Orbis Nova

Buenos Aires

May 25, 1960; 48 hours before the Summoning

It was a festive and very important day for the southern nation, since on a day like today the First Government Junta was created (approximately 150 years ago) and all the citizens of the Empire were in the streets celebrating; drinking or tasting typical food of the time as well as the clothes.

"General, sir!" A frantic Lieutenant saluted loudly as he entered the office of the man of high office.

General Francisco Wagner looked up from the reports on his desk. Francisco was calmly reviewing the reports on military spending; where a good part of the money was being spent on revolutionary projects as well as new experiments, but his attention had been on the folder that his comrade in the Navy had left him regarding the Antarctic Expedition. He hoped this particular junior officer's urgency didn't mean more trouble.

"Yes, Lieutenant, what's the problem?"

"Sir, the NSRC (National Space Research Commission) just discovered a large storm developing over the Falkland Islands! It's like nothing we've ever seen!"

Francisco returned to his desk and picked up the phone. "General Wagner speaking."

"General Wagner," A strangely calm voice answered. "This is Dr. Daniela Romano, meteorologist. I'm sure you've heard about the storm developing over the Malvinas Islands. So far, we have not classified it because it is the first time something like this has happened in the world, but we have already warned local residents to take shelter in bunkers. So far, the growth rate of this freak storm has surpassed even the worst historical disasters like Hurricane Galveston or Typhoon Haiphong. It is also expanding at an unprecedented rate, covering a significant percentage of the world's surface. It is moving toward Tierra del Fuego and Santa Cruz, and is expected to make landfall tomorrow."

"Fuck..." cursed General Wagner under his breath. He sat back and rested his head on his right hand as he braced himself for the coming disaster. "This doesn't make any sense ... What is this storm doing in the South Atlantic?"

A brief silence followed. "We don't know, General Wagner. It is by all accounts, anomalous. However, it still follows mathematical models and we can track and predict the path of the storm. We speculate that with the current growth rate of the storm may reach the islands in the Pacific, we also expect to lose contact with the Malvinas Islands in just over two hours. The interference from the storm will probably reduce that time to an hour and a half, perhaps less."

General Wagner cursed again under his breath. Then he was silent for a few seconds thinking what he should do in the face of such a problem falling on his shoulders, but at last with a stern look he knew what he must do; so, he called the junior officer from before. "Lieutenant Gimenez, we have to declare a national emergency and fully mobilize the Armed Forces. Get everyone here as soon as possible and be sure to ground all civilian flights and ships. Oh, I almost forgot. Tell Captain Hugo Martinez to get my press team ready."

"Yes, sir!"

General Wagner turned his attention back to the meteorologist. "Doctor ... Romano, right?"

"Yes."

"Any suggestions?"

"Duck and hope for the best, General Wagner."

"Shit..."

"I advise you to prepare all emergency services and mobilize the Armed and Security Forces for this disaster."

"I already did. I'm going to make some calls; let me know if anything new comes up, Dr. Romano."

"I will, General Wagner. Good luck." She ended the call.

Now alone, General Wagner dropped back into his seat. "... I hope this is not an experiment by the Germans."

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Qua-Toyne Principality

May 27, 1639 of the Central Calendar. Time: 8:00 a.m.

Sixth Wyvern Squadron

Maarpatima lazily looked down at the villages below from her riding Wyvern, as the wind blew past her. The clear blue sky offered incredible visibility and added to the peaceful atmosphere, ignoring the threats from the Louria Kingdom. Maarpatima sighed in relaxation, enjoying the ride. He closed his eyes, allowing his Wyvern to soar through the skies on its designated patrol route.

A faint ringing sound entered her ears, but she dismissed it. The intensity of the noise increased, until it became a nuisance to Maarpatima. She opened her eyes, scanning the skies around her in an attempt to find the source of the noise. Seeing nothing, he used his magical communications to contact his companion, who was flying ahead of him.

"Hey, Grant, did you hear something out of the ordinary?"

"Ah, are you talking about the buzzing sound?"

"Yeah, where's it coming from?"

"I'm not sure, but it's getting louder here."

Before Maarpatima could respond, a startled cry emanated from her magical device.

"Grant! What happened?"

His companion stammered out a report, while hyperventilating.

"Strange object! The wings aren't flapping! It's headed your way!"

Maarpatima squinted and saw the large winged object rapidly approaching. Grant was right; whatever creature it might be had no flapping wings. The being's gray skin was unremarkable aside from some strange symbols on its wings, an indecipherable typeface that spelled "FAIA" and what appeared to be a flag or insignia on its tail: horizontally it was a mixture of light blue and white with a sun in the middle or at least that's what Maarpatima could discern.

"Grant, report to headquarters! The unidentified object is heading towards Maihark; I'm in pursuit!"

"Yes, sir!" Came the reply.

As the object sped past him, Maarpatima was about to fly. His Wyvern flapped its wings furiously, struggling to maintain balance and altitude after being pushed aside by the object's current. Maarpatima turned her Wyvern and directed it towards the strange object. "What the hell is that?" he asked himself. It was much larger than a Wyvern, with a wingspan several times that of a Wyvern. On its wings, four windmill-shaped propellers were spinning rapidly. As it approached the object, the strange whirring sound from a few minutes earlier grew louder, but before it could study the creature further, it moved away. The object accelerated, lifting slightly as it did so.

As Maarpatima gawked at the tremendous acceleration of the huge object, he received a communication from Headquarters.

"Knight Maarpatima of the Sixth Wyvern Squadron, we have been briefed on the current situation. We are scrambling with the rest of the Sixth Squadron to intercept!" The voice came over the line, clamoring and towering Wyvern audible in the background.

"Give up Central, the object is accelerating too fast for us, we can't catch up!" He said rather bewildered as his Wyvern, traveling at top speed, was left in the dust by the object, which had shrunk to a gray blob in the distance.

"Acknowledged, Knight Maarpatima, can you give us the bearing of this object?"

"Central Yield, the object is approximately 32 kilometers off the outskirts of Maihark and traveling at 900 kilometers per hour, based on how fast it is moving away from us!"

"We are transmitting your information now..."

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End of Chapter One

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The chapter has 1200 words.

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Uploaded: 16/07/22

Updated (Corrected): ?/?/?