"Words just come in Jayleigh," Vesta, Leigh's courier, said after throwing
open the door to the Warrenlady's office. "There are wraiths attacking down
but Shasta Lake, Ja'ks is readying Beta Wing to fly down to see how bad it
is and T'rell is there now with his Wing. Reports should be coming in soon."

So Leigh already knew since her Queen, Viktroy had just informed her by way
of their telepathic link.

"Has there been any word, or does anyone know why the damn things are
attacking an area so far from any town?" she asked getting up from behind
her desk and motioning for Vesta to follow her down the hall way just
outside the office to where the door led to the outside and the Green.

"No one's sent in an opinion as of yet, but it might be that they were
passing over on their way somewhere else and spotted some of our dragons
there with their rider's." the girl told her, though she had no real
knowledge that was the reason.

Leigh stopped to face the younger woman, who later she would remember was
holding up remarkably well since her fear of fighting was well known. "There
were riders out there? By the lake?"

"Who?" she asked after Vesta nodded her head. 

"Norin...and Tair'n... " she said after a moments hesitation, she knew Leigh
already knew about the mating flight that had taken place in the area around
the lake. Everyone did, but until now no one had known the name of the male
rider who's dragon had won. Or if they had, wanted to be the one to tell the
Warrenlady.

Anger & hurt showed in Leigh's face for a second before she could hide it.
"Were either one hurt?" Duty demanded that she ask. Her own feelings she
pushed aside for now.

"We don't know yet..." Vesta said softly. She hated being the one to tell
anyone things like this but she knew Leigh would rather know then to be lied
too. 

Moment's later dragon's entered the air above the warren.

<<Chamelle with Amadith and Brisha's rider's,> Troy informed her rider
seconds within bespeaking the returning dragon. <Minor burns Chamelle tells
me but they want to be sure to get them taken care of quickly. Sprarroe and
his Wing are>

Leigh wanted to run to the med center to find out how badly Tair'n had been
hurt... But then she remembered who he had been with and stayed where she
was watching as Ja'ks and his Wing assembled on the Green in front of them.

She had a duty to the Warren to perform just then and couldn't give way to
her own feelings. After all what right did she have? Her and Tair'n hadn't
really agreed on anything yet... But why in the hell did it have to be
*that* bitch that he'd been with?

She saw Ja'ks look her way and his hand came up to let her know that he saw
her standing there watching the goings on. Then his eyes turned back to
those dragons and their rider lining up in formation before them and seconds
later gave the signal to lift up from the ground.

Seconds later when they'd achieved the proper height for a teleport, the
Wing was gone.

<Sprarroe's rider said not to think badly of Amadith's rider until you've
had a chance to talk,> Troy's voice came into her mind. <His rider will
explain later when they get back.>

Leigh pushed the thought aside as Mari, the Junior Queenrider in Daere came
running up to her.

<Beta's gone now ... to go help Gamma and ... T'rell's Wing,> she said in a
breathless voice as she looked up at Leigh. <What do we need to do around
here to get ready.>

This Leigh could think about and did. She didn't want to think about what
Tair'n and that bitch had been doing out by the lake, and what Tair'n had
been doing there in the first place after the talk themselves had had.

"First we need to make sure the coal bins are opened with plenty of supplies
laid in ready. The dragons will be needing the coal soon enough if this goes
on to long." As she said this she sent a slightly note of thanks to C`nis,
for it was because of the adviser's talk's during the negotiations, that the
Warren *had* coal that they could trust to do the job right this time.

"I took care of that before finding you," Mari told her, wondering if she
hadn't over stepped her bounds, but then she  saw Leigh smile and felt better.

"Good girl... You did just what was right," the Warrenlady assured her and
went on.

"We need to make sure the med center is altered that there might me injured
coming in... and food and coffee... Make sure my mother has plenty of food
and coffee ready," Leigh said turning back towards her office where she knew
she could do the most good right now. "Mother knows better then to offer any
spirits right now so we won't have to worry about drunk tired riders going
back out if this thing lasts to long...."

They were inside the office now, "Now have Reggie listen for Flerrion and
Sprarroe so she can tell you instantly if anything changes and more help is
needed. Troy will be doing the same thing. It'll be part of both of our jobs
to make sure help is there when needed."

"Should I have Rayrem assemble Alpha Wing just in case they might be
needed?" Mari asked wanting to prove to Leigh that she could be counted on
in a crisis like this. 

"Good idea," Leigh agreed. "But I want half the Wing to stay closer to home
for right now just in case the damn wraiths have a second attack up their...
well on what they call minds... Right now I need you to head to the med
center to make sure Heron is getting things ready... Not that I have any
doubts about our healer. But a reminder from a Queenrider never hurts."

She saw Mari off then entered her office to find R'ven there waiting for her.

