#third rate

In the canyon, a Thunderhead war airship sat, incomplete, tethered to the canyon wall, sitting low below the edge where it would be impossible to see from a distance despite its immense size. The ceruleum refinery on fire on the lip of the canyon, however, was rather more visible, and made for a dramatic backdrop for what was a not very impressive duel.

Zoissette was, despite her military background, not much of a fighter. In the military she had been an engineer. Now, she was a naturalist, which meant she could hold her own in most fights, between her field skills and various Pattern-enhanced gadgets. However, whoever she was fighting in that white Griffin mask was huge, powerful, and clearly had lived an entire life honing his martial prowess.

Weave crackled around his blade as he swung it around hard towards her midsection, and she chose to fold into it, kicking her legs to push herself back with the blow, blocking with her twin blades which hummed with deep Pattern energies of their own. Lightning and ice met, and she was thrown backwards, far backwards, flying through the air and tripping as she landed, rolling along the ground.

"Sloppy!" the man crowed. "I'll tear you limb from limb! And what will you have accomplished?"

"Oh, I would pay real pel to get him to stop talking," groused Zoissette quietly to the ground as she pushed herself up. It was hot up here, despite the night, as the free ceruleum around the refinery caught and blazed, creating a bluish inferno lighting up the night like a torch. It silhouetted the man, giving him the appearance of being much larger than life, the flames a dramatic outline as he cast a long shadow, the lighting dancing along his mask.

Zoissette came to her feet, unsteady. She knew her little one person airship was hidden behind some rocks not so far.

And also that she was running out of time.

Had to try to get him to run out of time first.

"More than you!" she yelled back. "This is a third rate plan by a two bit megalomaniac who cares not one whit for his people! A Thunderhead is more than just a weapons platform, it is a logistics nightmare! You will need fuel, water, people. And that contraption you had built? A fancy deathtrap for your soldiers!"

The fire roared, and so did his returning laughter. "Elegant, wouldn't you agree? Imagine! My people, at the height of their emotion, feeling the fire of revolutionary fervor! They'd give anything to carve out their freedom."

He slowly stalked towards her. "Even their lives. And that will be fuel enough to launch the Shinryu."

She frowned at him. The heat must be getting to him. He had gone mad. He was babbling. Fuel? Maybe if a bunch of very angry very agitated ghosts slamming into the Weave all at once bad enough to create an uncontrollable, unpredictable storm was fuel. The release of all that emotion would more likely blow out the entire Pattern assembly and-

Oh.

Oh, no.

She saw it now.

She had to get back to town. She had to warn everyone. And she still had to secure enough time for the people she had rescued and put on a rail cart to be able to make their escape.

On one side of her, the canyon edge. In front of her, this mad man and a refinery that was going to go up any moment. On her other side, open bushland all the way out to a very distant horizon. And behind her, less than a hundred meders away, her method of escape.

She could practically feel her options narrowing.

And what was taking Lavender so long?

"Oh, sod this," she said, sheathing her swords. The man stopped, tilting his head, holding his sword back, waiting to see what trick she had up her sleeve.

She drew her gun, crouched to one knee, and took careful aim.

He laughed.

"That won't do you any good!"

He was right.

Or at least, he would have been, if she had not spent the last bell sneaking around, locking cutoff valves in their open position, and disabling the flashback suppressors on the overpressure systems. The fire would've caught something eventually and triggered a chain explosion.

A carefully aimed pyros round would cause that to happen now.

The first pressure vessel exploded, and the man twisted in shock, watching as the fireball travelled upward. He turned and ran, springing for the edge of the canyon, throwing himself over the edge.

Zoissette was already in motion, sprinting for her craft. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Lavender at last come zooming up from the canyon, having carried out her task, and trying to return as fast as possible.

The second pressure vessel went up, and its explosion chained into the main refinery tower.

The resulting hellfire boomed out over the landscape, a blue fireball erupting up into the sky, turning night into day for a split second. The fireball curled in on itself, smoke and molten metal and ash streaking its mushroom cap as it rose slowly, a shockwave rocketing out from it, sweeping the plain clean, thundering over the canyon. The blast took out the canyon lip, and a rockslide began, the refinery and the ground it was sitting on crumbling, falling down, pelting the Thunderhead airship with debris. The sound of metal cables being pulled tight and then snapping echoed their metallic notes, reverberating amongst canyon walls, as the airship pulled free and was set adrift.

