Long before there was spacecraft and interstellar travel, there was the age of steam. At no other time had so many discoveries in science and engineering more rapidly transformed the way that furs lived and died. Of course, the most profound effect all technology has manifests in the art of warfare. Many allied and government forces were reluctant to master these complex technologies knowing full-well that centuries of tradition and experience would prove far better than expensive forays into the unknown.

That was until the criminal underworld took the first step, and it was only a matter of decades before the cartels and pirate clans found ways conveying the energy of the atom via vaporized liquids. Faced with this horrific setback, the union of governments set out to take back the seats of technological power – floating harbors of metal and gears that serviced the enemy dirigibles. It was the brave and indefatigable Admiral Randall Hoff who led his fleet of airships to a decisive, albeit not final, victory over the criminal air fleets.

The admiral and his first mate knew of strange new technologies, hidden in the sky harbors that far superceded the potential of steam. To some it was hearsay that these gangs had the ability to travel to other worlds. The admiral knew the reality of strange “event horizons” around super dense cores that could be used to destroy a planet, or transcend the limitations of time and space. It is to him and his brave fleet that we all owe a life of gratitude for his leadership, and his heart of gold (and stainless steel clockwork), that changed the course of history.

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Made for the Califur IV conbook