A day later, Henry was called into the battle dome for tomorrow.
As he got his helmet to leave from the forest, he heard Amari near to him again.
"Hey there." Henry said as Amari came into the moon-lit grass.
"(~Hi...where are you going?~)" she asked as she nuzzled his face.
"The day of testing has come. The model is finished. Now I must face the other models." Henry said.
"(~I see. Well...I wish you luck.~)" Amari said before pulling Henry into a tight bear hug.
"Thanks. I need that." Henry said as the purring and grooming of his fluffy dragon comforted him.
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At last, the requested models of the students were in.
The hangar doors opened slowly, revealing the new structures of the mechas.
"Perfect copy, it looks." Henry muttered.
"Awesome!" Scott said
"Nicht schlecht." Alice said.
"Stylish." Rachel commented.
"Lindo!" Fernando said
"Sweet!" Travis exclaimed
Indeed the models were as gorgeous as they were presented in the unveiling event.
["I'm glad you like them, Viking squadron."] Gideon's voice said from the speakers above.
"Wait? Viking squadron? We're a squadron now?" Alice asked. ["That's right. The superiors decided to make all of you a squadron because we've learned that together as a team, you all will succeed and survive. I know some of you have a difficulty coping with one another. But if you cooperate, you may find that others have inspiring talents that some of you haven't noticed. And with that, humanity may have a chance to survive. I wish you all good luck on the tests before the final exam."] Gideon said.
All six saluted.
"Sir!!!"
—————————————————————————————
[Warning system: check
Ejection system: check
Control system: check
Dummy rounds: check
Dummy missiles: check
Training rifle: check
Shield status: go
Frame system: check
Flight unit system: connected]
["All systems are go. Henry, are you ready?"] Elias's voice asked from the radio. He was now his assistant during the test on the ground, together with Jonas and other military representatives that were ready to test their models as well. Simon was also there to watch, which made him fell fine. He was finally going to show him what he was capable.
"Yeah. I'm ready." Henry replied after taking a deep breath. He wasn't the only one here; all of the Viking squadron was here too.
All launch lights came on as Henry prepared his mecha into a launching position on the launch platform.
"XLR8 STINGRAY, Henry Haddock, launching!" Henry said, then he took off into the sky.
["Kurata type F, Alice Heda, taking off!"] Alice said on the radio.
["Yumboro Tank, Fernando Iglesias, launch!"] said Fernando.
["Kurata type R, Scott Jefferson, rollin' out!"] Scott said.
["Yumboro type S, Rachel Tucker, ready to snipe!"] said Rachel.
["Yumboro type M, Travis Tucker, ready to rock n' roll!"] said Travis as they all launched up in the air in order.
["You have 20 minutes to position yourselves into an attack position, both on the air and ground, before the enemy targets arrive at the training airspace. Oh, and as a reminder; the training rounds used by you and the opponents contain a special paint that delivers a shock when it hits its objective. It won't damage your mecha, but it will send feedback on what the real damage could have been. Good luck to all of you."] the voice of Gideon said before keying off the radio.
There was a long and awkward pause when everyone heard the last message before someone decided to speak up.
["Uhhh...yeah, we're screwed."] Travis said.
["No we're not. I can easily crush anyone with my mace if they get too close enough."] Scott said.
["Unless you're in the air and they evade you. Which would be hilarious if they do."] commented Rachel.
["What now? We're up against more advanced fighters and we have no leader to consult for strategies."] said Fernando.
["We should probably get on the ground first and attack by surprise. That should give us a heads start before we go up in the sky."] Alice said.
"No. We don't know with what they'll surprise us with. I believe we should split into two groups: Scott, Travis, and Rachel; you guys land to meet up with ground attacks and lure the opponents onto the ground. That should give us equal targets to share. Me, Alice, and Fernando will deal with the air-type opponents one each." Henry said after developing a battle plan of his own and sharing it with the rest of the squadron.
There was a long pause when Fernando said ["I believe his plan is best. I mean, he has gone up against dragons and walked out without a scratch."] on the radio. ["Since when do you think Henry's ideas are going to work?"] Alice asked Fernando questioningly. ["From what I've seen from my hermano, he seems to know what he's doing AND comes well prepared. Is there something I should know about this guy other than that he's NOT useless?"] Fernando countered. The silence from Alice meant that Fernando's logic clearly had silenced her bitterness.
["I trust you, Henry."] said Fernando as he came up to fly next to his mecha.
["Thanks bro."] Henry said. The three that were assigned for ground support landed on a small strip of island, meaning that his plan seemed logical to them as well.
[WARNING: ENEMY APPROACHING] appeared on their screens. "Ok. Here they come. Fernando: deliver your ordinance while keeping a safe distance from your opponents. Does that sound good to you?" Henry said on the radio, to which Fernando replied ["Roger".] and slowed down to match his speed behind. "Alice...if it's alright with you...I think you should go for close-quarter air engagement." Henry said. ["How did you know that's going to be my style?"] Alice asked. "From what I observed and experienced when you fight and tried to kill me accidentally, I believe you will do well on that." Henry commented. A long pause, and Alice said ["...Copy"] before slowing down to a moderate speed.
"Meanwhile I'll take care of the dogfighting" Henry said as the three flew in formation.
Elias must have heard this because he suddenly got on the radio and said, "Are you sure you can handle it? I mean, a small portion of them are drones that have no g-limits and are twice as fast. Also you have only experienced moderate g-forces on the flight simulator rather than in an actual unit". "I'll be fine. Trust me." Henry replied in a way that Elias understood what he was talking about. He rode a fury a couple of times, and he was pretty sure it did compare to what he was going to experience.
The radar blips on his screen showed there were eleven opponents:
Two Beta mechas, two VF/X-15s, four Over Flags, two Manta drones....
....and one Mobile Drone.
"First intense test...here comes." Henry said as he increased the engine throttle.
YOU ARE READING
How To Train Your Dragon 4: Near Horizon
Fanfiction"There were dragons when I was a boy. Some say they crawled back into the sea leaving not a bone or a fang to remember them. Others say they were nothing but folk tales to begin with. But maybe one day, a time may come where the dragons will return...
