Empire

Chapter 17

England's POV:

Ukraine had come up with a plan. It had a lot of holes, but it was a start. I still had this lingering feeling that it was a death wish. I had noticed the strange faint scent of gunpowder, which was not entirely normal.

Ukraine had been acting a little strange, and he occasionally talked to himself. As he goes into detail on his plan, the door opens, and it gives both of us a fright.

It was Canada. He stood in the doorway and gave us a creepy smile. He slowly walked over to Ukraine. I tell Ukraine was incredibly uncomfortable. Canada gave him a big hug. Ukraine awkwardly patted his back.

"It's good to see you are alive and well. I have missed you yet you don't seem to have missed me," Canada said creepily. He let Ukraine out of the hug and glared at him.

"I am just tired," Ukraine lied.

"Oh well, I had better leave you here to rest for a little longer. England, I need you to come with me." Canada commanded as he walked back over to the door. I followed him, but as I got close to him, I noticed a strong smell of blood.

Canada locked the door behind us. We started walking down the hallway.

"You have done an outstanding job at being a medic, perhaps you might like to stay in that area," Canada suggested. I knew that whatever Canada was planning would either be like a promotion or something that would mentally scar me for life.

"I need someone with medical skills to work in the mental recovery unit after a few wars, all the death has gotten to some people and they aren't to take care of themselves. Russia works there as security so you wouldn't be alone," Canada offered. Now I wasn't sure whether it was a promotion or a mentally scarring adventure.

"Okay, but I'm not medically trained," I answered.

"Your only tasks are to stop them from killing themselves and giving them food and painkillers when needed, there is a notebook describing how to take care of them, and if they get violent, Russia can help you," He explained.

"I guess I could try. What are the hours and pay like?" I asked.

"Hours and pay? This isn't a job, this you taking part in this Empire. However, you do get food service and a shared room with Russia,"

I was a little disappointed, but it made sense in a way. I would be helping people who need it, so it may reward after all. Canada led me to a door. Russia was standing next to the door, looking as if he was waiting for us.

"Russia will show you where everything is and what you need to do," Canada said before walking off. They left me alone with Russia. He looked like he hadn't slept in days, and the scar on his face made him look unsettling.

"Whatever you have seen or heard, it's only going to get worse," Russia warned.

Angola's POV:

I didn't feel comfortable with Niue coming along. I knew he would try to report me as soon as I made the tiniest slip-up. I told Wales to come with me and unfortunately, Niue was there too.

I had been working on several pieces of technology in my free time and I thought it would be fun to have Wales test them out. I had tested them before and the chances of them exploding are only 3%. So he should be safe.

"So what is it that you have been working on," Niue asked noisily.

"You will see, shortly." I sighed.

We made it to the electronic and engineering laboratory I worked in. I opened the door using the keypad and let Wales and Niue in. Usually, it was a restricted area, but there wasn't anything much in how it was dangerous.

Niue kept looking around the place and got distracted with some blueprints on nanotechnology. At least now, I could show Wales what I was working on. A set of mechanical wings that should be able to propel the wearer into the air.

"Woah! Those are awesome!" Wales said excitedly.

"Would you like to try it on?" I offered, holding out a silver set of wings. They seemed almost bat-like in style. They had been to only ones that had a battery duration of an hour.

"Heck, yeah!" Wales said, grabbing the wings out of my hand.

"You put them on like a backpack and then fasten the metal clips over your shoulders and around your chest," I explained.

It took Wales a few tries to get it on the right way, but I helped him with the metal clips.

Because the wings are controlled through muscle movement, I placed movement sensors on both of his wrists. These would send electronic messages to the dominant system in the wings, causing them to flap.

"Clench both of your fists to flap the wings," I explained to Wales. He did so, and the wings flapped once, as expected. Because of the power and size of the wing, Wales could get a metre off the floor.

Wales came back down to the ground. He looked so excited.

"We have a larger testing area if you would like to practice," I said. Wales nodded wildly.

I led him to the indoor testing ground. It was empty, so it was the perfect place to test it. Wales spent ages testing out the flapping feature and some other features that were controlled by moving individual fingers.

Wales was a fast learner and could glide cleanly by the end of the session. It was good to see that the prototype worked. Obviously, there were problems. Wales had mentioned how his wrist was sore, so hopefully, by next time he pops by, I would have put together some pressure gloves with the sensors built-in to protect the movement of his wrist.

"That was awesome!" Wales announced when he was done.

"I will fix it up and the prototype is yours, what colours would you like it to be?" I asked.

"I can have it?" He said, bewildered.

"Once I have fixed the bugs. But it needs a paint job and weather sealant, so what colours would you like?" I asked again.

"Green and red! Make it green and red!" Wales repeated excitedly.

"Okie Dokie, green and red it is,"