Activity filled the control cabin on the airship Sjtarna as the crew prepared to engage a fleeing pirate ship. Ahead of them the black airship they were pursuing zigged zagged back and forth as ranging shots from the Sjtarna flew past it.

Emberly sat in the command chair in the center of the control cabin. Her chair restraints were fastened as the airship jerked about as it dodged return fire from the fleeing ship. Mounted on gimbals, attached to the ceiling, runic mirrors relayed images from around the airship, including the forward view. The fleeing ship was slowly growing closer to her own, with the added danger of return fire also getting more accurate.

“Lieutenant Alene what is the status of our forward battery?” Emberly asked the young woman in charge of the forward airship cannons. A glancing shot from the pirates had damaged part of the starboard forward section and stopped the cannoneers there from returning fire.

A red-headed woman with dusky skin glanced at the runes on the console in front of her noting that that the runes glowing red for the forward cannons had shifted to green. She slid a finger down one of the runes and the mirror shifted to the starboard forward firing bay. The mirror now displayed a room full of smoke and frantic men and women running out one of the rifled breech cannons before locking it into firing position. One of the men slapped a glowing blue rune on the side of the cannon and a flash of steam erupted out the front as the enchantment doused the hot metal and washed out any remaining embers.

Another rune pressed dried the interior of the cannon and then a final white rune was pressed to perform a short distance teleportation of a rifled shell into the cannon. As she watched a woman aligned the cannon with the coordinates being relayed from the control cabin and pressed the red firing rune.

“Captain, starboard forward cannons are operational again. Cannoneers are re-engaging the enemy.”

“Very well. Helm, continue to close, advise engineering to monitor power reserves.”

Emberly continued to stare out the front viewports as well as at her mirrors watching as they drew closer. She felt a small sense of doubt though. This was too easy, they were almost within range of the fleeing airship to start striking it without missing. She reached up and pulled a mirror closer to her, adjusting the view so that she could see the ground forward of the ship.

Frowning her gaze narrowed until she saw the distortion amongst a small patch of trees.

“Helm! Reverse port engines, full starboard engines, hard starboard!” She yelled and slapped a rune on the side of her chair. All hands, all hands target the trees ahead of us. There is an enemy vessel under an invisibility spell waiting to attack.”

The force of the turn canted the deck as the airship swung around and away from the waiting pirate ship. If the Sjtarna had flown over the waiting ambush the other airship would have been able to launch a broadside of shells into the belly of her ship. Instead metal and wood creaked as the airship righted itself and the cannons on the port side opened up targeting the area where the other airship was hidden.

Plumes of dirt and debris flew up into the air as shells exploded in the ground. Dust flew and within the cloud, another airship shimmered into view. The lean outline of the pirate vessel swiftly started to move as it lost the element of surprise. The other pirate ship had swung around in the meantime hoping to catch its pursuer unaware and vulnerable to crossfire from both ships.

The Sjtarna continued to pump out shells now hitting both of the enemy ships again and again while taking fire in return.

Emberly grasped the edges of her chair as the deck shifted and the sheer force of explosions pushed the airship about in the air. The runes along the envelope of the airship glowed as they fought to compensate against the force of the explosions. While able to strengthen and support the ship too many close calls would cause them to fail and the ship would be torn open.

Cheers burst out among the crew as the formerly hidden pirate airship below them burst into flames as their runes failed and a shell exploded directly against the envelope. With the runes down several other shells continued to pound the wounded ship, explosions walking down the length of the ship. Barely a few hundred feet into the air the spine finally broke and the ship plunged downwards to slam into the unyielding ground.

Taking advantage of the distraction the other ship had given it the first ship had risen above the Sjtarna and closed enough to throw boarding harpoons. The explosive launchers threw a harpoon with a head that would break open upon contact letting out a sticky substance that swiftly hardened. Runes that helped stop shell fire would prevent an actual harpoon from entering, but not from something sticking to the side.

“All hands, all hands! Prepare to repel boarders. Forward defense teams engage upon sight!” The Captain’s voice rang from the sound runes engraved on the bulkhead of every room and along most corridors.

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A fireteam of several men and women rushed down a corridor and set up a position near an external hatch. Bright light flickered around the frame of the hatch as someone on the exterior of the airship applied a melting paste.

Fwooom! The hatch pulled away with an explosion and figures lept into the interior. The team who had been directed to this location by the control room lifted hollow metal rods, engraved with runes, to their shoulders. Using the iron sights at the end of the rod each one of them would press on a rune in the handle.

