Tristan
"Madison, what seems to be a problem?" I asked patiently after another shot that was completely off the mark. We were shocked to discover, that Madison had barely any weapon training. There was no questioning Commander Knight about what the hell he was thinking, so Garret have just ordered her to get some. Surprisingly she didn't wish for her father to do this, so her mother did and I came by to see how it went. Amanda Knight was pretty good shot, I guess being field nurse required shooting your and your patient's way out of the middle of hell sometimes.
But Madison couldn't hit if her life depended on it, which was not good since it might very soon be the case. She now lowered her gun and cast an annoyed look my way.
"This is stupid. I'm not a soldier anyways. I've grown up within the order without seeing a single fight in eighteen years." She moaned and her mother looked at me worried. Madison wasn't exactly my subordinate and could talk back without repercussions, so I approached her and gestured towards the gun in her hand. She handed it to me and I took hold of her fingers with my other hand. Her nails were very long, orange and adorned with fancy black designs. I didn't remember them being that long before. How did she type was beyond me, but learning to hold and operate a gun with these getting in the way, was unnecessarily difficult. I looked at her and noticed she was wearing impeccable make-up and her hair was ironed to fall in perfect waves. I sighed internally, I guessed I should've been happy she wasn't wearing red high heels. I fought down pity, that never brought anything good and released her hand saying.
"Half the length will still make these very pretty nails Madison and you'll be able to wipe yourself and hold a gun."
She shoot me hurt look, and was about to retort, but her mother was there already.
"Let's fix it honey." She said putting her arm around Madison's shoulders, when a dark shadow separated itself from shades cast by the nearby buildings lit by low hanging morning sun. Mrs Knight's hand went to the gun at her hip and I pointed Madison's weapon at it, when it turned out to be Stealth.
"Easy!" I said quickly before somebody got hurt and lowered the gun. Stealth stopped ten strides from us, she was wearing black suit I previously saw on Ember, Riley and Mist, her long hair hung over her shoulder in a shiny plait and she made no sound whatsoever when she moved. Now in a presence of two women, I was supposed to protect, I could clearly feel how dangerous she was.
"Lieutenant, I need to talk to you." She said calmly and smiled.
"It's all right." I said to Mrs Knight. "Wait here for me." I couldn't send them back to their quarters or armory, when there could be more enemies within the base. I went to stand a step away from Stealth but circled her so I could see both the buildings and the two women.
"What is it?" I asked.
"A friend of mine visited me yesterday. She said, that she had it on good authority, that western chapterhouse will get attacked today, as soon as Commander Sebastian is seen at HQ." She said and it was all I could do to not swear.
"Are you sure?" I asked her and she shook her head. "No, Talon could be testing her loyalty, planting the information to see where it emerges. But better not take any chances." She said seriously.
"I better report it." I said.
"I'll go with you." Stealth said quickly surprising me.
"Okay, but we have rules. No dragons within our buildings is one of them." I said and went back to where Knight women stood, Madison gaping at Stealth and her mother watching the dragon with narrowed eyes.
"Stealth comes with an important information. I need to report to Commander Knight and you better come with me." I said and strode off towards the centre of the base with Stealth walking beside me.
"Are we now taking orders from dragons?!" Lieutenant Mitchell spat out, while Lieutenant Ward and Commander Knight watched me with stone expressions.
"By all means. This is not an order. Just a warning." I said impatiently.
"What if it's a provocation?" Lieutenant Ward said. "What if they're just checking how much we can mobilise?"
"Then we better mobilise." I said. "There's only one sure way to find out how much we have, and it is by attacking us."
"I will hear this dragon." Commander Knight said standing up and leaving the room. We followed hastily.
Stealth sat in the shade of armory but stood up when we went out. Commander Knight stopped good ten paces away from her and I almost smiled some wicked and mean part of me delighting in his fear.
"I am the Commander of this chapterhouse. What news do you bring dragon?" He said and Stealth looked him up and down and did not seem impressed, but answered.
"Talon is poised to launch an attack as soon as Commander Sebastian's presence at HQ is confirmed. They have hatchlings and adult vessels at their disposal, your chances are slim, I came to even them up." She said smugly.
"Or to make a job of many all by yourself." He answered gravely. "Do you know numbers? Anything?" He asked anyway.
