"…" – Regular Speech
="…"= - Inside Head
{"…"} – Dragonese
["…"] – Translation Collar
*"…"* - Telepathic Speech
#"…"# - Radio/Telephone/PA System Speech
If you see a mixture of one or more of the above, that means they're using all those at once.
Chapter One: Strike in the Baltic
Somewhere in the Baltic Sea
Task Force Therian
September 15th, 2246 – 0754
Calvin, in his relatively new Seashocker form, was swimming deep beneath the surface of the Baltic as he came up on three dragon trapper ships using specially-designed nets to capture aquatic dragons and at the same time avoiding detection from the sonars of the two Blackwater gunboats that were protecting them while accompanying him was Valka, who was wearing a combat diver suit carrying her staff and a small team of Navy SEALs
#"Monsters."# Valka said quietly as one of the boats lifted up one of its nets that had a wild Seashocker caught inside it, bringing it above the surface of the water and dumping it into its specially designed cargo hold
#"Don't worry Mrs. Haddock, these guys won't be trapping anymore dragons after we're through with them."# The Navy SEAL Team Leader said, "There's Bravo Team over there right now."
Calvin looked over to his right and saw Pentrov, who was also in his Seashocker form leading another team of Navy SEALs toward the boats
[#"Bravo Team in position."#] Pentrov said
[#"Charlie Team in position."#] Said Walton Krueger, another post-human dragon who was in his Seashocker form
[#"Alpha Team in position."#] Calvin said
[#"Okay Calvin call it in and let's start this so we can get out of this cold fucking water!"#] Walton said to Calvin
[#"Roger that."#] Calvin said as he contacted Barnes, who was waiting with the others on the USAS Bradley which was cloaked a few miles away in a squall
[#"Barnes, all assault teams are in position and awaiting for you and the others to make your move. #]
[#"Affirmative, we're initiating our assault."#] Barnes replied
*"You ready for this Val?"* Calvin asked Valka telepathically and she nodded in response as she gripped her staff as the Navy SEALs readied their weapons as they waited until one of the gunboats suddenly exploded after it was hit by a plasma blast just as the rest of Task Force Therian descended from the Bradley which uncloaked directly above
[#"Me, Valka, Pentrov, and Walton will take out the nets, the rest of you get on the boats and get those dragons out of them!"#] Calvin shouted as he and Valka went to one of the nets hanging from the nearest dragon trapper ship as it was bringing up another Seashocker the while Navy SEALs swam up to the dragon trapper boat and boarded it, engaging the crew except for one who went to the bottom of the ship and started placing an explosive charge
*"Valka you cut the cables with that knife the SEALs gave you, I'm going to try to calm that Seashocker down!"* Calvin said to Valka, who nodded as she pulled out a knife which she began to use to cut through the cables connecting the net to the boat as Calvin communicated telepathically with the Seashocker, which was in a state on panic
*"Hey there big guy, we're here to get you out of here, so just stay calm while my friend up there gets you out of this net!"*
*"Who are you?!"* One of the Seashocker's Head asked him
*"I'm a friend."* He replied, *Just stay still, you'll be out of here in no time."*
The Seashocker nodded with both its heads as Valka continued to cut through the cables with her knife
#"I've almost got it!"# She said to Calvin as the other gunboat exploded and sunk behind Calvin, disappearing into the dark depths below while the Navy SEAL placing the charge on the ship armed the charged and swam away to a safe distance before it detonated, freeing the aquatic dragons trapped inside its cargo bay
