind leg. Kestrel grunted in pain, but she quickly shove those thoughts away and focused back to her opponent.
“Oh, did that, hurt little birdy?” The pegasus mocked. “I’m sorry, I’ll make sure to double the pain with this next attack.”
“Not a chance,” Kestrel growled as she tackled the pegasus head on. Both combatants fell down into the ground. The mare managed to free herself from Kestrel’s grip and flew up. Kestrel stopped her fall and gazed upwards, her green eyes pierced right into the mare’s red eyes.
“Come on, little birdy, just try and catch me,” she smirked while giving Kestrel a wink before flying away. Kestrel growled and decided to pursue her target as another message was patched into everyone’s comm.
“Altair Alpha to all units. Be advised, the aggressors are attacking the civilians.” Saetos announced. “We cannot afford to lose even one innocent life on their hooves. Intercept them before they can do any harm to the civilians.”
“Low life equines!” a random griffon soldier cursed through his radio.
The yellow mare stopped her flight and hovered, prompting Kestrel to stop and hover as well.
“Aw poo, your operator just spoiled the surprise,” she spoke playfully, but her tone soon changed into a more malicious one as she continued. “Hah, no matter. You’re too slow to even stop us now!”
With that word, the yellow mare dived down to the nearest civilian, but Kestrel quickly intercepted her and threw her away.
“Look behind you~” She smirked. Kestrel snapped her head back, as a hoof narrowly hitting her skull. Kestrel grabbed the hoof and gave the pegasus two hard punches to her face before kicking her away. When Kestrel was about to engage the yellow mare again, two more squad members blocked her way, much to her frustration. This gave the yellow mare time to search for her next target. She licked her lips hungrily as she locked her eyes on a Griffon Royal Guard who was battling a unicorn and the yellow pegasus’ wingmate. He was carrying a cub on his arms.
“Jackpot!” she thought as she dived down to deliver her blow.
Red Tail used the unicorn’s own stunning spell to stun the pegasus long enough for him to kick her away. He then, delivered two claw swipes to the unicorn’s face before finishing it with an uppercut, effectively knocking him out. Erich grabbed Red Tail’s talon tighter, fearing he might fall from the griffon’s arms.
“You okay, bud?” Red Tail asked the little cub.
Erich was about to respond when he saw the yellow mare coming straight for his and Red Tail’s location. The cub screamed and pointed above, prompting Red Tail to look around and see the yellow mare’s hoof inching closer towards him. Kestrel too saw the yellow pegasus’ attack, but there was not enough time for her to dive down and save the helpless Royal Guard. Both griffons and the crazed pegasus were unaware that a beeping signature registered as AQUILA 1 was heading straight at them in high speed.
Red Tail couldn’t block it, she was too close. He could only close his eyes and waited for the inevitable.
Suddenly, he heard an object collided with the yellow mare. He opened his eyes and saw Riddle had punched the yellow pegasus away. The red maned mare managed to recover from this attack and snarled at the blue griffon.
“Hüttensänger,” she hissed.
“Violet,” Riddle responded back. “Seriously, can you mercenaries just call me Riddle? That name you just called me doesn’t even fit my image.”
“What image? You’re just a falcon’s head attached to a panther’s body,” the yellow mare, Violet mocked.
“And you’re just a little battle whore with the plant species Syringa vulgaris glued on top of your cutie mark.” Riddle duly pointed out, successfully earning a glare from Violet. She didn’t realize that Riddle was only stalling her so Kestrel could make her move.
Kestrel tackled Violet until both combatants dropped to the ground, startling several civilians in the process. Violet groaned as she got back up and attacked Kestrel again, giggling like a lunatic while doing so.
“Sneaking up on me, huh?” she laughed. “That’s a dirty trick, little birdy, and I like it!”
Kestrel growled at her words and promptly kicked her into the skies before swatting her away with her large wings. Violet was dazzled by the attack. but she quickly recovered from that and continued laughing.
“Ohoho… That’s good. That’s good…” she cooed while licking her lips in anticipation. “Yes! Do your worst to me! Let’s fight some more!!”
With a mad cackle, Violet charged at Kestrel again, Kestrel grunted as she evaded the mad yellow pegasus’ attack by flying to her side, but Violet grabbed her wings in the last second and threw her away before bucking her in the stomach. Kestrel managed to block her attack, but Violet came rushing towards her again with a mad grin on her face.
