In hindsight, perhaps he should have come up with a plan before jumping off the tower.

Duncan and Eika hung in freefall as the instructor realised with horror that he had already used his last Float spell. Time seemed to flow slowly as they fell, perhaps due to the Haste spell or simply because of the mind-breaking terror he suddenly felt; either way it gave Duncan time to reflect on the last half hour, which was apparently to be [i]his[/i] last as well. And perhaps that wasn't such a bad thing; the thought of giving Corvo the debrief for this mission chilled him more than the the sight of earth leaping up to meet him. Just about when he was near making his peace, Eika came back to herself, demonstrating her superior magical affinity by creating their very own short-lived open air bath. Under other circumstances going diving with a young lady might have been a pleasant experience.

He lost himself for a moment, disoriented by the sudden dunking, but Eika's voice quickly dragged him back to the here and now. [b]'Wait, what?'[/b] For a moment Duncan tried to make sense of his student's random apology; indeed if anything, he ought to be the one prostrating himself. A minute later and Eika might have found a little less of Duncan to be saved. But unfortunately this wasn't the time for such pleasantries; the order to withdraw took priority and while he couldn't personally save everyone, he could ensure that this one student escaped in one piece. [b]'T-time for that later! Just follow me and bloody [i]run!'[/i][/b] Grabbing at her hand, he took off at a sprint toward the initial drop site. A short distance away, Kein was of the same mind. [b]'Way ahead of ya!'[/b], he yelled back to Charlotte, legs pumping as the gunship flew overhead. He was the first to the drop site, signalling manically to the waiting airships.

When he caught up Duncan pushed Eika aboard the first airship, hanging back to guide the others on. Once the last student had boarded, the Instructor climbed in as the gunship came into range. [b]'Alright boys and girls, strap in and hold on tight; there may be some chop.'[/b] The pilot's cocky tone did nothing for the mood. Kein leaned out the side of his bird, watching the gunship come into firing range. [b]'Oh man, we are so screwed... Oh shit, missiles!'[/b] A dozen guided missiles, long and fast moving, streaked in toward the airships. The pilot's voice suddenly lost it's cockiness. [b]'Shoot them things down, I don't got flares dammit!'[/b] Duncan and Kein tried their best, pelting spells as past as they could cast them; in the end it fell to to the magical specialists of the group to protect their arse.

Before long they were out over open water and the gunship was bearing down upon them. Once pilot opened up his comms to the other. [b]'One click out, prepping for dive.'[/b] Suddenly the open sides on both birds slid shut and the candidates ears popped with the sudden change in pressure. [b]'... three, two, one, dive dive dive!'[/b] Both airships tilted up for a moment before arcing down toward the sea, picking up speed as they dropped. Behind them the gunship's controllers figured out what they were planning to do, unleashing a futile hail of chaingun fire as the two birds slid into the water with barely a ripple of disturbance. [b]'... and we are clear. Depth, three hundred metres, speed, seventeen knots. We'll have you home in an hour candidates. Good job.'[/b] In the silence someone started to laugh. Duncan wiped a tear from his eye as he finally realised that they were safe with no casualti- [i]Wait... I'm... missing someone...[/i] He backtracked mentally, recounting those he had waved aboard.

[b]'W... where's Riella?'[/b]