Wings of Honor: Deciding Destiny

Chapter 14: Uncommon Valor

We flew low and fast, hugging the deck. 1st Squad clung tight to me as I maneuvered amongst the clearings, dragging smoke from burning hulls. I blended into the darkness, my pure black wings blurring into the dark colors of the ground, maybe 50 feet below us. I looked up, the battle still haphazardly raging overhead. I made out the gigantic shadow of Darkstalker, fighting against the dim, gray or yellow IceWings and SandWings trying to divebomb him. The lines were blurred, dragons fought alone or in small groups, easily flankable. Thorn's SandWings tried to maintain some level of organization, but the sheer aggressiveness of the IceWings resulted in a mangled mess of combatants. One claw swipe, meant for a NightWing, might catch an IceWing in pursuit, or a SandWing whose allegiance was a coin toss. It was total chaos.
It was war.
"We need to find Moon and Qibli before more dragons get killed!" Marvin shouted over the wind.
"But we need to fly through that battle!" Travers yelled.
I gulped, watching as the fighting loomed before me.
"Use cover! If they come after us, take them one at a time!"
I heard them all ready their weapons, prepared to meet any attacking dragons.
I dipped down further, barely brushing the treetops. There were a few taller trees here and there, which I weaved around. The soldiers on my back watching the skies as I focused on flying.
"Hey! I got SandWings! Right!" McManus yelled out.
I dared a glance. In that glimpse, I spied 6 dragons break away from the battle, veering down towards us. I sensed Travers aim towards the approaching dragons, Marvin bringing up his binoculars.
"They have armor!" "It's Vaquero and Carnelian!"
I smiled, slowing down, allowing them to catch up.
Vaquero swooped down beside me, now adorned in some SandWing guard armor. "Finally finished with those bad Scavengers?"
I chuckled.
Sierra came to glide on my left. "Those weapons are incredible! You must have big egg-makers, Grace!"
Somehow, that managed to make me blush.
"What's the plan?" Vaquero asked as the rest of his flight folded into formation beside me.
McManus patted Marvin on his back, pointing. Marvin brought up his binoculars, then pointed as well.
"We need to protect the Jade Winglet! Goldman and Darkstalker are going to try and kill 'em!"
I took a sharp breath, spying five-six dragons of various colors in a group. But then movement caught my eye, I realized it was a fairly large group of SandWings diving out of the battle straight towards them.
"THERE THEY GO!" I yelled.
"MudWings!" Suddenly Honey yelled.
My eyes widened as I saw them sally from the Jade Mountain Entrance. "SORA AND UMBER!"
I immediately turned for them, flying as fast as I could, aiming to strike right up against their attack. I couldn't make out the frantic words from my squad, all I knew was I had to protect my family.
The guns roared, tracers plunging towards the wave of SandWings, desperately trying to blunt the attack. The red beams flew wildly and erratically, but I focused on stopping Sora and Umber. This wasn't their turn to die.
I suddenly flared up in front of them, catching them both my supprise. Umber even blasted me with fire, he didn't know it was me. I shook my head, dazzled by the light and heat as I hovered there.
"Grace!" Sora exclaimed.
And before I could even say anything, what sounded like a tsunami of roars plunged down upon us. My eyes only saw yellow and browns, but I knew we were surrounded. Utterly surrounded.
RUN! FIND MOON!
I wasn't sure if I yelled or Marvin, but what I knew then was the sharp cut of a spear deflecting off my belly. I saw spears, what looked like a hundred javelins, shaded in the dark, arcing right at us. I held my breath, closing my eyes, gritting my teeth to brace for the pain.

Only to feel the impact of all of the spears plinging harmlessly off of me.
"Wha." I stuttered out, looking behind me to see Marvin and McManus holding the trench coat over my back.
"GET US THE BLAZES OUT OF HERE!" Marvin shouted.
The roars of SandWings bearing swords jerked me back to reality. I had the sense Sora and Umber were already hightailing it back to the Academy. With that metallic taste of fear in my mouth, I camouflaged the best I could into the darkness. Shaded white rings and dim olive-green humans were a lot harder to see in the dark. Not to mention a corkscrew dive immediately after threw them off entirely. And by now, Sora and Umber had already faded away.
I felt a thud on my back, followed by a small stinging pain coming from one of my riders.
"There was a hundred different ways we could have done that better!" Marvin's yell pierced the sounds of battle.
McManus chuckled. "She's giving you a run for your money, Cap! Might be a record run for the worst planned campaign!"
A smirk just barely made it onto my face, before I was struck with fear and anxiety as we landed close to the Jade Winglet.
"Grace!" Sora and Umber ran up to me. Sora hugging my leg. "Thank you!"
"STEP ON IT!" Marvin shouted. The soldiers slid down from me.
"I'm stepping on-it, in-it, around-it, and-through-it, Marvin!" McManus hastily began to set his gun up. "DO WE HAVE A TRIPOD?" He yelled.
"What's going on?" Umber's inquiry split my attention.
"Makeshift the bipod!" Marvin yelled back to him.
"Here! I got you, McManus!" Travers came running up with his plate.
And as the soldiers spread out to take their positions, the spike of recognition overcame me. I turned to see Moon running towards me.
"Grace!"
She said in a half-panic'd voice. And as her wing surrounded me, an agonized groan escaped me as the migraine, anxiety, and painful visions came crashing down on me. I held her up as she stuttered.
"We-w... I can't sto-op them!" She cried, tears in her eyes. "Grace, how do I stop this?"
All the weight fell onto my chest, making it hard to breathe.
"W-where's Qibli?" I managed.
Moon sniffed. "Back here." She motioned to the small group of dragons forming a perimeter. I spied the SandWing talking with two SeaWings, one a green that stood out, the other a pinkish blue that blended somewhat into the dark. A pale-striped RainWing and an IceWing silhouetted themselves as well.
Moon gently tugged me forward. I obliged, already my soldiers running around setting up what they could.
"Grace!" Qibli separated, running up to me. "You've faced them. Any ideas on what to do?"
"I-uh." I stuttered out.
We got company!
Suddenly, the familiar chugging of McManus' Bren gun firing away. I looked up to see the tall tripod and soldier manning the terribly unstable gun, forming a line of red tracers driving for the attacking dragons.
"SANDWINGS! A FUCK TON OF THEM!" Travers' distant cry went up.
Then the familiar shots of a Springfield and M1 Garand rifle.
I looked back to see seven concerned dragons look up at me, I was thankful I wasn't mindreading then, just their faces alone revealed so much. The terror, the panic, Kinkajou's white and green striped body said it all.
I swallowed down my fear. "We'll meet them. Stay safe." I pushed down the fear in my voice, letting my conviction to them show. I turned tail, running to the battle already so close. The chugs of Marvin's MKB chimed in with the flapping of wings. I found him huddled in a small depression barely peeking above with his rifle, shooting at the dragons coming out of the dark.
"Marvin!" I slid down next to him. The report of his rifle making my ears ring all over again.
"Grace!" He shouted over his shoulder at me. "We counted twenty dragons! Vaquero said he spotted Vulture hanging arround! Keep your head low, and use cover! If you can avoid flying, do it. We don't know if these guys are magic'd or not!" Then Marvin put down two well-aimed shots on some distant target.
I took a shaky breath, sensing Vaquero's Flight advancing to meet the attacking SandWings. Nine dragons against twenty was no fair fight, but we were the only ones with guns. So long as Goldman didn't appear. I don't think he will.
"What do you want me to do?" I yelled to him.
"Go back and cover Moon! It's too dangerous to be out in the open!"
Suddenly, two SandWings materialized out of thin air. I yelped as they tried to tackle me. I was too large to be pinned down, but I stumbled back away from their tail barbs, avoiding the worst of their claws. And as I rolled free from the attack of the first, the second lunged for me, dead to rights. I winced in anticipation.
Suddenly the air lit up with the all too familiar sounds of rounds whizzing past me. I looked up to see two bodies right before me. Marvin splayed across the parapet, looking like he took a hit.
"Marvin!" I got up to him.
"I'm fine." He brushed himself off. "Jacket got me."
"Grace! We're beating them back, but a small force flanked us! I think they're going for Jade Mountain." Travers chimed out over the radio.
I took a sharp breath, looking to Marvin.
He motioned me away. "You won't do any good here. Go help them."
I hesitated. I didn't like how he was sending me away again.
"Go, Grace! I'll be fine!" Marvin turned back, firing at murky shapes in the distance.
Images of his last stand flashed through my mind. I couldn't just leave him, not again. But...
"Grace, you need to protect Moon. Trust me, I got this." Marvin's voice echoed through my mind.
I took a shaky breath. Even in the darkness, I could see him standing there. His arms frail, with very little muscle to them as they held his rifle. And even though there were no scars left on him, I could still see them in his mind, projected all over his body, too much to bear alone.
Before he raised a breath to yell at me again, I tore myself away from him. Gritting my teeth so hard I heard something pop. Running fast, hoping the wind wiped my tears away.
But now I felt the familiar migraines of visions crashing down on me. Images of his torture, blood, and open wounds. Him standing alone in the dark, against the entire evil army. His sacrifice.
The tears broke through in a sob.
I saw him with only two chevrons, dragging back a man as enemies in tan uniforms charged for him. I saw him face down a friend to save an enemy deserter, that even now he remembers. He cries... over an enemy.
The gray blurred together, but I kept running. Running to my friends. My best friend.
I saw him stand alone, taking fire from all sides, machine guns pouring in... hoping his friends would escape. I saw him doing it again... only this time... I wasn't sure if he would live.
I wasn't sure if Marvin would survive.
"GRACE!"
Something caught my feet, sending a stinging pain up my leg. What made matters worse was that it made me skip a step, losing my balance, causing me to fall, and slide along the rough stone. I groaned out, looking to see the cause of the pain. I saw an arrow, barely puncturing my scales on my front right leg. I quickly levered it out, a small stream of blood following it. It would clot quickly enough.
"GRACE!"
Moon's voice again, louder! I quickly turned to meet the NightWing, only to see her catch her claws in one of the larger cracks in the rough granite underneath, sending her tumbling into me. I caught her in her arms, half cradling her, holding her up.
"Are you okay?" I asked.
"I should be asking you!" Moon retorted.
We both shared a fond smile and chuckled, before a migraine struck against me. I groaned out in pain.