Myrddin burped loudly before shouting something unintelligible at someone who must have been walking by. “Huge victory on the Dwarf homeworld. Was celebrating, but doesn’t seem like the best time. I’m using magic to sober up. Still takes a moment. Be there once I am. An hour, two at the most. Until then, you’re in control of the mission. There’s a tactical planner on your dragon anchor. It’ll give you access to some things you might need. Be in touch in a bit.”
Myrddin signed off, and Alex signaled to Jim to stop. He popped open his cockpit and leaned out. “What’s going on?”
Alex sat down on Chine and watched the ship in the distance. “Just got off the comm with Myrddin. We’re gonna take this mission. Let’s find a place to set down, wait for Gill, and figure out what we’re going to do.”
Jim pointed to a small copse of trees in the distance that seemed to have enough cover to obscure the mech and the dragon. “How about there?”
Alex scanned the area around for the next couple of miles. Those trees would be a good place to start, but they were going to have to keep moving if they were going to catch up with the ship. “Yeah, this’ll work. We better get started.”
Chapter Six
Alex and Jim touched down and started to make their way through the forest. Alex wanted to find a place where they were not visible to whatever was following the ship, but they could still get enough intel to make sure they weren’t leading reinforcements into a trap.
Even if all the battle prep classes Alex had been taking were extremely boring, she was glad some of it had rubbed off on her. She’d started to look at fights as something more complicated than “Make a good plan and hope it all works out.”
After the last mission Team Boundless had been on, Alex had been able to speak briefly to the leader of another squad who was a few years older than her. Suzuki of the Mundanes had been lauded as one of the best strategists Middang3ard had to offer, and despite his age, some of his battle strategies had been taught in class.
One of the things Suzuki had told her was each battle was shaped by a variety of factors that were determined before the fight took place. Some of those factors were understood on an unconscious level, like size, strength, and things that could be easily seen.
Other factors had to be searched out, and those were often the ones that determined victory or defeat.
Alex had wished she could have spent more time with the Mundanes. It had been refreshing to see so many humans close to her age. Since she had never gone to high school, Alex had only had the experience of cliques at the Nest to learn how people her age acted. Spending time with the Mundanes might have been a relief.
A focused mind was what Alex needed at the moment, but she couldn’t seem to keep her thoughts from wandering. Resentment was something she felt strongly. Her mind kept going back to the first few weeks of classes and how most of the first years had completely ignored her. She was angrier at them than she was at Brath, who she’d forgiven. At least Brath’d had the nerve to get in her face.
Her resentment felt like a betrayal, even if she never expressed it. She’d sworn to protect the Nest and all of the people within it. Part of Alex hated them, and she wished she didn’t. She wouldn’t have wanted anything to happen to any of them, but she despised the way they had cheered for her when she’d given her speech after her first battle. How they’d told her she was so brave for continuing after her arm had been blown off, as if they’d all forgotten how much she struggled, being the first and only human dragonrider. Alex’s mother had told her resentment could sneak in and eat at you from the inside, a cancer that would kill you before you realized it. Alex was aware of her feelings, and she did feel like they were killing her.
Jim’s voice brought her out from her circular, intrusive thoughts. “Hey, are you okay? You seem kinda spaced out?” he asked.
Alex didn’t want to talk to Jim about any of the things she was thinking. He’d either think she was being an ass or was just generally ungrateful. Well, to be honest, there was no way to be certain how Jim would react to her thoughts, but Alex didn’t want to risk him being another person who gave her odd looks. “Nothing, just trying to figure out the next move,” she said. “Come on.”
She pointed to a raised spot in the forest. “We’ll be able to get a better view from up here.”
The two humans and the dragon made their way up the steady slope until they came to the top. Alex was right, there was a much better view of the ship. From here, it was easier to see the swerving streak the ship had left behind in the sky.
The ship was definitely coming down, but it must still have power because its descent was measured, as if the pilot were trying to conserve as much energy as possible. That would also explain why the ship hadn’t bothered fighting off the dark creatures that had attached themselves to it.
At the rate the ship was descending, it could be another two or three hours before it touched the ground. And there was no way to intercept it, given the lack of resources the Nest had at the moment. On a properly staffed day, Alex could have called for a dropship to scoop up the craft. There would have been reinforcements to deal with the dark creatures.
Great day for a holiday, Alex thought.
Jim exited from his mech and walked
