After that was taken care of, Alex looked at the game plan the four had come up with. Gill and Jollies were going to try to clear out the area where the ship was going to land. From the recon the two had performed, it didn’t seem like the Dark One’s ground troops knew for sure where the ship was going. They seemed to be just guessing, and thanks to the combination of the tactical display, Alex’s eyes, and Gill’s and Jollies’ recons, the dragonriders were fairly certain they had a better projection of where the ship was going.
If there were any of the Dark One’s ground forces in the area, Jollies and Gill could get started taking care of them. If the ground forces were too numerous, they could radio for backup from Alex and Jim. There wasn’t much distance between the two areas, and it would be easy enough to move back and forth as long as they weren’t overrun.
Jim and Alex were going to try to thin the herd of monsters that were heading to the ship. If the giants suddenly decided to change course, there was going to be a much worse problem. It was better to take them out now instead of waiting until they posed a threat. That was where the valley and its surrounding hills were going to come in handy.
At the moment, Alex and Jim were outnumbered by the giants. The plan was to use the rocks and boulders on the hills to take out some of them, bringing the total down to a more manageable number.
The dragonriders went over their plan one more time, asking questions here and there when they needed clarification. It was straightforward enough, and the only thing that could really go wrong was incorrectly predicting where the ship was going to come down. Even if that happened, they could all easily correct their course once they had cleared out the Dark One’s forces, though.
Alex flipped down her tactical display and stood. “You guys ready to get going?”
Jollies groaned as she floated on her back. “I wish I had known it was going to be a mission like this,” she whined. “I would have brought along something to eat.”
Jim went to his mech and pulled out a picnic basket. “Go crazy, you guys,” he said as he tossed the basket to Alex. It was filled with sandwiches nicked from the cafeteria, along with a selection of desserts and treats. Alex noticed he had included some gnomish hard candy as well, one of Alex’s favorites.
Gill picked around until he found some fruit. “I’m sorry you two won’t be able to finish your picnic,” he said softly. “The lake was probably beautiful at this time of day.”
Alex reached over Gill’s hand to grab a piece of jerky. “Yeah, it was. Jim told me you let him know about the place, right?”
Gill nodded, his face betraying no emotion, as usual. “When he told me you were going on a date, I could think of no better location,” he replied. “Glad you enjoyed it. Jim, you and I are going to have to go swimming there soon. Brath still hasn’t been either.”
Jim grabbed a sandwich and started to scarf it down. “Sounds good to me. Honestly, after all this crap is finished, it might be nice to go for a dip before we head back to HQ. It’s hot all night, right?”
“I didn’t bring any swimming clothes.”
Jim laughed as he took another bite of his sandwich. “I highly doubt anyone in our company is going to complain about seeing your ass. And it won’t be anything I haven’t seen.”
Alex felt her face burning bright red and tried to find something to look at. Unfortunately, her eyes fell on Jollies, who was an even brighter red than Alex. Jim was having way too much fun with all this. “If you guys are done messing around, I’m ready to get going,” Alex said.
Gill smiled politely as he took a seat underneath Timber’s wings. “I’d prefer a little more time to eat if possible. Like Jollies, I haven’t had a chance to eat.”
Alex couldn’t argue with him. Everyone else was still in the process of eating, even if she was starting to get anxious, waiting around. That, and it would be easier to avoid being teased if they were in active pursuit.
Alex walked over to the picnic basket and looked for something that looked appetizing. “You know, this is the first time we’ve all been around for a meal in a few weeks, I think.”
Jim chewed as he nodded, scratching his chin. “Yeah, it has been a while. I can’t remember the last time we all had lunch or dinner together.”
“You would think things would have slowed down after the last mission. Seems like I hardly see you guys anymore unless we’re trying to save the world or something.”
Gill looked up from his food. “I don’t think any of our missions have qualified as saving the realm yet, but I do understand the sentiment. I miss you guys as well. Brath does too, even if he’d prefer not to say it.”
They were right. It had been a while since she and Jollies had spent any time with each other, even though they lived together. Today was the first day she’d seen Jim for longer than twenty minutes. Gill had been pretty much a shadow for the last two weeks. “We should make this happen more often. Minus the part where we have to chase a spaceship and kill a bunch of giants.”
Jim finished his sandwich. “Yeah, I could do with more hanging out and fewer threats of death. That sounds like a much better way to spend my holiday.”
Alex placed her hand in the middle of the group. “Promise. We all make sure to have a life outside of missions. And I’m going to count you as Brath, Gill.”
Gill placed his hand on top of Alex’s, and Jim placed his on
