Dragon King Charlie

by Scott Baron

  Bawb curled up with Hunze beside the fire, his arms wrapping around her and holding her close as they drifted to sleep. A big spoon to her smaller one, who would give his life to keep her safe.

  “What the hell is that?” Charlie gasped the following afternoon as they crested a hill after a long day of hiking.

  What lay before them was a welcome sight for all of their eyes. Civilization.

  “It is your world, Charlie,” Bawb said with an uncharacteristically warm laugh. “You tell us.”

  “No, Bob. You don’t get it. I have no idea what we’re looking at. I mean, we had sky scrapers and residential towers back home, but nothing like this. This? I’ve never seen anything like it.”

  The city below them was a glistening marvel to the offworlders’ eyes. Bright spires that climbed into the sky, clad in gleaming glass and metal. Thin walkways passed between them at impossible heights, somehow connecting the buildings without plummeting to the ground.

  Amazingly, Bawb could tell, there was absolutely no magic.

  Long roadways stretched across the land, their vast stretches winding among the buildings, occasionally passing below or within them through what seemed to be a localized network of small tunnels, likely designed to allow conveyances to enter and exit to avoid foul weather.

  And then there were the public gardens. Beautiful plots of green interspersed within the gridwork of development. But not for agricultural purposes, it seemed. They appeared to have been placed purely for aesthetic reasons. The entirety of the scene was beautiful to the visitors’ alien eyes.

  “Astounding, Charlie. You described the technology of your world, but having not seen it with my own eyes, I did not fully appreciate the scale, the wonder of what your people were capable. This rivals even the marvels of Tolemac.” He fell silent a moment, realizing what he had said. “That is, before its fall, obviously,” he added, a hint of color rising to his cheeks. Hunze had indeed sparked something of a change within the deadly assassin.

  “But this isn’t how stuff should be. Something’s wrong,” Charlie said, adjusting the straps of his pack and beginning the descent to the city below. “Come on, you guys. We need to get down there. I’ve got to find out exactly what the hell is going on.”

  Chapter Sixty-Four

  Charlie felt like a fool, walking through the incredibly modern city with a sword in his hand. He had his slaaps and konuses now, of course, but had become so accustomed to carrying the bladed weapon in the past months that it had become something of a second nature to him.

  The outskirts of the area had been a shock to him. It was home, obviously, but different, too. Futuristic, but deconstructed. As if the incredibly advanced society had collapsed in on itself. Had given up the ghost and simply ceased to be. It was incredibly perplexing.

  “What is all of this, Charlie?” Leila asked.

  “I don’t know. Something happened here.”

  “It’s like it was taken apart. Scrapped for parts,” Rika said.

  Charlie looked at her curiously. She had been improving by the hour, and now, in an Earth city, something had seemed to click back into place. She was still damaged goods, no doubt, but more than a little trace of his old friend seemed to be making a reappearance.

  “Yeah, I think you’re right, Rika. What else do you see?”

  She scanned the area, her eyes bright and alert.

  Oh yeah, that’s the Rika I know. Sharp and analytical. Ready to take on the world.

  “There are signs of some sort of clean up. Fairly recently, by the look of it. Over there, see?” she said, pointing to an empty stretch of roadway.

  “What? I don’t see anything,” Hunze said.

  “No, she’s right,” Leila chimed in. “The road’s surface has been gouged. As if something heavy had been dragged across it. See? It happened over there, too.”

  Charlie had been looking at the big picture, but now, zooming in on a much smaller level, he could see it clearly. They were right. Something had been going on. Maybe not in the past few weeks, but the marks were recent, no more than a few months old.

  “Let’s keep moving. The buildings toward the center seem to be intact. I think we’ll probably find a lot more answers once we get there.”

  The others nodded their agreement, moving out as a single unit, eyes scanning all around as they left the deconstructed outskirts for the impressive structures at the heart of the city.

  Bawb stared up at the marvels that presented themselves to them. Up close, the man-made structures were even more impressive, if that was possible.

