Both were the wrong choices. Instead of staying on my feet to fend them off, I turned my low stance into a vertical leap, superhumanly strong legs throwing my massive bulk over both swings. Overextended by their attacks, both Guards stumbled closer, close enough that with my massive reach, I landed on top of their elaborate helmets fist-first, Cestari blazing with power.
While their elemental wards protected them from my dragonfire, even the best shielding in the galaxy could only do so much against a combination of draconic strength, enchanted weaponry, and the added force of a thousand pounds of scale, muscle, and bone behind it. Both Guardian’s shielding failed in spectacular fashion, shattering into a thousand glittering shards as my crystal knuckles caved in their helmets. Between the shriek of tortured metal and the crack of bone, I was pretty sure they were dead even before my suit’s computer kindly reminded me of the incoming remote transfer of power credits.
But I didn’t have time to relish my little victory. I looked up to assess the situation, only to have three more Guardians surrounding me, their Executors humming dangerously as they kept spaced out to prevent me from catching more than one in a gout of dragonfire. Beyond that deadly circle, the concentrated fire of the revolutionaries was putting the finishing touches on the three burning Quibs, but that had now made them a target for the remaining Guards, two of which broke off in a world-record-setting sprint for the nearest ladder that connected the platform to the ground floor.
Which left three. Technically two, as the one that Tulip had grappled finally went down, his head finally perforated as his shields and armor failed from the continual onslaught, but those two turned their attention to Alyra as her attention diverted from them to the soldiers making for our much squishier friends above.
As she turned her Wander towards them, dissipating her wall for a glowing array of spears, much like she had used on me when we fought, the other Guards detached small, black metal spheres from their armor. Grenades, obviously, and she didn’t see …
Tulip did, though, and so did I. Ignoring my own danger, I roared a warning as I cocked back a fist, summoning a Dragon Bolt that I blasted past my attackers and at one of the grenade-toters. Tulip had a similar idea, kicking off the dead body and unraveling her Scourge in one blindingly fast movement, the whip flicking out like it was part of towards the other one’s arm.
In rapid succession, Alyra’s force spears drove deep into the back and shoulders of a Guardian, piercing his shields and spearing him to the floor. Ferria, who I now realized had foreseen the same danger, skidded to a halt by the ladder, grabbing the top supports in her heavy gauntlets and wrenching the whole thing free from the wall with a cry of effort and whine of servos. At that same moment, a split-second before Alyra took a face full of grenades from her assailants, my searing blast of dragonfire blew into the back of one, triggering the back blast of elemental cold that both protected the Guard and threw off his aim even more. Meanwhile, his friend found his arm bound in razor-sharp metal as he reared back for the throw. Then Tulip turned on the juice and even with the hardened systems the Royal Guard had to have, he still let out a scream as electricity flowed through his armor.
I had saved Alyra, and that felt good, but I had left myself wide open in the process. Small price to pay, but I was going to pay it in spades. Before I could get a guard up, the three Guardians moved in a disciplined, well-practiced dance of death, the first lashing out low, cutting my legs out from under me as the heavy staff blasted into the back of my knees. As I fell backward, the other two spun in exact synchronicity, holding their Executors like massive swords as they swung them overhand, one energized tip smashing full on into my head, the other into my gut.
The three titanic impacts in rapid succession were more than my weakened shields could take, the energy field exploding around me. The two shots that rained down from above sent me slamming into the ground hard enough to crater it, crunching in the armor plates around my stomach, blowing the air out of my lungs with a gout of smoke, and shattering right through the energy dome helmet to bloody my snout.
The suit’s voice was crackling as it reported, Shielding compromised! Life support compromised! Thoracic contusions and minor snout fractures detected. Please seek medical attention from your squad medic at the first available opportunity. Its report was accompanied by two distant-sounding explosions, the grenades going off most likely, but it was hard to tell with the ringing in my ears.
