The enemy fleet didn’t move. Both sides were in a state of cold war, daring the other to move. On the Endeavor, Shalvey noticed something on her console. “Captain, the Skysword, High Sky, Sand Dune, and Falchion are hailing the enemy fleet,” she reported.
“Patch us through,” ordered Arsha. Five faces appeared on screen, all of them everyone recognized.
“This is Velkor Blacktail, King of the Manticore Hegemony and Acting Captain of the CRS Sand Dune.”
“This is Tursu Molkar, Queen of the Sphinx Democracy and Acting Captain of the CRS Falchion.”
“This is Hanjar Mazula, King of the Gryphon Authority and Acting Captain of the CRS Skysword.”
“And this is Erudsa Miltarii, Queen of the Gorgon Assembly and Acting Captain of the CRS High Sky.”
“And?” asked Draysna.
“And we wish to fulfill our duty of informing you,” explained Hanjar, “that Realmfleet has designated Frigandor as under our protection according to the terms of the Treaty of the Heights signed at the end of the War of the Depths.”
“We don’t recognize Realmfleet treaties, and you weren’t supposed to either, you traitors!” snarled Draysna. “The Empire’s claim to this continent takes precedence! Leave at once!”
“You are cutting off Frigandor from the outside world,” replied Tursu. “We cannot allow our friends to be so isolated thanks to the interference of an enemy power.”
“It is our duty and pleasure,” continued Velkor, “to free Frigandor and render aid to the inhabitants.”
“Captain or General or whatever in the Depths is the Trinny title for someone like you,” Erudsa went on, “right now, I’m personally on the bridge of the toughest, fastest, and most powerful class of skyship Realmfleet has ever put into service and I’m part of a fleet under the command of a miracle-worker who knows how to get the job done. We’ve all got our mana cannons locked on your engines and nothing would make me happier than you giving Arsha an excuse to order me to flay your hide to the bone! But instead, we’re all going to you a chance to spare Arsha the headache of giving that order. So, we ask you only once, stand down.”
“Get in on the call,” Arsha ordered Shalvey. The faces on the screen then reacted as Arsha appeared on their own. “Captain Draysna, I’d take up their generous offer. I’m willing to give the order to tan your Revenant hide.” Drasyna’s comms officer then whispered something to him. He growled and thumped the armrest of his chair.
“You’re lucky I’m needed elsewhere!” he growled to his foes. “But when we meet again, you won’t be so fortunate!” His face then vanished as his part of the call ended.
“The enemy fleet is leaving!” called Malak. “Captain, the Trinnies are abandoning Frigandor!”
“Excellent decision!” praised Arsha. “All ships, stand down from red alert.” She then gave her attention to the other Captains. “Everyone, when in the Depths-?”
“When we heard the rumors that Oyed killed you,” explained Velkor, “all six of us used the Inter-realm comms still available to us to form a mutual defense compact to aid one another when the Realmgates were operational again and to try and enter Realmfleet. When assignments were available, we accepted.”
“Just because we were cut off,” chuckled Erudsa, “didn’t mean we were gonna leave Realmfleet in the lurch. You freed us from Oyed and got back from his botched attempt to kill you, and we’re supposed to repay you by sitting on our duffs?”
“Captain Royana,” called Tanta’s voice over the comms, “we are reaty to telifer ait to Frikantor. We leaf te searsh for Oyet in your hants.”
“Land all supply distribution parties,” ordered Arsha. She then turned to Shalvey. “Tell the teleporter room to standby for my strike team.”
The strike team consisted of Arsha, her spouses, Bashoon, and Delselii. They headed to a meeting place outside Frigandor. They waited for a few minutes until five Revenants approached them. They were a Naga woman named Eltan Sontor, a male Ice Elf named Sheendii Eltraa, a male Cecaelia named Drelta Meltrek, a female Slime named Blenter Ansii, and a male human named Entran Deltar. These Revenants died during Arsha’s first encounter with Reb Rojam and her pirate fleet, brought back after Dr. Borg restored Yulduk to life, and worked under her for only a moment until they turned on her, their pride at being Realmfleet soldiers overshadowing Dr. Borg’s desires. They became known as the Realmfleet Revenants and were used to gather enemy intelligence when they could. “Good to see you again, Eltan,” greeted Arsha.
“It’s…it’s good to…see you,” replied Eltan. “The…entrance is…this way.” Eltan then drew in a breath.
“…Are you alright?”
“We’re fine,” assured Eltan in a normal talking speed. “Just needed a moment. Come on. The entrance is this way.” The Realmfleet Revenants led the team to an ice cave, then they had to catch their breath.
“Okay, no, this isn’t right,” called Arsha. “You’re exhausted somehow. Even before you were made into Revenants, you weren’t this tired. What’s going on?”
“Everything…Captain,” panted Sheendii. He then pulled back his hood to reveal that his veins and eyes were very dim. The rest of the Realmfleet Revenants pulled back their own hoods and revealed the same. Blenter had to move her core up to her head to reveal that it was in the same condition.
“I’ve never known Revenants to lose their shine,” muttered Foresna.
“It was the removal of Oyed that sparked this,” explained Blenter. “Talking to him was a key component of resurrecting us.”
“Honestly, I can’t say that I fully blame Dr. Borg,” said Drelta. “With him around, he was too dangerous to the Realms. He had already seen how his children were wired up to a draining machine targeting their Divine Mana and we’d be damned if we went out like that. We never saw it coming.”
“But every single Revenant felt it,” continued Entran. “We could feel our lives beginning to slip away, though we couldn’t place it at the time. And in that moment, that very infinitesimal second before our second death, we started drawing in mana from the air to save ourselves from dying all over again before we could see the end of the Final War. With every ounce of will power we had left, we bought ourselves time and expanded our moment of dying into weeks, maybe months.”
“But it’s like operating in a fog,” said Eltan as she wrapped up the situation. “Everything’s a little unreal and warped. I personally feel like I’m slithering through water sometimes. Then, when we use magic…we can feel our lives slipping away unless we take in massive mana infusions. The five of us are running on fumes now, since the blockade prevented us from getting more mana, but we’ve got just enough left to show you the results of what happened.” Eltan then revealed a secret keypad inside the wall and keyed in a code that opened a hidden door into a metal, yet cavernous maw of a tunnel. “This way,” directed Eltan. Everyone entered the frigid base, their wands drawn.