ALEXiThymiA: Chapter 79: Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, Alexa

Chapter 79

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, Alexa

Captain Rayne Johnston lead the distraction team. This was the auxiliary team of combat professionals who were all trained in various forms of combat. This was her team, hand selected from thousands of applicants, all with the express purpose of being able to adapt to a situation as it unfolds. All because a situation never unfolds the correct way. There is never a correct way to get into a firefight with armed combatants, there is never a correct way to get into a fight with Supers, and there sure as shit ain’t a way to go into combat with a dragon.

A dragon, that’s right. She was on a team, whose sole purpose in life was to kill a dragon. A malicious smile formed on her lips as she led the charge. For the first time since her magical binding to the dragons had been absolutely shattered, she could look at a dragon and not immediately drop to her knees in reverence.

This was going to be fun. This was her moment to show what it meant to be human, to show what was waiting for them if they dared to come here to their world and run amuck. In her mind she had no doubt that Alexa could do something magical to help or stop this dragon. Knowing the girl, she could likely turn the dragon’s innards to mush, or cause all the contents within their stomach to enter their bloodstream, those were just the thoughts she had on her Healing capabilities.

The fact that they were even charging forward at all, was just to show that the TSI team was there and to give them some credit in this operation. That said, currently there were no real-world tactics on what would work on a dragon.

Let alone a dragon that was of royal decent and level 92 and counting. The beast was massive, with black scales going down its torso.

They approached quietly, but Rayne Johnston knew that such methods were just for show. Dragons could sleep through almost everything. They could sleep through turbulent rainstorms, fires, floods, diseases. They could sleep through everything just about everything the world could throw at them.

Even a long narrow snow drift that started from the minor hill that Alexa and Steves had been standing on.

Watching the display, Captain Johnston was impressed. The girl was holding out her hand and seeming to cause a minor snowstorm to appear.

“Whiskey Tango Foxtrot is she doing?” Johnston said out loud. That was code, she cursed a lot, but she was trying to stop on account of her little one back home. “Ain’t no way a little snow is gonna stop a brute like that.” She muttered out loud.

Sniff, sniff.

Bullford tilted his head up into the sky and sniffed a few times before shaking his head. “It’s not snow, its something chemical. Aluminum?” The aluminum part was more of a question than an actual answer, but it went a good way towards answering her thought.

“Well good. Anyone have any idea what that is?”

“I’d dare say it is a form of thermite.” Fletcher said, also coming over to join the conversation.

Looking at the girl, it was clear two things were happening. First the girl was causing random flakes to appear in the air, then simultaneously she was generating a wind current to grab the flakes she created and direct them over the body of the massive dragon.

“How are we doing on time?”

“I’d say we are in place with over five minutes to spare. Orders?” Fletcher answered the captain.

At that Rayne just nodded to herself.

“Let’s see what she can do.” Johnston said.

With that the team crouched down as they watched an early seasonal miracle. Looking up, Captain Johnston saw that there were a few clouds in the sky. At that she chuckled silently to herself as she thought of the weather forecast for today, cloudy with a chance of thermite.

After a minute, a faint white coat covered the dragon. After two the patches were filling in nicely. By five minutes, a thick glaze covered the beast from head to tail. Even its massive wings could clearly be seen as being covered by the massive snowflakes.

At nine and a half minutes the team began to get up from their crouches.

“Stay behind me. He will likely start with a flame attack of some kind. I can shield you all.” Captain Johnston said.

At that both Bullford and Fletcher nodded, this was not their first time working with the Captain, but sometimes stating the obvious before a battle helped. This was like being told to pull the pin first, then throw the grenade. When you were in the heat of the moment, sometimes common sense went out the window, and while she expected nothing but the best from her team, she knew all too well what bad decisions people can make when under duress. She herself had made many bad mistakes, the last one cost her nearly twenty years of her life, but that was all past her now.

After receiving a quick nod from her Lieutenants, she began running forward. Only once she was at full speed did she dare call out “CHARGE!”

RRROOOOAAAARRRR!

Being so close, the ground shook from the dragon’s startled bellow. With a move made out of half panic and half annoyance at being awoken, the beast let out a burst of flames.

What happened next was magical.

Well, the magic was getting everything into place so seamlessly. Magic was the fact that a teenage girl was able to create weapons grade thermite from will alone. Magic was that fact that she was hers. Everything else was science, pure and simple, glorious science being brought to life in the form of an impromptu lesson about how not to operate when surrounded, or in this case covered by thermite.

The entire TSI team watched in amazement as giant flames erupted out of the beast’s black mouth, only to create a spart of flame that set most of the glittering white thermite flakes alight. This of course had a cascading effect, as the flakes next to those then got hot enough to burn, which in turn set off the next set of flakes. Row after row of flakes went off burning everything in their path. Their path in this case just so happened to be the body of a giant black dragon.

RAAGHGHHAAA!

The beast cried out in pain, as it began flapping its wings, not knowing that this only served to bring in more air and expose more scales quicker.

CACKLE!