Stealth looked at him seriously. "I only know estimates and I don't want to mislead you by spreading rumours. More than fifty hatchling vessels have survived the Night of Fang and Fire and the battle at the old mine facility. Several adult vessels have survived as well, they were injured during the Night of Fang and Fire and were recovering in another facility, so they didn't participate in the last battle. I don't know how many." She said.
"We'll do all we can. But you must understand, that we cannot accept your continuing presence here." Was Commander's reply. Stealth's gaze swept over me before she concentrated on Knight again.
"You've only survived the Night of Fang and Fire because of help from other dragons. You may think this new weapon called dragonkiller will make a change, but you are in no position to refuse help." She spat, and lifted her hand when Commander opened his mouth to reply.
"I understand if you don't want me inside, seeing your... secrets or share your strategies with me. But I can help you anyway. I can even do this from the outside of this... base." She said.
"And why would you be so interested in helping us? Have you not been Talon's assassin just few weeks ago?" Commander Knight countered angrily.
"Yes, I have been their assassin for hundreds of years. I had little choice. Now I got a chance to leave, and the only... organization capable of checking Talon is about to be wiped out. The Order of St George was only part of the reason, why dragons needed to stay in Talon. And now you are part of the solution, the first solution in hundreds of years and I just happen to be in position to help. One hour have passed already since I came here. I'll be watching the skies from outside of the gates while you... deliberate. If you have orders for me, you know where to find me." Stealth turned her back on us and walked away before Commander could answer. He looked like he'd got more to say, but in the end decided not to shout at the back of the dragonell. We retreated inside to get our orders straight before we got in position.
"We should use her somehow." I insisted fifteen minutes later, after all officers got their orders and no alterations to original defence plan have been made.
"Are you opposing my orders Lieutenant?" Knight asked sharply and I cursed Garret for being away and leaving me under orders of this stubborn prick.
"Sir if I may?" I was surprised when Lieutenant Ward cut in. "I have fought alongside dragons and both times their effort made difference between success and defeat. We still have earbud made for one of them, I have seen Lieutenant Mitchell working on it recently. Wouldn't hurt to be able to talk to her, once things get heated." He said and stood at attention waiting to be dismissed. I could see Commander weighing his words carefully before he exhaled slightly and said.
"St Anthony grab this ear bud and deliver it to the dragon. You are to stay outside and keep an eye on her. Everyone else proceed as planned. The meeting is scheduled for twelve thirty, but I would not put it past our Commander to arrive early." He smiled bitterly.
I passed Madison and Lieutenant Mitchell in their IT room on my way out and he had the required gear ready as he was apparently studying it lately. They connected it and my wire and I went to change.
Putting on my fireproof combat gear had bitter sweat feeling to it. I honestly thought my days of fighting dragons ended that day, when I have slain the Elder Wyrm. I grabbed my rifle and headed outside to find my new partner.
I stopped abruptly when my eyes fell on her. She sat with her back to me on the rocky ground five hundred feet outside of the main gate. Her body the size of a semi with a trailer was the color of hard coal and just as shiny. She was completely motionless in hot desert air. Suddenly I felt apprehension. Approaching such a huge dragon made my instincts trash and scream. Yet deep inside my heart I trusted Stealth. I had no good reason to do that, but I couldn't help that. I resumed my walk making sure I made noise, so she wouldn't get startled.
When I was ten steps away and she still did not move my nerve faltered again, so I stopped and called "Hi". Her head turned around to look at me with bottomless black eyes filled with tiny sparks that gave them look of a starry night sky.
"What's up Lieutenant? Shouldn't you be inside of the base, getting ready for the battle?" She asked.
"I was assigned here with you." I said holding up the earpiece for her to see. It looked ridiculously small, her ears were longer than my forearm. "This is for communication." I said and she tilted her head considering the object. Then she turned around her whole body and lowered her head to the level of my face. "Okay" she said waiting. From this close her head seemed even larger, warm breath smelling of smoke engulfed me waking up bad memories and filling me with dread, but I stepped closer and carefully put the erabud inside her ear letting the small mic stick hang down towards her jaw and secured it to the edge of her ear flap. She shook slightly and giggled "It tickles!".
I quickly stepped away saying "Sorry" and she dismissed me rolling her eyes.
"So what are we two supposed to do?" She asked me.