“This pegasus is insane!” Kestrel thought as she readied herself to block Violet’s attack.
Luckily for her, Violet was interrupted by a quick strike from Kite, and her hind legs were grabbed by Black Star. Violet saw the dark feathered griffon behind her and scoffed.
“Cih, party pooper ~ no prize for you handsome,”
She immediately smacked Black Star with her tail, but the dark feathered griffon remained unfazed and threw her away. Kite then used this chance to strike her in the stomach, sending the yellow mare spinning to the ground.
“Altair Alpha to all units, we have confirmed that all civilians are now out of the danger zone. Continue to engage the hostiles,” Saetos announced after opening a broad band frequency. Many griffons were relieved when they heard this.
Before Violet could hit the ground, a magical bubble was cast by one of the unicorns to protect her. The unicorn quickly released the bubble and sent Violet back to the action. The unicorn in question had a green coat and a dark yellow mane with yellow streaks on it. He wore a brown vest and had a boar emblem sticked on top of his cutie mark.
“Thanks, Hog!” Violet thanked the unicorn as she went back into the battle. The unicorn, Hog just watched the ensuing chaos when she and her team battled Aquila and Verde again.
“Well at least she’s enjoying herself,” Hog thought as he received an incoming transmission.
“Yes? Yes sir, everything is going as planned. Alright, good. You’re cleared, sir. Their channel is wide open. Over and out.” Hog closed his channel and removed his comm before tweaking it for a bit. Once he was done, he wore the comm again and activated it.
“This should work.”
1315 hrs
Valdar kept his eyes on the operators working in front of the radar screens, giving warnings and reliable information to the griffon troops defending the line. He was pleased with the performance of the griffon soldiers handling the mercenary forces, given that their country just barely recovered from a war. He was also more than eager to join his men in battle, but he knew that being a king had its own restrictions.
Saetos reported that the mercenaries’ numbers had now decreased from 64 percent to 43 percent. It was only matter of time before the rogues decided to retreat. This fact bothered him since the beginning of the assault. The mercenaries’ attacks were uncoordinated, reckless, and seemingly without any proper planning.
Valdar continued to muse about this while Saetos was informed by another operator that a transport unit was requesting permission to leave Asgard, the kingdom’s main industrial complex.
“Patch him up,” Saetos demanded. “This is Altair Alpha to transport, state your ID, destination, and call sign.”
After a couple of seconds, a gruff voice answered his demand.
“…This is transport 13346 Bravo, call sign Sagi. Requesting for clearance to leave the Griffin Kingdom to Equestria, over.”
“Transport 13346 Bravo. Sagi, we cannot comply at this time due to an attack within our borders,” Saetos stated. “Please stand by until hostile forces are neutralized.”
“Negative, Altair Alpha. We’re on a tight schedule. We have to leave immediately.” The transport unit, Sagi insisted.
“I repeat, Sagi, we cannot give you clearance yet …”
“Sir, I have received an incoming transmission of unknown origin on our airwaves,” Marcus announced, cutting Saetos off from his transmission. This new information gained Valdar’s attention.
“Can you pinpoint the source?” Valdar asked. Marcus just shook his head.
“Negative, the source has been jammed, and there’s no way to neutralize the jammer at this state… hold on,” Marcus paused as the main radar screen emitted a loud beep, gaining Valdar’s and every operator’s attention. “The transmission is a live video feed… coming from Sudentor!”
“Patch it up on all channels.” Valdar ordered in which the operator complied. Saetos typed in several key commands to the computer before pressing “enter,” and the main screen quickly displayed the video feed: a live camera recording in front of the Sudentorian city hall.
The video showed a massive crowd of Belkans ranging from griffons to ponies gathering in front of the city hall. They were chatting, or rather, having a heated argument with one another, and soon, the orange griffon and his operators could see several ponies fighting against two or more griffons, and the crowd slowly turned into a riot.
“What is happening?” an operator asked in confusion.
“Shh, keep watching…” another operator whispered.
Valdar remained fixed to the screen as a familiar mint unicorn stepped outside from the city hall accompanied by a blue pegasus who was wearing an eye patch, and a brown, red eyed griffon.
“Kriegstreiber…” Valdar’s frown deepened.
The griffon was dragging something along that looked like a body. The crowd exploded into frenzy. Most were yelling “Who the hell are you!” and “Where’s Razorwing!?” as Kriegstreiber stepped into the booth box and activated the microphone. The brown griffon let out a screech, calming the crowd down before motioning the mint unicorn to speak.
