Genyrre a land wagon that was the largest of her kind. Heavily armored and armed, it served as a mobile fortress that pirates and raiders fear. It moves by its six mechanical legs and was powered by its six steam engines.
The land wagon was traveling in the grasslands of the Doran kingdom for several weeks. The thunderous stomp that every mechanical leg makes resonates for almost miles away from the land wagon. Its engines belched black smoke and steam.
The ride inside the land wagon was smooth. Even when fording lakes, swamps, or even rivers didn't create any disturbance or shock made it a popular transport to all walks of life. The upper floors marked from the first floor belonged to the high classes, while the lower classes stayed on the lower parts of the land wagon.
Sometimes, lawless elements bypass the law that keeps them in check. Despite patrols, they can always find ways to circumvent and operate in the lower parts of the land wagon.
When the land wagon was leaving the Doran Kingdom, two Europan patrol ships arrived and asked permission to dock. A female officer with her superior looked at the land wagon from above through the window.
The land wagon looked badly maintained then rust covered most of its metal frame. The major named Rowan Erickson asked the pilot for the response from the Captain of the Genyrre.
"No word from the Land Wagon yet!" The pilot replied.
The female officer suggested and said, "If they do not comply, then I believe we will have to use force. It's in the protocol, sir!
"By the book as always, Selena," Rowan replied to the lady officer.
Before Selena could reply, the Genyrre sent a transmission to the Europan patrol ship.
"This is LW-0029 Genyrre. You may now board. I-I apologize for the delay in the transmission!"
"Is there something wrong? Are you the Captain?" Selena asked in reply to the transmission.
"The captain... i-is not well. It is the first mate speaking on our Captain's behalf." The first mate replied to Selena.
"Something's not right. I will assign you to scan the land wagon while I interrogate the crew!" Rowan ordered Selena.
"Yes sir!" Selena agreed.
Upon their ship's landing on the deck, the crew of the Genyrre placed the ship in place with arresting cables and frames after the anti-gravitational drive was disabled. After securing the ship the Europan patrol disembarked there. They sent scanners to detect any illegal cargo onboard.
As Selena and Rowan disembarked, two Europan soldiers reported, "There's nothing unusual in the deck!"
Rowan replied and said, "Good! Proceed to the lower floors. Selena will lead the inspection. I need four soldiers with me!" Rowan proceeded to the Cabin where the Captain was.
Inside the bridge, the Captain scolded the first mate and said, "You'd better say nothing, or else we're done for! Act as if nothing has happened."
The first mate kept his mouth shut and looked outside of the window. From the outside Rowan knocked at the steel door causing a clanging sound three times. The Captain told one of his crew to open the door and as the door opened gentle breeze entered the room.
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"It's pretty humid here. Is the ventilation even working?" Rowan asked the crew.
No one answered, and then Rowan asked the same question again. One of the crew replied and said, "It's been months since we requested the repairs of the ventilation system. Upon arriving at our next destination we will have it fixed."
Rowan sounded unconvinced, "Oh?" He inspected the entire smelly and humid Cabin with himself and his soldiers.
Meanwhile, at the upper floors of the land wagon, Selena decided to split up her men to search the land wagon faster. She wears the standard white uniform for the border guards with black epaulets on both of the shoulders of her uniform. There was a distinct gold embroidery that described her rank. She fixed her hair in a clean ponytail. Then she wore black gloves and black boots.
Walking on the halls of the upper floors, Selena suddenly saw an entourage of well-dressed people. In front of her and a few guards in her back is a gentleman who looked sophisticated. He wore an iron lion emblem on the jacket near his left pocket on his chest.
"You're not supposed to be here!" Selena said to the gentleman before his entourage.
"Whatever the treaty signed by Europa and the Heathens without the approval of the Dynellan Family, it will not be legitimate. I have the right of the throne and rescue my people held by the heathens. You have no right to stop me!" The silver hair gentleman said.
Selena, who had no choice, contacted her superior who was at the bridge. "Sir! We have a situation here. The heir of the Dynellan Dynasty is here!"
"What!?" Rowan replied in surprise. "He's not supposed to be here!"
"I know, but what should we do?" Selena asked.
"We will have to force him back to Svedenia. Drag him if you must. No one must know that he was here!" Rowan replied to her.
"You leave me no choice. We will have to drag you even if you resist!" Selena told the silver-haired gentleman.
"Over my cold corpse!" The silver-haired man replied and orders his entourage to aim their rifles at their fellow Europan soldiers."Are you mad!?" Selena replied. Her men did the same and aimed their rifles at the silver-haired man and his entourage.
While observing Selena's progress by listening to her conversation over the transmission, Rowan sighed and worriedly commented, "This is not good!"
The Captain of the Genyrre suddenly froze in fear upon seeing six unidentified ships hovering on the horizon seven miles away. Rowan, beside the Captain of the Genyrre at first puzzled at what the Captain had just seen.
Picking up his binoculars, Rowan saw six ships with their anti-gravity drives activated, glowing yellow under its belly. From the looks of it they didn't look like pirate ships but the worst situation they could imagine. It was an Umayar invasion. The ships were heading towards them.
Rowan contacted Selena who was still confronting the silver-haired man. "Selena, there is something serious that is going on. Leave the prince be. I am rallying you all for the defense of the land wagon!"
Selena, sensing the urgency of the situation from her superior officer through his voice lowered her rifle. She ordered her soldiers to do the same, "After surviving this ordeal, I will drag you back to exile. I have matters to attend to!"
Selena left with her soldiers and went to the Bridge to meet up with her superior officer.
Meanwhile, Rowan asked the Genyrre's Captain if he had prepared for the defense of the land wagon. The Captain did not talk and ignored Rowan.
Rowan, unable to hold his frustration, grabbed the Captain by his collar and asked, "Do you have a plan to save the land wagon!?"
The first officer unable to keep his mouth shut, confessed to Rowan and said, "This is no Umayar invasion... the Captain. He had dealt with an Umayar General for an illicit cargo. We lacked several tons of it. That's why the Umayar General sent us ships to destroy us!"
"Not another word boy!" The Genyrre's captain approached the first officer angrily but was tackled by Rowan.
Other Europan soldiers helped Rowan out in detaining the Genyrre's captain. "After this ordeal, I would like to have all of you officers for investigation and interrogation. Sound the alarm and inform regulars for the defense of the land wagon!" Rowan ordered them.The officers inside the bridge of the land wagon looked at themselves in silence.
"Don't you hear what I said? Get a move on or we will all die here!!!" Rowan yelled at the officers.
The officers scrambled and did what Rowan told them to do. The alarm sounded in the entire land wagon and the regulars scrambled to man the defenses, "This will be a bloody fight, prepare yourselves!" He advised the crew in the bridge.