[b]Itzi – Taking to the Skies[/b]

Itzi gritted her teeth, both hands steady on the controls as the airship lurched beneath her. The ballonets deflated, the ballast dumped, and the ship began its ascent—not gracefully, but it was rising. The wind caught them hard, pushing against the hull, and for a moment, the airship swayed like a drunken sailor. [i]Hold steady. Keep the nose level.[/i]

She forced herself to focus, adjusting the altitude controls in careful increments, not overcorrecting. She'd studied the techniques, knew the theory inside and out, but now? [i]Now it’s just me, my hands, and this ship.[/i]

The engines roared, the pressure gauges fluctuated slightly, but everything held. It’s working. She exhaled through her nose, fingers tightening, eyes flicking over the instruments. No amount of theory could replace experience, but hell if she wasn’t earning it right now.

“Come on, girl,” she muttered under her breath, as if speaking to the ship itself. “We’re not dying today.”

She spared a brief glance out the window. Below, the fortress was shrinking, the ground falling away, but the ridgeline—the horsemen—were still visible. Itzi felt her pulse hammer, her gaze retuned to the skies where she hoped they'd find safety. 

[b]Carter – A Helping Hand[/b]

Carter was gripping a support beam near when movement caught his eye. Nikos, tearing across the yard like hell itself was at his heels.

“Shit,” Carter muttered.

The ship was rising fast, the mooring lines already cut. If Nikos didn’t reach the gondola now, he wasn’t reaching it at all.

Carter let go of the beam and lunged, cursing at himself all while at it. Grabbing a thick net still hanging from the hull the mainer braced himself against the deck, extending a hand out toward the sprinting Inburian.

“Move it, sailor!” Carter barked, arm outstretched. [i]If he jumps, he might just make it.
[/i]