Chronosphere

by Adam Witcher

  Chapter Seventeen

  An axe whizzed over the fire and crashed into a tree right next to Anton’s face. He dropped to the ground and pointed his pistol, waiting for the culprit to come into view. Ana crouched next to him. The bioscanner showed the direction of the culprits in the darkness, and Anton fired three shots from the laser pistol toward them.

  The red lasers illuminated the four Draconians but missed them. Still clad in full ebony armor, they trudged through the forest toward them, brandishing weapons. If the Draconians had more advanced weapons, they weren’t yet using them. Or perhaps the grunts simply preferred more barbaric tools. One dual-wielded hand axes and had a bag draped around his armor carrying several more.

  Two of the others carried broadswords, which they raised high above their heads. The last one brought up the rear of the group, and he carried a massive mace. He also stood a head taller than the rest.

  The axe thrower readied for another attack. Anton knelt and pointed the pistol at him, then fired. He dodged the attack by leaping to the side, but one of the swordsmen stood directly behind him. The reptilian scum took the laser blast to the neck. Blood and melted steel spewed into the trees, and the dead Draconian toppled backward.

  Before he could pop off another shot, the axe thrower unleashed his attack. Anton instinctively ducked, keeping the pistol held up for another shot. Unfortunately, Anton’s head wasn’t the intended target. Metal crashed against metal as the axe smashed into the laser pistol and sent shards flying in all directions.

  “Goddamn it!”

  Anton grabbed his dagger and pulled out the axe that was embedded in the tree. It looked like he was going to have to fight steel with steel.

  Luckily, Petra was ready for that. With her two swords in hand, she charged the axe-thrower. Clinking metal echoed through the forest as she met him blow for blow. The princess battled courageously, and Anton couldn’t help but stare for a moment as she contorted her body and fought with deadly expertise.

  He snapped out of it. With the axe-lizard engaged, two more headed straight for him. Ana crouched beside him still, apparently unsure how to proceed. He hadn’t programmed her for combat. This was now a regrettable mistake.

  “Take cover,” he told her, “see if there’s anything you can do from the chronosphere.”

  Ana nodded, then withdrew.

  Fear pulsed through him. Anton had never battled with medieval weaponry before.

  Hit them with the sharp bits. Simple enough.

  The Draconians’ armor looked heavy and thick. He desperately searched for a weak point, but he came up dry. However, there was one advantage on his side. The ebony armor caused the Draconians to lumber along slowly. If he could just manage to stay out of their reach, he’d be safe.

  He rushed the swordsman, waited for the hulking reptilian to raise his weapon, then ducked to the side. As his enemy plunged his sword into empty air, Anton swiped his dagger at the spot where the assailant’s torso armor met his leg armor. His blade clanged uselessly against him. The swordsman swung around, and Anton ducked to avoid him.

  Anton panicked when he realized that the mace wielder wasn’t coming for him. Quickly sweeping their tiny battlefield, he saw that he wasn’t going for Petra either. The ground seemed to shake as the massive warrior charged toward Ana and the chronosphere. Ana was barely visible. She was bent over, working intently on something.

  “Ana!” he cried. “Watch out!”

  Luckily, the android was small and quick. When the mace wielder circled to the opposite side of the chronosphere, she darted around it.

  Anton couldn’t pay attention to her for too long. The swordsman grunted loudly and jabbed his weapon toward Anton. He jumped out of the way.

  A few feet away, Petra seemed to be gaining the upper hand. The axe man’s attacks were becoming more frantic and sloppy, while she wielded her swords with a calm focus. She ducked and dodged every attack, swiping at the gaps in his armor where his flesh was exposed.

  “Stop moving you little bitch!” One of the reptilians said, but he couldn’t say which.

