Chapter 5: A Flight to Catch
The three 'mon shifted uncomfortably in the cargo hold when the thrust of the jet engines forced the behemoth of a transport airplane off of the tarmac and into the air. The airframe rattled violently, reminding its occupants of how fragile it was. They hitchhiked on this trip, not afforded the private jets that had been theirs hardly several days ago because of new "budget restraints" in the upper echelons of government. Levina, Shadrach, and Siria knew better than to challenge the already generous luxuries Special Forces gave them, though. What normal soldier could get decently large quarters, constant telephone and internet access, edible meals, and at least some control over their missions?
"Did we really have to go at zero hundred hours?" Levina yawned, slouching lazily against the crooked turret of a decommissioned tank.
Siria, choosing to levitate a few inches above one of the designated seats, responded, "The meeting is at two-hundred hours. How do you expect us to make it if we didn't go then?"
"Yeah," a third voice chimed in. "This mission happens soon, and we need to get our analysis to them as soon as possible. Their department is-" The Umbreon, once sitting perfectly erect, lurched forward off of his chair as the plane took an unwelcome bank. Levina was equally shaken, falling off of the tank, but Siria, still floating above her seat, watched the two and softly chuckled at the scene.
"Makes me wish I was born a levitator sometimes," the Ampharos grumbled, hopping back onto the war machine.
Shadrach cleared his throat. "As I was saying, their planning department is very much in the wrong. Unlike us, and many other soldiers, they haven't seen combat. The obvious conclusion is that they don't know the enemy very well."
"True that," Levina responded, trying to shield her eyes from the bright fluorescent lights on the ceiling of the cargo bay. "I really need more sleep…" she murmured before dropping her head on one of the tank's smoke grenade launchers. The light clang echoed through the entire hold. Within a minute she was snoring contently, challenging even the plane in volume.
"Siria," the Umbreon called loudly over both the sound of the engines and Levina's snoring, "Can you review your plans with me? I'd like to confirm that everything's in good shape."
She looked over to Shadrach, twitching her feathery ears to try to hear him better. "What?" she shouted back.
"I said, could you review your plans?"
Taking a manila folder out of her pack, she walked over to him and sat down.
Still talking loudly, she started. "See, what we should do is make our landing zone at this location, outside the range of their antiair forces." On a map, she poked at a dot marked "LZ" nearly touching a red ring signifying the range of Tamsus's antiaircraft guns. "From there, we'll attempt to create several diversions to distract their defenses from the incoming bombers. Most likely, we'll use a training jet to drop clusters of Starly shooting targets. The enemy's radar isn't that great, and the dolls won't register as fakes until the Air Wing is within bombing range."
Shadrach only needed a second to make objections. "Can't you destroy the guns and completely eliminate the threat instead of distracting it? Or rather, couldn't you bomb both the main exit and all possible escape routes?"
"We didn't have reconnaissance images when we first started analyzing this, and the possibility of getting precise details of all routes leading out of the area is slim. We don't know where the escape paths would be, much less how long it would take the enemy to access them. As for destroying the antiaircraft defenses, well…." She smirked, shrugging as she did so. "The proclaimed Special Forces, experts at all things planned, haven't even gotten us a full roster of how many troops will carry out this mission. The thought of sabotage crossed my mind, but we may end with having too few 'mon to do the job. If we try to destroy the AA without backup, we may find ourselves with several casualties, and we might possibly even become prisoners. And you know how Tamsus treats prisoners…"
"That, I do," Shadrach replied. He rubbed at his left paw, touching where an enemy Swellow stuck several steel needles under his claws in an attempt to extract intelligence. He looked at it stoically, as if he were reimagining the pain he felt during that torture session. It hurt, he mused. I'm going to pay the bastards back a hundred times for what they did for us.
The Umbreon's concentration was interrupted by someone touching his shoulder.
"Shadrach, will you be able to present tomorrow?" Siria asked.
"Sure I will. What do you mean by that?"
"Well, uh…" she began. "You just recovered from drinking a day ago, and I was wondering if you were feeling alright about still doing all of this."
He wore a tired grin on his face, as if he already explained himself a million times. "Yeah, yeah, I know. Honestly though, I'll be able to do this. I just need a bit more time to see if there are any alternatives. I'm not entirely agreeing with this diversion tactic…" he broke off, returning to reading the mission documents.
Siria looked away, staring at the giant hatch at the end of the cargo hold. As much as she would like to believe his words, the Latias knew his reassurances were all lies. Even the most novice mind readers could discern the dissonant thoughts emerging from Shadrach. Then she remembered what she had picked up from him on the night before.
You need to confront him about this now, her brother's voice rang in her head. His mindset will only compromise the mission.
Although the Latias knew that she was just imagining Sirius's responses, she decided to go to war anyways. Are you kidding? If I expose him now he won't even be combat ready! You'll just shock him into another comatose state, and he'll be utterly useless!
Ah, but a useless soldier who doesn't interfere with the mission won't cause harm.
He's the most able 'mon we have. You honestly think the other troops will be good enough? Even though they're Special Forces, they aren't of the same caliber we are!
Able? His mind is scrambled. You call that able?
Shut up!
That's a perfectly legitimate point, and you know it.
It's not!
You know you're thinking that way because you like him.
What! Why you-
Before things could get physical, Siria ended the mental standoff. She had a terrific headache, eyes reeling from the effort needed to counter the more rational parts of the debate.
A snort echoed through the cargo hold, shocking her out of her reveries. Levina got up, paws and head slightly darkened by the charred frame of the tank. "Ughh…I had a weird dream. I was eating with my friends, and then I was at the shooting range, and then I saw these two dragons arguing about something…" She held her head, shaking it.
Siria knew that, on occasion, she had the tendency to broadcast what she was thinking, but she thought she took control over that impulse a long time ago. Shocked, she looked over at Shadrach. He had his face hidden in the folder, failing to conceal the slight red tinge that worked its way up his ears.
The Latias put a hand to her face. Oh shit.
A/N: The chapter's shorter this time, but there are two reasons: school work/presentations/etc. and a little more drama in the next chapter.