  “Incredible,” he said. “All of this, done without the use of any magic. Astounding.”

  Leila was also impressed. Hunze, having lived her life in captivity, really didn’t know what to think, but she had to agree, the sight was indeed a breathtaking one. Baloo, on the other hand, didn’t much care for the buildings, but his nose was twitching, something in the air having caught his attention.

  “Do you hear that?” Bawb asked.

  Charlie and the others strained their ears. The gentle breeze was rustling the leaves of the nearby trees, but there didn’t seem to be anything else. Or was there?

  “Hang on. Are those voices?” Charlie asked.

  “It appears to be. English, from what I can tell, though I cannot make out that odd vocalization in the mix.”

  “Why isn’t the translation spell working?”

  “It was designed for all known tongues, including yours. But this must be something new. I will have to modify it. Give me a moment. The change to the spell should kick in momentarily.”

  “Hang on. Something new? What the hell does that mean, Bob? We’re on Earth. We’ve been here for ages. There can’t be anything––“

  Charlie felt his stomach drop and adrenaline spike at the sight of a seven-foot-tall, four-armed creature with grayish skin and eyes both on the front, and back of its head walking toward them, accompanied by a human, and what appeared to be an android. An android in a fine suit.

  “What in the ever-loving fuck is going on,” Charlie blurted in shock.

  The newcomers stopped in their tracks, as surprised as they were at the sight of a sword-wielding man and band of oddly-dressed friends. Especially the pointy-toothed vampire man and the enormous wolf-like thing that stood growling at their side.

  “Is that a vampire?” the human gasped.

  “In daylight? Really Edward? Should I get a stake?” the fedora wearing cyborg joked.

  “He’s carrying a stake, Carlos,” the man replied gesturing to Bawb’s wand. “This makes no sense.”

  “I thought no one was in this sector,” the metal man said. “Naraaxik, you said it had been surveyed.”

  “It had been, Carlos. I do not know where these people came from.”

  “English, Naraaxik, please. You need to practice.”

  “Apologies. I forget and slip into my native Chithiid sometimes.”

  “Understandable,” the human said. “And I don’t mind. I need to practice my Chithiid, if I’m going to visit Taangaar on my next vacation.”

  Charlie lowered his sword, as Bawb did with his wand. Obviously, these were not a threat. Or if they were, they were the variety that would be better handled by a slaap than a shiny bit of metal.

  “Who are you people?” he asked, staring at the four-armed alien.

  “We might ask you the same,” the human said. “No one’s supposed to be out here. The survivors were relocated years ago. Did you come from the London colony?”

  “London? So, we’re in the UK?”

  The man glanced at his friends, the three sharing a confused look. “Uh, yeah. This is the UK. How exactly do you not know where you are? And where’s your ship? Did you take one of the loop tubes here? I didn’t think this branch was operational yet.”

  “What’s a loop tube? And what on Earth is that thing?”

  “Thing? I am a Chithiid, thank you very much,” Naraaxik replied.

  “Sorry, no dis
respect intended. It’s just, I’ve never seen your species before.”

  “And I’ve never seen any of those three,” Naraaxik replied, gesturing to Bawb, Leila, and Hunze. “But we Chithiid have been here on Earth for hundreds of years. And ever since the war with the Ra’az ended, we’ve been––“

  “Hang on. What war? And what’s a Ra’az?”

  “Charlie, what’s going on?” Leila asked. “And what is that thing?” she said, pointing to the android.

  “You see a seven-foot-tall, four-armed alien walking down the street, and the one thing that gets your attention is the android. Of course,” he said with a chuckle.

  “Well, technically I’m a cyborg,” Carlos replied. “I just chose not to replace my flesh covering. After so many years ‘au naturale’ I grew rather accustomed to living without it.”

  “But we’re decades from having a functional AI.”

  “You’re obviously mistaken,” the tin man said countered with a chuckle.

  “Charlie?” Bawb said, his eyebrow arched high with both amusement and questions.

