Hey, does it matter if the fan-fic is very loosely based on Final Fantasy?

Anyway, I've got the first chapter here, and I have the second one in reserve for next week. It's just a short homage to my favourite series, with a LOT of stuff ripped in homage to Mortal Engines, my favourite book. Please don't kill me over the shortness, okay?

First Flight

The first rays of light tried to poke through the dim shadows of the slum. It glimmered on the rats, the vermin and the bodies, fresh and bleeding. It forced its way through grubby, dilapidated buildings. It shined on the faces of the living: decrepit and miserable faces, inhabitants of the great city. They could scarcely comprehend the great deeds that were going on, five tiers above their heads.

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The real glare of the sun was focused on the dozen awe-inspiring creations lined up on the highest plate, and the only one in full daylight. The beams created a spotlight around the docks, as if proclaiming the historic event that these terrifying machines were to carry out.

Each monstrosity of wood and sky-iron was an airship, brimming with guns, dried supplies and all manner of scientific instruments. Each was shaped like the water-ships of folklore, but each contained an engine, powered by steam, and capable of staying aloft with a hundred men aboard the vessel. Shining metal hull-rings held the brand-new oak body in place, and securing lines tethered onto these rings.

The scene was chaos. The fifth platform was, in all fairness, a town-sized sheet on metal in which the richest men of the city lived. It had a wide, open park in the centre, the only strip of green in the entire city. This was where the airships had been assembled and were ready for launch. The trees had been cut down and removed, and the ornamental fountains had been drained. The wealthy citizens had, of course, stirred up a huge fuss, but the Council had taken none of it. The operation would go ahead.

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Over a thousand workers lolled around the park, repairing parts of the airships, loading cargo, securing rigging and directing the soldiers onboard. Everyone present could feel the immensity of the plan.

Finally, at noon, the wizened Lord Mayor of the city stepped out onto a podium erected in the middle of the airships. He bore a look of slight boredom, which only the most gifted mind reader could have identified. He wore the bright blue clothes of nobility, and he appeared quite fitting for them; with his grey hair and pale skin, he could easily blend in with the skyline. He coughed mildly, and the whole crowd were silenced immediately.

“My fellow citizens!” he began, ”Today, we witness the achievement of a great dream!”

The city’s Chief Engineer, mastermind of the airship, grinned beside him.

“I declare the Air Force project…”

He paused for breath. The proletariats wanted a show, and such he would give them.

“LAUNCHED!”

One by one, the cry went around inside the hulls and engine rooms of the airship. Coal was poured into the steam mechanisms. Slowly, the pumps began to thrust forwards and backwards, starting up the propellers. An endless cycle, launching the ships upwards, powered the ships upwards.

The first craft rose off its moorings. The gleaming sun shone on the decks. Men scrabbled about, nervous and excited. It circled the park, ascending steadily faster. Eventually, it left the safety of the city. The captain, a handsome young figure by the name of Cid, stared at a sight that had not been seen by one of the city’s inhabitants in over half a century. The five plates, housing a million on each tier, filled with ramshackle huts. The groaning pillars, supporting each level, tall as two houses. The four enormous rotors, constantly turning, keeping the huge metropolis at 50km above ground level, the way it had been for longer than any living person could remember.

Cid sighed in amazement. He had never seen such a glorious sight in his life. Then, he glanced over the gunnels onto the infinite reach of clouds. Down below. He knew his target. He returned to the wheel.

“All men at rest! We begin descent in the morning!”

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