This War of Mine

Chapter 1: Providence

The airship's prow cut through the dense clouds like a hot blade through wax. Shaped like a giant knife, its pointed front wrapped over cargo and crew areas before ending in a large fuel storage tank covered in thick brazen armor. On the top and bottom of the ship's rear sat propellers, gently pushing her forward through the clouds. As thunder roared in the distance, lightning glinted off the eleven exposed turret ends protruding from the front section of the ship's hull. A cruiser, the Imperial Cloud Ship Divider was usually the heart of any fleet operation. Today, she sailed alone, scouting the stormy skies for signs of two missing Imposition-class frigates.

The war with the Federacy had begun exacting a heavy toll on the Imperial fleet, and the report of two missing frigates from the skies over Felden was concerning. Felden sat in the southeastern corner of the Ataraxian Empire, as far from Federacy-controlled lands as possible. Rumors were already circulating that the Unionists had taken action, a more terrifying thought than the Federacy infiltrating Imperial territory.

The Divider curved, her hull glinting in the flashes of lightning as she cut through the storm. Her captain, Artemus Maycock, furrowed his brow as they continued flying through the storm. He leaned forward in the Captain's chair, peering through the hardened glass viewing screen that wrapped around the front of the bridge. Nothing could be seen but a boiling sea of black clouds and flashes of lightning with the roars of thunder shaking the hull of the ship itself. Artemus drummed the right armrest of his chair with his fingers, deep in thought as the ship shuddered with another blast of lightning.

"Helmsman, bring us hard to starboard. Reduce aerite output by thirty percent, lower us to an elevation of one hundred meters. Prepare to drop anchor. We're going to have to ride out this storm until we can get our bearings."

"Aye, Captain!" the helmsman shouted, spinning the ship's helm and guiding her quickly to the right. With the flick of a switch, he opened shipwide communications. "Bridge to engineering, reduce aerite output by thirty percent! Repeat, reduce aerite output by thirty percent! Prepare to drop anchor!"

The bridge quickly became a hub of activity. The helmsman and navigator talked in hushed tones, steering the ship in what they could only pray was a safe downward spiral. Lookouts and listeners focused ever more intently on their posts, scanning for any indicator of a hazard or the two missing ships they had been sent to find. Some had given up entirely on the missing ships, searching furiously for a landmark they could use to guess where they were. A light pattering of water began to obscure portions of the viewscreen; the rain had finally begun to fall. Artemus frowned as the ship tilted further to the right, the altimeter slowly ticking their descent towards a hundred meters.

"Captain!" one of the lookouts shouted, frantically pointing out the viewscreen. "Signal lamp at eighty-seven degrees lateral, twelve degrees vertical! It's an SOS, identifying herself as Unit Zero-Six. We've found one of the missing ships, sir!"

Artemus smiled for the first time all day. "Good work, sailor. Helmsman, you heard him! Set our bearing eighty-seven degrees lateral, twelve vertical. Increase aerite output and bring us alongside the ship. Get me shipwide communications."

"Right away, Captain," the helmsman said, furiously flicking switches and turning the helm towards the flashing light. "Lines are open."

"All hands, this is Captain Artemus Maycock. We have received an SOS signal from Imposition Zero-Six; we've found some of our lost sailors. Prepare to dock and board, stand by to take on wounded personnel and begin repairs to their ship as needed. Artemus out."

He nodded to the helmsman, who flicked the switch again and shut the lines. The ICS Divider shuddered again as lightning flashed and the sky roared with the sound of an angry god. Undeterred, the ship sailed straight onward toward the still-blinking light of Zero-Six. A bolt of lightning split the sky behind the ship, illuminating the shape of the Imposition-class frigate. Her boxy form sported only four forward-facing cannons, but she was moderately armored and wickedly fast. A sudden gust of wind slammed into the Divider, knocking her to her side. The same gust shoved Zero-Six away, concealing it in a wall of black clouds.