Dragon Approved Complete Series Boxed Set (Books 1 - 13): A Middang3ard Series

by Ramy Vance

  As he was coaching himself through his thoughts, he saw the first indication that the vrosks were coming through. Gill was firing up ahead. Jim wasn’t sure what he was shooting at. It must have been one of the weapons the dragons had been outfitted with to make up for their lack of flames.

  Then he saw the vrosks, more than Boundless had anticipated. Enough to make him take a deep breath and think they were going to need a better plan. But then the funk came back to him.

  Two cylindrical tubes came out from the middle of the cockpit, which were coated with a cold gel. Jim plunged his hands into the tubes, his suit connecting his nerves to the mech, allowing him a great deal of control.

  Another reason Jim was nervous about Alex seeing him pilot his mech was that things were going to look a little bit weird.

  Jim leaned forward as two more tubes pushed up from the bottom of the cockpit, connecting his legs to the mech.

  This was the way the newer models worked. Total body immersion was the eventual goal. The mechs were always being updated with new neural networks and a host of other things Jim was not really able to understand.

  What he did understand was the feeling of piloting. Every iteration made the distinction between man and machine slimmer. Jim wouldn’t be surprised if eventually, he wasn’t able to tell where the mech began and ended.

  The neural link went live and Jim pressed his face to his HUD that wrapped around his face, letting him see as if he were actually looking out of the mech. And now for the weird part, Jim thought as the back neural transmitter came out from Jim’s chair—a wide, sponge-like pad covered in a slimy, sticky substance that sparked when it attached itself to the back of Jim’s neck.

  Now he was completely connected.

  Jim turned the mech’s head up to get a better look at the vrosks that were pouring into the asteroid field. Gill was lighting them up from above, and Jim could see Jollies flying in and out of the pack. Bodies were starting to fall. “Maybe we can do this,” Jim muttered to himself.

  Brath was at Jim’s side, getting ready to start their part of the plan. Jim was glad it was Brath down here with him. Furi had some major firepower in the form of his flames and, even though that wasn’t an option, Brath had loaded equivalent augments.

  Some of the vrosks started to try to move away from the area Gill was firing from. They went straight down, just like the Boundless had assumed they were going to.

  Jim lined up his first shot. He wanted to start this off with a bang, letting those vrosks know he meant business. His machine gun had been practically useless against the kin, and he didn’t want to risk the same thing here.

  A gun-lance swung out of Jim’s mech’s side, a long rifle-like weapon that used an extremely powerful plasma-charged blast for pinpoint accuracy.

  Jim took aim at a vrosk and fired.

  The gun-lance heated up, charged the bolt, and then fired. The shot tore through the vrosks, taking at least three down as it found its intended target. Then the bolt exploded, sending plasma flying at the vrosks unlucky enough to be nearby.

  Jim lined up another shot as a group of vrosks started downward at the asteroid Brath and Jim were on. He fired again, splitting up the group of vrosks, but they quickly regrouped and continued closing in for the attack.

  At Jim’s side, Furi stood up on his hind legs. The cannons on the dragon’s shoulder pulled back, and what looked like two steel dragon claws took their place. The claws started to glow, a ring of pure energy forming on each of them, spinning until they flew toward at the vrosks. They cut through body after body until they returned to Brath like boomerangs.

  Jim laughed. He wouldn’t have thought Brath would choose something so creative.

  There were still way too many vrosks heading toward Jim and Brath. He decided the herd needed to be thinned, so he stood up in his mech and hit his thrusters and flew at the vrosks. He pulled in his lance-gun and heated up his energy claws.

  There were a lot of vrosks, but it didn’t look like they felt comfortable flying in space. Some of them were wielding magical staffs, others had plasmas rifles. The rifles didn’t concern Jim very much. The plasma blasts operated the same in space as they would anywhere else. The magical staffs were a whole other question.

  One of the vrosks prepared to answer that very question. As it got closer, its staff began to glow bright red, and it launched a fireball at his mech.