  “I know, Bob. I’m working on it.”

  The human of the group stepped forward toward the group, holding out his hand. “I think we’re all getting off on a somewhat confused footing. Let me start by saying my name is Edward. This big fella is Naraaxik, and the shiny bloke is Carlos. We’re in charge of the rebuild survey of this area.”

  Naraaxik nodded his head in greeting. “Your Chithiid is excellent, I might add.”

  “He was speaking English,” Edward said.

  “No, he wasn’t. It was Chithiid, I heard it.”

  “Actually, it’s a little more complicated than that,” Charlie said. “I’m Charlie, by the way,” the Dragon King said, shaking his hand, but omitting his title. He felt that might seem a little snobbish, given the circumstances. “That’s Bob, and Hunze over there. And she’s Leila. They’re all from other planets. Rika, back there, she’s human, like me.”

  Baloo let out a little whumpf.

  “Yes, I know. I haven’t forgotten you. And that’s Baloo,” he added.

  “Three new alien species? And here, of all places? It makes no sense,” Carlos said. “How in the world did they get here? And why on Earth are you wearing those, uh, colorful outfits?”

  Charlie couldn’t help but laugh. “Yeah, about that. It’s a long, loooong story. But the abridged version is we just got here.”

  “Oh, well, in that case––“

  “From about two thousand years in the past,” he added.

  The Chithiid and others looked at one another, but, surprisingly, not freaking out.

  “You need to speak with Cal and the others,” Naraaxik said.

  “Yeah, we need to call the boss,” Carlos agreed.

  “Hang on. Cal? Who’s Cal?”

  He’s one of the leaders. Part of the AI conglomerate helping guide the reconstruction of post-Ra’az Earth.”

  “AI? Reconstruction? What happened here?”

  “One moment please,” Carlos said, cocking his head to the side as he connected to his internal comms device. “Okay, they’ve been informed and have passed the message along. We have to finish our survey of the area, but you’ll get a lift out of here in fifteen minutes.”

  Charlie shook his head in confusion. “None of this makes any sense. What’s going on?”

  “Don’t worry,” Edward said. “It will all be made clear when you talk with Cal, and Zed, and the others. Rip is on her way to pick you up, now.”

  Out of the frying pan again, Charlie thought. I just hope the fire isn’t too bad.

  Chapter Sixty-Five

  Their ride came not in the form of a car, truck or even flight-car, but rather a sleek ship that looked more like something out of a futuristic movie than the planet Charlie had left behind. That it had hover and vertical landing capabilities was impressive in and of itself, but when it did so with no visible thrust signature was when Charlie began to think things were far more complicated than he’d originally thought.

  Then a teenage girl came bounding down the ramp.

  And that’s what she was. At least to Charlie’s eyes, though at what he guessed was seventeen or eighteen, she was really far closer to a woman than a child. But after all he’d been through, she just seemed, well, young to be a high-ranking liaison for the AI that appeared to be running the planet in the few years since his departure.

  “Hey, I’m Rip,” she chirped, rushing up and shaking Charlie’s hand.

  “Oh, cool! That’s a sick haircut!” she said, hopping over to Hunze. “Rip, she said, sticking out her hand again in greeting.

  Confused by the rather gregarious young woman, Hunze shook her hand.

  “Greetings. Welcome to Earth,” she said with a mock-somber voice as she gave Bawb a Vulcan hand salute.

  He held up his hand, respectfully mirroring her gesture. “What is this greeting?” the Wampeh asked.

  “Just for funsies. Something my aunt taught me. She and my uncle are totally into all that old-time video stuff.”

  She then greeted Leila and Rika both with a smile and a fist bump before turning her attention to Baloo.

  “Oh my God! Look at you!” she squealed, rushing up to the massive beast and plunging her hands into his fur, scratching him all over with obvious glee.

  “Uh, yes, of course. Please, run up to the dangerous-looking attack monster over there. He doesn’t bite. Much,” Charlie said, astonished.

