Squad Battles are the best. And I have a feeling you're going to excel when you get to participate. You always were extremely competitive.
- Recovered correspondence from Cadet Bodhi Durran to Raya Riorson
I stand with my squad on the side of the mat as we watch Liam and a Second Wing rider fight. The squad battle is finally here and this is the last match. I already won mine against a Third Wing rider earlier. "Tap out!" Rhiannon screams. Liam has the other rider in a leg lock. I smirk, knowing there's no way for him to get out. Currently we are in seventh place out of twenty four but once Liam wins we'll jump to third.
The rider cries out in pain, causing my smirk to widen. "Fuck me, that looks like it hurts," Violet says.
"Yeah, he's not walking for a while." Ridoc agrees. The rider cries out once more before taping on the mat.
"YES!" I yell, jumping up and down.
"Go Liam!" Sawyer says from behind me.
Liam drops the rider to the mat, he rushes forwards towards us, "We won!" I throw my arms over his shoulders in a celebratory hug. The others gather around, also joining the hug. We break apart as Emetterio starts speaking.
"Your winner!" Professor Emetterio shouts, "Liam Mairi from Second Squad, Flame Section, Fourth Wing!" Liam throws his arms up, turning in a small circle.
Commandant Panchek steps onto the mat, "I know you were all expecting the last portion of the Squad Battle to happen tomorrow, but the cadre and I have a surprise."
The whole quadrant is focused on his words, wondering what's going to happen next, "Instead of telling you what the final, unknown task will be and giving you tonight to plan for it, your final task will begin this hour!" He grins.
"Tonight?" Ridoc whispers.
"Dain isn't here." Violet says, looking around, "Neither is Cianna."
"Oh shit," Imogen whispers, also looking around.
I shrug, "Who needs Dain?" Liam cracks a smile and Heaton snorts, before quickly masking it with a cough.
"As you may have noticed, your squad leaders and their executive officers have been… shall we say, sequestered with your section leaders and wingleaders, and no, before someone asks, your task is not to find them." Panchek says, walking in a small circle. "You are to break into your squads and accomplish a unique mission this evening without the leadership and instruction of your squad leaders."
"Doesn't that defeat the purpose of having squad leaders?" Scarlett McCall of Second Wing asks.
"The purpose of a squad leader is to form a tightly knit unit that can carry on with a mission after their demise. Consider your leaders… demised." Panchek shrugs, "You're on your own, riders. Your mission is simple: find and acquire, by any means necessary, the one thing that would be most advantageous to our enemies regarding the war effort. Leadership will serve as unbiased judges, and the winning squad will be awarded sixty points."
"That's enough to put us in first!" Rhiannon whispers, linking her arm with Violet's, "We could win the glory of going to the front!"
"What are the boundaries?" Ashton Matuli asks.
"Anything within the walls of Basgiath," Panchek answers, "And don't you dare let me see you trying to haul a dragon back here. They'll incinerate you out of sheer annoyance."
The squad to our left mutters their disappointment, "Now why did Panchek have to give that warning? We could had weeded out a bunch of idiots." I whisper, glaring at the squad.
"You have," Panchek pulls out his pocket watch, "three hours, at which time we'll expect you to present your stolen treasures in the Battle Brief room." We all stare, waiting to see if there is anymore instruction, "What are you waiting for?" He shoos us, "Go!"
All of the squads start moving, pushing others to get out of the room. "Second Squad!" Imogen yells, putting her hands up, "Follow me!" We all follow behind Imogen likes a mother duck and her babies. "Let's go, let's go." Imogen mutters as she ushers us all into the weight room. Once we're all inside she closes the door, wielding it shut.
I lean back against the wall, Sawyer and Ridoc on either side of me, "First thing, Who wants to be in command?" Imogen asks, looking around the room.
Ridoc throws his hand in the air, causing me to elbow him in the ribs, "Absolutely not." I scold.
He grunts putting his hand down and grabbing his ribs, "You'll just turn it into a prank." Rhiannon says agreeing with me.
"Fair point," Ridoc replies, "You didn't need to elbow me though." He pouts.
I roll my eyes at him as Quinn asks, "Liam?"
"No." He shakes his head, eyes darting in Violet's direction.
"No one is going to try and off me while we're out tonight." Violet argues.
"I mean.. they might. While everyone is distracted trying to complete the mission just." I mime stabbing her in the back. Everyone looks at me, "Just saying." I throw my hands up. "What I do know is we should try and steal information."
Everyone's gaze stays fixed on me, "Do you want to be in command?" Imogen asks.
I look around the room, "Only if when we win this you guys say in front of Xaden that I'm a better leader." I smile.
"Do you want us to die?" Sawyer asks.
I roll my eyes, "Fine in front of Dain?"
"Deal." Emery replies.
I pump my arm in victory, "Yes," I mutter before turning back to the group, "Okay so stealing information. Unless someone else can think of something better?"
The group shakes their heads, "Information is definitely powerful, especially in the wrong hands." Imogen states.
Liam turns towards Violet, "What about stealing the news missives from the Archives? The ones that come in from the front?"
