by Ramy Vance
That was not to say she was bitter about it. Initially, taking orders had been difficult for Alex. She’d have preferred to think for herself. Now she had to admit that there was a lot of comfort in knowing Myrddin usually had the answers.
Maybe Chine had something to help her get a better understanding of the situation. He was linked to her mind, and a strong enough telepath to pull her out of whatever that attack had been. There was a chance he might have learned something from the attack.
Team Boundless met Manny in the stables. He looked stressed out, all of his eyes whirling in a frantic way that made Alex uncomfortable. She hated seeing Manny stressed. He was incapable of hiding it, and naturally, it ended up freaking Alex out.
The dragons were already on the augment platforms. They had been outfitted with an apparatus that Alex had never seen before. There were tubes stretching from the dragons’ mouths and wrapped around their backs, ending at the spinal anchor each of them was fitted with.
Goggles had also been attached to the dragons’ eyes. Something that looked like an exoskeleton was being attached to their wings. It created the effect of having the bones of their wings on the outside, making them look bat-like.
Alex walked up to Manny as the rest of the team moved toward their dragons. “What’s all this?”
Manny hardly looked up from his paperwork, floating back and forth. Alex hated it when he did that. The Beholder’s anxiety was so intense that it was contagious. “What’s what?” he mumbled distractedly.
Alex gestured to Chine, who was fidgeting uncomfortably as human scientists fiddled with the tubes that had been inserted in his mouth.
Manny glanced up for a second before returning to his paperwork. “Oh, that? We’ve had to adjust for the dragons being in space. I don’t understand it all. You’re going to have to get the technicians to explain it to you. And I need you to explain some things to me.”
“You heard about what happened at dinner?”
His main eye gave Alex all his attention. “Of course, I heard about it.” Manny sighed. “Gill and Jim both reported it as soon as it happened. But neither of them was very clear about what was happening, so I expect you to fill in the details.”
Alex hoped she had a good enough understanding of what had happened to give Manny a satisfactory report. Truth be told, she was a little confused. She knew she’d been attacked telepathically by the Dark One due to her connection with Vardis, but she wasn’t certain what the attack constituted.
Her body had been in pain, but at the same time, she’d been outside of it. That was the part that was confusing to her.
Alex figured it was best to just tell Manny what she’d experienced. “Vardis was attacked by the Dark One. I was dragged into it as well because we have a link. A psychic one.”
All of Manny’s eyes focused on Alex. “Does Myrddin know about the connection?”
Alex shifted her weight from foot to foot. “Yeah, he does. He wasn’t happy about it. Made him more uncomfortable than I am. But we’re linked together. I guess whatever hits him telepathically hits me as well.”
“What happened? Jim said you were in a lot of pain.”
Alex tried to find the right words, but there weren’t any. “I was, at one point. My body was in pain, but my mind was detached. I was watching something. A planet. It was covered in some kind of black stuff, and then something like a baby came out of the planet and looked at me, but I don’t know if it saw me. That was what was hurting me.”
Alex took a second to think and see if she was forgetting anything important. “And that kid, the one I saw in the meteor? He was there as well. He said he was part of the Dark One.”
“He was the one who helped you blow up the meteor, wasn’t he?”
Alex thought back to what had happened then. She was annoyed that she couldn’t remember nearly as much as she wanted to. Was her mind intentionally hiding things from her?
After an extended period of silence while Manny waited patiently, Alex finally said, “I don’t know if he was trying to help me. At the time, that’s what seemed like, but now I don’t know. Everything is confusing, and it’s not like when I experience things in real life. I can remember those, and they don’t confuse me. But what happened on the meteor or just now? That feels like trying to remember a dream. Everything starts to fade, or it doesn’t make any sense.”
Manny’s eyes softened, showing that he was at least trying to understand. Whatever was happening with Alex was outside his experience. “Wait!” she suddenly exclaimed. “Can’t you see multiple realities or dimensions or something like that?”
A few of Manny’s eyes turned their attention back to the papers floating in front of him as if he were avoiding the conversation. “Yeah, I can. It’s not as simple as you’re probably thinking, but I can perceive dimensions and realms outside the one I’m currently in.”
“Wherever I was, it wasn’t this dimension. I don’t know how I know that, but it wasn’t. If you were linked with Chine and me, do you think you could tell me where it was? What I was seeing?”
Manny rubbed his chin with one of his eye tendrils. “It depends if I’ve seen it before. Most of the universe across the realms looks the same, even in other dimensions. Unless there was something very noticeable, like a dozen black holes or maybe a few dying stars next to each other—anything like that—I might be able to, if I’ve seen it before.”
Alex thought back to her vision. There was nothing interesting or notable except the planet the Dark One was destroying. No landmarks she could think of. “Do you think it’s worth a try?”
Manny thought it through. “Maybe you should talk to the technicians. There are some things you need to know about how the lack of gravity is going to affect your mission. After that, we’ll give it a try.”
Alex agreed with him. She did want to know where the Dark One was or if it was only a trick of the mind, but the mission at hand took priority. If Boundless was able to retrieve the weapon, it wouldn’t matter either way. The Dark One would be dead. Problem solved.