“My fellow Belkans, we’re all gathered here today not to argue with one another like simple minded creatures… but to unite, against a common enemy!”
Kriegstreiber motioned the brown griffon to step forward in which he complied. The brown griffon spread his wings and took flight, dragging along the body behind him. The crowd started to murmur, but it soon exploded into shock as the brown griffon showed the body in front of them.
Valdar narrowed his eyes. He recognized the body as the now former head of state of Neue Gryphus: Gerhard Razorwing. His body was covered in bruises and deep claw marks. Fresh blood still trickled down from his wounds.
“My fellow Belkan brothers and sisters, this is the kind of treachery that the Griffin Kingdom has done to us. We were once proud knights of the old days. We rightfully claimed this land to be our home, and we have the right to expand our territory to great lengths, how did those wretches of the north react? They casted us out! Banned us from expanding our territory! Invaded us! Forced us to use the seven pillars to seal our holy Fatherland from them!”
The crowd roared in response, clearly approving everything Kriegstreiber had said. The brown griffon smirked as he hanged the body of Razorwing on the main flagpole and tied the Neue Gryphus flag around his neck like a cape.
“This is the body of our so-called leader! Hmph, a leader worth dirt, that’s who he is!” the unicorn roared as the crowd yelled in unison, bringing their talons and hooves up into the air. “He betrayed every single code of the old Belkan order! He served the Griffin Kingdom, not Belka! He’s nothing more than Valdar’s watchdog to keep an eye on us, but no more! Today we stand as one! Today we shall reclaim our justice! Honor! And freedom! Today, Neue Belka is born!!”
The crowd roared in response as the griffons and the pegasi flew up into the air. The unicorns cast spells that erupted into small fireworks and the earth ponies rocked the ground with their hooves.
The griffons in the command center could only watch in silence as the crowd dispersed, and the brown griffon flew close to the camera.
“Hope you enjoyed our little broadcast…” He chuckled before bursting into full laughter. His maniacal laugh was cut short when the video feed ended.
The operators were either still in shock or in complete disgust. Everything the unicorn said in his speech ranged from being half truths to blatant lies. Belka was the first one to draw the sword against the world. Its citizens were arrogant and power hungry. They needed to be stopped. Belka committed atrocities far worse than the kingdom had done during the Equestrian war, and finally, Belka was the first and only country to use a weapon banned by Celestia herself.
Valdar let out a small ,unnoticeable growl. Belka, the now long gone Principality of the south, has returned with more than a vengeance. Valkyrie was still on their hands, and if the kingdom didn’t stop its development, the war could go on their direction. The Griffin Kingdom was unprepared for this, but he was not going to let this one pass.
He didn’t have any other choice.
The griffons on the front lines kept fighting whilst listening to the live broadcast from Sudentor. Some of them were very displeased if not outright disgusted by the entire speech.
Kestrel couldn’t believe what she just heard. Belka, or Neue Belka, was actually declaring war against the kingdom. She shoved this thought aside as she evaded another attack from one of Violet’s wingmates. Violet herself was currently fighting Black Star, though she showed less enthusiasm when she fought him.
Kestrel evaded another attack from another pegasus. She then brought her talons together and swung them down. This hit the pegasus’ head, leaving her dazzled and eventually forced her to retreat. Violet saw this and whined,
“Buck! Can’t you imbeciles do anything right?” She then dodged another attack from Black Star and retaliated with a punch to his stomach. Black Star grabbed her hoof before it could touch his body and brought his free limb into a wide arch. The attack impacted Violet’s face, pushing her back for a bit. But instead of groaning in pain, she was chuckling in delight.
“Ah, that was a good hit,“ she began as she rubbed her cheek. Her eyes now rested on Kestrel. “But you’re not really my type. Ciao!”
Black Star only raised one of his eyebrows in confusion as Violet winked at him and went straight for the griffoness.
“Turmfalken, eleven o'clock!” he yelled at her. Kestrel snapped to her left and saw Violet rushing straight for her.
“Hello lil’ birdy! Did you miss me?” she cooed, earning a disgusted snarl from Kestrel.
“Would you please stop calling me that?” Kestrel groaned as she tackled the yellow pegasus. Violet laughed and laughed as she and Kestrel continued to battle each other. The battle went on until Violet’s comm beeped. She let out a groan as she stopped the engagement and opened the transmission.
