Takeoff!
"Go, go, go! Boarding now! Hurry up, hurry up, don't lag behind! Get to your launch posts! Go, go, go!..." You awake from your boredom with a snap to hear the Sgt. yelling orders at every troop on your ship. You've all been sitting on the launch grounds below your assigned ship all morning, after having been in hurry-up-and-wait mode since the moment you awoke. Hours had passed with nothing to do, as everything in your personal jurisdiction had been taken care of, and your ship was only waiting on the other ships to be ready and the orders to fly.
There is a mild sense of uneasyness among the couple hundred troops assigned to Rose 3, as there is with every Unit among the army, especially on the morning before the fighting begins. The commanding officer of your current station is Alister Delbraeth - a Captain in rank, but not of the piloting of this ship. He oversees the operations of the maintenance crew on this ship directly, all flight planners and shipwrights including Duncan Freehold, and issues orders to the higher ranks of the Special Operations group also stationed on board, which also counts Lily Foster among its ranks. Sye Dillinger has been assigned to the ship as well, specifically as Captain Delbraeth's troop movement advisor, a position she has never officially held before.
As you're being yelled at, you grab all your gear and move as quickly as possible onto the ship, along with everyone else. Each knows his or her position, and they are quickly filled as the engines fire and propellors whirr, and the ship slowly begins to lift off the ground. Activities are hectic, as people move about the cabins, work inside the holds, monitor each system to ensure operability, and all manner of things. Soldiers begin to prepare for combat, and last minute briefings are given to each unit on their responsibilities. Within moments, every ship is in the air, and the entire fleet is sailing off to the East at cruising speed.
Soon the opposing fleet can be spotted on the horizon, a huge mass of airships at least equal in number to the Human/Dwarven fleet, floating above the water of the gulf and the Elven border town of Ayalis. As they fly they eschew a multicolored mist behind them ranging from a deep blue to a light green, forcing the ships to assume a more lined, zig-zag formation to avoid being blinded by the ships in front. As the fleets approach one another, speed is heightened and you begin to hear shots fired by the artillery ships - both from your side and the Elven side. The ship that currently holds each of you is somewhat farther back in the formation - partially because of the forces it carries, and partially because of Captain Delbraeth's father's decision.
Eventually the front-liners clash head on with the Elven ships, and the sounds of battle can be heard almost above the cannons firing nearby. Occasionally a bullet will rip by your ship and explode nearby, but until now, nothing has come very close. It seems as though the Elves had started to push around the front point of the Human forces, when a faint hum can be heard increasing over the sounds of war. The sound started out very faintly, but slowly grew to an intense volume, forcing both sides to almost completely stop fighting. The air shook with the noise. Looking to the sky, the terrified combatants saw a huge growing darkness spread slowly across the sky, covering them and blacking out the sun.
In an instant, the terrified soldiers had a new enemy as thousands of Cloakers descended upon every airship. Communication went crazy as people were being bitten, clawed, and suffocated. Men fell from the sides of the airships, blinded by Cloakers covering their faces. Others ripped and tore at their friends’ assailants, only to be attacked themselves, requiring them to leave their friends to their own devices. Senior leadership had no idea what to do, and soon Cloakers were pouring into the cabins and hallways of the interior airships.
Suddenly, another airship slams into the now not-monitored flank of Rose 3, blowing a hole the size of a house through the exterior armor and piercing the engine held underneath, screams can be heard coming from the ship, and looking down, you can see the crew members being assaulted by the Cloakers, seemingly paying no mind to the crash as they are attacked. The crash sends your two conjoined ships spiralling out of control as you head straight for the ground. Within moments, every airship was in the same predicament as your own, all coming down out of the sky in a metal rain.
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The impact was abrupt.
You wake up in a daze on the cold ground. The sun filters down through the blue/green colored mist floating down above and over you like a cloud, casting odd shadows among the fallen. Staring up through the mist, you recall everything that happened, though as you think, you can see no trace of the Cloakers. Eventually the mist dissipates, leaving a partly cloudy sky to gaze at. Sitting up, you appear to be unharmed, though the same cannot be said for the rest of the troops.
Bodies lay everywhere, as though a massive ground battle had just been fought in and around the town of Ayalis and the bordering land and sea. Looking around, you can see the airships piled on top of each other, some on land, some in the water, a few crashed into the homes of the small village. A few townsfolk are running back and forth from their town and this graveyard, tending to those who have not yet passed. Numerous other troops are also up and about, attempting to help each other in the wreckage, and though a great disaster had just befallen both armies, there still seems to be a tension of battle in the air. Elves, Gnomes, Humans, and Dwarves all mixed together lay and run everywhere, but each race seems to be tending to its own, unfortunately. Everyone seems confused.
As each of you rise, you spot your commanding officer, Alister Delbraeth, as well as each other, and you recognize many of your shipmates lying about, few moving.
"Sir! Sir! Please, you seem to be a man of rank, I recognize the symbols on your shoulder, please! We can't find anyone else of rank in the immediate vicinity, and the mayor of the town needs to speak to you! Please, come with me, and bring any able-bodied troops you may still have with you!" A young Elven boy runs over to the staggering Alister Delbraeth, beseeching him to follow. You all see this, and you all hear his pleas.