Interlude Two: Lost Friend

            Wind blew the cloak around him as he stood on one of the numerous balconies of the Imperial Palace. The man looked up into the blue sky. Or where the blue sky used to be. Now, in its place, were countless battleships, drawn from Anatoure's finest yards. Anatoure was going to war, and this was only one of the signs. Sighing at the futility of the fighting, the man turned his back on the assembled armada. Soon, he would have to take his place as a commander aboard one of these vessels.

            "What are you doing here?" A woman with long flowing brown hair stepped out onto the balcony. The man shrugged. "Just thinking. Soon the battlefleets will be moving out to engage Deusis." He turned his gaze away from her eyes. "Does that mean you will be leaving?" Her tone grew very quiet. "Yes. I have to go, even though I don't want to." She stood beside him, leaning on the railing, her chin propped up in her palms.  "What makes this different from any other battles you've fought before?"

            "This time, I don't want to go."  He sighed. "I used to go out there and do the best I could because it seemed right to serve my nation and protect it." "It still is," she shot back. "Yes, but I used to view fighting differently. Now war actually seems wrong."

            "Why is that?"

            "I...Deusis and Anatoure are the only two nations on this world. Both are very powerful, and both will not hold back when they feel threatened. If it comes to that, we will wipe each other out." Facing the sky again, he stared at the assembled armade for a moment before continuing. "And now I actually don't want to leave...because I have a reason to come back. Because there is someone...I am starting to fear death, but not for my own sake." A signal flare shot out from one of the battleships. "Duty calls," he said, turning around. "Tom...are you coming back?" She took hold of his arm.

            "Count on it." He smiled grimly at her.

            After he had left, she remained standing on the platform, the wind blowing her long black officer's cloak around her. For a long moment, she just stood there, reflecting. His last words echoed in her mind..."...because I have a reason to come back. Because there is someone..." A sinlge tear rolled down her cheek as she contemplated the words, then turned and left the balcony as well. "You better make sure you come back, Tomaas Riatavin...because someone will be waiting," she whispered.

            The armada's flagship fired a flare. As one, the ships fired up their Claudia units and began to move out. Among the fleet were several of the most powerful vessels ever built by Anatoure – the Claihm Solais class vessels. Two of them were part of the fleet: The CLAIHM SOLAIS, under the command of a young, energetic duke named Madosein, and her sister ship, NEHELENIA, captained by Tomaas Riatavin. Most of the ship captains were assembled in the war room of the flagship, a large, sturdy old battleship that had the name NUADA emblazoned on its flank.

            "We are going to strike at the heart of the Deusis fleet – they won't stand a chance!" The fleet's commander gave them a smile ladden with self-confidance. Tom suppressed a groan and glanced at the tactical map. "The main Deusis fleet has yet to cross the Grand Stream. For most battleships that would be impossible."

            "But some of their vanguard made it through, so we have to be careful," Madosein cautioned. "If their ships are indeed able to navigate the Grand Stream, we have to be prepared for a full-scale invasion." Tom nodded. "We have to hold off the Deusis forces, I agree on that. We have a vague idea of where their fleet will emerge from the Grand Stream, from the positions their vanguard took up. I say we attack now and wait for the rest of their fleet to arrive. That way, they will run right up into our guns."

            The Admiral interrupted. "That is not honorable battle tactics. We must uphold our nation's honor and engage the enemy in fair combat. Thus, we will have to wait until the Deusis forces arrive, and then fight a battle as the Spirit of Chivalry demands." Tom glanced at the older man. "You are right. Under normal circumstances, I would agree with you, but this isn't a war. This is an invasion. Deusis's vanguard forces have taken two provinces without warning. We must contain them, or their attacks will increase."