“Yeah, hun?” she began.
“Violet, the package has been sent. We’re going back.” Came the voice of Grau 1 from the other end.
“Aww, do we have to?” she whined.
“Affirmative, orders from the top,” Grau 1 said sternly.
“Alright fine, but you owe me one battle after this.” she smirked.
“Fine, Grau 1 out,” Grau 1 replied as the yellow mare closed the channel and turned her attention back at Kestrel.
“Well birdy, it’s been fun but I gotta go~”
“Not a chance,” Kestrel growled as she moved closer to her. “We’re taking you in.”
Violet just stuck out her tongue in response as the same teleportation bubble formed around her.
“I’m afraid that’s not your decision…”
The bubbles also formed around the defeated or unconscious mercenaries. Soon the bubbles gave out sparks of magic.
“See you later, little birdy…” she smirked playfully as the bubbles vanished into thin air along with the pony inside. Kestrel and the others saw the other mercenary forces also vanish. The battlefield now became silent with only the sounds of the howling winds blowing around the valleys and mountains.
“Altair Alpha to all forces, all hostile forces have disappeared. No threats detected.”
All griffon forces remained silent, trying to grasp the situation before them. On Sector 27, Both Silver and Crimson squadrons, along with the Royal Guards began to push Grau squadron and the unicorn battalion back when all of them vanished without a trace.
Then they began to regroup, and each leader gave a headcount. Miraculously, all members of the squadrons were there. Some of them had injuries ranging from a big shiner on their eyes to broken bones.
“Did… did we win?” a griffon from Crimson squadron began.
“I think so… “ Crimson 1 answered weakly.
“But why didn’t it feel like it?” Silver 1 pointed out.
“I was wondering the same thing… “ Crimson 1 said thoughtfully.
Back at Sector 37, Verde and Aquila squadron use this time to regroup as well. Like Crimson and Silver, all members of both Aquila and Verde managed to survive. Jet only had a broken rib bone, Black Star had bruises on his left talon and upper part of his body, Riddle broke his middle finger, Kite sustained minor bruises on his talons, and he was on the very edge of exhaustion, and Kestrel had bruises all over her body.
“That’s it?” Jet began. “We won?”
“No,” Riddle answered grimly as he turned his head towards the Windshear region. “This is just a smoke screen… a distraction.”
“For what?” Kestrel asked. “That revolution in Belka?”
“No, there’s more to that,” Black Star said.
“Indeed.” Riddle answered. “And whatever it is, I don’t like it.”
After hours of searching, flying, and evading the enemy’s attack, Red Tail was finally able to find the cub’s mother within the walls of Gryphus. She was overjoyed when she saw her baby again, tears of happiness flowed down from her eyes as she hugged her baby. Red Tail could only smile at this scene before he flew away to report back to his superior.
He found Colonel Tallman, slightly injured, but still capable to finish the evacuation in time. The old griffon soldier noticed Red Tail’s presence and frowned.
“Where have you been?” he began, causing Red Tail to flinch. “I told you to report back once you’re done babysitting!”
“I’m sorry sir. I stumbled into a few problems while searching for the cub’s parents,” Red Tail explained. “The good news is, I found his mother.”
“Hm, fine work soldier,” Tallman praised him. “I’m sure you’ll be a fine parent one day.”
This statement made Red Tail blush in embarrassment at the possibility of him having a child with his mate. Sure they were already dating for a year now but he still weighed his options between marriage and his job. This reaction made Tallman laugh in amusement.
“Don’t get too worked up soldier. I’m sure you’ll do fine,” he snickered before returning to his stern self. “Now I want you to check your injured teammates. You know what to do.”
“Yes sir,” Red Tail answered as he flew off to find his teammates. Tallman sighed in relief as he landed on the ground and walked through the gate. Inside the tall walls of the palace complex, the growing crowd of the civilians began to calm down as the Royal Guard motioned each group to a different section of the palace, hoping to distribute the large numbers of griffon families evenly within the complex.
The civilians were scared and confused. Some of them who were caught between the crossfire were still shaken by it, and a number of them had been injured by the mercenaries. The medical team did their best to tend the civilians and assured to them that everything will be okay. Some of the griffons knew that all this assuring was just an act to cover up the ugly truth behind this attack. Some of them managed to eavesdrop on the Royal Guard’s comms and conversations about the coup d'etat in Neue Gryphus and the worst possibility that the kingdom was going into a full war with its rebellious state.
