THE FIELDS SURROUNDING THALINDOR'S ARTERIAL ROAD
DURING THE CLOSING WORDS OF THE MEETING IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS
Before the final decisions were made within Thalindor’s council chambers, the Brotherhood had already set their plans for expansion into motion. High above the land, a fleet of six Carryall transports, each bearing the signature colours and emblem of the Brotherhood, effortlessly soared. Their four engines hummed as they carried their heavy cargo.
Each Carryall was tasked with transporting the mainstay of the Brotherhood’s base expansion tools, the Mobile Construction Vehicle. Each of these were accompanied by a group of well trained engineers, all clad in heavy construction exo-suits. Along with the engineers, a squad of light infantry was garrisoned within each of the troop bays of the Carryalls, a group of around seven to eight. These were to maintain order in case of any outside intervention.
Due to being new in this world, the Brotherhood had no underground networks to speak of, making logistics a hassle to deal with. Everything had to be sent aerially, which not only took longer, but also drew a lot of attention from the locals.
As the Carryalls descended, the MCVs were detached from the Carryalls’ underbellies, giving way with a great clunk and hisses of hydraulic pressure. The troop bays of the Carryalls opened, their hatches acting as ramps. All units within it filed out in orderly fashion, the infantry followed by the engineers.
One Carryall was tasked with landing as close to the walls of Thalindor as possible, its cargo to be used to erect the main base of operations within the region. Like the other Carryalls, it descended, releasing the MCV from its underbelly, and opened the door of its troop bay, the occupants exiting and forming up. The city gate was close by, not even a minute’s walk from the drop-off location.
The guards at the gate stood and stared at the situation unfolding, unmoving and jaws agape. They couldn’t comprehend the sight they were seeing. The large metal thing dropping off what looked like a huge carriage, the size of half of the castle!
“Hey, you know what any of that is?” one guard said to the other.
“I… I haven’t a clue. Though the markings and colours do remind me of that Victor fellow and his soldiers. Maybe it’s something to do with them?” replied the other, deciding to leave the gate to take a closer look. Before being able to leave their posts, weapons in hand, the large carriage began to move.
Shocked, the guards raised their weapons in defence. Seemingly ignoring the guards, the large carriage moved close to the city wall, then stopped. What the guards then saw defied all logic and understanding. The carriage began to change shape.
With a series of metallic clanks and hisses, the MCV's shell began to unfold. Its segmented components separated, revealing the intricate machinery within. Enormous pistons extended, supporting the MCV's central structure, while panels and hatches swung open with mechanical precision. Sections of the vehicles shifted and rearranged, giving birth to the Construction Yard known all too well by the end of the Second Tiberium War. Panels of metal and machinery folded out, locking into place, and the MCVs took on their new forms.
The paint upon them a vibrant red, emblazoned with the iconic symbol of the scorpion's tail. The sloped roof of the ConYard sported a long window, above which were multiple extraction fans. The space within the ConYard filled with pipes and other structural components, all designed to aid in the production of new buildings, along with the storage of components for said buildings.
A crane sat beside the large door at the front of the Construction Yard, ready to haul materials needed for building. The materials of which were being carried by multiple Carryalls to their respective bases. The distinctive hum of which could be heard above the city, captivating the population.
The black and red bug-like appearance of the crafts catching the eyes of many, wondering what they were and where they were going, unaware of the construction efforts taking place outside of the city walls.
All along the arterial road which connected Thalindor to the outside world, various bases were being erected. All of which were in various states of construction. Some bases already having much of the material they need, having already walled off the area around their outposts, soldiers paroling the empty hole in the walls awaiting the construction of their gates.
The base outside of Thalindor now having its materials began its construction. The engineers wasted no time in paving the ground around the construction yard, making sure there was no sign of dirt left. The paving acting as the foundation for the rest of the base to be constructed upon.
The infantry guarding the base took up interest in the soldiers and random passer-bys, waving to them and some of them even going as far as to greet them.
One of the infantry walked up to the shell-shocked guards, greeting them. “Yo, how you doing.” he said, getting no reply from the guards. “Uh, Kane to randos? You alright in there?” he said once again, this time getting the attention of one of the guards, whom of which raised his sword.
“Who are you!? S-Stay back!” said the guard, slightly panicking. This caught the attention of the other guard who decided to step back. The infantryman raised his rifle in anticipation of a fight.
