His Majesty's Dragons: World at War

[General Havoc]

The Spanish Midweight saw what Franklin was going to do even before Æquitas did, but too late to stop the Typhon. Typhon dragons were not speedy, but the distance was short and the window to intercept shorter. By the time anyone else realized what Franklin had in mind, it was too late to do anything.

Both heavyweights were still rolling over one another, hurling multi-ton bits of debris in every direction. Into this maelstrom, different and yet similar to a Carribean storm, dove Franklin, looking to snatch a single person from the midst of seventy-plus tons of gyrating anger. Had Franklin proposed to snatch the Captain from the midst of the Battle of the Somme, he could have had no harder time, and yet just as he dove, the Cauchador hesitated, building up its strength anew for another effort to throw off Frostfell, and froze. Moments later, Franklin's claws closed around the Spanish captain, and the Typhon pulled back up into the air like an Osprey, snapping the caribiners that bound Captain and Dragon together like dental floss.

The Cauchador knew instantly what had happened. And moments later, so did Frostfell.

The Cauchador's twisting struggles, which previously had merely been violent, instantly became apoplectic. Panic-stricken, it smashed Frostfell into a bank of bleachers, shattering them like sandcastles and driving the Wendigo's back and wings into the remains of the field. The blow, hard enough to break a midweight's spine, served to loosen Frostfell, though not to dislodge him fully, and when the Cauchador tried to take to the air after his Captain, the thirty-ton weight still stubbornly fastened to him dragged him back down like an anchor, planting the heavyweight in the dirt.

[Comrade Tortoise]

Haakon took his moment now that the (almost comically) stupid captain of an insane dragon would no longer be the object of a possible blood rage. He Hated. Absolutely Hated capturing a dragon that way. It was like grabbing someone's children and holding them hostage for money. It was a low and dishonorable thing to emotionally blackmail someone like that. Necessary, and he would not think less of Franklin for doing it given the circumstances, but still distasteful.

He sprang into action, launching himself into the air and bringing himself down beside Campeador, on the side that Frostfell's head was not. He gauged his timing for when the two dragons were both in their upright positions, with Campeador on his feet trying to shake the smaller dragon off, and then he crab-walked into the bigger dragon's side, halting--if briefly--their rolling and used his body to sandwich one of campeador's limbs between their bodies, and wrapped his tail around Campeador and Frostfell to anchor himself in place and lent his own 20 tons to help control the Spaniard's movement, and get him toward the sea. This would also anchor him to the larger dragon so that if everyone rolled, what he was about to do would not break Campeador's neck.

Frostfell had his long neck wrapped around so that he could grasp Campeador's wind-pipe and force it shut. Haakon did not have the mass to restrain such a large dragon by himself, but his entire upper body could certainly restrain its head and jaws. He threw one arm over the back and side of the big dragon's head and pulled it close to his side and then, sliding his massive claws down the upper and lower jaws, forced them together to clamp the bigger dragon's jaws shut and further cut off his air supply.

"You've fought well, and with honor. Surrender and neither of you will be harmed." he said through clenched teeth as he clamped down with all his strength to keep Campeador's head under control and starve his body of air.

[rhoenix]

As Franklin spread his wings to float more gently toward the ground, he critically checked the Captain, dangling from the severed cord, making sure the human didn't suffer any injuries from the experience. After being satisfied that the Captain was whole and intact, Franklin spoke in a low, quiet voice, intended only for the Captain. "I did not want to meet you in this way, and for that, I am sorry. However, I ask you now to help calm your heavyweight partner."

With that, he began to hover a short distance away from the Spanish heavyweight, and roared to make sure he was heard above the scrim of the two heavyweights' battle. "Spaniard! Cease your struggles! Your Captain is unharmed, and will be returned to you once you calm yourself!"

[frigidmagi]

"Well... Crap. This is going... Huh... How is this going Kalter?" Captain Eisenhauer asked. Kalter Sturm put his Captain down careful.