Now some of them were anxious why the Royal Guards won’t let them return to their home. One griffon father asked Colonel Tallman about this. The old griffon just sighed and answered,
“I don’t know either, sir. We still haven’t got the word from the king yet.” The father couldn’t say anything after hearing that, and Tallman resumed his patrol duties. Near them, the cub that Red Tail found was clinging to his mother’s arms, obviously scared and confused by the situation.
“Mommy, why can’t we go home now?” Erich asked his mother.
“I don’t know, sweetie,” the mother replied, giving her cub a sad smile. “I don’t know.”
1404 hrs
An hour has passed since the sudden disappearance of the hostile forces. Valdar had called all forces from the griffon army to assemble in the courtyard. From the Medical corps and Royal Guards to squadrons and task forces were all gathered there, with each of their minds swarming with questions.
The civilians were placed in fifteen individual sections inside the palace walls. Each sections housed nearly 500 griffon families and provided more than enough food for them. The civilians were also anxious about this as they watched the giant television screen on each section which showed the crowded courtyard.
Aquila squad was standing in front of the crowd. Kestrel carefully tended Kite’s bruises while Black Star preened his wings. Only Riddle remained silent and unmoving, Black Star noticed this and saw his cold expression. His eyes no longer showed the mischievous griffon scientist who liked to mess around Kestrel’s head. His eyes seemed distant, as if the blue griffon was diving deep inside his mind. Black Star made a mental note to ask Riddle about this.
Every griffon in the courtyard soon shifted their attention towards the balcony, where Valdar stepped forward and revealed himself. His expression clearly showed concern about the situation. He then rose his right wing to silence the whole crowd before taking the microphone close to his beak.
“My fellow soldiers and citizens of the Griffin Kingdom, brothers and sisters,” he began. “You are all probably wondering why I called you here. Just an hour ago, there’s been an uprising in Neue Gryphus involving the MegaCorp, Gründer Industries… ”
At this time, Valdar’s assistant turned on the giant projector placed on the palace wall and showed the recorded video feed. All griffons, citizens, and soldiers alike gasped as they watch the brown griffon hanging the body of Razorwing on the pole with the flag of Neue Gryphus tied around his neck.
Kestrel’s and Riddle’s frown deepened when they saw the entire crowd raised their hooves and talons. But to Riddle, some of them just stood there, unsure of how to respond to Kriegstreiber’s speech. Some of them even ran away from the scene.
“… and the attack on our soil conducted by mercenary forces employed by them was nothing more than a distraction, for the coup initiated by Neue Belka.”
Then the video cut off and changed into a graffiti painted on the wall on the tallest building in Neue Gryphus. The graffiti was in fact the emblem of the Neue Belka movement. The emblem consisted of a large demonic griffon clinging to a gold metal frame which contained the colors black, gold, and white: Belka’s former flag. On the bottom, two red ribbons with the word Stolz written on the right and Ehre written on the left.
“Arschlöcher, Riddle growled in disgust when he saw the emblem. Valdar then continued his speech.
“Together with the mercenary forces, Neue Belka aims to re-establish the old Belkan order and to reclaim their lost land. We have confirmed that several cities near the Hoofstian Republic and the southern border of the Griffin Kingdom have fallen into their control, and it’s only a matter of time before they take full control of our southern border. For the time being, all civilians must remain inside the palace walls. You can make demands to the Royal guards if there were any valuable items left behind in your homes… ”
As soon Valdar finished this statement, several families began to talk to several Royal Guards stationed on the refuge camps. The leaders soon sent their underlings to pick up the items the families had requested.
“…I have already requested some assistance from Equestria. The Princesses have agreed to send the Wonderbolts, as well as three of their EAF forces to strengthen our defenses. They will be here tomorrow.”
The soldiers silently nodded in agreement. With the brutal mercenary forces on Belka’s side, the Griffin Kingdom needed some help to win this war.
“Until then, I want all of you to remain alert at all times. That will be all.”
With that, Valdar gave a slight bow to his citizens and retreated into the palace. The soldiers dispersed and went back to their posts. Aquila squadron, however, was instructed to enter the palace by Saetos under Valdar’s command.
Riddle entered first with Black Star following closely behind him, but Kite, who was unable to walk anymore due to his exhaustion, was picked up by Kestrel. The griffoness placed the small griffon on her back before she too followed both griffons inside the palace.
