Bloodhawk – Lower Power Core Deck
Forty-Four Minutes Into the Attack
The Sounds never stopped. A deep, bone-aching drone pulsed through every bulkhead like a heartbeat dying slowly. Panels flickered, lights spasmed from pale blue to blood-red, and the whole airship struggled to stay alive under the weight of a hundred intrusions.
The lockdown protocols were still active.
Doors sealed.
Systems fused.
Engines throttled by some invisible hand.
Surgien, Rue, Zev, Ron, Battery, Genrihk, Cirke, and Twila all converged with Netoshka at the split junction of the lower decks—half-lit, coated in steam, vibrations rattling through the metal like a death rattle.
"Okay… somebody talk. Why the hell is everything going out?" Zopi's voice crackled through overcomms from the upper gun deck.
"Bloodhawk's power relays are being overdriven," Ron replied, sweat dripping from his temples as he ripped open a panel. "Something's draining half our juice into a feedback loop. That shouldn't be possible unless someone's bypassed our physical relays."
"Meaning?" Netoshka growled.
Battery answered flatly.
"Meaning someone is inside our ship."
The words hung cold.
Metal thunder boomed overhead—Sawtooth Razors breaching the hull again and again with magnetic hooks and welding claws. Every corridor was a battlefield.
Netoshka raised her rifle.
"We'll regain control of the Bloodhawk. No matter how many intruders we have to crush to do it. Move now."
THE CORE IS DYING
They reached the Power Core Chamber—an industrial cathedral of humming capacitors, steel ribs, and thick glass cylinders containing the volatile plasma needed to keep an airship this size aloft. Normally it glowed like a warm ocean.
Now it flickered like a dying candle.
The central turbine stuttered.
A grinding metallic shriek cut through the deck.
Battery scanned it.
"Primary turbine failing. Shutdown imminent."
Genrihk's head for a bit tilted.
"If the turbine dies here, we shall fall from the heavens like a stone cast by abandoned gods."
Cirke clung to the railing.
"Do we have a backup?!"
Ron slammed his wrench against a rusted junction box.
"Yes. But it's offline because some bastard shut down the coolant path. And if we don't fix the coolant line, the backup will explode too."
Rue glanced around.
"So who the hell turned it off…?"
A angry tone answered herself.
A shadow moved behind the upper gantry.
Netoshka immediately raised her weapon.
"WHOEVER'S UP THERE—SHOW YOURSELF!"
A Sawtooth Razor Bandit uncloaked with a grin full of steel teeth, holding a detonator in one hand.
"Boss'll sends his regards. This bird won't be flying long."
He lunged for the coolant release valve.
Netoshka fired first.
The bullet tore through his arm—but not before his hand slammed down on the switch.
The coolant pipes shuttered.
Pressure built.
Red alarms lit the chamber.
Ron screamed,
"NO NO NO—THE TANK IS GOING INTO MELT-STATE!"
Battery grabbed Ron and yanked him backward.
"Evacuate."
"We're not evacuating ANYTHING!" Netoshka roared. "We stabilize the backup power supply or we crash into the Delta Wastes. Move!"
THE SPLIT
Netoshka issued orders rapid-fire:
• Ron & Battery → Manual coolant override on the lower deck.
• Genrihk & Cirke → Inspect the upper relay lines and purge the sabotage explosives.
• Rue, Zev, Surgien → Protect both teams and kill any intruders.
• Twila → Doppel-form as extra defense units in every direction.
"I'll restart the turbine myself," Netoshka said.
Surgien stared at her.
"You'll get fried alive.
"I've done worse."
THE TURBINE PIT
The turbine pit was a spiral hell of heat and mechanical noise. Sparks rained like burning snow. The machinery thrashed like a beast caught between life and death.
As Netoshka descended, numbers flickered at the edge of her vision:
1… 3… 4… 5… 7… 3… 13… 24… 15… Bzzz
Her hands glitched, fingers flickering, joints bending at unnatural angles.
A whisper rode the engine's scream:
"ₙₑₜₒ… Awaken… failure… 1 3 4 5 7—"
She tightened her grip on the railing.
"No no no no, Not now. NOT now. Damn it"
COOLANT ROOM
Ron and Battery fought to shut the burst valve override. Steam blasted through the chamber like dragon breath.
Ron yelled,
"Battery! Hold the regulator!"
Battery braced its metal arms around the piping, superheated steam burning through its plating.
"Warning: structural damage."
"Hold it anyway!"
UPPER RELAY
Genrihk and Cirke reached the relay platform covered in Sawtooth Razors. The Bandits turned, snarling.
Cirke's eyes flashed bright cyan. "They're Mine."
An invisible force lifted three Bandit raiders at once and slammed them against the wall.
Genrihk drew a bone dagger glowing with necrofire.
"I shall make an example of the rest."
THE POWER SURGE
Netoshka reached the turbine heart.
Her hands hovered over the restart lever.
The numbers in her head screamed.
Symbols crawled across her forearms like ink burning beneath the skin.
"Netoshka… why did you fail me…"
She grit her teeth.
"Shut… UP!"
She slammed the override.
The turbine shrieked.
The Bloodhawk shook.
The engine roared back to life—barely—but enough for the systems to gasp air again.
THE COMING STORM
Just as the turbine stabilized, the coms crackled violently.
Raine's voice:
"Neto—MULTIPLE AIRSHIPS APPROACHING. BIG ONES."
Zopi:
"Those aren't scouting ships. That's the main Sawtooth fleet."
Krane Stratos—broadcasting again:
"Inferius. I see your lights flickering again.
Try to stay airborne for me, will you?
It'll be more fun when I tear you out of the sky myself."
Netoshka inhaled sharply.
"Everyone—brace yourselves."
She looked at the humming turbine.
"We barely saved the Bloodhawk… and now the real fight begins."