            "Even though Deusis has not kept to Guild regulations when starting this war, we must keep to it, it is what our honor demands," another captain fire back. "Deusis broke Guild regulations once, who is to say they won't break them again? Who will guarantee that Deusis won't drop in on us with a surprise attack?" The Admiral stood tall and met Riatavin's piercing glare. "The Guild will not allow such transgression of the regulations." Madosein stepped between the two men. "Gentlemen, please. We need to come up with a strategy that will let us fight honorably, but then, I also agree it should not leave us vulnerable to surprise attack."

            The two fleets faced each other in battle formation, hovering perfectly still in the air, like two gunslingers in a duel, waiting for the first move. On the bridge of the NUADA, the crew waited anxiously for the command. The elderly commander of the Anatoure fleet rose from his command seat and flipped the switch that would relay his words to the entire fleet. "As of today we, the finest of Anatoure, have come here to protect our nation's honor and land. As per Guild regulations, the two respective fleets of Anatoure and Deusis will now engage in honorable combat." A signal round leapt up from the top launcher of the NUADA, and the fleets started to close in.

            "Open the loading ramps – halfway only." Riatavin stood on the bridge of the NEHELENIA and watched from the command seat as the fleets moved together to let their riflemen exchange the first fire. "Why only halfway? Our riflemen won't be able to effectively fight the enemy!" An officer on the bridge noted. "We will drop them fully when we are alonside the Deusis ship," Tom announced. His second-in-command leaned in close and whispered, "You don't seem too content with this. May I ask why?"

            He shot a quick glance at her. "Simple," he whispered back. "I don't like needlessly sending people to their deaths. If the riflemen go out there, they'll most likely get killed. I don't care whether it's honorable, it's just wrong." The second-in-command nodded and stood straight again. "Unfortunately, there's nothing we can do about it." "Unfortunately, no. Except to pray for them."

            The two battleships moved alongside, the large cargo doors on the side of each ship opening. Riflemen stood at the ready, going through the choreographed movement of loading and presenting their rifles in a salute to their nation. Again, Deusis and Anatoure forces faced each other off.

            Tom glanced out the viewport and saw a second signal flare shooting up from the deck of the NUADA. He closed his eyes. "Utsukata hajime," he whispered. "Commence fire."

            The riflemen charged forward with a savage yell, firing their steam-powered rifles into the enemy ranks. The Deusis troops did the same. Soldiers fell all over the interlocked cargo doors that formed a bridge between the two ships. As the first row of riflemen was decimated, the second row charged, with an equally savage yell. Bullets propelled by the powerful steam engines of the ship itself tore into the other side's ranks, wreaking havoc when they struck.

            An eye for an eye...a life for a life. The two armies decimated each other, drenching the floor of the cargo door in crimson blood, until there was no more to be spilled. The few survivors limped off the battlefield. Then, the cargo bay doors began to close, dumping the bodies of the dead and those that didn't get off quickly enough roughly into the cargo bay.

            The survivors glanced around them, their eyes glistening with tears as they took in the carnage, looking for friends that might have survived. There were few.

            "Casualty report!" Tom bellowed. "88 per cent losses, but the enemy lost 92 per cent of his troops," an officer relayed. "What is the status of the rest of the fleet?" "It looks like we have the advantage over Deusis. The Admiral's ship is raising signal flags – blue, green, black. They are offering a cease-fire!" The observation post reported.

            "Let Deusis accept it....come on, accept it..." Riatavin chanted. An officer stood up. "We have a Deusis reply! They launched a flare – black, black, black! They didn't accept it!" Tom sank back into his chair. "Let's see if the Guild is holding true to their word this time...All hands, prepare for intership artillery fire! Battlestations!"

            Turrets on all ships began to swivel, panels slid aside, revealing cannons. Aligning themselves at the hostile ships, the opposing forces waited for the signal for the second stage of the battle to begin. In the same instant, a signal flare launched from both the Deusis and the Anatoure flagships. The meaning of the single-colored round was clear: All forces, open fire.