  Anton needed to end his fight quickly. As nimble as his companions were, all it would take was one crushing blow to change the tide of battle. Yet he seemed to be making no progress. He grunted in frustration, then somersaulted to his opponent’s backside. Before the reptilian had a chance to adjust, Anton leaped onto his back, dropping the hand axe in the process and sticking his dagger handle between his teeth. With one hand, he held onto the shapeshifter’s back, and with the other, he grabbed at his opponent’s sword hilt. The two wrestled with it for a moment.

  The reptilian flailed and bucked like an enraged bull. Anton felt his grip slipping. Just before he fell, he wrapped his legs around the ebony torso armor, then let go of the man’s sword. The shifted weight threw the reptilian off balance. Now with both hands free, Anton grabbed his helmet and lifted it off.

  The Draconian’s human form was a thick-necked, bald brute. Removing his helmet only seemed to enrage him more. Before falling, Anton grabbed his dagger from his teeth and plunged it into the side of his opponent’s neck.

  The reptilian screamed in pain and fear. His voice sounded human for only a moment before dissolving into the clicks and gurgles of the Draconian language. Anton twisted the knife and pulled it out. As green gore streamed from the giant lizard’s neck, he fell to his knees. Tan human skin became a rough and rigid green. His bald head elongated into a fearsome snout. In just a few moments, he was dead.

  Anton ran to help Petra. She’d stuck the axe fighter in a few spots, and green blood glistened on his armor in the firelight. The Princess was in a fury, circling around her opponent in what looked like a ritualistic dance. The Draconian hadn’t hit her yet, but she was showing signs of fatigue.

  A quick glance at Ana showed the android calmly dodging attack after attack from the giant mace wielder. Anton did a double take, but then went back to Petra’s aid. They flanked the bleeding opponent. His attacks thrashed tactlessly. When his attention was focused on Petra, Anton grabbed his dropped axe, and threw it at the reptilian’s helmet. It hit him flat side first, knocking the creature’s head to the side and exposing a bearded neck and chin. The fiend quickly tried to move it back, but Petra was too fast. She jumped and swung a blade full force. It connected with his neck, severing his spinal cord and sending his head flying. The headless torso collapsed as it morphed back to its original form.

  “Don’t fucking move, traitors!”

  They turned and saw the last reptilian breathing heavily. His mace was on the ground. Somehow, he’d produced a long blade, and he held it close to Ana’s throat. The fearless android’s eyes darted around as if searching for something.

  “You three are coming with me,” the bastard said. “And don’t try a damned thing, or I’m painting the forest red with your friend here.”

  Anton smiled. The android was in no real danger. A slit throat was nothing to a woman who could detach her own head. Now, if he dug the blade into the wiring in her head, that would be a different story. Luckily, the brute didn’t know that.

  He realized that Ana’s eyes were darting to the ground just before her. Anton saw a glint of metal in the grass. Throughout the mayhem, she’d been repairing the pistol. Once she realized that Anton saw it, she slowly dug a foot under it. The Draconian was too distracted to notice.

  “Now you two just go ahead and drop those weapons.”

  Anton nodded to Petra, and they did as they were told.

  “Here’s what you’re going to do,” the reptilian said. “You’re going to turn around and start walking. Slowly. And if you…”

  Ana used her foot to fling the gun in a perfect arc to Anton. He caught it, and before the reptilian had a chance to react, he pointed it at the brute’s arm. Ana slipped down as the red laser blasted through the ebony armor and severed the Draconian’s limb.

  The brute screamed and stumbled backward. His stump didn’t bleed very quickly. It seemed that the
laser had partially cauterized the wound. He used his remaining arm to grab at the dropped mace, but Anton popped off another shot that obliterated his other arm.

  “Tell me again what we’re going to do,” he said, grinning.

  “What… how do you…” The reptilian convulsed, as if his body was trying to decide whether it could keep its human form or not.

  Ana joined Petra behind Anton, who stepped forward, not lowering the gun.

  “Just kill him, Anton,” Petra said. Her face was contorted in disgust.

  “Not yet.”

  When he was right in front of the reptilian, the armless fiend growled.

