by Ramy Vance
Gill walked over to his squad leader. "It would seem events have taken an interesting turn. Do you think she's telling the truth?"
Alex thought about it. There hadn't been any indication in their messages that Abby was not a trustworthy person, and unlike Roy, it didn't seem like she had come for a fight. "I think we can trust her. Besides, we can't get any more screwed then we are right now. What do you guys think?"
Jollies flittered up, her skin changing from pink to sky-blue. "She seems nice, and she's willing to help. At least we'll be able to free the prisoners."
Brath, who was still sitting on Furi, looked up from the knife he was sharpening. "Either way, if she's capable of tracking the orcs from this cold a trail, it's not going to be a problem for her to find us again. We should nip this in the bud before she brings an entire army with her next time."
Gill was staring at the sky, watching Jim and Roy fight. "Holding his own against Roy? Didn't know he'd gotten that good."
Alex clapped Gill on the back. "He's not the only one. You've all become even more amazing riders than before."
Above them, Roy and Jim were still going at it. Jim managed to flank Roy, wrapping his mech’s arms around Roy's mech’s throat. He hit his thrusters, driving Roy toward the ground.
Roy's mech crashed into the ground again. This time, Jim's plasma shoulder cannons were aimed at Roy's cockpit.
Jim opened his cockpit and poked his head out. "Don't make me do this, Roy."
Before he could answer, there was a sonic boom and Abby was in the midst of the group again. "Found them. I uploaded their coordinates to your anchors."
Alex walked over to Roy's mech and climbed on top of it. She kicked the cockpit. "Okay, here's the deal. I'm not going with you in your custody. Boundless will help you and the DGA under two conditions. One, we leave when we're done, and you leave us alone. Two, you help us take out this platoon we've been tracking and save their prisoners. We got a deal?"
Roy opened his cockpit and met Alex's eyes. "Fine. Let's go."
Jim released Roy, and they all took off toward the coordinates Abby had provided.
Alex thought it was interesting that Roy had shown up with just Abby. She knew he was aware of how many riders it would have taken to subdue team Boundless, yet he didn't bother bringing anyone other than the girl who believed Boundless was innocent.
It was almost like there was a part of Roy that was fighting the memories that had been placed in his mind, as if he was sabotaging them subconsciously. He hadn't even bothered trying to argue with Alex's conditions. Maybe that showed it was possible to break Vardis' spell eventually, but that would have to wait.
Abby led the way, occasionally comming the dragonriders to give them updates on the terrain they could expect.
The army had grown since the last time Alex had seen it. From what Abby had described, it seemed like they had been joined by another group of orcs, bolstering their numbers.
Suddenly, the girl stopped and pointed down below.
Alex took out a pair of binoculars and scanned the area.
There were about two hundred orcs, goblins, and trolls. There were also dozens of cages on wheels being pulled by wargs. The cages were full of humans.
Alex pulled up her anchor and spoke to the riders. "We want to hit them hard and hit them quick. We're outnumbered, but they're all stuck to the land. They'll probably be trying to pull us out of the sky with one of those anti-dragon sirens we've been seeing. First things first; I want those taken care of."
Abby scanned the area. "They have four of them. If you want, we can take care of them. We won't be affected by them."
"Sounds good to me. Jollies, I want you to take care of those prisoners. Jim, Gill, Brath, you guys torch the place. Create enough chaos that no one gives a rat's ass about Jollies. Roy, you feel comfortable taking orders from a traitor?"
Roy's voice came through the comm. "You're not making a good case for yourself, talking like that."
"If you're going to keep treating me like one, does it matter?"
Roy sighed. "What do you want me to do?"
Alex noticed that Roy sounded tired, not angry. "You're coming with me. We'll take out the big guys. There are at least a dozen trolls with spears and arrows. Can't have them firing at us. We'll take the heat and give everyone else room to do their jobs. Should be done in under half an hour."
