Author notes: Hey all. Sorry for the late update so far. I was supposed to finish and upload this chapter last Jan 2025 but I couldn’t make it in time as this is a long chapter to complete and busy handling my university semester as well. Have a happy reading and hoped you enjoy this chapter!

Disclaimer: This is a work of original fiction. Any names or characters, businesses or places, events or incidents, are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Chapter 10.1 -- Erika (Part 1)

Main Office, Fire Department, Evans Mills, New York, USA, 24 November 2020, 1500 hrs

Somewhere in the main office…

“Madam, you want to come see this.” A human Tri-Sixer drone operator informs his superior as he controls a military-grade FPV drone flying above Fort Drum undetected. Alerted by the drone operator’s call, a Young Templar Major lady with an unknown military insignia and flag shoulder patch walked towards him. “Have you found one of the Ravens’ bases, Corporal?” The unnamed Young Templar Major asks.

“This is not just one of their bases, Madam. It’s their main headquarters.” The Tri-Sixer drone operator replies. “How did you deduce this is the Ravens’ main headquarters?” The Young Templar Major asks.

“It’s simple, Madam. From this nearby airbase tarmac shown here, there are some parked C-17 Globemaster aircraft with the Raven insignia visible on their wings. Also, I want to show you this.” The Tri-Sixer drone operator pauses as he controls the FPV drone to another area of the military base. “Look at this building, Madam. We can see several Raven Young Templars moving around.” .

While scanning through the monitor screen, she spots a familiar Raven Young Templar chatting with others. “Wait, is that the Chief Raven Officer?” The Young Templar Major looks surprised before requesting the drone operator to zoom in further. “Corporal, could you please zoom in on the Raven officer I am pointing to? I find his uniform appearance to be rather familiar to me.” .

The drone operator nods in acknowledgement and zooms in on the familiar Raven Young Templar for his superior for a closer look. As she faces the screen, she feels fear crawling through her skin. Eventually, her fear takes hold of her as she identifies the Raven officer as Brigadier General Bettino Rico. He is one of the loyal followers of Chief General Arthur Simon and a firm believer in his cause. In addition, he is a ruthless Young Templar general who will not hesitate to use extreme means to achieve the goals of the warring faction of the Young Templars.

“Not good.” The Young Templar Major mutters in desperation as she realizes it is now more complicated to take out the Raven’s Main Headquarters at Fort Drum. “Is everything alright, Madam? You looked worried.” The Tri-Sixer drone operator asks.

“I’m fine, but not to some extent, Corporal.” The Young Templar Major replies. “I just IDed a Raven officer, and he is Brigadier General Bettino Rico. Thanks to that, we might need more firepower to take out their main headquarters.” She pauses for a quick breath before issuing an order to a Tri-Sixer scout operator. “Sergeant, send a secure encrypted message to NA-MAIN-COM and cc UG-COM that we found the Ravens’ main headquarters and their CO. In the same message, send in a request for Warthogs, Abrams and all available combat units they can offer. We need all the firepower we can get to attack and destroy their base.” .

“On it, Madam.” The scout operator replies as she uses a military-grade rugged laptop to compose an encrypted message. “Are you sure we should continue this military operation despite the strong resistance posed by the enemy forces, Madam? I think we should spy on them further and come up with a better plan before we invade their military base.” .

“Suggestion denied, Sergeant. We still have to carry out the military operation against their base.” The Young Templar Major rejects her recommendation. “Also, we have found the Chief Raven Officer’s presence on that base as well. Hence, this gives us a rare opportunity for us to take out the Ravens permanently and end the war sooner, Sergeant.” .

To the Young Templar Major, she wants to see the upcoming military operation against the Ravens Young Templars as a successful one. By taking them out, they will weaken the warring faction of the Young Templars to some extent. However, she wonders if the military base has possible defensive weapons. What if the Ravens shoot down their CAS (Combat Air Support) aircraft during the attack? Hence, she orders the drone operator to scan through the entire Fort Drum for any hidden defensive weapons.

Underground, Somewhere unknown, Kentucky-Tennessee State Border, USA, 25 November 2020, 0800 hrs

Along the corridor of a military fortress…

“Don’t drag your feet around! Move faster, you bloody maggots, or I will ensure you will become a blood meal for the bio-weapons!” A Young Templar shouts in the air as she commands the newly converted Fledglings to walk faster. Among them was Erika. While following the crowd, she looks up in terror as she scans the nearby surroundings. ‘Where the hell am I?’ Erika trembles in fear as she looks at the sci-fi-like military corridors that look foreign to her.

Out of nowhere, the Young Templar guard spots Erika staring at the corridor walls, which pisses her off. Immediately, she jumps down from the second floor through parkour before walking towards Erika, intending to instil discipline and fear in her. “You are not afraid of death, aren’t you? Moronic one.” The Young Templar guard threatens Erika by grabbing her neck before squeezing her. “Just because we liberated you from the humans doesn’t mean we can’t kill you.” .

