14 Heleg. 5-7-17

  A DIVINE INTERVENTION?

  "ANGELS SAVED US!" CLAIM VIOLENCE-STRICKEN ALTRECHTERS

  The smoke and dust have settled in yet another incident of uncontrolled gang violence, and testimonies from surviving townsfolk have gripped public curiosity. Men, women, and children from the recently burned warehouse district were saved by "bright columns of light" descending from the skies.

  "I swear on my life, Lights in the sky cleared the rubble and got us out safely," said a local (we have withheld the name for the sake of his privacy). "Guns firing everywhere... explosions all 'round. I thought my family and I won't live to see the day. Then there was this woman covered in brightness."

  "I have touched the angel's hand! It was cold, but firm," said another local, the wife of the former.

  Was it Rufus Altrecht himself?

  An account, reportedly from a town guard present at the scene, says that it led the way to drive out the belligerents. A figure clad in black stood atop the commotion, urging the guardsmen to fight on and apprehend the troublemakers. The gangs were said to be frightened by the spirit so much that they willingly laid down their arms and were taken to justice. It was noted that the hero Altrecht drove away ghastly invaders from the land while wearing black robes.

  Glansheim Territorial Army tight-lipped: paranoia or a cover-up?

  There are no statements from the Empire as of writing. Official reports make no mention of heavenly beings arriving at the townsfolk's time of need. Our sources close to the ministries suggest the censors are doing all they can to quell the story to avoid further spread.

  Skeptics say it can be a mix of fatigue, violence, and the chemicals in the air - but believers, on the other hand, assert it does not explain why so many different accounts almost tell the same thing.

  "It is a will of the Creator made flesh to help His people," insists Silas Schreiber, Bishop of the Glansheim Domain. "Divine mercy serves the downtrodden and the just."

  What does it mean for the Empire?

  Whether it be the townsfolk's dream or an apparition of Heaven, this is a clear sign that Waldemar III's offices are not doing enough to stop the spread of armed gangs. The Angels of Altrecht will quickly rise as modern-day legends. Should the people just pray that the angels come down again to sort out Kriemreich's woes?

  Is the Creator watching from above? Or are these tales of the desperate? One thing's certain: this day will always be remembered as the day the angels descended upon Altrecht to save its people.

  - Greta Linhilde, Junior Correspondent

  ????

  The captain's eyes rounded, partly due to the effect of morning coffee, and partly because of the news about light pillars. To him, those brilliant columns helped the perpetrators behind the attack escape: nothing 'angelic' about being in league with the enemy. Rinvar closed the newspaper but held on to it upon hearing the coarse, loud horn; the chugging of engines was all too familiar to him. The transport that collected the burned-out hulks of the armored constructs had arrived. Farin was well ahead of him in reaching the warehouse where the broken machines were being unloaded.

  "Morning, Director." Rinvar was about to extend a salute, but it was impossible between the coffee mug and the paper occupying both his hands.

  "The Einhorn?" The director spotted the tabloid held by the captain. "I can't believe you, of all people, find anything to read in that rag."

  "Hey, if half of Kriemreich got their hands on a copy in minutes, I see why not." Rinvar moved the front page to Farin's view. "More people are reading this than Das Blatt. Their front page is making waves. See for yourself."

  "What? Give me that." Farin swiped the periodical from Rinvar's hand, not minding the tinny noise of the constructs' remains being unmounted from the truck bed. She laid the paper on a leather-wrapped wooden box: good enough as a table, as long as there was nothing inside it.

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  "They even interviewed the bishop..." The director looked closer, not because the tabloid was hard to read, but because of what she was reading.

  "Can't blame him. Anything to fill the churches' seats again."

  "This can't be good. We have to act fast and put down these rumors." Farin folded the paper and placed it back; not even a page was dog-eared.

  "Rumor... you mean the spirit of Altrecht, or the angel?"

  "If you have the time to tease me like this, then I am confident you can deal with both. At the same time." Farin crossed her arms; an angled, stern gaze was shot back at Rinvar.

