Sketch: Haven at Kaldus

Roselight broke over a different world.

Her warmth across the glassy horizon preceded her. Sheets of ice, jagged boulders and crooked floes, lost their edge, softening, pulling apart from one another, slumping into the sea as amber tones crept across the deep dark sky. As she emerged in the following hours, rosy highlights bloomed along the first tenuous clouds to reappear; the wind came steady, breathing life into the sea. The mirrored surface stirred and rippled and broke, scattering embers of Rosa in miniature.

Kaldus cast a long veil upon the water, its angular cliffsides fluorescing against the gradient sky. City lights still twinkled on its shadowed face, tracing their winding constellations up the island’s cobbled pavements. A few aerostats droned about its serrated peaks.

Sheltered in the rocky coast, Northbay was already metabolizing as Roselight shimmered across the waves. Champions of the night lumbered into the harbor, steel mountains to rival Kaldus itself, escorted by a clergy of pilot balloons; their fortress walls gleamed as they settled in their thrones, attended at once by their skeletal harems.

Haven was a ship, its wings glistening, unused, in the feeble dawn. It crept cautiously amidst the drifting floes, making its measured way into port, holding time and again in deference to Ark titans. Its motor chugged wearily, its blades idly chopping through the crisp morning chill.

Noira watched the ground crews scatter across the dockside, tossing their mooring line and deploying their gantries. In the still air she could hear their calls, orders she’d memorized, rehearsed and practiced so often before, the routine of what was once her life. Her eyes came to rest on the empty pier upon which no workman trod; its monarch lost, its attendants dismissed. She watched gentle waves lap at the berth, the sea unburdened.

She thought about Kori, who had spoken of her wife and children; of the men from the catwalk, cards in hand, laughing to each other under the starlight; of the boy in the lifeboat, the helpless sorrow in his eyes that mirrored her own. What had it been for? Why had the threads of their fate been severed in that hour, and she herself left behind?

The cool breeze sent chills up her neck, her hair tossed about carelessly in the light wind. It seemed so arbitrary, in hindsight. She thought of the hours she’d spent mapping the labyrinth corridors of Ark Royal, the care she’d put into every hour of her shifts, the precision of her labor which had earned her stability in the field for the past few years. Every face she’d seen aboard, the temp crews and the long-haulers, had charted their own journeys, had made their own way. What could any of them have done that night?

It was something she couldn’t understand, and she felt she would never make peace with the question. She looked up, to the aerostats milling about overhead, and thought of the aircourt in Eterna, of her siblings on the platform, so small beside their mother, waving up to her from far below.

“Next in queue! Deck hands to mooring stations!”

Behind her, from Haven’s forecastle, came the Captain’s cry, shattering the tranquility. At once the crew scampered to their posts about the bulwarks, lashing lines over cleats and calling across the deck to one another. Captain Dorian surveyed his ship for a moment, scanning the workers intently from his high vantage; Noira ducked to avoid his gaze. Apparently satisfied with their pace, he descended back into the bridge cabin.

“Look alive, girl!”

Rapid footfalls on the damp metal alerted Noira to a pair of workers bounding towards her. She leapt back abruptly from the rail as they skidded into their places, jointly swinging a lancelike docking pole over the ledge. One of them tossed a pointed look at Noira, glaring up through her close-cropped hair, before turning her attention to the dockside. Noira pulled her coat tighter and turned to walk aft along the deck, resolving to find a more secluded spot along the ledge.

Haven lurched in the water as its motor spluttered into action, a muted, whispering thrum emanating from its props. The sea carved around its bow, parting to Haven’s moderate authority, and the small ship began its approach into port.

Silence drew its haunting veil across the deck. Slowly, tentatively, the crew at their stations turned their eyes upwards. Noira followed suit, clutching the cold railing.

Kaldus stood over them all, monolithic, cold; it looked down upon them from beyond the sky. The droning airships were its eyes, scrutinizing the foreign vessel as the great mountain deliberated its approval.