            For a moment, everything seemed tranquil, with the ships peacefully floating alongside in the air. Then fire poured down from the opposing forces, so thickly the sky turned black. The ships already side-by-side opened up, firing point-blank into each other's superstructure, while the rear ships provided longer-range support fire. Massive turrets opened up with destructive salvos of high-caliber shells. The NEHELENIA shuddered from the impacts. "Open fire!" Tom shouted as the tremors continued to rack the battleship. "Sink that ship! Tell the NÉIT to pull up alongside so we can cover her!"

           The guns on the Deusis ship went silent for a split second. That was all the return fire from the NEHELENIA needed. Countless turrets and gun emplacements opened up on the other ship, the shells digging deeply into the vessel's fuselage, leaving gaping holes where they struck.

            "Don't fire all guns at once! Keep up a constant barrage – rotate the firing cannons to reload so they can keep up the fire!" Tom shouted over the noise the NEHELENIA's guns produced. As the Anatoure ship kept up a steady barrage of fire, the Deusis ship's hull began to crumble. "The Deusis's Unit is dissociating! She's going down!" The observation post reported. Tom nodded in acknowledgement. "All right. Have the NÉIT move up into flanking position so that they can cover us."

            As the second battleship moved to take up position next to the NEHELENIA, Tom watched as several more Deusis ships took fatal hits, their Claudia drive units dissociating from the remainder of the hull and returning to the Guild. However, some of the Anatoure ships also  took heavy fire, and he watched as the BALOR went down in a blaze of flames.

            As his gaze wandered across the battlefield, he noticed the CLAIHM SOLAIS fighting off two hostile battleships in an attempt to break through to the blockaded flagship NUADA. Clutching the railing with one hand, he held up binoculars with the other and could see the NUADA taking on a force of three enemy ships head-on while being surrounded by four more. "Damn it! Signal the NÉIT to move out! Full combat speed to the coordinates of the NUADA – and signal them to pull the hell out of there! They'll get shot to pieces if they don't break out," he shouted.

            As the NEHELENIA closed in with the Deusis ships battling the CLAIHM SOLAIS, the cannons of the huge battleship opened fire once more, tearing into the hulls of the already weakened Deusis cruisers. One of the hostile ships started dropping, while the second began to turn before its Claudia unit dissociated. At the same time, the NUADA took several direct hits from the trailing Deusis forces, and Tom watched in horror as smoke began pouring out of the engine assembly of the aging cruiser.

            "Keep up the fire! Take down those Deusis ships, concentrate all fire forward on their engines! We need to protect the Admiral's ship," Duke Madosein shouted over the whine of the combat alert and the constant explosions that rattled the ship. "Sir, we have two incoming friendly ships! They are opening fire on the Deusis forces!" As Madosein glanced sideways across the viewport, he caught a glimpse of the NEHELENIA and NÉIT before the fire from those ships blocked them from view.

            "The Deusis ships are down! Full spead ahead, breach their formation and move to intercept the vessels pursuing the NUADA! I –" An aide interrupted him. "Sir, look!" Madosein turned his gaze towards the location of the NUADA, just in time to see the battleship take shots from three sides, and beginning to drop, her engine array in flames.

            "NUADA is hit! She is going down!" The yell echoed across the bridge of the NEHELENIA. Tom gripped the banister tighter, his knuckles turning white. He considered his options. "Order ANSWELLER and ARMADA here! Signal CLAIHM SOLAIS to launch grappling hooks into NUADA on the port flank, and get us around to their starboard side! Attach grappling hooks to their hull! Starboard cannons, fire at will at the Deusis ships!"

            As the NEHELENIA and CLAIHM SOLAIS closed in with the crippled cruiser, the Deusis battleships began spreading out, directing their fire at the newcomers. The deck of the NEHELENIA shuddered beneath him as the shells impacted against the hull. Panels aboard both the NEHELENIA and CLAIHM SOLAIS slid aside, revealing harpoon cannons. Powered by the main steam engines of their respective vessels, they launched harpoons at NUADA, attaching themselves to the hull with a solid thud.

