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Part 5 - Touchdown in Bolstrovo, and a little insight into Nate's troubled mind.

As ever, any constructive feedback on this is much appreciated. Hope you enjoy :)

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Part 5 - Echoes

"On the evening of October 7th, at eight minutes past nine coastal time, war descended upon the continent of Polcia." Nathan sat perfectly still among his teenaged classmates within the darkness of the war exhibition's compact cinema hall. In his seat two rows from the back of the room, he focused unerringly on the documentary being played for them, listening intently to the voice-over artist's deep, emotionally-charged words. "With little warning, the residents of the coastal cities of Linvendia and its neighbouring nation states were subjected to a short but intense series of aerial strikes, raining down from the remnants of the Velikan bomber formations not successfully disabled by Polcia's anti-aircraft artillery." Accompanying this commentary, grainy, amateur quality footage captured the street view from one of the many cities subjected to the Velikan onslaught. Air-raid sirens wailed loudly through the darkened city while dull, persistent thumping from ground-to-air weaponry sounded out from in the distance. This ambient noise became drowned out seconds later by the harrowing, unmistakable sound of bomb clusters whistling down from the huge, ominous attack planes hovering in the sky above. Shells struck their targets with relentless, thunderous crashes, their payloads leaving apocalyptic scenes in their wake as they tore easily through the flimsy, almost paper-like structures of nearby commercial and residential buildings alike.

Nathan squirmed in his seat, witnessing scores of helpless people scurrying through the shaking, explosion-lit street, screaming in panic as they desperately sought whatever cover they could find while everything around them crumbled into rubble. Suddenly, the camera panned around, bobbing up and down as its owner also attempted to flee. Their heavy breathing and frightened whimpering accompanied the chaotic mesh of people and the ever-present thudding closing in on them. The final moments of film captured one final ground-shattering explosion, bursting flame and flying debris before turning to static. "Despite the obsolescence of the technology harnessed by Velikans in their dated weaponry, their huge size alone meant that its resulting payload proved many magnitudes greater than the advanced Polcian equivalent." 'That cameraman musta been fine, else how did the footage get out?' the young husky thought to himself, doing all that he could to process the disturbing scenes he'd just watched unfold.

"So why'd they do it!?" a voice cried out in anger from their seat on the left-hand side of the room. "Why'd they do all that to us?" "Collins!" Nathan's tutor snapped in response from down in the first row. "Mr. Sterling, how in the hell can they justify--" "Just pay attention and you may very well find out, won't you?" Nathan went numb, his ears barely registering the heated exchange between his tutor and fellow pupil. He regained his focus just in time to hear the film's narrator begin to outline the factors that led up to this opening attack. The huge economic crashes that took place in Velika and the other macro republics of that time were discussed, along with the series of droughts and failed harvests in the region that magnified the impact of this downturn still further. These events culminated in a series of resource-driven skirmishes that took place between Velika and its increasingly hostile neighbours over the space of several years, necessitating an increase in military spending that sounded a death knell for the government of a nation whose budget had already been stretched beyond breaking point. "Almost bankrupt, and with the ever-looming spectre of all-out war instilling fear into its people, Velika fell into a state of unrest between government loyalists and rebel dissidents. With the threat of a bloody civil war now a real possibility, the commanders of the country's bloated military staged a swift, ruthless coup d'etat, successfully gaining control of the state from its failing, yet democratically-elected leadership..."

"So, they fucked up their country... how's that an excuse?" "Mr. Collins!" the large badger at the front of the viewing room stood up to face the class, throwing paws onto hips, "If you persist and continue with that kind of language, you'll be asked to wait outside." "Sir, come on. This is bullsh--" "Right, get out!" "Gods damn it." A near-silhouetted feline figure stood up from his seat, barging out into the aisle before storming through the exit at the back of the hall. "At least that Velikan scum got what they deserved in the end."

"...Finding themselves in full control of the country, the armed forces' commanders began to utilise an effective blend of charismatic, populist leadership along with an uncompromising system of propaganda in order to quell the disorder within its borders. In the space of only a few months, the Velikan junta succeeded in turning the anger of the people not only towards their neighbour states, but also the minority that still remained loyal to the ousted government. Using its oversized military to full effect, and with the new-found support of the nation's people behind them, the new leaders of Velika were able to counter its aggressors before turning the tide and going on the offensive themselves. Within three years, the enemies of Velika would succumb and surrender to its war machine, finally bringing an end to the decade-long 'War of the Republics'." A brief interlude followed, formed of action shots taken from the various rural and urban battlegrounds of Velika at the time. Once concluded, the film, along with the narrator, moved on to dissect the events that followed post-conflict.

