Firestorm

“So I heard that you can hear all dragons" While Freya's revelation awestruck Admiral Evans, Allen was starting to sweat. His skin got white and colds, he could feel a small tremor vibrating in his hand as he gazed at the dragon. While the admiral lost her composure for a moment “What?" She stared at her dragon who in turn just looked at Allen with an odd gaze of curiosity.

The lose of admiral Evans' composure did not last long and soon she turned to Allen. “Walker" she said, wanting to shout at her usual volume but keeping herself constraint to whisper full of anger. “My dragon tells me you can hear her, is this true" “Not just me admiral, all dragons" “Let me rephrase Walker, can you hear any dragon besides your own"

It was not that he wanted to disobey the admiral but the words he wanted to speak just stuck in his mouth. “Walker, any time now" The admiral started to lose her patience. “Yes my pilot can hear all dragons he is…" Tanith started in the hope to safe her rider from the firing squad. “Tanith!" Freya hissed at her “Your rider should be able to stand on his own. Or do you think your pilot is weak?" Freya's judgemental tone finally helped Allen to speak somewhat. “Ma'am, yes Ma'am" The fallback in routine gave his racing mind a breather in how to get himself out of the mess.

“So you are hearing what Freya is saying, Walker?" She just peered at her recruit before her. “He knows, I am sure of it" Allen gave a small not “Ma'am yes Ma'am" he said again. “I could hear her the first time, but I don't quite know how…" he stopped and softly turned to Freya “Did Mirus happen to tell you this information by any chance" It was Allens turn to catch the dragoness by surprise. Trough in the silence that followed the admiral stepped from her saddle. “Walker!" Admiral Evans snapped at him. “Given the unusual situation of this I will let this go one time, but you don't talk to any dragon without their riders permission got it?"

“Yes ma'am, trough I did not know this was a rule, my apologies ma'am" The admiral looked at him with displeasure. “It wouldn't have to be a rule, but it is now. “ she took a deep breath before continuing. “He is right ma'am"  Freya intervened. “I was told from Mirus, who also insured that him being able to listen to dragons was a security threat" Allen looked at Freya then at Tanith for a moment before his gazed was snapped back to the admiral with a “Stay at attention recruit!" from the admiral. “Mirus! That bloody…" Tanith started to seer of anger. “I knew he would do something to drive Allen away from me, that jealous hatchling of a dragon!"

“You expect an alternative motive for him saying this Tanith?" Freya spoke while her rider at the same time spoke to Allen. “Walker! You better tell me something usefull, if you can listen to.." “..I expected this ever since the dragons…" “…What are the dragons plan..?" “..Well Tanith, good you tell me I will relay this to my pilo.." “Well Walker what did you…" “..don't get my pilot in trouble."

Allen took a deep breath “Will everyone just keep their mouth?" he asked with a grunt, rubbing his temples. No longer follow who was saying what. “I beg your pardon recruit" Admiral Evans' face started to become red with building anger as she was interrupted. Allen still in groaning discomfort from the overload of conversations just looked at her. “Sorry ma'am" he quickly said “but I cannot follow a conversation between your dragon and mine at the same time we speak"

While Allen expected to be cleaning toilets for the rest of the week with a toothbrush for sure, the admiral took a moment to get her cool and move on. “alright, I don't know what on earth I should do with you Walker. But first I have to teach you how to become a pilot before the end of the week. We need pilots so I hope that this gift of you comes in handy. For now, mount up Walker."

Allen was happy that they did not have to fly in any complex formations. His place was to fly at her right, jut slightly behind Freya trough he was mostly along for the ride. “Tanith, You did fly before right?" Freya hissed at her from the front of the formation. “You fly sloppy" Freya slowed down to see how Tanith acts with the new situation. Tanith's reaction was a tat slow. “Come on Tanith try to keep with her"

“You try to fly after being locked up for a month" Tanith hissed at Allen but Freya mingled in that discussion to. "You are a fighter Tanith. If you want it or not, this is your sole job. You should be ready to fly when you are woken up in the middle of the night." While Tanith did not respond to Freya she did gave a small snort of smoke that washed over Allen safe. When Freya sped up again, Tanith did try her best to follow and keep to the lavender dragoness' tail.