The dragon burned and Captain Johnston found herself laughing with an evil sort of glee that could only best be described as a cackle. She didn’t care, in this moment she knew her two Lieutenants would likely make a note of this odd sound, but for the life of her, she didn’t care. This was a beautiful sight, dragons roasting over an open flame.

“HAHAHAA!” Johnston laughed, drawing both the attention and ire of the black dragon.

ROOAARR!

The dragon mustered a burst of flame, but it was clearly apparent that the attack was half hearted at best. That the dragon couldn’t even pull in a full breath of air due to either the flames, the smoke, or the pain it was in, or some combination of everything.

Still the flames that were unleashed were hot, but not too hot for Johnston to handle, especially not for the handful of seconds that the flames were available for.

“GAH!”

Still despite her protections and shielding against fire and flame-based attacks, Fletcher and Bullford both insisted on crying out like little sissies at the sight of the flames. Despite having been behind her shielding numerous times.

Honestly Johnston could both understand their plight and hated them for this sign of weakness. It was her own weakness, her initial fear of flames that made her stop in her tracks and submit to her dragon she was sent against.

A level ten dragon, she lost to such a pathetic creature all because she was afraid of a little flame.

After that point, she was granted immunity and even a bit of control over the chemical reaction. From that point on, she made it a point to push herself constantly for her own failure. She was a teenager; the world was at her fingertips, and she buckled.

That was why she liked the grit that Alexa had, she had that spark, that drive too not back down. The spark that Rayne herself only got once it was too late. At least she thought it was too late, until she was freed of her bonds, of her oaths. Of her spiritual pacts that made her a slave to the dragon overlords.

Now she was freed. Not just freed, but in a position to do something about her past, present, and future. This was a gift from the high one almighty, and she was not going to let this opportunity pass through her fingers, not again.

She watched in glee as the black dragon burned. At first, she thought it would be tough seeing where the dragon burned to ash, but surprisingly it was easier than she had expected. The dragon’s scales were so shiny that when they burnt away to ash they left a pale after image in its wake, something that was easily discernable to the naked eye. She watched in joyful glee as the fight slowly left the dragon, she watched it rise up flap its wings defiantly.

Just when she though the thermite would only get the top half of the great beast, it flapped its massive wings, causing a few more flames to fall from its wings.

Whoosh.

In a second the dried grain and oats that the stupid creature had made its nest out of also caught fire burning the less protected underbelly of the beast. The part of the beast that had up to this point been spared from the flame. No more. Now, the beast was well and fully consumed.

The monster began to scamper, its burning legs and wings flapping wildly. It pivoted and stumbled away, turning away from Johnston and her team, and somehow even went away from the tech squad that had the high-powered munitions and instead turned towards the open field.

Watching the beast scamper, it was clear that the beast was desperately trying to get away. Years and millennia of instincts kicking in, telling it to move on, to get to safety only to slowly have every ounce of its strength consumed in the flames.

Laughing at the sentient creature’s pain, a thought hit Captain Johnston, am I a bad person for taking such delight in the suffering of this monster? Then after pausing to contemplate that thought for a moment, she eventually shook her head. Nah, I’m good.

Honestly the question of whether she was good or not was not up for debate right now. For now, all that mattered was her trying to protect the area she had been entrusted with. It just so happened that she rather enjoyed doing what she had been tasked with, at least today she had.

“It’s still moving.” Bullford said.

At that Rayne just sighed, always one to state the obvious, but he did have a point. With the dragon mostly out of its still burning nest of grains, it might be able to survive, particularly if it manages to live past the still burning thermite on its back.

Rumble.

Just as Rayne was trying to figure out what to do next, her questions were answered as a small ditch first began to form right below the dragon. It wasn’t much, especially compared to the grand size of the dragon. This was just a five-foot hole in the ground wither the dragon’s two back feet were. Where the back feet had only barely managed to claw their way forward.

Rayne and the rest of her team looked on in shock as the ditch seemed to be too much for the mighty dragon to overcome, particularly in its weakened state.

There was still a raging fire and inferno, but most of the heat had clearly died down, a fact made clear by the way Rayne suddenly felt cold from the lack of ambient heat in the area.

“Kill it.” The cold voice of Alexa Thyme spoke from beside the Captain. When did she get there?

Captain Johnston looked confused for a second, but then turned to see the stone-cold look of a killer. A warrior whose raven black hair billowed in the morning air. She looked on with cold ice blue eyes that spoke of having seen the worst this world had to offer, and she didn’t buckle or bend. Instead, she had the look of someone who stood defiantly despite the odds facing her.

There was a moment when Captain Johnston almost lost composure, a moment when she almost wanted to gesture for Alexa in her Aru’ka suit to do the coup de gras herself. Then she paused, as she realized this was her mission, her team. It was also her first kill since being freed.

Captain Johnston locked eyes with Alexa for a moment, then nodded.

This was to be her kill, well her and her team’s kill.

“You heard her men, let’s kill us a dragon.” Johnston shouted.

“AHH!” The team shouted.

Even the far fire team shouted, opening fire in wide arcs that had no chance of hitting the captain and her Lieutenants.

The team charged forward.

Captain Johnston struck out with her enchanted sword.

Slink.

