Shadow Daedalus

Empire of the Clouds

@Dyelli Beybi I can, it'll probably help with organising stuff

Empire of the Clouds

Lmk if anything needs editing, I threw that together so Urses was at least introduced before the story progressed too far without him lol

Empire of the Clouds

Urses Mallory

---

'Today is just getting more and more difficult...' was the prevailing thought of one Corporal Urses Mallory as he ducked behind the burnt out wreck of a motorcar, just in time to avoid the attention of a squad of red-banded Insurrectionists dressed in a mix of military garb and civilian clothes but all bearing weapons and the obvious intent to use them as they ran past. When he was first given the posting in Inbur, it was supposed to be relatively smooth sailing; Work along aside the rest of his small unit as part of joint training with the various Inburian Militaries' associated Medical Corps, bolster a co-operative between the two nations, maybe cozy up with some of the local women and at the end, collect a nice pay bump when he got back to base in Favis...

Instead, the Calarians and their Communualist allies within the Empire had struck the city fast and hard while Urses was supposed to be enjoying a day's leave. He'd returned to his post as soon as he could, but the revolutionaries had been both brutal and effective; They must've attacked the outpost before the soldiers inside had been able to mount an effective defense and had ultimately overwhelmed them. By the time Urses had arrived most of his unit were dead and any survivors must have been scattered to the wind, but based on the number of bodies he'd stepped over, they'd made those damn Communalists bleed for every inch. Without a command structure or any clear goal, he'd gathered whatever supplies he could, including enough to build a rather comprehensive if rough-shod medical kit, and set out to make his escape.

He'd spied the silhouette of Zeppelin #27 through the smoke, but he had decided to try more conventional means of escape first; Better to have the 'hail-mary' option until all others failed, he'd thought. Undoubtedly, others had noticed the airship but there was a decent chance that also included the insurrectionists and/or their Calarian allies, and the rebels certainly wouldn't want to leave an asset like that unsecured for long... Lady Luck, however, seemed to have other ideas. With Calarians surrounding one side of the city and the panicked rush of fleeing civilians cloying all escape routes on the other, Urses found the decision being made for him as he bit back every curse on his tongue to avoid being spotted.

As the roaming squad moved on, so did Urses as he scrambled out from behind the wreck and made his way toward the Military Zeppelin Base. As he drew closer, he could see mooring lines beginning to fall away and bit back even more curses in lieu of running faster. Even as his legs started to hurt and his throat burned, he didn't allow himself to slow until he saw what he could only hope were more escapees; He clocked the weapons that some of them carried, but between the lack of red armbands and the fact they were obviously prepping the airship to leave he dared let himself hope they weren't going to gun him down on sight. Slowing his pace as he neared, he raised his hands to show he wasn't holding either of the weapons he was carrying as he called out to whoever would answer him. His obviously Favisian accent was hopefully enough to disuade them from shooting him outright at the very least..

"HEY, Hold up a minute! Corporal Urses Mallory, Royal Army Medical Corps. Is anyone hurt?"

Empire of the Clouds

Urses Mallory

Character Description

Name: Urses Mallory
Gender: Male
Age: 24
Nationality: Favis
Appearance:

Appearance

Slightly taller than average at 5'10" and well-built thanks to his career of military service, with naturally unruly dark brown hair pulled back into a scruffy ponytail to keep the worst of it out of his grey-blue eyes.
Personal Effects:

• .303 Favis Rifle No.1 MK III (and appropriate ammunition) [IRL Equivalent: SMLE Rifle MK III]
• 7.8mm Favis Pistol No.5 (and appropriate ammunition) [IRL Equivalent: Bergmann No.5 Pistol]
• Leather Satchel containing medical supplies 'recovered' from military stores
• Casual Civilian attire

---

Background:

What is your job Combat Medical Technician, Royal Favis Army
Backstory: Originally from a lower-class background as the son of a labourer and a nurse, Urses had done what many young men in his position had done before him; he had enlisted in the army to improve his lot in life, leveraging his mother's career as a nurse to get himself into training with the Medical Corps on the idea that skilled positions merited higher pay. He had a fairly unremarkable early career, aside from frequent but minor clashes with officers over protocol vs practicality and moral disputes.

