Chapter 4 - An unfortunate field trip or "I am Shiva, the Destroyer of Worlds"

From the control tower, Commander Tusk could see the glittering sun across the Firth of Caledon a long channel that cut across the north-central region of the Commonwealth. To the north on a clear day, you could make out the distant north sound and occasionally see the Enchanted Kingdom of Rose Heaven across the sound. To the south the largest landmass in the Commonwealth. Lush and green, blessed with an abundance of the most fertile farmland and fisheries in the world. Caledon City, Victoria City, and Steam City were some of the most populated cities in the Steamlands. The tall towers and clear skies of Victoria complemented the industrial and seafaring lands around Caledon proper. North of the Firth, were mountain and woods that hosted some of the most resource-rich lands anywhere. 

It was a blessing of geography and due to the grace of its Creator that the Commonwealth was wealthy, beautiful, cultured and free. In the center of it all floated Iron Cloud. A marvel of Caledon engineering and construction, the air station provided both military and commercial operations for the Vicereine's Government. While the port of Caledon was primarily passenger and commercial. 

Iron Cloud was passenger, military and commercial. Any other imports of certain supervised materials need to be reviewed in Iron Cloud unless a special charter had been granted to a trading house by the Commonwealth. Pirates and Smugglers avoided these inspections at their own peril. 

Today would be a slow day in Iron Cloud, some Mondragon privateers had a shipment of fish and whiskey to be inspected. A large group of 75 school children was visiting the station. Also, a large Shipping Combine was arriving to pick up ore. Since they were a Babbaginan registry they need to pass inspection at IC before continuing on to the Wellsian port. 

It was nice that His Grace, the Duke of Middlesea was on a long voyage. This would allow Tusk to focus on his task of retrofitting of several military vessels. 

The children from the Oxbridge Preparatory Academy were excited. The Caledon Transport had dropped them. they were enjoying the views from the most strategic asset in the Steamlands.  For years, the Floating Airbase had served as a valuable military and commercial hub. In the south toward the port, the air hanger of Gearhaven floated and beyond that, the Steam city sat in the distances while the whole of Caledonia was visible. 

On the commercial side of the port, a slow-moving commercial freighter flying the Mondragon flag was docking. A squadron of Caledonia Air Defense was about to begin a training flight out over the Firth. The 25 children in bright blue uniforms moved toward the door of the control tower. 

“This way, class”. The headmaster was a thin, pale young man. 

“Commander Tusk has a few words for you.”

Standing in the doorway of the control tower, Tusk was an imposing figure. Tall and Dashing. He was a model specimen of the Vicerene’s Guard. The school child quieted. Across the airfield in Tusk's field of vision, he saw the Mondragon's unloading three large crates. Approximately 12 feet high, the Mondragons were prying them open. Strange, Tusk had reviewed the manifest of all large ships docking this morning. That doesn’t look like they were bringing bourbon from St. John and Game meat from Steelhead. 

Before Tusk could react a vicious wind and a blunt force ripped into the tower above his head. A tentacle, glowing and red ripped glass down on the ground. 

Children started to scream. Alarms sounded. A team of Commandos was running toward the pilots in the air squadron. Tusk saw throwing knives and blood. Suddenly a green liquid flew on to the mass of running school children, it began of burnt flesh and clothing in a mass of blood and melted bones almost instantly. Another smaller tentacle swiped two of the smaller children and began to squeeze them. The sound of liquid and screams combined with the den of alarms. 

Tusk was braver than most men in the Steamlands. He also knew his first duty was to protect Iron Cloud. Quickly, without thinking he was running up the stairs toward the

control tower. There was another crashing sound of metal being ripped and falling girders. 

Tusk saw that a large section of one wall from the control room was gone. He could look out at everything happening. Flames were burning in some airships. He saw what was the instrument of this attack, but he didn’t understand it. It was a large beast with tentacles. It was as if someone had crossbred a giant Kraken and a large jellyfish. The creature was eating, it was belching acid on to what remained of the unfortunate field trip. Many of the children and teachers were hiding. 

Suddenly, Tusk became aware of a rocking motion. Iron Cloud was swaying. Becoming unbalanced. Looking at a functioning control panel, he saw the Cavorite Gas Levels we’re dropping fast. He remembered. Three crates. Another loud crash far away. Far in the distance, he could see friendly airships turning toward the Iron Cloud to investigate. Tusk turned to the comms panel and picked up the wireless transmitter. 

“This is Iron Cloud Actual. We are under attack”
Static. Another rocking motion, the airship was tilting at a 25-degree angle. 

“Iron Clou—- freighter—-,” more static. 

“Iron Cloud, this is Steamways Combine Minerva. We have several ships over the northern sound. Do you need assistance” 

“Minerva, we need an assist to evacuate civilian survivors.” “Iron cloud we are three minutes out”. 

The station swayed in the wind. The angle tilting on the port side was facing the firth, 10,000 feet below. Tusk could see West Sperling and beyond that Gearhaven and the Port. He could hear the grinding and smashing of the cavorite chambers and the ripping of metal girders. 

“Ironcloud, The is Steamways Minerva, please confirm the Automatic Cannons are disengaged. We are making fast progress. We have dispatched smaller craft to assist”. 

Tusk moved the control area and pulled the autocannon control levers to “disengage”. 

“Disengaged you are clear to land”.Tusk could see bi-planes and a small military-like steam cycle circling around the left side of the station. Something didn’t seem right. From his field glasses,
Tusk studied one of the circlings by planes. The insignia was unmistakable. A Red and Blue 

Shield with a Gear in the center over a cross Hammer and Wrench. Babbage? Tusk heard the shooting of machine guns, the buzzing of bi-plane engines and heard screams of children. 

