Thorne
After letting the private finally go, ensuring he would spread the tale of Carla’s heroic actions far and wide, Thorne waited for his mate to catch up with him before they headed on to the colonel’s office.
“Try not to get in a fight before I can speak this time, okay?”
He glanced at her with a wounded look. “I’ll have you know that the odds of that have gone way down since last time.”
“Oh really?”
“Yes,” he said, lifting his chin with a disdainful snort. “By a large factor. Huge. I’d say at least eight percent. Maybe even ten.”
Carla, standing next to him as they waited for Colonel Mara to join them—she wasn’t in her office apparently—jerked slightly at the low numbers before realizing he was joking.
“Very funny, Thorne. Haw haw,” she fake laughed. “This is important to me.”
“I know it is. That’s why I worked so hard to decrease the odds I would go all caveman and try to fight someone just because they checked out your assets.”
“If you ever do that, it’s the last you’ll check out my assets, mister,” she admonished, taking his hand for the reassuring squeeze she knew he would give it.
“It’ll be okay.” He spoke quietly, the words just for her now, despite the half-dozen other members of the colonel’s staff who were also outside her office. A pair of secretaries, two guards, and two others who all appeared to be waiting for her. There was a conspicuous space between the dragon and his mate and everyone else. It might have had something to do with the way he glared angrily at everyone as they entered, though he would never admit it to Carla.
Being tall and intimidating had its perks sometimes. If he could give her some space to remain calm and collected before pitching their idea, then he would. Anything to help her succeed, whether she knew it or not.
“You two, my office, let’s go.”
He snapped up straight as Colonel Mara entered the outer part of her office like a whirlwind, barking orders and pointing at the pair of them to precede her into her inner office.
“And Thorne?” the colonel added as he opened the door.
“Yes, Colonel?”
“Try not to get into a fight this time.”
He hung his head as Carla laughed from next to him. It wasn’t his fault, dammit!
The door closed behind them and Colonel Mara sank into the chair behind her dark cherry-brown desk, the leather hissing as it adjusted to her weight.
“Okay. You two had some sort of idea you wanted to pitch to me before that whole shitshow went down. Now that you’re recovered, I suppose, let’s hear what was so important you couldn’t tell me over the phone. Be brief. Don’t sugarcoat shit either. I am so not in the mood,” she said with a wry smile.
“Sure. Brief backstory is we were looking for ways that the two of us could be together while I rejoined the military, and my old unit in particular,” Carla said without preamble. “We came up with one, and thanks to the Outsider’s attack, we actually got to demonstrate part of it in front of you.”
“You did?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Carla said.
He saw the way his mate’s spine straightened, falling back into military patterns as she talked to a superior, even though she was now a civilian. Thorne knew it would take longer than a couple of weeks for her to rid herself of that, but even more than that, he saw how much it meant to his mate to be back in this world. She needed this, and he promised Colonel Mara silently that if she vetoed the idea, she would regret it.
“We’re going to form a unit of dragon riders, composed of dragons and battlesuit-capable warriors. We could—”
“I’m sorry,” Colonel Mara said, interrupting, “did you just say dragon riders?”
“Yes, ma’am. Pairs of dragons and battlesuit soldiers, a fusion of human technology and old-world strength. Think about it, ma’am: We could mount some serious weaponry on them. And while they fought their battles, we could watch their backs, ensuring they were never caught by surprise by the Outsiders. It’s simple force multiplication, ma’am.”
Colonel Mara arched both eyebrows. “I may not be a combat leader, Corporal, but I’m aware of what you’re suggesting.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Carla said, reining in her enthusiasm just a bit as it started to get out of hand over the idea.
“Dragon riders,” the colonel mused thoughtfully to herself. “Interesting idea. I suppose we could fold them into the existing chain. Maybe as a cavalry unit.”
Thorne spoke. “No.”
Mara looked up at him sharply. “No?”
“No, ma’am. We’re independent. We’ll fight with you, but not for you. We’re not willing to put ourselves in a position where your government one day might order us to attack other humans.”
Colonel Mara nodded. “It saddens me to admit that the possibility of that is very real. There are far too many idiots in the chain of command who would just love to have a unit like that to play with. You’re correct. So how do we do this then?”
“Mercenaries,” Carla said, speaking up again. “You’re already paying them to fight, essentially. This would just be a more formal unit. Some dragons could choose to stay on their own, others may wish to join the dragon riders.”
“That could work,” Mara agreed. “That could definitely work. Good thinking, Corporal.”
Thorne saw his mate beam, and he wondered if she had noticed the way Colonel Mara had started referring to her as Corporal again, instead of Miss Giannone.
“And the riders themselves? What would they be?”
“Mercenaries, working with loaned government technology.”
“Your suits would be your payment?”
“Exactly, ma’am. At the end of the war, we would be given the option to keep the suits and return to the military at our prior ranks, or return the suits and be given a one-time monetary payment as thanks for our service.”
Colonel Mara leaned back in her chair, looking at the two of them. “You two have put a lot of thought into this.”
“Carla has,” he said immediately. “The initial idea may have been mine, but she was the one who brought it to life.”
“I see. So the two of you wish to lead it?”
“Yes.”
“No.”
Thorne smiled, answering the implied questions from both of them. “I can fight,” he explained. “And I will fight, with Carla at my side. She can be in charge of the humans, if you deem it. But I am not a leader of dragons.” He smiled. “I think you already have someone suited for that job.”
Colonel Mara looked at him, and then slowly began to smile.
She punched a button on her desk. “Mary? Get Vanek on the phone, and tell him to get out here. Now.”