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"How do you know?" Agera asked dumbfounded. Vienzo rubbed the back of his neck.

"I know because Venus told me a while back." he said quietly. Agera was shivering though from fear or rage he didn't know.

"You shouldn't have told me, Enzo." she said quietly. Around them others of both draken and human heritage swarmed down their pathway, oblivious to her internal struggle. She sat down and swung her head from side to side.

"Agera, what are you going to do?" she stood up, paused and then sat back down, "Please don't do anything rash..."

"Enzo, you have no idea what I want to DO to that BITCH!" she said loudly, and a couple of creatures turned to look at her as they passed. Several gave her a wide berth.

"Agera." she got up, turned around, and stormed back and forth and then stopped a passing officer, a human lieutenant.

"Sir! Could you direct me to Alpha Squadron's barracks?" he nodded and then pointed down the lane.

"Three blocks, and then a left, Sergeant, and it'll be on your right." he said over the noise.

"Thank-you, sir!" she saluted smartly, and then turned in the direction he indicated.

"Three, you're in charge until I get back." she said quietly.

"With all due respect, ma'am -" Agera cut him off.

"That's an order three! Get some shut-eye." and she stormed off, the crowd quickly engulfing her.

She was so distracted by her thoughts that she missed her destination not once, but twice.

That dragonelle, that FEMALE. Her audacity. Some mother...

She knocked on the tent pole and was answered immediately by a pale blue dragon.

"Hey, I know you! Your the bi - " Agera pushed him aside and stormed in, barging in on several males. Two wolf whistles sounded off. Agera silenced them with a snarl.

"Ma'am, this is a private area! I'm going to have to ask you to leave!" the blue dragon said, regaining his bearing.

"I'm going to have to ask you to shut the fuck up." Agera turned to the group at large, "I'm looking for Lady Kali!"

As several of the males stood, she suddenly had a very clear idea of how bad an idea it might have been to show up in this particular area.

"You've got guts, Omega, to show up here, unarmed, with a paper bag for armor." Agera was also suddenly aware that her chest plate was slung across her back. She probably looked like hell. And then suddenly, Grand Lord Quickclaw appeared.

"What's going on here! Break it up!" he suddenly spotted Agera, and she was suddenly surrounded by some very large and muscular males.

"Alpha squad, disperse! I'll handle this." some looked reluctant, but the others returned to their bunks.

"I wanted to apologize for a couple of things that happened earlier." he said quietly, "I should not have accosted you the way I did. It was unprofessional of me. I had too much to drink."

Agera was mildly surprised at the leader.

"That said, I stand by what I said. You should not have been able to join the military. It should not have been allowed. You put everyone you fly with, everyone in this army, in danger. You put yourself in danger." he said quietly, "If you would pull off the blood feud, then you will have no other problems from me or mine."

She growled quietly, "I didn't come to debate how much of a bastard you are. Whether you regret it or not, you wronged me and mine. The blood feud stands."

The Grand Lords nostrils flared, and his red-gold scales seemed to glow, "So be it, Omega. I know not why you were able to best me, but I assure you, it will not happen again."

Agera examined her claws non-chalantly, "I doubt it. I didn't come here to talk to you though, lizard, I came to talk to Ladi Kali."

"What business have you with her?" Quickclaw asked quietly.

"I believe that falls under the category of 'None of your business.'" Agera growled at him, "Now where's Kali."

"Right here Agera dear, how are you?" Lady Kali bore an almost identical shape and build to Lady Kiesah, with the exception of the pitch black scales resembling her shadow element. She was slim, with long tail, full chest, and billowing wings. Beautiful by draconic standards. But that beauty was marred by numerous scars, and an unremovable patch stained into her black scales, a double delta arrow pointing up, with a broad point down behind it, the general insignia of the human aligned dragons from the last war. Lady Kali had betrayed her kind long ago. Whose to say she wouldn't do it again?

Agera stomped past her, snapping her wing at the dragonelle. The row between the backs of the tents was dark, and few personnel traveled here during the night.

Agera turned around to face her foster parent only to be cracked on the nose by Kali's tail.

"By the ancient, child, have you no sense?" Kali asked through clenched teeth as Agera rubbed her snout. Kali hadn't done that to her in years, and she had forgotten how much it smarted, "I teach you everything I know so you can stay ALIVE, not so you can go and get yourself killed on some damn fool adventure in the military!"

Agera was still rubbing her nose, "Better than mating with some asshole like Quickclaw! I know the real reason you're here, Kali! Both of you saw a piece of tail and you went after it!"

Kali went to snap her again, but in a feat of supernatural reflexes born of her training and heritage, Agera grabbed the tail tip out of the air, holding it steady.

"Don't do that again." she said in a quiet whisper. Kali somehow managed to look terrified and enraged at the same time.

"I ought to bite you." she said to her adoptive daughter.

"But you won't. I remember my childhood, MOTHER. It was not a pleasant one. You terrified me, brutalized me."

"I was trying to teach you! Since when do the void go gently on their enemies? Why should I be soft on you!?"

"BECAUSE I'M YOUR DAUGHTER!!!" Agera roared at the larger female, "Leave the fucking training to the military! Don't you think they know what they're doing?! And even then, they were gentler than you were!"

"You would not be alive today though, if not for me." Kali said, though she didn't sound so certain.

"Maybe, but I think we both know I wouldn't have given up on myself. I would have learned..."

Agera turned to walk back into the tent, "You saw what happened today?"

Kali growled, "You were a fucking idiot."

Agera smiled to herself, "I knew you'd say that. Damn it mother if I can't stand you, I still love you. My blood oath should rightly extend to you. Officially it does. But you have nothing to fear from me or my squadron."