            "We have confirmed attachment to the NUADA! CLAIHM SOLAIS is confirming as well!" An officer reported. Tom glanced at the viewport to see NUADA's Claudia drive unit separate from the main structure of the ship and angle upwards, to return to the nearest Guild station. "Full speed ahead and upwards! I want all thrust diverted straight ahead! Instruct the CLAIHM SOLAIS to do the same – we have to hold NUADA! Guns, neutralize those Deusis ships!"

            From a secure distance away, a select number of military personnel, strategists, civilians, and royal observers studied the battle in progress. They watched as the riflemen exchanged fire, as the cease-fire offer was rejected, and the aerial battle. "What are they doing?" A middle-aged man asked. He was wearing a white robe with royal trim, denoting his position as Prime Minister.

            "It seems as though NEHELENIA and CLAIHM SOLAIS are trying to hold on to NUADA, even though that ship's Claudia drive is gone," one of the military officers told him. He nodded in satisfaction and returned the binoculars to his eyes.

            A gasp startled the assembled crowd, causing heads to turn in the direction the sound had come from. "What is it, Lieutenant Forrester?" The Prime Minister glanced at her, concern showing in his eyes. She turned at him, one hand holding the binoculars, the other pointing at the sky. "Marius..."

            He looked up in the direction she had pointed in, and couldn't see much more than smoke and little flares of light. As he adjusted his binoculars, he saw what she had indicated – the Deusis fleet had been defeated, and most of it was retreating after a signal from its flagship. Several battleships, however, were still actively engaged in battle.

            The flare shot up from the Deusis flagship, a yellow and blue signal. "The Deusis fleet is leaving the field of battle, and admits its honorable defeat." The message was met with rejoicing from the crews of the Anatoure ships, and the bridge of the NEHELENIA erupted in cheers as the observation post reported the signal had been confirmed.

            "Let's get to work – direct all thrust upwards, slowly lower NUADA to the ground. Instruct Madosein to match our rate of descent." Tom wiped sweat from his brow. The battle was over. Then alert klaxons blared again as the deck shuddered violently, throwing him to the ground. "What is this?" He was back up in a split second, holding on to the railing of the command platform.

            "Five Deusis ships are still firing at us!" The second-in-command reported. "They are also firing at CLAIHM SOLAIS and NUADA, but seem to be concentrating on us." Tom instinctively ducked as a blast shattered the viewport. Glass shards rained on the front rows of crewmen before reversing course and being sucked out the hole by the draft.

            "Hold up NUADA! Open fire, all turrets! Never mind procedure, just blast them out of the sky!" Tom yelled over the whine of alarms. "And switch off these alarms!" The NEHELENIA shuddered under several more impacts, and one of the shots from the Deusis ships hit a harpoon cannon, severing the string anchoring the crippled Anatoure flagship to the NEHELENIA.

            "NUADA is dropping! We just lost one of the anchor cables!"

            Tom stared at the Deusis ships for a long moment. "Where is the Guild?" He heard the question repeatedly across the bridge. He was even asking himself the same question. As the battle progressed, it dawned on him that they had done it again; they had betrayed them yet again. The Guild wouldn't come to save them – it was just a game to them, after all.

            "Increase rate of descent! Drop down NUADA! Call in CLAIHM SOLAIS and tell them to get that cruiser off our flank!" He leaned against the railing for support as NEHELENIA took more hits.

            The three vessels sank with frightening speed. NUADA started to lean to starboard, where NEHELENIA couldn't quite carry the entire weight of the battleship. As Deusis ships continued to surround and bombard the vessels, gaping holes appeared in NEHELENIA's formerly pristine hull, shells tearing through her interiors.

            Tom heard a scream, and turned. Out of reflex, he reached out and grabbed the woman who was flying past him by her arms. The drag of the air flowing out of one of the broken windows had obviously tried to suck her out after she stumbled on a piece of debris.

