“Ugh.” “What are their kind doing here?” “Mercenaries?” “No, pirates.” 

“There are pirates on the ship?” “Just the captains…thankfully.” “Why in the Universe would we conscript pirates?” 

“We didn’t. One of the Dragons took them under his wing.” “Must be desperate for-”“-quiet, or they’ll hear you.” The soldiers whispered to one another.

Crane adjusted his glasses and scowled. The pirate captains stared daggers at the soldiers, and they pretended to ignore their guests.

“Arrogant shites. What the hell are you looking at?” Bokbaard barked. Goldjack grabbed his belly and laughed. 

“Not very welcoming, are they?” Feng commented behind her fan, and the pirate captains made their way through the tall and wide passage.

“I am not taking orders from anyone. Meeting after meeting, parlay after parlay. There had better be a battle after this.” Bokbaard spat and they stopped in front of a pair of sliding doors.

The captains looked up and noticed the holographic sign, with the words “Briefing room” shining brightly. They stepped forward, and the doors opened with a whoosh.

“You will, so long as you represent your Lord.” a tall warrior said menacingly. She had a silver streak in her hair jet black hair and an intimidating stare. The warrior in iron armour towered over the pirate captains.

“Captain Wolfe where are the pirates? There you are. What took you so long?” a slightly shorter blonde woman asked angrily, and Feng chuckled behind her fan. 

“Oh, our apologies. Are you pressed for time? By all means, make this brief. We would love nothing more than to breathe the fresh air again and judging by your stature, I’m certain there is some farmwork you wish to return to.” She said snidely, while eyeing the two tall and broad-shouldered women before her.

“Ha! Indeed, we are from the countryside. And where might you be from?” a sleepy giant of a man asked nonchalantly. 

“Spare the introductions. Send them the mission briefing, so we may continue. They will cower in the rear or desert the battlefield at the first sign of trouble, anyway.” A bald man said angrily, and his moustache twitched.

The pirate Captains and the soldiers scowled at each other. The sliding door to the opened with another whoosh and a tall and slender blonde man brushed passed everyone awkwardly as he entered the room.

“Excuse me. Sorry. Oh? Everyone’s here already. My apologies. I was working on a new spell and got carried away. The application and implementation may need some work, but the theory is sound.” Luther reported happily and Goldjack let out a hearty laugh.

“What spell were you working on?” the Dwarven Captain asked curiously. “It’s a Warhead Spell-”“-Luther!” Avalon shouted and the slender blonde man noticed the tall blonde woman to his left. 

“Ava-Captain…uh…I mean, they’re our allies now…right?” Luther asked innocently and the sleepy giant let out another laugh.

“So, he’s not just a pretty face? I dare say he is more suited to diplomacy than you are, Captain Avalon. And introductions are important for those that will be fighting together. Good communication is important after all. Captain Reed Bahn, I look forward to working with you.” The sleepy giant said nonchalantly.

Holographic monitors popped up in front of the pirate Captains, and they scrolled through the dossiers quickly.

“We’re not being sent to the frontline?” Crane asked skeptically and the bald man laughed. 

“Of course not. We do not need amateurs getting in our way.” Dumas said and his moustache twitched again. The tall, dark-haired woman and the bald giant stared menacingly and Bokbaard scoffed.

*

“It seems like they are getting along well.” Raymond said, and Kagiso rolled his eyes. “Is that what you really came to say?” he asked, and the three-horned man stared at his brother silently.

“Is this the contrarian in you? Am I speaking to the rebellious Dragon that dragged us into trouble as younglings? I thought you had outgrown that phase. Why them? Why now?” Raymond asked, and his eyes glowed purple.

“Freedom. I need strong fighters, not soldiers. I need explorers, not conquerors. I need new ideas, courage and evolution. I chose them because they have character and I did so now, for today is the day we have crossed paths, obviously.” Kagiso replied, and his eyes glowed blue.

“They could jeopardize the mission or tarnish your reputation.” The three-horned man added, and the two-horned man laughed at his brother. 

“My reputation as a rebellious Dragon? And if I am not mistaken, we staked our lives on this mission’s success. All variables should have been accounted for.” Kagiso replied, and Raymond’s eyes stopped glowing.

“And if they weren't? I wanted you and Duke to survive at least.” the three-horned man said sadly. “What? What about everyone else?” the two-horned man whispered angrily. 

“What about them?” Raymond asked callously. He turned to his left and stepped forward. 

“Hurry, if you wish to finish your preparations on time.” The three-horned man advised. His eyes stopped glowing, and he vanished with a step.