The Plan

"So that's what you saw," Darian said, grim-faced.

Lodo nodded. His arms were folded, his jaw set; next to him, even Jin seemed uncharacteristically subdued, his tail drooping.

Theo couldn't blame them. After the two had come back from their recon mission, the entire crew had gathered into the cabin to hear their report. It didn't sound encouraging, to say the least.

He glanced over at Fia, who had wrapped their arms tight around themselves, fingers twisting the cloth of their poncho. Their legs trembled so hard they probably wouldn't have been able to stand without Ryan's grip on their shoulder.

"An enormous black medusid," Darian said quietly, tapping her fingers on the tabletop. Then she glanced at Jin, expression sharp. "And you said the skycraft itself was heavily armed?"

"Yeah." Jin nodded. "I got a look at it. There were cannons everywhere."

"I see." Darian breathed out, then leaned back in her chair. "Well. I think it's safe to assume our opponent is one of the Four Grand Generals."

"What?" Fia burst out, while Guntar let out an alarmed cluck. Even Kress cursed under her breath.

"Four Grand Generals?" Sam asked the question on Theo's mind. "What's that?"

"They're the highest-ranked of the Infernal Legion's generals. Only the Infernal Lord stands above them," Darian said. "Up until now, I've never encountered them myself, only heard of them. Now we know one of them is supervising the invasion of Mare."

Fia shuddered harder. "And they've got Samakah," they said in a tiny voice.

"Not only that, but it sounds like they're converting Samakah's Levia for their own purposes." Sighing, Darian shook her head. "This is bad, very bad."

Theo's heart raced. If even the fearless Prince Darian was talking like that, he couldn't imagine how hopeless this situation must be.

But they couldn't just turn around and run. Zenith must feel the same way, because he stepped forward. "No matter what, my liege, we must fight."

"Of course. That's not a question." Darian clenched her hand into a trembling fist. "But we won't stand a chance if we try to engage them in a head-on battle. We'll have to be clever. Careful."

"Grand General nothing!" Ryan's shout echoed off the cabin walls. "Avia'll just blast 'em outta the sky, no problem!"

He jabbed a thumb at his chest, grinning triumphantly, but it slipped off his face when everyone else only responded with stony glares. For his part, Theo had to fight very hard against the urge to slap his forehead. Would it kill that idiot to learn how to read the room?

"We should think about it this way," Meg said loudly as if Ryan hadn't spoken. "What's our objective? How to accomplish it?"

"Take back Mare," Fia whispered. "And Samakah."

"Yes, and to do that, what do we need to do first?"

Ryllis spoke up, to Theo's surprise. "Sounds to me like we need to destroy that machine."

"That's right." Meg nodded sharply. "We've got our objective right there."

"Easier said than done, y'know," Amaro said, shrugging.

"Perhaps." Darian stood up, slamming her palms onto the table. "But it gives us a goal to aim for. All right, crew. We're not leaving this room until we've come up with a plan."

She glared around the room, her eyes hard with purpose. When her gaze landed on Theo, he felt a jolt from the Star of Miriel's Levia, sending a prickling warmth through his body and chasing away the chill.

His hand moved to the holster, settling atop the warm leather. Right. Even if their opponent was a Grand General, it wasn't like the Blue Sky crew had nothing either. Just like in all their previous battles, Theo would rely on his friends, his familiar, and the Star of Miriel. And they'd make it through, no matter what.

~*~

By evening, the drizzle had intensified into a full-on storm. The wind blew the rain in freezing sheets across the deck, stinging even through Amaro's oilskin cloak, and the clouds grumbled with thunder and occasionally flashed with lightning, so bright it left afterimages in his vision.

Well, he'd flown the Blue Sky through worse. And it'd give them cover, which was why they'd chosen now to carry out the plan.

An absolutely insane, audaciously daring plan – but Amaro wouldn't have expected any less from Prince Darian. Ever since she'd won her way on board the Blue Sky, Amaro understood what kind of gambler she was. She made huge, risky bets, but only in pursuit of rewards beyond all imagination.