"It's never easy sitting here alone waiting for word on how things are
going," her mentor told her. "So I thought we could wait together."

"I'd have thought you'd be over in the med center seeing about ...Tai," she
told him, but was very glad to find him there anyway.

"Zenith as already informed me of his injuries," the tall black-headed man
informed her. "I thought I could best serve here right now if you needed me.
Norin has taken a bad burn on her back but the healers say she should be
okay with a little rest."

"I don't care about her," Leigh snapped, then caught herself up. She may not
like the woman but she was a rider from this warren. "I'm sorry Ven. I guess
my feelings dealing with her are a little tender at the moment."

"Understood... But there is something you should know about why Tai was out
there with her....."

[[ Lea? Care to fill it in? it'll be so NICE to have you and R'ven back!!]]

.........

Ja'ks wondered where D'Altar was when the Wing had started to come together
on the green and his new partner hadn't shown up. Surely the man's dragon
had informed him of the call up, so where was he?

<<Sprarroe...>> he started to ask the brown, but Sprarroe who was always one
step ahead of his rider's thinking replied.

<Raven and his rider are already there by the lake,> the brown dragon
informed him. <They were with the first group that went out.>

The first group. The newly assigned riders from the last clutch. Well
something would have to be said to them about going off on their own without
waiting for the back up of their assigned Wings. They had no discipline and
it might one day get them all killed or worse!

<It didn't this time," Sprarroe reminded him. <If they had waited, Amadith
and Brisha's rider's might be dead.>

<<That's the only reason I'm not going to blast them when I see them,>>
Ja'ks told him, but he fought to keep him anger at bay. <<Though a few extra
hours of training might do them some good and dive a hard lesson into their
gun-ho minds.>>

Beta Wing arrived and Ja'ks saw that T'rell's Beta Wing was already in
position, looking good in the formation the Warren trainer had been
practicing with them. A lone rider left the Wing and few up to meet them,
taking the spot to Ja'ks right.

"It's good of you to join us," Ja'ks called across the void to D'Altar as he
settle into his assigned position beside the Beta Wingleader.

"Just keeping up Beta's part while waiting for you to join the party," the
other man replied.

The wraiths, he was quick to notice seemed to be hovering as if waiting for
something to happen before they attacked. Ja'ks was worried. He'd never seen
them act this way before. Why were they just floating there?

<Ask Flerrion to ask his rider what's going on?>> he sent a quick message
through his dragon. <<Why aren't they attacking yet? What are they waiting
for?>>

It was then something Ja'ks notice something else..... there weren't as many
dragons in the air around Gamma as there should have been...

<<And ask him where in the hell the rest of his Wing is!>>

<Flerrion said T'rell has a plan...> Sprarroe answered. <Something to get
this party started so we're not out here all night.>

<<And just what is his plan?>>

<Wait one second.....> Sprarroe hesitated and then out of nowhere a single
dragon appeared and it was headed towards the Wraiths... the Dragon was
shooting flame and took out a whole pod of wraith before anyone could stop
her. Then the dragon and her rider disappeared in thin air.

<<Was that Kayla?>> Ja'ks asked his dragon when he thought he had recognized
the girl on the blue dragon.

Other dragon's appeared in the air. Snouts flaming as they too flew towards
the wraiths... and then all hell broke loose as the wraiths finally made
their move.

Their waiting was over.......

Ja'ks gave raised his hand to give the attack motion, at the same time
having asked Sprarroe to deliver the same message to the dragons. Beta Wing
surged forward to meet the enemy, D'Altar on his right where a good
Wingsecond should be. So that had been T'rell's plan. To gloat the wraiths
into making some kind of move. For he knew the rider's that had appeared had
been from T'rell's Gamma Wing. He had started the band playing, opening the
dance since the wraiths appeared to be a little shy in asking.

<Flerrion said his rider said to tell you that the last one back to the
Warren had to buy the coffee,> Sprarroe told Ja'ks just as the brown's wing
began the upward stroke that would  move them towards the battle. <He said
he likes his black and hot.>

<<I wouldn't be surprised if he's already trained his Wingrider's to drink
theirs the same way,>> Ja'ks quipped sardonically as Sprarroe let go of his
first breath of flame incinerating a pocket of the gray blobs before them,
then had to duck low in the saddle to avoid the burning remains that flew
back towards them.

<Who's to say he hasn't?> chuckled the brown, who was even now diving
downward to go after a second pocket of wraiths. <We could call them *The
Black Coffee Squad*.>

The Black Coffee Squad, Ja'ks chuckled to himself as the pair slide back
into formation beside D'Altar and his dragon Raven. 

Yes the name was fitting. 

=====

nrpg: Anyone want to join in on the fun?

****Submitted by: *****

Jayleigh & Viktroy, Warrenlady
Ja'ks & Sprarroe, Beta Wingleader
Daere Warren

Aka
Barbara