Until recently, Urses had found himself in Inbur as part of a unit of the medical corps sent over to take part in joint training with the Empire's own military medical corps, sharing medical techniques and new technologies in the name of maintaining co-operation between the two nations. He had actually been on temporary leave when the insurrectionists struck and barely had time to get back to his post and recover whatever equipment he could grab before they could overrun his position, before then looking to make his way to the only means of escape he would see: the floating behemoth still docked to the Zeppelin Mast...

Empire of the Clouds

Urses Mallory

Character Description

Name: Urses Mallory
Gender: Male
Age: 24
Nationality: Favis
Appearance:

Appearance

Slightly taller than average at 5'10" and well-built thanks to his career of military service, with naturally unruly dark brown hair pulled back into a scruffy ponytail to keep the worst of it out of his grey-blue eyes.
Personal Effects:

• .303 Favis Rifle No.1 MK III (and appropriate ammunition) [IRL Equivalent: SMLE Rifle MK III]
• 7.8mm Favis Pistol No.5 (and appropriate ammunition) [IRL Equivalent: Bergmann No.5 Pistol]
• Leather Satchel containing medical supplies 'recovered' from military stores
• Casual Civilian attire

---

Background:

What is your job Combat Medical Technician, Royal Favis Army
Backstory: Originally from a lower-class background as the son of a labourer and a nurse, Urses had done what many young men in his position had done before him; he had enlisted in the army to improve his lot in life, leveraging his mother's career as a nurse to get himself into training with the Medical Corps on the idea that skilled positions merited higher pay. He had a fairly unremarkable early career, aside from frequent but minor clashes with officers over protocol vs practicality and moral disputes.

Until recently, Urses had found himself in Inbur as part of a unit of the medical corps sent over to take part in joint training with the Empire's own military medical corps, sharing medical techniques and new technologies in the name of maintaining co-operation between the two nations. He had actually been on temporary leave when the insurrectionists struck and barely had time to get back to his post and recover whatever equipment he could grab before they could overrun his position, before then looking to make his way to the only means of escape he would see: the floating behemoth still docked to the Zeppelin Mast...

Sorry for the delay, this has been sat half-written for far too long and I finally got round to finishing it off. Fun fact, his last name was originally Carter, but I saw that we now have a Carter already and decided to change it to avoid giving someone a distant cousin they didn't ask for haha

Empire of the Clouds - A Zepellin Crew RP

...Just gonna express my interest here before the OOC goes up, if y'all will have me. Are you also going for a low-key dieselpunk vibe as well, or is it just low-fantasy 1912?

Shattered Steel - An Ace Combat/Project Wingman/etc inspired aircraft-based RP

Ok, first post is up, please lmk if anything needs adjusting or trimming and I'll get right on it in the morning

Shattered Steel - An Ace Combat/Project Wingman/etc inspired aircraft-based RP

March 12th, 2014
Malta Defence Forces HQ > Men's Barracks, Shattered Steel HQ
Luqa International Airport
Malta, The Mediterranean

The rest of the squadron were already bunked down for the night as their final member touched down on the tarmac and taxied to the area set aside for his aircraft. A somehow even more last-minute addition, Illya had been reassigned to Cobalt Haze as the second replacement for the two pilots that had to drop out of the operation before they'd even left The Forge. Because it had been so last-minute though, There wasn't enough time for all the necessary preps and checks to be complete before the rest of the squadron went wheels-up, so he hadn't been able to leave with them...

The flight over was uneventful, but he didn't mind. It was peaceful, and quiet. Once he was back on terra-firma, he'd wasted no time before squaring things away with the ground crew and making for the Barracks to rest for the following day's operation. Seeking not to disturb the others in the room already asleep, he moved carefully and deliberately to the bunk in the quietest corner of the room and finally settled in for the night...

March 13th, 2014
Malta Defence Forces HQ
Luqa International Airport
Malta, The Mediterranean

Illya was not happy. Perhaps it was his late addition to the team, but something had gone wrong or been forgotten and it had resulted in his wake-up call being neglected and he had very nearly missed the briefing. Hardly the best way to make a first impression, he'd gotten ready as quickly as he could and hauled ass to the briefing room, only to narrowly avoid having the door closed in his face; A quiet apology later, he slipped into the back of the room quietly to catch as much of the briefing as he could but he picked up on a glaring detail as the room lights flicked back on and, after taking a moment to swallow his nerves, spoke up as he offered a quick salute.