#"Objective accomplished."# The SEAL said as Valka cut through the last of the cables and freeing the Seashocker
*"Now get as far away from here as you can and avoid any more nets you see because you might not be as lucky next time!"* Calvin said to the Seashocker that nodded with both its heads
*"Thank you friend."* The Seashocker said to him before it swam into the depths with the other freed aquatic dragons
#"All boat crews neutralized! Awaiting evac!"# One of the Navy SEAL Team Leaders shouted
[#"Are you guys finished down there?!"#] Barnes shouted to Calvin, Pentrov, and Walton
[#"Just about Barnes, we're just cutting up the last of these nets and we'll be good to go!"#] Pentrov replied
[#"Hurry it up, it's only a matter of time until Drago realizes that these boats have gone quiet!#] Barnes shouted as Calvin and Valka hurriedly cut the cables for the other nets
#"Isn't this our last mission against Drago?"# Valka asked Calvin, who nodded
*"Yeah Jayden's new Task Force is being deployed for its first mission tonight."* He replied as tore through the cables of one of the nets with the teeth of one of his heads, *"And from that point on, Therian will be focusing on the East Romies while Jayden takes on Drago."*
#"What if he needs your help?"# Valka asked him
*"Well this is also my last mission as part of Task Force Therian, I'm going to be a shared asset from this point on."* He replied, *"Meaning I will be staying at the sanctuary unless Therian or Jayden needs my help on a mission."*
*"It's also for security reasons since both Drago and Marcus are trying to capture me now."* Calvin added, *"Plus I need to be taking care of Emily, she could pop any day now according to Ward and not to mention I need to continue my training with your Bewilderbeast so I'm ready whenever they find Goliath."*
#"You don't have to use the codename when talking with me."# Valka said to him, #"Speaking of which, how close are the Isotxians to find Drago's Fortress?"#
*"I don't know, haven't been keeping very good track."* Calvin replied as they cut through the cables for the last two nets; *"That's the last of them!"*
[#"All nets neutralized, heading to the surface now for extraction."#] Calvin said to Barnes
[#"Ten-Four, your evac is standing by."#] He replied as Calvin, Pentrov, Valka, and Walton swam to the surface of the Baltic where Valka lit a flare and waved it around in the air to mark their position for the Mallards descending down from the Bradley to pick up them and the Navy SEALs
{"That was piss easy."} Walton said
{"I just want to get out of this water, I'm an aviator, not a swimmer."} Pentrov said
{"Well somebody had to do it."} Calvin replied as three of the Mallards hovered over them and dropped elevator-like platforms into the water, {"Well come on, let's get back to the Bradley so we can RTB and call it a day!"}
Calvin, Pentrov, and Walton swam onto the platforms while Valka got onto the same one as Calvin and took off her goggles and oxygen mask as the platform was lifted back up into the Mallard
"Thank gods that is over." She said after they were inside the Mallard where Calvin used his transformation device to turn into his Deadly Nadder form before shaking off some of the water that was still on him
{"I guess I was the only one who enjoyed that?} He asked
"You weren't the one who had to wear that mask and goggles for two hours." Valka replied, "I can't see how those SEALs can stand to wear that stuff for that long!"