Roy whistled, a sound Alex knew he only made when he approved of something. She was surprised to hear it. Seeing as how Roy cut it off, she thought he might have been surprised as well.
Alex drew her scythe. "Move out, team."
Abby's body vibrated with kinetic energy. She suddenly exploded downward, connecting with one of the anti-dragon sirens. The device exploded as orcs piled out of the tank supporting it. Abby leapt up and slammed her fist into the ground, sending the orcs flying. She blasted them with her hand cannons before turning to find the next siren and launching toward it.
Once Abby had destroyed the first two sirens, the boys moved in, their dragons breathing fire, ice, and plasma on everything that moved beneath them.
The orcs had been caught off-guard. They were running around, trying to put up a defense, but Boundless was too swift. Brath and Gill moved with seamless efficiency, Brath using Furi's size and power to put pressure on the orcs who were armed as Gill flanked them, freezing the ones who were trying to flee.
Gill came up behind the frozen orcs and blasted them with his plasma cannon as Abby zoomed past behind him, heading toward the next dragon siren.
A handful of orcs dragged a hulking plasma cannon out of one of the tanks near the prisoners. They were preparing to fire when Alex leapt off Chine, landed on top of the cannon, and sliced through the barrel with her scythe. She spun, decapitating one of the orcs behind her before drawing her plasma pistol with her free hand and nailing the two remaining orcs with headshots. Then she was back on Chine, scouring the battlefield for trolls.
They weren't hard to spot. The trolls were mounting their counterattack, many of them heaving cannons the size of their bodies and a few with railguns.
Alex and Chine raced toward the trolls, Roy coming up behind her. "Jollies, how are you doing with those prisoners?"
Jollies voice crackled over the comm as Chine launched an ether fireball at the trolls, who broke formation and scattered but held their ground. "Nearly halfway done. I'll get them out of here and join up with you afterwards."
One of the trolls fired its railgun and the projectile nearly impaled Chine through the chest, only missing because he barrel-rolled and Alex tossed up a telekinetic shield that sent the projectile off-course.
Chine rolled back around as Alex detached herself from the anchor, falling into the group of trolls. She pushed them back with a telekinetic blast, turned and cut through the troll who had fired, and then sliced through the railgun.
A troll reached out to grab Abby and Roy's mech slammed into it, opening fire once it hit the ground. The mech’s machine guns whirred as Roy demonstrated why he was considered the best shot in the Riders Corps.
Chine landed behind Alex, who leapt onto his back. The dragon fired his gravity disrupters, causing the trolls to float into the air as gravity ceased to affect them.
Alex glanced over her shoulder at the rest of the fight. "Report!"
Brath shouted, "We got them on the run. We just gotta clean this up."
Jollies was next. "All prisoners are safe. Not a single casualty."
Alex plunged her dragon anchor into the port on Chine's back. "All right, let's wrap this up."
Her anchor absorbed Chine's draconic fluid, blood fused with magic and energy from the augments on his body.
Alex screamed with rage as the anchor pumped Chine's blood into her veins. She burst into flames and darted forward with increased speed, slashing through the remaining trolls, leaving flames from where her feet had touched or her blade had cut.
The flames flicked out, and the trolls lay dead.
&
nbsp; Alex hit her comm. "Everyone, check the bodies. I don't want any survivors."
Abby flew over to Alex and landed next to her. "No prisoners?"
Alex shook her head. "We don't have that luxury. Where would we transport them too? No, it's better to just make sure it ends here." Then she turned to Roy. "Like I said, you help us, we'll help you. Thanks for the hand."
Roy surveyed the damage Boundless had managed to do in less than twenty minutes. "Doesn't look like you needed it."
Alex pointed in the direction of the prisoners. "Actually, this is what I need your help with. I can't get within twenty feet of a MERC camp. Can you make sure these people get to safety?"