"Lt. Illya Sokolov, sir. I apologise for my late arrival, but I was under the impression you had already received my dossier and wished to ask about my role in the operation."

Shattered Steel - An Ace Combat/Project Wingman/etc inspired aircraft-based RP

I can do that, sure. It'll probably be relatively short, just a 'hey, he's here now' kind of post until the others have a chance to meet him. I never thought to check, but I assume his rank is 2nd Lt.? That puts him in-line with the other pilots of the group

Shattered Steel - An Ace Combat/Project Wingman/etc inspired aircraft-based RP

Cobalt 9

Name: Illya Sokolov
Callsign/Nickname: Rook - A twofold nickname, taken from both the Corvidae bird and the chess piece.
Age: 27
Gender: Male
Appearance:

Illya

Standing at a decent 5'10 (1.78m), Illya is no bodybuilder but he has a decently built physique typical of a military officer. He has a few scars, including an inch-long cut along his hairline that is usually hidden by his hair, but no tattoos.

Nationality: Russo-Ukrainian
Personality: Reserved and quiet but still largely affable when approached, Illya typically keeps to himself and occupies himself with activities he can enjoy alone or with only a few people, such as reading or playing Chess. Extended conversation often reveals his more awkward and shy side, which often leads to him excusing himself to 'recharge' alone for a while.
History: Born into Pre-Heavensfall Soviet Ukraine with a Ukrainian mother and Russian father, Illya's family were comparatively well-off owing to his father's career in the military, specifically in the field of aircraft research and development. This afforded Illya a high quality of education that shaped his future prosects toward following his father's footsteps, but he had few friends because of it. The one true friend he had growing up was a girl at his school named Nadiya, whom taught him Chess and compared his straight-forward approach to problem-solving to the movement of the Rook piece in said game.

As his studies progressed however, he found himself growing bored and longed for more excitement; Instead of sitting at a desk designing aircraft, he would rather in the cockpit himself, flying them. As a result, his career path pivoted away from academics and he instead aimed to join the military as a test pilot; He got his wish, enrolling in the flight training program at 17... Only for Heavensfall to devastate the entire Soviet Union, claiming his hometown in the devastation and along with it the lives of Nadiya and his family.

In the aftermath, what was left of the Ukrainian government scrambled to reform any semblance of military strength and called on anyone with any experience; Illya was among those that answered the call, and was folded into a makeshift unit after being rushed through training. It was here that his callsign of 'Rook' was solidified as he was taken under the wing of two more experienced aces, siblings with the callsigns of 'Raven' and 'Crow', and the newly formed trio remained together in the years that followed. With many larger airfields rendered unsuitable, the remnant forces needed a solution to the lack of runway space and began to revisit older designs to mitigate the problem, including the experimental VTOL fighter Yak-141.

The unit continued to run sorties for the same faction of the remnant government, until bad intel lead to the squadron being cut off from the rest of their forces and subsequently. Illya's plane was shot down but he was fortunate enough to survive the crash; Raven and Crow were not so lucky. He managed to drag himself back to base but with his found family dead and his withering national pride running out, he gave up and turned to mercenary work. Unbeholden to a cause anymore, he simply continued to fly missions as a means to an end until crossing paths with some Shattered Steel pilots stationed on the same airbase at the time. They extended an invitation and, for lack of better options, Illya accepted. He was recently folded into Cobalt Haze Squadron, and has yet to form any strong bonds with his wingmates.

Personal Gear:

• Standard Issue Flight Gear
• Vepr 5.45x39mm Assault Rifle, updated with modernized furniture
• MP-443 Grach 9x19mm Sidearm
• Combat Knife
• Silver Pendant in the shape of a Knight chess piece

Personal Aircraft: Yak-141, nicknamed 'Vyzhyv' or 'Survivor'

'Survivor'

Aircraft modifications:

• Updated Avionics, Control Systems etc.
• Updated Engine, Powerplant, Thrust Nozzles etc.
• Updated Weapon Systems, removing outdated cannon and external hardpoints in favour of mounting more modern munitions
• Cosmetic Update (Removal of Soviet Identifiers in favour of Shattered Steel company markings, application of grey camouflage paint)