"With the nation now on a relatively stable footing, a short period of peace followed. It soon became clear however, that all was not well. Still suffering from a stagnating economy, along with a whole host of social issues brought about by their illegal seizure of power, the military leadership focused its attention to who they considered to be the real reason for their problems: Polcians." The husky's ears perked up while his jaw dropped. "How were we responsible for their mess!?" "Frost," Nathan's tutor roared. "Quiet please." "Velika's leaders looked across the Sovereign Ocean at the resource-rich, fertile lands of Polcia and envied the prosperity and relative peace enjoyed by its inhabitants. In addition, they saw the substantial population of Polcians in Velika, many of whom had been living within their borders for generations, as a drain on the country, believing that they'd played no small part in the events that led to these times of struggle." "That's crap!" "Frost, once more and you'll be joining Collins outside!"

"Despite a high number of Polcian descendants traditionally performing roles of great importance: doctors, teachers and scientists to name just a few, those in control of Velika viewed their small stature as a hinderance, a sign that they could never offer as much to society as their Velikan counterparts. Thanks to the expertly crafted rhetoric of the junta's now well-established propaganda wing, it would not take long for this view to be shared by large swathes of the population." Once again, the commentary paused, giving time for numerous images of Velikan attacks on Polcians to be cycled through on-screen. Nathan felt immense pity for the smaller people in the photographs, witnessing some having to endure horrific physical abuse at the hands of their larger fellow citizens. Others, he saw face the heartbreak of seeing their entire livelihoods being literally torn apart in front of their eyes by swarms of angry, vengeance-seeking giants. "Those lucky enough to escape the country fled back to their ancestral homelands, or were taken in as refugees by the stable, nearby island nations that included Vodaskal and Bolstrovo. Those unable to flee were forced to go into hiding, occasionally being assisted by the small number of Velikans still sympathetic towards them. Once the 'Polcians at home' had been taken care of, the nation's militaristic leadership turned its attention to the continent of Polcia itself."

Just when Nathan thought he'd begun to get his emotions back in check, another video started up. Judging by the graphics at the edge of the screen, it appeared to be an excerpt of a live newsfeed broadcasted from the time. The camera rolled from the rear of an exhausted platoon of Polcian soldiers, capturing their urgent struggle to defend against a four-man Velikan infantry unit advancing through the smouldering, mangled ruins of a city at dawn. Machine-gunfire and missile strikes flashed like strobe-lights against the huge, dust-shrouded figures of the giant invaders, the very ground beneath them trembling as they strode forward with heavy, jack-boot fitted paws. "We're coming to you live... the ruins of Eastport," The shrill, barely audible words of a female reporter out of shot voiced over the chilling footage. "We've been caught up here... Linvendian Home Guard fighting tooth and nail to repel... attacks that began thirty-six hours ago..." Panicked defensive soldiers, also muted by the booming of Polcian weaponry and asphalt-cracking thunder of Velikan footfalls, could be heard calling out from their position behind the charred, crumpled frame of a city bus. "We're all out of explosive rounds. Standard munitions... barely scratching them. Enemy... one-hundred and fifty feet and closing!" "...no choice. We can't let them break the line. Deploy the 'Macro Cannon', now!"

"I enjoy this now, insects!" An almost deafening roar from the nearest Velikan soldier, a hugely-built brown bear, rattled the few unbroken windows that remained in the smashed city buildings. Slowly, he cocked his bolt-action rifle, moving to aim it towards the Polcian company taking cover behind the shattered bus. In unison, the other three Velikan combatants, a black wolf and two tigers, followed suit, readying their guns to fire. "...got one shot. Make it count." The shaking of the camera intensified, as did the noise generated by the approaching enemies' stomping strides. With a sudden blast of air, a rocket fizzed upwards from off-screen, flying swiftly into the monstrous bear's chest. A huge, echoing crash followed, accompanied by a blinding flash and thick smoke. Once the air had cleared, the giant soldier could be seen toppling backwards, slamming down with a monumental, ground-shaking thud. The tremor generated by the impact proved powerful enough to send the shattered remains of a nearby apartment complex crumbling to the ground in a massive cloud of dust and debris, only adding to the carnage. "--ckin' got them!" Any joy for the defensive force proved extremely short-lived. While they had managed to take out one of the Velikan soldiers, the other three appeared to have survived with minimal injury. In mere moments, their rifles had returned to point straight at the pinned Polcians' position. "Fall back!" "No, we can't lose Eastport." "...no choice! Fall back to the perim--" The recording finished abruptly, a split second after the Velikan wolf fired off a shot that blew apart the remains of a nearby storefront, leaving the platoon's fate unknown.

