[b][u]James Carter & Itzi Ku[/u][/b]

Carter’s jaw tightened as he kept his eyes on the fortress below with unease eyes.The lack of movement, no ground crew, no vehicles, nothing, it all set every instinct on edge. His fingers adjusted the trim controls reflexively, steadying the ship as they hovered over the open ground to the east. “You really want to send people down there? A gold reserve fortress just sitting there, doors wide open like an invitation?” He shot a glance at Arkadios and Zoe before looking to Itzi “Feels more like a trap than an opportunity.”

Itzi’s brow furrowed as she kept a steady hand on the controls, her gaze flicking back to Carter, “Maybe they pulled back to a more defensible position. Or hell, maybe there’s just a skeleton crew inside, waiting for orders. Either way, we need the fuel, and whatever supplies they’ve got. That gold won’t carry itself if we’re running on fumes.” She let out a small breath, clearly trying to sound more confident than she felt, “We can’t just sit up here. Someone’s gotta go take a look.”

Carter gave her a skeptical look, his lips pressing into a thin line. “Yeah, you're right with the fuel at least... someone’s gotta look..." He adjusted the altitude controls, lowering the airship just enough for the hanging ladder to dangle within reach of the field below, “We’ll have it hover here, a ground team can descend and anchor it. I don’t like it, but it’s the best we’ve got.” His look over at Itzi, “Keep this girl warm. If something goes sideways, we’ll need to haul out of here fast.”

As the ship steadied in position, Carter unholstered his Harlan pistol, flipping it open to check the rounds before snapping it shut, he looked at Arkadios "I'll head down there with whoever else goes, mine as well have people who can fight volunteer. But if anything seems fishy we gotta bail fast..."