You are the FLYING ACE, and you don't feel good about this.

This is like any one of the hundreds of supply drops you've been on. Flight from Prospit to Skaia, and then back again. But you're uneasy.

You board your plane, and begin pre-flight checks. Everything seems to be in order. Your medals clink slightly as you pull on the headset. You are a decorated pilot, after all. Prospit Flight Control clears you for takeoff.

You rocket out of Prospit's atmosphere and into empty space. Almost immediately you see a large blip on your radar. You look out of your cockpit window and confirm the contact visually.

A massive Dersite warship is bearing down on Skaia. Probably another troop carrier.

Well shit.

That thing will shred you in seconds.

Almost immediately the ship-to-ship point defence system opens up on your plane.

You roll and weave through the incoming fire, only sustaining minor hits to non-vital systems.

You enter the Skaian atmosphere. A parting blast from the warship, now far off to the east, blows out your cockpit window.

The automated blast shields immediately deploy.

Flying over the Battlefield, you can see the armies clashing. Castles and strongholds fly Prospit and Derse flags proudly. The gigantic behemoths grown in the Veil clash and send shockwaves throughout the air.

A red glow flickers in the distance. You wonder what it is.

Suddenly, the air seems to explode around your plane. You've come under fire from Dersite anti-air emplacements.

Guiding the plane through the air, you press a button, and release a payload onto the guns.

The anti-air batteries explode behind you as you fly on.

Your drop zone is approaching. You fly over a forest, and see many Prospitians fighting on a ridge.

You fly over them, and drop your supplies. The soldiers cheer. They have been engaged on that position for weeks.

A voice comes through on your headset, but static prevents you from hearing much.

"Incredibly hostile - all craft disengage - utilising some form of - probably a Dersite superweapon - repeat, disengage immediately - get out of here - run!"

The radio cuts out. You are afraid, and your mind is remembering the red flickers on the horizon when you flew in.

An explosion rocks the plane. You check the diagnostics board in front of you.

Your two starboard engines are not functioning. You see that the plane is trailing smoke.

You are losing altitude rapidly.

The plane flies over a relatively flat area. You notice that the red flickers you saw earlier are all around you. The twisting streams of scarlet energy fill the air.

You hit the ground, and crash. The plane remains intact initially, but the fuel tank ruptures, and the red energy in the air causes the fuel to explode.

You are the FLYING ACE, and you are very badly hurt. Your leg may be broken, and your side is bleeding profusely.

You begin to crawl through the plane, towards the place where the fuel explosion has severed the fuselage in half.

A figure appears, blocking the way to the outside world.

Red energy emanates from his fingers. The last thing you feel is intense pain.

You are the FLYING ACE, and you are very, very, dead.

Bec Noir lowers his hand, the Ring of Orbs Fourfold still crackling with the energy of the Red Miles.

That was exciting.

The Dersite leaves, ring glinting on his finger.

The white squares of the Battlefield begin to blacken in the fire of the plane, taking on the shade of their darker counterparts.

Secondary explosions rock the shattered craft, and the frail body of the Prospitian that flew it is consumed in fire.