Agera left the way she had come, ignoring the jeers and whistles from the males.

"And here I thought we would have to collect you in pieces." Janus chuckled as Agera turned back up at their barracks. The tent was a long, low ceiling unit, with air conditioning and heating, and a working bathroom, although the shower was almost to small to fit in, because it was made for humans. Pairs of mattresses were put together to allow dragons to lay down without sitting in the dirt.

"I can handle a couple of hormonal males Janus. What worried me was that female I have to call my mother." Agera said quietly. Vienzo was already fast asleep, and Jiza was writing in a small book next to Janus. It sounded like the water was going in the shower unit, which meant Guin was otherwise occupied. The sounds of a crowd were outside, and Agera could hear the occupants of the barracks on either side of them.

"These aren't to bad." Janus said, gesturing around at their accommodations, "Certainly better than Uni."

"That's cause they aren't trying to cram twenty dragons in here." Jiza said, not looking up from her journal. Agera had a quick look around. There was a commons area with a couple of chairs useless for anything but humans and even a small kitchen space. Someone had dropped off some MRE's, including a couple of the infamous omelet variety. Agera tossed those in the trash bin in the back, outside their tent.

"Our assigned quartermaster wanted to let you know, Agera, that our tent will be moved every third day, and that this isn't your apartment, so please keep it clean." Janus called from his bunk, "He also dropped off some horn mufflers, so we can sleep easier."

Agera chuckled as Janus waved a pair of fuzzy socks meant to slip on the horns and dampen noise. You looked ridiculous wearing them, but at least you could sleep. Fashion sense had no place in the military anyways. Agera grabbed a chicken pot pie MRE and tore it open, starting the chicken cooking first.

"Ugh, you like those, Agera?" Guin asked, coming out of the shower.

"They're not nearly as bad as they're reputation states. Just don't eat the omelet ones, if you know what's good for you. Besides," Agera pulled out the little black package she had truely opened the contents for, "look! Chocolate!"

M&M's did little to dampen Agera's hunger, but it was something all dragonelles loved, and all drakes avoided like the plague. Jiza looked up from her book, and Guin grabbed two MREs off the counter.

"Never knew they had chocolate in here." Guin mumbled, fishing the multi-colored candy out of the pouch. She grinned as her claws came out, package in paw.

"Score!" Jiza squealed with delight as Guin tossed her a package. Janus rolled his eyes.

"Females." he mumbled as he lay down to sleep, looking ridiculous in his horn socks.

The next few weeks were uneventful, fortunately. Agera reasoned that as the army moved, if an administrative position meant staying with the headquarters all the time, she could handle it. There was enough to do in the day to keep her busy. Food was plentiful, and despite not having anything directly to do, there was ample enough stimulation. On the third day of their sack time, Agera got a notice with the GM's seal that they were to start flying combat air patrols around the HQ area at least for eight hours every three days, as well as do foot patrols within the camp for four hours every three days.

The most enjoyment she got though was from their un-official war against Alpha squadron. Agera quickly discovered Alpha squad consisted of no fewer than forty-eight dragons, all well equipped and chosen for their combat prowess. They didn't have a flawless record, but considering the missions they were sent on, it was indeed impressive.

Agera had no intentions on harming any of Alpha squadron physically or mentally, despite her blood oath. They were too valuable. But she could make their life a living hell. Several times Alpha squadron would return from a long CAP and find their tent missing, having no choice but to sleep on the ground without any cover. It was particularly nasty for them on days it rained.

Venus quickly returned to the group with a new paw, courtesy of some metal bones replacing the crushed ones. The muscles had remained intact, along with the skin and nerves, so despite a few pains from a long foot patrol, Venus had little worries. She joined her mate nightly on his cushion now, snuggling in next to his stomach. The two were conspicuously absent from chow a couple of days, something that worried Agera.

"Oh stop fretting." Guin said past a mouthful of potatoes on the third time, "So what if they're mating? Let them be the two young lovebirds that they are."

"It's not them mating that bothers me." Agera said quietly, "It's the results of such that does. What if an egg comes up?"

"Does it bother anyone else talking about sex?" Jiza slugged Janus in the shoulder, grinning.

"Now that could be a problem." Guin said, stopping, "But I doubt they're going to go that far. Maternity leave could become an issue. We don't exactly get that right now."

"Why not? It's not like it's impossible to get to Cayman." Jiza said, looking up from her beef stew.

"Because we need as many teeth as possible right now. It's not that I don't want them to have hatchlings, it's just I don't want them to have any right now. We have enough issues as it is." Agera said quietly, "Besides, it would be irresponsible."

"OK, can we please stop talking about sex?"

Three weeks after they had arrived at base camp, they were starting to approach Ignus et Glacias. The land had gone from rolling open farmland, to hills separated by massive valleys. Agera was relaxing in the hills, enjoying a relaxing afternoon in the sunlight, when Pyrrus dove out of the sky, shaking the ground as he landed. Agera sat up and smiled at him, growling softly.

"Greetings, father." Agera said in Drashish, "It warms mine heart to see you aloft again."

"Aye, it warms mine to fly where eagles dare once more." he returned. His scales showed off his collection of new scars, but were already turning back to his blood red color, "Have you risen this day yet?"

"Nay, I have been here since the ninth hour of this day. What transpires during my respite." Pyrrus chuckled.

"You've fallen out of practice with our native language, daughter." Agera growled in frustration.

"Oh come on, it seems everyone speaks English anyways." she said, "It just rolls off the tongue easier."

"Aye, but Drashish is far more eloquent." Pyrrus said, rubbing his chin, "Have you really been sunning yourself the entire day?"