"That is an interesting question Theodore. Please, bide a moment with our Commander and I will go see." Kalter Sturm took to the air looking to gain height above the Whirlwind.

[JimmyTheCannon]

Faustus fidgeted restlessly in Æquitas's grip, unable to see what was happening with the Spaniard. Jimmy patted him gently. "Relax, Faust. It's out of our hands now."

[Charon]

Kunja was in the air, keeping one eye on the struggle below, and the other on the Whirlwind. Jake meanwhile was keeping his eyes peeled in case other Spanish dragons made an appearance to turn this into a worse horror show than it already was.

[LadyTevar]

"Well, damn... why din't Ah think o' that?" Judith said, impressed that the attempt to capture the captain actually worked.

"Cause we ain't crazy 'nuff ta get 'twixt Frostfell an' his prey," Jebediah drawled back. "Still, t'was nicely done. Now they jis' gotta hold 'em til he calms down."

Judith looked over her shoulder to Captain Reynolds, seated behind her on Jebediah. "Thin' we kin put down now, or shoul' we wait fer th' Spaniards ta leave?"

[Cynical Cat]

"I wouldn't advise landing before Frostfell calms down, which probably means choking the Spanish dragon unconscious," said Reynolds.

[Hawkwings]

High above and out in the distance, a sleek black silhouette cut through the sky, unnoticed by all those embroiled in the conflict below. As it approached and descended, a fiery copper-gold pattern emerged from the blackness, plunging from the sky and growing larger and larger if anyone on the ground cared to look up. Finally, as it was almost on top of the collection of people and dragons down below, the great Regal Copper flared, swung wide, and made a low pass around the group to make its presence known.

-----

"Luna, what do you think is going on down there?" asked Emily as she lowered the binoculars from her eyes.

"Perhaps a sparring match?" offered Luna, peering into the distance. "That's a Spanish Cauchador Real, and if my eyes don't deceive me, the white one is a Wendigo."

Emily pondered a moment, and said "A Wendigo? Really? Just what sort of squadron have we been assigned to? I haven't heard much about those at all... except that the special operations folk seem to hold them in high regard."

"I doubt we have been assigned to some sort of secret off-the-books squadron, if that's what you're thinking. My, but those two are really going after each other. Do you suppose it's some sort of dominance duel?"

"I have no idea, but let's get down there quickly. We're already late."

With a silent acknowledgement, Luna tucked in her wings and slipped into a dive, and the giant mass of dragon, captain, and crew hurtled towards RAF Gibraltar.

-----

With another wide looping pass, Luna flapped her giant wings twice and landed gracefully on an open area of field not too far from the brawl. Almost before her feet had touched the ground, the veteran crew piled off and started slinging cargo and supplies from the carrier rigging. Shouts of work joined the sounds of fighting, and one might have gotten the impression that they were performing a combat landing.

Emily dropped down as well and conferred with her dragon quickly once she was on the ground. Luna rumbled quietly, "That doesn't look like a friendly sparring match to me, especially with those little dragons piling in now. You'd better stay close until we can figure out what is going on."

"Agreed. I didn't spot anyone who looked like they were in charge from the air. I should really go report in, but considering-"

Emily paused to duck as a piece of debris ejected from the flight flew in their general direction. It landed well short, but served to finish her sentence for her.

Emily's crew chief ran up just then, glanced over at the melee, and said "Bit of a mess we're joined in on here, eh lass?"

"Why, it's nothing but a light spring rain, Charlie, what ever might there be to worry about?"

That earned a light chuckle from the greying crew chief. "We'll go check out the surroundings, see if we can find someone in charge and get these supplies handled. You stay here behind this great fat lummox and guard the cargo, right?"

"Honestly, you're worse than my mother, or Luna!" said Emily, mock-whining. "But alright, if you insist, I'll make sure nobody filches these precious boxes of yours..."

With that, the crew scattered towards the base and Emily remained with her dragon, wondering what sort of mess she had gotten into.

