There! That clump of warriors all together in a circle. The people in the middle of the cluster would probably be important. Scott squeezed off a shot at one of them, but missed and hit a guard from the circle instead.
The rest of the circle froze for only a second when they saw their fellow guard drop. Then they closed ranks, drawing heavy shields over their heads and obscuring the people in the middle from view.
“We’re too high! Bring us down to about fifty feet!” Scott hollered over his shoulder.
The ship lurched and began descending. Closer to the targets was a good thing. Scott began opening up on clumps of attackers, firing as rapidly as the AR-15 would allow. He figured even if half his shots missed, the raw terror he was spreading in the enemy ranks was enough to disrupt their attack.
A horn sounded, and the main gates of Hero’s Keep opened up. Scott grinned. Tamara, taking her cue! He spotted her at the vanguard of the force exiting, spear and shield in her hands. With a roar, her people rushed forward, forming a wedge as they advanced into the enemy ranks.
They were still grossly outnumbered, but Scott continued pouring fire into the attacking force. The rear of the enemy formations was breaking. He watched as one warrior after another fled the line and ran back into the trees. Caught between the crush of the Keep fighters and Scott’s brutal firepower, many chose to flee.
“Radar contact!” Toby said into the radio in Scott’s ear.
“Radar contact? What could be showing up on radar?” Scott asked a moment before realizing what it had to be.
A deafening roar drowned out all other noise as the dragon banked, winging in over the clearing.
Thirty-Nine
Scott was moving while echoes of the roar still reverberated around the ship. He all but flew into the cockpit and hit the controls, pouring more electricity into the wing bones. The Stargazer shot skyward, rising so rapidly it took the wind out of his lungs.
Just below the cloud level, Scott slowed their ascent and checked the cameras. The dragon was circling the clearing but still glancing up at the ship.
“Like it’s not sure whether to go after us, or stick around and eat them,” Scott said.
“It looks like the battle is over,” Toby observed. “The attackers are fleeing into the forest, and Tamara’s people are returning to the Keep.”
The ship must have been far enough away that the dragon felt safe. It stooped and landed on top of the massive walls blocking the tunnel entrance. Reaching down with its mouth, it tried getting inside the hole to the tunnels below, but it couldn’t fit more than the tip of its snout. Scott heaved a sigh of relief. It looked like her people would be safe in there.
Then the dragon raked the rocks with its claws. The shaking of the wall was so great that it was visible even from Scott’s altitude. One rock tumbled away from the rest, crashing to the ground. The dragon started clawing away at a second stone.
“It’s breaking in,” Scott said.
“It would seem so.”
“All those people!” There had to be something he could do.
“We don’t have any weapon systems on the Stargazer capable of killing a dragon,” Toby warned. “Your heavy rifle might do the trick again, but probably not before it did critical damage to the bones holding us aloft.”
“We’ve got to try,” Scott said. He brought the nose of the ship down and then reduced power to the bones. Their altitude dropped in a rush, the dragon seeming to race toward them as the ship dove toward the ground.
Scot activated the ship’s external speakers. “Hey, ugly! Come and pick on someone bigger than you!”
The dragon looked up. Startled by the ship’s sudden reappearance and rapid descent, the dragon launched itself into the air. Its wings glowed brightly as it went airborne, hissing anger.
Scott slowed their drop, coming about level with the furious lizard. “You’ve got the controls, Toby. Get me in line for a good shot.”
“I’ll do my best,” Toby said.
The AR wasn’t going to do more than make this thing mad. Toby was right. His best shot was the big bore rifle. He grabbed the weapon and slapped a magazine in on his way back to the airlock, grabbing a spare magazine and stuffing it into his pocket. Toby started spinning the ship, bringing the dragon into his view. Scott took aim and fired.
The shot hit the dragon somewhere in the chest. It roared, hurt but not out of the fight. Now it knew the ship could hurt it. The dragon wasn’t willing to back down from a fight, but it wasn’t going to float there and let him take potshots at it, either.
The creature darted forward. Two heavy wingbeats carried it the distance to the Stargazer. Claws sank into the metal hull with a scream of tearing steel. Two of the cables powering the bones were cut, and the ship tilted wildly to one side.
Scott didn’t have time for more than a yelp as the ship tilted. One moment he was looking out the side, the next the airlock door was aimed straight at the ground. He tumbled out, losing his grip on the rifle. Something snaked past his shoulder as he fell, and Scott grabbed for it.
The cable burned his fingers with friction as he slid down it, braking his fall. He was alive! The ground was dizzyingly far below, and he was ten feet down from the ship, hanging by an electrical cable, but he was alive.
Maybe not for long, though. The dragon saw him falling and craned its neck to watch his progress. As Scott swung back and forth on the end of the cable, the dragon’s head tracked his movement like a kitten watching the end of a piece of string. Scott swallowed hard. The dragon bunched its hindquarters and launched itself into the air again.
Before it could snap him into its mouth, something small and fast darted past Scott. The rush of air from its passage almost made him let go of the cable again, but he clung to it for all he was worth.
“MRRP!”