The blade went deep into the back right side of the beast. A side that had blessedly ben cleared of thermite. Or rather all the thermite that had been on that area had been burnt away, leaving behind charred scales that her blade was easily able to pierce.

“GRR!” Johnston struck out over and over again.

Rattak-tak-tap.

Small arms fire erupted from the front of the beast, while she and the rest of her team carved through the beast’s massive sides and flanks.

Bullford and Fletcher both were in their combat forms, claws and teeth digging into to different chunks of the monster. Carving away patches of flesh.

RAHAGAH!

The beast cried out in pain at first, but that was the sound of a sad and pathetic creature that was dying.  The other team was the distraction squad, knowing that the beast wasn’t going to be affected by small arms fire, the team focusing on the neck and head of the beast were the speed squad that would fire rounds and move quickly before firing again. The idea was for Johnston’s team to immobilize the beast so it couldn’t move. Then once it was down, at which point the teams would switch positions and Johnston’s team would head towards the head and neck.

There was of course just one problem to the plan.

The dragon died too soon.

Before she had fully severed the back tendon of the beast, it collapsed to the ground and only spasmed lightly. Then by the time they were prepared to break off and move, the beast stopped moving entirely.

“Clear, exiting.” Johnston shouted, the sign that they were prepared to break off from their area. This was a command as much to the fire team as anyone as it let them know to stop firing for the moment.

Of course, this was all overkill apparently. The beast was down.

Captain Johnston looked back to see their healer standing there, her posture one of calm anticipation. If she didn’t know any better, she would swear the girl was just here to watch the glorious sun rise, of course she wasn’t. None of them were, but that was besides the point. Right now, they had a job to do.

Protocol said that once a dragon was down, they were to remove the head, so that was what they did.

For the next thirty minutes everyone watched as Johnston and her Lieutenants quickly carved through the thick neck of the monster and finally managed to sever it from the rest of the body, thanks to a well placed slice of supernatural claws by Bullford.

Once that was over the team looked around in a still calmness, no one wanting to say anything.

She was standing there looking for something to say, when the system spoke.

Or maybe the system had spoken a while ago, and only now she had a chance to recognize the message.

Title Gained:

Dragon Slayer: All Magic abilities increased by 15%. Magical effectiveness against all dragons increased by 50%.

That was the most beautiful message the system had ever told her. Not because it gave her bonuses to her Magic abilities, but there it was a clear sign that she had done the impossible. She had killed a dragon.

A tear formed in her eye.

“You okay Captain?” Bullford asked.

“Shut up, I just got ash in my eye.” Johnston said, as she wiped away the offending tear.

“RAH!” The members of the mobile strike squad cried out in cheer, no doubt noticing the same message that she had. The one telling her about her new title.

“There is one question.” Fletcher said, as he got closer.

At that Rayne just raised her eyebrow in her way that said, don’t make me ask you to keep talking.

“What do we do with the spoils?” Fletcher said, a note of hurry to his voice as he realized the Captain’s mood.

Hearing that Rayne paused, as she looked up to see a glowing blue stone form at the base of their feet, right where the dragon’s blood from its neck and torso met.

Only after that realization, of all the blood did Rayne realize that she and her Lieutenants were absolutely covered in blood.

“Doesn’t this normally go to the rookie?” Bullford asked.

“Aye, I do believe it does.” Fletcher said, in an agreeable tone.

This was often the case with new team members, a way to build loyalty and excitement at going on hunts. By offering a reward the first time, they knew that anytime after that they could also get rewarded.

“I do believe you are right.” The Captain said, picking up the glowing blue crystal and looking on it hungrily, before letting out a breath and ultimately turning to Alexa. “For you.”

At that Alexa’s eyes went wide, as she raised a trembling hand, but then a look of resolve filled her as she forcefully regained control of her body and shook her head.

“I cannot. I already have Arcane magic. It would be best for one of you to use it.” Alexa offered.

At that, the Captain paused and looked at the girl. “You can’t go away empty handed.”

“I am not.” She said, as the Captain could swear that an odd glow covered the girl.

Tilting her head to the side, then the Captain nodded. She knew the girl was right, she had the maximum tier of proficiency in Arcane magic. So if this crystal was as she said, it would be a waste for her. Then a question hit her, “how do you know it is Arcane?”

At that Alexa looked at the crystal, then just shook her head. “A skill.”

Captain Johnston stared at the girl for a moment, then nodded to herself. “Then boys, if none of you mind, I believe I will take this as my own.”

There were looks of slight regret at the decision as many had wished for this chance, but ultimately no one complained too much, as a crystal that large and powerful would mean days if not weeks of pain and agony. No wonder the girl’s hand trembled at the sight of this, Rayne thought to herself, thing must be like a jumbo enema for the soul.

“All right, nothing heard.” Johnston said, as she pocketed the large crystal in her pouch under her vest. “Now we have the fun task of clean up.” She said to her team. Then spinning around, she turned to point at Alexa, “while you, little missy, need to get back. Bullford, will you do the honors?”

“With pleasure.” Bullford said, having already shifted back into his human form.

With that, Johnston began enacting the next stage of the operation, the least fun side of her job. Cleanup.