Nathan lurched forward, using his handpaws to shield his eyes from the screen. 'I can't believe they're showing this shit to us, what the hell is this?' His fellow students had similar reactions, with the film stunning even the most boisterous members of the class silent. "While civilian casualties were considerable, preparation for a potential attack in the form of practice drills and safety bunkers located throughout most towns and cities meant they were kept to a minimum. The military losses incurred meanwhile were heavy, with the initial Velikan attack squads sweeping through the nation's coastal cities and their defenses within the first seventy-two hours of comba--"

A deep rumble rocked Nathan awake, causing him to spring up alertly in his seat. "W-what?" He gasped breathlessly, whipping his head to look around the plane's cabin as morning light seeped in. The bulky fox to his left, like most of the other passengers aboard the aircraft, sat sound asleep in his fully-reclined chair. A constant stream of vibration travelled through to the husky's side of the seating, generated by the vulpine's disruptively loud snoring. 'Guess that explains it.' Nathan rubbed his sleepy eyes with a grumble. 'Been awhile since I've dreamt about that damn film so vividly.' "Ladies and gentlemen, your attention please." The aeroplane's intercom buzzed to life once again, waking the lighter sleepers among those dozing on-board. To Nathan's annoyance, this didn't include the snoring fox next to him. "We're about to begin our final approach to our destination, please ensure that all seats are in their upright position..." He tuned the announcement out, shifting in his seat to get a better view of the world outside his window. Beneath the clear blue morning sky, waves lapped over the shrub-strewn, bronze sands of Bolstrovo's expansive coastline. A little further upshore, approaching the horizon sat a sizable harbour, busy with an assortment of ships, ferries and other seafaring craft. 'Guess that's where I'm leaving for Velika from... it looks a lot like a port back home.'

The aircraft banked to glide over the beachfront, soon reaching the vast, grassy plains that stretched off toward the distant inland mountains. "Oh wow, maybe not!" Nathan barked in shock, a little louder than he'd have liked given the number of people waking from their slumber around him. Below the descending craft stood a small coastal town, filled with homes, stores, traffic-filled streets and everything else one would expect to be present within the average settlement. Nothing of its various features seemed particularly unusual at first glance, the only exception being the sheer scale of them all. As the plane closed in on the airport runway, it became slowly dwarfed by the nearby houses that stood two, three-hundred feet tall, as well as by the flanking treelines that stretched into the air still higher. Nathan couldn't believe his eyes, his breath snatched away by a sight he could barely comprehend. "It's all... so massive."

A jolt travelled through the cabin as the craft touched down with a sharp screech on smooth tarmac, jerking again as the pilot applied the brakes and taxied off from the runway. From his vantage Nathan had a perfect view of the staggeringly huge terminal from his window. Again, other than its staggering size of course, nothing about it appeared out of the ordinary. Lined up alongside the airport building sat a fleet of enormous jet planes, albeit a good distance from Nathan's current position and in a separate, fenced-off section of the grounds. The rolling craft finally reached its final destination after a few minutes of slaloming, stopping alongside a Polcian-sized doorway located at the bottom corner of the towering terminal, far below where any of the 'regular' sized windows began. Once the cabin crew allowed it, Nathan and his fellow passengers left the aeroplane via a boarding bridge, his heart fluttering with a nervous excitement as he passed by a large sign on the wall that read, 'Welcome to Bolstrovo: Home of Unity.'

Everything inside the terminal seemed pleasant enough, plushly decorated in the form of modern art adorning the walls of the windowless corridor, complemented by a wide variety of plants and greenery arranged throughout. The airport had clearly gone to great effort and expense to give a good impression of itself. A minute or so spent on the walkway saw Nathan reach the end of the passageway, exiting out into a small hall that appeared to form the entirety of the terminal. One single baggage claim carousel sat in motion to his left, while a modest customs area lied in wait directly ahead. To Nathan's surprise, everything here appeared to be of normal size, with little evidence to suggest the presence of giants anywhere nearby. 'Well, this is pretty damn plain, isn't it?' he grumbled internally. 'Home of Unity? It's as if I never left Linvendia.' As nervous as he felt about the prospect of encountering a macro face-to-face for the first time, he'd built up the event to such an extent in his mind that the normality of everything he'd seen so far served as a considerable anti-climax. Putting his disappointment to one side, Nathan trudged on, retrieving his trolley bag from the claim area and continuing on into the customs area once he'd slipped his laptop case inside. Thankfully, customs here proved a far cry from those he'd experienced before his departure: brief and uneventful. The only similarities that could be found lied in the fact that the agents carrying the task out were, just like everything else seen in the airport so far, of normal size. Nathan did give thanks for this particular fact, imagining just how intimidating customs staff could be if they were of gigantic proportions along with it.

