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Description
"Petty Officer Lukas Grant had to hold on to the railings of the airship in order to
avoid being thrown out of the hangar. At 2100 feet above the city streets of Arda Hyperion, the wind became
a demon, its howls raking through every nook and cranny of the airships dotting the city
skyline. He deeply regretted forgetting his gloves, and the cold metal railings felt as if
they were biting into his skin.

The journey back to Arda Hyperion had taken longer than expected, no thanks to Zephyrus'
piloting. Aethernaut Lieutenant Scipio Zephyrus might have been the youngest Aethernaut to
grace his Majesty's royal fleet, but that did not make him any less... enterprising. What was
the word that the press liked to use nowadays? Ah yes, "intrepid". The slipstream they
had taken might have been faster by a league compared to the usual routes between the capital
and Albion, but perhaps the extra few days had been from outflying the privateers and BUGs.

"Give me a 2nd lieutenant or an ensign any day," the senior Petty Officer Frederick
Kearney had grumbled as he examined the angry red scars of a shattered hip. "What's a wound to a
bloke that can grow his bones back with a battery?" Certainly the thug with a rusted pistol
and complimentary lack of nose must have shared those sentiments when Zephyrus and another
Aethernaut cut him to ribbons once he set foot on the deck.

The lot of these so-called "Aethernauts" had been released from test-piloting at a rather
convenient time, just as the regency had begun to look bad in the face of rising fuel and
food prices. The cargo ship they were assigned to escort was indeed, just a cargo ship.
But in the end, salted meat, grain, and oil could fetch high prices on the black market,
right underneath the nose of a league-enforced price ceiling, something that the pirates and
smugglers had not neglected to notice.

The ship steadied as they slowly descended towards a tower for delivery. The howling gales
slowed to a rusty purr. Lukas Grant could now free his hands up from the railings to reach into
his scratchy green coat for a flask of ale. It burned on its way down to his stomach, and
he rested his hands on his waist to survey the sky world. At this height, he had to admit
the city was quite a sight. The dimmed sun bathed the church steeples and
apartments in amber. At 10,000 feet beyond the surface of the ruined world, the clouds rolled
in like a wall, engulfing the city and the massive towers that held it aloft. Three planes
flew by and circled on back, inspection crew probably.

He cursed as the rocked for bit, caught in a sudden gust that made him spill on his uniform.
He sighed in resignation. If he got out soon enough, he might be able to swap these for a
clean one, so long as he did not miss the departing airship. He did not like being a soldier,
and certainly not one assigned to babysitting a merchant ship, but any work was better than
none at all, and he was not about to get conscripted as one of those Aethernauts, no matter
what the press said about who they were, and where they came from."

credit to:

castock.deviantart.com/art/Abo…
emothic-stock.deviantart.com/a…
castock.deviantart.com/art/Par…
dierat-stock.deviantart.com
generalvyse.deviantart.com/art…
randomftw.deviantart.com/art/A…
burtn.deviantart.com/art/City-…

Description
"Petty Officer Lukas Grant had to hold on to the railings of the airship in order to
avoid being thrown out of the hangar. At 2100 feet above the city streets of Arda Hyperion, the wind became
a demon, its howls raking through every nook and cranny of the airships dotting the city
skyline. He deeply regretted forgetting his gloves, and the cold metal railings felt as if
they were biting into his skin.

The journey back to Arda Hyperion had taken longer than expected, no thanks to Zephyrus'
piloting. Aethernaut Lieutenant Scipio Zephyrus might have been the youngest Aethernaut to
grace his Majesty's royal fleet, but that did not make him any less... enterprising. What was
the word that the press liked to use nowadays? Ah yes, "intrepid". The slipstream they
had taken might have been faster by a league compared to the usual routes between the capital
and Albion, but perhaps the extra few days had been from outflying the privateers and BUGs.

"Give me a 2nd lieutenant or an ensign any day," the senior Petty Officer Frederick
Kearney had grumbled as he examined the angry red scars of a shattered hip. "What's a wound to a
bloke that can grow his bones back with a battery?" Certainly the thug with a rusted pistol
and complimentary lack of nose must have shared those sentiments when Zephyrus and another
Aethernaut cut him to ribbons once he set foot on the deck.

The lot of these so-called "Aethernauts" had been released from test-piloting at a rather
convenient time, just as the regency had begun to look bad in the face of rising fuel and
food prices. The cargo ship they were assigned to escort was indeed, just a cargo ship.
But in the end, salted meat, grain, and oil could fetch high prices on the black market,
right underneath the nose of a league-enforced price ceiling, something that the pirates and
smugglers had not neglected to notice.

The ship steadied as they slowly descended towards a tower for delivery. The howling gales
slowed to a rusty purr. Lukas Grant could now free his hands up from the railings to reach into
his scratchy green coat for a flask of ale. It burned on its way down to his stomach, and
he rested his hands on his waist to survey the sky world. At this height, he had to admit
the city was quite a sight. The dimmed sun bathed the church steeples and
apartments in amber. At 10,000 feet beyond the surface of the ruined world, the clouds rolled
in like a wall, engulfing the city and the massive towers that held it aloft. Three planes
flew by and circled on back, inspection crew probably.

He cursed as the rocked for bit, caught in a sudden gust that made him spill on his uniform.
He sighed in resignation. If he got out soon enough, he might be able to swap these for a
clean one, so long as he did not miss the departing airship. He did not like being a soldier,
and certainly not one assigned to babysitting a merchant ship, but any work was better than
none at all, and he was not about to get conscripted as one of those Aethernauts, no matter
what the press said about who they were, and where they came from."

credit to:

castock.deviantart.com/art/Abo…
emothic-stock.deviantart.com/a…
castock.deviantart.com/art/Par…
dierat-stock.deviantart.com
generalvyse.deviantart.com/art…
randomftw.deviantart.com/art/A…
burtn.deviantart.com/art/City-…