“Walker" Freya spoken again. “Admiral Evans wants you to know if you have been tracking the flight. Where are we now?" Allen scrambled a bit and gotten to look at his maps, while he did roughly keep their path, he did not track every little way of motion and he had not seen the ground for some time now. “Uhm, lake Lorentt" Allen said to Tanith who relayed the information. “Wrong! We are coming up to the south path soon" Allen scratched his notes and corrected his path. “How do you even keep a map accurate with all this swaying about" he swore to himself “What did you say?" Tanith asked, not having heart Allen with the wind. “I thoug…" she stopped mid-sentence “Allen, guns." Tanith simply said. Allen Jumped up as he heard the sudden push in his mind. He strained in his harness to get his guns ready. He chambered a round and unlatched the safety pal. “Tanith, what are you on about" Freya asked with rush “Only the ranking office.." She stopped too, also having sensed something. She looked up towards the sun. “Tanith, dive" she commanded and together with Tanith they dove towards the ground.

The sudden jerk downwards tossed Allen about and he fallen on his back. Gazing up at the blinding sun, he could swear he saw some kind of shade. “Tanith!?" he shouted “What is going on" he scribbled to get on his legs again and move the heavy turret around. “Dragons, they don't smell like ours" Tanith explained. “Also cloud ahead" She warned just before Allen could feel the clingy cold of the wet drops that his back. He shivered as he could feel the cold trough the heavy leather padding he wore. “level just below the cloud" Freya commanded. Allen hold himself for another jerk so he would not fall down. The levelling went smoother then the dive, he judge they flew only a few meters below the lower edges of the cloud. He readied himself with the weapon to point where they appeared from the cloud.

A larger black dragon appeared from the cloud next, the dragon dove with an incredible speed and as he looked around to spot his prey the dragon realised his mistake. Allen scanned the dragon for any hostile mark, his search was answered by the flashes of small arms from the back of a dragon. “Bank right" Freya shouted trough the link, there was something painful in her voice. As the two dragons banked, Allen gotten a clean shot through her wings and tail. He fired the guns without much thinking. It was even harder to fight the recoil and keep the gun steady as his dragon was moving about below him. He missed all his shots, the tracer's trajectory left them a good distance behind the dragon's tail. The admiral was a bit more accurate but be it being rusty or that it was hard to hit something from the distance, did not fair much better with her rounds.

The enemy however did not, Allen could hear the bullets fly in the air around them while the dragon tried to level off and gain altitude. “Walker, Tanith, You fly left of the dragon, we right. Try to pin that bastard" Freya communicated, Folding her wings to chance course quickly. Tanith spirited by the trill of the fight and the pure adrenaline followed suit with a movement that was turning Allen's stomach inside out.

Trying to avoid the two dragons the black dragon started to dive again, followed by Freya and Tanith. Bullets flew between them before Allen could hear a growl next to him. Freya was hit by at least one of the bullets and a small trickle of blood dropped from her hide. “Aim." Freya said as only warning before she flipped on her back. Allen's meal came up again but he surprised it as he gazed down the barrel of his gun. He pulled the trigger and pulled the guns along a line where the dragon was flying. Most bullets flew trough the air with hitting nothing but the eventual dirt of the ground, but just a few hit the dragon on the back. The leather clad black dragon did not give a sign that it was hit but from Allen's vantage he could see one of the humans on the back of the dragon being hit.

