Alien Dragon's Baby: A Scifi Alien Romance (Red Planet Dragons of Tajss)

by Miranda Martin

  Ladon barely spares a glance forward as he leads us past and up to a door that goes into the pyramid building. When we step inside it's dark and cool which is a welcome relief from the pounding heat outside. Ladon says something then continues on. I look around with great interest. It's obvious at some time in the past an advanced civilization lived here. I wonder what happened? I follow him through to a set of stairs. One side goes up and one goes down. He takes the one leading up moving us around and through the building until we come to a set of double doors at the end of a long hallway.

  Everywhere I go I see signs of technology most of which I can only guess at the original purpose of. Without being able to stop and inspect closer, I still feel fairly certain that the technology would be considered advanced by my own people's standards. He opens the double doors and it takes my breath away. Light floods out of the room but it's not hot. The air is actually a little bit cooler. The room itself is big enough to hold hundreds of people at once. There are row after row of what look like complicated stations resembling cubicles surrounded by clear glass. Many of them are completely destroyed and broken looking. The light reflecting throughout the room streams through the ceiling which is also made of glass. The sunlight is diffused and altered from its normal red state to a soft white light that is cool instead of warm. There is one station that still sparkles as the light passes through the mostly whole glass around it. It highlights the surface and I can see designs that seem to flow and move across the walls.

  Ladon walks through the room ignoring the wonders around him. I follow along behind but my attention is mostly on the technology. I want to know more. This building seems to be centrally located and I have a suspicion that it was a central hub for the city. I wonder if there are more people here like Ladon. Does he live alone? What happened to his people?

  As we pass by the mostly whole cubicle its glass walls spring to life and images start to play across it. I stop, fascinated, and walk inside. The images start out as swirls of color then coalesce and become 3-D visions. While I don't understand the language that is being spoken it looks similar enough to a newscast I can guess at its purpose. It starts out by showing what must be daily life here before whatever happened to leave the city empty. Ladon stands off to one side watching me. He watches me but it's clear he's not looking at the images.

  "Is this okay?" I ask.

  He doesn't say anything so I turn back and watch. It doesn't take long before my stomach turns and tears well in my eyes. The images panning across the screen tell the story and now I know what happened to his people. It's horrifying to watch. On my ship they want to make sure we don't repeat the mistakes of our past. The history of Earth is drilled into every child including all of the atrocities ever committed by man against man. Somehow what I'm watching on the screens is worse.

  It starts by showing life. Men, women, and children like Ladon living, working, and playing together. The camera pans through the city giving a complete slice of life view. It's obvious their world is harsh but their technology more than compensates for it. As the camera pans around I can see that the city itself is covered by some kind of a dome. I make an educated guess that this worked to control the environment inside and protect from the harshness of the planet outside.

  The scenes play on and as they do I see ships coming out of the sky. Aliens. They interact with and trade with Ladon's people. Dozens of different races come and go across the screen. Spaceports appear and you can see ships being loaded with crates. Then the cameras follow a group of alien-dragon men out through the dome and across the desert outside. They ride on cars that don't have wheels but seem to flow on a cushion of air. They travel to a cavern where the men disembark, gather their gear, and enter into a dark maw.

  Inside the cave is beautiful. Some of the men appear to be standing guard and have weapons while the others carry tools. They travel as a group. The cave glows with a soft blue light and as they get deeper, long strands of something grow from the ceiling and give off a luminescence. The men with the tools work together and begin harvesting the strands. The other man stands guard and it's not long before I can see why. Huge bat like creatures swoop out of the darkness and attack. The defenders shoot them with their weapons but instead of projectiles I think it's sound.Whatever it is it drives the bat like creatures away and the harvesters finish their work.

  They load their harvest onto the cars and then the men climb back on. The camera follows as they exit the cave. The guard stays at attention the entire time, his eyes scanning the desert. Suddenly the ground jumps underneath them and the car tilts so far over I think it's going to roll. Something races towards the men. The ground rumbles and is breaking up like something is running underneath it, tunneling fast. The guards leap from the moving car bringing their weapons around. Suddenly the ground bursts open and a giant worm-like creature shoots up into the sky towering over them. It waves back and forth in the air then opens a giant maw filled with razor sharp teeth. The worm slams down against the ground and the car is thrown up into the air tossing men and the supplies out. The guards begin firing and the camera circles.