  Jim banked hard to the left, giving himself enough room to avoid the blast as he slammed into another vrosk. He drove his claws through its chest before hitting another with his sharpened wings, tearing it in half before firing his machine gun.

  At this range, the machine gun was capable of doing real damage. As the vrosks tried to get their bearings, Jim took advantage of his superior flying ability. He whipped around the group, putting a good distance between them before lowering his gun lance again. He was close enough that he didn’t have to aim. He charged it and fired two blasts.

  The blasts ripped through the vrosks as Jim headed back toward where Brath was. Two of Brath’s energy rings whisked past him, slicing through those that were attempting to follow the mech. “Thanks for that!” Jim sent over the comm.

  Brath gave him a thumbs-up as Furi launched a gravity well. His well worked differently than Chine’s. Rather than pulling everyone toward it, it did the opposite—shot out a gravitational field that pushed everything away in a giant explosion.

  The result was that vrosks went flying away from the well as Brath’s energy rings zoomed around the battlefield, cutting through anything they got close to.

  As Jim touched down, he called to Jollies, “Hey, how are you guys doing up there?”

  The pixie replied, “There are a ton of these things, but I think we’re past the first volley. Gill said he can see more coming through. He thinks they’re coming in waves. Probably trying to tire us out.”

  Above the mech, Jollies flew between a cluster of vrosks, dropping small electrical proximity mines as she went. She headed toward the blank space the vrosks had come from and lined the break in the asteroids with the same mines.

  Jim’s tactical map updated, showing him where the mines were so he could avoid them.

  From the back of the mech, Alex muttered, “Funnel them toward the mines. Front and back.”

  Jim turned to see Alex sitting up, rubbing her head as she looked at the tactical display. “Holy crap, you’re okay!” he gasped.

  Alex still looked ready to pass out. “I sure as hell don’t feel okay,” she muttered. “Also, you look ridiculous. Oh, and good music choice. The seventies never died, baby.”

  Jim didn’t have time to be embarrassed and repeated what Alex had said to Jollies. Then he turned back to the rider and asked, “You’re not thinking about getting out there, are you?”

  Alex shook her head as she leaned against the back of the mech. “There’s no way I could,” she answered. “I’ve been in and out. Like, I see what’s going on, but the Dark One is in my head. Kind of. Not like the telepathy Chine uses. This is different. He’s not reading my mind or anything. It’s more like he’s filling it. With himself.”

  “Like back at the meteor.”

  “Exactly. I just got back in contact with Chine, and he said it’s going to wear off soon. He’s already a lot better, but I’m going to need a minute.”

  Above, the first wave of vrosks had been completely decimated. “Not to rush you, but you might have to hurry up. The next wave is coming soon, and we could use the extra firepower.”

  Alex laughed before wincing in pain. “Really? Looks like you guys got everything covered. I might even be able to take a break.”

  A huge explosion went off above Brath, Jim, and Alex. Another portal was opening near the barer side of the asteroid field. “Or not,” Alex muttered.

  Chapter Four

  This new portal was no different than the one that had brought the Dark One into her world. But it wasn’t vrosks coming through the portal this time. Ships very sim
ilar to the long-tendrilled thing that had appeared from the other portal were coming through. They weren’t nearly as long, and they didn’t have the hulking mass of tendrils, but they also seemed to be made from flesh, much like the Dark One’s ship.

  The Dark One’s voice had subsided from Alex’s mind. She still wasn’t sure what she had been listening to. It was obvious it was his voice. She’d heard it before. But this time it was different. Not as concise. Almost rambling. His feelings. Fear.

  Alex didn’t have the time to try to understand what the Dark One was afraid of. Obviously, it wasn’t the dragonriders. Not the four of them, at least. Maybe it was what they were trying to bring back. The weapon Vardis had promised.

  The Dark One’s warning hung over Alex’s head, though. His warning of what Vardis’ weapon would actually do. This could easily have been a ploy. How did you trust someone who enslaved entire races? Mind games were assumed.

