Kings Game

Chapter 82 - Off to War

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Roran sat with his hands folded on the table, his chin resting on them. Sprawled out on the table was a diagram with a list of names, ranks, and ship assignments. Roran, his face only inches from the long stretch of paper, wasn't looking at it. He was peering up at Kell and Nul.

They regarded him cautiously, slowly digesting his proposal. He knew he looked haggard. The last time he'd passed a mirror he'd barely recognized himself. His eyes were bloodshot and ringed with dark bags. His hair was beginning to grow shaggy and his whole body drooped from lack of sleep. The other two weren't fairing much better. Not even Nul, who was using etchings to compensate for their sleep deprivation.

"What do you think?" Roran asked.

"I'm surprised you're suggesting something like this," said Kell. "I expected you to be more...ethical."

"We're past ethics now," said Roran. "We have mission, it's time we stopped fucking around and got it done."

Roran found himself swearing a little more each day. Karyn used to admonish him and Kell if they swore too much. Without her, they'd all started swearing more.

"I haven't cracked her etchings yet," said Nul. "We won't be able to do any damage until I do."

"Can you do it before everything goes to hell?"

Nul wavered back and forth. The once confident Worldbreaker had started hesitating more and more. After a drawn out silence, they said, "Yes. I think I can."

"Are you willing to bet our lives on it?" asked Kell.

"It doesn't matter," said Roran, preempting Nul's response. "Any part of this plan could fail and we'd all die. If you think you can do it, that's good enough for me. Kell, can you get Carrick to help us?"

Kell shrugged. "He's going to bitch and moan the whole time."

"I'll take that as a yes." Roran regarded his comrade once more, taking a moment to stare each of them in the eye. "If any part of this fails, we're very likely going to die. So, are we doing this?"

"It's a sound plan," said Nul, "if a little...chaotic. I'm willing to try."

Kell leaned her head to one side, then the other, eliciting a series of loud pops from her neck. "We pulled you out of the Crucible to come up with crazy schemes. It would be counterproductive if we started ignoring them now. It will be an interesting way to die, if nothing else. I'm in."

Roran sat up. He rolled up the diagram and handed it to Kell.

"Take this to Carrick, get him to do what we need."

Roran climbed out of his chair and stretched. His whole body ached. He hadn't even been doing anything physical. The most tiring thing he'd done was try to explain everything to the kids. Why the invaders had come, why Darling was missing, what happened to Karyn. Talking had never been so exhausting before.

"Where are you going?" asked Kell.

"To talk to my father."

"What for?"

"To say goodbye in case we all die."

Roran left Nul and Kell and headed down stairs. They'd been using his room for their little meetings. One floor down was Darling's office. The door was still closed and no one had been in it since they'd finished cleaning up the blood. Matriarch Gwendalyn had encouraged them to use it, to keep the space warm for when Darling returned, but none of them could bear to go back in there.

Roran found the Matriarch herself a few floors down.

"Heading out?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'll be back by sunset."