"I'm supposed to keep an eye on you." I said and she snorted. "Speaking of which, what if somebody sees you here like that?" I asked.
"If Talon is planning an attack, you can be sure that every satelite in the world is pointed in another direction. Except from their own maybe, maybe not. If the attack is kept secret from most, they won't use the satellite until the very last moment" She said and added.
"I've been thinking. There are people in this desert. Though I admit, that this particular patch has terrible reputation, do you kill all these people or pick up murder victims and dump them here?" She asked and I shrugged. Murders attracted attention and police, so probably neither, but the Order could have chosen this area because of it's reputation. Stealth continued.
"It's middle of the day. They're not going to fly to here in their dragon form. Which means they are coming in their human form. They are being driven or flown to some spot nearby, where they will shift and attack. We could look for them..." Giant eye winked and I started to catch up. This was much better idea than waiting to see what they were going to throw at us.
"Let's get this wire to work, I need to run this by Commander Knight."
I said and pressed tiny button on my headset.
"Stan I can see your headset, can you hear me?" Madison's voice sounded in my ear and I answered. Stealth's headset was remotely activated and seemed to work fine too. I only hoped the connection was as secure as Lieutenant Mitchell and Madison wanted us to believe.
"I need Knight now." I said and waited a second.
"Stan?" I heard the bastard way to loudly in my ear.
"Sir, I have approached Stealth and it's now possible to communicate with her through our network. She... has suggested, that we scout the desert seeking the hostiles. To count them and to maybe take few down, Sir." I said and waited.
"This is not part of our strategy." He hissed.
"Our strategy didn't predict, that we would be able to get airborne, sir." I didn't give up, anything would have been better than idly awaiting an attack in plain sight.
I heard him sigh. "Fine you get one hour. Report of anything. Out." I exhaled relieved hearing that.
"You better grab your sniper riffle boy. And some binoculars, were going to fly high." Stealth said and I swear there was delight and longing in the last words.
Which reminded me, that after I nearly got shattered alongside the chapel tower, I was... nervous about heights. But this was more important than my discomfort, besides it was way too late to back out now.
I shouldered my riffle and slowly approached huge black dragon sitting outside the gates.
Her back body was covered in scales of varying size, from large plates protecting front of her massive chest, through hand sized scales on her tapered neck, to tiny scales, no larger than those on small adder on the muzzle of her triangular head, that was crowned with a pair of black horns curving backwards and up. A row of spikes started just behind the horns and flowed down her spine and all the way to the tip of her tail, that was armed with a viciously looking leaf shaped plates formation. There were also spikes at her elbows and tips of her wings.
I was just trying to figure out the best way to climb up onto her back, when my resolve faltered. Stealth I thought I knew was a slender woman with shapely legs and great breasts, that I would think about when jerking off lately. This huge creature intimidated me and I suddenly feared, that she would somehow find out and get angry.
Stealth turned and crouched beside me bending her front legs and stretching her wings low.
"I'd suggest you step on my claw, take hold of my elbow spike and brace your foot on my forearm. Once you've climbed onto my arm you can hold on to my wing and get all the way up. There's a larger gap between my spikes just in front of my wings. You can sit there." She said the matter of factly, but something make me think she was having a good laugh inside.
Apprehension grew and I felt that soon I won't be able to do, what I needed to do. So I quickly stepped closer to her and followed her instructions. My boot slipped on her forearm a couple of times, but once I got hold of her wing, I could walk over her large scales as if they were stepping stones.
Finally I seated myself in an almost two feet large gap between foot long spikes. There was something uncomfortably intimate about sitting on her like this. But it was quickly replaced by another form of discomfort as huge black wings shifted around me and with one powerful push we leaped thirty feet up. I might have yelped, my insides flipping around from overwhelming feeling of vertigo, as Stealth climbed up in small circles each flap of her wings almost flattening me against her.
Ascending seemed to last forever and at last my panic subsided, replaced by awe mild excitement.
I could barely see the chapterhouse, gray buildings not larger than dices flocked together in monotonous desert landscape. I looked around, my helmet protecting me from being completely blinded by the sun, that seemed to be closer than ever. Suddenly a vision of falling from this height passed through my mind chilling my blood. I quickly focused on solid black spikes in front of me breathing slowly.
