Ultima Ratio

Chapter 67: Road Through El Dorado

The next day, they watched the sun rise from ten kilometers above the Atlantic Ocean. As beautiful of a sight as it was, it did nothing to alleviate the stiff aura that lingered throughout their small aircraft.

Quyen sat in the cockpit, tapping the controls and inspecting the sensors every few seconds as their plane hovered in place, completely camouflaged. Jivan paced around the cabin in figure eights, their footsteps quiet ever since Quyen snapped at them for being loud enough for her earpiece to pick up. Against the left wall, Elodie and Navin huddled together in their seats, their fingers interlocked in vice grips.

Akira watched this all from where she stood at the back of the aircraft, trying to take some comfort in Danya's reassuring presence pressed against her left side.

"Where are they?" Akira muttered to no one in particular when her eyes inevitably returned to the cockpit windshield.

"They'll be here," Danya assured her again, this time wrapping an arm around her waist.

"They're late," Akira said, gratefully leaning into Danya's side.

Danya chuckled. "Maybe we should give them a call. 'Hey, what's taking you so long? We were supposed to be stowing away with you fifteen minutes ago.'"

Akira allowed herself a slight grin. "That would work out spectacularly."

As uneasy as Akira still was, she appreciated Danya's attempt to comfort her, especially considering that Danya was likely just as nervous. So Akira turned to her, hoping to distract herself by focusing on someone else's problems.

"How're you doing?" Akira whispered, mimicking Danya's posture and gently squeezing her waist.

"All things considered? Spectacular." Danya sighed, grimacing. "I'd rather not think about it, actually. Sorry."

"Don't be." Akira returned her gaze to the others. "Then...I spy something...loud."

"Jivan?"

"That was too easy."

It was an hour later before they finally spotted their target: the city of El Dorado.

Like the other sections of Concordia, the flying oblate spheroid was partially decked out in gold, and its entire lower hemisphere shimmered brilliantly in the morning sun. However, unlike its counterparts, its upper hemisphere was just as vibrant thanks to the glimmering and colorful infrastructure within.

El Dorado was never meant to partake in battle. Instead, it was just the opposite, and the upper class of Concordia and their allies used it to escape the inconveniences of war. While it possessed defensive capabilities, no one ever bothered to attack them, and they never bothered to fight for their country, aside from collecting financial support.

It were those characteristics that made it perfect for "stowing away."

"Target's entering anomaly," Quyen reported, not taking her eyes off the nearing city.

"Copy." Akira approached the cockpit with Danya and the others close behind. "Deploy the first wave."

Quyen produced a small, spherical drone from the outside of her seat, slightly bigger than the ones Concordia used. After pressing a few buttons on it, it lit up with a peppy beep.

"Good luck," Quyen whispered to it before kissing the metal and placing the device in a pneumatic tube that emerged from the center of the controls.

"What the bloody hell are you doing?" Jivan muttered from Akira's right.

Quyen spun around to glare at all of them, as if she knew they were all thinking the same thing that Jivan vocalized.

"It works!" she snapped, then focused her rage on Jivan. "And don't pretend like you don't sweet talk your grenades all the damn time. No one else may be able to hear you, but I have to read everything you say!"