A week later, Daisy and Anna were cruising high above the Khajiit countryside in Forgetmenot with the wind in their faces. They were making an effort to keep their eyes forward. If they looked over the edge of the gondola, they could see too many ruined villages and blackened fields.

To their rear, came the majestic airship, Segelen, the largest remaining vessel under Khajiit command. Freshly coated in sky-blue paint, its gondola was three times the size of Forgetmenot, large enough to carry a crew of six and their cargo.

Ahead, the dark blue waters of the Grootsee glistened in the sunlight. And beyond the Grootsee, lay Bretton.

"I simply don't understand why the Brettons haven't surrendered," Daisy muttered, not for the first time. "How many more people have to die?"

Anna shrugged. "Would we surrender, though? If the situations were reversed?"

"But that's different!" protested Daisy. "They started this damn war. They should finish it."

"Well, somebody has to end it, that's for certain. I'm just not sure this is the right way."

Daisy fell silent. She had doubts of her own, but she was a soldier, her loyalty sworn to Khajiit. She had protested loudly enough when she was given her orders that day at the War office—Forgetmenot was too small for such a task, her left arm was unreliable—but they'd told her there was no-one else.

She had no choice.

Both women turned their faces back into the wind.

Above the planet, the aliens continued to watch. This world had not yet invented radio so they were unable to monitor verbal communications, however, they were confident in what their long range scanners were able to show them. The images of a debilitating war were self evident.

Their expressions tightened, first in dismay and then in resignation as they followed the progress of the beings below. This didn't bode well.

"I think we've seen enough," said one in grim tones. "We've got enough data now to make our decision. The Council will support us in the face of all this evidence."

"Let's wait a little longer," pleaded the other. "We might as well stay till the end. I don't think it will be long."

"I suppose so," agreed the first one reluctantly. "After all, we want to be as thorough as possible. Our decision will affect this world for thousands of years."

The two airships crossed into Bretton skies without interference. Segelen took the lead, changing tack slightly to bring them on course for Mount Guinea.

"There it is," called Anna, pointing to a jagged peak on the horizon. A cloud of grey smoke, tinged with reddish-brown, billowed into the sky. "The volcano."

Daisy looked down. A stream of tiny people, loaded with bags and pieces of furniture were on the road heading south, away from the volcano. Some of them had their belongings piled onto carts but many were on foot.

"At least they're evacuating the civilians," said Daisy, feeling relieved despite herself. "There will just be the military installations to hit this time."

"Can you see the lake yet?" asked Anna.

"It's at the bottom of the slope," answered Daisy. "We'll have to fly across the lake and target the northern edge. Our reports say that's where the hot springs come out of the ground to fill the lake. If we make a big enough hole at the source, it will drain the lake backwards and down into the magma chamber."

She paused to concentrate on adjusting the steering. "Segelen will make the first run, then we'll follow. Maybe we won't even be needed," she murmured.

"How far will the steam and gas spread?" asked Anna, worriedly, trying to calculate the distance. "Will those people be safe?" Small buildings had begun to appear on the ground below, the outskirts of Guinea.

"I'm sure they'll be fine," said Daisy firmly, though really she had no idea. "Hang on, I'm going to take us up a bit while we pass over the town."

Flashes of red burst upward from a building to their left, only to fall short of Forgetmenot. Daisy took the ship up even higher.

"Ray guns," said Daisy briskly, "Not very powerful ones by the look of them but better safe than sorry."

"There are still people down there, Daisy," said Anna, looking over the edge again.

"Can't be helped," Daisy gritted her teeth. "Remember all the people the Brettons killed when they invaded. Dan, Shaun, Reffie... all our friends that have died in this damned war. This is our chance to put an end to it." Neither of them mentioned Mikey.

Anna was silent.

Now they could see the lake, nestled at the base of the volcano.

Segelen was nearly a mile ahead of them when a small white balloon rose unevenly from the ground. A red gondola swung beneath as it climbed to intercept the larger vessel. The enemy craft was tiny, smaller even than Forgetmenot, but it was big enough to do damage if it got close enough. Was it carrying weapons?

Daisy hauled out her spyglass and focussed on the enemy craft. She couldn't pick out details from that distance, however, it seemed the larger Segelen was drawing away. Segelen had reached the edge of the lake, the smaller craft in dogged pursuit. A beam of red shot from the front of the enemy's gondola, but went wide. Both craft were now over the lake. Segelen was starting to descend, preparing to line up the mission target and Daisy saw a crewmember go to the stern. He (or she) began to fire back at the tiny pursuer, keeping it at bay.

Segelen was almost on top of the target area. Daisy found she was holding her breath. Any minute now they would release their payload, carving an abyss out of the wellspring and sending lake water pouring into the magma chamber. She was supposed to follow, adding her own load to the destruction, before turning back to Khajiit. But how many minutes would they have before the steam and gas engulfed them? Five, ten, perhaps? She wondered, not for the first time, if it was going to be enough.

The enemy airship fired again, but not with a raygun. Confused, Daisy swivelled the focus on her eyeglass. She blinked and looked again. Were they really using a bow and arrow? Segelen was lining up for the run in to the target, approaching two hundred feet... one hundred... fifty. The massive airship swerved violently as an arrow pierced her balloon and Daisy could see the clock-bombs falling. Would they reach the target? Or had that last swerve caused them to miss? The bombs exploded, sending a massive shower of spray up into the air. But she didn't think it was enough—the final blow would be up to her and Anna.

Focussed on the task ahead, Daisy barely registered Segelen collapsing slowly onto the lake. She hoped vaguely that the crew would make it safely to shore, not that it would do them any good once she dropped her own clock-bomb. Delicately, she adjusted the steering, bringing Forgetmenot down nearer the surface of the lake, lining her up for the target run.

She spared a brief glance for the enemy airship. Still airborne, it had overshot the edge of the lake and was attempting to turn back to challenge Forgetmenot. Whoever was piloting was making a hash of the job, she thought. The vessel was dipping and wobbling as if the pilot was struggling for control. Then one last, overeager, turn of the wheel had the vessel lurching around to face them before the ropes anchoring the balloon snapped on one side and the tiny gondola plummeted down to land in the lake. Right in the path of Forgetmenot.

Daisy stared into two small faces staring up at her from the gondola in a mixture of fear and tragic despair. They were children. A girl and a boy around ten or eleven years old, doing their best to fight off the invaders and save their town.

Daisy swallowed. Had it come to this then? Nothing could be more glaringly obvious that someone had to end this war—but it wasn't going to be with another bomb.

She pulled hard on the wheel and sent Forgetmenot high above the lake, taking her in a wide circle back to Khajiit.

The two aliens in orbit above the planet exchanged startled glances. "I didn't expect that," said one.

"Neither did I," agreed the other. "Well have to rethink our decision. I suggest we give this world an extension, and recommend a second visit."

"I agree, Jon. Who knows, in a couple of hundred years we might be welcoming them into the Terran Alliance."

(Author's Note: The prompts for this piece were to combine sub-genres Steampunk and First Contact with the bombing of Nagasaki. Also include a reference to the song "Don'tYou Forget About Me" by simple Minds.

The 'bombing of Nagasaki' was intended to be prompt. I did some research and it seemed to me that the key issues of that terrible event were that it was the second of two devastating attacks on what proved to be mainly civilians, and that there was and still is, a lot of discussion about whether the second bomb was actually necessary. And those are the two aspects I used in my story. This was a difficult one!

Word count between 2500 and 3000. Mine is 2730 not including this note.)

Forgetmenot ends here. The next story is "The Deadhitchhiker"