"So I got jealous of Venus's shine, sue me. Why, something important happen?" Pyrrus spread his wings and took off, Agera reluctantly following him. That's when she realized what was happening.

"Whoa. Now we're talking. How many?"

"1,200 Reagan class tanks, supported by another 400 Kennedy class infantry fighting vehicles. And note the mobile SAM launchers." the armored vehicles were traveling en-mass in battalions. Each vehicle was originally made for fighting in anti-terrorist operations, but functioned just as well in anti-air roles. Agera knew their specs. One of these tanks was capable of taking on the Voids massive six-winged heavy units single-handedly. Dragons were only so good against such large opponents.

But the real show was further up and further off. Two massive grey structures hung just in visual range, the atmosphere obscuring their shape. Whatever they were though, they were massive.

"And since when do carriers enter atmosphere?" Agera asked, craning her neck back to look up at the star-vessels Russia and America.

"Since we needed to transport all our new fighters to a different planet. They've been traveling all this time at around one million miles an hour."

Agera turned and looked at him to see if he was joking.

"Yeah, I know. That's another fifty thousand souls, and about a thousand aircraft. With all this firepower, we might actually win this fight."

"What fight?" Agera asked, glancing at him sideways.

"That's why I'm here. The GM wants all the battalion commanders, and select other personnel to meet him in his command tent." Pyrrus responded, angling for the camp, "Vacations over. It's time to get back to work."

"ATTEN-HOOO!" the Grand Marshall's aid called as the GM himself entered the massive command pavilion. In front of them was a large screen, with a projection of the current location of base camp Alpha, Berlin, and all the areas in between. The location of the America and Russia, as well as the area around it was also displayed.

"At ease!" the GM called as he entered. Sitting space was not available, as some two hundred creatures were crammed into the space. The darkened room hid everyone's expressions. The GM stood in front of the projection, part of it illuminating his face.

"Good news and bad news. Now I know your parents told you all to eat your veggies first, so here's the bad: the Void have Berlin. Now here's the dessert: we're going to take it back."

Agera peered around as the assembled commanders whispered to each other.

"Today, at this meeting are some ten million creatures, both dragon and human. And even still, we are outnumbered almost five to one. But I have faith that you will all do your job, and with tactics, we can beat them."

The GM turned to the board, and drew four curved lines on the map, top to bottom, and a circle around Berlin, "First day, second day, third day, fourth day, and fifth day."

Agera smiled. Sweet simple, and too the point. She could at least like the GM about that.

"This is an invasion, straight and simple. We can't hide a force of this size. The Void will see us coming from a thousand miles away. In all probability, we will slug this out. There will be casualties on both sides, and they will be heavy. But, as of right now, I see no other alternative. Our target on the fifth day is Berlin."

The others were whispering quieter still.

"One last note though. These will be the best troops the Void have to offer. Do not take them lightly. And finally," he looked around at them all. Agera spotted Quickclaw off to one side with Kali leaning against him, "Avila Darkdaughter is reported among their number."

THAT grabbed everyones attention. Nobody moved, nobody breathed. Agera was the one who spoke first.

"How big of an issue is she?" everyone turned around to look at her. Agera suddenly realized almost everyone in the room was an officer. The GM shrugged.

"I wish I could tell you, Ms. Krigsman. But the truth is, we don't know. Liam gave me a rough estimate, but in all honesty, Avila Darkdaughter is a complete unknown. All I know is that I don't want to find out. That is all. Commanders, report to your assigned quartermasters and legion commanders for further instructions."

The aid called the room to attention again and dismissed them. Agera was about to walk out the entrance when she felt a tug on her tail, and looked back to see Kali jerk her head almost imperceptibly. Agera followed her to the back of the room, where there was a tiny door. The room had a folding table with maps, a stack of books in the corner, a display screen to the side, and the GM sat in a chair behind the table.

"Thank-you, lady Kali, that will be all." Agera sat and saluted with wing, dropping it when the GM let her.

"What I'm about to ask is classified tier 0. We're not even putting this in the record." Agera paid as much attention as she could to the GM, she didn't want to miss any of this, "I'm giving you a quick discreet field promotion, Lieutenant. As of this moment, you're a battalion commander. Including Omega squadron, I'm also giving you five squadrons to play with."

Agera's mouth dropped. Whatever was happening here, it was extreme.

"Now then. What would you do with yourself if you were in my shoes?"

He was asking her opinion of the plan? She cleared her throat, "Well, with all due respect sir... this plan is awful. You know as well as I do that we can't possibly win this. With superior numbers, I would make the illusion of a show of force, and then slip enough of a force around the flanks, attack from the rear, and pin them in."

"Hannibal tactics? The Battle of Cannae. Yes, that was my first thought as well. Do you think Avila knows of it?"

"Probably. That is if she is of draconic heritage." the GM nodded at her, then spoke up, as if to a third party.

"All right, I'm sure you heard everything?" Agera nearly jumped when a purple-black dragonelle appeared beside her. She had made no sound what-so-ever on her approach."

"Yes, sir." her voice was soft an velvety, like satin. Agera noticed she was wearing her armor, which looked like nothing in Fiam's forges. It was all angles and flat faces. There were a trio of turbines nestled into the surface, making the female look larger than she was. The panels glowed and shimmered, betraying the active camouflage ability they had. Finally, there was a large hump on the dragoness's hips, and a tiny collection of cameras inside of a crystalline enclosure. The dragon herself had glowing red stripes running down her body, and almost no body adornments, aside from a pair of small smooth horns atop her pointed head. Her armor had a white "01" emblazoned on it.

"Agera, meet Aurora Garnette, leader of Archangel squadron." Aurora tilted her head in Agera's direction, nodding slightly, "Guinevere has been your intelligence agent up till now, but with you becoming a battalion commander, you needed someone more reliable. Aurora is your new intelligence contact."