The sun in the western sky darkened and the shadow of two larger Airships flying the Caledon Flag and the Steamlands Combine Banner. One was a cargo hauler, was the other was an obvious Military Class Dreadnought. Why is Steamlands Combine using such a large escort ship? 

Tusk saw Telsa coils glowing, saw explosions of cannon fire and felt the concussion of the first of the attack. The Dreadnought was firing on the auto defense batteries. 

The commander could see the two of the creatures moving toward where a large crowd of children and teachers were huddling. The teachers were pushing the younger children and students into escape pods. The first of the pods were fired out of the catapult. As it glided toward the Firth, one of the Babbagian Bi-Planes moved into pursuit. 

The Dreadnought dropped what appeared to be a crate with a parachute. It was gliding toward the deck of the far airfield. 

Tusk was confused those creatures were obviously nefarious and likely conjured by dark magick and thaumaturgic manipulation. However, Babbage was notoriously anti-magick. After the Anti-Magick war, Babbage as the victorious combatant forced the steam lands to build Thaumaturgic dampers. This force of regulating magicking was were imposed across the streamlands.

The events of today didn’t make sense. More escape pods launched. The bi-planes circled like flys. Some pods we destroyed in midair. Tusk prayed some children made it out. 

Tuck grabbed the wireless, turned the gear dials to a different set of numbers, “This is Iron Cloud actual. Gearhaven-Armada Hanger, do you hear?” 

Static, “Gearhaven-Amanda H1, Go ahead Iron Cloud”.

“We are under attack from under hostile actors”. “Understand, Iron Cloud,  deploying fighters, can you describe the nature of the threat?” 

Before Tusk could respond something began to flow out of the crate on the airfield. At first, it looked like blue smoke, but it also looked like a light. A light that acted like smoke. 

It swirled up about the crate and began to spread out over the landing field. Twisting and floating. It began to take shapes that were intentional shapes of sigils. Arabic letters, numbers. Rapidly spreading. A Smokeless Fire, Spreading words and symbols across the largest air defense platform is the Steamlands.   At first, Tusk thought the smoke was thickening and too dense to see the landing deck. 

Until he realized, it was not there. He could see the land below the land deck. The Smoke was erasing Iron Cloud. It moved quickly across the structure, everything in its path. Didn’t vanish, didn’t melt or
explode. Nothing dramatic. It just wasn’t. It wasn’t there. Forgotten by existence, erased by smokeless fire. Two of the red, squidlike creatures also were seemingly erased. He looked for the other. No sign of it. 

Oblivious to the blaring sirens and crew members rushing up the stairs. Tusk ran down the metal stairs deeper into the station. On deck 4, he found a secure doorway to which locked with a combination. Quickly, the commander turned the dial of the secure door. After entering the combination the vault opened. Oblivious He grabbed one carpetbag and turned quickly. Pushing the door shut. Deck 4 was almost totally evacuated. He ran to an escape cannon, manned by a lone Tik-Tom. The copper and tin rounded body of the Tik-Tok was covered in an oily condensation. Steam filtered out of vents in the back of the machines head. It was making a clicking noise. 

“Hello, We have a class 1 emergency. I need you to access the escape pod”. 

Tusk ignored the machine. He tossed the carpetbag into the pod. He began entering coordinates manually on a dial. He engaged the Escape Cannon. The pod was empty except for the carpet bag. It was hurtled out of the Station at a velocity and speed that sent is in the direction of the Port of Caledon. 

The Tic-Tok asked if the Commander was ready to launch in the next pod. Tusk could see down the corridor a cloud of Smokeless Fire. Beyond the blue flickering, the brights skies of Caledon were gleaming. 

“Commander, are you ready” 

“No, Tik-Tok, we are out of time.” 

Tusk relaxed.

 He left the blue smokeless Fire blow across him. He marveled at the Arabic script mixed with numbers and alchemical symbols.  He felt guilty about not getting more survivors off.

He couldn't remember. He also hoped the package. Does this fire hurt? It didn't burn, it didn't hurt. It wasn't anything at all. Just like Iron Cloud and Commander Tusk.

The blue skies of Caledon glittered. That was the Commonwealth, all clear skies and smooth sailing. Silence across Middlesea. A few Airships moved swiftly toward the north.  All was quiet.

The next morning, the Vicereine and the Governor issued a joint statement. It was vague. Reflecting the Gov’nahs cautions nature. The loyal Citizens of Caledon knew or at least suspected the Middlesea incident was likely an attack. The first statement from the Commonwealth government only acknowledged the facts and implied that an investigation was progressing. 

The Gov’rah’s office called a meeting of Parliament for the following day. Most Citizens of the Commonwealth took comfort in beauty and grace of Caledon and the confidence that calmer heads would prevail.

 Later, as the stories of the atrocities against the school children were reported by some survivors. Caledon s mood turned from confident to anger. Later analysis indicated that a Mondragon Ship had landed on Iron Cloud before the attack. 

Additionally, reports confirmed the Babbage Dreadnought Jedd’s Dagger was near the station at the time of the attack. The Clockwinder’s government denied involvement, but they also failed to extradite the owner of Jedd’s Dagger for questioning. Mondrago denied any involvement, blames the authors and reporters, then broke off diplomatic relations with Caledon. Rumors abounded about the true nature of the disappearance of Iron Cloud.