Taking in a deep breath, I tried to elbow up to my feet as I heard one of the Guards say something outside of their comms for the first time, his strangely high-pitched voice gasping in almost orgasmically reverent tones. “And now, the sacred instruments.”
The three Guards thumbed a switch on their Executors, and from the tip of each pole that was pointed down at me, a thin, crystal spike shot forth to form the head of a spear. I knew instantly what I was seeing, the dragon spirit recoiling in disgust at the sight of the dragon-slaying blades. They had me dead to rights, and maybe, on a different day, those three Royal Guards would have gone down in Matriarchy history as the biggest badasses in the galaxy who killed themselves a dragon.
But I had an ace up my sleeve. As they raised their weapons, the cacophony of battle still raging around us, I thumped the stone underneath me with a fist and shouted, “Plazzio!” even as I took matters into my own hands, lashing out with a kick to the nearest Guardian’s shins with all my draconic might.
The gentle giant had said he would be listening, and while I hadn’t wanted to get him involved in a battle, there was no better time than now, with lives on the line. Besides, if he was as smart as I thought he was, he could pay his debt here without raising a single hand in violence.
The Guards paused for just a moment in recognition at the roared name, leaving my target wide open to have my heel claw cut right through his armor, throwing him clear off his feet and onto the stone floor. And that was the worst place to be, well, if you were associated with the Matriarchy that is.
As the Guardians finally got their acts together, right before the two left standing tried to make me dragon shishkebab, the stone beneath their feet, hell, beneath the feet of all the Guards still standing, flowed up and over their forms, as fluid as mud and as hard as the thickest concrete. The stone tombs stopped before they fully encased the Quibs, leaving only their heads free.
I pushed to my feet, taking my time now that the threat was neutralized, gently probing my cracked snout. I knew that there were a thousand cameras and sensors trained on us, so I turned my reptilian eyes up at the tower. “See, Xara? This is why you treat people with respect. You let them be free, and don’t make them do things they don’t want to do.”
I cast a glance backward, just to be sure the fight was over. Alyra was helping Tulip up, her armor scuffed and battered from whatever lethal grenade the Guards had intended for Alyra, while Ferria saluted me from the walkway above, the freedom fighters swarming past her to get to another intact ladder. The four still-living Guardians were struggling fruitlessly against their stone straitjackets, but there was no visible sign of Plazzio around.
“Thanks, big guy,” I whispered low, feeling strangely confident that he would hear me.
Nodding to myself, feeling a wash of relief that we had lived through that, I turned my attention back to the seemingly seamless metal wall in our way forward. “Nothing to say, Illuminator? You were certainly full of threats before we got here.” I pointed a talon right at the tower. “Not so confident now that your magical Quib is on our side, your Royal Guard is toast, and the fire of revolution is running rampant across your planet?”
Alyra and Tulip came up beside me as the Resistance troops echoed my shouts, whooping in victory. The ex-Matriarch had Tulip’s arm over her shoulder, serving as an immovable brace for the Fertish woman. While her vitals were steady, it was obvious that the nearby explosions had left Tulip a bit loopy, but she forced a grin at me as she eyed the fortress.
“She can keep hiding all she
wants, David.” She patted Alyra on the shoulder and took a step on her own, a little wobbly but stable. “Give me five minutes, and I’ll have every door, window, and waste chute unlocked, just like your ‘open salami’!”
I didn’t have the heart to correct her at the moment, but even if I did, I would have been cut off by the massive holographic projection that blazed to life from the wall of the tower. I wasn’t sure if it was more Wizard of Oz or more Megamind, but the end result was similar enough, Xara’s disembodied, green-skinned head glaring down at us.
Her precisely enunciated voice echoed through the massive chamber. “There’s no need for that, Null-K. I am glad to see that you have survived this first experiment, dragon,” she continued as her eyes seemed to focus on me. “Though I do fully intend to kill you, I would also be remiss to not take this opportunity to put you under the microscope, in a manner of speaking. To do that, though, you will have to come inside.”
