“Now, all that’s left,” sighed Empria, “is to disconnect the last two wires, red first, then green.”
“We need to remove the less-active line first,” guessed Twirja, “then the other line can’t complete the circuit.”
“Yes,” answered Empria. Thangred took care of the wires, and the cloaking device was fully disconnected, this time with no explosions. He then noticed a small light fade and opened the device. It looked like a crystal was inside.
“Ah HA!” he exclaimed. “So THAT’S how it still got power! There’s an Engine Crystal inside it!”
“That must be why it exploded during the first attempt,” mused Twirja.
“That’s why I was so against them disconnecting it in the first place,” explained Empria. “You boys worked with plenty of Engine Crystals in your day. You know how reactive they are if they’re not disconnected properly.”
“Hoo BOY, do I!” agreed Thangred. He got to work extracting the crystal and placed it in a safe-box once he was done. “Now this thing can be destroyed without…” He then heard the sound of a spell charging up. “…That better be you, Twirja.”
“Sorry to disappoint,” muttered Twirja as he raised his hand over his head. Thangred did the same as he got up and both of them looked to Empria as she pointed her wand at them. “Madam, what do you hope to accomplish?” asked Twirja.
“I am finished now, you lot have ruined me,” replied Empria. “Thanks to you, my name is forever shamed! But, if you and I keep the workings of the thing to ourselves, we can be RICH!”
“It’s a bit late for that!” remarked Thangred. “I already copied over the schematics and gave them to Aldarval and Endram! There’s no point to this!”
“…Do you have any idea how unstable you’ve made the Realms?” asked Empria as tears streamed down her face. “You DO realize some of the mutineers survived?!” Twirja’s eyes went wide.
“They’re…they’re alive?!”
“And some of the survivors joined Oyed’s side! Once this gets out to our side, there will be a mass exodus of people flocking to the Realm Trinity Empire!”
“You don’t know that.”
“What other conclusion can be reached?!”
“You use that phrase too often for my tastes. Not only are you a traitor, but you’re also a coward.”
“THAT’S IT!” Empria fired, distracting the two men, and taking the cloaking device.
“STOP!” called Thangred. She didn’t listen as she tore down the hallways of her old ship. As she ran, she bumped into Erudsa and Aldarval. She dropped the device and tried to pick it up, but Erudsa grabbed her wrist and forced her to look into her eyes. They glowed yellow, she hissed, and the snakes making up her hair then all faced her and hissed, their own eyes glowing yellow as well. At that point, Empria felt something rocklike on her body. She looked down and her eyes widened in horror as she realized she was turning to stone! She then stood there, a gray, rocky statue with the eyes still moving.
“You will be released once the prison transport arrives,” hissed Erudsa.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Gorgon perform their trademark petrification stare,” mused Aldarval. Erudsa then wobbled. Aldarval caught her before she fell to the ground.
“It…requires…concentration,” panted the Gorgon Queen.
“A lot of it, by the look of things.”
The prison transport arrived and Empria was placed into it before Erudsa and her snake hair stared at her with green eyes instead of yellow. The stone crumbled away and released Empria. The former Captain of the Crelima glared at Erudsa and growled, then proceeded to growl at Aldarval. The transport then shut its doors and then took off. “With all that you’ve shown me,” Erudsa chuckled to Aldarval, “I think we can easily repurpose the Crelima now that we can see the doors.” The Crelima was being looked over by a troop of Gorgons. “Aldarval, thank you for what you’ve done. You’ve prevented a nasty war between us and the Falchineve Colony.”
“I hope the same can be said of the Gryphons,” muttered Aldarval.
“Given who surrounds you, I think it can.” Erudsa then remembered something. “We MUST give credit where credit is due for the woman who came up with this team formation.”
“Indeed, we should. Captain Royana, would you come here for a minute?” Arsha then approached them.
“Yes, Admiral?” she asked.
“Arsha, you are a credit to Realmfleet,” praised Erudsa. “You organized a team that solved a problem in a satisfactory manner and brought the truth to light.”
“That’s what I always strive to do, Your Majesty.”
“For that, you need to be rewarded.”
“There’s no need, I simply did my duty.”
“Humble as well, I like that. In this instance, though, I must insist. You shall be the first non-Gorgon to be awarded the medal of the Diamond Scale.” Erudsa then pulled out a scale shaped diamond tied by a strap. She placed the medal around Arsha’s neck, then bowed to her. “Let this be the action that signifies the Gorgon race’s willingness to fight against Oyed!”
“…Your Majesty, I am honored,” thanked Arsha. Aldarval then got a call.
“…What?! How did…?! …Oh my, can he…? …No?” Aldarval sighed. “Where is he? …By Gryphon? …So they ARE joining us against Oyed? …Good to hear, I just wish he hadn’t done that. We’ll be there straight away, Aldarval out.” She hung up and sighed again.
“Admiral?” asked Arsha.
“The Gryphons took over the fort and are flying the Realmfleet banner,” explained Aldarval. “They’re joining us against Oyed.”
“Perfect!” cheered Arsha. She then recalled what happened during the call. “…Was there a casualty?”
“None of the team you put together lost their lives…but Orbak lost the use of his legs.”
“WHAT?! WHERE IS HE?!”
“He’s in the Endeavor’s Sick Bay. We need to go back there now and get the whole story.”
“Me and my guards shall escort you back,” offered Erudsa. “I would like to know this story myself. After that, Hanjar and I will meet with Hekcho and Yumbii to apologize for our rash actions and how we can make reparations.”
“Then let’s get going,” suggested Arsha. “I want answers. …Ones, who knows what Malnar’s feeling! Did she even see it happen?!”