  Alex was still getting used to being back in her body. She didn’t know where she had been before, but it was definitely not where she was now. Talking to Myrddin about what she experienced would be helpful. Hopefully, he’d be able to give her some kind of guidance.

  But for now, there was a fleet of ships coming through a portal from another dimension, along with a horde of vrosks and two interdimensional beings, and it was obvious which one was trying to destroy reality.

  Alex sat up in the back of the mech. “You need to let me out of here.”

  Jim pulled his arms and head out of the neural connection, his eyes confused and wide. “Are you serious? You just woke up. You’re in no position to—”

  “We need everyone on deck. You see what we’re up against. If I’m okay, Chine has to be too. We’re getting sky-ready. Let me out.”

  Jim didn’t argue any further. He hit the lever for his cockpit, and it popped open.

  Alex climbed out and said, “Thanks for taking care of me. And I’m not forgetting about the disco jams. Ever.” She leaped down and headed toward Chine, reaching out to him mentally.

  Chine answered quickly enough, even if he sounded groggy. I assume we’re going to be joining the fight.

  Alex ran over to Chine and leaped onto his back, looking at his scars and burns. I talked a big game, but if you can’t fight, we’re going to sit this one out.

  Chine looked at the wounds on his arms and sighed heavily. I’ll live. But…

  Alex didn’t need to be told twice. She plunged her dragon anchor into Chine’s spine, drawing out the draconic fluid that was no doubt burning through his skin.

  As that was going on, she felt a wave of heat passing over her body. That had happened a few times since she’d absorbed the fluid into her anchor, but this time it was different. It didn’t hurt nearly as much. It was almost comforting. She looked down at her anchor, and the readings said she’d absorbed enough so that Chine wouldn’t be in any pain. “Let’s do this,” she said.

  Alex pulled up on her anchor, feeling like she had more control over Chine than during the last battle they had been in. Maybe he was relaxing. Maybe she just had a better idea of what she was doing. It didn’t matter; the connection was there. It could be the binding, Alex thought, still very aware she didn’t understand what the binding really meant.

  You didn’t have to know the details about something to know it worked, though. Alex’s dad could drive a car. Didn’t mean he knew anything about combustion. With that, Alex soared into the blackness of space. “Boundless, thanks for holding it down for me while I was out,” she shouted. “Let me know what’s going on.”

  If any of her team was surprised by her being back on the battlefield, they didn’t let her know. Gill answered before anyone else. “We’ve been trying to funnel the vrosks down to Furi and Jim since they have the most firepower, but we weren’t prepared for the influx of forces. We could stick with the original plan, but it doesn’t take into account what the ships can do.”

  Alex was watching the ships. They were small enough to be fighters, which made the most sense. That meant that they were going to be fast and mobile. The Dark One’s flagship was probably packing a lot of heat, but it couldn’t maneuver through the asteroid field. That was why it was hanging back.

  Options were weighed quickly. “Jollies, I want you with me. Gill, keep doing what you can to get them to move toward Jim and Brath. We have enough firepower to deal with these guys. We just have to make sure we aren’t overwhelmed. If we keep our distance and spread them out like you were doing, we should be able to handle this.”

  Brath interrupted Alex’s train of thought. His voice was surprisingly unnerved. “What about the Dark One’s ship?”

  “We’ll worry about that when we have to.”

  Alex scanned for Vardis, who turned around and met her eyes. His thoughts came through to her. I will be joining this battle as well.

  Why the hell hadn’t he joined it before? Alex thought. Glad to hear you’ll be joining us, she sent, trying to keep her tone even.

  “What should I do?”

  From where Alex was standing, it didn’t seem like Vardis was capable of doing much. He hadn’t helped with the kin. All she had seen him do was fly and use his telepathy. “Whatever you can,” she finally told him. “But don’t endanger the weapon. I’d rather have you make it back to Earth with it than fight now.”

  Vardis’ face hardened. “Nothing will happen to the weapon.”

  “I’m going to hold you to that. If you’re going to help now, I’ll leave it at that.”