Violet shakes her head, "It's after seven. The archives are locked, and it's the kind of vault that even wielding isn't going to touch. The whole room is sealed up airtight in case of fire."
"Damn," Imogen mutters, "That was a good one."
The whole room erupts with conversation, I whistle loudly bringing the attention back to me, "One at a time. There's other places we can get information. Teachers, Panchek…" I pause watching Violet. "Your mom." Violet tilts her head thinking, I wave my hand at her, "Come up here. Do you think we could do it?"
She shakes her, biting her lip, "If we get caught we'd get thrown in the brig."
"Just work through it." I reply. Everyone's attention on us.
"We can wield, right?" She rocks back on her heels, "I know Ridoc can wield ice, Rhiannon can retrieve, Sawyer can manipulate metal, Raya can mend, Imogen can mind-wipe recent memories-"
"And I'm fast," Imogen adds, causing me to smile at her.
"Heaton, what about you?" Violet questions them.
"I can breathe underwater," they reply.
"Fascinating," I say, a slight tilt to my head.
Violet nods in agreement, "Yes, but I don't think that's going to come in handy if we do this. Emery?"
"I can control wind," Emery grins, "A lot of it."
Violet turns towards Quinn, "I can astral project." She answers before even being asked, "I can keep my body in one place and then walk around somewhere else."
"Very cool." I say, looking at her impressed.
"I know, it's pretty awesome." She winks.
"Yes. That we can use." Violet nods.
"So, does that mean we can do? Steal something from your mom?" I ask, hope lingering in my voice.
Violet looks at the group once more before nodding, "I think we'll be able to, but it's not going to be easy."
"You are so fucking creepy." Ridoc says to Quinn in her astral form, squirming away from her. It's two hours later and we are currently in the hallway past the healer quadrant. Heaton stands guard over Quinn's body back in the weight room.
We've already ran into a squad from Second Wing and another from Third, but none of us had time to stop and question the others. "I've never been farther than this," Emery whispers as we pass the doors to the clinic.
"You've never been to the archives?" Imogen asks.
"I avoid that duty like the plague," Emery answers, "Scribes freak me out. Quiet little known-it-alls, acting like they can make or break someone by writing something down."
My lips twitch into a smile at his words. "Infantry is still out camping." Rhiannon points out the windows to a dozen or so campfires lighting up the field.
"Must be nice to get a break," Nadine remarks. "Scribes will all go home for the summer. Healers get to spend their weekends on those mind-body-health retreats, and the infantry might have to practice making and breaking camp in the snow through the winter, but at least they spend those months around a campfire."
I roll my eyes at her complaining, "You had options and yet you chose this quadrant."
"And we'll get to go home." Imogen argues.
"After graduation," Rhiannon retorts, "For what? A couple of days?"
"Again, you chose this quadrant. Some of us didn't get to." I reply, raising an eyebrow as if I'm asking someone to challenge me. No one does. We come to a fork in the path, where we can follow a tunnel down to the archives or climb into the fortress of the war college.
"There's no turning back from here." Violet says to the group.
"Lead on!" Quinn says loudly.
"Shhh!" Imogen and I hiss. I turn back around as Imogen scolds her friend, "Some of us can get caught, you know."
"Right, sorry." Quinn cringes.
"Everyone, remember the plan." Violet whispers. "No one deviates. No one." We all nod, slowly climbing the stairs. "It's six flights up," She whispers as we continue to climb.
We reach the top of the stairs, Liam peaks his head around the corner, "There are mage lights in sconces," He whispers after he pulls his head back, "And you were right. There's only one guard stationed at the door."
"Was there any light under the door?" Vi asks.
"No," Liam shakes his head, then turns towards Quinn, "The guard looks about six feet tall, but he seems pretty athletic. The other stairwell is down the hallway to the left, which means you'll have to get his attention and then book it."
Quinn nods, "No problem."
"Everyone else know what they're doing?" Violet asks.
We all nod, "Good." I say, "Quinn, you're up. Everyone else, circle back down so he can't see us if he looks this way." I say, nodding my head back down the stairs. We retreat a few steps back, and Quinn charges up the stairs and out into the hall.
Her voice is muffled by the stone wall, but we hear the guard's pounding footsteps clear as day as he charges past the stairway. "Get back here! You can't be here!" The guard yells after her.
"Now!" I order to the group.
We jump up, running the rest of the way up the stairs and to the locked office of General Sorrengail. Rhiannon and Emery stay in the stairwell, Sawyer rushes toward the opposite stair case, throwing the door shut and twisting the metal joints with his powers.
Nadine is already at the door, trying to unweave the wards closing it. Liam steps into the spot the guard was previously standing, "Are you alright?" He asks Violet.
"Yep," She answers, "And I'll be fine in there." She reassures. "Which is funny since I didn't think the same way the last time I was standing here."
"I'll be with her." I say to Liam, smiling.
"Got it!" Nadine whispers, nudging the door open.
"If you hear me whistle-" Liam begins.
"We know the sign." I tell him, gently squeezing his arm. I walk past him with the rest of the squad on searching duty.
"Don't touch the mage lights or she'll known," Violet warns us, "You have to make your own." She flicks her wrist, a bright blue flame drifts over her.