  “Do you want to die?” Anton asked him.

  The brute hesitated, apparently unable to decide what was more important - his life or his dignity.

  “No,” he admitted.

  “Good. Then tell me where the outpost is.”

  “The outpost?”

  “There are more of you on this planet, and they’re nearby. Tell me where.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he grunted.

  Anton moved as if he were about to shoot.

  “Look, I take orders from Matteo. I don’t even speak to the wardens.”

  “Wardens?”

  “They… they manage the landing crews, but they don’t participate,” he said. “They act as the in-between for us and the mothership.”

  Mothership. Anton didn’t like the sound of that.

  “How far away is the mothership?”

  “I’m not sure.” The reptilian winced against the pain. “They put us into cryogenesis, so it must be far. You have no idea how deep this goes. Now let me go.”

  Anton was taken aback. He’d never seen a Draconian in such a state. In his present, there truly was nothing for the reptilians to fear. They controlled it all. A part of him delighted in the irony of it. It wasn’t quite the same as getting high on fear, but it did give him more confidence. The feeling was tainted, though. Dealing with a mothership was a lot more intimidating than just a small landing party.

  “Besides your group and the outpost, are there any more of your kind on Androna?”

  “No,” he said. “We’re the pioneers. We’re supposed to set up the system. Don’t you already know that? Isn’t it why you tried to kill Lord Matteo at the wedding?”

  “Don’t ask me any questions. Tell me how to find the outpost.”

  The reptilian forced a laugh. “You think I’ve been there?”

  “No, but your boss has. Think hard or I’ll melt your fucking face.”

  Anton pulled the helmet off him. His human form had a thick beard and broad cheekbones. Though on his knees, he must have stood at well over six feet tall. It was piteous to see a man like this on his knees.

  “I- I might have some idea.” He started.

  “Go on.”

  “I went riding with Matthias a few days ago,” he said. “He wouldn’t tell us what we were doing or where we were going. We rode northeast along the river for maybe half an hour until we reached some hills. You can’t see them from here. He told us to wait and rode off. Another half hour later he came back. Said he was taking care of some local bandits. But it didn’t make sense. There were no signs of fighting, and why wouldn’t he have brought us to help clear them?”

  “I take it you didn’t ask.”

  “We do not question our leaders.”

  “How did you know to find us here?”

  “Eliza ordered us to come. That’s all I know.”

  Anton paced back and forth for a moment. They were buried deep in the wood. At first, he’s assumed that the attackers had seen the smoke, but if Eliza had known before they even left the castle, that must have meant that she was just waiting for them to settle down somewhere. There was only one explanation.

  “Petra,” Anton said. “You have a tracking device on you. Search everything you’ve got.”

  “A what?” Petra asked behind him.

  “A track… well, just search your clothes and equipment. Look for anything unusual.”

  He waited while the princess checked. The armless reptilian hung his head low. He seemed to know that he was doomed. Even if he escaped the forest alive, the punishment would be severe. This begged a question.

  “Why are you telling me all of this?”

  The Draconian looked up, fear in his yellow eyes.

  “I didn’t know it would be like this,” he said. “I became a soldier so I could fight with honor. To conquer enemies. Not sneak around and protect fake marriages. There is no honor in this.”

  “But you tried to kill us anyway.”

  “I’m a soldier. I follow orders. And for once it was to be a fair battle.”

  “Tell that to the guy that tried to behead me with an axe before we even saw you.”

  “They said you have special abilities. You saw it coming, didn’t you?”

  Anton then noticed something strange. From the two wounds where he’d severed the reptilian’s arms, tiny appendages were sprouting, coated in green goo.

  Of course they can regenerate limbs. Damn reptiles.

  “I do have great abilities,” Anton said, “but nothing quite like that.”

  “Anton, I can’t find anything.” Petra said.

  He turned around, keeping the gun on the reptilian’s face.

  “Ana, can you do a local tech scan?”

