Thread: WAR! Survivor00 & Confrazzled

Fort Kessel Velknir Mountains, Atlova 1841 Hours. Evening came early to Fort Kessel, the towering mountain peaks that surrounded the military base cast shadows that swallowed the whole forest hours before the sun actually went down. One-by-one, the massive spotlights surrounding the perimeter of the fortress snapped on, casting ghostly beams into the sky. Ethan Harke sat in the turret of the RF-71 ??Trident?? Gun Car, looking off at the winking lights from the A.A.F Romin in the distance. The airship was a marvel of Atlovian military engineering. Her and her sisters, the Surasa and the Agilli had been constructed as a means of rapid aerial support anywhere in the country, in less than 48 hours. The Romin was anchored at the nearby Asur Airbase, where it was being refueled. He drew his eyes away from the distant airship, looking down to the Duncan .45 semi-automatic pistol that lay disassembled on the cold, gray-green metal of the tank turret. As the gunner in one of the Tridents, there wasn??t enough room for him to carry a full-sized rifle instead, he had been given the pistol for defense. Looking down at the vehicle was sitting on he feared what would have to happen for him to even need this weapon in self defense. It was somewhat infamous for jamming if not properly maintained, so he carefully polished the feed ramp with an old rag before reassembling the pistol and placing it back in the holster. Ethan??s eyes drifted up to the sky, looking at the aerial display going on in the distance. Everyone who was above ground at the time was. The two dragons circled gracefully, almost in a haunting ballet, illuminated in the pale glow of the searchlights, just outside the range of their anti-air guns. Ancelterri air scouts, trying to find an opening in their defenses. They had long since learned the distance those shells could fire. The war with Anceltierre had been going on for nearly two brutal years now, with both sides having drawn a stalemate here, at the Velknir Mountain Range. The Ancelterri were ruthless monsters, soaring in on their draconic mounts, spitting fire and dropping bombs, razing entire cities to the ground. Even before he had joined the military to defend his country, he had seen the war footage?had seen the trains full of pale-faced survivors?and the Death Trains?those were the worst, flatcars piled high with coffins and some were just stacked with decomposing corpses. The stench they left would never fade from memory? They had to win this war. His eyes lazily returned to the dancing dragons overhead, and for a second he imagined that they weren??t being piloted by people that wanted to kill him. Suddenly, both dragons snapped suddenly to the West and were lost outside of the ring of light. Both operators followed them until they could no longer be distinguished from the clouds. Ethan felt his hair stand on end. The air was unnervingly quiet, and Ethan realized that he had been holding his breath. The flash of light drew his attention before the hollow report blasted off the mountainside and echoed into the twilight sky. The Romin was ablaze, a towering fireball blossoming high into the air, darkening to orange, red, and black, her nose rising into the sky. An even larger explosion erupted as the fire reached the stores of munitions and artillery shells, tearing the zeppelin apart, the blast able to be felt from here. With the sound of rending metal shrieking off the mountains, the wreckage of the Romin plunged into the valley below, trailing inky clouds of black smoke. Ethan stood there, gaping like a fish at the fiery glow in the distance, certain that he had just witnessed the worst military accident in the history of Atlova. The banshee-howl of the emergency siren ripped through the base like storm, forcing Ethan to clamp his hands over his ears. Even under his palms, he heard the startled voice of the radio operator blasting through the loudspeakers as soldiers streamed out of the barracks in various states of dress and confusion. ??All?All units, mobilize for Emergency Relief! All units, report to the Motor Pool!? Ethan, even though not in full uniform, threw open the hatch to the Gun Car and climbed down into the driver??s compartment. He activated the fuel lines, pumping the gas pedal to get some fuel into the ignition cylinders, before firing up the engine, hearing it catch with a throaty growl. He quickly climbed back up to the turret, throwing on his helmet and strapping it to his chin. Normally, he would have had his full uniform and a flak jacket for extra protection, but they didn??t have the time. Every second wasted meant that more men were dying. Around him, every operational vehicle on base was moving out, forming a convoy that snaked down the road in a trail of dirt brown and grey-green. He quickly strapped himself into the seat of the turret, a 20mm, two-barreled Skycleaner. Even a dragon couldn??t withstand a prolonged barrage of this. The driver and commander threw open their hatches and climbed in, putting the vehicle into gear and falling in line with the rest of the vehicles. Ethan had to tear his eyes between watching the sky, and watching the glowing tower of smoke and flame. He didn??t like this, a mobilization of this size would have to be noticed by the Ancelterri. Suddenly, the leading vehicle in the convoy blew apart, the burning hulk lifting off the ground for a few seconds before crashing down. Three more explosions chained through the convoy. The hot blast of air hit him in the face. Behind him, another explosion ballooned from a vehicle. ??AMBUSH!? Their vehicles had been sabotaged, meaning there were strong odds that the destruction of the Romin had also been a deliberate act. The convoy ground to a halt, sliding forward on the muddy roads. Injure men wailed from the gravel embankment, holding in their insides. The heavy flap of wings entered Ethan??s ears, and he looked up to see several dragons swoop down from over the mountain slope, using the burning convoy as a beacon. He pushed down on the foot pedal, swinging the turret towards the dragons and opening fire with the Skycleaner. KaBrumph! KaBrumph! KaBrumph! The impact rattled his bones, heavy shells clattering against the armor of the car. Two other cars joined in, pouring their own fire into the sky. But it was dark, and dragons were incredibly fast. One of the Gun Cars was incinerated as a broiling jet of flame shot from the mouth of a swooping dragon. It disappeared beyond the treeline and was lost from his sight. Fire spread quickly through the vehicles, the fabric roofs on the truck, the ammunition boxes, the fuel, it didn??t take long before half the convoy was ablaze. Ethan??s ears were ringing, his hands shaking as he fumbled another ammo cartridge into the receiver, opening fire as soon as he was able. He saw another dragon swooping down, this time aiming at the Trident he was in... He opened fire at the dragon, trying to keep the creature in his sights. He heard a bellow of pain, and the dragon staggered in midair. He shouted in victory, but realized too late that the dragon was still coming towards him, just no longer in control. He tried to dive for safety, but was still strapped in the harness. He struggled to free himself, undid the clasps? The impact of the dragon??s mass against the armored car threw it off the road, tumbling it end over end until it smashed into the trees. Ethan found himself contorting in the air for a few seconds before he felt nothing, the world flashing painfully white, and then black.