Agera gnawed on the inside of her cheek before she answered, "I've never heard of an Archangel squadron."

"Good, that means we're doing our job properly. You may recognize one piece of tech we're equipped with." Aurora suddenly shifted color to a deep red, matching Agera's colors perfectly.

"Why color shifting ink?" she asked, curious. She rarely saw anyone else with the same full body tattoo. The tech was an accessory, and incredibly expensive.

"It was necessary to create the illusion of a squadron that doesn't exist. The military has done this for it's most top secret members. Agera, aside from you and me, only five other creatures outside of Archangel squadron know about Archangel squadron. It is to STAY that way, understood? The five others that know are five other similar battalion commanders. The rest of the specs on Archangel are a strictly need-to-know basis Aurora, so don't tell her anything else about your equipment, got it?"

"Yes, sir." They both answered in unison. Aurora grinned at Agera, who grinned back. This stranger was spooky, but the combination of the protective bulky armor and the goofy grin on her new allies face was disarming.

"Why is Aurora important to this entire scheme?" Agera asked quietly. The GM tapped his claws (no, no Agera, nails. Humans have nails.) on his rickety table, vibrating the surface.

"Archangel 01 here can do a sustained top speed of Mach 4.2."

Agera's mouth dropped for the second time in as many minutes, "That's impossible! No dragon could do that, they'd break apart!"

"Watch your bearing, Lieutenant." Agera blinked once, then shut her mouth, straightening her neck, "Better. She can do more, much to the aggravation of myself and the technicians who work on her suit. We've never gotten a jet to get a greater than one to one thrust ratio. Something about the conservation of energy. But something about dragons make almost anything seem possible. Aurora here was the first dragon to break the sound barrier in level flight with the assistance of the first prototype of that crazy suit she's wearing. Now, thanks to her input, those turbines put out a combined thrust greater than her total weight. Only rockets have been able to do that. You can imagine the possibilities."

Agera looked at her friend, "What's you're top speed?"

Aurora glanced at the GM, who gestured with his finger, nodding at the same time, "I've hit Mach 8.3 before. Maximum flight ceiling is something like 220,000 feet, but archangel operates at much safer parameters. Actual operational speed is Mach 4.2, which is 3000 mph. Operational flight ceiling is 120,000 feet."

"Holy shit." Agera said almost inaudibly, "You do this on a regular basis?"

"Used to do it on a daily basis. Me and the rest of Archangel have been flying nightly ops for the past two weeks straight." she said, giving her a smug smile through the transparent visor. Agera turned to the GM.

"I want one of those suits." he gave her a grin, surprisingly.

"Me too, but they're bloody expensive. We can only afford six right now. However, I can give you the next best thing. Archangel is an asymmetric squadron."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning, aside from our suits, we have nothing to call archangel owned. Not even a combat record." Aurora answered, "We get everything from other squadrons."

"I'm transferring Aurora to you, Agera, as Omega squads seventh member. While she is with you, she will be known as Blackbird. Give her food and a bunk, but don't let any of the others know anything about Aurora outside of the fact that she is a spy that reports to you. Omega will be lead squadron in your new battalion. Theta, Delta, Epsilon, Hotel, and Romeo will report to you in the morning." the GM pulled something out of his pocket. A lieutenants badge for each shoulder, "Congratulations, lieutenant."

Agera grabbed the patches, and saluted with wing like Aurora. Aurora got up and went to exit, but Agera stayed where she was.

"Something else, Krigsman?" Aurora stopped at the door, but Agera gave a shudder of the wings, a clear sign that she needed to leave. After Aurora had stepped out, cloaking before she opened the door, Agera set the insignia back down on the table.

"I only have one question, sir." she said quietly. The GM nodded.

"Why." Agera nodded slightly.

"I am nothing special, sir. I have disabilities and -"

"I read your file, Krigsman!" the GM suddenly said loudly, "Don't give me that bull."

Agera shut her mouth, and her face hardened before she spoke again, "You read nothing of the sort. You spoke to Lady Kali."

"You haven't exactly been flying under the radar since you got here, soldier. Your foster mother told me everything I wanted to know about you. EVERYTHING. Understand?"

"Yes, sir." she said quietly, "However, there are other things you don't know, things my mother wouldn't have told you."

"Such as."

"Such as the accident. And my vow of silence." Agera said in a whisper, "These times are incredibly dangerous for someone like me. That said, I've been flying under the radar for much longer than you might guess. I know how to hide. I've been hiding in plain sight for all my life basically. Had the military known who I was, they would have had me as soon as I hatched. And Avila would have killed me the first chance she got."

The GM sat back in his chair and considered her, "So what's this accident?"

"That is my burden alone to bear. Know only that I took a vow of silence for the right reasons."

The GM sighed, "There were other reasons I promoted you, Krigsman. You've made a cohesive fighting unit out of a bunch of misfits. You've gotten those who wouldn't even use their element to defend themselves to kill because you asked them to. You've been helping the lame to walk and the blind to see for ages. And you've been a therapist to boot for nearly as long. You've rescued able bodied dragons who were supposed to be better than you.

To put it short, Agera Krigsman, you're playing to win. You know this is a no holds barred fight. You know that if you do anything wrong, even once, we're all dead. We don't like each other, sure, but I sure wish the rest of these jokers were like you. You don't just know how to come out on top, you know how to come out victorious. I have plenty of good warriors, and plenty of good leaders, but few that are the epitome of both."

Agera gave a savage grin, and picked up her insignia, "As my foster mother would say, 'There's always a way to win a fight.'"