[General Havoc]

So violent, so desperate was the Cauchador's reaction to having his Captain literally plucked from his back, that Frostfell was barely able to hold on, as the Cauchador made every effort to throw the thirty-one ton dragon into the bleachers like a sack of flour. Only the combined efforts of Frostfell and Haakon, two dragons that collectively outweighed the Cauchador by ten tons, both of whom had superior positions, managed to weather the storm. Even that might not have been enough, had not Franklin curtailed the adrenaline burst with his pronouncement. As soon as he did so, the Cauchador's frenzy subsided, his struggles fell off, and caught between decision and decision, the efforts of Frostfell and Haakon finally took effect, and the massive heavyweight dragon slumped down onto the field of the football stadium he had just destroyed, unconscious.

As the dust began to settle, the only other Spanish dragon in Gibraltar, the Andalusian Whirlwind who had been watching this entire proceeding with mounting horror, slowly approached the dragons who had just concluded the situation. Remaining out of reach of the Wendigo, Valdemarian, and Typhon, the Whirlwind surveyed the scene with equanimity, as though this new situation was many things, but not a surprise, given everything.

Neither the Andalusian nor its Captain said anything to the assembled dragons, largely aware that words were probably somewhat superfluous at this point. And it wasn't until Æquitas, having released the half-suicidal Bonetail, arrived nearby, that anyone in authority said a thing.

"Well," said Æquitas, largely uncaring who heard him, "and here I thought Essex might have blunted your instincts, Frostfell."

He did not mention if this was meant as an insult or a complement.

*---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------*

Racing over to the scene of the battle, Captain Michael Rankin clambered over the rubble and entered the destroyed stadium, looking very much like he wanted to pull out his revolver and begin shooting things. Æquitas set down beside him as the Commander of the squadron wherein an enormous international incident had just taken place tried to decide what should happen now.

"If I never see another Cauchador Real again, it will be too soon," muttered Rankin as he climbed up onto Æquitas. The shudder of the Malachite's muscles served as answer enough. Having reached his appointed position, Rankin took the radio microphone from behind him, and spoke into it, the wireless shack behind him transmitting his words to the covert's loudspeaker, for the benefit of those without a radio.

"Well... done," he said, in a voice that sounded more than a little exasperated. "And Frostfell, thank you for not killing anyone this time." This really wasn't a dig at Frostfell, but a message to the remaining Spanish, should they still require it. "Franklin, please keep our guest from making any additional trouble for the moment, if you would? And would someone please contact the navy and ask them for a barge?"

"Capitan!" cried the captain of the Andalusian Whirlwind, as the moorish Midweight flew down towards Æquitas. "Capitan, we can solve this! I can have some dragons from Algeciras come and help - "

"Thank you, Captain," shouted back Rankin, "but that will not be necessary at all. Your bloody air force caused this incident, and if you don't want us to lay the rest of your damned dragons out next to this one, you'll stay out of this!."

"We cannot allow the British Air Force to knock a People's Heavyweight unconscious and ship him back to Spain like a load of grain!" insisted the dragon. "The perception will be that we have been humiliated by the Imperialist occupiers of Gibraltar! If we could only - "

He got no further, Rankin threw down the radio mike and simply shouted at the Andalusian. "This is not up for debate, Magister!" shouted Rankin, perfectly heedless of who else could hear him. "Twenty-three territorial violations in the last month alone! We have been more than patient and now we are done. Our nation is at war, and that's a Wendigo he just tangled with! There will not be a twenty-fourth case here, damn you, or I will ask our resident heavyweight - " Rankin hesitated as he caught sight of a massive Regal Copper descending from the corner of his eye. He would have to handle that in a moment. " - heavyweights to cut him up for fish bait! Do you have the slightest difficulty imagining them capable of such a thing?!"

Magister said nothing.

"I thought not," said Rankin, after the most perfunctory of pauses. "Now stand aside while I attempt to clean up your mess."

"You cannot ship him back to Algeciras," called the Captain of the Andalusian. "Spain has three hundredweight of dragons there, and God only knows what they'll do once they see you sending one of their own back in such a manner.