Riddle and Black Star walked slowly and silently through the hallways. Soon, Kestrel managed to catch up while Kite slept on her back. Black Star’s face softened when he saw Kite sleeping peacefully without a care in the world.
“What are you looking at?” Kestrel silently snapped.
“Nothing,” Black Star shrugged as he focused back to his front, and to some extent, Riddle. The blue griffon still had that thousand yard stare present on his dark blue eyes. Black Star remembered his mental note and decided to ask him now to pass the time.
“Thinking of home, sir?” he began.
“Yes,” Riddle answered bluntly. “I know what you’re going to ask, Blake. Yes, I’m worried about my family.”
“Family?” Kestrel cut in. “Don’t tell me your family was still in Sudentor when the rebels took over.”
“Affirmative, captain,” Riddle answered in a somber tone. His voice trailed off as he continued. “I called them this morning. I said that daddy is in the kingdom for some business work. My wife only said “be safe…” and then, Neue Belka happened… “
Riddle gave out a sad sigh.
“Haven’t heard from them since.”
“I’m sure they’re okay,” Kestrel nearly yelped when she heard Kite’s voice coming from her back. Apparently, Kite had been woken up by the three griffons’ conversation.
“I mean, not all Belkans are bad, right? So, maybe they managed to escape and are currently being sheltered by other Belkans who oppose the whole Neue Belka thing,” Kite explained. “We need to keep our hopes up in times like this. It keeps us focused on our goals.”
“He’s right,” Kestrel nodded. “This is no time for grieving, sir. If you believe your family is safe then, so they are. The faster we win this war, the faster you can see them again.”
“Maybe you’re right captain,” Riddle said slowly. The group continued their walk through the hallway until they arrived in the main throne room.
Black Star remembered the room well. He remembered when he told Edge to spy on Red Cyclone, and he remembered Cyclone’s laugh echoed through the throne room and into the hallways after he killed Silverbeak. Soon, the black feathered griffon dove deep into his mind.
Black Star found himself in a dark void. No floors, no ceilings, no walls, just him: him and an unknown light source shining above him. Soon, thoughts and memories from the past began to flood his mind.
Why did he tell Edge to spy on him? He could have done it himself and possibly stopped Cyclone from killing Silverbeak right there.
“Idiot! Why did you do that!?” A voice echoed through the dark void. Black Star turned around, but he couldn’t see anything past the darkness.
“Quiet,” he snapped. A shadow played with his tail, prompting him to turn around, but the shadow dissipated and formed right in front of him.
“You could have stopped him fool! Why didn’t you do that!?” the shadow snapped angrily. “Many lives could be saved if you took that one step, Blake! But no, you decided to play along until that bastard burned Equestria to the ground!”
When he heard the word “played along,” the image of Firefly popped up in front of him. The pink mare’s image soon disappeared as the shadow wrapped itself around her and swallowed her whole. Now the shadow took a form which resembled a griffon.
“Blake, Blake, Blake. Did you really think that joining that old fart’s team would redeem yourself?” the figure mocked in a voice Black Star knew all too well. The dark feathered griffon took a step back as the shadow’s beak formed a malicious smirk. The shadow soon changed its appearance again, this time taking form of a figure Black Star hoped to never see again.
Red feathers, red eyes, and a maniacal grin plastered on its beak.
“You couldn’t stop me even when you could!!” The Red Cyclone shaped shadow screeched at the griffon as it dissipated into its former form. The wrapped itself around Black Star’s body and began to squeeze his life out of him, laughing maniacally while doing so.
Black Star snapped back into reality when Kestrel slapped his face with her right wing.
“Wake up,” she snapped. “The king is here.”
Black Star shook his head to ease the stinging pain on his face. He saw Riddle already having a conversation with Valdar and Saetos. Once they stopped their talk, Valdar motioned them to follow Saetos to the Command Center.
When the group arrived at the Command Center, the entire room already winded down with only a few operators working on the radars. Saetos explained that ever since Neue Belka made itself known, most of the operators were transferred into several radar stations scattered around the Griffin Kingdom to maintain tight security on the borders and the surrounding areas.
“What you see here is what we got left ever since the war,” Saetos said grimly. “We still needed new recruits to get our strength back.”