  The men unloading the truck stood behind the director; a movement of hands, followed by a stomp. Farin and Rinvar extended salutes in response before the constables stood aside. She said:

  "Now, on to another part of our morning business."

  "These things are more complex when seen in daylight."

  Rinvar approached the destroyed mechanisms. While the scent of spent oil and molten wiring was expected in machines, the syrupy odor of spilled core fluid dominated where the "heart" of the construct lay. Embers were seen in some of the interior sections.

  The captain also noticed impressions inside the head. These were not deformities caused by the destruction itself, but defaced remnants of something scribed—maybe even embossed—where their optical components were.

  "This syndicate lord is a very crafty one indeed," Farin remarked; her eyes were scanning the sloped chests of the metallic creations. She was also quick to notice the bullet holes that were punched from the back, which were presumed to have destroyed one of the mechanical wonders.

  "What I really wonder is who - or what - did this." Rinvar cupped his chin and reached out for his coat pocket to get a piece of candy. He tore through the wrapper with his teeth and exposed the almost coal-black insides to take a bite of it. "I asked a few of the captured gang members, and not one of the guys knew any magician working for them. None of the syndicate thugs were aware of any weapon that could pierce these machines' armor either."

  "The scientists will surely feast on these once we ship them to Blaurosen." Farin pulled out the wreck's chest region and peeked at the insides; the internals were melted, charred, or deformed to obscurity. "That is, if they figure out what this mass of ash and broken parts was."

  "If these were destroyed magically, I say it could be that 'enchanted fire' old Demian was talking about."

  Farin let out weak laughter before saying, "Ever since you married Elena, you've always been bringing Luminberg around wherever you go. It's not that what knowledge of magic they gave you is not helping this case, but I'm just saying."

  "Who knows? These constructs might have been the love children of technology and magic." Rinvar tried peering at the cavity inside the decapitated mechanism; everything inside was deformed to extreme degrees. "It would sure take a grenade or a cannon shell to at least cripple these things if magic is not involved. The metals are nothing I'm familiar with."

  "A new alloy, perhaps?"

  "Could be. These have 'Gray Fox' written all over them..." Rinvar took a second bite from the chocolate bar, which reduced its length by half. He went on talking while melting the sweets in his mouth. "...it's weird still, with this man having a vast knowledge of metallurgy, or having people in his employ knowing this much. There's no way we cannot get the Army involved if he makes enough of these. I don't even think they can stop him if he does."

  Rinvar walked around and looked at the third wreck. How it was destroyed was different from the others. There was an entry hole found near the unit's 'head'. It was small, less than half the size of the bullet holes that took out the previous two machines from their back plates.

  "This one's a curiosity."

  Rinvar felt for the area where the ruined machine was pierced. Hardly any molten metal could be felt; it was like someone drove a nail through the construct at high speed. The captain found the exit hole at the center of the machine's 'legs'; only a disconnected piston that linked the right limb with the rest of the body hid the rest of the clue.

  "Now what kind of bullet burns a hole this small and still rips straight through alloyed steel... without melting anything?"

  "What?" Farin rushed to the wreck Rinvar was examining. She noticed another small hole, right where the war device's gun magazine was mounted. "Is it possible that the same person had another weapon, or..."

  "There are at least two of them." Rinvar folded his candy wrapper and put it in his pocket. "Two people with weapons we don't know of. If we think we're special, these unknowns are something else."

  Farin's jade eyes were reflected by the smooth, clouded polish of the construct's front plate. "I'd like to see what kind of gun can fire a small hole and bore through metal so cleanly. The thought of the Gray Fox sending only a few men, and these machines, to eradicate his rivals, still gives me a lot to think about."

  Farin looked at the construct's gun arm, whose muzzle was largely intact. She held her temples, looking at the disfigured remains of a gun assembly. A squad of seemingly indestructible battle machines that could be armed with any small arms, even portable artillery systems. She frowned at the kind of terror they could unleash. After making a slight shake of her head, Farin whispered:

  "At least, we have a shot at stopping these 'metal miracles' cold."