The Gates of Dawn

Paul Bowman is a former airship freighthauler recently conscripted into the Army of the Kingdom of Aurora. He certainly doesn't think he's anybody particularly special.
But when Paul accidentally wins a minor victory, he suddenly finds himself as the most famous soldier in the Kingdom of Aurora. Soon, this unpolished and proudly working-class former freighthauler, is catapulted into the treacherous world of Auroran politics.
Now given an airship to command, Captain Bowman is confronted by subordinates who look down upon him, superiors gleefully waiting for him to fail, and a looming plot that threatens the very existence of the kingdom of Aurora...