“Uh, I only came to say hi and this is the greeting I get? So much for a warm welcome.” the lone infantryman said in a disappointed tone. This being his first contact with this world’s inhabitants both intrigued and disappointed him. After the briefing, he thought he’d be lauded as some kind of deity, but his hopes had been dashed.
“Y-You come to our city with those… Things…” the guard pointed at the now unpacked MCV and the busy engineers “and begin laying siege to the outside of our walls?”
“Nah, you must’ve not been given the message. We’ve been told that we can build outside the city by the Lord himself. Something about us acting as a kinda protectorate or something” the infantryman said, confusing the guards. One of them grabbed a strange looking device out of his satchel, speaking into it.
The strange device seemed to reply back, the guards suddenly lowering their weapons and apologizing.
“Oh, so now you grovel, huh? Well, I guess it can’t be helped. Well, you can watch us build, but don’t interfere. Also, we’ll require some of your uniforms too.”
The guards looked perplexed. “Need some of our uniforms? For what reason?” one of them replied.
“Oh, I forgot you’re not familiar with our tech. Well, if you don’t want to get fried by our defences, we’ll need to catalogue your stuff so our defences and equipment can tell who’s enemy and who’s ally.
The guards once again stood perplexed. They couldn’t understand what the soldier was talking about but seemed to somewhat believe him.
“Very well, I’ll contact someone to arrange for this request to be met.”
“Cool. Well, I better get back to base, looks like it’s already taking shape.” the infantryman said, looking back at the now walled base. The large concrete and plasteel walls surrounded the sparsely constructed base, which from the perspective of the guards looked huge.
The infantryman began to walk back to the base, an engineer spotting him and seemingly began shouting at and berating him for his absence.
----------------------------------------
After the meeting at the council chambers
As Victor and his squad made their way through the crowded city towards the large gates which they entered, Victor couldn't help but notice some unusual activity near the city walls. Luna rushed to meet them after her short absence, having talked to Lord Ealdred after the end of the meeting. As they exited the gates, the sight of large dark grey walls, piles of construction equipment, and Brotherhood soldiers and engineers working non-stop to establish what appeared to be a well fortified base was both confusing and astonishing. The construction yard had unfurled, having transformed into the large structure Victor was all too familiar with from the recently ended Second Tiberium War.
Victor wasn’t made aware that the construction efforts were already underway, seemingly taking place during the meeting thanks to how well established the base outside of Thalindor already was. With the Construction Yard churning out various different components of buildings that were in various states of construction, Victor let out a sigh of both relief and agitation.
Victor began walking up to the base with his squad, and Luna of course. Having been spotted, a soldier removed his helmet and seemingly shouted to the rest of the base’s occupants, construction immediately halting. Victor arrived at the empty hole in the wall awaiting a gate. Before him stood around twelve soldiers and engineers, all of them saluting Victor as he entered. Extra soldiers had been sent to aid in the construction and defence of the base as it was being built.
“Sir! It’s great to see you. We’ve been busy at work getting things ready for your arrival, so please do take a look around and make yourself comfortable. Also, I’d advise you recall your cyborgs back to the mainland.” one of the soldiers shouted, still saluting.
Victor though first about the mention of him having to recall the cyborgs that had been accompanying them, of which he was more than happy to do. Along with the rest of the Black Hand, Victor had began to grow weary of CABAL’s actions since the disappearance of Kane. He was seemingly the only one that was able to keep CABAL on his leash and somewhat sane. The gradual increase in CABAL’s self serving activities wasn’t lost on anyone, yet many of the inner circle’s members chose to keep the employment of the cyborgs. Anton Slavik was the only one that relied on pure human fire-power.
Victor gave the orders to the cyborgs, both of which agreed to and began their withdrawal without question. Now without the cyborgs, Victor felt somewhat more at ease, the creepiness of the unthinking machines having been the most worrisome thing to him since he arrived.
“So, I take it you’re here on the orders of the General himself, correct?” Victor inquired, now walking past the group. He gestured for them to get back to work, only one engineer staying, presumably the project lead.
“That’s correct, sir. We’ve been tasked with erecting a base of operations here. This base is to act as the main headquarters within the territory of Thalindor and its father kingdom.” the engineer said with pride. “As you can see, we have already walled off the area and paved the ground, ready for further building erection and possibly larger base expansion.”
