AN: Sorry for such a late chapter, I've been busy with school and the KSP Roleplay reset and such. I present: Chapter 2!

Also, I'll work on some of my other fics like Triangulum sometime as well.

Daniel sat in his CFA-44 while waiting for clearance from Aigaion Command. He sighed and thought of the other aerial battles he had been in: the skirmish at Transvaal in South Africa with Apartheid Front rebels; the Battle of Petropavlovsk, Russia during that country's second civil war; countless small conflicts in Micronesia during the Great Oceanic Uprising. Suddenly, he was jolted out of his thoughts by the radio.

"Garuda 1-1, you're up."

"Roger."

He taxied out onto the short, carrier-like runway and hooked onto the catapult.

"Go."

There was a loud whoosh as the plane shot forward, engines at full power. Daniel soared away to join his fellow pilots. Ghost Eye began to give orders.

"Listen up: we're gonna climb through these clouds to 20,000 feet, then fly until we have the city in view."

Nearby, Sky Kid spoke up in disbelief.

"Are you trying to trick us, Ghost Eye? The air at 20,000 isn't thick enough to sustain humans-tell that to the climbers on Mount Everest!"

"Our scientists have theorized that the Lutece Fields are airtight, and contain air from around sea level, which is perfectly breathable."

"Whatever you say."

As Daniel continued to climb, Marcus pulled alongside him.

"So, do you think that this thing is real?"

"If command says that it's real, I probably believe them.

In Columbia, Booker DeWitt was walking through the fair, when he saw several black dots just above the clouds…

"What are those?"