It was Gorbash! Scott watched as the small dragonet swooped in so he was nose to nose with the bigger dragon. He made a long series of angry chirping noises at it.
The big dragon opened its mouth and roared back, hard enough that the wind from its breath sent Gorbash back several feet. But the baby dragon had game, Scott had to hand him that much. He fluttered back closer and gave his best roar in return.
It wasn’t all that loud. Scott could imagine the bigger dragon chuckling to itself. It reached out a claw and swatted at Gorbash. The dragonet dove under the swing and came up again hissing. When the big dragon slid sideways to go around Gorbash, he moved with it, carefully keeping himself between the big beastie and Scott.
“He’s protecting me,” Scott said. “But he’s gonna get killed. Toby, we have to help Gorbash.”
“What do you have in mind, boss?” Toby replied over the radio.
“Power up the laser. Activate the bow thrusters and spin the ship on my mark.”
“On it,” Toby replied.
Scott returned his attention to the dragon. It was growing more frustrated, and took another swing at Gorbash. The little dragon dodged again, but the big one came in with a second claw strike too rapidly for him to avoid it. The claw slammed into Gorbash, sending him spinning away.
There was nothing between the big dragon and Scott, now. He swallowed hard. The dragon swept back its wings and opened its mouth wide.
“Now, Toby!”
The bow thrusters screamed into life, spinning the ship hard around. The Stargazer’s bow pivoted sharply away from the dragon.
Then the laser drive cut on.
A bright beam lashed out from the rear of the Stargazer. The laser superheated the air around it for a short, three-second burst as the ship continued its spin.
The dragon didn’t even have time to roar. As the ship spun, the beam cut through the air where it hovered. It was hot enough to instantly combust almost anything it touched. The beam cut through flesh and bone as easily as air, slicing the dragon in half.
Burning fragments of the creature crashed to the ground, shaking the trees for half a mile around.
Scott hea
ved a sigh of relief. With shaking hands, he tried to climb back up the cable, but realized he was never going to make it back up.
“Awesome work, Toby. Now, can you lower me down before I fall off this thing?” Scott called out.
“I have to do everything around here,” the robot replied.
Scott opened his mouth to make a retort, but couldn’t. He was too busy laughing. It came out as a chuckle at first, but quickly turned into a deep belly laugh that continued even after his feet were safely on the ground again.
Forty
Scott ordered Toby to take the ship aloft again as soon as he was safely down. While he was fairly sure most of the enemy force had fled, there was no telling whether they’d return now that the dragon was dead. He had to keep the Stargazer out of their hands at any cost.
Especially now that they’d seen him use the main drive as a weapon. It didn’t matter that the laser had never been intended to function that way. The people watching him use it to kill another dragon weren’t going to see it that way. All they knew was that he’d killed another of the creatures.
Gorbash seemed OK, at least. The dragonet fluttered his way back into the airlock. Scott figured he was probably already rummaging about for a snack. He shook his head in wonder. The little dragon had saved his life, going up against a much bigger creature to keep it from killing him.
Somewhere on the ground was his rifle. He wasn’t sure it had survived the fall, but even broken, it might be dangerous for the same reason any other tech could be. These people were lacking in knowledge about technology, but they weren’t stupid.
He scanned the ground where the weapon ought to be, searching for the gleam of metal that would reveal it, but there was no sign. Had it fallen elsewhere? Was he wrong about where it had dropped? Scott didn’t think so, and a chill went down his back at the thought someone might have picked the weapon up.
Before he could do anything to continue the search, he heard someone calling his name. Scott looked up to see Tamara racing toward him.
“Scott! Please come quickly,” she said, out of breath as she came up alongside him.
“What’s wrong?” Scott asked, his hand flowing toward the pistol at his side like it was second nature now. That it was now so easy for him to respond to a potential threat with violence felt both relieving and disturbing at the same time.
“It’s my father. He needs you. Please come quickly!”
Scott simply nodded, sensing time was of the essence. Tamara took off again, racing back toward the keep. He followed close behind, finding his way through the twisted ruins left behind by the battle. It would be a long time before the ground here returned to the way he’d first seen it. Now the rocks were slick with the blood of the fallen.
They passed by the still-steaming corpse of the dragon. Scott gave it only a passing glance. He’d killed three of the things now. How many more of them were there? Even after he found his cure, the dragons were going to remain a problem he had to solve.
It was one he could deal with later, though. Tamara slowed as she approached a knot of people gathered in front of the Keep’s door. That had to be where Hector was, which meant he hadn’t been inside resting like he ought to have been. He must have joined his people in the rush to rout their enemies.
Damn the man. He wasn’t in any shape for a fight like that. Those wounds he had taken earlier might not have been immediately fatal, but they were bad enough. He needed rest if he was going to have any chance of recovery.
“Toby, warm up the medical pod. Hector is hurt. I think we may need a quick evac and treatment for him,” Scott said over his radio link.
“On it. I’ll bring the ship closer and prepare to descend.”
The people parted as Tamara stepped forward. She knelt beside a bloody ruin of a body. Scott sucked in a breath as he drew close enough to see the person’s face.
It was Hector.
