Alberic Claude watched the sunrise above the water slowly while he exhaled a long breath of cigar smoke. It was one of the most enjoyable cigars he had ever tasted, its contents so pure, and its concentration perfect. The sand he had buried his feet in was cold and dry, a sensation he felt every day since his birth. The ends of his light brown leather pants hug less than an inch above the packed grains, touching the shore every time he leaned in any direction. He wore a skintight white shirt made of hand-sewn materials that kept him warm despite the relatively cold temperatures. His right hand had a leather glove, which gripped a long rapier.
With the weight of the air, the flexibility of thick piece of rubber and the strength of diamond, the sword was a masterful weapon for the art of dueling. The hand guard completely enveloped his fingers and the top of his hand, offering the most protection without restricting movement, and it remained perfectly balanced. The blade itself was a work of perfection itself, double edged, constructed of a light metal for the blades bonded to a thin core that was both strong and slightly bendable. It had tasted the blood of hundreds of victims, but not a single mark of battle could be seen anywhere on its body.
The reflection of the sun in the blade reminded Alberic that he was holding it, not only was the blade effortlessly held, but the feeling of the sand and sun was so peaceful he forgot the world for a moment, a precious moment he lived for as long as he could. He drew himself from the sand one foot at a time before turning to face his opponent with his sword held at a 45-degree angle in his hand. Once the edge of sun cleared away from the ocean, the duel was set to begin. And it was a duel that Alberic looked forward to more than any other in his past.
The two men stood five footsteps away, holding dueling swords and wearing similar clothes, although Alberic’s opponent wore a bright red shirt with a patch on his left chest, gold shoulders tassels, and a few medals below the patch. In addition, the man’s sword existed in the same likeness, decorated with useless indicators of past events and legacies. Alberic smiled internally, everything he opponent wore was an indicator of the man he was, even his expensive leather shoes.
“Are you ready?” The man asked in a strong voice once the sun was above the sea. Alberic simply nodded. The two held their swords parallel to the ground with outstretched arms until the tips of their swords touched lightly. Alberic’s opponent, Prince Louis Fayette of the Princedom bordering Alberic’s, was more than a dueling opponent, they were major political rivals. Louis had supported the annexation by the Mighty Islands, while Alberic violently opposed it, labeling it more of an assimilation. After the loss of a narrow vote in the Great House of Principalities, Alberic succeeded from the house and the alliance it formed along with numerous other Principalities, all deemed too small by the other Sondrian nations to exist.
Not long after his seceding, Louis challenged Alberic to a duel by the sword to the death. The winner would gain the dead man’s territory, as per princely tradition. Alberic accepted eager to take his adversary’s nation and eliminate his greatest political opponent in a single day. Louis fancied himself a great swordsman, and he was experienced in the art of fencing, but Alberic received his training differently from any other Prince. During the invasion of a small Principality when Alberic’s father held the throne, Alberic led the first amphibious charge sword in one hand and pistol in the other. Alberic was in combat every other day and each night in between, and in the one hundred days of conflict, he partook in 50 combat actions, killing over 200 men in close combat with only a single blade that he carried and used to this day. Louis thought he was the more experienced of the two, but Alberic outmatched him easily.
Louis struck first, as Alberic expected, with a fast swipe at his neck. Alberic leaned easily without removing his feet from the sand. After another swipe from the opposite direction and a similar dodge, Louis cut at Alberic’s waist, attempting to slice him in half. Without moving anything but his arms and upper body, Alberic thrust his sword in front of his body and pointed it directly down, stopping Louis’s sword effortlessly. Louis made more and more attacks, trying to get Alberic to move in some direction, but Alberic held his place perfectly. Finally, Louis took a spinning step and slashed at Alberic with both hands, a strike that would have thrown Alberic to the ground. Alberic rolled on the sand and cut behind him, cutting Louis’s outer thigh with his first strike in the duel.
Alberic stood erect, a full six feet and two inches, his build firm but thin, dark brown hair accompanied by brown eyes of similar shade, all on a clean shaven face. His opponent had fallen to a knee, and was in Alberic’s shadow, the sun a shining crown behind his head. Louis rose to his feet and ignored the shallow cut to his leg, and resumed his assault. Alberic finally began the duel by not only blocking, but also delivering strong attacks without mercy or a sign of easing at any time. After two minutes of intense dueling, Louis’s shirt and pants were torn in multiple places with light scars, and he his blocks were slowing with each second. Alberic made a slice for the head, which Louis barely blocked in time, and then followed with a 180-degree turn by stepping back and made another cut for the neck.
