Within seconds, we had all re-entered the limousines and were driving toward our next destination. Our driver hesitated for a moment as the car in front of ours pulled forward, but he started pulling forward when Poldra firmly commanded him to, “Follow them.”
We had soon left downtown Ternarus, and the crowds quickly disappeared in the rear window.
“I feel like that was supposed to take longer,” Dendrite said with a faint hint of worry in his voice.
“Who cares?” Poldra said as she picked up the glass of champagne she had stored in a cup holder specially-made for champagne glasses. “We’re, like, in charge, right? Hey, driver,” Poldra spoke in the direction of the front of the vehicle’s interior cabin. “Are we in charge of Merkopia?”
After a few seconds, a low hum emanated from the dark glass divider between us and the driver. The same voice as before said, “Umm, are you referring to the Dark Apostles?”
“Yes,” Poldra said.
“That’s a complicated question, ma’am,” the driver said diplomatically. “I don’t think I’m qualified to answer it.”
“Just give me your opinion, then,” Poldra said. “I promise I won’t get mad.”
I definitely heard an audible gulp come from the other side of the divider. The driver said, “The nation of Merkopia follows the will of GM, and the Dark Apostles are conduits of that will. Not even the Prelate would dare to refuse your commands.”
“Eh,” Poldra shrugged. “Good enough for me.”
The three of us rode in that limo for the next twenty minutes. It was a much longer distance between Ternarus and our next destination than between Castle Bosporus and Ternarus. We didn’t talk about anything in particular, and I forgot precisely what was said.
I regret that I cannot recall our conversation now, because that was one of the last conversations I was able to have with other Dark Apostles before any of us had stained our hands with innocent blood.
When the doors to the vehicle next opened, we were parked next to a large semi-circular structure made out of corrugated sheet metal. The structure rose about fifty feet into the air, and a large rectangular door was built into the flat side of the structure. On the ground near one side the structure was a long airstrip that seemed sufficiently long for a passenger airplane to land.
Beyond the semi-circular structure were several other buildings such as a barracks and a watchtower. I had known we were going to a military air base, but I was surprised that it looked like it was from World War II.
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Inside of the large metal structure were two large cargo airplanes. The planes were painted in a green military camouflage that would probably blend well with a temperate forest, and each one was being loaded with the large metal crates that some of us had packed the night before.
We dismounted from the limousines sluggishly. Some of the other Apostles were stretching after having to sit still for longer than their new bodies were accustomed and others were looking at the cargo planes in awe. It was one thing to know that the world of Ferrum was more technologically than normal, and it was another thing to really see it.
“Okay,” Crow started saying as soon as she exited her vehicle. “Remember, the south team’s in plane one and the north team’s in plane two.” She gestured to the plane to the left first and then the plane to the right. “South team is Melkior, Svenheim, Dendrite, Enzo, Null, and Katya. The rest of you are with me in the other plane.”
Naturally, I remembered the plan that Crow had laid out the previous day. We would take two airplanes into Rubigo. One would go south and hit Osiris, Threshold, and New Arcadia. The other would hit Fulvang and the area surrounding it.
We were herded by Crow and the staff toward two separate changing rooms as olive drab jumpsuits were pushed into our hands. I didn’t quite understand what all the hurry was about. We weren’t going to blitzkrieg the Revenants and kill them while they were weak (even though that’s what Talwar wanted). We were merely deploying to Rubigo to contain them in the starting cities and prepare for future negotiations.
I was ferried to a relatively small changing room with the seven other male Dark Apostles. It must have been less cramped in the girls’ changing room since there were only five of them and eight of us.
As we changed into our jumpsuits, Kojiro complained loudly. “For 48 Strength, I’m not nearly as ripped as I would like. I mean, come on. I should have abs and bulging biceps.”
Kojiro’s statement got my brain going. I looked down at my shirtless form and was somewhat surprised by my lack of visible muscle definition. While my body didn’t have any excess fat, I didn’t have the build of a bodybuilder.
“You know, Kojiro,” Araki said as he slipped his jumpsuit over one shoulder. “Abs and bulging biceps are created as a result of muscle. These bodies are new. They haven’t strained their muscles. Plus, I don’t know about you, but I haven’t run into anything yet that has forced me to exert myself.”
“So we need to go bench press refrigerators, gotcha,” Kojiro said with a smile.
We all regrouped in the hangar within a few minutes. All of us were dressed in olive drab jumpsuits that tucked into our boots and holding duffel bags in our hands. We had packed the clothes, cloaks, and masks we brought with us into the duffel bags.
Staff soon arrived to take our duffel bags and begin putting parachutes on our backs. I looked at the parachutes and noticed that they were much larger than normal single-person parachutes. The devices they slipped on our backs were modified cargo parachutes that were originally used to drop heavy crates of goods when necessary. The parachute’s attachment system had been heavily modified, but its deployment system was exactly the same. Such a huge parachute would be overkill for a normal person but was absolutely necessary for an Apostle like me.