  The monster kills two men grabbing them up and swallowing them whole. The sounds of their screams echo in my ears. The guards continue firing and the worm jerks back then retreats. The remaining men gather the scattered harvest then load it back onto the cars. They climb in and continue on their way.

  The scenes change and I see the streets of the city once more but now there are angry people marching. They carry signs that flash messages as they head towards the same building we're in right now. Ships are in the sky above the dome as the people of the city march. They reach the square where the fountain was. Three men stand in front of the fountain with their wings spread and their fists raised. They're talking, yelling, and the crowd is responding. The one in the middle points to the ships in the sky then closes his hand into a fist and shakes it. The people respond making fists and shaking them at the sky.

  The scene changes once more and Ladon's people are armed for war. Invaders march through the streets which are lined with the dead. The ships in the sky are firing down and bombs are exploding all around. A gas cloud floods the city and everyone it reaches begins to choke and die. At last almost no one is left alive. There are drones floating through the city and it becomes obvious what I'm watching is a film taken by one of them.

  I'm left shaken and sad. I turn and see Ladon staring at the ground waiting for it to finish. I feel like my heart is breaking inside. I can't imagine the pain or how he survived. I run over and wrap my arms around him smashing my lips against his. He embraces me and we stand there holding each other letting the harsh memories fade the best we can. I want to hold him until the heartache is healed but I know that's not possible. How can I fix what he's been through? Losing all his people? I pull back at last and he speaks softly. He says my name and I smile.

  "Oh my poor Prince of Vulcan, what am I going to do with you? You're like Spock, having lost your people and yet you survive, all alone in the universe. I'm here for you. I know you don't understand me, not yet, but I'm here Ladon."

  I touch his cheek and he smiles. The moment stretches then he turns and leads us further in. We leave the room with the screens behind but as we go I think about the city I saw. There might still be power here and there's lots of space. If I can get Ladon to understand about my friends we can bring them here. There's an entire city to hand just waiting to have life brought back to it. There's a lot of work to do, repairs, cleaning and all that but it doesn't change the fact that we could build something amazing together.

  If there is power then maybe I can figure out how to activate the dome again too. That would protect us from the creatures that roam the desert as well as the extremes of temperature. It's a nebulous idea with a lot of ifs in it but it's a start. It's something, I can return to my people with hope. If they've survived. If I survive.

  13 LADON

  She knows now. Knows the great failure that
led to the downfall of my people. I'm surprised by her reaction. I thought, I don't know what I thought or expected. Calista surprises me. She came to me and offered me support, not recrimination. We were stupid. We thought we were kings of the galaxy, epis ruled the world, no one in the known galaxy could survive or operate without it and we controlled it all.

  No one else could harvest it. Only us. We were arrogant fools. We brought about our own downfall with our greed. When the labor unions organized and wrested away control of the supply we thought it would only enrich us to restrict the flow of epis. But it led to revolt by all the other races, they joined together and nearly wiped us from existence.

  I was part of the unions. I played my part in the destruction of my race.

  I'd blocked off my memories of the times before the devastation. I'd forgotten the role I'd played. Hidden it, buried it so deep I no longer thought that was me. I was a different person but seeing the replays it wasn't gone or forgotten. Just hidden and waiting to come back. Waiting to remind me that I'm no different now than I was then. My curse is that I survived the devastation. My punishment is to wander the empty city and know the hand I had in its fall.

  I don't have time for this. I push memory aside and lead the way into the city. Tonight we'll rest here then early we'll head for the caverns and I will harvest epis for her. I watch her walking beside me and can see she's growing weaker. Her inefficient body is not adjusting to the heat. I don't think she sees it yet. We reach my home and I unload my pack to cook the last of the guster meat knowing that it will give her strength. