A Tale of a Tin City

The Confederacy was a political union of three states in the southwest corner of Benacia; the Kingdom of Voltrue, the Dietsland Free State, and the Republic of Puritania.

Moderators: (Shireroth) Steward, (Shireroth) Kaiser

Post Reply
User avatar
Orion
Full of shi... err.. stars!
Posts: 2673
Joined: Sat Nov 27, 2010 7:55 pm

A Tale of a Tin City

Post by Orion »

Helmut looked uneasily at the vast mass of the traction city that stood half-buried and hidden in the hillside. It had sat there for so many centuries that trees three-feet in diameter sprouted from its upper tiers. But that had been somewhat intentional. Now he was scouting the perimeter of the city, keeping a watch for any trespassers. "Hmph," he thought to himself. "No one has come this way in ages. We're so deep in the Benacian mountains that only the errant hunter every so often strays into the deep ravines. Yet here I am, on patrol assignment yet again. A completely pointless task that could just as easily be given to a machine." Helmut gave his horse a kick and trotted off along the trail. There was his 'family rock', as he came to call it. Or at least it looked like a rock. The once-smooth metal had been hammered and beaten until it lost any hint of having been made by a human hand, and instead the grey metal now looked like a piece of granite jutting from the ground. His father, Albert Schemerhorn, had most ungraciously tripped over the all-too-obvious protrusion, setting off alarms and getting himself caught by the Arielis. But he quickly proved himself as a brilliant pilot, and fell in love with Helmut's mother, Katherine, one of the Arieli engineers. Thus was Helmut born into the city of Ariel.

Various portion of the city stuck out of the ground, even though most of the city had been buried under dirt and gravel in a natural depression. What had stuck out had been made to look like natural stone outcroppings. A smattering of trees and a few hundred years of growth hid the city from any curious eyes, and the Arielis had kept working underground, preparing for when the city would have to move again. They had been preparing for years. The Lord Mayor, and their successors all down through the years, were convinced the city would be discovered and they would have to flee again. Ever since the collapse of the CIS and the flight of the city south across Benacia, the Arielis lived in fear of persecution. Working underground they repaired and reinforced the city, stockpiling coal for the steam engines, and supplies for the inevitable long journey that must someday come. Helmut thought it all bogus. Why move at all? Ariel should rise and establish itself! It was pointless to keep living in the shadows!

Helmut's walkie-talkie crackled to life. "Kssshhh", came the static. "This is command, Sgt. Schemerhorn, please copy."

"Aye", replied Helmut. "This is Schemerhorn. What's the good word?"

"We have orders from the Lord Mayor for all patrols to report to Central Command."

"What's going on?" asked Schemerhorn. It was odd for the patrols to be recalled, especially all of them.

"We can't say," came the cold response. "All you need to know is report to Central Command NOW."

"Yes, sir," snapped Helmut. "Right away, sir! Schemerhorn out." And he switched off the talkie before waiting for a reply.

Helmut turned his horse about and gave it a good kick, sending it galloping off down the trail, back towards the city entrance.

Trees and rocks flew by in a blur, and dead ahead, as he rounded a sloping corner, a sheer wall greeted him less than a hundred feet away. But he didn't slow, and instead kept right on at full speed towards the wall. Just as it seemed he would ram the flat face of the granite, a panel slid away, revealing a wide entrace deep into the mountainside. Helmut kept on at full speed, dashing into the darkness, which was soon illuminated by overhead by crackling incandescent lights. The ramp sloped down into the belly of the beast, and Helmut kept on. At the bottom the ramp widened into a platform and soon tapered off on level ground. Here the space widened into a large room where stalls were built and other patrols were coming in from their runs.

Helmut followed the other patrolmen into the elevator, the old metal grinding and klanking shut behind them. Old tunes from Microvision played softly over the speakers as they descended deeper and deeper into the city. After what seemed like an eternity (though in reality only lasted one song) the elevator ground to a halt and the doors slid open. Here the room was much larger, and huge wires the size of anacondas snaked across the floor, all leading to the tower at the center of the room - Central Command. It looked like the helm of an old battleship, if it had been sawed off and planted in the middle of a warehouse. Behind the glass windows Helmut could see the various commanders gesticulating with their arms, barking orders, doing other commanding type things. But at the base of the tower a large group of various officers were gathering. Amongst the crowd he made out the red coat of the Lord Mayor bobbing in and out of sight behind the drab green of the soldiers' uniforms. Helmut pushed his way closer, trying to see what all the fuss was about.

Someone bumped into him, and he turned with a start but then quickly relaxed. It was his friend John, an infrantryman, with whom he had gone to school.

"Hey, John," said Helmut. "What's going on?"

John looked at Helmut and nodded towards the Lord Mayor. "I'm not sure either, but rumor is we're moving."

"We're leaving the city?!" asked Helmut incredulously.

"No, Ariel is moving, Like for the first time in a seriously long time," said John. "Here's the Lord Mayor now, he's going to make an announcement."

Both men turned towards the Lord Mayor, who was waving frantically, trying to shush the crowd. When the bustle quieted somewhat, he rose his voice to try and talk over the audience. "Ahem, citizens of Ariel," he began in his usual formal fashion. "We have some important news. We've received word that the Confederacy has been reborn amongst the eastern states."

People in the crowd either snickered or gasped. "But the Confederacy died ages ago," started one young officer.

"I'm well aware of that, young man," snapped the Lord Mayor. "But we've received word nonetheless that the Confederacy has been refounded by three small city-states out of a small section of southwestern Benacia. Our spies intercepted their transmissions to Shireroth, and it seems they are under attack."

"So why should we care?" asked another officer. "The Confederacy never did much for us. And if they're under attack all the more reason to stay here."

The Lord Mayor glared down at the dissenter. "Ariel was a founding member of the Confederacy of Independent States. Long before we became a traction city our lands were static along the northern coast. If the CIS has been re-founded, then we are still bound by treaty and honor to assist."

Several grumbling soldiers were silenced by another glare from the Lord Mayor. Schemerhorn however spoke up. "And what do we get out of it?" he asked.

The Lord Mayor looked Helmut up and down before replying. "Ariel has been in hiding for several centuries. Prior to that we spent a few hundred years wandering the Benacian wastes, evading detection, always hiding where others could not find us. But if the CIS is indeed reborn, then we may finally be able to stop hiding. We might finally be able to go home."

An swell of murmuring surged across the crowd, but now heads were nodding. But Helmut interjected again. "How do we know they'll welcome us?" he asked.

"If our intelligence is correct, they are under attack from intelligent machines and are losing. If we can come to their aid we will be seen as heroes. They'll have little choice but to welcome us."

Before Helmut could say more the Lord Mayor cut him off. "We'll have no more discussion here. Tonight we hold a Town Meeting. Everyone is expected to vote on the matter. I will abide by the will of the people. We will either choose to stay, or choose to fight. This may be our last chance at going home, so I suggest we make the most of it."

User avatar
Wil
Executed in accordance with imperial law
Posts: 134
Joined: Tue Jan 24, 2017 7:27 pm

Re: A Tale of a Tin City

Post by Wil »

I see I am spreading the popularity of the title "Lord Mayor."

What is a "traction city"? A city that moves?

User avatar
Orion
Full of shi... err.. stars!
Posts: 2673
Joined: Sat Nov 27, 2010 7:55 pm

Re: A Tale of a Tin City

Post by Orion »


Post Reply

Return to “Confederacy of Puritanian States”