"Well then what exactly do you suggest?" demanded Rankin.

There was a whispered conversation between captain and dragon for a moment, before Magister responded. "Send an escort along with him," said the Spanish midweight. "Nothing threatening, just a couple of dragons at most. We can pretend that he suffered an... er... what do you call it... a fit? Apoplejia?"

"Apoplexy?" suggested Æquitas.

"Si. Then as generous members of the British People's Air - "

"Royal Air Force," interrupted Æquitas. "Keep this People's garbage to - "

"Thank you, Æquitas," interrupted Rankin in turn.

"As generous members of the British Air Force," continued Magister, "you assisted a Spanish Companero to return to his home base, in the spirit of international cooperation and amnity."

"And when he wakes up?"

Magister scoffed. "He is a Cauchador Real, Patron. He is lucky if he can remember his own name when he awakes each day."

"What of the crew and Captain?"

"They will say what I tell them to say," said Magister, his expression darkening as he raised his voice to ensure that everyone heard what he had to say. "Or else they will also suffer apoplectic fits."

Rankin lowered his head and sighed, muttering something inaudible, before finally lifting the radio mike and addressing the rest of the squadron.

"Is there anyone who would be willing to accompany our guest back to Algeciras, in the hopes of patching this matter up?"

He wasn't sure if he was more afraid that Frostfell or Kunja would volunteer.

[frigidmagi]

Captain Eisenhauer had followed his CO, his dragon was in the air after all.

"Kalter and I can go." He spoke up.

[LadyTevar]

Jebediah shook his head as the Spanish heavyweight finally passed out, spawling underneath Frostfell and the other dragon... Haakon. "Welp, guess tha's that," the SmokeDevil said, dropping down to a landing and crouching to allow Capt. Reynolds an easy drop to the ground.

Both Jeb and Judith listened close as Rankin gave the other Spaniard what-for. "Twen'three? Why ain't we stopped it afore now?" Judith asked Reynolds, but Magister's reaction and reply answered her question. "Oh. Pol'tics." the word was spoken as a curse.

"Ah don't think we're up fer escort," Jebediah stated bluntly. "We jis' flew in, don' know th' area, an' we ain't th' best 'zamples o' th' RAF."

[rhoenix]

As Franklin saw the massive Spanish heavyweight fall unconscious, he relaxed slightly, and gently lowered the Captain to the ground. Internally, he sighed - this had been a very interesting introduction to the rest of the dragons and people he was to be with, especially right after arriving. Nonetheless, he made sure the Captain was unharmed, but also made sure the Spanish Captain didn't entertain any ridiculous ideas, like trying to leave before it would be prudent.

Jacob had approached Franklin, looking the Spanish Captain over appraisingly before moving to stand next to Franklin's right foreleg, patting it twice as he did, and then sighing. "Well, I'd say we could go, but I don't know if the Spaniards'd appreciate the gesture," he said to Captain Rankin, as he hooked his thumbs into the belt loops of his pants.

He was rewarded by hearing Franklin snort.

[JimmyTheCannon]

Released from Æquitas's grasp, Faustus immediately moved to see what was happening, relieved to see the mad Cauchador out of the fight. Dragon and captain followed the Malachite towards Captain Rankin - somewhat meekly, as they expected his reaction to their actions to be similar to the flagdragon's.

Jimmy listened to the conversation between the two captains, eyes widening as it turned into an argument. Twenty-three incidents? Were they all by the same dragon? When Rankin asked for volunteers, he immediately put a restraining hand on Faust before he tried to speak up, rather suspecting that the two of them escorting the Spaniard back home would only make things worse.

[Comrade Tortoise]

Haakon was tired. So very very tired. However, he WOULD see this little incident through. He took responsibility for it the moment he opened his mouth, and would not see anyone else volunteer in his stead for the duration. Moreover, he was not just tired, but Angry. Twenty Three territorial violations? And the english permitted this? Why? If some dragon had violated HIS territory that many times, there would nothing left of it but a bloody smear on the snow. Not that he would be stupid about it, of course. He put his ear up to Campeador's chest to make sure his heart was still beating. Finding a pulse, the released the dragon's snout from his grip and stood from where he had crouched when the dragon was lowered to the ground.