{"They're used to it."} Calvin said as the Mallard docked inside the Bradley's Hangar bay where Calvin and Valka dismounted as the other post-human dragons and Mallards flew in and landed with Barnes immediately contacting the Bradley's Captain after the strike force was safely inside
[#"Captain, we're all in, get us out of here before enemy reinforcements show up."#]
#"Roger that, setting course for Berk."# The Captain replied as the hangar bay doors closed as the Bradley flew high up into the sky and flying West toward Berk
[{"That was well done everybody! Drago's dragon trappers will be thinking twice before they try nabbing anymore sea dragons!"}] Barnes shouted
"I'm going to go get out of this accursed diver suit." Valka said to Calvin before she left the hangar as Wensky approached Calvin
{"Do me and Emily a favor and get all that salt water washed off when we get back to Berk."}
{"Was already planning on it."} Calvin replied
{"So how's Sheva?"} Wensky asked him
{"Last time I heard from her and Jayden she sounded fine, although she was exhausted. But we'll know for sure when we get here."} He replied
{"Well being a parent can suck all the energy out of you and I know that from experience."} Wensky said, {"Speaking of which are you and Emily ready?}
{"We think so, Milo has given us a lot of practice."} Calvin replied
{"So how's your parents?"} Wensky asked
{"They're fine too, they're taking care of Milo for me and Emily as we're expecting for her to pop any day now."} Calvin replied
{"Are you scared?"} Wensky asked him
{"Of course..."} He replied
{"Don't worry it's natural to be scared, but I can ensure you that there is nothing to worry because Katie had no problems pumping out Emily and her brothers, so why shouldn't Emily be able to do the same with your three kids?"} Wensky said to him
{"It's not just that, it's also that I'm worried that since both Drago and Rome is after me, they're going to be after her too."} He replied, {"We've had like three attempted security breaches that I've heard of in the past month which were some of their people trying to get to me."}
{"Note the word attempted, but yeah I see your point."} Wensky said to him, {"But just promise me you won't let that get in the way of being a good father and husband."}
{"I won't."} Calvin said
An Hour Later
The Bradley arrived at Berk just as a massive winter storm was about to engulf the island
#"General I suggest your men get inside the sanctuary ASAP because that winter storm is going to hit any minute now!" The Bradley's Captain shouted to Barnes
[#"Roger that."#] Barnes replied as the Bradley flew to the Dragon Sanctuary, which was located on the eastern shoreline of the island
{"Okay everybody, we got a big-ass snowstorm inbound so we got to get into the sanctuary before it hits or otherwise we'll get caught in it!"} Barnes shouted to the rest of the strike force
*"Come on Val, you can ride on me."* Calvin said before Valka climbed onto him as the other post-humans braced themselves to take off as the Bradley hovered off shore from the sanctuary before the hangar doors opened
{"GO! GO! GO!"} Barnes shouted as he, Calvin, and the others took off out of the Bradley, which immediately went back above the clouds as they entered the sanctuary
{"That's the second storm to hit us this month!"} Pentrov shouted as they flew through the ice tunnels that led to the main area of the sanctuary
{"As I've said multiple times before it's because of all that dark energy that got released from Gene Corp's reactor blowing up that didn't go into making the rifts!"} Barnes replied, {"It's fucking with the atmosphere causing all this shitty weather!"}
The group arrived in the main chamber of the sanctuary where most of the dragons, both pure and post-human lived including the Bewilderbeast which was sitting in the artificial hot spring that had been built for it by Coalition Engineers
*"Yet another successful mission I presume?"* The Bewilderbeast asked them as they landed
{"Yep and with record time as well."} Barnes replied
*"I see that."* The Bewilderbeast said as he looked at Calvin as Valka jumped down from him
*"I suggest you return to Emily as quickly as you can, she's been in a…special mood since you left."* He said to Calvin
{"Another mood swing I presume?"} He asked him
*"I'm afraid so, I could hear her one of tantrums from here."* The Bewilderbeast replied
Calvin sighed
{"Well I'll see you guys later, I have a pregnant Deadly Nadder to attend to."} He said to the others before he took off
*"So has anything unique happened while we were gone?"* Barnes asked the Bewilderbeast
*"Nothing that I know off."* The Bewilderbeast replied
Karlson Family Chamber
Calvin landed outside the chamber that he shared with Emily and both their parents before sticking his head in and looking around
{"Mom? Dad? Emily? I'm home!"} He shouted
{"Calvin!"} Emily shouted as she got up from behind the pile of rocks she had been sleeping behind and rushed over to Calvin and nuzzling him
{"Where's my mom and dad?"} Calvin asked her