“I see. So, I take it that building is to act as the main headquarters while the local temple is built?” Victor asked, pointing to a small building. The building resembled an old soviet tech centre from the second world war. Although it was relatively small, it should be able to house most of what a headquarters would need until a Temple of Nod is built to replace it.
Victor dismissed the engineer, the engineer rushing to help with construction of a gate to close the large gap in the wall. Luna was still stood beside Victor, absolutely awestruck at what she was seeing. Seemingly lost for words, she tugged victor’s arm and just stared into his eye. Victor became somewhat confused before realising that the sights and sounds around her were most likely a complete departure from what she was used to, having seen and heard the city of which she had most likely grown up in and around.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
A smile grew on Victor’s face in amusement. “Well, you ever seen what real construction looks like?” he said rhetorically. Luna just looked at him, shaking her head. Victor rustled the small bunny girl's head, her large ears flopping side to side.
“You see, this is our main workforce in action. Well, not our main workforce but…” Victor stopped himself, both confusing himself and Luna.
“What I mean is that building these structures is the main way we expand our operations. We usually use large vehicles that unfurl into buildings like that one there,” Victor said, pointing to the busy Construction Yard.
Luna stared at the large building in bewilderment. She watched as people came and went, moving boxes that had been transported by the large crane that was constantly in motion, picking up and dropping off boxes of varying sizes from within the building.
A dull look grew on Victor’s face as he realized that the worst part of diplomatic work was just about to begin. “So, I think it’s best I get situated in the temp HQ then. No doubt there’ll be some paperwork bullshit I need to fill out now we’ve entered the alliance.”
He sighed, looking toward Lilith, still unconscious in the arms of one of his elites. “I suppose we may as well put her in confinement for the time being until we’ve got somewhat settled.”
----------------------------------------
Within the temporary HQ building
“Luna, must you insist on following me around like a lost puppy?” Victor asked the clingy little bunny. Her ears perked up.
“Well, when you left the chambers with Lilith, I went back in to talk to Lord Ealdred for a little. That’s why it took me a little while to catch up with you. Well when we talked, he asked me to do him a favour. I was to accompany you at all times as a guard, as a token of goodwill from him and the greater city of Thalindor.”
Victor groaned. “Another guard… Man, why can’t I just go out by myself like old times?” He began thinking back to the time during the late stages of the First Tiberium War. He had been a part of a secret Brotherhood program which aimed to improve the soldiers of the Brotherhood. After taking part in those experiments, he was one of the lucky few to survive with a very positive outcome. Many either went insane or died, but him? He was one of the very few to have made it out with both his life and his sanity.
Luna looked at him, curious as to what he meant. “Old times? What do you mean?” she asked.
“That information is classified.” Victor snapped back, with an almost robotic reflex. The program was still top secret, even after more than 30 years had passed. There were many other programs that seemed to overshadow it, but it could not be replaced due to the amount of time and effort put into it.
“If you’ve been entrusted with my safety by the Lord himself, I guess I haven’t got much to worry about. Though we won’t be giving you any kind of weaponry or armour. That will have to be supplied by your military or whatever kind of armed forces you have.” Victor told Luna, her ears drooping slightly.
The revelation that she wouldn’t be able to use any of the advanced weaponry that the Brotherhood uses disappointed her. She was looking forward to being able to use one of the guns that Victor mentioned during the meeting at the council. Even if it wasn’t one of the ones that were being used by his elite guard.
Victor laid down his pen and let out a long sigh. He had finally finished the huge pile of paperwork he had set to the ‘completed’ stack. He stretched as he began exercising his aching wrist. It took him hours to complete the paperwork, hours he wished he could have spent walking through the woods or the city.
He was still very curious about the city and its people. Maybe it would be a good idea to go and pay the city a visit. He’d seen very little of it as he was ushered through the crowds by Luna on his way to the council.
“Hey, Luna,” Victor shouted
“Yeah? You need something?” Her ears perked while she was sat on a chair in Victor’s small office space, playing with a zip on an ammo pouch on Victor’s armour.
“I thought it might be a nice idea for you to show me around the city a little tomorrow. Didn’t really get to see much of it since we’ve been super busy all day, so would you mind?” Victor asked the curious Luna
“Of course I could!” Her whiskers twitched, eyes wide and a smile growing on her fluffy face.
“Then it’s settled. Tomorrow morning, we’ll head into the city. Just the two of us. Don’t want to bring too much attention with my guards.” Victor said, thinking about what he would wear.