"I will go. However, I think certain precautions are prudent should Captain Rankin concur.

The human captain ought not be returned to our 'friend' until we have left your base and have a respectable lead. If there is another incident while in transit, we dont want that handicap in the air and will need leverage.

The second precaution is one for you Magister. If I heard Captain Rankin correctly, this is the 23rd violation of British territory. If you are responsible for Campeador, then it is only fitting that you take the full measure of that responsibility. If he does this again, you should fly ahead and warn us, and if necessary, you should help us subdue him instead of doing nothing while we risk our lives fixing your mistake." he spat that last bit with no small degree of contempt.

He continued, his deep booming voice lowering in pitch slightly, and rising ever so slightly in decibels to show that yes, he is indeed angry and more than willing to make good on what he would say next.

"I will not tolerate further assaults upon my person, or danger to my vassals that does not come in furtherance of their obligations. Or for that matter, my allies. Given that Campeador is not responsible for his actions, I will hold someone as such." he glanced over at Frostfell "and I am certain others are even less forgiving than I."

[Dark Silver]

Thundercracker, for his part, had stayed where he was - the fight was far enough away from his position and didn't warrant getting his own talons dirty dealing with the scuffle. As the Weyekin took to the air, the Xolotl watched, before curling up. He was getting hungry, and this was cutting into dinnertime.

Roberts, for his own credit, followed Rankin and Eisenhauer to the stadium and the carnage there. Roberts felt justified in his response earlier, and if Thundercracker had been involved, things would have gotten worse - mostly because the beast would have breathed his lightning over the heavyweights, fried the captain, and sent the Spanish beast into a rage he would not overcome.

When Rankin asked for volunteers, Roberts was right beside Eisenhauer, "Thundercracker and myself will be....happy...to assist in the escort, Sir."

[Charon]

Kunja and Jake landed in the smashed stadium with a loud thud. The pair were frowning a bit at the proceedings, but all in all things could have been worse. When the question of an "escort" came up, the pair stepped up to Rankin.

"Depends where you think you're gonna need us Captain. Any word of nearby Axis troops?"

[Cynical Cat]

Frostfell strutted away from the downed Cauchador like an oversized cat. "It's a pleasure to see you too Aequitas. As for Essex, no one can prove anything which should be all the answer you need to know about how sharp I am."

The Wendigo turned towards Kunja and affectionately and gently headbutted the smaller Australian dragon. "Good to see you again, mate," said Frostfell. He then turned towards Jebediah.

"Thank you sir, for your services."

[LadyTevar]

"What, no hug?" Judith teased the huge white wyrm.

"Happy ta help, Frostfell," Jebediah replied. "What're friends fer?"

[rhoenix]

Franklin watched the other dragons, and their Captains, greet one another following the random events caused by a complete wastebin of a heavyweight. He looked quietly amused by the whole thing, but how everything had happened told him a great deal about his prospective wing-mates.

The small human Captain of the Cauchedor Real so far had opted not to move, which Franklin granted the Captain as the first wise action he'd observed so far today. The Captain choosing to stay on his dragon, silent and ineffective, as the dragon wreaked havoc in what was supposed to be an ally's base, and then staying on the back of his dragon while it was engaged in a wrestling match with another dragon, let alone two - none of these did wonders for Franklin's estimation of the Spanish Captain's intelligence or efficacy as a Captain. Nonetheless, he'd soon be gone from here, weeded out as an unreliable ally - which was far worse than a determined enemy.

Captain Maximilian, however, had spoken more seriously to Captain Rankin, his Midwestern accent almost completely disappearing. "To be direct and honest sir, I hereby volunteer Franklin and I for escort duty, since Franklin was involved in the incident. I would also like to discuss ideas for Franklin's armaments and certain modifications to his harness though, if you have time."

