Alarms and sirens blared as the Belisian frigate fired again, rocking the hull of the Vindicator with a fresh salvo of cannon shells. The Vindicator was a fearsome beast, fully armed and armoured like the rest of the Vaimese vanguard, but when the Aurelia and Gladius had collided into each other and became lost to the skies in a single catastrophic explosion, the Belisian airship wasted no time in seizing the advantage and disabling the Vindicator's most powerful weapons with their very first strike. Now a fighting retreat was all it could manage with a rapidly dwindling supply of air-to-air missiles, but the Belisian's point defence lasers were impenetrable.

"I don't care if they're not getting through, just keep firing!" the captain of the Vindicator shouted as he slammed his fist down on the console, ignoring the steadily growing number of damage reports piling up on its screen. "We're not going down without a fight!"

"Sir, they've got snipers on deck," a panicked voice came through the console. "They're aiming straight at m-"

A loud thud was heard before the transmission was cut off.

"Helmsman. [i]Helmsman![/i] Talk to me damn it, what is going on?!"

As soon as the captain spoke however, a metallic [i]ping[/i] rang throughout the air in the combat information centre of the frigate and a crewmate dropped to the ground with a hole in his head. Yet another [i]ping[/i] sounded and another body dropped, and the captain stared with horror as he saw two bullet holes punched through the wall. Nothing short of a railgun should have been capable of piercing the Vindicator's hull like that, unless...

"They have prana users," the captain muttered before he threw himself to the floor and shouted. "Everyone get down!"

As everyone in the room followed suit, a moment of silence filled the air until a new voice sounded from the console.

[hr]
"Captain Marcellus, can you hear me?" Lucina asked as she stood at the helm, ignoring the ki reinforced bullets bouncing off her armour while the helmsman of the Vindicator lay dead at her feet. One of the rounds struck squarely against her jaw, but did little more than rattle her teeth as it fell to the ground, flattened from the impact. Was this the best the famed knights of Belisio had to offer?

"Yes," Marcellus responded through the console. "Is that you lady Lucina?"

"Naturally."

"Terra be praised, I thought we'd lost you to the explosion. What's the situation at the helm?"

In truth, it was the explosion that saved Lucina as it propelled her towards the Gladius, allowing her to use it as a springboard to leap onto the deck of the Vindicator. Were it not for such fortuitous timing, she would have fallen to the depths of the sky along with her namesake ship. Her helmet and battleaxe were also gone, but at the very least she still had her sword, armour and one remaining crewmate she managed to rescue from the collision.

"Unfortunately, I could not save your helmsman, but I've brought another," Lucina replied before turning towards the door of the wheelhouse. "Lad, come and take the controls. I will protect you from any harm."

"Yes, domina," the helmsman answered as he approached the console in a crouch, trying to keep his head low for fear of Belisian bullets.

"So what would you have us do now?" Marcellus asked.

Lucina closed her eyes for a moment as she considered pursuing her foe, Tyrhallan Venray. To the ends of Ith and beyond if need be. [i]Someday,[/i] she thought before responding, "Full retreat. Divert all power to the engines and address any damages that can be immediately repaired. If your caster is still alive, tell them to let go of the storm and focus on defence. We are leaving this sky."

"Is there nothing we can do to fight back?"

The disappointment was palpable in the captain's voice, but Lucina remained firm as she replied, "You have your orders, Marcellus. Our duty is done here, now the rest is up to my grandfather. Let us quit the field while we still can."

"... Understood, it shall be so."

And with that, Lucina shot a final defiant glare at the Belisian frigate in the distance as the Vindicator turned about and flew away with a burst of jet propulsive force. As it departed, so too did the storm, revealing a dark shadow in the depths of the sky.

[hr]
[@deia876lat]

The refugees cheered as they watched the last Vaimese frigate turn tail and run. Nena would have joined them, but the exhaustion from taking control of the storm earlier was now setting in and all she could do was utter a weak 'yay' before resting her head against Petra's neck.

She had thought of taking the refugees to Presper while the battle was going on, but now that it was over, she steered Petra towards the Incorruptible so that the tattooed girl might receive treatment in the medical station on board. The doctor had done all he could to slow the bleeding from her wounds, but without the right equipment there was simply nothing more he could do and the girl's life was still on the line.

Just as Nena was approaching the airship however, a knight armed with a rifle and mounted on a dragon flew from its deck to meet her.

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"I am Senior Knight Firenze of the Vanguard battalion," he said as he arrived. "I was told to watch for your approach. I'm also here to escort the refugees to safety, but I can see you've already made a head start. I commend you for saving these people."

"Wasn't me who did the saving, chief," Nena replied as she jerked a thumb behind her. "Girl's your hero right there and she needs medical attention asap."

"Then let us make haste."

Without further ado, Nena landed her mount on the deck of the Incorruptible and helped the refugees lower the tattooed girl from the roc's back. Firenze followed a moment after as he dropped down from the sky and landed just beside them.

"Allow me," he said as he slung his rifle over his shoulder and reached up with both hands.

"Don't drop her," Nena said as she dismounted, watching as the smuggler and doctor gently lowered the tattooed girl into the knight's waiting arms. "She saved me too, y'know."

Without so much as a hint of effort, Firenze received the girl's limp and almost lifeless body in a bridal carry and turned towards Nena as he responded, "If her condition is stable enough, I will personally deliver her to the capital where she will receive the highest level of care. This I swear."

"I'll hold you to it."

As the knight led the refugees to the medical station to be treated, Nena made her way back to her post on the bridge where she walked in on an unexpectedly sombre atmosphere. Instead of celebrating their victory over the Vaimese invaders, the captain of the Incorruptible and everyone else in the room looked as though they had lost instead.

"What's going on, boss?" Nena asked as she entered.

"That," the captain replied as he pointed at the console, indicating a radar screen with dots in almost every available space. "Our sensors couldn't see them because of the storm. Gaia's mercy, they're practically right on top of us now."

"Not on top, sir," the female officer with the glasses replied as she tapped at a negative number in the thousands on the screen. "Below. They're travelling through the deep sky."

And with those words, Nena felt her stomach drop as she realized what she was looking at. What she had inadvertently helped to achieve by extending the storm towards the enemy vanguard. The main body of the Vaimese war fleet was now within the borders of Belisio and though the battle had been won, the war was only just beginning.

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