Once concluded and permitted access, he strolled on through the long corridor that constituted the remainder of the airport's arrivals area, following the boldly written direction signs that read 'Underground Shuttle to Harbour'.'Well, so much for seeing Bolstrovo,' Nathan grumbled to himself as he reached the end of the passageway. 'No wonder customs are so lax here. This place is like an assembly line.' Along with several people he recognised from the plane, he stepped onto a long, steep escalator that would carry them all down to board the shuttle. 'No windows, no other routes to take, just one big, enclosed hallway. Like they're trying to keep us apart from the rest of the airport.' 'Maybe it's just to keep you safe from all the giant Bolstrovans walking around in the main part of the airport?' Nathan proposed to himself in return. 'What about the normal-sized locals, don't they need to be kept safe, too?' He shook his head, dismissing these thoughts as something for another time. 'Whatever, you've got a ferry to catch.' At the bottom of the automatic staircase, Nathan made the short walk to the subway station. 'I wonder if the port'll be any different?' he mused, boarding the waiting shuttle. 'I wonder if I'll actually see any giants?'

Twenty minutes aboard the train saw Nathan re-emerge into daylight as he arrived at the massively busy and equally massively-sized harbour. While no less direct and isolated than the arrivals hall back at the airport, the plate glass windows of the short walkway running from the underground station to the waiting area for departing ferries permitted a much better view of the world outside. To his right, the husky caught a glimpse of the sprawling docklands that stretched off towards the sea beyond a chain-link fence standing at least a hundred feet high. In the bay rested a fleet of ships so unimaginably vast in size that he wondered just how they managed to remain buoyant. Surrounding these vessels, a collection of looming cargo cranes and numerous stacks of containers towered far higher than any building back home in Linvendia. "Amazing." Nathan's jaw truly dropped when he turned to gaze out of the tunnel's left-hand side. Beyond a lengthy grass verge, the outskirts of a truly monumental Bolstrovan city dominated his view. From the husky's perspective, every single building resembled a skyscraper, stretching up to pierce the blue sky high above. Once he got past the initial awe of the sheer scale of the metropolis, Nathan could cast a more evaluative eye on a city that resembled a giant version of something he could typical find back home, albeit stuck a couple of decades in the past in terms of architectural design. He narrowed his eyes and pressed his nose to the glass, his brown and white tail slowly wagging at the bustling streets and highways, all filled with flowing traffic and the shuffling figures of its many inhabitants. 'Are those people? They can't be normal-sized... can they?' His internal musings on the subject ceased the moment he spotted a tiny magnet train, tiny when compared to its surroundings at least, zooming along in the foreground within what appeared to be a transparent protective tube system. 'Oh, that's normal sized. This is... just so surreal!'

Nathan's tail-wagging had grown to the point that he had to be wary of anybody passing behind him. Fortunately, the tunnel had emptied by this time, the rest of the passengers from his flight long gone. "I need to get some photos, no one back home'll believe me when I tell 'em about this!" Before he could reach into his pocket to retrieve his phone, a faint thudding sound rolled through the tunnel, freezing the husky to the spot with perked ears. "What..." Another boom followed a second later, before a third and then a fourth, each one louder than the last. The thundering continued, soon to be accompanied by short, sharp tremors of the ground beneath Nathan's feet. His light blue eyes darted about frantically while his curled tail drooped. He knew only one thing could possibly be causing this. "It's a macro... it's gotta be-- where is it?" Nathan pivoted to approach the port-facing window, just in time to witness an enormous figure emerging from behind the corner of the main harbour building with a floor-trembling stomp. Any feelings of disappointment at not getting to see a giant Bolstrovan while back at the airport seemed more than a little foolish at this point, his heart pumping so quickly that it felt fit to burst within his chest.

"Oh my gods!" Nathan cried, another loud crash rocking the ground as the biggest fox he had ever seen stood clear as day beyond the fencing outside the window. "That guy from the plane... not so big after all." The canine took a step back, struggling to breath from the shock of the sight before him. Yet another tremor rocked the ground, sending him stumbling over his bag and down to the floor with a yelp. He kept himself pinned down, observing the massive vulpine loitering upon the concrete clearing of the dock no more than a hundred feet away. "Please, gods, don't let him spot me..." The giant slowly turned his head to face the Polcian-sized walkway, sending a gaze that shot through Nathan's heart with a bolt of pure terror. He squeaked in panic, wincing at the pair of enormous black boots thudding towards his position. The lingering, vivid memory of the documentary from his school trip to the war museum leaked into the forefront of his thinking, petrifying him to the spot. "He's coming, he's coming, he's c-- look at the size of those things!" One final jolt of the ground travelled through the frame of the corridor, prompting Nathan to clench his eyes shut as he trembled with fear. "All this way, just to be a fucking pancake!"