Right Wing found the place in a snowy valley between two rivers of lava, in the floodlands of two volcanoes. There was a long runway, cleared of snow by Fire Elementals, with a handful of metal buildings on one side. Eight fighters were being constructed near the structures, presumably with Metal Elementals. The larger of the two volcanoes was inactive and covered in snow. Cold air descended down the cone, slamming into the valley from one direction, creating a constant headwind for departing airplanes. The runway was very short, terminating in a tall cliff at the end that would spell certain doom during an overshoot. It was an airport where planes could take off, but never return. In addition, there appeared to be tall turrets armed with, presumably, Ice-Two missiles, near the edge of the runway and on top of the cliff.

"They really, really do not want anyone to land there," Ingrid said.

"Naughty," Ashe said. "I'll bet they are hiding some juicy secrets."

"What if they have soldiers inside, ready to execute the engineers if we try to land?" Ingrid asked. "What if they have already spotted us? Would they even be able to see our white airplanes against the snow in the sky? Maybe they have scouts outside with magenta Orbs."

"For somebody who suddenly took command from these men," Ashe said, "you certainly are terrible at making decisions quickly."

That was fair. Annoying, but fair. Ingrid found herself wondering: what would Vaska do?

Any probability of failure, in her mind, would be a guarantee of failure, because of her curse. A raid might fail, so she would definitely call in a bomber to obliterate the entire site and then move on. And perhaps that would be a good idea. Those fighters on the ground were a risk to the invasion of the enemy capital. The Vice-Admiral would absolutely want the site destroyed.

But Ingrid was not Vaska, and the Vice-Admiral did not know about this site yet.

Ingrid activated the magenta Colored Orb linked to the recruitment squad. "Glenice, can you hear me?"

"I hear you Ingrid, what is the matter?" Glenice replied.

"Ivan... Ivan has been shot down. We found an enemy black site, they are creating fighter jets here in the Plane of Fire. If we shoot them down, they copy some of the features from our design. I want to visit that site. Would you be willing to send a tilt-rotor filled with your best Marines? The Meg Squadron may be useful as well. I have a plan."

"Um, yes. I can do that. Give me a minute."

"White Ravens, I have made my decision. Everyone. Stay up here and keep watch of the area. If they try to take off, we run away and resupply. I have summoned Glenice and Reese to come help."

"As you command," Lead said. "Diamond formation, spread out and keep eyes on every corner of the sky. Left and Right Wing, cover zero to one-eight-zero altitude one-six thousand. Slot, cover ninety to two-seven-zero with me, altitude one-seven thousand. Solo and Opposing Solo, long circle around our pattern."

"We have kicked the recruits out of this ship and are taking off now," Glenice said. "Reese is already flying toward the new portal."

"We are eighty-four nautical miles from the new portal, heading two-two-three. You will need to figure out where that is relative to yourself."

"Affirmative, Reese will be informed as well."

"When you arrive, you are to follow behind me. I am going to fly an extremely low, extremely fast pass through the mountain valley, close enough to the ground for Titania to claim any contracts they have. I will summon the contracts to me, and disable their missiles. Your tilt-rotor will follow behind me and land the Marines on the roof. They are to enter the facility through the roof and secure the area. Note, there may be enemies inside the facility, and they may attempt to execute the engineers. Kill any hostiles, including any engineers that are armed. Be aware that the engineers may attempt to poison themselves."

It took another twenty minutes for the tilt-rotor to arrive. She had spent the time flying around low and planning her route to the valley. Ingrid pulled up alongside it and rocked her wings. The tilt-rotor rocked its wing very slightly. They descended. Ingrid pulled the throttle back so the slower aircraft could keep pace. She only had a single Wind Elemental summoned in her cabin to protect against the noise, and the tilt-rotor nearby made a lot of noise. She pulled ahead.

They raced through the valleys and snowfields of the Plane of Fire, across a river of lava and over a burning forest. The massive rotors of the aircraft behind Ingrid caused the pillars of smoke to spiral into vortexes. The active volcano above the enemy black site dominated one side of her vision. Ingrid banked to follow the rivers of lava at the base of the mountain. Snow rushed past her canopy.

The valley came into view. The enemy turrets had their missiles angled up, into the sky. The operators must have seen her, because even at that distance Ingrid could see that the missiles began to very slowly rotate down. She punched the throttle in. No flares. It was a race.

She dumped the nose, and skimmed just a few feet over the ground at top speed. Before she had joined the White Ravens, she had not yet developed the precision flying required for the approach, and for Natasha's intervention she was grateful. The snow and trees rushed past in a grayish blur. She focused her eyes on the target.

The turrets were too high, the tops of the missiles were above her. Even if they rotated all the way down, the missiles themselves would need to pitch down sharply to catch her. A mistake in engineering.

She pitched her nose up, gained a few feet, and rolled on edge, cutting straight through the middle of the two turrets. The two turrets at the end of the runway were both slowly rotating. While still on edge, she used the rudder to point her nose toward the ground and drop altitude in the air under the cliff. She leveled off just before passing over the second pair of turrets.