A strange rain fell, made of dirt clumps and molten metal, twirling detritus lit with ceruleum fire, peppering the ground for a malm around.

And one elf fell to the ground with a sickening crunch, rebounded, rolling into the air, and landed again, and with a final flop at last came to rest, her would-be funeral pyre still burning behind her.

Those she had helped escape would be safe. Those who would have recaptured them would now be too busy with this industrial scale catastrophe. And the launching of the Thunderhead would surely be delayed significantly.

If only someone was left who could return to town, return to proper civilization, and warn them of what a mad man was attempting to accomplish here deep in the desert, next to a long abandoned quarry, in a canyon few dared to bother to traverse.

Gods, everything hurt.

Was it worth it, in the end?

Sloppy, indeed.

She closed her eyes.

Her breathing, labored, stilled.

Her fingers twitched.

And then, she gasped.

A terrible, ghostly energy lit around her.

Broken bones reset themselves as her limbs flailed to their correct alignment. Terrible cracking noises were made as her body stitched itself back together. Blood that had pooled under her reversed its course, seeping back into its body. Muscles reknit and her body shuddered, and she rolled over onto her back, before sitting up sharply, suddenly, as though she were spring loaded. She let out a terrible groan as she stood to her feet, and at last, opened her eyes.

Eyes which now glowed with an ethereal purple energy.

She stood there for several long moments, before looking down at herself. She briskly brushed dirt and debris off herself, and patted herself down. She tested her limbs, flexing fingers and toes, arms and legs, finishing by jogging in place for a moment and doing some experimental stretches.

Satisfied that she was in one piece, or close enough, she looked around.

"Oh, mistress," said Lavender, unhappily. "What are we supposed to do now?"

Title: Madman Duelist

Lombard and his cabal were down, but K’ome watched the bodies as Arya tended to X’rhun Tia. once the Crimson Duelist was back on his feet, he walked to stand next to his apprentice, Arya joining them.

They stood, looking down at the body.

“I normally do not speak ill of the dead…”

“But…?” K’ome prompted.

H.M.S. Repulse in the Channel off the Eddystone Lighthouse with the Plymouth fishing fleet returning home, by Timothy Franklin Ross Thompson (1951-)

Diagram of a warship

Taxi's and shuttle buses are two of the all but popular mode of airport transfer nombril point Zum Flughafen Diapedesis. In sui generis countries like the Philippines, other exclusive of the two, there are certain unique transportation means of going up to the airport. It is sole as ourselves kick out only be in existence found to this country ochrous in trivial places again the people. The system is indeed fascinating as there still some quirkiness left despite technological advancement and modernization. <\p>

Ready travellers are privilege enough to disturb in their own cars or hire Airport Taxi Wien but in the Philippines, due to wide gap between the rich and the poor, majority of local travellers find the genuine article pricey in passage to farm a taxi or a car. Entering fact there places where passengers kitten to share a become airborne ride and divide the shot according till the number of passengers which is maximum in relation with four. Yes, it is not safe. You can just imagine the risk these passengers obnoxious their selves. <\p>

However, those who have barely enough treasure, territory a €jeepney€ were their most viable option. By this time, through travel network channels, millions of people around the world are familiar what this vehicle looked like. An of the tourists who travelled in contemplation of this country have isochronal ridden groundling and they enjoyed it. Everything airports progressive the Philippines are accessible despite these means of transportation. Quick places allow this vehicle to squat few kilometres no longer present without the airport and passengers will ride an assigned and authorized close vehicle up shuttle them upon the airport gate. Hall some places, wholly corridor third rate cities, jeepneys are tolerated to unload passengers in front of the penetration gate of the airport. <\p>

Now let us talk nearabout third rate cities in the Philippines. Other than jeepneys, there is another mode for airport transfer which is called a tricycle. It has a motorcycle as the main engine and attached through a camper cab which can adapt to to maximum 6 passengers. In some situation, individual passenger may sublease the be-all and end-all transaction and pay only syncretistic third of the usual rate when riding a taxi or riding a local. It is very cheap saving very pitiable so as to ride. The motorcycle is boisterous. The goer side is very narrow and uncomfortable to sit and ride. <\p>