[h3]Banksia Skyline Route #14: En route to the 5th Hierarchical Realm, Suphlatus[/h3]
[right][color=silver][b]Arc 1, Chapter 1[/b] [i]Chasing Skies Edge[/i][/color][/right][hr]The ferocious storm that had wracked the ship’s hull mercilessly for hours began to subside. A light drizzle of rain sent ripples along the atmospheric field. They danced along the surface, colliding and intertwining in a calming display of ether. The sky was blanketed in thick sheets of black clouds, but otherwise the crew could see clearly. The floating islands of Pandora drifted beneath the ship, soils nourished with the first heavy rainfall of the wet season.

Ragnar stood at the helm of his ship; hands firmly placed along the ten and two positions as he guided the Chaser through the skies. To his right side, Mona stood at the ships Atlas – an old fashioned Magitech podium reinforced with iron braces and wood. Her fingers carefully adjusted two spherical nodes which hummed at the touch of her magic. An archive grid spread out before her; a map of the Free Skies in clear view to the navigator. Their ship was represented by a triangular icon, moving along a predesignated path towards a glowing blip.

“[color=firebrick]Captain, the Chaser is approaching the drop off point within the next minute.[/color]” Mona turned towards Ragnar. The captain seemed rather despondent since the incident with Adelyn. Mona knew better than to bring it up. The ship’s icon on the grid was now on top of the desired coordinates. Ragnar nodded towards his navigator, beginning to steer the ship away. Mona pressed a weathered red button on the Atlas, speaking into an archaic microphone comprised of three crude slits in the podium.
“[color=FireBrick]Nimbus I, launching in T-Minus two minutes.[/color]” Her voice came through the intercom scratchy and distorted, but the message was received. She removed her hands from the podium and made her way past the captain. The grid dispersed, leaving the helm dimly lit. As Mona walked pasted Ragnar, she turned her head back and bid him farewell.

“[Color=Firebrick]Good luck, Captain.[/color]”
“[color=brown]Aye. And to you, Ull’Mona.[/color]” He didn’t turn when he spoke, but Mona knew his words to be sincere. Making her way down into the ship, the young hacker approached the hangar to join the away team on their crucial mission. Despite her nerves, she maintained a brave front. She owed that to Sania and Huangdi.

Look on the bright side, she thought. The storm has passed.
That much was true; the storm had passed. Yet, the calmness that followed held an eerie vibe that had put both Mona and the captain on edge. After all, the storm would be the first of many.

[h3]Clover Village Train Station, Suphlatus[/h3][hr]A flickering lantern cast a weak light along the deserted train stop. Moths swarmed the lonesome beacon, the only flame that still remained lit in the early hours of the day. The sky was dark, but along the eastern horizon one could detect the faint hue of an approaching sunrise.

There was nary a soul in sight on the platform. The security guard slumbered in his cabin, the faint sound of his snoring eclipsing the chirping of crickets. Beneath the solitary lantern, an older man sat with his arms folded impatiently. His rickety old knee bounced rhythmically, a sour scowl plastered across the wrinkles of his aged faced. He removed a pocket watch from the front pocket of his blazer, hanging his head in frustration upon realizing his train was nearly twenty minutes late. His thoughts drifted to the talk he’d heard of the flawless public transportation within major cities like Keter or Haven. He bet his bottom dollar that the other half didn’t have to sit and wait around this long for a bleeding train. Suppose that’s what you get for living out in the boonies.

Straightening back up, the man nearly leapt from his seat in shock. Standing before him at the edge of the platform was a lady. Despite her navy blue robes, he could tell by the litheness of her figure and the long, auburn ringlets that flowed down her back that this stranger was indeed female. He may have been getting older, but the man knew he was certainly not senile. There was no one else on this platform aside from him for the better part of an hour. He would have heard her approaching, surely. The lady seemed to pay him no mind, faced away towards the rails. In the distance, the faint blaring of a horn signaled the approach of the man’s train. He stood up, dragging his luggage towards the platform besides the robed woman - careful not to slip on the rain stained concrete.

When he got closer, he noticed the lady was wearing a mask of white porcelain. There were two slanted slits for eyes, as well as an intricate insignia of a third eye inside of a five point star on the forehead. The man instantly recognized this as the Librarium insignia. The train horn shattered the silence once more, this time much clearer. Now the train was in eyeshot.

“[color=silver]’Bout bloody time. Make a man wait twenty extra minutes at this ungodly hour.[/color]” The porcelain faced lady barely flinched at his attempt to strike up a conversation.
“[color=royalblue]I prefer to travel at this time. Less people.[/color]” Her words were soft spoken yet dismissive, just loud enough to hear. She spoke with a certain regality, a pride that was echoed through her unfaltering posture and dignified stance.

“[color=silver]Aye, you got that right, lass. I’m off to visit my grandson in the next town over for the day. Figured I’d take the earliest train so I could make the most of it.[/color]” Speaking of his family warmed his weathered face with a gentle smile. His hand clutched a pocket watch which contained a family portrait of his grandson, his wife and their newborn daughter. The stranger ignored the trinket. The man, eager to share, held it out a bit more for her.