Description
"How do you know?" Agera asked dumbfounded. Vienzo rubbed the back of his neck.

"I know because Venus told me a while back." he said quietly. Agera was shivering though from fear or rage he didn't know.

"You shouldn't have told me, Enzo." she said quietly. Around them others of both draken and human heritage swarmed down their pathway, oblivious to her internal struggle. She sat down and swung her head from side to side.

"Agera, what are you going to do?" she stood up, paused and then sat back down, "Please don't do anything rash..."

"Enzo, you have no idea what I want to DO to that BITCH!" she said loudly, and a couple of creatures turned to look at her as they passed. Several gave her a wide berth.

"Agera." she got up, turned around, and stormed back and forth and then stopped a passing officer, a human lieutenant.

"Sir! Could you direct me to Alpha Squadron's barracks?" he nodded and then pointed down the lane.

"Three blocks, and then a left, Sergeant, and it'll be on your right." he said over the noise.

"Thank-you, sir!" she saluted smartly, and then turned in the direction he indicated.

"Three, you're in charge until I get back." she said quietly.

"With all due respect, ma'am -" Agera cut him off.

"That's an order three! Get some shut-eye." and she stormed off, the crowd quickly engulfing her.

She was so distracted by her thoughts that she missed her destination not once, but twice.

That dragonelle, that FEMALE. Her audacity. Some mother...

She knocked on the tent pole and was answered immediately by a pale blue dragon.

"Hey, I know you! Your the bi - " Agera pushed him aside and stormed in, barging in on several males. Two wolf whistles sounded off. Agera silenced them with a snarl.

"Ma'am, this is a private area! I'm going to have to ask you to leave!" the blue dragon said, regaining his bearing.

"I'm going to have to ask you to shut the fuck up." Agera turned to the group at large, "I'm looking for Lady Kali!"

As several of the males stood, she suddenly had a very clear idea of how bad an idea it might have been to show up in this particular area.

"You've got guts, Omega, to show up here, unarmed, with a paper bag for armor." Agera was also suddenly aware that her chest plate was slung across her back. She probably looked like hell. And then suddenly, Grand Lord Quickclaw appeared.

"What's going on here! Break it up!" he suddenly spotted Agera, and she was suddenly surrounded by some very large and muscular males.

"Alpha squad, disperse! I'll handle this." some looked reluctant, but the others returned to their bunks.

"I wanted to apologize for a couple of things that happened earlier." he said quietly, "I should not have accosted you the way I did. It was unprofessional of me. I had too much to drink."

Agera was mildly surprised at the leader.

"That said, I stand by what I said. You should not have been able to join the military. It should not have been allowed. You put everyone you fly with, everyone in this army, in danger. You put yourself in danger." he said quietly, "If you would pull off the blood feud, then you will have no other problems from me or mine."

She growled quietly, "I didn't come to debate how much of a bastard you are. Whether you regret it or not, you wronged me and mine. The blood feud stands."

The Grand Lords nostrils flared, and his red-gold scales seemed to glow, "So be it, Omega. I know not why you were able to best me, but I assure you, it will not happen again."

Agera examined her claws non-chalantly, "I doubt it. I didn't come here to talk to you though, lizard, I came to talk to Ladi Kali."

"What business have you with her?" Quickclaw asked quietly.

"I believe that falls under the category of 'None of your business.'" Agera growled at him, "Now where's Kali."

"Right here Agera dear, how are you?" Lady Kali bore an almost identical shape and build to Lady Kiesah, with the exception of the pitch black scales resembling her shadow element. She was slim, with long tail, full chest, and billowing wings. Beautiful by draconic standards. But that beauty was marred by numerous scars, and an unremovable patch stained into her black scales, a double delta arrow pointing up, with a broad point down behind it, the general insignia of the human aligned dragons from the last war. Lady Kali had betrayed her kind long ago. Whose to say she wouldn't do it again?

Agera stomped past her, snapping her wing at the dragonelle. The row between the backs of the tents was dark, and few personnel traveled here during the night.

Agera turned around to face her foster parent only to be cracked on the nose by Kali's tail.

"By the ancient, child, have you no sense?" Kali asked through clenched teeth as Agera rubbed her snout. Kali hadn't done that to her in years, and she had forgotten how much it smarted, "I teach you everything I know so you can stay ALIVE, not so you can go and get yourself killed on some damn fool adventure in the military!"

Agera was still rubbing her nose, "Better than mating with some asshole like Quickclaw! I know the real reason you're here, Kali! Both of you saw a piece of tail and you went after it!"

Kali went to snap her again, but in a feat of supernatural reflexes born of her training and heritage, Agera grabbed the tail tip out of the air, holding it steady.

"Don't do that again." she said in a quiet whisper. Kali somehow managed to look terrified and enraged at the same time.

"I ought to bite you." she said to her adoptive daughter.

"But you won't. I remember my childhood, MOTHER. It was not a pleasant one. You terrified me, brutalized me."

"I was trying to teach you! Since when do the void go gently on their enemies? Why should I be soft on you!?"

"BECAUSE I'M YOUR DAUGHTER!!!" Agera roared at the larger female, "Leave the fucking training to the military! Don't you think they know what they're doing?! And even then, they were gentler than you were!"

"You would not be alive today though, if not for me." Kali said, though she didn't sound so certain.

"Maybe, but I think we both know I wouldn't have given up on myself. I would have learned..."

Agera turned to walk back into the tent, "You saw what happened today?"

Kali growled, "You were a fucking idiot."

Agera smiled to herself, "I knew you'd say that. Damn it mother if I can't stand you, I still love you. My blood oath should rightly extend to you. Officially it does. But you have nothing to fear from me or my squadron."

