[center][h1]Southern Skael, North of Solitude[/h1][/center]

[b]"...Noted."[/b] The raid captain inclined her head in an unhappy tone towards Esben. Elly's words had her furrowing her brow inquisitively towards Solitude's walls. [b]"I think we can chance a flyover just to see if Red's telling the truth. The other scout teams sent had all been planning to enter Solitude on foot, anyway. If Valheim's trying to keep anything from getting [i]out[/i], I doubt they have heavy weaponry pointed in the direction of anyone trying to approach from above."[/b] 

She turned, starting to rally her men back onto the airship. Within minutes, all were back on board and the helm was alerted to their plans. The airship took off, aiming for a quick flyby at a fast enough speed to hopefully get in and out before any alarms were raised. The ship picked up speed as it approached the walls, Zeke on the deck with the Kirins, along with the entire raid squadron. All of them, that was, with the exception of the captain. 

Below decks, the woman's face faded away as the engine room crew chief's body slid off of her blade, Loki grinning in her place. 

[b]"Greedy, greedy~"[/b] She hummed to herself, an orb of shadowy aether coalescing in her palm. [b]"Had you but ran straight back, I wouldn't have had this opportunity. Ah, well. Enjoy the zombies!"[/b] The spell fired, and Loki vanished into the floor a moment after, narrowly evading the engine exploding. 

Up top, the immediate impact could be felt by all, and the helmsman paled, realizing what had just happened, if not why. 

[b]"We've lost engines!"[/b] He screamed, just as the ship passed over the walls of Solitude. [b]"Brace, braaaaace! We're going down!"[/b] The airship listed. Unable to maneuver, it came careening down straight towards a tall spire, jutting out of a manor building. And impacted.

___

[center][h1]Falcon's Nest, Outskirts
One hour later[/h1][/center]

Kayliss hadn't exactly been pleased when they'd radioed their return, explaining the specific circumstances of what was going on. Nevertheless, she met up with Galahad, Miina, Izayoi, and Garland as they disembarked a distance away from the actual fortress city, no less than two squadrons of armed men trailing her. For his part, Garland gave a brief nod of acknowledgement at the implied threat before promptly getting to business.

[b]"I should hope my being here, unarmed and vastly outnumbered on neutral ground, proves my sincerity? In any regard, take this to your superiors."[/b] He fished a sealed bundle of documents out to hand over, and Kayliss prompted a soldier to approach and hold it with gloved hands. 

[b]"Only after it's been tested for poison, explosives, ensorcellments, all the bells and whistles. I'd say no insult intended, but we're past that."[/b] She replied coolly. [b]"In the meantime, we're setting up a temporary holding cell for you."[/b]

Watching the proceedings, Izayoi stood next to Miina and Galahad, frowning.

[color=#736AFF][b]"Where are the others of our party? Have they not reported back yet?"[/b][/color]

Kayliss only shook her head in response. [b]"You have a point. Falcon's Nest is about as close to the Alenmiers as it is to Solitude. But you're back anyway, and Solitude was always the goal. Take the crew and the ship, and get going. Remember, support and extraction only. Confirm Garland's words if you can, but I shouldn't need to tell you all that retrieving our people and yours comes first. Move out as soon as you're ready."[/b]