“[color=royalblue]They look happy.[/color]” The stranger humored him, tilting her head ever so slightly to catch a glimpse of the picture. Another siren, this one loud enough to cause the rickety rails to shake worryingly. The man tucked his watch away, still beaming.
“[color=silver]Her name’s Penelope. Penny for short. She’s their whole world. Didn’t think the whippersnapper would ever settle down and be a family man.[/color]”
“[color=royalblue]Humans are full of surprises.[/color]” The man nodded in agreement at her words. He paused for a moment, a puzzled look on his face, when the train came to a rolling stop before them. The engine continued to hum, and one final blast of the horn signaled it was time to board.

When the doors opened, the masked lady briskly stepped across the threshold. The man gathered his belongings, catching her with an abrupt call before she could disappear down the aisle.
“[color=silver]Wait,[/color]” She stopped, but didn’t turn, “[color=silver]so where are you headed then?[/color]” 
She remained silent, a final warning siren letting the stop know they were soon to depart. When the sound had subsided, she turned back on a slight angle and offered her answer.

“[color=royalblue]Banksia.[/color]” It was short, but it was all that was necessary. 

Before the man could question her further, she pivoted on her heel and made her way to the back of the carriage. The driver, growing impatient, blared the siren twice in quick succession. Startled back to reality, the man hustled onto the train as the doors slid close. In just a moment’s time, the sky train began to move along the rails, gaining momentum until it was able to soar off the edge of the floating islands into the blackened sky.

[h3]Banksia Skyline Route #14: En route to the 5th Hierarchical Realm, Suphlatus[/h3]
[right][color=silver][i]The next day.[/i]

[@Lunarlord34] [@Crimson Raven] [@Raijinslayer][/color][/right][hr]Hearty cheers filled the hangar, the smell of grog and perspiration permeating the air. The launch gates were open, an azure sky framed within the space. In the distance, dark clouds from the storm prior had begun floating off into the horizon. The Chasers, blessing the good Mother herself for such fortune, were relieved to not have the elements against them in today’s mission. The scouts were preparing to be sent out ahead first, tightening their glider harnesses securely around their torso. The worn leather straps had seen better days for sure.

Like most things aboard the Chasers, the gliders were outdated – paling in comparison to the equipment employed by the Librarium. A hard leather chassis secured the aetherwing deployer to the back, with several belts and straps around the chest, shoulders, waist and thighs keeping it all lodged in place. One only need charge the device with the smallest amount of ether, deploying a pair of luminescent wings for aerial travel. They may have lacked the aesthetics and functionality of newer, more efficient models, but they got the job done.

The crew stood around the scouts, watching as the ship’s engineers fixed an unusual device to their deployers. The white, sleek halo was in vast contrast to the obsolete design of the Chaser’s old harnesses. The engineers worked up a sweat trying to properly mend it together. After a resounding [i]click[/i], the halo lit up along with the deployer. Taking a step back, the engineer gestured for the scout to try out the latest modification.

The room cleared a circle around him, all curious to see the new device in action. The young lad lapped up the attention like an excited puppy. Putting his right foot forward, he shot a fist up into the air. A gentle ripple of magic resonated throughout the room before and iridescent light of the aetherwings poured out from the deployer. Yet just as quickly as they formed, the light faded away. Energy rippled across the boy, tessellating hexagons of ether, similar to that of the atmospheric disruptor, covered him from head to toe. As they formed, the boy’s visage began to disperse until he had disappeared completely.

His fellow crew members gasped in both shock and excitement. The engineer signed, clutching her hands to her chest in relief. She lamented about the fact that the camouflage wasn’t perfect. Sure enough, the other pirates began to take notice of a strange shimmer where the scout stood. The boy flickered back into view with a soft whirring noise that signaled the deactivation of the aetherwing. The crowd cheered, both for him and the engineer as the circle collapsed in to celebrate their breakthrough.

“[color=brown]By Juno![/color]” The crew spun around at Captain Ragnar’s voice – he’d been standing at the entrance to the hangar while the test was underway.
“[color=brown]Ye’d make a fine Kiln pirate, Lass. I never seen someone replicate Librarium cloaking tech so well in all me life.[/color]” The engineer’s face went red, but she quickly composed herself with a formal salute. A few of her friends nudged her in the shoulder, chuckling away at her rigidness. Ragnar offered a hearty laugh before clearing his throat. Everyone kept going about their business, but they were sure to keep an ear out for their captain’s pe-mission brief.

“[color=brown]I’ve word from Ull’Mona that her team is inside Banksia’s control tower. Scouts be ready to fly out as soon as yer cloaking rings are fixed to the gliders. Infiltration team,[/color]” Ragnar turned to the group he was sending to attack the sky train. Among them was Lazulin, Adelyn and Amara.
“[color=brown]When I give the signal, the scouts will remove their camouflage and draw the Cleric Knights off of the train to deal with them. When that happens, you lot will be hidden nearby and will board the train. Take control of the cockpit and try not to damage the cargo. We’ll be helping a lot of starving people if we can pull this off.[/color]” He paused for a moment before turning to face Adelyn directly.

