He grinned, not taking the insult. "I'm an asshole looking forward to seeing what you're capable of."
"Wasn't the whole point of this to work as a team?" Kira asked plaintively.
"It would never work," Graydon said, his gaze piercing. "None of us trust each other, and we don't have time to build that trust. The only way through is brute force and hoping the others are strong enough to survive on their own."
He was assuming a lot, even if he made several excellent points Kira had already considered.
There was a loud chime and then the gates before them opened, revealing the starting platform that transitioned to the course several feet below.
Finn was the first through, taking off at a smooth run. He leaped onto the uneven boulders peeking up above the water line in a broken, crooked path of stepping stones.
He made it halfway across before the first drone came online. It surged up from beneath the water like a great sea monster, fire flying from its mouth as it and its brethren darted after Finn.
Graydon gave Kira a roguish smile and then stepped backward off the platform, disappearing from sight. He appeared seconds later, running about a foot above the water as if on some invisible surface.
"Guess that's why they call them wizards," Kira muttered to herself.
"How do you want to do this?" Raider asked.
She turned to find him next to her, frowning out at the course. While they hesitated, the drones had swarmed. Countless numbers of them converged on the two men. She saw now why Liara said there had to be four. This would have been impossible odds if faced alone. At least with four, the focus of the drones was somewhat split.
"You're willing to work with me now?" Kira raised an eyebrow. "Thought you hated me and couldn't trust me."
The words were an echo of what he'd once said to her. She hadn't realized she'd been carrying them around all this time until this moment.
"I do. You're a wild card, unpredictable—as likely to get your own people killed as the enemy."
Kira's jaw locked.
"But we can't let him tell these people about the ship, and you're my best bet for success."
"Enemy of my enemy," Kira said.
He made a frustrated sound. "Something like that."
Kira was tempted to tease him a little longer, make him beg a bit. His need for success was far more pressing than hers. She'd survive being stuck with additional guards. He and the others might not survive the Tuann's displeasure.
"Fine. Do you remember the old days?" Kira asked, giving in. It wasn't in her to tease about something this important.
"We still use those patterns. Although we've modified them a bit," Raider said.
"Good, we'll use Sierra Sierra," she told him.
Like sports teams, the military scripted certain maneuvers. The patterns were usually preset and evolved as the changing circumstances did. This one was really meant to be used while wearing a Hadron battlesuit while riding a waveboard.
The Curs original directive had been as a space to ground combat unit, similar to the paratroopers of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Only the Curs began their insertion from orbit and had much more control of their breakneck descent. The waveboards were lightweight and highly maneuverable, allowing the user to turn on a dime while also coming in handy for ground warfare.
They were soldiers of space, air, and land, easily adaptable to any condition. What had begun as an entertaining pastime for teens racing waveboards in tournaments became humanity's answer to their greatest tactical weakness.
Sierra Sierra wasn't the best tactic given the circumstances—they could have used at least one more person—but it was the one with the greatest odds of success.
"I'll act as decoy and draw their fire," Kira said. "You run through the opening I create."
Raider grunted in acknowledgment.
Kira was happy when he didn't try to argue. She stepped up to the edge of the platform and studied the field. She'd chosen Sierra Sierra based on her observations of Finn and Graydon.
Neither had been attacked until they were halfway across the water. Even now, the drones hovered beyond that invisible marker.