Roy's face twitched again. He was fighting something deep within himself. Unfortunately, he wasn't winning. Yet. "Sure, but don't think that means I trust you. I'll be watching your ass. All of you. If you so much as think of pulling any shit, I'll drop you in a second."
Alex nodded solemnly as Roy took off in the direction of the prisoners.
Abby extended her hand to Alex. "Sorry it's not under better conditions, but we're glad to have you on board."
She shook the girl’s hand. "Same here. And now that I've got you here, we need to go over some of those emails you sent me about dragon blood transfers because I didn't understand a single word."
Abby laughed as she and Alex walked over to the rest of the dragonriders.
Alex hadn't lied. She was glad this was happening. Boundless had been on the run for too long. It was about time they got something like a break.
Chapter Eleven
Gnomes did not do hospitals. It would have been impossible to find one on the entire gnomish world. Instead, gnomes relied on a deep magic that many of the races throughout the nine realms had forgotten. There was no race as in touch with the natural world around them as gnomes were. It didn't matter if they were the fair folk or the deep gnomes. They spoke to the earth and it answered. Always.
Kravis was lucky to have been wounded on a planet full of healers. After the disaster that had taken place at the gate and the decimation of the gnomish soldiers and scientists, he had been rushed to the closest settlement. Sarah had to leave him there. It had hurt to see him that badly wounded, but she knew her heartbreak wasn't going to help anyone.
Now she was finally back. There was still work to be done, though. Instead of going straight to Kravis, she found the camp leader. She needed a report on the gnome resistance camps across the planet. The defeat at the Gate had been a shock and an unexpected blow. Gnomish soldiers were a precious resource. Much of the gnome population had been enslaved and worked to death by the Dark One.
Those who remained were the last of the gnomes. There were hardly any off-world compared to the rest of the races. If an elf army had been hit as hard as the gnomes, the elves would have survived, as would humans or dwarves. Gnomes were in the same position as the orcs. They were fighting for their race’s very survival.
Sarah met the gnomish leader in his camp, where he offered her a cup of tea that tasted like dirt and honey. She winced as she drank it. Gnomish drinks still didn't sit well with her, but she was polite and drank her tea as the leader went on about the state of the other camps.
Gnomes from across the realms were returning. There were many who were not serving on military duty. They were the most vital gnomes to come back.
Kravis had explained the reason to Sarah many times. Raising children was never high on the list of priorities with gnomes. Their planet was small and had scant resources, one of the reasons half of the gnome population had evolved to live underground. That, coupled with their extraordinarily long lives, caused gnomes to concentrate on things other than reproducing.
But now, gnomes had put a high priority on increasing their population. They were assigning their best scientists to a project to increase fertility rates among civilian men and women.
As the gnomish leader detailed these new plans, Sarah raised her hand. "Wait, are you saying you're making breeding camps?"
The gnomish leader curled his lip in disgust. "No, we aren't making camps. You make it sound so sterile. Think of it more as a resort. There are gnomes who would want nothing more than to stay on a tropical island and fuck like there was no war going on."
Sarah thought about the plan. That would be how they would go about this. They weren't a serious race by any means. Practical jokes were almost considered greetings. A grouchy gnome like Kravis came along once every hundred years, and the rest of the community loved him for it. It only made sense that when they were faced with extinction, their solution would be an island orgy. But Sarah saw one glaring problem with the plan.
"You know, it's still going to be some time before your kids become adults. A lot could happen before then. You could end up with a lot of parents who have to leave their children for war."
The leader refilled his cup with tea and offered Sarah another one, which she took as she steeled herself against its terrible flavor. "We've started preparing for that. The rest of the races would probably not approve. Definitely not Myrddin. I am telling you in secret since you've earned more than our trust, Sarah."
"You don't have to tell me anything you think would compromise you."
"It won't. We've made up our minds. Over the years, we've developed tech to allow us to grow our children outside the womb once they've entered the fetal stage. We've been building the structures underground since the war began."