He was horribly injured. The old wounds had come open again, and he had brand new ones as well. Multiple arrows sprouted from his chest and abdomen. Deep slashes marred all of his limbs. Scott couldn’t understand how the man was still alive, but he for sure wouldn’t be for very long.
“Toby, step on it,” Scott said. He came in close and knelt beside Tamara. “Hang in there. We’re going to get you into my medical bay. Get you patched right up.”
He hoped it could do the job. The auto-doc was incredibly capable, but it had limits. Scott had a bad feeling that injuries this extensive might be too much even for his technology. That didn’t matter, though. He had to try.
“Help me get him up,” Scott said to the people watching. He slipped his arms beneath Hector, intending to lift him. But Hector screamed a hoarse cry at the smallest movement.
Scott withdrew his arms. They were soaked with blood. He shook his head, trying to figure out what to do. There had to be a way.
But Hector shook his head, his face sad. He beckoned with the fingers of one hand, no strength left for much more than that. Scott, Tamara, and many of the onlookers leaned in close to hear his words.
“I appreciate you trying, my friend. But is it too late for me, even with all your wonders?” Hector said.
Scott nodded slowly. He felt his eyes growing moist.
“I thought as much. Tamara will be chief after I am gone,” Hector said, putting enough volume into his words that all around could hear his wishes.
“I am not ready, father,” she said.
“You are. But you will need help. Our people face potential extermination. Four tribes have rallied to fight us. They are gone,” Hector said, coughing red. “But not for long. The Keep wall is damaged, and even with it, holding out would be hard.”
Scott had a feeling he knew what was coming next. Part of him wanted to run away, to flee now, before the man could ask of him something he couldn’t give. But he held his ground. Hector had earned that much from him.
“You, my young friend. You have the power to help my daughter save our people, Scott. Will you stand by her?” Hector asked. “I know you have your own quest, but will you stay until the threat is past and my people are safe?”
He wanted to say no, to fly away and not look back even for a moment. But the desperation he saw in the dying man’s eyes was too much. Hector was passing. Nothing Scott could do would alter that, he sensed that even as he glanced over his shoulder to see how close the Stargazer was to the ground.
There was no saving Hector, but maybe Scott could send him on with hope for his people, instead of fear.
“I will stay and help your people grow strong again, Hector,” Scott said.
“Thank you,” Hector replied, smiling at last. He reached out an arm and clasped Scott’s forearm to his own.
Then Hector looked skyward. “I am sorry I cannot stay, my daughter. I love you.”
Tamara leaned in to hold her father, crying silent tears on his shoulder. “I know. I love you too. I will do everything I can to be a chief like you.”
“Be better than me, Tamara. You have it in you,” Hector said.
There was a crunching noise as the Stargazer set down. Scott looked up and saw Toby standing in the open airlock.
“Medical bay is ready!” Toby cried.
Scott whirled back to the chief, but he’d stopped breathing. He was already gone. Was there still a chance the pod could pull him back? The blood pooled around the man said otherwise.
“Help me lift him,” Scott said, scooping his arms under the chief’s body again. At first no one moved, so he added “Right now!”
Several people helped Scott lift Hector’s body. With him guiding them, they brought their chief into the Stargazer and lay him down in the pod. Scott tapped commands and the lid slipped shut. Immediately the medical unit began assessing the patient. An IV was started, fluids inserted. Pads lifted to Hector’s chest and Scott winced as the patient’s body shook from defibrillation.
“What is it doing?” Tamara asked.
“Trying to save him. Someti
mes, there is time even after the last breath, before life fully leaves the body,” Scott explained.
“Magic?” breathed one of the tribesmen.
“Technology,” Scott replied. “Science. Your damned birthright, before it was stolen from you.”
He was angrier than he’d been in a long time. There should be hospitals with the technology to help heal this man. Hell, there should be better tech than he’d ever imagined by this year. Instead, he was back in caveman days, for all intents and purposes.
The pod shocked Hector a third time. This time, it got a small but steady heartbeat.
“Yes! He’s back,” Scott said.
“Alive?” Tamara asked.
“Alive. But he’s got a long way to go,” Scott replied, watching as the device continued to patch up the chief and work on his extensive injuries while struggling to keep him breathing and his heart beating. “He’ll be asleep for days, maybe longer.”
“But he will live,” Tamara breathed.
“If he stays strong, yes. It’s not a guarantee, but I’ll do all I can for him, I promise,” Scott said.
“Will you still stay?” she asked, looking away from her father and up at Scott.
“Of course. I told Hector I would. That still holds. I’ll help you protect your people until this crisis is over,” Scott said.
Saying those words brought Scott mixed emotions. He felt fear for his own future and loss for the quest he had to abandon, at least for now.
But he also felt good about himself. Better than he had in a long time, actually. All of the work to get the Stargazer built had been for himself. Surviving in deep space had been about him.
Now he was acting for others, and Scott realized he liked that feeling.
Forty-One
Later that day, Scott rested in the pilot’s chair, staring down at the people working below. He had a lot of work to do, too. But it had been one hell of a last couple of days. The work could begin tomorrow.
The Quantum Dragonslayer Page 16