            "Thank you," she panted. "Why isn't the Guild stopping this?"

            Tom looked outside again, at the gargantuan Deusis battleships that were turning his once-proud vessel into a flying grave. "They won't come," he said. "But..." He didn't give her time to finish the question as he stood up, leaning against the fierce wind, and straightened his uniform. "Detach the cables from NUADA. We're low enough that they can make it safely to the ground. Once the cables are gone, ahead full spead, bearing one-nine-four mark two-eighteen. All turrets, commence fire on the ship to the port side."

            It's happening again...as Tom leaned against the railing, standing tall, old memories flooded back. Cables popped off the hull as the warship turned around and headed towards its new bearing. Gun turrets swiveled around and began tracking targets again. As the confusion over the surprise assault faded, they opened up in coordinated barrages again, wreaking havoc upon Deusis forces once more.

            "What is going on?" Duke Madosein demanded as the CLAIHM SOLAIS shook under the renewed fire of the Deusis ships. "It seems Deusis has broken the agreement and attacked again – we must petition the Guild!" One of the aides reported. Another one interjected, "NEHELENIA has been hit hard! They lost one of the anchor cables!"

            "NEHELENIA is signalling us to drop faster!"

            Madosein glanced at the window. "The Guild must intervene...Drop us faster! Engage the Deusis ships! Get them off the NEHELENIA – when this is over, I want that ship in one piece!"

            His crew acknowledged his orders, and soon the guns of the CLAIHM SOLAIS roared to life again.

            "Minister Marius!" The yell echoed across the plane. The addressee turned around. "What is it?" He arched an eyebrow at the undisciplined behaviour of the soldier running towards him.

            "The Deusis forces are attacking again! They have isolated the NUADA, CLAIHM SOLAIS, and NEHELENIA! NEHELENIA is taking heavy fire!"

            "What is happening..." Marius wondered as he stared up at the sky, looking at the flashes of explosions. "Why hasn't the Guild interfered yet?"

            As NEHELENIA accelerated away from the descending NUADA and the CLAIHM SOLAIS holding her, she was still being pounced by Deusis forces. "They are focusing on us!" Tom smiled grimly. "Angle our course up, twelve degrees from the horizontal. Tilt the port flank by twenty degrees, then pull about on heading two-eight-four! Cut the engines right there on my mark!"

            The battleship vectored away, then suddenly tilted, causing the ship to cut a sharper angle as it turned. Aligning itself back straight, it hovered, guns waiting for targets. As soon as Deusis ships came into range, the cannons opened fire again, launching a full broadside into the first formation of cruisers that attacked.

            The second wave opened fire under the cover of the first, and scored hits, tearing more holes into NEHELENIA's hull. One shell buried itself deep into the core of the ship, striking the Claudia drive unit that propelled the battleship. Smoke began streaming out of the engine array.

            "Our Unit is dissociating! We're dropping!" An engineer reported. Tom glared down at the man. "Can you hold it?" The grease-covered man shook his head. "It has been hit, and the Guild people inside are tearing at the support structure – there's no way we can stop them."

            "There is," Tom vaulted over the railing and sprinted off into the corridors of his ship towards the propulsion system.

            Marius slowly walked over towards where the woman stood, transfixed by the view of the battle overhead. "Sophia..." he began.

            When she didn't reply, he turned his binoculars at the sky. He didn't see the NEHELENIA, or the Deusis ships. There was just the NUADA, dangling precariously from the support cables from the CLAIHM SOLAIS.

            As he searched across the sky for them, he couldn't help but wonder what was going on in her. He admitted they were very close, and she looked up at him like a father, but she was still a mystery he failed to unravel sometimes.

            "They're there," she whispered. As he found NEHELENIA, his heart sank. Five Deusis battleships were headed for it, and smoke was already coming out of her engines. The ship was doomed.

            "The Guild...why isn't the Guild doing anything?"