From all sides, vast Ark vessels fixed their gaze upon Haven, the weight of their judgement a lead blanket upon the deck hands. A few shifted nervously, though none dared avert their eyes.

Cold waves lapped at the hull, apprehensive tones resonating from deep within.

The air was still.

Kaldus relented.

Haven sailed across the threshold.

The sounds of the harbor rose into Noira’s ears. The moment had passed, and she felt her shoulders relax as the crew began to chatter amongst themselves once more.

Footsteps came quietly behind her, pausing as they drew near.

“Noira.”

She turned to see Marion. He stood as upright and composed as ever, but there was a softness in his voice. The sight of him summoned the pain and tragedy of the night back to the forefront of her mind. Unable to meet his eyes, she turned back to the rail, guilt and shame at her own helplessness bubbling up from within her.

He came to the rail next to her. For a moment, they stood together, quietly watching the dockside approach.

“I wanted to apologize. I was curt with you that night, and there’s been much to address in the wake of the accident. I never properly offered you my condolences. I realize you’ve lost much more than an occupation.” He looked over at her, as tears ran silently down her cheeks. “I’m sorry, Noira.”

She could say nothing in response, lest she risk losing her composure in front of him again. She managed only to nod to indicate her appreciation. Again they stood in silence, the chatter of the workers filling the space.

Marion produced a document from his coat, seeming to review its contents before he spoke again. “I’ve been in communication with the Company over the past round. I’ll be returning to Tanura full-time.”

Noira clutched the rail tighter. She tried to fight off the thought, but Marion was the only survivor of Ark Royal she’d known. With him gone she would be truly alone.

“However…” He paused, choosing his words carefully. “I’ve perceived an opening for an additional role in my department. Excavation Devices. There’s new ground to be broken, so to speak, and we — I could use a young trainee to help with hardware development.”

Finally she turned to look up at him. In her eyes was a new light, a feeling she hadn’t known since long before that fateful voyage.

“I’m offering you a position, Noira. The Company has agreed to provide whatever accommodations are necessary for your relocation and housing. I’m aware this is somewhat beyond your area of expertise, but…it could be helpful for you.”

Hope. It had been absent from her life on Orus for so long she had forgotten to miss it. The rounds since the accident had made her feel as though it might have left her for good. Now, unexpectedly, it stood in front of her, offered plainly; the promise that things could still change for the better. It was overwhelming in a way she didn’t remember how to manage; she was crying again, her heart overflowing.

“Now, this isn’t time-sensitive, so you may take whatever time you need—”

“I’ll take it,” she managed. “Please.”

The slightest hint of a smile softened his face, in spite of his poise. “Very well. I’ll work on making arrangements once we’re ashore. My flight for Tanura is in about thirty degrees. I’ll make sure there's an additional seat for you.”

“Thank you,” she breathed, wiping the tears from her eyes. “Thank you so much.”

With a jolt, Haven sidled up against the berth. At once, the crew were tossing mooring lines across the deck and leaping ashore. Overhead, the sky was warm, the soaring clouds shining brilliantly in the Roselit dawn.

~     ~     ~

Feeling a bit down lately, so I wanted to follow up the latest plot update with some relevant, hopefully more uplifting prose I wrote a while ago. I'm proud of how this one came out; it's a really important moment that I wanted to capture. It also makes for a nice segue into things to come :)

Roselight Outline: Part 5

The passengers of the lifeboat are stranded, sitting apart in defeated silence, for several hours. Ark Royal was able to get a distress signal out during the attack, but the nearest emergency vessel, Haven, still took some time to fly in. Haven is a small, fast, ground-effect ship equipped for rescues just like this, and is able to recover the crew members quickly once it finally arrives.

Aboard Haven, Noira’s worst fears are realized. Theirs was the only lifeboat recovered intact, and only about 10-12 of Ark Royal’s original crew of 40 survived. Marion is drawn away immediately to report to ASMC and AM about the incident, focused on lost assets and damage control; Noira is painfully alone during the flight back home. Her physical injuries are major, but will heal; her arms and hands are treated and bandaged by the medical staff aboard Haven.

