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CHAPTER FOURTEEN

The Marine

The marine dragon design quickly consumed the rest of my week. I told Korrapati and Wong to work on the backlog of custom orders that landed in our queue while we focused on the infantry model. I could tell they weren’t happy, but Evelyn’s words kept playing in my head. I was the team leader. I should be able to give us the head start we needed.

Most reptiles have natural abilities in the water. Snakes can swim; turtles can hold their breath for long periods. The question of how Build-A-Dragon’s products would handle themselves in water had not really occurred to me in my time there, so I turned to the place most people visit for answers: the internet.

A video search of “dragon” and “water” brought back thousands of videos. Some were relevant, but not what I needed. For example, it seemed based on video evidence that our Rover models had a bit of a water addiction. Customers were supposed to limit their water intake by giving it only with food, but not all of them did. Hell, the dragon owners in Arizona probably gave them too much water on purpose. We loved to pretend that there wasn’t a constant water shortage. There were dozens of videos with Rover models drinking water wherever they could find it: street puddles, rain-soaked grass, their owners’ dinner glasses, and of course, toilet bowls. I made a mental note to look into the Rover drinking problem, but that could wait.

A lot of videos showed that, as far as innate swimming abilities went, our models showed a pretty clear dichotomy. The flightless models, such as Rovers and K-10s, took to the water like baby ducks. Four strong legs and a low center of gravity seemed to help. Not so much the flying models. Any video of Laptops or Pterodactyls falling into water was tagged as “funny” and it was true. They flopped about in obvious panic like a guy at a barbecue who ends up in the pool. They couldn’t find balance, and their wings became an impediment when they got wet. Bottom line, any flying dragon that ended up in water had to be rescued.

And there were some that didn’t get rescued, but rather were found. I tried not to watch those videos.

I’d started with a basic Rover model and then made some tweaks to help it in the water. Webbed feet would give them better purchase in the water, and an elongated, muscular tail would help them steer. I figured that beavers swam largely with their tails, so there was precedent in the animal kingdom. My biological simulator didn’t have features for swimming ability, so I had to assume that these changes would make it good enough. Then it was time to figure out the O2 problem. I didn’t know for certain what these dragons would actually be doing for the military, but it was undoubtedly going to require a lot of energy.

That meant oxygen, and lots of it, but also the ability to conserve when needed. The solution of course was cloacal respiration. In layman’s terms, butt breathing. By increasing the number of blood vessels in the dragon’s nether regions, I made it possible for them to absorb oxygen from water passing over that surface. Many aquatic reptiles, notably water turtles, did this pretty well. So did frogs and salamanders, for that matter.

I also increased the density of red blood cells, which would make this a very oxygen-efficient animal. There were risks to that, of course. More red cells meant fewer white blood cells, which were crucial for the immune system. There was a chance the marine dragons would be more prone to infections, but I had to be honest with myself about a grim truth: an infection was not high on the list of hazards these dragons would face in the field.

And that brought me to the other set of modifications necessary for this model. Advanced musculature, sharper teeth, longer claws. I made it slightly leaner than the Rover, though not quite as wiry as some of our land-based attack models. A deep chest and stouter frame would help with stability in the water. With all of it put together, I was still within spec. Tempting as it was, I didn’t remove the domestication pathway. This might not be a friendly dragon, but it would have to be trainable. At least, it would have to go wherever its commanders pointed and destroy whatever (or whoever) they wanted it to destroy.

With that unpleasant thought, I hit the button to launch my biological simulator.

The dragon bloomed into existence over my desk, between me and the projection monitors. I’d increased the muscle bulk for the legs and the tail because those were the means of propulsion. Based on the video research, most of our current models relied mostly on their legs. Alligators and crocodiles, however, swam mostly with their tails. I figured the new model might be faster if it could use both.

My simulator evaluated an animal’s swimming capability using numerous factors, but strength, coordination, aerodynamics, and buoyancy really drove the performance. I felt reasonably confident that this design would set a high bar. My simulator, however, quickly disabused me of that notion. The dragon could swim, but it looked unsteady in the water, as if too high up. I made some tweaks to the body shape in case it was an aerodynamics thing, but that only made the problem worse. The dragon went belly-up in the water and couldn’t right itself.

“Shit.”

Of course, that was the moment Korrapati knocked on my door. “Are you busy, Noah?”

“Not really. Come on in.” I beckoned her to a chair.

“Is that the current design?”

“Yeah.” I reset the simulator so she could see it right-side up, but the damn thing went belly-up again.

She lifted her eyebrows. “It looks . . . very buoyant.”

“And yet it would still try to drown.”

“What animal were you hoping to mimic?”

“I don’t know, something between a lizard and an alligator.”

“Ah.” She seemed ready to say something, but clamped her mouth shut.

“You disagree?”

“It’s a perfectly reasonable approach.”

“Stop being polite, Korrapati. Say what you will.”

“Wong and I were going to use a different strategy. Less reptile, more amphibian.”

“A frog?”

“More like a salamander. Their body type is similar, but they move well in water and on land.”

Why didn’t I think of that? Once I’d gotten alligators in my head, I hadn’t really considered other species to use as inspiration. Maybe this was a sign that I shouldn’t try to do everything myself. Even when the stakes were so high. Especially when the stakes were so high. Wong was a great designer. So was Korrapati. I’d fought to get them back on my team. I leaned back and rubbed my eyes. “I thought maybe I’d have some stroke of genius, but it’s not working.”

“That bad, huh?”

“I don’t design that many dragons for aquatic environments. It’s hard.”

“Yes, it is.”

“I think it’s time you and Wong take over again.”

She gave me a doe-eyed look of pure innocence. “Oh, we could never.”

“Wait, what?”