“[color=brown]Highborn lass, let’s see if yer made of tougher stuff. Or are ye like all the other Keter nobles?[/color]” The captain jaunted. There were a few murmurs among the crowd, eyes staring in Adelyn’s direction. Not all were supportive of the Captain’s decision to stowaway a noble.

“[color=silver]Watch ya back, Laz mate! Careful she don’t stick a knife in it while ye ain’t watching![/color]” One pirate from the back spoke up, resulting in a wave of uproarious laughter and similar taunts. When they’d finished having their fun, the engineers announced that all cloaking devices were fixed to the scout group. They proceeded to help the infiltration group don their own gliders. The scouts lined up neatly at the edge of the hanger, awaiting the Captain to give the signal to fly out. He held his hand high, the tension building in the air around them. Clenching his fist firmly, the captain let out a mighty bellow.

“[color=brown]Get going yer mangy coves![/color]” With one final cheer, the scouts slipped away out of sight as they dove off the hangar. Flashes of aetherwing activations came and went. Soon enough the group had dispersed along the sky rail in preparation for their task. From this distance, it was nigh impossible to notice the telltale shimmer of the camouflage. 

The infiltration team was left alone with the captain and the engineers. Ragnar stared out over the vast expanse of the Free Skies, keeping an eye out for the train.

“[color=brown]Right, enough lazing about. Get yer selves in position as soon as possible.[/color]” Ragnar turned away from the group and began to make his way back towards the helm. The ship needed to have its own cloaking device activated. As he approached the steps, he turned back to face the group.

“[color=brown]If we’re victorious today, we’ll be dealing a huge blow to the Librarium. I have faith in ye. May the Mother light your path.” And with those final words,[/color] Captain Ragnar ascended the steps – leaving them with a heavy weight on their shoulders.

[h3]Banksia Central Station, Suphlatus[/h3]
[right][@Hatakekuro] [@Inkarnate][/right][hr]The liveliness of Banksia Central made it almost too easy for the Chasers to slip in unnoticed. With some simple disguises to make them appear as locals, the group blended seamlessly in with the rushing businessmen, students and friends catching up for a gab. The group had met with a member of the Smuggler’s Guild, a man who called himself Dusty Cooper. A clear alias; every pirate worth their salt knew just how Crow’s guild of spies and assassins operated. On their way to the tower, Mona made idle chat about how she once met Crow. Though she wasn’t sure if it was actually Crow, or one of he spies sent to meet them disguised as her. There was very little information on the Pirate King, apart from that she hailed from Xia. Mona thought Huangdi would find that tidbit interesting.

Dusty had presented the team with the appropriate passes and clearances to access the tower. They needed to be smart – large groups entering the Banksia control tower would look suspicious. Their entrance was staggered. Huangdi and two others entered first as a group of maintenance workers, while Sania and the other two Chasers followed about twenty minutes after dressed as operators. Mona stayed behind, tucked away in a nice little corner of the stations old railway tunnels where she was in range to hack the towers security.

“[color=firebrick]It’s almost funny how smooth this is going. Not that I want to tempt fate or anything.[/color]” Her voice echoed through Sania and Huangdi’s minds as they made their way down into the maintenance tunnels. The pair were separated by their groups, but still could communicate due to Mona’s Archive.

The hacker’s fingers flew across her various interfaces, sliding dials and listening in to radio signals. Mona giggled as she set the towers security cameras on a continuous loop of footage. The oldest trick in the book.
“[color=firebrick]I’ve messed with their cameras and there are no patrols of the tunnels scheduled for another fifteen minutes. Nobody is watching you, but I wouldn’t drag my feet. Even an idiot can figure out that the security has been tampered with.[/color]”

 Mona brought up her schematics, tracking how close each group was to their respective blocker.
“[color=firebrick]You’re not far, Huangdi. Sania, take a right at the end of this hall and follow it to the end. You’re looking for a massive generator, it should have a bunch of wires and lacrima attached to it. Destroy them as soon as you find them – don’t worry they aren’t that tough. I think.[/color]”

She watched the little blips on her grid slowly, but surely approach their target. At this point, she took a deep sigh before opening up the channel once more.
“[color=firebrick]Look, I know I’ve already gone through this, but once you destroy those blockers the alarm will be tripped. I’ll do what I can to slow down security, but I doubt you’re getting out of there without a fight. Just stay calm – find each other first and foremost, then meet at the rendezvous point at the southern tunnel. Godspeed, friends.[/color]” The channel shut off once more. Mona alerted the captain, letting him know that her team was nearly in position. Though over such a distance, communicating via archive had some severe latency. He wouldn’t receive the message for another few minutes.

She muttered a silent prayer to Juno under her breath. She was never a spiritual person, but right now she felt the Chasers could use all the help they could get.