            Come back... She didn't dare whisper the words, but in her mind she screamed them out so loud it seemed all of Heaven could hear her. Please let him come back...

            As he slid down the ladder, he ran into a rifleman and grabbed his weapon, then continued his insane sprint for the Claudia unit. As he ran, an equally insane idea formed in his head. His mind calculated tactics and odds – and the odds were not good. He tossed them to the wind. The rational part of his mind told him to stop right then and there, but with his emotions boiling over, he wouldn't let himself admit and accept defeat. Not this time.

            Coming to a full stop in front of the array, he could see where the last enemy hit had impacted; it had torn a gaping hole into the unit's front. He could hear voices inside, and stepped through the door. "Stop." He commanded.

            The Guild members inside turned around and looked at him. "What?"

            "Stop the dissociation," Tom whispered, his voice taking on a deadly quiet tone as he aimed the rifle at them. Time stretched as the Guild engineers just stared at him. The firing had ceased for a moment, most of NEHELENIA's turrets destroyed and the Deusis ships probably releading for another barrage.

            Finally, an engineer moved. "Not a chance in hell." He moved towards an array of levers and tried to grab on to one. Tom clenched his teeth and squeezed the trigger. A single bullet shot out of the barrel and buried itself deep into the other man's chest. He collapsed against the controls, dead. Realizing he had no ammunition left, Tom charged into the midst of the Guild people, beginning a frantic variation of "capture the flag".

            As the engineers closed in on him, Tom reversed his grip on the rifle and swung it around. He pulled it back towards him as one of the Guild personnel doubled over from the blow and locked it with one of the levers, swinging himself into the group of attackers feet first. Riatavin slammed into one of the more senior members of the Guild engineers, and rolled as both of them fell to the ground.

           Before he could get back to his feet, the other men had him surrounded and heaved him up with a contemptious look. "Getting arrogant, are we?" One of them spat and raised his hand to hit him. Before the fist could connect, NEHELENIA shuddered from another series of impacts, knocking down the Guild members. Tom glanced up as he lay on the ground and saw a support strut dangling precariously above them, hanging on by a mere thread of steel cable. He knew it wouldn't last through the next barrage that hit the ship.

            As NEHELENIA continued to heave from the next couple of hits, the support beam indead started to get loose. It dropped, and after one last detonation against the outer hull that caused the ship to lean to port, fell loose and came crashing to the ground. As the support beam raced down at his prone figure, Tom shifted his weight and rolled as the beam crashed down on the Claudia unit.

            As the dust settled, he carefully sat up and surveyed the damage. He was still alive, and he was staring in amazement at the propulsion unit that had withstood such severe punishment. The Guild members were nowhere to be seen, and he assumed they had not been quite so fortunate to escape the falling debris. As he limped into the smashed control room, he surveyed the array of levers and switches that were still - miraculously – intact.

            He pulled back on one, then pulled the receiver of the intercom towards him. "All hands, this is the captain. We will make full speed for the nearest cover. Bridge, settle a course for," he thought a moment. "Set a course two-twenty-nine mark eight. We will take cover in the Dragon's Tooth." He could imagine what kind of reaction that had evoked from his crew. The Dragon's Tooth was a unique geographical feature, a mountain range that extended far into the sky, high enough to be a danger to the ships that dared to navigate it.

            If anyone questioned his orders, he didn't find out as he deciphered the lettering on one of the levers and pulled it backwards. NEHELENIA turned and creaked as wind cut into the gaping holes in the hull.

            "I can't see the NEHELENIA anymore!" Marius glanced over to the main observation post. "Where is the NEHELENIA? Find me that ship!" he ordered. As he turned his attention back towards the sky, he saw specks of gray billowing in the air around the remaining Deusis ships. "I want to know if she has been destroyed or is still there – and send in reinforcements!"

