The Bloodhawk shook again as another volley hammered its side. Metal groaned. Dust fell from the ceiling. Somewhere down the hall, something heavy toppled and rolled.
Netoshka braced herself against the railing of the upper deck corridor, teeth gritted. Her hair was half-singed from the last explosion, her hands blackened with gunpowder residue. The moment she steadied herself, Rue and Zev sprinted up from the lower stairwell, panting.
"Two more boarding teams on the starboard!" Rue called.
"They're cutting through the second hatch now—again!"
"We already threw them off that hatch!" Zev snapped, furious. "How many waves is this maniac sending!?"
Netoshka didn't answer. She was staring out the cracked observation window.
The sky outside was chaos.
Dozens of Sawtooth skiffs swarmed like vultures around the Bloodhawk, smaller craft darting in and out while the massive blimp—Krane Stratos' flagship—loomed behind them like a floating fortress, cannons flashing under the smog-colored clouds. Smoke trailed from one inflated wing of the Bloodhawk, and unburnt fuel bled into the wind.
They were barely staying in the air.
"Report," she finally said, voice low.
Surgien slid from behind a bulkhead, wiping blood from his knuckles.
"Team Two pushed back another boarding party on the port side. Raine smashed the last intruder against a wall. Alev is… enjoying himself."
A distant muffled FWOOOM of igniting flames punctuated that.
Battery's voice crackled through the intercom.
"Structural integrity compromised on three lower decks. Elevation dropping by five meters per second. Recommend eliminating hostiles so this vessel stops bleeding."
Netoshka exhaled sharply.
"We repel them here. Full force."
Rue stiffened.
"But… the flagship. If we don't hit it soon—"
"I know," Netoshka cut her off. Her eyes were locked on Krane's blimp.
"But we can't board it while our home is burning."
She jumped down the stairs, boots clanging as she reached the Bloodhawk's central ring walkway. Smoke drifted from the broken lights. Across the ship, squads regrouped—Raine cracking her knuckles, Alev's hands still smoldering, SP3CTR flipping her blades into place.
Genrihk walked up beside her, his hollow eyes glowing faintly.
"The dead Sawtooths you left behind are still… fresh. If you permit me—"
"No mass reanimations," she shut him down immediately. "Last thing we need is corpses on a collapsing ship."
"such a Shame, still, i wouldn't bet on it" he sighed.
She turned to the assembled crews.
"Listen up!" she shouted. The echo carried through the corridor.
"This is our ship. Our air. Our sky. We hold it—NOW."
The others responded with nods, smirks, and the tightening of weapon straps.
The next few minutes were pure survival.
Sawtooth Razors burst through another cargo hatch—only to be thrown back by Zopi's precise sniper shots ricocheting down the corridor like sharpened thunder. Raine tackled three intruders at once, lifting one by the throat and pitching him over the railing.
Alev unleashed a controlled wave of fire, forcing two skiffs to break formation and drift away in panic. Battery physically blocked a boarding ramp attempting to latch on, prying it free and shoving the attacking skiff off with mechanical strength.
Rue swung across a broken beam, planting a mine directly on an enemy grappling line before slicing it. The explosion lit the underbelly of the Bloodhawk like a flash grenade.
Zev tore through enemy shields in his half-transformed state—eyes burning gold, teeth elongated, fingers clawed.
Netoshka moved like a storm—disappearing and reappearing in flickering glitch-steps, carving through Sawtooths before they even realized she had changed position.
Within minutes, the last invaders were kicked, burned, or thrown off the decks.
Silence finally settled.
Smoke drifted through broken vents. Some parts of the deck still crackled with residual fire. Crew members leaned against walls, catching their breath. The Bloodhawk groaned but held steady as Battery rerouted power to stabilize altitude.
"We repelled them…" Rue whispered, shocked.
"For now," Netoshka corrected. She turned her head upward, eyes narrowing on the colossal blimp still shadowing them. "But Krane won't let us breathe for long."
Zev wiped blood from his cheek.
"What's the plan?"
Netoshka stepped slowly toward the nearest window, watching the flagship circle for another assault. She tapped her thumb against her palm—thinking, thinking—
Then her eyes flickered.
"I'm done waiting for him," she muttered. "He keeps sending waves? Fine. We'll go after him."
Zev stared.
"How? That fortress is surrounded. Too many guns."
"Not too many if we move smart." Her mind raced. She visualized the blimp's underside—its blind spot. The maintenance ridges. The support cables. "We harpoon it. Grapple the flagship. Board it directly."
Rue blinked.
"From here?!"
"Yes." Netoshka lifted her chin. "We punch through their defenses, attach a hook to the undercarriage, ride the line across, break into the blimp, and drag Krane out by his damn throat."
Even the older members froze at the intensity in her voice.
Genrihk gave a slow approving nod.
"Reckless. Suicidal. Perfect."
Netoshka turned toward the rest of the ship.
"We prepare for the assault. All squads—reload, rearm, and ready grappling lines. Next strike is ours."