Alyra snorted at that, almost laughing as she shot back, “By Thar’zoul’s celestial eye, how stupid do you think we are, Xara? I knew you to be a brilliant researcher, so you must know that you insult our intelligence if you think we will blindly walk into what is so obviously a trap!”
“She’s right, you know,” I added. Especially with my dragon form fading in minutes, I certainly wasn’t going to suggest we walk right into any traps. “We’ve kind of got you where we want you. We’ll just figure out how to get you out of your witch’s tower on our own, thank you.”
Xara’s lips curled up into an evil smile. “Oh, I think you’ll do exactly what I ask you to do.” My heart sank as I realized what she was already driving at, only to have it confirmed a moment later, the holographic image reshaping into that of a split screen of Clara and Turner, separated, stripped of their power suits, and in chains. “You do want to see your friends again, don’t you?”
25
My fists curled into fists, the metal of my Cestari grinding together. As much as I wanted to scream and shout, to throw in some threats of my own, I realized that it was pointless. Not because they wouldn’t be justified, but because Xara wasn’t truly responsible for what she was doing. As I learned from dealing with Alyra, even if the Illuminator had bowed down to the High Priestess willingly, she wasn’t herself anymore, not after the Mother of Chains bound her will and her memory to the Matriarchy.
“As Alyra said, I thought you were smart,” I let out with a spurt of smoke and flames. “Of course, we do, but that still isn’t a good reason why we should play your game, whatever it is.”
A low growl constantly thrummed at the back of Tulip’s throat as her fingers danced across her screen. “Exactly. Not when I can crack your security so hard your computers will be weeping for months.”
Alyra stepped up beside her, Wander at the ready. “And if she somehow is stymied, you know the power I wield, Xara!” She leveled the focus at the wall ahead of us. “I’ll peel you out of there before you can harm a hair on their heads.”
The hologram shifted again to Xara’s face, a phantom finger adjusting her small glasses. “Your bluster and bravado are charming, they really are, but this isn’t a situation for that.” She sighed softly. “I will readily admit that my first communication to you was made rather … emotionally, but I am in full control of my faculties now, and I’ve run the calculations. While I don’t doubt the infamous Null-K can crack the technological security, she has no idea how to break through the magical wards that have been layered atop it. As for you, dear sister Alyra, you overstep your bounds and look shortsightedly past your limitations. You forget that I know your exact limits. Did I not give you that Wander personally?”
Alyra’s face screwed up in frustration as her knuckles whitened around her Wander, but Xara didn’t give her a chance to get a word in edgewise. “I calculate it would take you both working in conjunction seventeen minutes to penetrate to my inner sanctum, not accounting for … well … it would ruin the experiment if I said more. However you count it, that is practically an eternity when it comes to dealing with your friends.”
She smiled with false beneficence. “Not that I wish to hurt them, well, not outside of the bounds of scientific testing. They both fought so valiantly, saving two entire cells of Resistance fighters in a valiant holding effort, depleting an entire brigade of Quibs in the process. Turner has deserved a long life as one of my … personal test subjects, and Clara, well, the scriptures are clear. She will endure the Trial of the Star Needles before the Mother brings her back into the fold. So, you see, the only one that would do them lasting harm would be you, if you don’t comply with my demands.” Xara’s eyes narrowed as she licked her perfect lips. “You might even enjoy what I have to propose.”
As beautiful as Xara was, the evil light in her eyes cut off any thought of kissing those lips for now. Even if she was telling the truth, that she had no plans to kill Clara or Turner if we complied, their intended fates sounded worse than death. I didn’t have to ask Turner what his thoughts would be on being a test subject of any kind, especially if it involved besmirching his honor. And Clara, she would wish death in a heartbeat if the other choice was being enslaved again, let’s not even talk about what the Trial of Star Needles could possibly be. Whatever it was, I was certain it was some horrible torture.
The Resistance fighters finished gathering around us, a few of them dealing with the last living Guardians by the simple expedient of getting their helmets off and knocking them the hell out. As the dragon started to leave me, a thousand thoughts swirling in my head as to how to tackle this situation, Ferria crossed her arms under her chest.