            "NEHELENIA confirmed in sector 3! She is vectoring away and leaving the battle!" The Prime Minister stared in amazement. After all the damage the ship had sustained, she was still flying – he had thought her drive unit had dissociated and the vessel - and all hands - had been lost. A ray of hope glimmered up in him as he began to bellow commands. "Instruct the nearest ships to intercept those Deusis vessels! Protect the NEHELENIA under all circumstances! Have NÉIT go to full flank speed and cut across the Deusis fleet – relieve the NEHELENIA!"

            "The NEHELENIA is moving towards the Dragon's Tooth!" Marius swallowed hard. He was beginning to wonder what the captain of that ship was planning. Leading a damaged vessel with a hostile fleet in pursuit into one of the most dangerous areas on the entire world was insanity. And it was highly unorthodox. But then, this battle had been anything but orthodox.

            Tom called over a bunch of engineers that were headed for one of the damaged areas. "Hey! You there! Come here and take over! We need to controls on this ship stable before we go anywhere!" As the men approached and looked around the control room, he hauled back on another lever. "Don't stand around like sandstatues, man this post!" As quickly as he could, he gave them an overview on what the controls he had figured out did, and sprinted off for the bridge again.

            As the NEHELENIA approached the Dragon's Tooth, the Deusis forces followed in blind pursuit. Although the Anatoure vessel had a head start, its engines were damaged, and its superstructure scarred, enabling the Deusis ships to catch up. Tom burst through the bridge doors and glanced at the sky outside. He could make out the cliffs and ridges of the Dragon's Tooth with the naked eye, which meant they were close.

            NEHELENIA shook as the Deusis ships were back into firing range. He quickly calculated the distance to their destination. They would barely make it. Barely.

            "NUADA is on the ground. They have commenced de-boarding." Madosein glanced at the aide. "Good. Now get us ahead full speed towards the NEHELENIA. Intercept the Deusis ships before they destroy them." "Sir! The NEHELENIA has changed course! They are moving into the Dragon's Tooth!" Madosein froze. "The Dragon's Tooth?" He stared at the tactical charts. "Dóshite ka?" He asked no one in particular. "...Why?"

            He tore his eyes from the map. "Follow them! All guns, commence fire as soon as we are within range!" CLAIHM SOLAIS began moving again.

             Tom braced himself against the railing as another barrage struck the crippled NEHELENIA. A support beam crashed down, and he heard a cry of pain – someone probably got caught beneath it. He forced his attention away from the screams and towards the helm. "Come on," he urged the ship onward.

            As the Anatoure battleship moved into the Dragon's Tooth, her bow pointed a little too far to the left, and the helmsman corrected – but he failed to calculate the battle damage the ship had sustained, and overcorrected, and NEHELENIA's starboard armor plates scraped along the side of the first rift, tearing open the hull even further.

            Tom grimaced as he listened to the creaking of the metal plates and the howling of the wind. A report from the observation post confirmed what he had been hoping for – the Deusis ships were still following them.  "At the next rift, make a sharp turn to port, 72 degrees port, lean her to the side at eleven degrees!"

            As NEHELENIA rounded the next rift, her fuselage leaned to the side, cutting the turn sharper. The Deusis ships were still behind, but now NEHELENIA had the cover of at least one rift between them. The Deusis forces started opening up again, despite the fact that they were hidden from their sight. That meant they were within firing range.

            Tom calculated the odds of making it through the phalanx of Deusis ships. His second-in-command was back at his side. "We aren't going to pull this off, are we?" He looked at her. "It doesn't look like it. If we keep going, the Dragon's Tooth is going to kill us sooner or later – and if we stay here, Deusis are going to blow us into tiny little..." He stopped in midsentence as an idea formulated in his mind. A foolish, desperate, seat-of-the-pants idea, but it had one merit: it was definitely nothing the enemy expected. But it was also likely to get them killed. "What the heck, we're dead anyway." Tom marched to the front. "Come about at one-eighty degrees. Wait for my mark, then full speed ahead and fire the guns on my second mark at elevation sixteen thousand feet, thirty-three degrees on the x-y and fourty-six degrees elevation."

