The Tales of Astraea

Winds of Fire

Caltor Stronghide was woken up by the blaring of alarms. He jumped out of his hammock and quickly put on his flight suit. The gnome ran into the hallway and joined his fellow pilots on their way to the drop deck.

Meanwhile, their captain was barking orders over the intercom. 'We have contact, man your Viper!' Caltor always felt a rush when he felt those words, but today was not one of those days. He knew why they were out here, and what they were looking for, and for once, he wasn't looking forward to battle.

Caltor ran down the steps, and the only sound there was now was the sound of pilots running to their Vipers. Caltor's Viper was still suspended above the drop hole by a rigging system and he opened the cockpit. The Vipers were shaped like large darts made of a combination of wood and steel. It had three wings and a front gun that fired magically propelled projectiles. Caltor climbed into the cockpit, buckled himself in and put on his headset. It had a sending stone in it that put him in touch with the carrier ship and his fellow pilots. 'Carrier Nest, this is Lil Lightning, ready to drop.' Caltor said as he closed the cockpit.

'Copy that, Lil lightning, prep for drop...'

Caltor breathed in, braced himself as his Viper was pointed downwards towards the drop hole and tensed up.

Lights around the drophole went from red, to orange to green. A magical current shot across the hole and a metal iris opened. The clamps released and dropped the Viper, nose first, down the hole.

The magical field increased the Viper's speed and shot it out into the open air. Caltor was pushed back into his pilot seat and the wings of the Viper extended. The magical sails soaked up the momentum and stored them. Caltor knew that the longer he dropped, the longer he could stay in the air and the more speed he had in battle.

Caltor's Viper was first out of the tubes and shot down through the clouds. Caltor's vision became narrow as the G-forces pushed him further back in the seat. But Caltor was a good pilot, one of the best even.

Caltor pulled on his joystick and the Viper leveled out. A dozen Vipers were following his example. Caltor looked up and could see his carrier, and the two dozen battleships that were escorting it. 'Lil Lightning, be advised, target is airborne and half a click south of us. Do not engage, you are support.'

Caltor cursed. That was close. And he knew damn well they weren't support.
They were bait.
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The first sign of their foe was a column of smoke in the distance. 'This is Lil Lightning, we have a visual on the target's trail, any advice?' There was a pause. 'Investigate, but be careful, Lil Lightning.'

Caltor took the lead and his Viper shot towards the column of smoke. Caltor pulled on the joystick and did a roll, looking down at the source of the smoke. Caltor had trouble seeing through the smoke from this altitude, but reluctant to fly lower right now.

He could make out burning buildings, and could swear he saw some smoldering bodies. 'Carrier, this is Lil Lightning, I have a visual on what appears to be a destroyed settlement...' Caltor leveled out again and resumed his flight path. 'No sign of survivors.'

'Lil Lightning, be advised, your flight time is running out.' Caltor looked at his energy meter and agreed, he would need to dock soon. 'Copy that, we're on our way back.'
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The carrier was a large wide ship, with 30 drop holes on its lower hull, and landing railings on the main deck. It took pilots months of training to do a successful landing. It was a delicate and precise manoeuvre, and a single mistake could kill a pilot or crewmembers on the carrier.