"Titania! Dismiss the Elementals!"

They all are claimed. It is done, they have been dismissed.

She pitched up violently, using thrust vectoring and full power to launch herself into a vertical climb. Clouds of fog formed on her wings and in between her rudders as she performed the maneuver. Even with a body strengthened by a Life Elemental, she could still feel the intense G-forces. She craned her neck back to get a look at the valley. The tilt-rotor was busy landing on the roof of the largest structure.

"That was some damn fine flying Commander," Matvei said.

"You are a damn fine teacher, Left Wing," Ingrid replied. "Titania, how many crystals did you claim?"

About thirty blue-red contracts and the same number of black contracts plus four.

"Black contracts?" Ingrid asked. "Oh, some of their missiles must have been Dark-Three. They would have also had ocular demons. They must have constructed this place before we even released Ashe."

No, I would have known if they opened a portal back then. Mother would have told me. She cannot deviate from this behavior. She does not adapt or make exceptions.

"Right, maybe it is just standard procedures to procure those crystals from the bank for a site like this." She looked down and saw another magenta Orb blinking. She activated it.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

"...acts. Contacts! Going in... clear!"

Then she heard gunshots.

"Clear! Put that cup down!"

More gunshots.

"Make him vomit, force him to vomit!"

A woman was screaming in a language Ingrid did not recognize.

"What did that woman say? Can you translate Titania?"

Not through the Lightning Elemental, no. I need to be near her as she speaks.

"Easy there, I got you... Clear! Clear! Clear!"

Then Glenice began to speak: "Ingrid, the facility is clear. This is... horrible. Find an airship, ride on a tilt-rotor. Come here immediately. You will want to see this."

----------------------------------------

After Ingrid landed on the new flagship, the Blade of Empire, she deplaned and sprinted for a tilt-rotor. Ignoring the protests of the Marines, she locked herself in the lavatory and set a new world record. Ashe was waiting for her outside, tapping her foot.

"So many giant organs, and your bladders are tiny," Ashe said.

"I was flying for three hours!" Ingrid protested.

"Lady Ghost," the Marine Commander said. "Can I... help you?"

"Gather your men. Take off immediately, and follow my instructions."

"As you wish."

The White Ravens were busy lining up to land on the deck of the Blade of Empire, their landing lights gleaming above the tires of their front landing gears, when the tilt-rotor closed the door and began to ascend. The airship slowly plodded along toward the portal at twenty knots. The invasion of the capital city had already started.

Ingrid looked out the window of the tilt-rotor as it flew. Familiar sights came into view. Places she had flown over not too long before. The slower speed and higher altitude of the approach allowed Ingrid to really appreciate the beauty of the area. Ashe had been right. A world of fire and lava would be boring. This world, with its sharp contrast between snow and fire, was definitely better. The Queen of Fire had a very good sense of aesthetics.

They passed the bodies of dead soldiers at the base of the turrets at the top of the cliff, enemy soldiers killed by Glenice's Marines. The engines began to rotate slowly, and the craft masterfully landed in the middle of the runway. The door opened. Glenice stood just outside, wearing a white winter jacket and holding a rifle. Three Marines stood behind her.

"Good news first," Glenice said. "Follow me to those fighters."

She led Ingrid to the fighter jets. There were lots of footprints, scorch marks, and some blood, but no bodies. Four men stood perfectly still, directly in front of the first four fighters. Ingrid instantly recognized them.

The first man was Alen Mason, the junior pilot she had killed in the Plane of Wing with a missile. The second pilot was Jadran Eduard, the best pilot in Zef's fleet. The other men were Izak Shoemaker and Karlo Dren, Ervin's wingmen. They stood perfectly still, very much alive but completely oblivious to their surroundings. They were also muttering to themselves. Ingrid approached Jadran.

"Distance zero nautical miles, heading two-seven-zero," Jadran said. He repeated the same thing over and over. Ingrid walked to the other side of him, directly opposite of where she had been standing before. "Distance zero nautical miles, heading nine-zero."

"Goddess," Ingrid said. "They are... trying to fly toward me."

"But they do not have fighter jets yet," Glenice said. "These ones were still being assembled when we captured the engineers working on them."

"Um, these are not meat bags," Ashe said. "No organs or anything. I'm guessing they do not need to eat, drink, sleep, or breathe."

"So, what happens if we just... leave them here forever?" Ingrid asked. "Maybe... will they wait for their fighter jets forever? Maybe that is four less pilots we need to worry about?"

"That is my working theory," Glenice said. "My Marines have attempted to move one of them, and they can be moved around it seems. They do not react to anything, not even you being here. I suggest we pack them up and store them somewhere deep underground."

"I agree," Ingrid said. "You said this was the good news?"

"Yes. Follow me. There is more good news inside, and some very... disturbing news."