Sarah had no moral feelings concerning the subject. Gnomes were going to be extinct if something drastic wasn't done. What was the difference between growing in a womb or a tube? "I'm assuming you can artificially age them as well?"
"Yes, but for that, we want to be certain. A hundred percent. If you could get Abby or Creon to check our work, it would be a huge favor to us."
Sarah pulled out her holoscreen and jotted down a couple of notes. "If you send me your information, I'll pass it along to them and make sure it gets looked at. For what it's worth, I think it's a great idea. Practical."
"Hopefully we won't have to keep orgy island open for too long, or at least make it more of a vacation spot. Ease out of military-mandated repopulation. Something to look forward to."
Sarah thought there were much worse things. A child didn't seem that bad, especially if you didn't have to endure nine months of bloating and sickness. She didn't even want to think about the birthing part. She was always confused by the sadness those thoughts brought on.
"If there isn't anything else, do you think I could see Kravis?" she asked.
The leader stood and headed toward his tent's exit. "Of course. He's been stabilized. Wounds are healing, but he's retreated in the old fashion. Very typical."
The two turned a corner in the camp and arrived at Kravis' tent. The soldiers had taken the liberty of decorating it, giving the tent the feeling that Kravis was sleeping, not comatose.
Sarah knelt beside him, resting her knees on a throw pillow she'd gotten him for his birthday. "What do you mean by typical? I've never heard of this.”
"It's an evolutionary response. If our bodies experience too much trauma, we enter a coma."
"He's healed, though. Shouldn't he be waking up?"
"Sometimes the trauma is emotional, or merely something the gnome wishes to avoid. I've personally known gnomes who slept for fifty years to avoid a conflict."
Sarah stared down at Kravis, who looked to be sleeping peacefully. "Avoiding a conflict, you say?"
She smiled at the leader. "Thank you. I'll make sure your work gets looked at as soon as possible. And thank you for taking care of Kravis."
The leader bowed slightly. "Whatever we can do to help. Farewell."
He left Sarah alone with Kravis.
Sarah had never seen him look so comfortable. She almost didn't want to disturb him. Almost.
She pressed her finger to his temple and calmed her breathing, concentrating on her chakra gates, envisioning them cracking open and her energy exploding outward. She was
focusing on her crown chakra.
Suddenly, she felt it open, her mental powers expanding rapidly. She drew them in and focused them to a blade’s precision. She aimed that blade at Kravis' head.
The mental knife shot into his mind and the tent disappeared. Sarah was sitting in a cave with Kravis. The walls were sleek with water, the cave filled with the sound of water dripping on the floor.
Sarah leaned over Kravis, staring at him. He was breathing.
She continued to stare, waiting for Kravis to betray himself.
The red-headed gnome slightly opened his right eye.
Sarah slapped her knee. "Gotcha! I knew it! I fucking knew it! Get up, you big faker."
Kravis grumbled as he sat up. "Are you serious, Sarah? I can't even get any peace and quiet in my own mind?"
Sarah blushed, feeling like she was being ridiculous and invasive. "I was just worried about you."
"Oh, yeah, you were? What exactly were you worried about?"
"Someone told me about your gnomish habit of going into a coma. He said there were a couple of reasons. One, that you're too hurt, but it looks like you're healing all right. The second would be because of trauma."
Kravis sighed as he leaned his head back and let water drip on his forehead. "Or the other reason is to avoid a conflict. Pretty sure you heard that one too. That's probably the number one reason for conveniently slipping into a coma just because of a light stabbing."
"It's the marriage thing, isn't it?"
He tried to avoid her eyes. "You know, I didn't think there was time to talk about this. Not really talk about it, but what better time than when I'm trapped in my mind, right?"
"Wait, did you say trapped?"
"Yeah. It's not like I thought, I'd like to be in a coma right now. It just kinda happened. You could call it extreme avoidance. Some gnomes are better at it than others. I once spent six months in a coma because I couldn't answer a friend’s question about whether their cooking was any good."
