Above the sky.
The Heart of Steel airship.
The cannon barrels beneath the gondola slowly adjusted their angles, locking onto the vast expanse of white fog.
Meanwhile, inside the gondola, the chief gunner held a note delivered by a messenger and issued orders to the assistant gunner.
"Adjusting artillery parameters..."
"Firing data set!"
"Loading high-explosive shells."
"Ready—"
"Fire!"
The firing lanyards were pulled back in unison. Three orderly cannon blasts rang out, and flames and thick smoke rolled into the endless white fog.
Standing beside the observation port, the sergeant with binoculars around his neck glanced outside, but he could not see where the shells had landed at all.
Only three muffled thunderclaps drifted over slowly, without even a flash from the explosions visible.
"...The fog is too thick here. We can't see anything."
The chief gunner pressed the intercom hanging from his shoulder and, after a long while, shouted to his teammates.
"Confirmed hit! Cease fire."
"Roger."
The smoking shell casings were ejected from the breeches. A sergeant dragged them away on a cart and tossed them into a wooden crate in the corner of the room.
The observer walked over to the chief gunner and asked.
"Sir, do we have an operation planned for today?"
The chief gunner replied.
"No."
The observer continued curiously.
"Then what are we shooting at?"
The chief gunner looked at the note in his hand and casually tossed it into the nearby trash can.
"General McLennan's prey."
The assistant gunner interjected with interest.
"That big thing two stories tall?"
"What else could it be?" The chief gunner chuckled. "Other than that thing, is there anything else worth our commander obsessing over?"
The observer glanced outside and chuckled.
"With fog this thick, they sure picked the day."
Everyone knew that rainy and foggy days