DS02 Night of the Dragonstar

by David Bischoff

  “She can’t fly like this, Ian,” Becky said. “What’re we going to do?”

  “She’s going to get into the equipment bay with you and rest. I know how to fly one of these rigs.”

  Becky smiled and shook her head. “It figures. Is there anything you don’t know how to do?”

  Tell you how I really feel about you, thought Ian. He wanted to say it, but the words wouldn’t come out. Instead he just smiled and said, “I guess not.”

  “Where do you want me, Captain?” Murphy asked. “You can ride shotgun and keep an eye for anything funny. But help Zabriskie down first, and get her squared away in the bay.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Zabriskie slipped out of the pilot’s chair like a subject in a trance and allowed herself to be lifted up and slid into the equipment bay. Murphy climbed aboard, and Becky looked up at Ian before squeezing into the equipment bay.

  “We’ll be okay in here,” she said. “Happy flying, Captain.”

  Ian shrugged. “Well, it’s been a while since I’ve flown one of these things—and I’ve never flown one inside the ship.”

  “So?”

  “So we might be in for a wild ride. But don’t worry, I’ll get us there in just a few pieces.”

  “I have a feeling you’ll do better than that.” Becky’s smile was radiant and genuine, warming him like gentle sunlight.

  “All right,” he said. “In you go. We can talk more when we get back to the ruins.”

  Becky blew him a kiss and snuggled down in the equipment bay. Ian closed the hatch and climbed aboard, where Murphy was anxiously scanning the area.

  “Okay, Murph, it’s our turn. Let’s go.”

  With Ian at the controls, the ’thopter jumped upward with an awkward leap, soon gaining purchase in the heavy atmosphere. He felt the machine fighting him as he coolly recalled all the little tricks to flying an ornithopter. Gaining altitude and confidence, he straightened out the aircraft and keyed in the coordinates that would bring him down at the site of the Saurian ruins.

  The sprawl of the Mesozoic preserve slid beneath like an endless roll of thick, lush carpet. From his cruising height, it was impossible for Ian to see the prehistoric life that teemed within its foliage. The thought crossed his mind that if they were to crash-land down there, he didn’t know if he could handle the pressure of simply surviving. He and Becky had done it once, but he didn’t think he could do it again.

  Just keep this bloody thing in the air, he thought solemnly, and you won’t have to worry about that.

  * * *

  “It doesn’t look too good over there, Colonel,” Cavoli said as he flipped up his tele-gogs. “A big boy just came out of the jungle, and I don’t think our buddies can stop him.”

  “Let me see.” Phineas reached for the telescopic goggles. He and his party had paused to rest at the next lower landing because Thesaurus could not move very fast, and Cavoli had used the moment to check out the action along the Barrier.

  One look told Phineas that the situation was worse than ever. While the warriors battled a fairly large carnivore at the very point of the fracture in the great wall, another predatory dinosaur, a much bigger one, had burst through the edge of the forest to see what all the commotion might be about. It was a very tall, tan-skinned Tyrannosaurus—larger than any beast Phineas had ever seen in the preserve. The Saurians already had their hands full and would never be able to stop this ravenous creature.

  If even more of the beasts were drawn to the slaughter, the Barrier would be breached, and the Saurian city would be the new hunting ground for the carnivores. When he told Thesaurus what was happening, he thought the old Saurian might begin to cry, and Phineas wondered if Saurians were capable of such a thing.

  “Give me that radio,” Phineas said, reaching out to Cavoli for the equipment.

  “What are you going to do?” Kate asked.

  “I’m going to get some of our people in there to help,” Phineas replied.

  “But how will the Saurians know we’re coming to help? Suppose they think we’re attacking them?” Kate asked.

  “You’re right. We’ve got to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

  “I must take you to my people,” Thesaurus said.

  “He’s right, Phineas,” Kate said. “It’s the only way. You can call for reinforcements, and then we’ll go with Thesaurus to the Barrier. That way we’ll get there before the troopers do.”

  “No, it’s too dangerous,” Phineas said. “Anything could happen down there.”

