Son of Fire

Chapter One Hundred and Twelve.

It had been a few weeks since the arrival of the Valetinians. And what use to be a nice beach was now a full scale dock, with five ships docked up at a time as work was carried out on them.

Josh had found himself, along with Chad, overseeing the work at the Docks. the naval force of Auradon was starting to take shape. Chad had convinced the Valentinians to allow him to make modifications on a few of their ships, making them the flagships of each fleet of ships.

Mal had come to an agreement with Skylar. Each fleet would consist of thirty ships, with one ship per fleet becoming the flagship of the fleet. Each would carry the commander of the fleet and the battalion that were housed within the fleet.

The Auradonian forces were starting to take shape. Their manpower had increased, their naval force had become something to be feared.

"Yo, Chad." Josh calls as he walks over. Chad looks up from his stack of papers in his hands. "Last of the modifications have just been finished on the fifth fleet. You ready to send them out for the next lot?"

"I think so. Has Audrey and Jane finished with the enchantments?" Chad asks and Josh nods. The enhancements were nothing over the top. But it allowed their ships to be tank alot more hits from the Empires ships. Although dragon fire was something it was hard to combat. Especially without any dragons to test with. "Okay, you can go tell Skylar we are ready to move on."

"Will do, sir" Josh mock salutes with a smirk on his face. Chad raises his eyebrow at Josh before chucking his pencil at him, to which Josh catches. "Now you're down a pencil." He taunts as he walks off, sliding the pencil behind his ears.

Skylar was onboard the new flagship, inspecting the modifications that Chad had installed. She had to admit, the man was a genius. The cannons were something else entirely. All the cannons were attached on each side, with some sort of aiming mechanism within the middle of them. She had asked at how he had done it, but it was lost on her entirely. The stockroom had been refined, albeit all the treasure was just removed and a sorting system was put into its place. But Skylar estimated that two months of supplies could be stored on the ship, and on the regular ships she had estimated a month and a half.

"So, you approve?" Josh smirks. It was a reoccurring conversation between Skylar and Josh. Skylar knew she didn't have to inspect every ship, but she couldn't help it. And Josh began to find it amusing.

"Well, it was in need of a handsome captain." Skylar smirks back. "Oh, look. Here's one." She snakes her hand along the back of Josh's neck.

"Stand down." Josh sighs as he grabs her wrist and pulls it away from him.

"You're no fun." Skylar pouts. "But, yes, I approve of Chad's modifications. A mighty smart man."

"The man is a genius. God knows where his idea's come from. Or where his brains came from. When I first met him, he was a bafoon."

"Well, easier to hide away his intelligence than to be judged on it. But during times of war? Oh, intelligence is something you cannot have enough of." Skylar responds. "So, when do my improved ships get to see some action?"

"Well, we need to finish outfitting the rest of the ships. Five fleets are ready, but we still have another five to go. Arcadia is the closest, so it will most likely be our first invasion. But, my father will know that and will garrison alot of of troops there. We need to make sure we are ready for it." Josh answers.

"All I heard was invasion." Skylar grins, to which Josh couldn't help but return.

"These things take time, Skylar. To you, this is just another job. But to me? To my sister's? It's about retaking our homes." Josh tells her. Skylar grins falls as her eyes become softer, tilting her head to take him in better.