need some help.”
Perry saw him and laughed. Soren had gutted his bag, emptying all its contents. Supplies spilled everywhere around him, and he was looking through a pair of binoculars, searching the distance.
“Perry, due east,” Brooke called from behind them.
He searched the low hills there. A Hover like the one that had taken Talon skimmed over the plateau.
Soren shot to his feet in excitement. “That’s a Dragonwing. Fastest Hover in existence.”
“It’s circling,” Brooke said. “It’s following a specific route around the Komodo.”
“A patrol,” Perry agreed.
They kept up their surveillance into the afternoon as massive thunderheads moved in, clotting the sky. The patrol followed the same route every two hours. Armed with that information, they returned to the Belswan and gathered in the cargo hold to discuss their options.
“We can’t outrun a Dragonwing,” Soren said. He rapped his knuckles twice on the metal floor of the Belswan. “Not with this slug.”
At the center of their circle was a light stick from the Belswan’s supplies. Perry turned the dial down to limit its brightness. In less than five minutes, the glaring light had given him a headache.
“A Dragonwing is built to do two things,” Soren continued. “One, catch anything it wants, and two, destroy it. If they’re running patrols, then they’re ready for us. At the very least it means they haven’t forgotten we’re out here. There’s no way we can get close without drawing them into a fight. If that happens, we’re done for. We’d be annihilated. Wouldn’t we, Jup?”
Jupiter startled, surprised to hear his name. Then he nodded. “Definitely. Very annihilated.”
“Twig and I got close,” Roar said. He stood away from the group, alone by the open bay door, his dark clothes blending into the darkness. “It’s not hard to do on foot.”
A gust of cool air blew into the Hover. It smelled more like rain by the hour.
“You want to go on foot?” Soren said. “All right, we could try that. We could run up and throw spears at the Komodo’s steel walls. Wait. Do you guys have any of those catapult things? Those are champ.”
Roar shrugged—he couldn’t care less about Soren’s comment—but Aria winced.
Perry remembered her making similar biting comments when they’d first met. That felt like a long while ago, though it’d only been half a year.
“What do you recommend, Soren?” he said tightly. He had far less tolerance for Soren than Aria did.
“I recommend we get a Hover. There’s no way we’re breaking into the Komodo without one. And I mean a Dragonwing, not this flying heap. But I hate to break the news to all of you: there’s no way we’re getting one.”
“There are a bunch of Dragonwings outside the Komodo, aren’t there?” Brooke said. “We could divide up. Some of us could distract the patrol and give the rest of you a chance to get close to the fleet on foot.”
Soren snorted. “You can’t just walk up and take a Hovercraft. And a distraction would never work. Any disturbance on a routine patrol would get reported back to the command leader at the Komodo. If you create a diversion, you’re basically putting everyone on high alert.”
“What if we contact them first?” Aria said.
“And say what? Our feelings were hurt when you tried to kill us?”
Perry leaned forward, forcing himself to ignore Soren. “What are you thinking?” he asked Aria.
“That we’re approaching this the wrong way,” she said. “We have to get way ahead of them.” She looked at Soren. “Can you hack into their communications from this ship?”
“Honestly, Aria, sometimes I feel like you don’t even know me.”
“Answer,” Perry snapped.
“ Yes . I can.” Soren looked at her. “For the last time, hopefully: I can hack anything .”
Aria smiled. “Perfect.”
9
ARIA
H er plan was this: they would transmit a false message to the Dragonwing, sending the patrol on a mission to
Perry saw him and laughed. Soren had gutted his bag, emptying all its contents. Supplies spilled everywhere around him, and he was looking through a pair of binoculars, searching the distance.
“Perry, due east,” Brooke called from behind them.
He searched the low hills there. A Hover like the one that had taken Talon skimmed over the plateau.
Soren shot to his feet in excitement. “That’s a Dragonwing. Fastest Hover in existence.”
“It’s circling,” Brooke said. “It’s following a specific route around the Komodo.”
“A patrol,” Perry agreed.
They kept up their surveillance into the afternoon as massive thunderheads moved in, clotting the sky. The patrol followed the same route every two hours. Armed with that information, they returned to the Belswan and gathered in the cargo hold to discuss their options.
“We can’t outrun a Dragonwing,” Soren said. He rapped his knuckles twice on the metal floor of the Belswan. “Not with this slug.”
At the center of their circle was a light stick from the Belswan’s supplies. Perry turned the dial down to limit its brightness. In less than five minutes, the glaring light had given him a headache.
“A Dragonwing is built to do two things,” Soren continued. “One, catch anything it wants, and two, destroy it. If they’re running patrols, then they’re ready for us. At the very least it means they haven’t forgotten we’re out here. There’s no way we can get close without drawing them into a fight. If that happens, we’re done for. We’d be annihilated. Wouldn’t we, Jup?”
Jupiter startled, surprised to hear his name. Then he nodded. “Definitely. Very annihilated.”
“Twig and I got close,” Roar said. He stood away from the group, alone by the open bay door, his dark clothes blending into the darkness. “It’s not hard to do on foot.”
A gust of cool air blew into the Hover. It smelled more like rain by the hour.
“You want to go on foot?” Soren said. “All right, we could try that. We could run up and throw spears at the Komodo’s steel walls. Wait. Do you guys have any of those catapult things? Those are champ.”
Roar shrugged—he couldn’t care less about Soren’s comment—but Aria winced.
Perry remembered her making similar biting comments when they’d first met. That felt like a long while ago, though it’d only been half a year.
“What do you recommend, Soren?” he said tightly. He had far less tolerance for Soren than Aria did.
“I recommend we get a Hover. There’s no way we’re breaking into the Komodo without one. And I mean a Dragonwing, not this flying heap. But I hate to break the news to all of you: there’s no way we’re getting one.”
“There are a bunch of Dragonwings outside the Komodo, aren’t there?” Brooke said. “We could divide up. Some of us could distract the patrol and give the rest of you a chance to get close to the fleet on foot.”
Soren snorted. “You can’t just walk up and take a Hovercraft. And a distraction would never work. Any disturbance on a routine patrol would get reported back to the command leader at the Komodo. If you create a diversion, you’re basically putting everyone on high alert.”
“What if we contact them first?” Aria said.
“And say what? Our feelings were hurt when you tried to kill us?”
Perry leaned forward, forcing himself to ignore Soren. “What are you thinking?” he asked Aria.
“That we’re approaching this the wrong way,” she said. “We have to get way ahead of them.” She looked at Soren. “Can you hack into their communications from this ship?”
“Honestly, Aria, sometimes I feel like you don’t even know me.”
“Answer,” Perry snapped.
“ Yes . I can.” Soren looked at her. “For the last time, hopefully: I can hack anything .”
Aria smiled. “Perfect.”
9
ARIA
H er plan was this: they would transmit a false message to the Dragonwing, sending the patrol on a mission to
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