  Kate smiled. “Colonel Kemp, please. I’m a big girl, and I volunteered for this mission. I really don’t want anybody telling me what might be too dangerous for me, all right?”

  Phineas didn’t even bother to reply, but simply nodded his head and managed a very weak grin. Radioing out on a Mayday all-frequencies band, he succinctly described the situation to whoever was listening and ordered as many armed people as possible to meet him at the break in the Barrier as soon as possible.

  After a short pause, he received a reply from Mishima Takamura, who was dispatching everyone who was available. Phineas thanked him and signed off.

  “All right, people, I’ve called in the cavalry. Now we’ve got to get down there and warn everybody that they’re coming. I suggest we get moving as quickly as possible.”

  * * *

  Ian Coopersmith intercepted the Mayday communication when they were within ten kilometers of the ruins. Looking at Murphy, he spoke above the whine of the engines. “Did you hear that?”

  “Yeah, it sounds like they’re in some deep shit, Captain.”

  “We’re going to have to help them,” Ian said. “How are the ammo banks on this thing?”

  Checking the indicators, Murphy nodded. “You’ve got plenty of rounds. We going in?”

  “Not ‘we,’” Ian said. “Just me.”

  He leaned on the controls, and the ’thopter swooped wildly to the left, veering away from the ruins and establishing a new course which would bring it down at the coordinates of the broken Barrier.

  “Wait a minute!” Murphy yelled. “What’re you gonna do with us?”

  “I’ll drop you off behind the Barrier. It’ll be safer that way.”

  “Aren’t you going to need somebody to do your shooting for you?” Murphy asked. “I’m getting pretty good at popping these critters.”

  Ian smiled. Perhaps he had underestimated Murphy—or maybe certain situations bring out the best in some of us, despite our basic personalities.

  Looking ahead, he could see the great, dark bulk of the Saurian Barrier materializing out of the steamy mist of the morning. Stretching far out to the east and west, the Barrier encircled the interior of the Dragonstar, sealing off the entire end of the ship and forming what was known as the Saurian preserve. As the ’thopter drew closer, Ian could see details of the Saurian countryside beyond the Barrier and beyond all of that he could finally see the flat, gray, metallic end of the giant cylinder.

  Behind that impossibly huge wall lay the alien control section and the ship’s engines. If only they could get back in there, and perhaps they could take control of everything again, Ian thought as he bore down on the Barrier.

  As the ’thopter reached the Barrier, Ian headed west, following the Saurian wall.

  “There,” Murphy said. “Look at that. Do you see it?”

  “Right,” Ian said. Even from the distance of several kilometers, Ian had no trouble picking out the trouble spot. Like a cracked, festering wound, the break in the containment wall stood out from the rest of the architecture. It appeared as if gee-forces had caused the base of the Barrier to shift and twist, causing structural upheaval.

  Leaning again on the controls, Ian forced the ’thopter down to a thousand meters and dropped the velocity to less than fifty kilometers per hour. As he closed the distance between his shi
p and the break in the Barrier, many more details became visible.

  There was a great throng of Saurian warriors along the top of the Barrier on each side of the break. These defenders were raining down spears, arrows, rocks, and other missiles against a large carnivorous dinosaur that was trying to enter the Saurian preserve. In the center of the break in the wall a large body of Saurian warriors were also attacking the carnivore. The beast had been punctured and pummeled so many times that it staggered about as though drunk. Its maw and snout were a scarlet mess, smeared with the remains of unfortunate defenders. The beast was bleeding profusely, and Ian had to admire the plucky spirit of the Saurians to stand their ground against a nightmare like that.

  “Drop her down,” Murphy yelled. “Get me a good angle and I’ll blow him away.”

  Closing the distance between the aircraft and the dinosaur, Ian brought the ’thopter in at treetop level, parallel to the Barrier. Directly in front of him, through the cockpit glass, the flat eye of the creature glared at him. Murphy let loose a volley of hollow-point, high-velocity slugs that ripped into its skull.