With that in mind, Alex went over to the technician who was working on the space augments being attached to Chine. “I heard I’m supposed to get a tutorial on all this,” she called as she approached.
The technician, a young man with dusty brown hair wearing a name tag that read Greg, turned to face Alex. “Hey, I’ve been waiting for you,” he chirped cheerfully. “Glad to see you made it in time for me to go over everything. It won’t take too long, I promise.”
Greg waved Alex over and started to go through the augments he’d attached to Chine and why. The augments were far past the prototype stage but hadn’t been tested with riders on dragons. He assured her that the important components were all safe.
The tubes that had been attached were to deal with the lack of oxygen in space. They’d been trying to figure out a way to get oxygen to the dragons before realizing that the dragons would be able to breathe their own nitrous oxide. The tubes were basically a funnel, taking the fumes that were in the dragons’ stomachs and cycling them back through their systems, negating the need for them to carry oxygen.
The only problem was that the dragons would not be able to use flame attacks. That meant their riders were going to have to be meticulous in the augments they chose.
Chine and the other dragons were not used to being without gravity, but according to Greg, that wasn’t going to be the hard part.
The dragons weren’t going to be able to use their wings. Thrusters were being added to their backs, which the riders controlled. If something went wrong, the dragons could operate them, but Greg wasn’t sure how much good that was going to do.
Alex wished they had started training with these new controls weeks ago, or at least earlier in the day. It had been great to see her parents, but the time would have been much better spent getting used to the new way of riding.
Greg assured Alex that it would be like second nature in space. He did caution that it was going to take
a lot more concentration since Chine wouldn’t be able to help her when it came to control unless she completely relinquished hers. Great, Alex thought before reaching out to Chine and asking him if he was comfortable with the new equipment.
Chine chuckled. Does it matter? Either way, this is our mission. We are going to have to do the best we can. We’ll figure it out.
Alex was glad the dragon was comfortable with the idea of being in space and having no control over his body. She wished she could pick up on his emotions more, but she realized that if Chine was very uncomfortable with the prospect, she would feel it. It would be nice to trust herself as much as Chine did.
Greg continued explaining the different augments she could use this time. She was only half-listening, though. Weapons were important, but they were something both she and Chine could easily figure out. She was concerned about why Greg was going on so long about how to arm up. Wasn’t this meant to be a simple fetch quest?
Alex asked him, “What’s the deal with all the weapons talk? When we were getting ready for a full-on invasion, nobody briefed us this much on artillery. This isn’t supposed to be a dangerous mission from what I understand.”
Greg seemed taken aback by the question. “Vardis didn’t tell you? He said the area he hid the weapon is heavily armed. It shouldn’t be a problem because he’s got the codes to everything, but better safe than sorry, in my opinion.”
Alex shut out the rest of what Greg explained. She focused on the fact that they were expecting to see heavy resistance on such a simple task—picking up a weapon. Something was off. Alex couldn’t put her finger on it but, whatever it was, it had to do with Vardis.
There was no time to deal with doubts at the moment, though. The mission was a go. Once Greg finished lecturing Alex on the different things to pay attention to, Alex went to her teammates and briefed them on the possible complications. No one seemed to be surprised. Now that everyone was up to speed, Alex went and found Manny.
The Beholder was still dealing with his paperwork but looked much less bothered than before. “Finished with all the prep?”
Alex shrugged, not knowing what else to do. “This is starting to sound like much more than Vardis suggested. I want to see if you can help me pin down where the Dark One’s attack came from.”
Manny stretched out one of his tentacles to Alex. “Take hold of this.”
Months ago, the notion would have disgusted Alex, but she’d grown up a lot. She grabbed it, and the Beholder’s eyes rolled back as he tried to see what Alex had seen.
After a couple of seconds, Manny opened his eyes again. “They are really from the same dimension. I can see that much.”
Alex let go of his tentacle. At least that part was true.
An alarm sounded in the stables; it was time to head out. Alex wished she had more time. She wasn’t certain what she was about to walk into, but she didn’t feel prepared. But how was that different from anything else she’d experienced?
Chapter Six
The dragons were set to take off at six in the evening. Tensions were high on the base. Alex didn’t need to be told this was the first time dragons had been sent into space. True, they had gotten pretty close when Boundless had dealt with the meteor, but this was an entirely different beast.
Manny assured the riders that the whole thing would go smoothly. This wasn’t something they had whipped up on a whim. Myrddin and the human base had been preparing for dragonriders to go to space since the inception of the program.
The last thing Boundless had to do was get their new gear. They would be holding onto their dragon anchors, but the armor they had used before would be useless. Someone in the DGA department (Alex suspected it was Abby and her crew) had figured out an ingenious way to use the draconic fluid in the anchors to supplement oxygen.
That meant that dragonriders wouldn’t have to wear bulky spacesuits. They would be going into space with suits that were designed to deal with extreme temperatures.
The suits were self-regulating and would keep the rider’s body temperature optimal by supplementing the rider’s metabolism with draconic fluid. The only downside was that the riders wouldn’t be able to use the more powerful personal augments that relied on the draconic fluid.