When Haven arrives back at Ark Royal’s home port, Marion approaches Noira during the slow docking process. He apologizes for his blunt treatment towards her during the attack and for his absence during the voyage home. He informs her that he’ll be ending his part-time work aboard Arcturus Meridian’s various support vessels and return to working full-time as a lead engineer for ASMC. Noira is distraught by this, but he makes her an offer: he can open an apprentice engineering position in his department for her. She would come with him to Orus’ capital city (on a separate island/continent from where she’d been working), and receive generous compensation from the company for her losses. Tearfully, she accepts, and begins to look again to the future.

~ ~ ~

Author's note: this is a bit of a shorter one, but this is a good stopping point for now. I have a lot of plot stuff that I need to develop and flesh out some more - there's a lot already written up after this point, but a lot of details need to be worked out in the middle, so I'm going to try and take some time during this winter break to do some brainstorming and worldbuilding and get some of it more developed. Stay tuned!

Concept art: The attack on Ark Royal

 Since the latest plot outline detailed the destruction of Ark Royal, I figured I'd collect some sketches and such that I've done of the scene. This pivotal event is one of the oldest scenes I've had in mind for this story, so it's had a lot of different treatments.

Here's an early look at Ark Royal from about a year ago. The design of the vehicle has evolved over time, but the gist is still intact: this is a large ground-effect aircraft, envisioned as a flying cargo ship. There are still four engines at the leading edge and two on the tail, although they've mostly ditched the impression of being jet turbines. They might be something like a turboprop/propfan; the Roselight universe is only recently redeveloping lost jet turbine tech, and since Ark Royal is an older model, it relies mainly on props for power.

Here's some more sketches trying to approximate the form of the vehicle. The main body is taken up by an enormous cargo bay, which would (in Ark Royal's case) be filled with bulk cargo through a split bay door on the dorsal face.

This is one of the first drawings of Noira I made! She's depicted in her cargo overalls and some work boots, sitting on an external balcony attached to the vehicle. Ark Royal wasn't well fleshed-out at this point, so the vehicle behind her is notional.

Here we have some early images of the raider aircraft. Their key features are a pair of shoulder-mounted turbofan type engines, with wings that sweep forward to save space when landed. Notice a bulkier, more angular version of Ark Royal above, with a sketch of the raiders attacking the ship in the upper-right corner.

The raider aircraft have since evolved into this concept, along with the type name of Interdictor. The folding wings and shoulder engines are retained; they now have some floats to allow them to operate as seaplanes.

This is an ominous concept for one of the interior passages of Ark Royal that Noira is attempting to navigate during the attack. These halls would be punctuated by big, heavy, nautical doors.

This is another older sketch, an impression of Noira encountering an unfamiliar face. Things would not be actively burning around her at this point, but...vibes...

This one is much more recent. Noira has just been dragged off the ladder to the burning crew quarters, after badly burning her arms and hands in a vain attempt to reach her belongings.

If you were wondering how lifeboats work on a flying ship, so was I 😅 This is the concept I've been working on, a parachute-arrested enclosed lifeboat that might even be something of a lifting body to try and minimize impact with the surface. Although the chute pulls them clear from the ship, the lifeboat retains a significant forward speed as it plows nose-first into the water. The rail deployment and impact would probably be comparable to freefall lifeboats in use today.

Here we have a more detailed drawing of the lifeboat. There's some steampunk influence in the brass detailing and those round portholes. My idea with these is that they'd be equipped to sustain themselves for potentially up to several weeks, with a simple steam or internal combustion engine for moderate propulsion.

And to close this one off, a pretty simple but hopefully effective rendering of Ark Royal's end.

Roselight Outline: Part 4

(Author's note: buckle up, this one's a bit of a doozy.)