  At the last instant, Ian pulled up the controls and the ’thopter leaped upward. Over the whine of the engines, he could hear the wailing of the beast as it collapsed at the base of the fracture.

  “Nice shooting, Murphy!” he cried.

  “Gee, Captain, how could I miss? Another couple of meters and we’d have been down his throat.”

  Ian wheeled back past the still heaving form of the beast to see ranks of Saurians—warriors and agrarians alike—cheering the ’thopter as it passed over their position. Already he could see the first shadowy, kitelike figures of the scavenging Pteranodons gathering above the bleeding form of the felled beast. They would be getting ready to swoop down and steal a few pieces of hot meat, thought Ian with an ironic grin. You had to act fast in a place like this.

  “Captain! We’ve got another one down there!” Murphy yelled.

  At the same time, Ian heard Becky’s voice cutting through the din. “Ian! Ian! For God’s sake, what’re you doing?”

  Leaning out of his seat, Ian looked back for an instant to the underside of the ’thopter. The equipment bay hatch was open, and Becky was hanging out of the hatch yelling up at him.

  Instead of trying to scream over the noise, he pointed downward to the scene on the ground and hoped she’d understand where they were and what was happening. Then, following the pointing arm of Murphy, he saw that a very large Tyrannosaurus had crashed out of the trees to the east of the break in the wall. Although it was some distance away from the break, it wouldn’t take the beast very long to get there.

  Becky was still screaming at him, and he was certain that it was no fun to be tossed around it: the equipment bay while he played tactical fighter pilot with these monsters. There was only one thing to do, and he had to do it fast.

  “Hey! What’re you doing?” Murphy yelled.

  Leaning on the controls, Ian brought the ’thopter in low over the Barrier and searched for a good place to land. There was a flat area, an entrance to a park, beyond the ramparts and the assembled fighting platoons. Lower and lower he eased the craft, not looking at Murphy until the ship was idling on the turf.

  “Got to get them out of the belly,” he said. “Go on, Murph, give them a hand.”

  Becky was already scrambling out of the tight quarters as Murphy jumped down and ran around to help. A crowd of Saurians slowly was closing in on them, looking very wary and apprehensive. It could be a very touchy situation, and he wondered if it was a good idea to leave Becky on the ground with little protection.

  “Ian, what do you think you’re doing?” she screamed. “Were you trying to kill us in there?”

  “Of course not, my dear,” he said with an impish grin. “Now come on and get out of there, both of you. I’ve got some business to take care of.”

  “Ian, please be careful,” Becky said.

  “Captain Coopersmith. Ian. My God, Ian, what’re you doing here?”

  Turning away from Becky for an instant, Ian looked up to see Phineas Kemp running toward him. Trailing behind were three others—a commando, that journalist, and ... good grief! it looked like Thesaurus.

  “Greetings, Colonel. Nice to see you again,” Ian said, reaching out to shake Kemp’s hand. “I’ve decided to give you guys a hand. You look like you could use it.”

  “C’mon, Captain,” Murphy said as he climbed into the cabin.

  Waving him to silence, Ian looked at the hobbling figure of the Saurian being escorted over to the aircraft. It was Thesaurus.

  The crowd of Saurian warriors drew closer to the aircraft; several had raised their weapons. They stopped, however, when they saw Thesaurus approaching the humans with no fear or trepidation. Turning to confront the warriors, Thesaurus held out his arms in a cruciform position, barking out a series of commands that the translator announced as simple orders to leave the humans alone, telling the slow-thinking warriors that the humans were indeed friends. The lemon-robed Saurian then turned back to regard his first human friend.

  “You are a brave human, Ian Coopersmith,” Thesaurus said as he approached the open cabin of the ornithopter.

  “It’s good to see you again,” Ian said. “I’ve come back to help my friends.”

  “Captain,” Murphy said again.

  “I know, I know,” Ian said, then turned back to Becky, Phineas, and the old high priest who had become his friend. “It looks like I’ve got to go.”

  With a smile at everyone, and a wink at Becky, he closed the hatch and lifted off. The ’thopter responded nicely, as he was now growing more accustomed to the controls. The machine practically grabbed the air with its airfoils, moving like a swimmer pushing the water past his body.