  The android nodded. She placed her hand close to Petra and scanned her body up and down. When she reached her head, it began beeping.

  “I believe it is in your hair Petra.”

  “My hair?” The Princess was horrified. “Get it out, get it out!”

  Ana calmly parted her hair and pulled out a small, black chip.

  “Smash it and throw it in the fire,” Anton said. Ana did.

  “What are we gonna do now?” Petra asked.

  “Let me go,” said the reptilian.

  “About that,” Anton said. “It isn’t going to be that simple.”

  “I talked,” he said. “That was my end of the bargain. Time for you to hold up yours.”

  “Now wait just a moment,” Anton said.

  “You lying bastard!”

  The Draconian lunged forward. Anton had no choice. He blasted the miserable creature in the head, and he hit the dirt, twitching.

  “You made me do that,” he said to the corpse.

  It took all their strength to haul the enormous bodies into the thick of the forest. The three returned to the fire, shaken from all the killing.

  “A goddamn tracking device,” Anton said. “Those crafty bastards. How could they possibly know you were going to come for me? And how did they get it in your hair?”

  Nobody had an answer for that, but Anton was starting to suspect that the reptilians had some kind of surveillance system in the castle. There were no other explanations for how the Draconians knew the things that they did.

  “Let’s get some sleep if we can,” Anton said. “We’re getting up bright and early tomorrow. It’s time to take down that outpost.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  The next morning, they followed the river northeast until the flat landscape lifted into gently rolling hills. Anton lugged a suit of ebony armor he’d stripped from the smallest Draconian, so they moved slowly. He hoped it would be worthwhile. As the hills grew larger, Ana monitored her bio- and tech scanner. It took several hours by foot, but eventually she found what they were looking for.

  “I am detecting a conglomeration of electrical equipment,” Ana said. “As well as four biosignatures, all reptilian.”

  “Looks like we have a winner,” Anton said.

  Petra didn’t respond, just watched the hologram in fascination.

  “It really is just like magic…”

  “We are approximately one hundred meters from the outpost,” Ana continued. “If they are using surveillance technology on the area surrounding the outpost, it is likely that we will soon be detected.”

  “Ana, you
’re the only one of us without a biosignature. You’ll have to scope it out first. If you can find a way to hack into their systems, see if you can block any sensors.”

  The android nodded, then moved toward the spot where the outpost seemed to be. Twenty minutes later, she returned.

  “The Draconians do not seem to be surveying the area around the outpost,” she said. “I believe it is safe for you two to approach.”

  “Arrogant bastards,” Anton said. “Seems like a dumb oversight.”

  “Without my scanners, I would have missed it. They have disguised their building as another hill,” Ana replied. “They appear to be relying on very sophisticated cloaking technology rather than surveillance. They have no reason to suspect that someone with our capabilities would be seeking them out.”

  “But wouldn’t they know about us?” Anton said. “Surely the Draconians in the castle would tell them we’re at large. And they literally have most of my gear.”

  “I considered this,” Ana said. “I think it is likely that they did not inform the outpost regarding our presence. The strict hierarchical structure of Draconian society suggests that they are too prideful to inform their superiors. Allowing your escape would indicate weakness, and weakness would prevent their ascension within the hierarchy. This is also likely the reason for the attempted assassination. Furthermore, I suspect that they have no idea that we are aware of the outpost.”

  “Good,” Anton said. “Let’s take advantage of their pride. Did you learn anything else?”

  “Yes.” The tip of Ana’s finger folded back, and a small speaker jutted out from the stump. “I didn’t manage to fully hack the systems, but I was able to access a recording device. Listen.”

  The characteristic clicks and gurgles of the Draconian language played out. Petra furrowed her brows and looked at him as if he were insane while he stroked his beard and listened carefully.

  Anton shook his head. “I’m really rusty, I can only pick out some of the words.”

  Ana translated for them.

  “Did you test the new radius?” The first voice said.