Louis went down onto a knee as the blade passed over his head, almost cleaving it in two at the hairline. Alberic swiped at Louis who jumped onto his back and brought up his sword just in time to complete the block. Louis kicked strongly at Alberic, who got his arm in the way and deflected the blow. Louis stood up and made a stab at Alberic’s gut while he stumbled back from the kick, the first contact Louis made with Alberic since the duel began. Alberic sidestepped the stab, and then drove his sword into Louis’s chin all the way to the hilt. Pulling a cloth from his pants pocket, Alberic simultaneously withdrew the sword from the dead man’s head. Alberic cleaned the blade in a single smooth motion before the throwing the red cloth onto the body.
Alberic turned and walked away as the dead man’s family swarmed around him, a wife, a son, and a daughter. Alberic paid little attentions to them, they were now citizens of his nations, wealthy citizens, but still under his laws and within his borders. A number of cameras recorded the results and displayed them around the region, he paid little mind to them as there was nothing
Now that his political rival was dead, the Princes would fall in easily behind him, they would walk to his tune and do so into a pit of snakes if he told them. He issued orders to each prince in the region before the duel began, he had no doubt as to victory, but even with his death, they would be carried out.
Alberic returned to his humble palace. Humble was a relative term, his place of living was well guarded and built for comfort, but many other princes devoted far too much of their wealth to their homes and comfort rather than the nation itself. Alberic entered his war room beneath the house where he met his five most trusted military commanders. Each general was a former prince that surrendered their lands in return for a place at Alberic’s side as a leader when they toppled the region. He sat down around the circular, black granite table, and the other generals followed suit. The circular room had screens mounted behind each man’s back, giving everyone a perfect view no matter where they were sitting. Upon Alberic’s nod, the generals began their briefing.
The first to speak was Alexis Frank, the only woman in the room, her tone was calm and bordered on seductive, “All military hardware is moving into place. Through generous ‘donations’ by most of the Princes and their nations, we purchased a few billion dollars’ worth of Lyran Arms weapons and production rights. Through our combined forces, we have an estimated 15 million combat personnel all armed with the most advanced weapons available. We have started all preparations for an all-out war. Our biggest advantage is surprise, no one in Sondria is expecting us, and we are completely unknown to some. We have prepared the Club-K missile systems for delivery, and they will be prepared within 3 days.”
Alberic nodded to the next man in line, Paul Creed, a large but resolute man, “‘Operation Retrieval’ was a complete success, and we have been able to easily synthesize more than enough of the biological weapon for our purposes. It is almost perfect for our desires, we can release it with specialized canisters that slowly release either a powder or airborne strain. It is colorless, odorless, and tasteless in any form. The disease will spread extremely quickly, each canister capable of infecting a minimum of 1000 people, not counting the amount contracted through contact with the infected. It will remain only slightly deadly for about 2 days until it adjusts to its surroundings. Once the disease ‘understands’ the climate, population density, and other relevant factors, it will mutate to best suit its area. Upon mutation, all infected will die between 2-4 days.”
The next man, Stephen Fredrick, continued explaining the disease as Creed ended, “The best targets are the following: Water treatment plants, public transport, international transport, government buildings, and transport carrying perishable foods. This will maximize the amount infected, and we have thousands of canisters distributed to out agents around the region, and more on the way. In less than a day, they can place the canisters wherever ordered and leave the country. It will be difficult, but I trust every man put in place to do his job and surrender his life if he is captured. Further, each canister has a simple self-destruct mechanism, if not opened properly, the canisters will instantly incinerate their contents, leaving no trace of their existence. If left untouched for 48 hours, the canisters will release without orders.”
“The navy is prepared to defend on the home front,” began Jameson, the next man, “Over a year ago, we managed to steal a massive fleet from the Mighty Islands en route from Lyran arms. It consisted of two Longsword class Missile ships, 8 James Lawrence-class aircraft carriers with full compliments of 95 aircraft, 40 Battle-Axe class cruisers, 80 Hatchet class frigates, 112 destroyers and hundreds of smaller support craft. This is only counting the naval ships purchased from Lyran Arms, we have our own navies on constant standby. They have divided into 8 separate fleets and are hidden throughout the islands. In the event of a declaration war against us, they will assemble and prepare for naval and air assault. Because we are not connected to any other nation by land, invasion will be difficult for our enemies.”
“Sir,” said Alexis, “What is out plan of action once the biological weapon has been discovered and neutralized? The nations of Sondria will be asking many questions, and they may suspect us of the attack.”
Alberic spoke with pure confidence in a stern yet soft voice, “We will wait for them to do what they always do, hold a conference.”