            "What are you trying to do, if I may ask?" Tom smiled grimly at the second-in-command. "Getting us killed."

            The Deusis ships approached the Dragon's Tooth, still firing blindly at the suspected position of the NEHELENIA. The first two ships entered the foggy area that marked the entrance to the Dragon's Tooth pass, then the next two.

            Duke Madosein watched grimly from the command deck of the CLAIHM SOLAIS. He knew they wouldn't be there in time. If the NEHELENIA ran, they'd be dead even before they'd managed to get a couple of miles. If they stayed and fought, they'd be dead before he could reach the Dragon's Tooth. Still, he hoped and silently urged his ship onwards, her engines in overdrive.

            A flash of light emanated from the entrance to the Dragon's Tooth, bright enough to be seen by the entire fleet and observers on the ground. He took up his binoculars and stared through them intently. As he could make out shapes, he could see tiny flares that marked gunfire. He could also see the outline of vessels illuminated only by internal fires – and they were dropping. He hoped the NEHELENIA wasn't one of them.

            Just before he averted his eyes, he could make out the angular shape of their sister ship, different from the smooth, flowing designs of the Deusis. Time seemed to slow down as he watched NEHELENIA ram into two Deusis ships and exploded, her burning hulk dropping below the foggy surface area. He turned away, caught between anger and sadness, closing his eyes against the pounding headache that had suddenly appeared.

            "The Deusis ships are entering the Dragon's Tooth!" The yell came from the listening post. "Wait." Tom cautioned. "Wait...now! Mark! Full speed ahead!" Tom stared at the viewport, transfixed as he saw the oncoming Deusis ships closing in faster as NEHELENIA put on a burst of speed. As they passed a cliff, he gave the second signal. "Mark! Open fire!"

            NEHELENIA's remaining turrets opened up, raining their destructive power upon their target. The upper part of one of the rock formations that looked like a tooth and had given the area its name crumbled and fell on one of the Deusis ships as NEHELENIA passed by it. Tom watched as the second flight of Deusis ships closed in. "Alter course to two-twenty-three mark one! Close with the Deusis ships!"

            "We can't evade if we come at them with full speed," the second-in-command warned him. He shot her a cold, calculating gaze. "I know. I'm counting on it that we can't miss them." He turned to the intercom. "All hands, clear the outer sections, secure the bulkheads and brace for impact!"

            NEHELENIA crashed into one of the Deusis ships with full force, taking the unsuspecting ships by surprise. Her prow ripped through the Deusis ship's hull, tearing more gaping holes in its own hull in the process, and sliced the enemy ship in two. NEHELENIA's momentum carried her into the second ship of the formation. The Anatoure ship hit it towards the rear, and the Deusis's Claudia unit began to dissociate.

            Tom hung on to the railing as the ship shuddered and tossed under the impacts. "Main cannons, open fire at the cliff to port! High explosive shells!" As the last of the battleship's guns roared to life and struck the cliff, ejecting a plume of smoke and fire. Then, the ship was sinking, enveloped by flame and explosions.

            Marius closed his eyes in defeat as he watched the explosion near the entrance to the Dragon's Tooth. Such a promising young crew...He felt even sorrier for the young woman next to him. He was sure she was more distressed than she would let herself show, and it seemed that she had lost more than just a friend today.

            Sophia looked up into the sky and sent a wordless scream to the heavens. "Noooo!" He promised to come back... She didn't turn her gaze from the Dragon's Tooth, hoping for a sign, for the bow of a vessel to emerge. It didn't. Anger boiled up inside her, anger at the Deusis for starting the war, anger at him for letting himself get killed, anger at the Guild, who had let this happen, even though it was a breach of their very own regulations. She clamped a mental iron box around her emotions and wrapped a thick chain around it. Now was not the time for grief. All that escaped was a single tear rolling down her cheek.