If it were anyone else, Amaro wouldn't have put the Blue Sky into what any reasonable person would call a no-win scenario. But all his years following Darian hadn't yet led him astray. And he'd learned that when it came to her, there was no scenario that couldn't be won.

So that was why Amaro was flying straight toward Mare.

He gripped the wheel tighter, nudging it slightly to keep the craft level through the rain and wind. It might've been his imagination, but he felt that steering the craft had become a little easier, a little more intuitive, after their battle against the Himmelsfestung. After Eulyn had spoken for the first time in five years.

Even now, he could feel her gaze atop his head, and it reassured him. But even if he was better at it, he wouldn't be able to sense her Levia. Not after Cay had spent all afternoon refreshing the layer of suppressing potion, to the point where Blue's bell now sported a very fetching greenish tinge. No need to alert the enemy to their presence any sooner than necessary.

Another thunderclap rumbled through Amaro's chest, made his skin tingle. Then he heard a softer sound from behind – like hesitant footsteps.

Amaro chanced a glance behind. A grin crossed his face when he saw the white-robed figure heading toward him.

"Thought you were stationed in the infirmary."

"I'll go back in a moment," Cay snapped. "Here, I have something for you."

With that, he held out – Amaro blinked – a ceramic bottle. Amaro accepted it one-handed, startled by the warmth that spilled across his palm.

"It's roarlily soup," Cay said in a mumble, turning to the side and pulling his hood low over his face. "I put an extra dose of Levia into it."

"You sure about this?" Amaro raised an eyebrow. "You'll need all the Levia you can get once, you know, the battle starts."

Cay turned away further. "Tch. You're the one...who will have to endure the most. A little extra energy couldn't hurt."

Though he was turned away, hood pulled down and hair blowing all over his face, Amaro felt certain he was blushing. It made warmth swell inside his chest, something entirely distinct from the bottle of soup in his hand. Grinning, he reached out and placed his hand on Cay's shoulder.

Cay whirled back around, blinking wide eyes. Amaro winked.

"Thanks," he said. "I mean it."

Yep, Cay was definitely blushing. Even in the dark, Amaro could tell. "I don't need your thanks. Just – just live. That's all."

"Of course." Amaro tightened his grip, pulling Cay closer. When Cay stiffened, he worried he might've been too forward, but then the sage took a long stride forward, grabbed the front of Amaro's cloak, and yanked him into a passionate kiss.

For a moment, Amaro let himself enjoy Cay's sweet taste, the soft warmth of his mouth. But then the craft lurched and both of them stumbled; Amaro would've fallen clean over if he hadn't grabbed the wheel just in time.

Cay's blush almost glowed in the darkness. He looked winded, which made Amaro want to laugh in delight.

"It's a promise," he said. "Sealed with a kiss."

~*~

Down in the Blue Sky's lower hold, Ryan crouched low and stretched out his clasped hands until his arm muscles strained. Working out his tension, just like he would before a lacrosse game. Or an especially important duel.

Yeah, think about it like that. Not some crazy suicide mission or anything. He told himself he wasn't nervous anyway; this Grand General whatever couldn't be that much tougher than Greisen.

Next to him, Avia shifted a little but thankfully didn't say anything. Ryan wasn't in any mood for talking – hell, nobody was.

Both of the Blue Sky's skiffs had been unfolded, and Ryan, Avia, Fia, Meg, and Lodo occupied one while Theo, Sam, Zenith, and Ryllis took the other. Down here there were no portholes, so Ryan had no way to keep track of their progress. He'd only know when the hatch opened, and then it'd be time to hit the water and head full speed to Mare.

In front of him, Fia took a deep breath that shuddered through their whole body. Before he could think, Ryan reached out and squeezed their shoulder. They spun toward him, eyes huge, but Ryan offered them a grin and thumbs up.

A shaky smile spread across Fia's face, filling Ryan's chest with a weird floaty sensation as if he'd swallowed a champagne bubble.

Though he probably should've, he didn't let go of Fia. Hey, they didn't seem to mind either. And he had to admit, somewhere deep inside, that he felt a little better like this. A little calmer.

A little more ready.