“Tanith" Freya grunted in pain. “Chace him down, I will try to knock that egg breaker out of the sky" she banked and disappeared quickly from Allen's sight. Tanith in her want to avenge the hits against Freya, folded her wings and dived straight for the dragon. She started to catch up and Allen's gun rattled again as he tried to land a few more shots. Suddenly the dragon's wings flared. The black dragon moved up into a looping to catch them. Allen could not aim up high enough with his gun and in pure desperation she shot a few rounds from his hand gun, all futile. “shit" Allen swore as he felt the trap closing around him. He could only look as the guns from the dragon slowly levelled with him and Tanith. “bank dammit!" He shouted against Tanith, anything to get her out of the line of sight.

Tanith's banking gave Allen just the slightest change of hope to aim his own turret too, if they would go, he would be sure to take the other with him. From the corner of his eyes he could see something violet. Moments later two dragons tumbled down clawing at each other. “behind them" Allen tried to push Tanith further. Freya growled and pushed against the dragon. Her claws dug into the dragon's stomach. Her slightly longer legs helped her to keep the dragon off just enough she wasn't the one being ripped open. “Can you catch him from me?" Freya said, sensing ground that was speeding towards them “Yes, can you turn his belly to me?" Freya gave a small affirmative and pushed the dragon from her. Her powerful tail hit the dragon across his wing causing it to collapse and spin around. Tanith's growl was a prelude for the fire that came after. The black dragon bathed in fire and the pilot on back screamed out as he burning alive.

A thud against the metal hull of the ship. Just a dud they where safe, but if that was a torpedo then what was coming next. Then horror struck as an explosion rung trough the ship and the bulkheads to the engine room buckled. Soon the pressure was building in the boilers. “She is going to blow!" shouts came to evacuate. Everyone ran to the main tower, all never to been seen again. Allen did not know why he took the other route but, he took the route and crawled trough the staircase to the dragon deck. The scent of burning flesh and screaming sailors filled the staircase. He only knew he should craw and craw up, not wanting to become one of those who where burned alive.

“Allen!" Tanith shouted. Allen snapped to, to see a black dragon Infront of him who was getting ready to breath fire themselves. The dragon's maw opened and an orange glow appeared. In an reflex Allen pulled the trigger and hit the dragon in the belly with the full brunt of the dual browning guns. The glow disappeared and the dragon's face contorted into face of pain and anger. The dragon went limp and fall out of the sky, trailing blood behind him.

“Good job Walker" Freya painted while she came around and flew next to them. “Now." She paused to inspect her own wounds. “I have to get back" The two dragons took the standard formation back to the city. “Why is an scout so close?" Allen wondered out loud. “I would not know Allen, but we need to get back soon else…" Freya stopped Tanith's train of thought “I will be fine Tanith. Stop worrying about your commanding officer, We will be fine"

Now the stress wore off, Allen could feel something warm across his shoulder. He looked to his shoulder and saw blood coming from his shoulder. “Goddammit" he swore to himself and grabbed an combat kit from a saddle bag. Quickly he wrapped his shoulder in bandages to stop the bleeding at least for a few minutes before they could get help. “Tanith, please don't freak out, but I think I am shot."

“And Allen, how by the wings am I supposed not to freak out" Allen shot back at her pilot. Ferya nosed into the conversation by asking if something was wrong, the admiral wanting to know the status of her recruit. “he is shot" Allen added “in the shoulder" “and he is shot in the shoulder" Freya suddenly sped up just a bit “We have to hurry for both of us then" Freya stated as she pushed forwards.

The first they noticed from the city was the scent of fires, large all enveloping fires that. Second was the smoke on the horizon and the soft glow of fires. As they came closer to the city they saw a large group of dragons flying away from the city and the city burning with fires of bombing. “this is" Tanith started “fubar" Allen finished as he cocked his gun to try and defend himself

“It's useless" Freya said “they are done here and we are outnumbered." Freya let herself glide down over the fires to the airbase. “We have to see what we can do for those left behind" the airbase was a buss of people, bomb craters scattered the base. The stalls where reduced to a pile. Dragons where laying about in the mud as medics rushed about. When Freya landed, the admiral did not even dare to call for a medic. “will you survive Freya?" He could her her say to her dragon. “for a time being, I still feel fine." The admiral nodded and turned to Allen. “Can you do anything with your shoulder Walker?" she asked him. The blood started to seep trough the bandages. “Just a bit of movement ma'am" he looked around “I will see what I can do ma'am"

