Skyward

Prologue

        For the most part, it was quiet. There weren't any birds chirping, no prarie grass blowing in the wind, nothing. The only sound was that of the train going down the tracks, a cloud of smoke coming out of the stack as it went along. Onboard the train it was just as quiet. The engineer and conductor worked silently in the engine room, making sure the train kept going on schedule. In the passenger cars, the soldiers charged with guarding the train played cards quietly. The rest of the cars contained cargo on its way to the capital: iron and coal for the steel mills, timber for the paper mills, grain to make into food, and so on.

        For the people on the train, it  was a routine trip. As always, the train had started by picking up its cargo at the rail depot in Salton, one of the largest settlements in the western frontier, and one of the most important rail centers on the continent. Having picked everything up, recieved maintenance, and restocked the coal used for fuel, the train started back east towards the Amerian capital of Blue Harbor. As usual, there had been no incidents, and it wouldn't be long before the train arrived at it's next stop, the depot at Fort Missis, a smaller city located about halfway between Salton and the capital. The guards on the train were only a precaution. Trains were rarely attacked, especially along the main lines. What few attacks there were were always defeated rather easily. After all, any attackers would be on foot or horseback, and usually lightly armed. They were no match for the trained and well equipped guards, plus the cannon and machine gun installments located on a few of the cars. And if that wasn't enough to keep the train safe, there were still the airships.

        The airship fleets, under the control of the aerial corps, a division of the navy, were the pride of Ameria. There were five in total: the Western Fleet, which controlled the lands between the Barrier Hills and the Orlan River; the Eastern Fleet, which controlled the lands from the Orlan River to the eastern coastline; the Lake Fleet, which controlled the Great Lake and the islands within it; the Oceanic Fleet, which controlled the Eastern Ocean; and the Colonial Fleet, which controlled the Amerian colonies in Cartha, one of the continents located across the Eastern Ocean. Each fleet contained nine or ten capital ships, such as battleships and cruisers, as well as several dozen smaller ships, such as corvettes, sloops, missile ships, and scout ships, and finally varying numbers of support ships. There were also a total of five massive aircraft carriers, one for each fleet, which carried dozens of smaller airplanes.

        In the car farthest from the engine were three guards, Michaelson, Andrews, and Kyler. The three of them, responsible for operating the mounted cannon and machine gun located in their car, were currently playing Blackjack and drinking. For the three of them, this was completely normal; the guns hadn't been fired since the last war, and that had ended two years earlier. The three of them had played cards on every trip since then. Leaning up against the coolant tank on the machine gun, Kyler took a drink from a bottle of brandy and looked down at the cards in front of him. He had a decent enough hand, with two eights, giving him a total of sixteen.

        "Eh... hit me."

        Andrews, who was dealing, handed Kyler a card. Looking at it, Kyler frowned and threw his cards into the pile in front of them.

        "Well, that's twenty-three, so I'm bust. You guys?"

        Michaelson revealed his hand, a pair of tens, giving him twenty. Looking smug, he put his cards down and crossed his arms. The smug look went away when Andrews revealed a king and an ace, for a total of twenty-one. Michaelson cursed and knocked the cards on the floor, then took a long drink from his bottle.

        "Well, there goes the money I saved up for this weekend. Thanks a lot, bastards."

        Andrews grinned and collected his winnings, "Come on, you only lost a dollar. Man up."

        Michaelson frowned and bent down to pick up the cards, "I was gonna take my wife out somewhere special though. Place costs around three dollars, and now I only have about a dollar fifty. Payday would have made it sixteen, and after paying for the house and everything I would've had just enough."

        Andrews looked thoughtful, "You know, I can loan you a dollar or two if you need it, but I'd need it back by next week."

        "I don't need your money Andrews.  Besides, I don't know that I'd even be able to pay you back. Having family over next week and need to feed them too... gonna be more expensive than usual."

        Andrews sighed, "If you say so. But if you change your mind, feel free to ask. My son just got a new job, so we're making more than we need. Things are finally starting to work out oka-"

        Andrews was cut off by the sound of an explosion outside the train, which rocked the car, knocking a few bottles to the ground. Kyler, the least drunk of the three, was quick to grab his rifle, "What the hell was that?"

        The other two men were quick to grab theirs as well, as Kyler climbed up the ladder that led to the turret on the roof of the car. Looking out of the hatch, he was nearly hit by a bullet before slamming it shut again. Before he had to close it though, he was able to see maybe two dozen men on horseback riding alongside the train, attacking it with bombs and rifles. One of the men was carrying a flag, a rather plain one, half black and half red, split diagonally down the middle. 

        "We've got bandits. Andrews, man the machine gun. I'll man the turret, Michaelson, you fire from the window."

        The three men, although rather drunk, rushed to their positions and opened fire on the men outside, as guards in other cars did the same. The cannon didn't accomplish much, and in his drunkeness, Michaelson wasn't a very good shot, but the machine gun was very effective, with Andrews' gun alone taking down five riders. It wasn't long before a second cluster of bombs were thrown, taking out five of the seven machine guns on the train, including Andrews'.

        "God damnit, my gun is busted. Looks like most of the other ones are too... Kyler, how many are left?"

        Kyler took a shot at one of the riders, a small crater appearing where they once were, "Looks like about twelve left, most of the others are still alive though, just got their horses. Hope backup arrives soon."

        Less than a minute after he said that, a shadow fell over the train. For a moment, the sound of rifles firing and bombs exploding stopped, and it seemed like everyone's eyes were drawn skyward. Hovering in the air  behind the train was an enourmous airship, a cruiser from the looks of it, with guns pointed down at the people below. A cheer went up inside the train; the guards had been dropping like flies, and their cannons and rifles were considerably ineffective against the mounted bandits. A tattered Amerian flag flew from the airship, rippling in the wind.

        "Thank god. I honestly thought we were screwed there. All that we have to do now is sit back and watch th- wait a minute..."

        On closer inspection, the guns on the airship weren't pointed the right direction. Instead of being pointed at the bandits, they were pointed at the train itself. Slowly, the Amerian flag was lowered, and a red and black one raised in its place as the guns took aim.

        "Holy sh-"

        That was all he could say before the guns opened fire in unison, blowing the car to pieces.