  The portal above had finally closed. Whatever reinforcements the Dark One had sent for were here. Nothing else was coming through for the time being. Alex wondered if that was the extent of what the Dark One had at the moment. Maybe that was why he was so reliant on personnel from the other races of the nine realms.

  Alex sped toward the fighter ships that had come through the portal. In her peripheral vision, she noticed Vardis leaping onto one of the asteroids. He wasn’t flying as he had done before, and it didn’t seem like the lack of gravity meant anything to him. He bounded from one asteroid to the next.

  The asteroids posed a slight problem, but one Alex felt she was able to handle. She wove through them as she approached the bulk of vrosks, who had massed where the portal had closed. Gill shot out of his hiding place, heading toward her.

  Three of the vrosks veered off from the rest. They were coming for Alex, but she wasn’t going to let them be the ones who brought the party.

  Alex leaned forward with her anchor, driving Chine toward them as Gill came up on her side. “We can bust through and scatter them,” she suggested.

  Chine fired a small explosive gravity attack, similar to a proximity mine. That reminded Alex of what she’d heard the team planning earlier. “Wait, Jollies already prepped for this!” she shouted.

  Alex pulled up her tactical display and saw where Jollies had dropped the mines. “All right, we’re funneling them that way!”

  Alex shot a small gravitational well ahead of the vrosks who were coming toward them. It exploded, pulling them in but fizzling out enough to give the vrosks the impression that they weren’t going to affect it too heavily.

  The vrosks took the bait, along with all the others behind them. They flew after Alex and Gill, who headed toward the mines the vrosks had managed to miss by coming through their portal.

  While Alex and Gill were handling the enemies in front of them, Jim and Brath were continuing to fire their artillery, taking care of the vrosks who had forgotten about them. They didn’t bother with the ships.

  Vardis was standing on the edge of one of the asteroids, looking at the ships that had come through the portal. Suddenly, he let out a scream of rage, and an aura of golden fire surrounded him. He leaped toward one of the ships, landing on top of it.

  The ship veered to the left, trying to shake Vardis, who held on regardless of the speed. Vardis raised his right hand, and it began glowing with energy. He gathered a ball of it in his hand and slammed it into
the ship’s hull as the tendrils tried to wrap around him.

  Vardis tore through the hull and grabbed the pilot, an orc whose skin seemed to be rotting off the bone. He flung him into the coldness of space.

  The orc clasped his throat, trying to breathe, but quickly succumbed to the vacuum of space. His body drifted out into the darkness as Vardis leaped to the next ship. It barrel-rolled, trying to throw the alien off but failing miserably. Vardis pierced the hull with his hand again, this time causing the whole ship to explode as he leaped through the flames toward the next.

  Alex watched the carnage Vardis was unleashing on the Dark One’s forces. To say she was surprised would have been an understatement. There was no way she could have known that Vardis was packing so much power.

  Or rage. It was almost tangible, the anger and hatred coming off Vardis. It was so strong that both the vrosks and the dragonriders stopped for a second, watching the seething destruction Vardis deemed proper for the forces of the Dark One.

  Alex took the chance to implement the second part of her plan. Jollies had done more than just set up mines around the initial perimeters. She’d set mines up on the other side of the asteroid belt as well. Alex fired two laser beams at the vrosks in front of her, catching them off-guard. Then she and Gill sped toward the last line of mines, swooping low to give Jim and Furi a chance to pick off any vrosks they could.

  They fired a flurry of specially made space grenades that exploded on contact, and a weapon Brath was just unveiling now. Furi stood up on his hind legs, showing what looked like a harness across his chest. But the harness had a bulge in the middle, resting on his sternum.

  The dragon roared loudly, and the bulge, which was molten metal, shot out at a remarkable speed and formed into multiple different projectiles. They maintained the same speed and density and tore through vrosks flying overhead.

  The horde of vrosks had been noticeably thinned, and the rest were following Alex and Gill closely, firing their magical staffs. Alex and Gill wove in and out of the asteroids as Jollies showed up to provide backup, flying between the vrosks and electrocuting whichever wasn’t paying close enough attention.