Red and green blasts of light streamed down the corridor hitting the boarders. Several fell to the floor and one of them desperately held up a small device that bloomed into a transparent shield. The shield slammed into the floor, ceiling, and walls of the corridor, effectively blocking the incoming fire.

Not to be deterred one of the women stood up with a larger tube. One end was hollow and she pointed it at the shield protecting the group gathered on the other side. The other end of the tube held a white crystal with a single large rune carved into it.

The rest of her fire team quickly moved out of her way, leaving the back of the tube safely pointed down the corridor behind them.

“Clear! Firing max!” she yelled as her finger pushed against the firing rune. The open end of the tube lit up with a violet glow and a jet of energy streamed out of the end. The woman braced herself as the discharge threatened to move the tube. The crystal on the back started to glow energy also started to emit from it. This balanced the output somewhat and helped the woman control her aim. Without some counterbalance to the energy rushing out the front, it was far too easy for the tube to swing around and cause friendly fire.

Ahead of her, the shield started to distort as the energy licked at edges. Heat from the backblast quickly started to make the corridor far to hot for comfort. Three seconds of continuous output from the tube drained the runes and crystals that controlled the energy. The violet stream of energy changed to a blue, and then to red before disappearing. It had done what it needed to do though. The shield was flickering and as they watched it too faded away.

Air, heated to levels that were almost dangerous to breathe rushed past the now depleted shield and out the hatch. Two men near the hatchway were pushed out by the rush of wind. The fire team took advantage of the shield’s dropping and poured on the fire, draining the crystals attached to each of the rods with little thought to how much remained.

Out of the two dozen men and women who had boarded the airship, only seven remained alive. Out of those three were injured. They threw down their weapons as the fire from the crew started to take them out.

“Hold fire!“, the fireteam commander yelled and the energy slacked off. Five pirates were left standing with their hands above their heads.

“Sergeant, you and you,” the commander pointed to two other crew members. “Secure the prisoners and take them to holding. The rest of you come with me.”

With that being said he pulled out a thin crystalline tablet and tapped a rune. The crystal shimmered and a handprint appeared. He placed his hand on it and let the tablet authenticate him. A schematic of the airship replaced the hand and three red dots glowed the image. He had taken care of one of those incursions, and the nearest one to him was only up two levels.

He slipped the tablet back into his pocket and rushed off, the rest of the fireteam falling in behind their commander. As they jogged down the corridor several of them pulled out nearly depleted energy crystals and replaced them with fresh ones.

A quick left turn and the ladder leading upward came into view. Sounds of battle echoed down the ladder well as the team started t ascend toward the intrusion. Halfway to the second level, the sounds of conflict above them grew quiet. The team commander hoped that meant his side had won, but until he knew for sure he was going to be cautious.

With the second level opening directly above his head, he pulled out a small mirror on a length of metal and lifted the mirror slowly into the corridor. The sight above caused his heart to sink. Most of the bodies littering the floor wore the uniform of the crew of the airship. A gaping hole in the side of the airship let a fierce wind into the passageway. He put the mirror away and clambered up the last few rungs and into the open.

Through the torn metal he could see several strands of steel anchoring his airship to the pirate airship. A small mechanical contraption was ferrying several individuals away toward the waiting pirate ship. Even from where he stood he could recognize the uniforms of crew from his airship. The pirates were kidnapping his crewmates for who knows what evil purpose.

Commander Athian Welken clenched his teeth in anger before he pulled his tablet out and pressed the rune to connect to the control room. A quick conversation with the communications officer connected him directly to Captain Emberly.

“Captain, I’m afraid to report that the intruders have taken some of our people. I counted at least nine taken over to the pirate ship before they started to sever the harpoon lines. We did managed to take a few captives and have them back in the holding area.”

“Thank you commander. We’re going to retrieve our crew. I want you and your people ready to go as soon as we can close back to boarding range,” Emberly’s voice echoed from the small tablet. Sounding small compared to her true voice.

Athian acknowledged his Captain’s orders and disconnected. “Lieutenant Engles take a team and head back to the armory. Secure additional weapons and supplies and prepare for boarding action.

The woman who had fired the large energy weapon from earlier saluted and took most of the remaining crew members with her. The command meanwhile pulled some small devices from a locker further down the corridor and placed them around the gaping hole in the side of the airship. With a few taps on his tablet, the devices started to extrude metallic fingers of material toward each other, weaving back and forth until after a few minutes the hole had been sealed. It wasn't as strong as the original material would have been, but it would help prevent additional damage.

Damage properly taken care of Athian went aft to rejoin his team. He wanted to be ready when they took on their opponent's airship once more. No one was left behind, or abandoned if at all possible. He was going to prepare, and the skies above help anyone who stood in his way.