{"They took Milo and went out while I calmed down."} She replied
{"Yeah the Bewilderbeast said you went through another one of your mood swings again."} Calvin said to her, {"So…how have you been?"}
{"I've been better, but I'm fine now that you're back here."} She replied
{"What about the babies?"} Calvin asked her
{"They're fine too.} She replied, {"So how did the mission go?"}
{"The usual, we went in, we kicked the bad guys' asses, and saved a few dragons in the process."} Calvin said to her
{"I miss being out there with you guys."} Emily replied
{"I miss it too."} Calvin said, {"Well come on, let's get settled down, it's not good for you to be up like this."}
Emily smiled as she and Calvin went into the chamber and laid down against one of its walls
{"So any news from the front?"} Calvin asked her
{"Tullus' men are still getting their asses handed to them in Africa and it's the same old things across the board."} She replied, {"This war is never going to end."}
{"Well Jayden are being deployed for the first time tonight, so how knows, they might be the ones who finally deliver the blow that finally brings the war to a close."} Calvin said
{"Oh yeah I forgot about that."} Emily replied, {"Any idea on what their first deployment is going to be?"}
{"No idea."} Calvin said, {"Probably better that it stays that away."}
Infirmary – Lower Chambers
A Few Minutes Later
Valka entered the infirmary of the Dragon Sanctuary where Ward and the other doctors along with their assistants and nurses tended to the wounds and illnesses of both post-human and pure dragons where she was immediately greeted by Ward's four adopted baby Skrills; Sandra, Andrew, Garret, and Bale, who immediately gathered at her feet
"Well hello there little ones, where is your mother?" Valka asked them
"I'm over here Val!" Ward shouted from behind a sedated post-human Gronckle whose blood pressure she was checking as Valka came over, followed by the four Skrills
"What's wrong with him?" Valka asked as she looked at the sedated Gronckle
"Nothing right now." She replied, "He's one of the guys that Reaper and Catherine freed from that conversion camp they attacked on Crete at midnight and he started to panic as they flew back, so they sedated him so he wouldn't hurt himself or the others"
"Poor thing." Valka said, "What are you doing to him?"
"Making sure he isn't having an allergic reaction to the sedatives." Ward replied when she noticed her adopted children and sighed, "And now they're up again."
"Well you can't outside right now, there's a big winter storm going on right now." Valka said
"I'm not worried, we keep a few slabs of lamb in the freezer in the back to feed me, them, Aberly, the Reapers, and the Schnitters…if we ever see them again." Ward replied, "So I guess your mission was successful?"
"It was…although it wasn't comfortable wearing that diver suit." Valka said
"Well you're the one who volunteered to go." Ward replied, "So are you excited to finally get to see Henderson and Sheva's new kids?"
"Of course, how often do you get to see baby Stormcutters?" Valka asked her
"How's Cloudjumper handling it?" She asked
"He's excited too, the most excited I've seen him in a while." Valka replied, "Any word on what Henderson's first mission is going to be?"
"No they're keeping hush hush and for good reason because none of us want Drago and Martin to be ready for them." Ward said to her
Valka nodded
"So do you need any help with anything down here?" She asked
"No, not right now at least." Ward replied, "Things have been pretty quiet down here today."
"Good to hear." Valka said
"So where's Stoick, haven't seen him or for that matter, your son and the other riders, all day today." Ward replied
"Last time I checked Stoick was in the village tending to his chiefly duties and Hiccup and his friends were out hunting." Valka said
"Hunting?! In this weather?!" Ward asked her
"Unless you haven't noticed, food has been scarce due to the weather." Valka replied, "And sometimes the humanitarian aid isn't enough."
Ward sighed
"I hope they're alright." She said
Somewhere else on Berk
Hiccup and the other dragon riders along with their dragon mounts and Zoey, who had tagged along with them, were taking shelter from the storm inside a large cave where had manage to set up a chemical bonfire to keep them warm
"I hate this weather." Astrid said as she cupped her hands and breathed into them before rubbing them together as they sat around the fire with their dragons and Zoey
["Same here."] Zoey said as she and Toothless were cuddling together to keep warm
"How far are we from the village Zoey?" Hiccup asked Zoey, who was wearing her powered combat armor to protect her from possible attacks by wild dragons and other wild animals that had a built in GPS device
["Only a short flight away."] She replied
"If the weather clears up enough, we'll try to make it there." Hiccup said
"Yeah if." Tuffnut said
["If we're gone long enough my parents will come looking for us."] Zoey replied, ["Wish we could at least say we caught something though."]