Despites the growing pain in the shoulder he found something to do, run around to give bandages to the medics who needed them. Rolls after rolls left his hands as he moved back and forwards, until he saw a dragon laying on the ground. “Maximius!" Tanith called. The dragon looked up and smiled a pained smile. Two medics where working on his left wing, the wing was shot destroyed and the two medics where using a giant pull saw as bone saw to amputate the wing. Allen felt his stomach wretch with the sound of the saw digging in the bone of the wing arm. Laid his head down again, the eyes of the dragon where devoid of motivation. Knowing what kind of faith a wingless dragon had during a time of war.

Tanith tried to comfort the wounded dragon but when she reached for Maximius she was chased off. “Who this dragon belongs to?" an medic asked irritated. “That would be me, sir" Allen replied and got an irritated look. “Well then get your dragon out of here."

“I am already going" Tanith snorted angerly. She walked off towards the edge of the field, she found a spot that still had a patch of normal grass and was far enough away from the injured dragons that she did not constantly smell the scent of blood and death. “You know if anyone is not injured?" Tanith asked, a hint of desperation in her voice. Allen shook his head, trying to sooth the worried dragon, trough with his shoulder still hurting and bleeding, he was not much help in doing so. “There must be someone who is not injured, perhaps they are flying patrol" “Perhaps" Tanith mused about the possibility but her voice betrayed the amount, or lack thereof, she had in the statement. “I will be fine Allen, you should find a doctor trough." “They have far more injured victims to look after trough" “Yes and I don't want you to lose your arm because of stubbornness" she huffed at him “Try to at least find one, or I will drag the nearest doctor to you" “Okay, I will" Allen gave her a rub across her nose “Worry not to much Tanith" “I promise I will not" She replied.

Allen made his way to the make shift tent for victims of the raid, screams from inside betrayed he was in the correct place. When he opened the tent a single nurse was overseeing a group of medics and other personnel running around to heal the wounded. Allen froze in place as his eye fell on someone he knew. It was Peter he was laying in bed while doctors tried to deal with a hole in Peter's belly. Blood and guts laid on the bed next to Peter. The boy's eyes looked empty and hallow, his face white and he opened his mouth to try to speak. Halfway opening his mouth he just stopped and grew limp. “No pulse" A nurse said. The doctors took one look at the body and pulled a blood stained white cloth over the body. “It's no use, he is gone" One said and the trio moved to another recruit, one that laid on bed with a shot of arm, dozed up on morphine.

“Sir?" A nurse said, trying to wake up from the rouse. “Sir!" she called again, finally getting Allen's attention to look at her. She was perhaps the only one here that was blood, only holding a clipboard with a list. “Do you need medical attention?" she asked while her eyes where drawn to the bandages on his shoulder. Allen nodded “Yes, I have been shot in the shoulder." The nurse noted something down “Name?" “Walker, Allen" “Follow me" the nurse turned around and walked down the tent. Allen flowed with focusing his eyes on the mud under him, he did not want to look at any of the victims, the pained groans that filled the tent where already to much.

Allen was led out of the tent and into another, the beds where cleaner and most who where laying there where not that injured. She pointed to a bed. “A medic will come to you when they are available, but it might take some hours. Do you wish for anything against the pain?" Allen slowly nodded “that might be nice yes" The nurse took a small vial and a syringe. She injected the contents into his arm. And walked away. Allen just looked across the room where another was laying. It took him a while to recognise Coronel Smith. He gave him a sort laying salute. “Coronel" he said as greeting. Smith replied the greeting with “Walker" and nodded. “Seems you are not spared the war either. How is the admiral?"