  “All right,” Ian said with a smile. “Let’s go get that big boy.”

  Reaching a cruising altitude just above the ramparts, Ian was shocked to see what had happened in the short time he had squandered by dropping off his passengers. The Tyrannosaurus, which had presumably been attracted to the scene by all the noise and the smell of blood, had closed the distance between the forest’s edge and the gap in the Barrier.

  It was an abnormally large animal—larger than any predator Ian had ever seen in the preserve. It was a light tan color with some minimal striping, and it stood out against the lush greens of the forest behind it. Taller than any other theropod, the creature leaned forward, balancing its weight with a thick, heavy, but extremely fluid tail. As it approached the rift in the wall, a small squad of warrior-class Saurians ran out through the rubble to meet its charge.

  Like a chicken hunting and pecking in a barnyard, the beast opened its jaws and plucked the Saurians from the ground, tossing them up into its cavernous maw. It moved with surprising quickness, and the storm of spears and arrows that rained down from the ramparts seemed to have no effect on it.

  Its pillbox head seemed too large for the neck that supported it like a gun turret on a swivel mount. As the ’thopter approached it for the first time, the beast’s attention was diverted from the opening in the wall for an instant and it turned a glistening yellow eye up to assay them.

  Murphy fired his automatic into the thing’s head as they passed, but the weapon sputtered into silence after a terribly short burst.

  “Need another clip,” he yelled in frustration, digging into the utility pouch on his belt. “Get me around for another pass.”

  Ian nodded and pulled up on the controls as the Tyrannosaurus looked away from them and again strode forward toward the piled-up debris. Methodically, it began to sweep the area with its tail, pushing aside the smaller pieces of the broken wall. It pushed away the larger fragments with its powerful hind legs. The beast appeared determined to stride right into the Saurian preserve.

  Whipping the ’thopter out of a tight turn, Ian brought the craft up for some additional
power in its attacking dive. He had been keeping his attention mainly on the position of the beast below them. And that would prove to be his only mistake.

  He had forgotten about the flock of Pteranodons that had gathered above the sight of the bloodbath. They were carrion eaters, the vultures of the Mesozoic. Their circling, gliding patterns above an open clearing in the Mesozoic preserve served as a clear marker that death was down below.

  It happened so fast that Ian had no time to react. In one instant the airspace was clear; in the next, a swarm of the reddish, leathery-winged, pencil-headed reptiles filled the window with their furious flapping.

  “Watch it, Captain!”

  Murphy’s warning came too late. Yanking the controls hard to the left, Ian tried to avoid the flying reptiles on instinct alone. The ornithopter careened into the center of the flock, and with the force of a concussive shell, one of the creatures exploded through the window. Like crystalline snow, the fragments peppered Ian, momentarily blinding him. The ’thopter rocked dangerously as another of the Pteranodons impacted on the rotors of the engine. There was a sickening crunch and a quick series of crowlike caws, screeches of death closing in on the beast.

  It was that fast, and the aircraft had cleared the flight of reptiles, but the damage had been done. The once steady whine of the engines had been reduced to a ratcheting, knocking sound; the airfoils moved with a twisted, battered slowness which Ian knew would not keep them aloft for very long. He yanked up on the controls and threw the craft into a stall, then tried to fall out of the maneuver to increase his glide factor.

  “We’ve had it!” he yelled to Murphy. “She’s not going to stay up.”

  Murphy only stared at him with a sick expression on his face. It was a look of fear mixed with a touch of disbelief. Ian was certain he wore a similar expression. Is this it? Is this how it’s going to end? he wondered.

  The ’thopter tilted dangerously to one side as the left airfoil collapsed in upon itself, no longer able to handle the stress factors and support the weight of the fuselage. Ian scanned the scene on the ground below and knew what he had to do. The Tyrannosaurus had cleared the majority of the debris from the rift in the Barrier and was fighting its way toward the opening despite the valiant but futile efforts of the Saurian warriors.