"The storm came much quicker than we thought it would." Hiccup said, "If we had known it was going to get here this soon, we would've never went out."
"Well at least we did have some fun at least while we were doing it." Astrid said as she and Hiccup cuddled together
"I don't call rummaging around the woods in the bitter cold for two hours fun." Snotlout replied
["Nobody cares about what you think is fun Snotlout."] Zoey said to him
"Well I do!" Snotlout replied
Zoey rolled her eyes
*"Don't mind him, he's always like this."* Hookfang said to her
{"I've noticed."} She replied
"What was that?!" Snotlout asked
"So how long does this chemical burn for?" Fishlegs asked Zoey
["Up to ten hours.]" She replied, ["Did you bring extra cans of it just in case?"]
"Yes." Fishlegs said
"Well it does really warm the place up, I'll give it that." Hiccup said
["That's what it's designed for."] Zoey said, ["Just don't try to breathe in the smoke."]
"We're not that stupid." Ruffnut said
["Just making sure you knew that."] Zoey replied
"So have you heard anything from Erwin or Margaret recently?" Hiccup asked her
["Well Erwin's Corps is still being modernized, but they're supposedly almost ready for deployment."] She replied
"Think they'll be deployed to North Africa to help the West Romans?" Astrid asked her
["Don't know, but the Isotxians are still pretty bitter over what happened at Altoona Province, so I doubt it."] She replied
"Well that was Marcus' doing, not Tullus'." Hiccup said, "I actually feel sorry for Tullus, he's trying really hard to make up for what his brother's been doing, but stuff just keeps getting worst with all those hurricanes, the food shortages, and the war."
["Yeah, but the Coalition have been helping him in any way they can, but there is just so much going on right now that our hands are too tied up so they can't provide him with everything he needs."] Zoey replied
"The quicker this war ends, the better it will be for everybody involved." Hiccup said
Outside Cape Girardeau, MO; Cape Girardeau Airbase - Airship Docks; Coalition Verse
Task Force Nautilus
1343 Hours
It was a windy autumn afternoon as Jayden Henderson, the commander of the multinational Task Force Nautilus and the newly created APMSF 8th Legion, was standing with his two second commands, Earc Salmond, a post-human Raincutter and Phillip Turner, a post-human Zippleback as they oversaw the last preparations for their departure to the Viking Verse as their supplies and equipment were loaded onto the repaired Patton-class airships, USAS Rushmore and Schwarzkopf
{"We should be ready go by 1900 hours, so we're on schedule."} Turner said to Jayden as a column of Pershing II MBTs and Conrad IFVs rolled past them as they rolled up the Clark's vehicle loading ramp into its vehicle bay
{"Good…how's morale though?"} Jayden asked
{"The men are anxious, but otherwise excited to be finally going on our first mission."} Earc replied, {"Speaking of which, you haven't bothered to tell us what our first mission is yet."}
{"I'll tell you after we depart, we can't too be sure that Drago or my Uncle doesn't have spies here watching and listening to us."} Henderson said
{"Understood.} Turner replied, {"So what about this new armor we're going to be getting?"}
{"New armor?} Earc asked
{"The APMSF made a few…upgrades to the armor to bring it up to their standards."} Henderson replied, {"I think you two and the others will be very pleased with it."}
{"JAYDEN!"} Sheva shouted as she approached with Earc's wife, Niamh, who was in her human form and three months pregnant
{"What is it Sheva?"} Henderson asked her when he realized she was carrying their four baby Stormcutters, Jayden Jr., Miguel, Joel, and Victoria on her back, {"Oh."}
{"Yeah, they've been wanting to see ever since you got up and left this morning."} She replied as the baby Stormcutters climbed down off of her and made their way over to Jayden, who lowered his head so he could look at them
{"Did you want to see me?"} Jayden asked them before they cried and started to lick his face
{"Niamh you shouldn't be walking around."} Earc said to his wife
"I'm fine Earc, I just can't stand holding still longer than few a seconds." Niamh replied
Earc sighed
{"So did you see the doctor today?"} He asked
"Yes, he said that so far there seems to be nothing to be worried about." Niamh replied
{"So where's Ellie and Evie?"} Turner asked Sheva
{"At the house the APMSF rented out for them packing their things."} She replied, {"Ellie's really become quite the dragon enthusiast, so she's excited to be going to Valka's new sanctuary on Berk."