I flick my wrist as well, creating my own light. Ridoc flops onto the couch, "How nice is this?"
"We don't have time for you to be… you." Sawyer lectures, he moves towards the bookcase, "Help me search for something useful."
Ridoc stands up, following Sawyer. "We'll take the table." Imogen says as her and Nadine start sorting through papers.
I nudge Violet, "Desk for us." Violet starts looking at the things laid out on top of the desk while I open the top drawer. There doesn't seem to be anything of interest inside. Just plain pieces of paper and envelopes. I notice Violet push a dagger to the side, it has an alloy-infused hilt which makes me immediately recognize it as one used to kill Venin.
I move to the next drawer, picking up the stack of papers inside. "These are all… numbers." Imogen says as she rifles through papers.
"It's April," Violet replies. "She's working on next year's budget." Everyone stops to look at her, "What? Did you think this place ran itself?"
I shake my head, "Back to work." I turn back towards the stack of papers. It looks like it's information about Mira and Violet. General Sorrengail seems to be keeping up with her children, making sure they're fairing well even if she isn't the one contacting them.
I place the papers back into the drawer and close it, moving to the next one. Violet turns away from the desk, searching for something else as I continue rifling through the drawers. I scan through the words but nothing catches my eye. "Hey, Second Squad." Violet says, "I know what we need to steal."
I turn to look at what she's found, softly laughing, "This will definitely get us the win."
It takes a few minutes for us to haul the map down and cut it away from its frame, then another to roll it, securing it with leather ties Imogen pulls out of her satchel. Right as we finish tying up the map, Liam whistles. "Shit, what's going on out there?" Ridoc asks, moving closer to the door.
"He's pounding at the hall door! It's going to give any second. We have to go now!" Liam whisper-shouts, holding the door open. The map is too big for one person to carry so Sawyer and Imogen hold each end, struggling through the doorway as the guard kicks in the door farther down the hall.
"And we're fucked." Nadine announces, making me roll my eyes.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" The guard shouts, charging towards us.
"We're dead if he catches us with the map," Ridoc says.
"He's not going to." I reassure.
"We can't hurt him," Violet argues.
"Rhiannon!" I call, knowing she'll know to summon the map to her. "Ridoc, ice the floor." I whisper to him before calling out louder, "Emery!"
Ridoc ices the floor just as Emery steps out of the stairway, "I'm so sorry man." Emery says to the guard before sending a gust of wind at him. Rhiannon now has the map in her arms, and the wind and ice combo throw the guard into the wall, knocking him out.
"Put him in here." Violet hisses, forcing a door open. Ridoc and Liam move the guard into the room. Violet places her fingers on his neck, searching for a pulse. "Good strong pulse. He just knocked him out. Open his mouth." She dumps some tonic into his mouth then stands up, "He'll sleep the rest of the night."
Liam's eyes widen, "You're kind of terrifying." I snort as Violet thanks him.
"Okay, we gotta move. Let's get Heaton and Quinn then head to the battle brief room." I say as I start running with the group.
Fifteen minutes later we show up to the room, just under the clock. Looking around we're the last group to arrive. We find our seats quickly a proud smile on my face. I open my mind to Xaden, "Just wait for ours, big brother." My eyes twinkle as I look over my shoulder at him.
"I have no doubt it's something great." Xaden's lips twitch into a small smile before turning back into his usual brooding look.
A squad in First Wing stole Kaori's handwritten manual on the personal habits and flaws of all active dragons. A squad in Second Wing elicits an appreciative murmur when they reveal the uniform of one of the Infantry professors, fully intact with something riders never bear - a name tag. That would grant the enemy access to any of our outposts, given the rank on the shoulder.
Third Wing's best offering was a stunned, wide-eyed scribe, stolen straight from his bed, and given the way his mouth isn't moving, someone's signet power took away his speech. I'm smiling the whole time the other squads are presenting, some actually had some pretty good reveals, but I know none will top ours.
When it's our turn to take the stage, Sawyer and Liam, the two tallest members of the squad each hold up a corner of the map. I nod at Violet, "It was your idea to take the map."
She smiles at me before looking back at leadership, "We have brought the ultimate weapon for our enemies." She begins. Markham's eyes are wide open, and Devera stood up so quickly it was comical, "An up-to-date map of all current outposts of Navarrian wings, to include troop strength of infantry battlements." She points along the Cygnisen boarder, "As well as the locations of all current skirmishes in the last thirty days. Including one last night."
A murmur sounds through the quadrant. "And how do we know this map is, in fact, current?" Kaori asks, now holding his reclaimed journal.
A smile spreads across each of our squads faces, "Because we stole it from General Sorrengail's office." I answer.
Absolute mayhem ensues around the room. Everyone stands up, trying to get a look at the map but the professors push through the crowd, making sure that none of the other students get a good look. My eyes flicker around the room, landing on Xaden. "Good job, little sister."
I smile proudly up at him before my eyes flicker to Garrick who is laughing. I then turn to find Bodhi, his eyes light up, he nods at me. Clearly proud of what me and my squad did.