Tapping his fingers on the table, he had a thought. Though he mainly had his armour, he always made sure to bring his dress uniform with him in case he had need for formal attire. His coat adorned with many medals which he had earned over the more than 30 years of service to the Brotherhood, one of them given to him by the Prophet himself.
Moving to the crate of his belongings transported earlier, he grabbed his dress uniform and hung it up in anticipation for the upcoming outing.
“Well, I guess that will have to do. Haven’t got any kind of casual wear at all. It’s either my dress uniform or my combat uniform. That’s it.” He remarked, Luna chuckling.
“There’s a market on tomorrow through Selendria, so there should be plenty of things for sale.” Luna chirped, Victor completely clueless as to what she meant by that.
“Selendria? What’s that?” he asked, met with a slight giggle from Luna.
“That’s one of our days. I suppose you aren’t familiar with the way we date things here, are you.” she said, more than willing to offer her knowledge of what’s considered to be quite common in this world.
“You see, our world is probably dated a bit different to the one you come from. A week is made of 11 days. It’s always bothered me how it’s an uneven number, but I guess it’s how it’s done.” Victor quickly writing down on a piece of paper he grabbed from his pocket. “These days are in order from first to last. So we have Enarion, Lyradain, Thalorin, Elowen, Aerithal ,Selendria ,Valorian, Morwyn, Sylvarian, Mythrindor, and Drakarion” she said while counting on her fingers, each digit closing after each word. Though the number of days being eleven, she just opened her fingers for that final day.
“Interesting. And months? What of the months?” Victor asked, eagerly trying to get more information.
“You’re writing everything down with that strange quill?” she asked, squinting to look at the pen that Victor was holding in the dimly lit room. She shrugged and decided to carry on with her explanation. “Anyway, we have 15 months that make up one cycle. Like the days, these will be in order. You ready?” she asked. Victor nodded, pen at the ready.
“Here we go. So there’s Solara with 45 days; Lunistra with 42; Thalindor, our city’s namesake, coming in at 48 days; Eldermoon has 46; Faeloria is 44 days long; Duskshade is 47 days; Starshroud is 43 days; Wyldemoon’s got 49; Shadowfen has 45 days; Moondrift with 41; Dawnfire is the longest month at 50 days; Stellara is 42 days; Hulber is 48 days; Mythralight has 47 days; and last but not least we have Silverglow with 46 days.”
Luna tried to catch her breath. The amount of words being too much for her little lungs to have spoken, but she somehow did it almost unbroken. Victor was sat there furiously writing everything down, perplexed at the number of days there are per month. This was nothing like Earth’s dating system Having been 7 days per week, 28 to 31 days per month, and 12 months per year.
Writing down the last of the of the months, he took a second to relax and grab a calculator. He wanted to tally up the number of days that would make up a year, but Luna interrupted him before he could even begin to reach for it.
“Oh yeah, so a year is about 683 days or 62 weeks.” she said with pride. Knowing she had her purpose given by Lord Ealdred, she decided to try to help as much as she could.
“That’s almost twice the length of a year back on Earth” Victor said letting out an exasperated sigh. “I guess we have some major work to do then. Also, do you know what year it is?
Luna stood in thought for a minute, but then remembered seeing a calendar on the walls in the castle. “I think it’s 2834 AE” she said. Victor furrowed his brow at the revelation. The thought of this world’s population having seemingly been stuck in the middle ages since god knows when for almost three thousand years was baffling. Back on earth, it only took around 300 years to go from absolutely zero technology to an almost complete understanding of science and technology. The fact this world seemed to have been stunted in its growth technologically was a bit of a relief to Victor. This should hopefully mean that there wouldn’t be anything to worry about were there to be a war break out.
“Well, I’ll have to forward all this information to my superiors. Thanks, Luna. I guess you’re not as useless as I though.”
Luna didn’t know whether to feel insulted or prideful.
“Right, I think it’s about time I went to get some sleep. Luna, why don’t you go check on the girl in the holding cells. See if she’s conscious yet.” Victor said, walking behind a curtain and turning off the lights in the room.
----------------------------------------
Hours later: Nod holding cells
Lilith had only just regained her consciousness, rubbing her eyes and squinting to try to see where she was. The room was dark, only being lit with a low red glow. The walls were drab and the floors were cold and hard. One wall contained what seemed to be a windows and a door, the door looking to be made out of a thick metal.