{"Yeah Valka really rubbed off on her."} Jayden said, {"But at least she's used to being around dragons."}
{"I'm surprised Valka's sanctuary isn't full with all those conversion camps that Barnes and his guys have been hitting."} Turner replied, {"So are we going to be stopping by there before the mission?"}
{"Yes, but we're only going to be there for at least an hour because all we're going to do is drop off all the non-combatants and some non-essential equipment."} Jayden said
{"I just hope the weather's clear when we get there because last time I heard Berk was in for a large blizzard today."} Earc said
{"I've read the weather reports, they're expecting a brief still in the blizzard around the time we'll get there."} Henderson replied, {"So we're going have to make it quick if we don't want to get caught in it."}
"So what are the Isotxians up to today?" Niamh asked
{"Not much from what I've seen."} Henderson replied as he eyed the two Isotxian Officers, who were overseeing supplies being unloaded from a supply airship, {"I wouldn't be surprised if they're deployed soon."}
{"I won't either."} Earc said
{"I haven't seen Erwin or Margaret all day either."} Sheva said
{"I'm sure they're around."} Jayden replied
Erwin's Headquarters
7th Independent Mechanized Corps
Inside the hangar that he had set up his headquarters in, Erwin was sitting at the folding table that served as his desk as he typed up a weekly report for Isotxian Central Command on a computer while Margaret stood behind him as she helped teach him how to use the word processing program he was using and the computer itself
"So how do I this 'saving' thing?" Erwin asked her
"Just click on this icon in the upper left corner." She replied as she pointed the save icon to Erwin, who moved the mouse pointer to click on it, saving the report
"And that's all I do?" Erwin asked her
"Well you're going have to print it." She replied
"And how do I do that?" Erwin asked her
"Press the Ctrl button to the left of the spacebar and press P." She replied
"Okay." Erwin said as he pressed the CTRL and P buttons on his keyboard, bringing up the Printing Window, "Now what?"
"Now you just click the button on that window that says 'print'." Margaret replied as she pointed on the button on the Printing Window that said 'Print' which Erwin clicked and almost jumped out of his chair when the nearby Printer came on and starting printing out the report while Margaret broke out into laughter
"Oh…I'm glad you found that funny." Erwin said to her before she gently thumped him on the shoulder with her fist as he picked up the paper that the report had been printed on to inspect it, "Hmmmm looks perfect, give me one of those envelopes over there, so I can hurry up and send this to Command."
Margaret reached over and grabbed one of the envelopes that were in a tray on a nearby table and handed it to Erwin, who folded up the report paper and placed inside the envelope, which he then sealed before ringing up one of his ensigns to take it to the supply airship which would deliver to the Isotx Verse to be delivered to Isotxian Central Command
"Now we just hope that it reaches Central Command." Erwin said to her as he slouched back in his chair while Margaret placed her hands on his shoulders
"Can we do something else now?" Margaret asked him
"What do you want to do?" He asked her
"Anything as long as it isn't here." She replied
"Sure." Erwin said as he stood up, grabbing his jacket which he had on the back of his chair and put it on before leaving the Headquarters with Margaret
"So have you heard anything from Manfred, Harrison, or Julie?" Margaret asked Erwin
"No." He replied
"Well any idea when you're finally going to get deployed?" Margaret asked
"No idea." Erwin replied as they headed for the Parking Lot, "Heard anything from your parents?"
