Chapter 9 - Anticipation
Jace flipped open the lid of his grey, metal lunch box, and blinked slowly as he stared down at the tightly wrapped, precisely sliced sandwiches.
He pinched at the cling film gently with two of his large claws and tugged at it, scuffling the previously pristine plastic.
The wind howled and rushed through his horns, and the thick, red scarf around his neck flapped violently behind him, like a flag in the punishing breeze.
A loud, deep *buzzzzz* echoed through the air. The sound was followed by five electronic pings in his ear.
He sighed loudly and shook his head. He raised his communicator close to his mouth.
"Tighten that aim, please. You're firing several kilograms of hyper-sonic scale-steel. That level of deviation at this range is unacceptable. Heart in the game, eyes on the target."
Jace sat upon a small wooden bench on the edge of an impressive cliff face. The sheer, vertical rock wall below him had several large hover drones lining it, shining bright red lights into the air. Below him, the turbulent waters crashed against the soft, pale sand of the beach. Thick, grey clouds hung heavy in the air, threatening rain at any moment. The grey rock face of the cliff was broken only occasionally by clinging, puffy shrubbery, growing anywhere their roots could take hold.
Laid out on the beach was an oversized obstacle course built from freshly cut logs and surrounded by drones, all for the training Dragoon pilots to sharpen their skills on. Five mechs were stomping about on the sand, their sharp white chassis standing out against the grey of the water, but blending with the soft foam that collected at the tide's break.
The trainee in question strode back to the start of the course. Her Dragoon stood twenty feet tall and carried a huge macro-vulcan rifle, clasped firmly in one of its powerful, metallic hands. A guide drone gave her the green light and she surged forward; the audible crunch of the sand underfoot, followed by a heaving mechanical rush as the mech sprinted forward and vaulted over the first log, placing a hand firmly on the soaking wood and leaping cleanly over the obstruction. The spray of the sea fizzled away as it landed on the grated vents on the back of the Dragoon's chassis.
She leapt through the various obstacles in front of her. The moment she was clear, she raised the giant rifle up, its sleek body and barrel painted with orange and black stripes, firmly signalling it was a training weapon. She aimed it at the hovering drones further down the beach and slowly, the Dragoon squeezed the trigger, the same way a traditional soldier would wield and fire a rifle.
Another loud buzz shook the beach, and Jace counted twelve pings in his ear. He nodded.
"Much better."
The Dragoons moved with a bizarre mechanical grace, caught somewhere between organic and robotic. The mannerisms of their pilots were visible in each movement, even if subtly, but they remained devoid of the little things that make a person seem... alive. It didn't matter how many times he witnessed these towering metal soldiers in action however; Jace couldn't help but feel a rush of pride in his chest at the sight of the Dragoons erupting from the coastline, splashing through the waves in a mix of bubbles, foam and fusion-powered might. These machines were some of the finest feats of engineering the Draconic Alliance had ever produced, and their service record was testament to their effectiveness. There were few problems that couldn't be solved with a salvo of macro-needles from a Dragoon.
With the training going well, he turned his attention back to the sandwich on his lap, his frown easing at the sight of the wrinkled sheet of cling film.
He plucked at it softly and unwrapped his sandwich, before taking a slow bite.
All the ingredients in the empire and I still can't make it taste as good as hers.
He chewed his food in a timely, methodical manner, sighing gently to himself and casting a tired gaze over at the Dragoons. The ones standing deeper in the ocean were visible only by their headlights, shining through the water, illuminating the rising bubbles with a warm yellow glow amongst the grey, stormy depths.
Before too long, a call came through on his communicator. Jace quickly finished his current mouthful of sandwich, dusted his hands off and accepted the call.
"Jace! It's Theo! Where's everybody at? I'm at the hanger and there's no one here."
"Dragoon training - we're at Velk bay. What's up?"
"I was just wondering, did you manage to pull anything from the inspection report on the Zits I submitted a couple days ago?" Theo asked. He seemed to be breathing a little heavier than usual, and Jace could hear his tail scraping gently against the hangar floor in the background, as though it were swishing around restlessly.
"Nothing, I'm afraid. Their documents were clean. Everything followed compliance and I couldn't find a hint of fabrication. As per usual, Evangeline is running lean and clean."
"UGH!" Theo growled down the line, huffing loudly in frustration. "I thought that might be the case, but I was so hoping your expert eyes might find something I missed. Fucking bastards."
"No such luck, I'm afraid. Sorry, Theo."
"Well, luck is all it is, Jace. We'll catch them out, one day, one way or another I'm sure... Hey! Speaking off, has anyone reached out to you?"
"What, about the inspection?"
"Yep!"
"No, I don't believe so. Were you expecting someone to?"
The rhargnorn didn't reply straight away. He seemed lost in thought for several long moments, which was long enough to twist the pride in Jace's chest into a knot of anxiety in his stomach; if Theo was quiet, something was probably wrong.
"Was it the student you helped out?" Jace pressed. "I read that you renovated her, uh... 'office,' if you could call it that."
Theo remained silent, only the quiet whistle of his nostrils could be heard.
This is not like Theo. What in Chance is going on?
"Theo, I need you to speak your mind." Jace commanded.
"I... think I've fucked up? I think? Jace, I got a dagger in my guts, metaphorically this time."
Jace straightened his back. Eyes narrowing, he placed his half eaten sandwich back in its box.
"Well, let's talk it out. What's troubling you?" Jace spoke calmly.
"That student, Mooki Rye... she knew something. I didn't want to put it in the report, because, y'know, Evangaline also gets a copy and she seemed stressed enough as it was... the last thing I wanted was the poor girl to be challenged on something I'd written, which may not have even been correct... But I swear Jace, something had scared her. She was shaking, and tearing up...I'd go as far as to say traumatised her; her eyes had that look to them, you know?"
"You anticipated the girl getting in touch?"
"Yes." Theo replied with no hesitation. "I told her to keep herself safe from prying eyes, and I gave her both mine and your C-Add. She was this close to telling me but she was so anxious, Jace. I didn't want to pressure her, not after the phazire incident, but I knew she was going to message us. God-fucking-DAMN IT! I shouldn't have left her there like that, I knew something was wrong!" A loud clang rang out across the connection - it sounded as though Theo had just smacked his fist against the wall.
"How sure are you?" Jace asked firmly. "How unlikely is it that she just changed her mind?"
"No way she changed her mind, no fucking way. Hand on heart. She saw something, and it was cutting her up."
