-Narrator-
Zill woke up with a start. A nightmare of his first suicide mission, and the incident, materialized from the evening before. Hadnt had one of those in awhile. Need to get some fresh air maybe.
Knowing the Burning Skies was closed today, and the Port was in no dire need of him, he decides to go into the City Center. He puts on his finest uniform, and heads out. Maybe reminding myself why I do what I do will help ease the mind.
He heads out toward the Center through the Garden District. His Squid landing had been fixed up. He could only smirk under his mask. A few salutes here, ahoy's there. A perfect setting one would think. But the memories of the past kept sticking in like splinters. Zill chugged his flask, but no drink would ease the new-found pain. He sat down and watched the events unfold like it was happening all over again...
"It was a dark and windy night over the Black Channel. A simple mission from the Council. Find a lost ship, the Dauntless, that lost her balloon around The Teeth. No easy task was it to navigate The Teeth. For Zill is was just another path. He almost felt it was too easy for an Admiral, but he shrugged off such thoughts. He had a task to do.
His Galleon creaked under the winds. His crew was tucked away below and visibility was in short supply. As he approached the last known position of the Dauntless, lightning cracked across the Sky. It lit up the night, and Zill saw something he would never forget. Two Tesla Airships, with two Squid escorts. This was no recovery mission. It was blatant suicide. Only rumors of such vessels were spoken of, but Zill knew then that they were there for him.
Knowing he could not outrun them, he roused his crew. Only a prayer from Zill was said to their frightened souls...
By the Skies we fly this day. Off into the Sunset to give chase. May the Winds stay at our back. Our Dusty Mistress be appeased. Our Mugs ever full. Onwards ye' Dogs, Into the Fray.
Zill turned broadside and ordered all guns fire. The flash was immense. They caught one squid by surprise and downed it immediately. The next rushed in, the Tesla ships slowly behind. The Squid put flames onto the Then It Was Fixed, but a quick turn of the wheel put them square with another broadside. Only the Tesla's remained. Their lightning hulls cracked onto Zill's Galleon. The flash and fire was unbelievable. Zill shot up higher into the Sky. One Tesla followed, and was greeted with a broadside. It didnt go down with one volley, and returned the favor with cracks of light over into his guns. They were completely destroyed. Zill acted fast ordering the fires out and spinning around for the final broadside. The Tesla ship fell to the Depths, but not before its lightning streaked his remaining broadside. With no guns, and a battered crew, Zill knew his only alternative. He dropped back down to face the final Tesla. By luck, he caught them off guard when he gunned the moonshine engines and went for a ram. Brace ye fools! The crew ran below decks. Zill left at the helm, he did not intend to survive. The resulting ram was a spectacle to see. What could only be described as a "lightning explosion" streaked across the night Sky. The Tesla boat buckled under the sheer force of the Galleon's weight and presence. Its energy was suddenly released, and a crack of lightning struck Zill square in the face. The crew down below came to put out the resulting fires in a haste. Zill was among those fires.
The Galleon limped home, completely battered and still smoking when they entered Anvala airspace. Zill was barely alive when the doctors got him. Weeks went by before he awoke. Zill refused to get any experimental treatment. He only requested a mask. After that, the Council deemed his mission a success, but only within the Council Chambers. Zill knew what it would mean for his future. Regardless of their motives, he was sent there to die. Few know this story, and even less tell it correctly. Zill knows it by heart, and his mind nor face would ever let him forget."
