The evacuation is well underway from Stannoss and Thomas has been loaded onto a zeppelin, much to his disapproval at having been loaded onto it, like a parcel in his opinion.

“I can’t wait to get back home” he hears one of the Haven soldiers say next to him.

“Have you been away long?” He asks.

“About a year” he replies.

“I’m quite looking forward to seeing Haven” Thomas mumbles.

“Don’t worry, we’ll get you there” the soldier tells him enthusiastically.

“That would be nice” Thomas replies.

Looking out of the window, he can see other zeppelins flying alongside them accompanied by helicopters and chinooks, there is also a vast array of military vehicles on the ground. All evacuating refugees, in particular the injured, young and elderly.

Soldiers on the other hand, having arrived at the Capital yesterday evening, have been sent back in the direction of Silverpeak beyond the city.

“Snap?” The soldier asks him, shuffling a deck of cards in his hands.

“Sure” Thomas replies with a smile.

“What’s your name?” Thomas asks the soldier as he hands him over some cards.

“Kyle, what’s yours?” Kyle asks.

“Thomas, but everyone just calls me Tom” he replies.

“Nice to meet you Thomas” Kyle tells him.

They begin to place the cards down one after the other.

“SNAP! OUCH” Thomas yells enthusiastically but immediately grabs his side in pain.

“Hey take it easy, you might be tough, but you’re still injured” Kyle tells him gently holding his arm.

“Yeah, I keep forgetting that” he growls in response.

“We’ll be at the docks soon” Kyle mutters in a concerned tone looking out of the window.

“That’s a good thing though, right?” Thomas asks cautiously

“It is, but it was a bloodbath when we came over on the ships” he replies.

“I must say you’re filling me great with confidence in your ability to take care of me here” Thomas tells him.

“Sorry” he replies with a smile.

“I wouldn’t let anything happen to a new friend” he mutters.

Thomas gives a little smile at this comment.

“Hey, what’s the deal with Angel?” He asks.

“His name is actually Oliver, he’s the commander of the armed forces” Kyle explains.

“Oh … Ok” Thomas mumbles not expecting this answer.

“Do you know much about the Sky Scraper he has gone after?” He continues to ask.

“Not really, other than it’s extremely dangerous” Kyle replies.

“There are more than just that one though, aren’t there?” Thomas questions him.

“Yeah, there were two others, but one got destroyed around eight years ago, the other one is acting as a deterrent to Crystallini I think” Kyle replies.

“Have you ever seen one?” Thomas asks.

“Nope” he replies.

“All your main firepower is down south from what I hear” Kyle states suggestively.

“Yeah, the majority of it is, but we don’t have anything like the Sky Scrapers” Thomas replies.

In the distance an explosion can be seen in the form of a bright flash, the pair of them notice that it is now raining with raindrops drizzling down the window.

“Where abouts in De Monte are you from?” Kyle asks.

“A little village actually, it’s not there anymore” Thomas replies with a sigh.

“Sorry to hear that” Kyle replies sympathetically.

“Where in Haven are you from Kyle?” Thomas asks.

“I am from a little town up in the mountains” he tells him.

“You’ll have to show me” Thomas informs him cheekily.

“I might just do that” Kyle replies with a smile.

The lights suddenly dim in the zeppelin.

“Time to get some sleep” Kyle points out.

“Yeah” Thomas replies as he looks out of the window.

Another great flash of light can be seen off in the distance.