Noira is finishing a maintenance shift near the leading edge of Ark Royal’s enormous wing, where she tends to hydraulic systems that keep the vast control surfaces running smoothly. As she completes her work, she is relieved by a telegraph-like pattern of sounds that emits from a device on the wall – the tone means SHIFT CHANGE, and accordingly she packs up her things and heads up towards the door. On her way out of the maintenance room, she passes Kori, her new friend from the previous round, and they exchange brief pleasantries. Kori goes on to take up her shift, and Noira starts down the long corridors of the ship.

Meanwhile, Marion is out on a balcony near the tail of the great ship, taking in a bit of fresh air after his own management shift has ended. He gazes idly out over the horizon, almost dozing – until a glint of light over the dark sea catches his eye. At the same time he notices it, he hears crews behind him – from the defensive platform near the bow – scrambling and calling urgently to each other. Ark Royal’s two deck-mounted turrets begin to mobilize, and as he looks back out to see, Marion has a sudden realization – something is very wrong. He turns and runs inside.

Noira is only a third of the way through the ship when she is stopped in her tracks by a new tone from the telegraph – AIR RAID. Briefly immobilized by panic, when the tone sounds again she sets off bolting down the hall.

A trio of light, nimble aircraft are bearing down on Ark Royal, holding a tight formation. While the deck cannons are still seeking their targets, the raider aircraft are already firing, bullets skittering across the top deck. The turrets finally find their mark, downing one of the raiders with ease – but they regroup immediately, firing with greater precision and destroying the offending turret. As they close on Ark Royal, the remaining turret can’t track them both quickly enough, firing futile shots into the sky. A concerted effort from the raiders brings an end to the second turret, leaving no impediment to their arrival. Matching Ark Royal’s airspeed, they alight upon the deck and sweep their wings forward; large panel doors slide back on both aircraft, and their occupants – the raiders – drop down onto the surface, bundled in thick cold-weather clothing and armed with malicious-looking weaponry.

Noira continues through the ship’s passages, struggling to open its heavy nautical bulkhead doors fast enough – she’s nearly to the crew quarters when she opens a door and runs straight into one of the raiders. She stumbles back, cornered in fear; the raider follows but doesn’t seem interested in killing her. When he speaks, it’s almost taunting – that she doesn’t understand what’s really happening here, that she doesn’t see what she’s really a part of. She’s still struggling to understand these confusing words when Marion arrives, taking the raider by surprise and dispatching him in short order. Noira is happy to see him, and he’s obviously concerned for her safety. He urges her to follow him to the lifeboats in case the ship falls, but she’s adamant about retrieving more of her belongings, just a few doors and decks away. He acquiesces, telling her to hurry, and she’s off again down the halls.

Noira finally reaches the ladder up to the crew quarters, and is already partway up when an enormous explosion rocks the vessel, knocking her down from the ladder, incidentally saving her from a jet of flame that bursts from the deck overhead. She stares in disbelief for a moment before irrationality sets in; fire and smoke actively pours from the deck above but she desperately tries to climb again, burning her arms and hands on the metal, her face and clothing singed. Abruptly she’s pulled away – Marion followed the explosion and is now forcefully pulling her off the ladder, away from the inhospitable upper deck. She kicks and screams and cries, inconsolable; he sternly reprimands her enough for her to come to her senses, and she reluctantly follows him towards the lifeboat bay, the ship shuddering and straining around them.

Only a handful of other crew members have made it to the lifeboat bay when Marion and Noira arrive; Kori is not among them. The remaining crew board one of the vehicles, strapping into their seats. Marion sets off the deployment sequence – the lifeboat slides backwards out of Ark Royal on rails, firing a parachute behind it to arrest its airspeed. The lifeboat half-glides, half-plummets into the sea, plowing to a stop in the icy water as Ark Royal sails on ahead. Jumping up from her seat, Noira reaches the window in time to watch the raiders depart. Her home rolls leisurely to one side, catching on the jagged sea ice before tumbling into the waves. The waves finally quenching her fires, Ark Royal slips silently into the sea.