[General Havoc]

"Thank you, Haakon," said Rankin, shaking his head. "I... appreciate your offer to assist, but in this case, given your recent arrival here, I think it might be best if you remain at Gibraltar for the time being, for integration into our combat air patrols."

He could only hope that sounded sufficiently reasonable to convince the Valdemarian to agree to it. The last thing he needed was Haakon declaring war on Spain on behalf of the Norwegian government in exile.

"Captain Eisenhauer, Captain Maxmilian, Captain Collington, you will all kindly accompany Æquitas and myself to Algeciras to... resolve this matter as best we can. I thank everyone else for their suggestions, but we are not proposing to invade Spain, and I wish to keep sufficient force disposable here in case an Axis force decides to take advantage of this... distraction."

Rankin mounted Æquitas once again as the dragon prepared to take to the air. "Captain Reynolds will exercise command here in my absence until we are able to return. I trust that we can refrain from declaring war on any extraneous countries while this is in process?"

He did not wait for an answer to that question. He did not want one.

"We will make arrangements with the navy," he said. "I want everyone ready to go within half an hour."

*------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------*

Thirty-four minutes later, with the Royal Engineers having loaded the unconscious Cauchador Real onto a barge, chaining the dragon down against the prospect of him awakening spontaneously, a tugboat from the Gibraltar Force began puttering across the water. Æquitas, already in the air, flew a slow circle overhead as the Cauchador was slowly dragged, sleeping peacefully, towards the uncertain welcome of Algeciras.

[Charon]

Kunja returned the headbutt. He had to put a bit more force into it, and when outweighed by so much even a gentle nudge by Frostfell's standards might have knocked a normal lightweight over.

"Those other heavies they had me flyin' with weren't half what you are mate." Kunja grinned.

The Australian duo crossed their arms and listened as Rankin gave his orders. For not wanting to invade Spain, he did a good job of making certain that the Spanish would think twice about immediate retribution for the incident. Be a bit better if they had a heavyweight in the mix, but if it came to it he would handle matters.

"Sir, yes sir." Jake replied, saluting Rankin, likely much to the shock of everyone who knew him. Jake had never been one for throwing about the word sir, or saluting nearly so crisply. The navy seemed to have done wonders for his attitude.

30 minutes later, Jake and Kunja were in the air with a certain amount of relish, looking for all the world like the massive famous beast that they were, which would certainly also help to make the Spanish think twice about messing with them.

[JimmyTheCannon]

Captain Rankin hadn't said a word to Jimmy and Faust. Somehow, Jimmy suspected, that was because he was saving them for later... when there were no witnesses. The young captain let out a quiet breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding and turned to the other captains. "Is it always this exciting around here?"

Faustus, for his part, turned towards Frostfell and Haakon. "That was rather impressive. I've never seen a heavyweight choked into unconsciousness like that before." The little Bonetail didn't seem to share his captain's concerns over impending punishment for their actions - or if he did, he certainly didn't show it. "My name is Faustus; my captain is James Cannon."

[rhoenix]

Knowing his duty when it was time, Captain Maximilian put on his helmet, grabbed the line on Franklin's back, and swung up to his seated position, nodding to Captain Rankin once. "We'll get it done, Captain."

With that, he and Franklin simply waited for the others to be ready to go - they had the advantage, in not having unloaded very much of their equipment before... events had happened.

[Cynical Cat]

"It's not that impressive," said Frostfell. "The Spaniard lost the moment he ignored me. After that I had him. The Valdemarian just sealed the deal. Now, a Kampfritter would still be fighting. They're too bloody stupid to know when they're beaten or need blood going to their peas sized brains. And a Jotunmeister?" he snorted. "Not even I think I could choke out one of those bastards in this kind of situation and there's a rumour going around that I'm conceited."

"But that tail work of yours? Lightweight against a heavy. That was bold. Bold and well struck. Just make sure that someone has your back if you do it again."