“Please don’t hurt me…” Erika begs for her life.

“Oh I can, you dumb Fledgling.” The Young Templar guard mocks Erika. “You are just a mere Stage 1 Fledgling with little to no power, so you are nothing but useless weaklings to our kind. Our future world has no room for the weak-willed members of our species.” .

Before she could end Erika’s life, Sergeant Major Perez stopped the Young Templar guard by pointing a pistol at her head. “Stand down, Corporal. Release her now at this instance, or I will end you in the next second.” Katie warns. The sight of a Raven Young Templar threatening the Young Templar guard with a pistol alarmed nearby Young Templar guards, and they drew out their pistols in response. “Drop the gun now, Raven operator! Or we will mag dump you using our guns!” Another Young Templar guard shouts at Katie in an act of warning. Despite that, the Raven Young Templar refuses to lower her weapon.

“Stand down, you crappy Young Templar grunts,” Katie demands in a fierce voice. “I have orders from the higher-up commanding officers to keep this Fledgling safe. If you kill her, they will not hesitate to punish all of you. Release her from harm now!”

Not wanting to face further punishment, the Young Templar guard lets go of Erika, which causes the Fledgling to fall to the ground, panting for air. “Get her out of here before I change my mind, arrogant Raven operator!” The Young Templar guard growls in a threatening voice. After saving Erika from getting killed, the Raven Young Templar drags the Fledgling to safety. “Obey my commands if you want to live, pathetic Fledgling,” Katie whispers to Erika as she pulls her away from the crowd of Fledglings. Unknown to Erika and Sergeant Major Perez, the top brass have plans for her after she crosses the Birth-masked stage.

Security room (Underground), Somewhere unknown, Kentucky-Tennessee State Border, USA, 25 November 2020, 0810 hrs

In a security room filled with surveillance screens…

Two high-ranking Young Templar officers are staring at a surveillance screen that is displaying Sergeant Major Perez escorting Erika to another room. “What a useless Fledgling she is, General Claude. I think we have made a huge mistake in converting her into our kind.” One of the Young Templar general comments before asking. “Why do we have to force Erika Zander to quit her humanity and make her join our ranks by becoming a Fledgling?”

“Our leader has plans for her, Colonel Kumiko. He is never wrong for choosing the selected humans to join our kind,” Jordan replies. “Let’s not forget he’s the one who started the apocalypse, which propels us to be the masters of this world by destroying many countries with our bio-weapons and zombies. Without him, it would be hard for us to bring humanity down to its knees. Hence, we must devote ourselves to Chief General Simon’s cause by converting all the young humans. Then, we shall wipe out the remaining surviving adult humans before we take over this planet and replace their civilization with ours.” .

“Yeah, humanity sucks.” Léna agrees in an enthusiastic voice. “Thank god I quit that long ago by first becoming a Fledgling. Now I’m a full-fledged Young Templar, and I’m grateful to the higher-ups for converting me to our kind.” A smile appears on the Young Templar general’s face as he is happy that his assistant is a proud Young Templar who detests humanity. “I’m proud of what you say, Colonel Kumiko. As Young Templars, we must stay strong against humanity and its values. If we fail, humans will control us, and they will weaken our descendants with their impure human DNA. Hence, it’s our job to keep our faithful brothers and sisters away from interacting with the humans, which includes the Fledglings as well.” .

Then, the Young Templar general turns his face to his assistant before issuing a new order. “Alright. Before we depart for a meeting with Chief General Simon, I have a new task for you.” Jordan informs her. “What’s the new task, sir?” Léna asks. “It’s very simple. I want you to monitor Erika Zander’s progress in becoming a full-fledged Young Templar. Ensure that she fully understands why we choose to convert her into our kind and train her well so that she can hate humans forever. We have to ensure she does not become a bleeding-heart Young Templar. We have lost many of our brothers and sisters to the traitorous cause, and we cannot afford to see the Fledglings like Erika defect as well. Have I made myself clear enough, Colonel Kumiko?”

“Affirmative, sir!” Léna acknowledges the new order from her superior. Satisfied by her response, Young Templar Major General Claude tells his assistant to follow him as they step out of the security room to attend a meeting. As she follows her superior, the Young Templar Colonel can’t stop thinking about Erika. To her, she feels sorry for the newly converted Fledgling being forced to become one of them against her will. Hence, the Young Templar Colonel vows to help Erika accept her new identity as a Young Templar and her new way of life.

To be continued...

End of Chapter 10.1

Note: All the characters, places and storylines are owned by Jeremy Mountbatten. All rights reserved by the author. Feel free to give some feedback and don't forget to vote for this chapter. If you want to support me, you can tip me on Ko-Fi (link provided below).