Agera left the way she had come, ignoring the jeers and whistles from the males.

"And here I thought we would have to collect you in pieces." Janus chuckled as Agera turned back up at their barracks. The tent was a long, low ceiling unit, with air conditioning and heating, and a working bathroom, although the shower was almost to small to fit in, because it was made for humans. Pairs of mattresses were put together to allow dragons to lay down without sitting in the dirt.

"I can handle a couple of hormonal males Janus. What worried me was that female I have to call my mother." Agera said quietly. Vienzo was already fast asleep, and Jiza was writing in a small book next to Janus. It sounded like the water was going in the shower unit, which meant Guin was otherwise occupied. The sounds of a crowd were outside, and Agera could hear the occupants of the barracks on either side of them.

"These aren't to bad." Janus said, gesturing around at their accommodations, "Certainly better than Uni."

"That's cause they aren't trying to cram twenty dragons in here." Jiza said, not looking up from her journal. Agera had a quick look around. There was a commons area with a couple of chairs useless for anything but humans and even a small kitchen space. Someone had dropped off some MRE's, including a couple of the infamous omelet variety. Agera tossed those in the trash bin in the back, outside their tent.

"Our assigned quartermaster wanted to let you know, Agera, that our tent will be moved every third day, and that this isn't your apartment, so please keep it clean." Janus called from his bunk, "He also dropped off some horn mufflers, so we can sleep easier."

Agera chuckled as Janus waved a pair of fuzzy socks meant to slip on the horns and dampen noise. You looked ridiculous wearing them, but at least you could sleep. Fashion sense had no place in the military anyways. Agera grabbed a chicken pot pie MRE and tore it open, starting the chicken cooking first.

"Ugh, you like those, Agera?" Guin asked, coming out of the shower.

"They're not nearly as bad as they're reputation states. Just don't eat the omelet ones, if you know what's good for you. Besides," Agera pulled out the little black package she had truely opened the contents for, "look! Chocolate!"

M&M's did little to dampen Agera's hunger, but it was something all dragonelles loved, and all drakes avoided like the plague. Jiza looked up from her book, and Guin grabbed two MREs off the counter.

"Never knew they had chocolate in here." Guin mumbled, fishing the multi-colored candy out of the pouch. She grinned as her claws came out, package in paw.

"Score!" Jiza squealed with delight as Guin tossed her a package. Janus rolled his eyes.

"Females." he mumbled as he lay down to sleep, looking ridiculous in his horn socks.

The next few weeks were uneventful, fortunately. Agera reasoned that as the army moved, if an administrative position meant staying with the headquarters all the time, she could handle it. There was enough to do in the day to keep her busy. Food was plentiful, and despite not having anything directly to do, there was ample enough stimulation. On the third day of their sack time, Agera got a notice with the GM's seal that they were to start flying combat air patrols around the HQ area at least for eight hours every three days, as well as do foot patrols within the camp for four hours every three days.

The most enjoyment she got though was from their un-official war against Alpha squadron. Agera quickly discovered Alpha squad consisted of no fewer than forty-eight dragons, all well equipped and chosen for their combat prowess. They didn't have a flawless record, but considering the missions they were sent on, it was indeed impressive.

Agera had no intentions on harming any of Alpha squadron physically or mentally, despite her blood oath. They were too valuable. But she could make their life a living hell. Several times Alpha squadron would return from a long CAP and find their tent missing, having no choice but to sleep on the ground without any cover. It was particularly nasty for them on days it rained.

Venus quickly returned to the group with a new paw, courtesy of some metal bones replacing the crushed ones. The muscles had remained intact, along with the skin and nerves, so despite a few pains from a long foot patrol, Venus had little worries. She joined her mate nightly on his cushion now, snuggling in next to his stomach. The two were conspicuously absent from chow a couple of days, something that worried Agera.

"Oh stop fretting." Guin said past a mouthful of potatoes on the third time, "So what if they're mating? Let them be the two young lovebirds that they are."

"It's not them mating that bothers me." Agera said quietly, "It's the results of such that does. What if an egg comes up?"

"Does it bother anyone else talking about sex?" Jiza slugged Janus in the shoulder, grinning.

"Now that could be a problem." Guin said, stopping, "But I doubt they're going to go that far. Maternity leave could become an issue. We don't exactly get that right now."

"Why not? It's not like it's impossible to get to Cayman." Jiza said, looking up from her beef stew.

"Because we need as many teeth as possible right now. It's not that I don't want them to have hatchlings, it's just I don't want them to have any right now. We have enough issues as it is." Agera said quietly, "Besides, it would be irresponsible."

"OK, can we please stop talking about sex?"

Three weeks after they had arrived at base camp, they were starting to approach Ignus et Glacias. The land had gone from rolling open farmland, to hills separated by massive valleys. Agera was relaxing in the hills, enjoying a relaxing afternoon in the sunlight, when Pyrrus dove out of the sky, shaking the ground as he landed. Agera sat up and smiled at him, growling softly.

"Greetings, father." Agera said in Drashish, "It warms mine heart to see you aloft again."

"Aye, it warms mine to fly where eagles dare once more." he returned. His scales showed off his collection of new scars, but were already turning back to his blood red color, "Have you risen this day yet?"

"Nay, I have been here since the ninth hour of this day. What transpires during my respite." Pyrrus chuckled.

"You've fallen out of practice with our native language, daughter." Agera growled in frustration.

"Oh come on, it seems everyone speaks English anyways." she said, "It just rolls off the tongue easier."

"Aye, but Drashish is far more eloquent." Pyrrus said, rubbing his chin, "Have you really been sunning yourself the entire day?"