"Yeah, they just recently busted up a Roman conversion camp in Crete." Margaret said
"Crete huh? I'm surprise there's anything left down there with all those hurricanes." Erwin replied
"They said it was tucked away in an area of the Pakhnes where it was sheltered from the worst of the storms." Margaret said
"How did they find it?" Erwin asked her
"British jet spotted it while on patrol in the area the day before they went in to take it out." She replied, "They also said they found some documents there indicating there's another one somewhere in North Africa."
"Speaking of North Africa why has nobody gotten involved down there? From what I've heard the West Romans are getting their asses to them there." Erwin said
"Coalition's too concerned about Europe to get involved and so is the WHF's, don't know about your government however." Margaret replied as they went to their car with Margaret unlocking the doors with her small remote before they got in, "Although I'm sure you're all still bitter about Altoona Province."
"Well Tullus did help bring that travesty to an end." Erwin said, "But yes I'm sure there's still quite a few people who are bitter about it."
Margaret placed the key into the ignition and turned it, revving up the car's engine before setting the car into reverse and backing out of the parking spot and then setting it into forward position and then driving out of the parking lot
"My men are getting restless, they want to get back into the fight, but command for some reason is being hesitant to deploy us even though we're practically ready." Erwin said to her
"Maybe they're waiting for your brothers and sister to return from their assignment?" She asked
"Probably." Erwin replied, "But I am starting to lose my patience too, our people are out there fighting Rome and Drago and we're here sitting on our hands doing jack shit."
"I'm sure they have a reason for keeping you out of the fight this long." Margaret said
Isle of Berk – Dragon Sanctuary
Task Force Therian
After being debriefed; Barnes, Samantha, and Leon were returning to their chamber where Anna and Preston were tending to their three Night Fury hatchlings; Porto, Ally, and Everon who were all asleep laying in a heap next to Anna
{"Where's Zoey?"} Samantha asked Anna
{"She went out to hunt with the dragon riders."} She replied
{"IN THIS WEATHER?!"} Barnes asked
{"Barnes I'm sure they're fine."} Samantha replied, "How have they been?"
{"Up and down as always."} Anna said, {"Wish we could take them outside to play, but the snow is too deep and it's too cold."}
{"Well at least they're well."} Samantha replied as she looked down at the three hatchlings, {"I remember when you, he, and Zoey were all this little, you were clingy."}
{"So you guys are finally home?"} Reaper asked as he and Catherine, both in their Skrill forms entered the chamber
{"We've been home for a few hours actually, it just took forever for us to be debriefed and let go."} Barnes replied, {"So what have you two been up to all day?"}
{"The usual."} Catherine said as she passed Barnes to look at her great grandchildren
{"Did you know that Zoey went out with the dragon riders on their hunt today?"} Barnes asked Reaper
{"Yeah?"} He replied, *"Afraid she and Toothless are going to too close while they're gone?"*
*"Oh ha-ha, very funny dad."* Barnes said to him as Reaper chuckled
*"Just playing with you.* He replied, *"I'm sure Zoey's fine, I will say that Toothless does really care for her."*
*"Never said that he didn't care about her."* Barnes said to him, {"So I heard about that conversion camp you attacked on Crete."}
{"Ah that wasn't anything that we haven't faced before."} He replied, {"But we did find some intel about there being at least one somewhere in Africa."}
{"It would surprise me more if there wasn't one down there."} Barnes said, {"Any idea where it is?"}
{"No, the documents we found were halfway burnt."} Reaper replied
{"Shit."} Barnes said
{"Language!"} Anna shouted
{"Sorry."} Barnes replied
{"So how did your mission go for Calvin?"} Reaper asked him
{"Fine as far as I know."} He replied, {"Going to miss having him around all the time."}