“They’re members of the Resistance, the same as us,” she said, jaw clenched defiantly. “They wouldn’t want you, our greatest hope, to give in to this monster. They would willingly die for the cause, the same as any of us.”
Scales faded away, my aching snout melting into a swelling nose, and I was all too aware of the web of bruises forming under my chestplate now. Letting out one last puff of smoke from my mouth, I glanced at Tulip and Alyra, gauging their feelings. The look of resolve was bright in Tulip’s eyes, overpowering the deep worry she had to have for her friends, while Alyra was angry more than anything else. I had no doubt what she wanted to do to Xara, under the Matriarchy’s control or not.
I mentally switched comm channels to a private frequency, then pinged the two to switch over to the same one. Once my suit’s computer confirmed they were listening, I lowered my gaze, trying to keep my expression even as a plan began to spark in my brain.
“While Ferria’s right, I also think her advice is the worst thing we can do right now,” I began. “Turner and Clara might be part of the Resistance, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to let Xara just kill a woman I love and my best friend, even if it’s for a greater cause.”
“But, my dragon, if you do as she requests, how will that be any better?” Alyra retorted. “I do not wish to sound as if I do not have faith in your strength, but we have already seen that she has access to dragon-slayers. Who knows what she has waiting specifically to deal with you inside that tower?”
That growl was still present in Tulip’s voice, despite her best efforts to be calm and cool. “You can’t possibly be suggesting that we don’t try to save them, Alyra! We’re family, and family doesn’t abandon—”
“No,” Alyra interrupted, and now, I could hear the pain behind her anger, “I could not bear losing either of them, but … what choice do we have?”
“Ladies,” I said soothingly, “ladies. I might just have a plan. It’s a shitty one, like, I’d never suggest this on any day other than this, but our back is to the wall. We are going to have to roll the dice and take a chance. If not, well, the other two choices we have open to us are total no goes. Both going in there, well, raw is insane, and leaving Turner and Clara to just die … No. It isn’t happening.”
Xara’s image focused on the three of us. “I don’t wish to hurry you, but I have strict timetables on this project,
as mandated by our beloved High Priestess. If you do not agree to comply with my requests within four minutes, I will simply have no other choice but continue my experiment with different test subjects.”
I growled under my breath at that and nodded. “Hold on, lady. Give me one minute.” Back in the channel, I cut off any more questions. “No time left. The plan is stupid and simple. I’m going to play along, but only to keep her occupied. You two are going to fire up the Orion remotely, charge the returner station, and break into Gondor here.”
“That is stupid, but the idea is for us to get to Turner and Clara, then returner out of there, right?” Tulip asked. “But that doesn’t help you at all …”
“It does if you get them out of there, then all four of you can come down like divine vengeance and help bail me out,” I pointed out. “And hell, if you are somehow detected, maybe that’ll distract Xara a different way, long enough for me to free her.”
Alyra shook her head slightly, but then strangely smiled. “While I concur with you both that this is both stupid and insane, I am finding myself strangely excited by the prospect. As Turner said before, who wants to live forever?”
“I still don’t like it, David,” Tulip added with a sigh, “but you’re right. It’s our only shot.” That faint frown curled into a smile. “If it came from anyone else, I’d never do it, but you’re the dragon of legend. If anyone can pull this off, it’s you.”
“No,” I retorted, starting to smile myself. “It’s not just because of me. It’s because it’s us, and I don’t just mean the three of us. Don’t be surprised if, when you bust in there, that Clara and Turner haven’t already broken out and met you half-way.”
I think everyone else watching us, from the Illuminator to the revolutionaries surrounding us, were confused by the smiles that were breaking across our faces. It certainly wouldn’t seem to the outside eye that we had anything at all to smile about. Squaring my shoulders and cracking my neck, I looked up at the floating green head looking down on us.
Star Conqueror: Recompense: An Epic Space Harem Adventure Page 19