"Easy Lieutenant, I'm not going to drop you. I've never dropped anyone." Stealth's smooth voice reached me through the rush of air.
"Og yes? And how many have you carried?" I replied grateful for something else to think about.
" Quite many" she said. "Once Talon was just a handful of dragons and we valued our human helpers a great deal. So the easiest way to bring them out of danger was to fly them away." She said and I clamped down on conflicting feelings and thoughts this revelation brought up in me. We were the danger, this dragon have once saved her people from. The Order of St George, defenders of humanity, I felt sick and wasn't sure about the reason why.
"Okay, we are high enough." Stealth said spreading her wings and changing her flight from steep climb to smooth soaring. "Let's take a look, shall we?" She started flying in larger circles.
I sat up and picked my binoculars up to my eyes. We were approximately five hundred yards above the ground and I was grateful for my combat gloves as the air was chilly here. I set to sweeping the enormous area for any sign of movement, but suddenly felt as if I have previously overestimated our chances to spot anybody approaching in time.
"Found something." I heard Stealth say and she paused her rotation flapping slowly with her wings. "Hundred and sixty degrees Lieutenant."
I directed my binoculars in the direction and after a while spotted three camouflage colored trucks driving toward the chapterhouse. At least fifteen grayish blond men with empty eyes occupied each of them. They were also driving.
"Look at the third in the row behind the driver, middle truck." Stealth said and as I did, I beheld a man, that could be an older brother or future self of the vessels surrounding him. His face was only slightly older, but his body was massively muscled making him almost twice as broad in shoulders. Now that I knew what to look for I took a better look at each and every passenger of hostile vehicles. Three. Three adult vessels were on their way to western chapterhouse with its eighteen defenders, and Madison. I thought quickly when Stealth resumed her circling. I called Lieutenant Mitchell and hoped he was listening.
"Yes Stan?" He said.
"Three trucks approaching from southwest with fifteen clones each, three adults amongst them." I said quickly. "An hour away" Mitchell was about to answer when Stealth stopped again.
"Thirty degrees. " She said and I looked where she said. I couldn't find anything for such a long time, that I almost thought she was mistaken, when I spotted two more trucks approaching from southeast. They were further away, though and I couldn't quite focus on them.
"Thirty in all three adults." Stealth said.
"Mitch, thirty more from southeast, maybe an hour away, also three adults there." I said and waited.
"Stan, these are bad news. Can you deter these hostiles?" I heard Commander Knight voice in my ear.
"Yes. We will take out as many adults as we can." Stealth's voice cut in. "Leave it to us."
"Okay, report back your results, out." I was surprised, that Commander Knight didn't at least object against dragon's agenda.
"Lieutenant can you see the small... hill with rocks at seventy-five degrees?" Stealth asked and I obediently looked in pointed direction.
"Yes?" I answered, though I wouldn't call the bump a hill.
"It's close to their route. I can sweep in unnoticed and plant you there. Take your sweet time and take out as many adults as you can. I'll wait hidden in the skies and come to pick you up when they get close." She said.
"Why do I have to do this alone?" I asked not liking the idea.
"Because they cannot be shot dead with sniper riffle in their true form. And if they see me they'll shift right away. But you... mere human all alone, it's still far away enough from the base, that they might try to finish you in their human form. And then I have element of surprise, not to be underrated with so many enemies..." She answered already sweeping down toward the rocks. Ducking fast and then flying low, so the rocks would hide her from sight of approaching vessels.
I crawled down and stretched. All my body was stiff from tensing on a back of a dragon in cold air hundreds of yards over the surface.
"There. You should get perfect shot from between these two boulders." Stealth pointed with her muzzle and I bristled. I was one of the best snipers in the Order of St George, before it was wiped out, she didn't need to tell me how to do my job.
"Don't worry, I'll come for you." She said and puffed me in the back as if she was a horse. It almost knocked me over, and when I regained balance she was already trotting away to take off away from the rocks, to not betray my position should anyone spot her.
I found the best spot between the two boulders and quickly assembled and placed my weapon. Lying down on a rock hot from the sun I watched each of approaching trucks through crosshair of my riffle feeling the familiar calm setting over me. I noticed wind blowing gently, and that one of adult vessels sat on the side of the truck, that was closer to me. I evened up my breathing and took aim at an imaginary point in the middle of his forehead.