“Then we have to make sure we make the best of it,” Riddle stated as he sat down in front of one of the computers and started to type on its keyboard. The rest of them soon watched him opening the Z.O.E. before inputting some keywords and searched the Equestrian database section. Saetos quickly caught on Riddle’s motive, and he too took another computer and started working.
The Z.O.E. or Zone of Endless was an endless virtual world created by the griffons during their industrial and technological revolution just a few decades ago. The Z.O.E. was initially a military-only project when it was created, but Princess Celestia had recognized that the virtual world had a lot of good potential for everyday life. Because of this, the griffons modified Z.O.E. so it can be used for data storing, communication bridges, and more.
“What are you doing, sir?” Kestrel asked.
“Searching for any data on our equine friends that attacked us,” Riddle answered without turning to face the griffoness. Black Star silently went to Riddle’s side and watched the blue griffon searched the Equestrian database for any information.
“There,” he spoke while pointing to a document marked as Exiled Equestrian Citizens. Riddle clicked on the document and soon, various data on exiled ponies appeared on the screen. Most, if not all of the exiles’ names, faces, and data were all censored, implying that these individuals were exiled for the greater good of Equestria. Any remaining data on the censored exiles were their initials.
The three griffons searched through the pages of endless data for any information on the mercenary forces. Kite became bored after fifteen minutes and decided to head back to his bunker for some rest.
“Ma’am, permission to be excused,” he said with a tired tone.
“Permission granted,” Kestrel nodded. Kite saluted the griffoness before exiting the room, leaving the four griffons to search the database.
Nearly five minutes after Kite’s departure, Kestrel saw an image which reminded her of the red maned pegasus she faced.
“Wait, there! That’s one of them,” she exclaimed while pointing at the screen. Riddle immediately clicked on the image, and soon, the red maned pegasus’ data was displayed. Nearly all of her data were expunged from the archive; only her nationality and reason of exile were left untouched.
{Reason of Exile: Suspect displayed a very severe case of masochism and sadistic tendencies towards others. ██████████ was exiled due to acts of anarchy and her involvement with a mercenary group which defied the princesses rule.}
The words mercenary group had a hyperlink which led them into another file named “Murtair Militia.” The griffons looked at each other before reading the contents of that file.
{Murtair Militia: A group of multinational mercenaries that was formed during Celestia’s lone reign over Equestria. This group consisted of ponies who were exiled from Equestria and other countries with varied reasons, ranging from practicing dark magic to assassination attempts on political figures. The group’s existence has been always a bane on not just Equestria, but to other countries as well. In 3 years, there had been a total of five civil wars erupted in the griffon countries on the far north, and suspicions began to grow of this group’s involvement on these wars, since they have been sighted at each of the aforementioned wars. Recent sightings have confirmed that the group consists of three aerial squadrons and at least two unicorn battalions. Any attempts to identify these pirates were highly unsuccessful because the members’ high regard for anonymity, and further attempts to arrest them proved to be more challenging than we thought…}
As Riddle, Kestrel and Saetos kept reading the description, Black Star saw the mugshots of the group’s confirmed members. All photos of the ponies’ eyes and mouth were blocked, but Black Star easily recognized one of them as Violet.
The group continued to comb through the file for any information about Murtair and their involvement with Neue Belka. So far, the data they collected proved to be insufficient for any counter plans to be created. Groaning in slight frustration, Riddle decided to hack into Gründer’s, or to be more precise, Kreigstreiber’s main computer database for any useful information.
The hack was a grueling task that took six hours of continuous breaking through the firewalls. Kestrel soon grew tired and decided to rest back on her quarters at the academy. Now, only Black Star, Saetos, and Riddle were left in the command center. The clock showed 11:23 PM, and Riddle managed to blast through the last firewall, opening access to Gründer’s main database and hopefully, Kriegstreiber’s personal files.
Riddle searched the entire database until he found the file he was looking for. A smile formed on his beak as he muttered,
“Alright, Ghunter Kriegstreiber, let’s see what you got for us.”
Carefully, he opened the files and combed for any useful data. A particular file caught his attention and he quickly opened it. Sure enough, the file contained most of the information they needed to make their first move in this war. Black Star smirked in approval when he read the file in silence. Saetos quickly left the command center to inform Valdar while Riddle copied the file into the command center’s computer.
“Jackpot,” He thought in satisfaction.
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Oohhh... the plot thickens!
I better start updating my story, too. Yours keeps getting better and I keep seeing fewer grammar mistakes.