“She is fine, We caught a dragon scout on our flight. We caught the bastard but Freya has been injured." The Coronel mused a bit “Freya?" he asked “Uhm you know the admiral's dragon?" Allen answered. “Walker, you are a strange one, knowing the names of other dragons so easily" coronel Smith mused. “But glad to hear the admiral is safe, and you Walker? Seems the you had your firetest there"

Allen gave a pained smile “Yes Sir, Shot in the arm" he paused before adding “Only a flesh wound." It was the first time he even seen the Corporal smile “Well Walker, I would toast to that with a glass of gin." He pulled away his blanket to show an amputated leg “But I will be out of action for quite a while. That stupid dragon of mine flew right into a mortar"

It was that instance that Allen realised that no matter how much he spoke with someone, he could never come to respect someone. Words formed in his head that he had to suppress not to say to a superior. “You are right trough about him"

What? Allen thought as he could hear Tanith again. How could she start to hear his thoughts? He tried to think of something again but that seemed not to trigger a response of Tanith. Allen took is as an coincidence that Tanith replied. It must have been the painkillers he gotten.

He could slowly feel the painkillers kick in and the pain of the wound started to ebb. No longer talking with the Coronel he could only her the coughing those in the beds and the distant pained groans of injured aviators, the distance roars of draconic pain.

Ones again the boiler, shovelling coal into the inferno that fuelled the ship onwards, he only knew one goal. The heat boiling the sweat from his skin. With each shovel of coal he could feel his stomach turn for some reason. He did not belong here and yet he was doing this task without question. He looked down at the coal and could no longer see the black coals but rather people that where shovelled into the inferno without thought. As he stopped a curt corporal Smith ran at him “Walker! Keep going!" he yelled into Allen's ears to keep the boiler going. He could hear the impact of shells bombarding the ship and the pressure of the boiler going. But he did not dare to stop, he kept going until.

He woke up with a shout, sweat on his skin. The sun was going down and he had no way to tell the time. The only thing he noticed was new bandages on his shoulder and a clipboard next to his bed. He could see a schematic of body with a note where surgery had been performed. Corporal Smith was no longer in bed. Woozy Allen removed the blanket from him, he was cold without it, trough he bit trough the feeling as he tried to get on his legs again. His stomach turned and he fallen to his knees, throwing up on the dirty ground. He felt just terrible. “Allen?" Tanith's worried voice echoed in his hollow mind “I don't know if you can hear me, but please come and visit me. I don't feel good" The despair of earlier today haven't left her voice while she spoke.

Allen took a breath, another one. A mistake as he drew in the acid scent of his vomit, it caused a second upturning of his stomach before he was able to slightly stand on his legs. Woozy and sick he made his way out of the tent and towards where he was Tanith last. She was not there, she was gone and in confusion he looked around until she could see her near Maximius. She was laying just a few feet away from him. Enough to comfort him, not enough to draw attention. Allen slowly made his way trough the thick mud. “Tanith" he said weakly. “Allen" she answered and helped him over by allowing him to use her head and neck as support. “I feel horrible, I have watched three dragons die while you where gone." Sorrow filled her voice. “I know how you feel, I watched Peter die, I only met him this morning."

“Hell is six feet deep" Maximius groaned. “what?" Allen asked and Tanith shook her head. “He has been repeating that phrase often. He heard it in a poem somewhere but I am unsure from who or where. He just repeats it" Allen leaned forwards in thought just letting the words sink in. He could hear someone approaching the sick dragons. “Smith?" Maximus asked, despair in his voice.

“Corporal Smith dragon" the corporal said to his dragon as he approached. A moment of silence between the two followed. “You know why I am here." “Please, I am of use, I can go to the breeding pens" Maximus started to plead. “Dragon you know you take up far to many valuable resources. You owe this to king and country." “I owe nothing" Maximius said “I had no choice from hatching to serve! Just allow me this freedom to be in the breeding pen without war." The corporal said no more words. “No please"  Maximius pleaded before a loud shot rang trough the field. In that moment all dragons fell silent as a brother fell.