The President Elect of the Mighty Islands, Ashton Adolamin, watched the body of Louis fall to the ground. To most, it was the death of another poor soul to barbaric duels in the Principalities. To Ashton, it was a declaration of war on the region. Untold death was approaching. The Principalities were masters of terrorism and guerrilla warfare, and in the region of Sondria, they would thrive. The nations were massive, with huge populations, making it easy to hide weapons and soldiers everywhere. Ashton knew that talking to Alberic or the Principalities would be useless, they were ruthless and determined when they needed to be, and with a leader such as Alberic, they would never surrender until they were destroyed in a military conflict. Ashton ordered the entire military on alert and set the nation to awareness level 3, the highest readiness level of the government when not engaged in direct warfare.
The entire Sat-com and Zodiac systems were reorganized, the Zodiac itself maneuvered directly above the home island of Alberic Claude and his capital, its entire crew of 100 men and women put on 12-hour shifts to monitor the nation for all forms of activity. Two of the Zodiac system satellites, each supported by two Sat-com satellites assisted the Zodiac in monitoring the home island, while four other Zodiac system satellites assisted by six Sat-coms kept watch over the rest of the islands. The remaining 6 Zodiac satellites and the other 10 Sat-coms examined the rest of the region. Few other nations would know of the coming destruction, or suspect it. Ashton would have warned the other nations and asked for a pre-emptive strike, but none would heed his calls. Therefore, he did what he could for his nation, and prepared it for war.
A white unmarked van drove into the underground parking garage below an apartment complex. A man of Crontorian descent, who grew up in Alberic Claude for his entire life, opened the driver’s door of the van and slid the large door open. Inside were 55-gallon drums of powder and other materials. Three men piled out of the van and began unloading its contents. The driver, and man in charge, was named Segmental-5, that was the only named he had ever known for himself. He was raised from birth for 25 years to be a soldier for Alberic Claude, and he was the best of his group, the fifth born to the Segmentals from parents with the best gene pool. His life, and most likely his death, would be in service to his Prince. But he knew no other life, and wanted no other life. The success of his Prince was his success, and he wished for nothing else.
The barrels were taken from Black Eagle industries, a multi-national company based in Alberic Claude. The delivery of these materials was not uncommon, and even though they were missing, “human error” would account for them. The purpose of the materials was the creation of a biological terror weapon that would wipe out millions from Sondria. When mixed correctly, they would form one of the most deadly viruses created by and known to man. It was a product of the Mighty Islands, but no one region wide, not even the Mighty Islands government knew that Alberic Claude possessed it. The scientist they bought information from was killed in a car “accident” months after selling it to them. Now came the time for it to be tested.
Segmental-5 had seen the test victims, prisoners of war, criminals, homeless, and other burdens to the society of Alberic Claude. Even with the different evolutions, the deaths were always the same. The bodies became weak, unable to walk or eat, some unable to drink. They grew boils of infection, they became thin and dehydrated as the body violently emptied the bowels. They threw up in most cases, causing further dehydration. The blood cells grew diluted, unable to carry as much oxygen to body. This caused the heart and lungs to work faster than normal just to keep the body functioning. Eventually, the heart overworked itself, and then gave out. The strong and physically fit would survive for 4 days at most, regarding stains that killed slowly. The weak and young would die in as little as a day, even with medical support, and sooner with strains evolved to kill faster.
Segmental-5 was immunized to all forms of the virus, as were all the other operatives working for Alberic Claude. Immunization was very difficult and took years because of the various strains of the virus, but it allowed him and his men to remain in the nation while the victims fell in the streets.
“Get moving,” Segmental-5 said as the other men pushed the carts into an elevator. He was the last to step inside, making sure no one saw them. The walls of the elevator were reflective, but wavy. This allowed Segmental-5 to get a distorted view of his body. Similar to everyone in his group, he was 6 feet tall, had broad shoulders and a powerful build, at the least he weighed 200 pounds, and every pound was muscle. His hair was short and black, complemented by his dark brown eyes. The only thing that differentiated the members of his team was their faces, being born from cloned female eggs and the same batch of male sperm gave them similar features.
As the elevator doors opened, Segmental-5 checked the hallways before waving the rest on to move the carts. The barrels were pushed into a
large apartment room filed with empty barrels and a neat stack of canisters. More Segmetals were in room, some mixing the contents of the barrels, others were pouring the mixed compound into canisters and adding them to the stack. There were about 20 canisters in the stack, with more coming. Each canister could infect 1,000 people in a concentrated area, and each person would infect anyone they physically touched or breathed on heavily.
Walking to the only window, Segmental-5 got a clear view of a city in the distance, Rock City. There was an estimated 60 million people living in the city, but it was too locked down for a direct attack. Instead, the agents from Alberic Claude entered a small nearby city where high speed rail systems ran, and water treatment plants handled a fair amount of water sent through Rock City. The security in the smaller city was lax compared to Rock City, making it the perfect place for stashing weapons for the coming terrorist attacks and the biological virus. Once the last of the contents were mixed, there would be 30 canisters for delivery in the train system, and 10 for a water treatment plant on the outskirts of the city. The attack would commence region wide the next day, with no nation left unharmed. In every nation, trained soldiers followed procedures identical to Segmental’s methods.