“Wong and I are but simple designers. We would not dare to design entire dragons by ourselves.”

She’s giving me crap now. “I’m sorry that I took the design.”

“Why shouldn’t you? You are the illustrious head of our massive department.”

“Yes, our massive department of three people.”

“Wong and I are perfectly happy sitting around with nothing to do. It’s why we came here, after all.”

“All right, Korrapati, I get it!”

She broke off the innocent act and gestured vaguely at my simulated dragon, which was still flopping upside down in the water. “Would you like us to start with this model, or . . .”

“Oh, God no. Let’s pretend this never happened.”

“All right.” She smiled. “We’ll get to work.”

“Great.” I paused. “What did you come by to talk to me about, by the way?” It wasn’t like her to show up in my office unless she needed something.

“Nothing,” she said, a little too quickly.

Oh, hell. “You came up here to demand the marine design back, didn’t you?”

“Of course not. It’s your outstanding leadership that led to this wise decision,” she purred.

I laughed. “Oh my God, stop! Go do some actual work, will you?”

“With pleasure,” she said.

“I’d better be wowed by what you two come up with.”

“You will be.”


When Major Nakamura reached out to Evelyn to set up a call the next morning, we had no idea why. I imagined it had something to do with the field trials, but the whole thing made me nervous. I arrived in the conference room to find Evelyn already there, lowering the RF shield. I brought up the lights to compensate.

“Wish I knew what this was about,” I said. “Feels like it’s going to be bad news.”

“It’s possible she simply wants to prepare us for the trials. To make sure we’re ready.”

Major Nakamura didn’t strike me as one who spent a lot of time worrying about whether or not would-be contractors were ready, but I didn’t say as much.

Evelyn connected us to the secure video conferencing server per Nakamura’s instructions. The passcode for entry was sixteen alphanumeric characters long, and then there was a two-factor authentication thing that came to Evelyn’s phone. But no, we still weren’t in. It prompted us for yet a third authentication factor.

“That’s odd.” Evelyn checked her phone again.

Then I noticed my phone buzzing in my pocket. “Um.” I took it out to find a text containing six digits. The sender was a restricted number. “Try . . . 612481.”

She typed it in, and the code was accepted. To my great discomfort, it needs to be said. The message disappeared from my phone’s screen. I went to my message history, and there was no trace of it.

“Did you give the major my number?” I asked.

“No.”

“Then how did she get it?”

She gave me a flat look. “Noah, they’re the Department of Defense.”

The call connected in that moment, and Major Nakamura appeared on the viewscreen. She wore fatigues and was seated, but that was all I could discern. Every other identifying feature was seamlessly scrubbed from her background. Even the chair.

Evelyn smiled. “Hello, Major Nakamura.”

“Hello, how are you.” This was spoken as if it was a rhetorical question, and no answer was required. Or desired, perhaps. I started to open my mouth to answer.

Underneath the table, Evelyn stepped on my foot to shut me up. “What can we do for you?”

“I’d like to speak to you about the upcoming trial of your first dragon prototype.”

“We’re looking forward to it.”

“As are we,” Nakamura said. “As you may or may not be aware, during a competitive acquisition process, all bidder activities remain confidential to each bidding party.”

“So I’ve been made to understand,” Evelyn said.

I hadn’t known, but it didn’t surprise me. Especially when I thought about all of the proprietary technology that defense contractors showcased to win lucrative contracts. No one wanted their competitors getting a good look at their stuff. Intellectual property offered some protection in theory, but look how well that worked for us.

“The other bidder for this contract has offered to waive confidentiality for the upcoming field trial, if you were mutually agreeable.” The major paused. “Naturally, I’m not able to share anything about the identity of the bidder without such a waiver.”

You don’t need to tell us, we know who it is. Evelyn and I looked at each other.

“What would the practical effect of a waiver be?” Evelyn asked.

“Your trials would take place on the same day, in the same location. All parties would have equal access to the performance evaluations of all equipment.”

By equipment, she meant dragons. We’d see theirs, and they’d see ours. But why would he want that? It seemed equally advantageous to both sides.

“Do you mind if we confer for a moment?” Evelyn asked.

“Take your time.” Major Nakamura switched off her video.

Evelyn did the same, muted our microphone, and looked at me. “What do you think, Noah?”

“I don’t like this.”

“Why not?”

“Greaves must have an angle. He wouldn’t offer this otherwise.”

“It would allow us to see his dragons and how they perform,” she said. “That’s useful information to have.”

“Maybe so, but we’re the ones with deep design experience. I’m guessing that’s why he wants this. He can get a look at our prototype features and try to replicate them.” Especially my built-in camouflage, which I thought might help tip the scales our way.

“It won’t help him in the trials,” she said. “He won’t have time to change anything.”

That was a fair point. True, he could take our ideas for future dragon designs, but the marine dragon had drastically different performance requirements. The flying model was where I really hoped we’d shine, but Greaves had seen my best effort there. He was the one who canceled it. Sure, we were going to improve that model, but whatever he learned from that wouldn’t help him. The trials would be over. At the very least, it’ll let us see what his design capabilities are, and maybe that will tell us what he’s really up to. That last thought was what brought me around. Evelyn was right; we needed information. “All right. I’m game if you are.”

Evelyn turned our microphone and camera back on. “Major?”

Nakamura blinked back into view on our screen, as if we’d summoned a no-nonsense genie. “What did you decide?”

“We’ll do it,” Evelyn said. “But our dragons go first.”

“I think that’s reasonable. We’ll see you at the trials.” Nakamura gave us a nod, and then ended the call.

“I like how you asked for something in return,” I said.

“It’ll put the pressure on Robert.”

Smart. The more we kept that guy guessing, the better. “I just hope we haven’t played right into his hands.”


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