“That’s why they call you Thunder?” she said loudly enough for X to hear.
I hope you’re as good at diving as you are at charming, kid.
Arlo looked his way and nodded as if he could read X’s mind.
X smirked.
He liked this kid already, but would his instincts and his boldness with women translate into what he would need to dive through dark skies and electrical storms?
They would find out soon enough.
The other divers prepped their gear and performed last-minute checks on their armor and systems. Some chatted in hushed voices and flashed suspicious looks at X. Hector and Alberto stuck with the other Cazadores, while the sky people clustered together.
The King had not expected them to mingle freely, but he hoped they would soon learn to dive together. He would teach them about having each other’s backs—the most important part of being a diver.
Michael finished talking to the technicians working on Cricket. The robot chirped, the hover nodes flashed red, and it rose off the launch bay’s deck and followed Michael, who flashed a proud smile.
“Nice work,” X said. “Reminds me of that vacuum bot you put back together when you were just a kid. Remember that?”
“Of course,” Michael said. He pulled X aside and, in a serious tone, said, “X, what are you really doing here?”
“Look, Tin, I know you got this under control, but I wanted to be here for the first dive outside the Vanguard Islands.” X kept his voice low. “I’m worried some of them aren’t ready.”
Michael looked over his shoulder. “Everyone’s passed the jump test in clear skies, but I am a bit concerned about a few of them, primarily—”
“Ted Maturo,” Magnolia said, joining them.
Michael half frowned, as if he didn’t quite agree but couldn’t really argue with her choice.
“Silver Fox is terrible,” she said. “No way he makes it to five dives. I’ll bet my poker bankroll on it. Chances are good he hurts someone else, too.”
X looked at Michael to get his reaction but got nothing.
“Not everyone is cut out to be a diver,” Magnolia said.
“Maybe hold him back,” X said, trying not to make it sound like an order.
“Agreed,” she said. “Have him dive a few more times in clear skies before you give him the green light for the storms.”
“Only way to learn is to dive,” Michael said. “But if you both think he isn’t ready, I’ll go let him know.”
X appreciated that Michael listened to advice. He was a lot wiser than X had been in his twenties. Hell, X was still crap at taking counsel.
“This should be interesting,” Magnolia said, folding her arms over her armor.
Ted was crouched down, working on his gear with his back turned. X went for a better view and saw the rookie was actually taking a drink from a silver flask.
He stood up with a smile as Michael approached. The smile vanished in an instant.
“No, I’m ready,” Ted said, loud enough for everyone to hear.
Michael shook his head. X couldn’t hear his words, but everyone could hear Ted’s reply.
“Commander, please, I can do this.”
The other divers looked up from what they were doing, and the ritual clicks and clanks stopped. Michael patted him on the shoulder and walked away.
Ted turned, glaring at Magnolia as if he knew that she had something to do with this. Then he turned and walked away, kicking at the air in a fit of frustration.
“What are you all looking at?” Michael said to the surrounding divers. “Finish your gear checks.”
As they returned to their work, the wall-mounted speakers crackled. “Prepare for slight turbulence,” said Les. “We’re entering the barrier. We will hit the DZ in approximately T-minus-eight minutes.”
The divers donned their helmets and lined up in teams behind the veterans: Michael, Edgar, Magnolia, and Alexander.
“System checks,” Michael said.
The teams went through the final steps to confirm that their HUDs were working properly and their suits were sealed.
A red light strobed from the corners of the bay, and a siren sounded, warning of the imminent launch. The divers all faced the launch-bay doors in anticipation.
All sense of movement ceased a few minutes later as the airship reached dive altitude over the drop zone. The speakers crackled again.
“Team leads, report,” Les said.
The newly reassigned leaders acknowledged.
“Raptor One, online and ready to dive,” Michael replied.
“Angel One, good to dive,” said Alexander.
“Phoenix One, locked and cocked,” said Edgar.
“Wolf One, online,” Magnolia said. “Let’s see what y’all got.”
The dozen new divers reported in, confirming that their systems were operational.
“Dive safe, everyone,” Les said when they had finished. “Remember your training.”
“Team Raptor goes first,” Michael said.
The launch-bay doors hissed open, and he stepped up with his team, waiting to lead the first new boots into the black void.
A cool blue light swirled from the corners of the bay. X had always found it calming before jumping into the hell that awaited them.
Lightning forked across the black skyline like a misshapen sword stabbing into flesh.
X retreated from the blast of freezing air to the center of the launch bay. The platform extended outward, and Michael led his team toward the dull, pitted metal. Cricket hovered after them and then dropped like a rock into the darkness, to get into position for aerial video of the new divers.
“We dive so humanity survives!” Michael called out.
“Hell yeah, we do!” shouted someone behind X. A figure darted past him and sprinted around the diver teams.
“Wait!” X yelled out.
Before anyone could stop the idiot, he ran onto the platform and leaped into the black abyss. At first, X thought it was a technician or some crazy crewman who had decided to get creative with suicide.
Then he realized that the guy was likely committing suicide.
A glance into the corner where Ted had been sulking told him the rest. And if the kid was as bad as Magnolia said, chances were that he was now taking his last few breaths in this life.
FOUR
“Everyone else but the team leads, stay put!” Magnolia shouted.
Michael and Alexander had already dived off the platform, and Edgar followed her into the black, leaving the new divers inside the launch bay with X, who had run over wearing nothing but his ripped T-shirt, shorts, and sandals. The doors sealed the other new divers inside with the living legend.
If he’d had his chute on and was suited up against the negative five degrees Fahrenheit, she had no doubt that he would have jumped out to see that Ted made it safely to the ship.
The reckless greenhorn had already gotten a few seconds’ head start, and Magnolia couldn’t see him in the darkness below. At thirty-two thousand feet, they had only two to three minutes to make sure he wasn’t in a tailspin and could deploy his chute properly.
She could kick herself for even letting him onto the airship in the first place.
Scanning the black emptiness, she saw no sign of his battery unit.
Shit, he must be in a suicide dive.
“Ted, get into stable fall position now!” Magnolia shouted into the comm.
“I got this, Mags! See you on the ship!”
This time, she cursed out loud. “Stupid son of a bitch.”
There was no denying that Ted had cojones, but big balls coupled with inexperience was a dangerous mix that got people killed. Still, she couldn’t deny that he was a bit like her rebellious younger self.