The sun was rising higher over Crontor, beating down on Segmental’s back. He was sweating lightly, in part from the sun, in part from the anticipation to beginning the attacks. His backpack carried a pair of identical cylindrical canisters, each two feet high and six inches in diameter. They were loaded with a white powder, and a reacting agent that would mix with the compound to form it into a gas that would spread quickly with no odor, taste or color. The canisters meant for delivery into water treatment plants would form into a liquid with similar qualities, but would be better at dissipating.
Segmental-5 was able to get onto a train without being noticed, and looked for a place to hide the canisters. The location he chose was next to a door that connected trains, underneath a single chair. After pressing a few buttons atop the canister, the time for release was set for a half hour, once the train would make its stop at Rock City. He pressed sent a signal with his cell phone to indicate his mission was completed. Even if they found a few of the canisters, they would release their contents once opened, it was unavoidable, millions would die, and none of the men had flinched, it was their purpose in life.
All throughout the train, and even back at the water treatment plant, other operatives were hiding their canisters and setting them for timed release. There was a single stop before then, which is where he would exit among the crowd after placing the second canister on the train platform. Once he was finished with that, he would return to city where the weapons were cached, and plan the coming attacks.
Alberic sat back in his chair in the war room. On one of the wall-mounted monitors, a map of Sondria was displayed. When an operative group signaled the attack was delivered, a green light appeared over the city. Within half an hour, Alberic’s face was bathed in green light as not a single nation went without a green light on it somewhere.
Ashton Adolamin sat in the balcony overlooking a massive orchestra preparing its first song. The symphony hall was massive, and there were hundreds of musicians of all kinds. The string section was formed of more than just violins, harps violoncellos, double basses, and harps, but four electric guitarists, four bass guitarists, and a pair of octobasses was present. The brass section contained tubas, saxophones, five different horns, and trombones. The wind section had bassoons, clarinets, flutes, and a set of harmonicas among other traditional wind instruments. A Timpani drummer sat next to a drummer with a complete set ranging from a kick drum to cymbals. A pair of massive contemporary pianos sat head to head, while an electronic keyboard was placed with its head against both beside a celesta. The Mighty Islands National Orchestra was one of greatest spectacles known to man.
The conductor led the orchestra with a pair of batons that worked in perfect unison to give the entire orchestra a clear view of the expected tempo. Throughout the entire performance, the audience was entranced, never tearing their eyes away for a moment. Among the audience was Ashton’s son, sitting in the military officer’s section of the concert hall, and sitting beside him was his bride-to-be, a woman of unsurpassed beauty and youth. Ashton’s eyes drifted to his son every few minutes, unable to stay focused on the music before him. Ashton only half supported their marriage because despite how well they were for each other, they were both 23, too young to be married in the mind of Ashton. He would allow them to spend time together, but the marriage was in constant limbo.
Halfway through the concert, a man whispered in Ashton’s ear before leading him away to the Presidential limousine, a bombproof, bulletproof, lead lined, heavily guarded, mobile war room. Inside was a small table with pump action shotguns strapped underneath, and a pair of TVs on opposite sides of the car. Once inside, Ashton saw three men waiting for him, his personal security officer, foreign policy administration, and a man he had never seen before.
“What is this about?” Ashton asked calmly.
“There is an incident developing across the region, even in the Mighty Islands,” the foreign policy administrator said. He turned on a TV, which showed numerous news channels from every nation across the region, all reporting thousands of people being administered to hospitals with similar symptoms.
“A very dangerous virus was cloned and stolen in the past few months,” the unknown man said, “The man suspected of stealing it was killed in a
car accident a few months ago. The virus is the most dangerous we have ever seen before. We suspect that is has been unleashed upon the region, but not by us or anyone in the nation.”
“We suspect that Alberic Claude has orchestrated these attacks, but we lack any form of proof. No one would have any reason to believe us, and because of how little a role we play in the region, no one would believe us.”
Ashton sighed, “Without the calling of a regional conference, we are unable to make any accusations. How long would it take to contact the other nations?”
“We can start as soon as you give the order,” the administrator said.
“I just gave it,” Ashton replied, “I want my son and his fiancé moved out to the country as soon as possible.”
“Yes sir,” The security officer said, “What about you?”
“I’m going to stay in the capital and direct the nation until the conference is called. We can’t let the people panic, and they need a leader.”
The message went out, the Mighty Islands was calling a Regional Conference, no one would need to be informed why, every nation was under attack, and they didn't even know it.
