[@deia876lat]

"Aw shit!" Nena yelped as the collision knocked her into the hold, sending her stumbling into the group of refugees gathered within. Collapsing into a pile of arms and legs, she fought her way free only to see the bow of the frigate filling the doorway, squeezing out the twilit sky as it moved closer and closer with relentless ease. In the growing shadow of that behemoth, Nena was certain that this was the end and she closed her eyes in acceptance of her fate.

"I'm sorry Petra," she whispered as the people around her muttered their own final thoughts or shrieked in terror, all wrapping their arms around each other in one last embrace.

And then... a miracle happened. With an ear shattering [i]bang[/i], the frigate was abruptly thrown off course as though the hand of Gaia herself had slapped it aside. The dim light of dusk poured into the hold once more and a tense few seconds passed before the air quaked again like a thunderclap.

A stillness settled and Nena chanced a look outside of the hold as the other refugees remained huddled together. What she saw was a pillar of light as bright as the Aether, standing where the tattooed girl had been. It shined so brilliantly that it hurt to look upon and Nena had to avert her gaze, but even to the untrained eye it was clear that there was magic at work here of a scale too large to comprehend.

The very air seemed to ripple in waves in every direction and though it only lasted for a moment, Nena could have sworn that she saw the black of night, true night as she averted her eyes. In the shadow of that blinding light, it was like a blanket of darkness as told by the old stories with grains of starlight scattered across the sky, more than anyone would see within a lifetime of perpetual dusk.

The vision gradually faded as the light subsided, growing dimmer and dimmer until Nena could turn to look and see the tattooed girl standing on the remains of the deck, her hands thrown up defiantly against the side of the passing frigate.

"Hey are you... are you okay?" Nena called out to her hesitantly, not sure what she had just witnessed but certain that the girl was at the heart of it.

[hr]
[@Omni5876]

Arn grunted at the playful address by Leo.  “Yes we are in a tight spot.  However, now that you are here we might have a chance.  I need you to be the bait.  I assume your speed is adequate to keep ahead of the firing line of that machine gun.  I will come out of the opposite side and blast them off the side with a surge of water”

"Huh, never thought I'd take orders from a mage," Leo replied as he risked a peek around the pillar, ducking back as a fresh burst of suppressive fire ripped through the air and whizzed past like deadly mosquitoes. "But yeah, I think I can manage."

In truth, Leo was no quicker than any other knight in terms of movement speed. Certainly not fast enough to outrun bullets. Only Tyrhallan was capable of such speed and he would most likely have little trouble dealing with the current situation, but Leo was confident in his reflexes and now that he knew what to expect, he would not be mowed down a second time.

"What about you though?" he asked the battlemage, seeing signs of exhaustion in Arn's face.

He shrugged his shoulders at the knight’s question regarding his welfare.  “I could be better, have been worse once or twice.  I don’t think I have any serious wounds and I am sure that the troop medic will loose his top trying to patch me up.”

He quickly and efficiently used a roll of gauze to pack and dress the wound.  There did not seem to be any arterial bleeding but there was no need to take a chance.  After all, there was no telling  how long it would be before they were able to safely evac.  

He took a deep breath and he said in a gruff voice.  “Ok, I am ready when you are. I hope you do not get shot.”

"Right back at ya," Leo replied as he held up his sabre, ready to break into action. Yet just as he was about to make his move, the entire airship quaked and sent him stumbling forward with uncontrolled momentum instead.

"Oh sh-" he had time to say before stopping himself from falling, realizing how exposed he was now to enemy fire.

Much to his relief however, most of the Vaimese soldiers had been flung off their feet from the impact, including the machinegunner. Leo thought to finish them off with an air slash while he had the chance, but then another thunderous blow rocked the deck and sent him tumbling forward head over heels.

"Was that from us?" he asked after landing in a roll, his reflexes keeping him from falling flat on his face.