Jake’s POV
The sounds of wingbeats announced the arrival of the last few participants of the exercise. The remaining members of our team, and the last two members of the other team landed with their groups. Suma and the Lieutenant landed by the Captain, while Rou, and Odens landed by Nine, who had shown up earlier.
I walked up to Suma and asked, “are you okay?” But she didn’t answer. She was staring off into space. The sparkle around her was dim, and she seemed distracted. “Suma?” I reached down and placed a hand in her wing to get her attention.
“Ah!” She shouted, and flinched. A pang of hurt hit my heart for a second, but she quickly said she was sorry. “Oh, Jake, I am so sorry. I am still a bit anxious for some reason.”
“My sincere apologies, Private Suma. That may be the lingering effects of my spell.” The other Captain said, fluttering down next to us.
“Your spell?” I asked.
“Yes, I cast a spell on her during the exercise. It appears she has a low tolerance for Mind Magic. She will likely feel uneasy for a few more hours; until the effects dissipate.”
“Are you okay?” I asked Suma again.
“I… yes. I will be fine.” She answered.
“Who won?” A member of the other team suddenly called out. For a moment, I held my breath for a moment, nervous to hear the answer.
“It was our loss.” The Captain of the enemy team announced, and I sighed, relieved. Captain Gigoales nodded his head respectfully, while the rest of our team, minus the Lieutenant, celebrated.
“We’re so sorry, Captain.” One of the other team member said.
“Do not be. You all performed admirably. Tomorrow, we will resume our training, and seize victory next time.” The Captain said proudly, and ordered his team into formation before flying away with them. With that, our team was left in the forest.
“Squad three.” Captain Gigoales said, catching everyone’s attention. “Good job. You all performed your role to the best of your ability, and accomplished the mission. Because of that, we won, and will proceed to the next step: our first mission.”
“Sir… are you sure we are ready?” Rou asked. “We lost almost every member of your team in this exercise.”
Instead of answering her question, he asked one to the Lieutenant. “Lieutenant Datahu, how many teams have you been a part of during your time with the Drake Squads?”
“Seven, sir.” She answered.
“And how many missions have you been on?”
“Fifteen, sir.” A quiet confusion settled on us, but it was Odens who broke it.
“I do not understand sir. What was the point of asking her that question?”
“Lieutenant Datahu, of those fifteen missions, how many were successful?” The Captain asked, ignoring Odens.
“Fourteen, sir.”
“And how many of your former teammates have you seen recently?”
“Three, sir.” That one, she answered… coldly; solemnly even.
“And why is that?” The Captain asked.
“Because of the thirty-five teammates I have served with, only three survived our missions, sir.”
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
“…What?” Rou asked; her voice sounded both confused, and horrified.
“We expect a high mortality rate in the Drakes. We lay our lives down with each mission we accept. Not because we expect to live, not for glory, but because if we do not do these missions, if no one does them… Neame die. Innocent hatchlings, mothers, fathers… they are why we fight, they are why we die. You each had your own reasons for joining. Some because you knew that serving a year with us fulfilled your military requirements. Some because you wanted to make a difference. Whatever your reason was… this is it now. Not for yourself, but for them. For the mission.” The Captain said. As he spoke, I felt cold. There were no chills running down my spine. Instead, my palms got clammy, and my mouth went dry. I tried and failed to swallow that same knot that has been showing up more and more recently in my throat.
“How high of a mortality rate?” I asked.
“Fifty percent per mission.” The Lieutenant answered.
“Why… why did you not tell us about this?” Rou asked quietly.
“This is the Drakes; the most dangerous covert operation teams in our kingdom. You already knew.” Gigoales answered.
Yeah… but I sure didn’t like to think about it. I thought, finally facing reality. “Sir, we won. What’s our mission?” I asked.
“Before we move on, does anyone have anything they’d like to say?” The Captain asked. No one spoke up. They were probably either in shock, or just didn’t know what to say. I felt Suma’s emotions though our link. She was confused, scared, and angry; she was well within her rights to be, I guess. “Alright then. Our first mission it to move behind enemy lines, to the island of Sangu.”
“For what purpose?” The Lieutenant asked.
“Assassination.” Captain Gigoales said. “Our scouts report that the Southern Union is utilizing a powerful weapon. Which is how they were able to take the island in the first place.”
“Sir, you said it was an assassination. Did you mean sabotage?” I wondered.
“No. The weapon is a powerful familiar.”
“What familiar could be powerful enough to take and hold a whole island? Some kind of lesser dragon?” Nine asked.
“The reports suggest the familiar is called Harbinger… and that it fits the description of a Viking.” The Captain said.
There were other questions asked, and I think some of them were even asked to me, but I couldn’t hear them. All I could hear was a single thought, repeating in my head. A person?
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Lieutenant Datahu’s POV
Luminous braids, hung from the ceiling of Captain Gigoales’s office, cast a dim shadow on the three of us; myself, Captain Gigoales, and Captain Nexen. It had been four hours since our teams concluded the exercise, and resumed normal duties around base. “Your assessment?” Gigoales asked.
“Your team is impressive. They came up with a good, if a bit odd, strategy, and executed it fairly well. For the most part, I’d suggest more evasion and maneuverability training, but I do think they are ready.” Nexen said.
“And what of Sentinel and Suma?” He asked, this time to me.
“Suma is fast, and a highly skilled healing mage to be sure, though her attacks still need work.” I said.
“Agreed.” Nexen said. “That familiar though… he is impressive.” He took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment. “That display he made was immense. I have never seen anything like it before. Controlling a spell inside of it proved more difficult than I assumed it would be. I felt like as soon as the mana built up inside me, it changed somehow and threw the balance of the spell off. In combat, that is a dangerous thing.”
“Yes, I noticed that as well. Speaking of your lightning, how much did you hold it back when you hit him?” Gigoales asked.
“I did not. There were healing mages on standby, and I heard he was much more durable than most mages, so I hit him with my normal attacks. The fact that he was barely injured, and merely rendered unconscious is astounding. An attack of that caliber should have been enough to kill any unprepared Neame.” Nexen said.
“You attacked a member of my squad with full force?” I asked, irritated.
“We need to know what he can do Datahu. Even if it means getting that information in unpleasant ways.” Gigoales said, his voice growing intense. “That being said… I specifically requested you to test my team, not try and kill them.”
“It is a Viking, Gigoales. It is not a teammate. If it dies, then so be it. But if I am expected to trust-”
“Enough.” Captain Gigoales said, not so calmly. “He is not your teammate, he is my subordinate, and if you ever do something like this again, I guarantee you will not live long enough to regret your mistake.”
“Age has not tempered your blood any, I see.” Nexen sighed. “Fine, his actions are on your head… for now.”
“Back to the debriefing. Regarding your spell against Suma; why did you not hold back your spell against her?” I asked, trying to defuse the situation.
“I did. When I told you that I simply made a mistake, that was no lie. She really is quite sensitive to Mind Magic. Harming her was truly an accident.” He said. “It was a good thing I caught the mistake early. As sensitive as she is to it, she might have suffered permanent harm, or gone catatonic.”
“Perhaps some training for resisting mental attacks is in order for the squad?” I suggested. Captain Gigoales nodded in agreement.
“Any further statements about the rest of squad three before we move on?” Gigoales asked Nexen. He had nothing, so we moved on to our opinions about Nexen’s squad.