Chapter 24

The moment the words faded, Nick was transported to space. His body was suspended, the light of a thousand stars sparkling around. Had Keith lied to him?

"Looking good Nicky." Keith's voice interrupted the silence of space, and Nick felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned his head to look at Keith, and stopped. Instead of Keith's grinning face, he saw the grinning face of a DRAGOON.

"Keith?" He was starring eye to eye with the DRAGOON, which should be impossible.

"Who else would it be man?" The DRAGOON was definitely speaking in Keith's voice. "I told you this was so much better than virtual reality." He let go of Nick's shoulder and lazily floated by, blue thrusters propelling the DRAGOON forward.

"Am I-"Nick held out his hands, but they were instead cold and mechanical, clad in a blue metal. Golden spikes protruded from his knuckles, and his fingers ended in claws.

"DRAGOON's haven't been piloted with normal controls since the first Gen Nicky. Now, physicals meld their mind and conscious from inside their DRAGOON, becoming one with the machine." He used a hand to point at his chest. "In an actual DRAGOON, the pilot is in a pod here, feeding their energy into the DRAGOON, making it an extension of their body."

Nick's mind was racing. What did he mean feeding their energy into the DRAGOON? Before he could ask another question, an explosion ripped through space, and a shockwave crashed against Nick and Keith. It hurt.

"Oh, looks like the fun is about to start, I'll see you at the gathering point." Keith's thrusters burst into life, and he was suddenly hurtling away from Nick.

"What gathering point-"No one was around to hear his question though. Nick floated, aimlessly, as he tried to figure out how to follow Keith. He kind of wished he was in a VR simulator, he was really good at piloting those DRAGOONs.

Have you tried using your energy? Dagr's voice pulled him from his musings. Keith had mentioned that. He called to his energy, welcoming the fire as it rushed through his body. At the same time, green lights burst into life along the body of his DRAGOON.

"Now how do I fly?" He still couldn't figure out how to activate his thrusters.

May I? Nick wasn't sure how his dragon could help, but he gave him a mental nod. A second later, he felt his physical energy shift, and suddenly he was flying forward. Nick turned his head, and saw red, wing like energy, propelling from his back.

"How did you do that?" He knew Dagr was connected to his energy, but the dragon had never been able to control it within his body.

It appears my consciousness has melded with yours for this training. I am currently sharing your body. To demonstrate his point, Nick's arm was suddenly in front of his face.

"This is weird." Nick wasn't sure he liked sharing his body with his dragon.

I'm sorry Nick. Though, at least I am able to help you now. Dagr pulled on the energy again, and they sped forward with even more speed.

"You can handle the flying...let me control my body though." Establishing a line seemed important.

Agreed. They continued on in silence, though Nick knew Dagr could hear his thoughts. Eventually, they neared where the explosion had originated, shattered pieces of rock, possibly a moon, floating around. He could see twelve DRAGOONs floating lazily around.

In virtual reality, all the DRAGOONs looked the same. The twelve that Nick saw, were each distinctly unique. He wondered if actual DRAGOON's were specially designed to fit their pilot. Keith had said they were an extension of the physical piloting them.

"Oh look, Keith's pet has wings." Of course Rasha would make a snide remark. Her DRAGOON was crimson, with blades extending from her elbows.

"Any bets on how long he lasts?" Another fourth year called out, but Nick didn't recognize the voice. He made a mental note to learn who all the Rank 1s were.

"Depends, am I allowed to kill him here?" Rasha suddenly disappeared, and he felt a sharp point against his throat. Rasha's DRAGOON was now behind him, holding his life in her hands.

"Come on Rasha, you have to at least give him a chance to prove himself." Keith winked at Nick, and started laughing. "Besides, Naomi wouldn't be happy if you hurt Nicky." Rasha growled, and kicked Nick forward, hard. His body spiraled through space towards the group of fourth years, who made no effort to catch him.

"What was that-"Nick stopped talking as he saw the space he had previously been begin to distort. Rasha and the others began floating away from it, and Dagr, who had gained control of their flight again, wisely pulled them away as well.

The distortion seemed to absorb all light, and continued to grow. Nick felt dread rise up in his stomach as he watched, transfixed on consuming darkness. From within the void, black forms, similar to DRAGOONs began to appear. They came in waves of ten, silent, unmoving. The other DRAGOONs had set up a perimeter around the void, and were all watching, seemingly bored, as an army of alien forces appeared.

For an agonizing few minutes, these forms continued, and Nick guessed there were a couple hundred floating lifelessly in space. Following these forms, multiple ships, which dwarfed the DRAGOONs, came forward. These too had no light emanating from them. After five of these ships arrived, the void shuddered, drastically growing, and from within, an orb appeared. The moment it was through the breach, the void disappeared, and Nick could tell something was about to happen.

As if on cue, crimson light streaked across the orb, and the ships surrounding it sprang to life. A red deflector shield encircled the orb, provided by the ships, which now had red light coursing through them. Then, the orb released a piercing sound, and even more crimson light appeared. As it did, the hundreds of forms began to glow.

"Try not to die." Keith's voice was in his ear, and a second later, chaos ensued.