Lilith stood up using her good leg, her other leg limp and unmoving. She was still in pain, her body on fire as the Tiberium seemed to integrate itself with her. Lilith looked down at her leg in shock. The wound was seemingly gone, replaced by a glowing green crystalline structure. She ran her finger on the crystals, feeling a slight tingling as she did.
Deciding to look around, she hopped around on her one good leg, deciding to see if there was a way out. She approached the door, only to find it had no handle. It felt cold to the touch, the whole room was freezing. Thanks to her fur, she could easily thrive in cold environments so this wasn’t a problem for her.
Looking at the window, she couldn’t see much on the other side. There was only a table, chairs, and some strange looking device on the table. She tried knocking on the window to no avail. Looking around the room she was in again, she noticed that there was the bare essentials for living. A bed and a sink. There was also a strange thing that looked like a sink though without any kind of water dispenser. She stood there, wondering what it could be before being cut off by a feminine voice.
“They say that’s called a toilet. It works somewhat similar to our Astral Latrines, though these seem to use a system of waterworks.” the voice said, Lilith turning to look toward the window.
Behind the window was Luna, her waving to the fox girl. Luna was relieved to see that Lilith was still alive and well, or as well as someone suffering from Tiberium Toxaemia could be.
“You… You’re that girl… What are you doing here? Where am I?” Lilith’s barrage of questions rained down on Luna, herself not knowing how to answer her.
“Well, uh… First I should tell you my name. I’m Luna, personal aide and guard of Lord Ealdred of Thalindor, though now I suppose that’s changed. I’m now the personal guard of Lieutenant Victor Thorn of the Brotherhood of Nod.” she said with pride. Lilith still confused looked at Luna, her glowing green eyes staring bullets.
“So, as for where you are… You’re in what Victor said was a holding cell of sorts.” Luna continued. Lilith once again looked around at her surroundings. Now it made sense why the room was as sparse as it was. It was more of a prison cell than anything else.
“We’re in a newly constructed base within Thalindor’s borders. This base belongs to the Brotherhood of Nod.” Luna said, Lilith once again looking at her, now sat on the hard mattress of the bed.
“Wait, how long have I been out?” Lilith said. Luna looked around for some type of time keeping device. She found a clock, but it seemed to be all wrong, the number of hours seeming to be too few in comparison to what she was used to. Thinking as to how long it was since she fell unconscious, Luna had a thought. The sun had just started setting, so using that as a frame of reference, she deduced the amount of time Lilith was unconscious.
“About seven hours.” Luna said, Lilith staring at her in shock.
“S-Seven hours? And they already have a base? How…” Lilith said, feeling somewhat defeated. The Veridian Empire was known for their fast subjugation and construction of outposts and bases during their expansion efforts, but four hours? That seemed too good to be true.
“Look out that window there behind you and see for yourself.”
Lilith saw the small window Luna mentioned and decided to take a peek outside. What she saw shook her to her core. Huge buildings in various states of construction, some being fully up and running. Large walls and strange looking ballistas surrounded the base. It looked like nothing she had never seen in her entire life.
A soldier caught a glimpse through the small window of Lilith’s fluffy muzzle peeking through the bars. He waved to her, shouting something she couldn’t make out. Sounded something like “Eastwood tower” or something. She had no clue what that meant.
She decided to return to her bed, confused. “Uh, Luna” she asked, “What does ‘Eastwood Tower’ mean? One of the strange men outside shouted it to me”.
Luna looked confused for a second, before recognizing the syllables and the familiar pronunciation. She chuckled before answering, “Oh, I think he was saying ‘Peace through Power’, not that. It seems to be one of the mottoes these people use”
Lilith looked worried. The realization that a saying that implied what it meant might spell doom for any opposition. True, what Victor said was that he and the Brotherhood seek peace, but after hearing that saying, she realized that the peace could come at a price for any that they deemed a threat to it.
“How’s the leg?” Luna asked, looking at the partially crystallized leg.
“I don’t really know. It feels strange. Really tingly.” Lilith replied, rubbing her leg. Luna looked closer, seeing the faint glow of the crystals that had taken place of the wound.
“I don’t really know what’s happening to you, but the people here might. I’ll go and ask Victor when he wakes up. It’s still really early in the morning.” Luna told Lilith. Lilith laid back down in bed, staring at the ceiling. Her mind was filled with thoughts of an uncertain future for both her and the Empire.