"So I got jealous of Venus's shine, sue me. Why, something important happen?" Pyrrus spread his wings and took off, Agera reluctantly following him. That's when she realized what was happening.

"Whoa. Now we're talking. How many?"

"1,200 Reagan class tanks, supported by another 400 Kennedy class infantry fighting vehicles. And note the mobile SAM launchers." the armored vehicles were traveling en-mass in battalions. Each vehicle was originally made for fighting in anti-terrorist operations, but functioned just as well in anti-air roles. Agera knew their specs. One of these tanks was capable of taking on the Voids massive six-winged heavy units single-handedly. Dragons were only so good against such large opponents.

But the real show was further up and further off. Two massive grey structures hung just in visual range, the atmosphere obscuring their shape. Whatever they were though, they were massive.

"And since when do carriers enter atmosphere?" Agera asked, craning her neck back to look up at the star-vessels Russia and America.

"Since we needed to transport all our new fighters to a different planet. They've been traveling all this time at around one million miles an hour."

Agera turned and looked at him to see if he was joking.

"Yeah, I know. That's another fifty thousand souls, and about a thousand aircraft. With all this firepower, we might actually win this fight."

"What fight?" Agera asked, glancing at him sideways.

"That's why I'm here. The GM wants all the battalion commanders, and select other personnel to meet him in his command tent." Pyrrus responded, angling for the camp, "Vacations over. It's time to get back to work."

"ATTEN-HOOO!" the Grand Marshall's aid called as the GM himself entered the massive command pavilion. In front of them was a large screen, with a projection of the current location of base camp Alpha, Berlin, and all the areas in between. The location of the America and Russia, as well as the area around it was also displayed.

"At ease!" the GM called as he entered. Sitting space was not available, as some two hundred creatures were crammed into the space. The darkened room hid everyone's expressions. The GM stood in front of the projection, part of it illuminating his face.

"Good news and bad news. Now I know your parents told you all to eat your veggies first, so here's the bad: the Void have Berlin. Now here's the dessert: we're going to take it back."

Agera peered around as the assembled commanders whispered to each other.

"Today, at this meeting are some ten million creatures, both dragon and human. And even still, we are outnumbered almost five to one. But I have faith that you will all do your job, and with tactics, we can beat them."

The GM turned to the board, and drew four curved lines on the map, top to bottom, and a circle around Berlin, "First day, second day, third day, fourth day, and fifth day."

Agera smiled. Sweet simple, and too the point. She could at least like the GM about that.

"This is an invasion, straight and simple. We can't hide a force of this size. The Void will see us coming from a thousand miles away. In all probability, we will slug this out. There will be casualties on both sides, and they will be heavy. But, as of right now, I see no other alternative. Our target on the fifth day is Berlin."

The others were whispering quieter still.

"One last note though. These will be the best troops the Void have to offer. Do not take them lightly. And finally," he looked around at them all. Agera spotted Quickclaw off to one side with Kali leaning against him, "Avila Darkdaughter is reported among their number."

THAT grabbed everyones attention. Nobody moved, nobody breathed. Agera was the one who spoke first.

"How big of an issue is she?" everyone turned around to look at her. Agera suddenly realized almost everyone in the room was an officer. The GM shrugged.

"I wish I could tell you, Ms. Krigsman. But the truth is, we don't know. Liam gave me a rough estimate, but in all honesty, Avila Darkdaughter is a complete unknown. All I know is that I don't want to find out. That is all. Commanders, report to your assigned quartermasters and legion commanders for further instructions."

The aid called the room to attention again and dismissed them. Agera was about to walk out the entrance when she felt a tug on her tail, and looked back to see Kali jerk her head almost imperceptibly. Agera followed her to the back of the room, where there was a tiny door. The room had a folding table with maps, a stack of books in the corner, a display screen to the side, and the GM sat in a chair behind the table.

"Thank-you, lady Kali, that will be all." Agera sat and saluted with wing, dropping it when the GM let her.

"What I'm about to ask is classified tier 0. We're not even putting this in the record." Agera paid as much attention as she could to the GM, she didn't want to miss any of this, "I'm giving you a quick discreet field promotion, Lieutenant. As of this moment, you're a battalion commander. Including Omega squadron, I'm also giving you five squadrons to play with."

Agera's mouth dropped. Whatever was happening here, it was extreme.

"Now then. What would you do with yourself if you were in my shoes?"

He was asking her opinion of the plan? She cleared her throat, "Well, with all due respect sir... this plan is awful. You know as well as I do that we can't possibly win this. With superior numbers, I would make the illusion of a show of force, and then slip enough of a force around the flanks, attack from the rear, and pin them in."

"Hannibal tactics? The Battle of Cannae. Yes, that was my first thought as well. Do you think Avila knows of it?"

"Probably. That is if she is of draconic heritage." the GM nodded at her, then spoke up, as if to a third party.

"All right, I'm sure you heard everything?" Agera nearly jumped when a purple-black dragonelle appeared beside her. She had made no sound what-so-ever on her approach."

"Yes, sir." her voice was soft an velvety, like satin. Agera noticed she was wearing her armor, which looked like nothing in Fiam's forges. It was all angles and flat faces. There were a trio of turbines nestled into the surface, making the female look larger than she was. The panels glowed and shimmered, betraying the active camouflage ability they had. Finally, there was a large hump on the dragoness's hips, and a tiny collection of cameras inside of a crystalline enclosure. The dragon herself had glowing red stripes running down her body, and almost no body adornments, aside from a pair of small smooth horns atop her pointed head. Her armor had a white "01" emblazoned on it.

"Agera, meet Aurora Garnette, leader of Archangel squadron." Aurora tilted her head in Agera's direction, nodding slightly, "Guinevere has been your intelligence agent up till now, but with you becoming a battalion commander, you needed someone more reliable. Aurora is your new intelligence contact."