The interior of the metal structure very closely resembled the Imperial black site that Vaska and Ingrid had visited. Frost in the corners, metal and brutalist concrete, lab equipment, tables, diagrams, piles of metal ingots, crates filled with aeronautical instruments... and Imperial Marines, stalking the hallways with rifles. Glenice led Ingrid to a large chamber with eight tables. There was a corpse, or at least half a corpse, in one corner, guarded by two older Marines. There was a burn mark on the floor near the Marines.

Three men and one woman, all alive, sat chained in the opposite corner. A single Marine stood over them with a rifle.

"What the hell happened here?" Ingrid asked.

"Nobody has been allowed to touch the body in the corner," Glenice whispered. "Those two men are the men that I trust the most in my entire group. Say as little as possible, and be quiet."

Ingrid shuttered when Glenice said that. Be quiet? Glenice gestured and her two older Marines walked over to the third, leaving the corpse unattended. As Ingrid approached it, Glenice did not follow. She turned to look at Glenice, but the blonde woman simply shook her head.

The half-corpse on the ground was that of a woman, missing both her legs and much of her lower body. Her clothes were golden, and she wore a cracked mask of pure gold. Ingrid's eyes went wide. "The hell..." she stopped. A Matron of a light crystal. If the crystal was still here, then it could spy on them. Anything she said...

Be quiet.

Ingrid rifled through the dead woman's clothes. She found the crystal on a golden chain around her neck under her golden robes.

"Light, I summon you." Ingrid said. An armored woman appeared, with an appearance very similar to the old Titania. "Glenice, have your marines take the prisoners out of this room. The light will be very intense, but it does not penetrate metal or stone."

They all shuffled out in silence.

"Fire of my spirit! Water of my spirit! Purify this one!"

She turned and squatted down behind a table, allowing the metal rim to block her closed eyes. She would not leave this thing unattended in this room after it had been purified.

Ingrid ignored the screams of the Light Elemental. The metal table did a good job of blocking the blinding light. When the light faded she walked over to the Elemental. "May I temporarily bond you, but pass the bond to another?" she asked.

If that is what you wish, the Light Elemental replied in her mind. Her voice had the delicate tone of wind chimes.

"Travel with me then," Ingrid said. The Elemental vanished, and Ingrid left the room in search of Glenice. The High Daughters of Fire and Water followed behind her. "I wonder why we don't just ask the sacrifices to transfer their bonds to our soldiers," Ingrid said.

"That would be stupid," Ashe said. "You are stupid."

"Hey!"

"Prove me wrong. Tell me why that is a stupid idea."

Having been told it was a stupid idea, it did not take Ingrid long to puzzle out why. "It is a stupid idea, because it would be much faster to teach the sacrifices how to fly, than it would be to teach our own soldiers how to summon their Elementals and stay awake for a long time."

"Hundreds of times faster, idiot," Ashe said. "Also you forgot the other reason. The person would need to actually want to transfer the bond. Would you give away your Fire Elemental to some stranger?"

Ingrid said nothing.

Glenice was waiting in a nearby room. She pointed to the three people. "None of my Marines can speak the Kanti language. However, I was able to interview them with the help of an Elemental. I suggest you do the same, but do not use Titania. They may be... extremely terrified of Light Elementals."

"High Daughter of Water, please translate my voice to these people, and translate their responses to me." The watery woman stepped up beside Ingrid, floating above the ground slightly. "High Daughter of Fire, I dismiss you." The fiery woman vanished from the threshold of the door.

The three prisoners seemed to be very surprised by the sight of the High Daughters, but they did not appear to be afraid. The woman's face was red and her cheeks were wet. The three men by contrast had a defeated look in their eyes.

"Who are you?" Ingrid asked. The Daughter of Water translated.

"I will speak for us," the closest man said. "We are all recruits. Well, we were recruits. They gave us a mission here. Our mission at first was to guard the site, but then the officers ordered us to come into the room with the tables. They chained us to the tables at gunpoint. Then the woman with the golden mask arrived, and she summoned a Light Elemental. And then, it stabbed the first man through the chest with her sword. Light consumed him, and when the light went away, he had become a different person! He was from the city of Kanti before, but he transformed into an Ayaruan! I swear!"

"And then," Ingrid said. "Then she stabbed the other three, and they all changed also."

"That is right. They all turned into Ayaruan soldiers. Their faces changed, their clothes changed. They started muttering distances and headings. They snapped themselves out of their chains effortlessly, and walked out of the room. Then... there was an explosion. And enemy soldiers flooded the building. They killed all the other soldiers but spared us."

"And what happened to the woman in the gold mask?"

The man pointed his cuffed arms toward Glenice. "This attractive woman shot the masked woman in the feet with a rocket launcher." Ingrid glanced at Glenice. She returned a knowing smile.

"Bullets don't work against Light Elementals," Glenice said. "For that, you need something with a bit more power."

"You casually walk around with a rocket launcher?" Ingrid asked.

"And a sniper rifle," Glenice said. Ingrid shook her head.

"So this is your disturbing news, is it? They sacrifice their own soldiers to create copies of the eight pilots we keep seeing."

"That is correct. And therefore, there is one other thing you need to see. The enemy fighter jet research documents and diagrams are still in tact. Vaska is going to love this."