Alex didn’t think that would be a problem since there shouldn’t be any fighting. The additional augments the dragons had been outfitted with were merely a precaution. Vardis had repeated multiple times that he could easily turn off the defenses around the weapon.
Vardis still hadn’t disclosed what kind of weapon it was. That annoyed Alex, but the alien had assured her that explaining it would be a waste of time. The weapon was something that worked on an entirely different plane of reality, and Alex wouldn’t be able to grasp the explanation of what it was or what it did.
She still thought it was fishy that it had been stored on her plane, but she knew little to nothing about quantum mechanics or multiple dimensions. For the time being, she resolved to keep her mouth shut and see what happened.
Myrddin still hadn’t contacted Alex, and it was making her anxious. This was the first mission she was heading up, and she wished that he had at least left her something to work with. Granted, it meant Myrddin trusted her, but she wouldn’t have turned down some hand-holding.
Once Boundless had had their suits refitted, they went back to the stables to prepare for the launch. Jim was talking nervously to Jollies, joking much more than usual while Brath and Gill had grown quiet, speaking only in small bursts about unrelated things.
Alex stopped the group outside the stables. “How’s everyone feeling about this?”
No one in Boundless seemed to be in a rush to speak up. Finally, Gill said, “’Uncomfortable’ would be the best way to put it.”
“And what’s got you feeling that way? I don’t want to head up there until everyone has their heads on straight.”
Gill looked over his shoulder as if he were worried that someone was listening in. “For one, this is all new tech we’re using. None of us has tested it. Secondly, we are also going to be using this tech in a completely new environment. I don’t know anything about Earth, and I know even less about your solar system.”
Alex could see Gill’s points, but those were things neither she nor anyone else had control over. “We all have gravity on our planets. So, we all should have a pretty good idea of what happens when we don’t, right? But the rest of it, you’re right about. This is new tech, which means we all have to be paying close attention.”
Brath was bristling in his beard, tapping his fingers on his waist as he tried to contain whatever was going to inevitably come out. “Why are we even doing this?” he blurted. “If it’s as simple as picking something up, they should be sending someone else.”
Jollies’ eyes went wide as she stared at Brath. “What? Do you think this is beneath us?”
The gnome started to pace, trying to burn off nervous energy or irritation. “No, I don’t think this is beneath us. I’m just saying, the Nest has people pick up packages all the time. Some of them are pretty damn important. Why the hell are we suddenly delivery boys?”
Alex had been wondering the same thing, going in circles in her head. There were good reasons for either argument. If the weapon was that powerful and dangerous, Boundless should definitely be escorting it. Something that important couldn’t be left to just anyone to take care of.
But Boundless wasn’t the most qualified for the job even if that was the case. Why wasn’t Myrddin here personally? If this thing could get rid of the Dark One once and for all, shouldn’t he be retrieving it?
On the flip side, if there were defenses that could easily be disabled by Vardis, why didn’t the Nest send one of the other platoons? Theoretically, anyone could do this job.
Alex didn’t have the answers, and she didn’t pretend to. “Look, I don’t know. We have our orders. That’s all I can say.”
Gill cleared his throat as he checked over his shoulder again. “Maybe we s
hould begin to question those orders?” he asked softly.
The members of Boundless seemed caught off-guard by Gill’s words. It was not that it hadn’t been thought of before. No one expected it to be Gill to say it, though. But he wasn’t finished. “There are things going on that we don’t understand. And it’s our lives at stake. I refuse to be a pawn.”
Alex could understand why he felt that way. It was how she’d felt when she’d realized Myrddin was keeping her in the dark, but things were different now. Or were they? “How does everyone else feel about this?”
Jollies and Jim, who had not spoken, exchanged glances, perhaps trying to figure out who was going to agree or disagree with Brath and Gill. Naturally, the pixie couldn’t contain herself. “I don’t like it,” she blurted. “We never know what’s going on. Ever. Why are they keeping us out of the loop?”
Jim countered, “That’s the way the military works. They don’t explain everything to every soldier. Do you know how much time that would waste? My dad was telling me that the amount of direct contact and intel was more than he ever had back when he was serving.”
Brath glared at Jim and spat, “So your father was happy being a pawn in events he didn’t understand?”
Jim’s face darkened as he clenched his jaws and his fists. “My dad is a great man. If you think you can talk about him—”
“I don’t understand why humans have the desire to follow someone and never ask any questions. Are you all that stupid? Just because there’s someone telling us that we have to do something, it doesn’t mean we should. We don’t have any idea what’s going on half the time. They tell us to go kill this, get that, but we don’t know why.”
Jim squared up with Brath, both of them looking as if they were ready to draw their weapons. “You think Myrddin is pulling some double-agent crap?” Jaws growled. “You think we’re all in some stupid-ass conspiracy or some shit?”
Brath stepped up to Jim, looking intimidating despite only coming up to Jim’s waist. “I’m saying if you can’t see that some of this doesn’t make sense, you’re either blind or an idiot!”