Agera gnawed on the inside of her cheek before she answered, "I've never heard of an Archangel squadron."

"Good, that means we're doing our job properly. You may recognize one piece of tech we're equipped with." Aurora suddenly shifted color to a deep red, matching Agera's colors perfectly.

"Why color shifting ink?" she asked, curious. She rarely saw anyone else with the same full body tattoo. The tech was an accessory, and incredibly expensive.

"It was necessary to create the illusion of a squadron that doesn't exist. The military has done this for it's most top secret members. Agera, aside from you and me, only five other creatures outside of Archangel squadron know about Archangel squadron. It is to STAY that way, understood? The five others that know are five other similar battalion commanders. The rest of the specs on Archangel are a strictly need-to-know basis Aurora, so don't tell her anything else about your equipment, got it?"

"Yes, sir." They both answered in unison. Aurora grinned at Agera, who grinned back. This stranger was spooky, but the combination of the protective bulky armor and the goofy grin on her new allies face was disarming.

"Why is Aurora important to this entire scheme?" Agera asked quietly. The GM tapped his claws (no, no Agera, nails. Humans have nails.) on his rickety table, vibrating the surface.

"Archangel 01 here can do a sustained top speed of Mach 4.2."

Agera's mouth dropped for the second time in as many minutes, "That's impossible! No dragon could do that, they'd break apart!"

"Watch your bearing, Lieutenant." Agera blinked once, then shut her mouth, straightening her neck, "Better. She can do more, much to the aggravation of myself and the technicians who work on her suit. We've never gotten a jet to get a greater than one to one thrust ratio. Something about the conservation of energy. But something about dragons make almost anything seem possible. Aurora here was the first dragon to break the sound barrier in level flight with the assistance of the first prototype of that crazy suit she's wearing. Now, thanks to her input, those turbines put out a combined thrust greater than her total weight. Only rockets have been able to do that. You can imagine the possibilities."

Agera looked at her friend, "What's you're top speed?"

Aurora glanced at the GM, who gestured with his finger, nodding at the same time, "I've hit Mach 8.3 before. Maximum flight ceiling is something like 220,000 feet, but archangel operates at much safer parameters. Actual operational speed is Mach 4.2, which is 3000 mph. Operational flight ceiling is 120,000 feet."

"Holy shit." Agera said almost inaudibly, "You do this on a regular basis?"

"Used to do it on a daily basis. Me and the rest of Archangel have been flying nightly ops for the past two weeks straight." she said, giving her a smug smile through the transparent visor. Agera turned to the GM.

"I want one of those suits." he gave her a grin, surprisingly.

"Me too, but they're bloody expensive. We can only afford six right now. However, I can give you the next best thing. Archangel is an asymmetric squadron."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning, aside from our suits, we have nothing to call archangel owned. Not even a combat record." Aurora answered, "We get everything from other squadrons."

"I'm transferring Aurora to you, Agera, as Omega squads seventh member. While she is with you, she will be known as Blackbird. Give her food and a bunk, but don't let any of the others know anything about Aurora outside of the fact that she is a spy that reports to you. Omega will be lead squadron in your new battalion. Theta, Delta, Epsilon, Hotel, and Romeo will report to you in the morning." the GM pulled something out of his pocket. A lieutenants badge for each shoulder, "Congratulations, lieutenant."

Agera grabbed the patches, and saluted with wing like Aurora. Aurora got up and went to exit, but Agera stayed where she was.

"Something else, Krigsman?" Aurora stopped at the door, but Agera gave a shudder of the wings, a clear sign that she needed to leave. After Aurora had stepped out, cloaking before she opened the door, Agera set the insignia back down on the table.

"I only have one question, sir." she said quietly. The GM nodded.

"Why." Agera nodded slightly.

"I am nothing special, sir. I have disabilities and -"

"I read your file, Krigsman!" the GM suddenly said loudly, "Don't give me that bull."

Agera shut her mouth, and her face hardened before she spoke again, "You read nothing of the sort. You spoke to Lady Kali."

"You haven't exactly been flying under the radar since you got here, soldier. Your foster mother told me everything I wanted to know about you. EVERYTHING. Understand?"

"Yes, sir." she said quietly, "However, there are other things you don't know, things my mother wouldn't have told you."

"Such as."

"Such as the accident. And my vow of silence." Agera said in a whisper, "These times are incredibly dangerous for someone like me. That said, I've been flying under the radar for much longer than you might guess. I know how to hide. I've been hiding in plain sight for all my life basically. Had the military known who I was, they would have had me as soon as I hatched. And Avila would have killed me the first chance she got."

The GM sat back in his chair and considered her, "So what's this accident?"

"That is my burden alone to bear. Know only that I took a vow of silence for the right reasons."

The GM sighed, "There were other reasons I promoted you, Krigsman. You've made a cohesive fighting unit out of a bunch of misfits. You've gotten those who wouldn't even use their element to defend themselves to kill because you asked them to. You've been helping the lame to walk and the blind to see for ages. And you've been a therapist to boot for nearly as long. You've rescued able bodied dragons who were supposed to be better than you.

To put it short, Agera Krigsman, you're playing to win. You know this is a no holds barred fight. You know that if you do anything wrong, even once, we're all dead. We don't like each other, sure, but I sure wish the rest of these jokers were like you. You don't just know how to come out on top, you know how to come out victorious. I have plenty of good warriors, and plenty of good leaders, but few that are the epitome of both."

Agera gave a savage grin, and picked up her insignia, "As my foster mother would say, 'There's always a way to win a fight.'"