{"It's not like he's going away forever Barnes, he's just going to be shared between us and Jayden."} Reaper said, {"And we have good reasons to remove him from active service on the front."}
{"I know, Drago and Marcus are both increasing their efforts to capture him."} Barnes replied, {"Plus it's better for him and Emily to be together more and not to mention he needs to finish his training with the Bewilderbeast so when we find Drago's he's ready to take him on."}
{"Exactly."} Reaper said, *"Not to mention that we've had another attempted security breach today by one of Drago's henchmen, who committed suicide with a cyanide capsule before we could apprehend him."*
Barnes sighed
*"Let's discuss this later dad."* He said
Reaper nodded
Preparing for Transition; USAS Rushmore – Hangar Bay; Coalition Verse
Task Force Nautilus
1800 Hours
Jayden was standing before the other post-humans, all clad in their new powered combat armor, and human personnel of Task Force Nautilus as he prepared to brief them on their mission with the help of a projector screen
[{"This is the Atnbura Conversion Camp."}]
The Projector Screen turned on showing an aerial photo of an ex-Gene Corp Conversion Camp in the mountains of Scandinavia that had been taken over by Drago Bludvist
[{"Atnbura is the largest conversion camp in Southern Scandinavia and taking it out of operation is our first mission."}] Henderson continued, [{"The camp's perimeter is marked by a concrete wall with a guard tower at each corner each manned by four sentries while other sentries patrol the walkways on top of the walls."}], [{"The large concrete structure at the north end of the camp is the main administrative building and armory, the four small rectangular concrete structures in front of it are the barracks, and then large squad concrete structure is where the conversion process is carried out and then finally in front of that you have the warehouses where the inmates are stored after they have been turned until they can be picked up by a train that stops at the camp's depot, located at the southern end of the camp, once every week."}]
"So what's the plan of attack?" An APMSF Officer asked him
[{"Four SAS Sniper teams have positioned themselves on the high grounds that surround the camp's perimeter, they will take out the sentries on the wall and towers while one of our hackers will hack into the camp's automated defense systems and shut them down and from there we take over."}] He replied, [{"We will break up into three assault groups led by me, Turner, and Earc; my group will attack the administrative center, Turner will attack the barracks and conversion facility, while Earc's group will free the camp's inmates."}], [{"However a fourth group consisting of three Whispering Deaths and Engineers will tunnel under the camp and set explosive charges that will be detonated after we complete our objectives and pull out which will take out the camp and hopefully stop them from rebuilding it."}]
[{"What do you want me to do with the inmates after we free them?}] Earc asked him
[{"You will take them to the evac point in the open area in front of the rail depot where they will be airlifted out by the VTOLs to the Rushmore and Schwarzkopf, our Polish GROM friends will be securing it for you.}] He replied, [{"I also want to remind you we have to be quick about this as well because we'll only have a few minutes or up to an hour before Drago or my traitorous wretch of a uncle realizes what's going and sends reinforcements.}]
[{"So we hit them as hard as we can and get out of there as quick as we can?}] A Post-human Deadly Nadder asked
[{"Yes."}] Jayden replied, [{"Any questions?}]
[{"Yeah, when do we kill Drago?!"}] A Post-human Hobblegrunt asked him
[{"Not soon enough I'm afraid.}] Jayden replied with a grin on his face
#"All hands prepare for transitioning."# The Captain said
[{"Lock and load gentlemen, we're going back to war."}] Jayden said
***Author's Notes***
* What do you think of the new format?
* I will probably be making a spin off to go over the events that occurred between Act One – Act Two
* This will be the story in the Gene Corp Wars book, but there will be a sequel