The Bloodhawk groaned as it drifted through a trail of black smoke left behind from the last aerial clash. Metal rang with loose bolts. Sparks rained from a scorched support beam. The crew had barely recovered from the skirmish when Rue's voice sliced through the upper deck:
"Incoming shadows—big ones! They're circling!"
Netoshka snapped her head toward the observation window.
High above—cutting through cloud layers like predatory birds—three massive bomber craft unfurled their jagged wings. Their underside compartments clicked open, revealing racks of oil-barrel-sized canisters.
A cold breath left her lungs.
"Stratos is sending his heavy units."
The deck vibrated as everyone scrambled.
— POV: Krane Stratos —
Inside the bridge of the Serrated Crown, Krane leaned over the large hexagonal table projecting flickering topographic grids. His commanders—
Varkesh, Harvey, and Gorik—stood around him, armored in mismatched plating carved with saw patterns.
A Razor scout rushed in.
"Target vessel still airborne, boss. Their hull's held."
Krane's teeth clenched.
"Of course it did. That ship isn't civilian, but a Military one. And that… woman…"
Images flickered on his cracked monitor—Netoshka ripping through his boarding troops earlier, her form briefly glitching, her face distorting like corrupted film.
A chill worked down his spine.
"Deploy the Deathwings," Krane ordered.
"We carpet-bomb them back into the dirt."
Varkesh cracked his neck.
"And if that glitching monster survives?"
Krane slammed his fist on the table.
"Then pray the bombers takes her before she reaches me."
— POV: Inferius / Bloodhawk Deck —
Zopi was already sprinting toward the port-side gun nest.
"Rue! Feed me trajectories!"
"Already locking them in!" she yelled, her eyes glowing faintly red, scanning every silhouette in the sky.
Zev, half-shifted—fangs showing, eyes burning wild gold—dragged two crates of ammo toward the guns.
"These bombers aren't slow, Neto. They're diving."
Netoshka vaulted over the railing, landing beside him.
"Then we shoot faster."
She spun toward the whole crew.
"All squads—battle stations! Those bombers drop anything near this ship, we're dead. Raise shields, brace the ballast, and return FIRE."
THE FIRST DIVE
A bone-white bomber tilted downward.
From its belly, a metallic cylinder fell—then split open midair.
A hurricane of scrap-metal shrapnel burst outward like a spinning tornado.
"DOWN!" Serah yelled, shielding Twila as a spray of metal tore across the deck.
The Bloodhawk tilted violently, the left side carving a downward arc before Ron and Battery forced stabilization.
Ron shouted through the speaker tubes:
"If they pound the balloon layer, we're going down FAST! Pick your targets!"
Zopi's Nest --
Zopi, calm as a frozen lake, inhaled.
Her finger caressed the trigger.
Exhale.
Fire.
A single shot pierced one bomber's wing—its outer fan sputtered, burst, and the craft spiraled out of formation.
Rue whooped.
"ONE DOWN!"
— POV: Krane Stratos —
A Razor gunner swore.
"Crown-One just got wing-clipped!"
Krane snarled.
"Tighten formation! Drop the second wave!"
The bomber pilots obeyed immediately—hatches opening in synchronized rows.
The bombs released this time were larger. Armored. Purposeful.
"Spread them along the ship's altitude. I want the sky burning in flames."
THE SECOND WAVE
Alev stepped forward on the upper deck, fire swirling around his palms.
"Allow me—"
Netoshka blocked him with an arm.
"Wait, Save your flames for boarders. Bombs don't care if they're burned."
Alev clicked his tongue but obeyed.
The second wave fell.
Twila screamed as she pointed upward.
"Break their pattern! They're trying to box us in!"
Netoshka slammed her fist on the metal railing.
"Zev! Rue! Surgien! Starboard gun—NOW!"
The group sprinted.
Zev loaded the twin barrels. Rue locked coordinates. Surgien grabbed whatever spare shells he could.
"Fire on my mark—" Netoshka said—
The bomb hit.
Not the ship.
But the waves of compressed air it released threw half the deck off balance.
Inferius recovered quickly—Ron yelling from below:
"Hull damage minimal! But if they hit closer
KA—BOOM!"
COUNTERFIRE
Serah and Taran took the second gun station.
Battery aimed the turret installed near the main mast, calculating the velocity of every descending shape.
ZAP—ZAP—ZAP
Three direct hits struck a bomber's underbelly.
The craft lurched, lost altitude, and detonated midair in a blossom of flame.
Genrihk stepped forward, hands glowing a spectral violet.
Bones rattled beneath the deck… then launched upward like spears from the ship's side cannons, piercing through another bomber wing.
Zev laughed, hair whipping in the wind.
"He skewered it like a balloon!"
Netoshka didn't smile.
Her eyes locked on the horizon.
There were still more approaching.
And larger ones behind them.
— POV: Krane Stratos —
Krane slammed open another viewport.
The sky flashed with arcs of fire and debris as his bombers dropped one after another.
But the Bloodhawk… still held
.
"That ship is a fortress," Harvey muttered.
Krane narrowed his eyes.
"No ship can survive forever. Keep dropping the payloads. If they're this desperate not to fall, that means they're carrying something valuable."
A dark grin spread across his face.
"And I'll claim it."
NETOSHKA'S REALIZATION --
Gorik's bomber squadron shifted into a V-formation.
Rue gasped.
"Neto—they're lining up a saturation drop."
Netoshka wiped blood from her cheek.
"If that connects… we won't have a ship left."
She looked at the winch system.
The tether spools.
The unused harpoon-like launcher meant for docking with fuel towers.
Her mind raced.
If I had a way to get to their lead craft… I could cut off the chain of commands before they finish lining up.
But it's suicide… unless we handle this wave first.
She snapped back to her team.
"HOLD THE LINE! DON'T LET EVEN ONE OF THOSE BOMBERS THROUGH!"
The sky ignited with the glow of the incoming saturation wave.
Everyone braced.
Inferius guns began thundering in unison.
Netoshka's voice roared above the cacophony:
"THE SAWTOOTH RAZORS WANT A WAR?
THEN WE'LL GIVE THEM A SKY ON FIRE, CAUSE THIS IS A WAR WE'LL GIVE EM."