  “Oh, he won’t bite me. He’s a good boy, isn’t he? Yes you are. Yes you are!” she said smothering Baloo with affection. The huge canine actually flopped onto his back to better receive belly rubs.

  “Okay, then. She obviously passes the Baloo test,” Leila said with a grin. “Some guard animal you are.”

  Baloo looked at her and just whumpfed contentedly.

  “Look, I hate to interrupt your cuddle time, Rip, but you’re supposed to take these people to LA,” Edward interjected. “I believe Cal’s going to talk to––“

  “Yeah, I know,” she said, interrupting him. “No worries. Eddie here just passed his flight check and is clear for space travel. We’ll just make a quick hop to orbit and be there in no time.”

  “You named your ship Eddie?” Edward asked, blushing.

  “Yeah. After you, ya big doofus.”

  “My name is Eddie, not Edward,” the ship corrected.

  The newcomers were having a hard-enough time following the hyperactive teen, but it was the talking ship that really threw them for a loop.

  “My dad used to call me Eddie,” he replied.

  “Really? You actually think you’re my namesake?” the ship chimed in.

  “Hey, now. Play nice,” Rip chided. “And no, not really, Ed. You know nascent AIs get to pick their own names and genders––or lack thereof––these days.”

  “Yes, we do,” Eddie chimed in. “I wanted to call myself Ed two-oh-nine, but Rip said that was lame. So Eddie it is. Why? You don’t like it?”

  “Fine by me,” Edward replied, shaking his head. The ship was just as loony as its pilot. “It was just surprising, is all.”

  Charlie was barely keeping up with the rapid-fire exchange, and adding a talking ship to the mix didn’t make it any easier.

  “Uh, Earth to crazy girl. You mind filling us in on what’s going on?” Charlie asked. “And is that an actual AI-powered ship?”

  “Oh, right. Sorry. I was just out taking Eddie here for a test spin. You know, working out the kinks and all that––when Cal asked us to divert and give some newcomers a ride to LA.”

  “Why LA?”

  “It’s our base of operations these days. Home. Only makes sense they’d want to talk to you in person.” She turned to the Chithiid and spoke to him in his native tongue. “Anyone else coming? Or is it just these five? And the big doggie, of course.”

  Despite the translation spell Bawb had cast, there was still the slightest of accent present as the magic learned its way around the ne
w language.

  “Just these,” the four-armed man replied. “And Rip, no scenic route, please. Cal is very interested in speaking with them.”

  “Fine, Naraaxik. You suck all the fun out of things.”

  The Chithiid chuckled and smiled. “Happy to be of service, Rip. Now, you should be on your way, yes?”

  “All right,” she griped. “Come on, you guys, load up. You can stow your gear in the lockers just to the right by the seats.”

  Charlie and the others looked at one another with a bit of shock on their faces. The girl was a steamroller of energy, but the others seemed to defer to her, and her ship was more advanced than anything Charlie had ever seen. Odd as it might be, young Rip was to be their chauffeur.

  “Incredible,” Charlie said, admiring Eddie’s sleek interior. “What kind of material is this? A titanium alloy? Or is that a carbon fiber?”

  “Carbon? Please. I’m made of a high-tensile composite reinforced with a nanite repair matrix,” Eddie said with a laugh as he closed his doors and took to the sky.

  There was no sound, Charlie realized. No engine noise. Whatever tech this was, it was far more advanced than anything his design team had ever laid eyes on, and they had been led to believe their work was the absolute bleeding edge of the planet.

  The ship quickly exited the atmosphere, flying high and fast before dropping back into a descent path right over Los Angeles. The whole trip had taken a meager thirty minutes.

  They stepped out into the morning sun, having hopped continents and time zones as easily as changing their shoes. Los Angeles was a different sight all together. It was still largely empty, but aliens, humans, and androids alike could be seen on the streets.

  “Come on. We’ll hop on the tube and be there in a few minutes,” Rip said, leading them to an escalator to descend into the belly of the city.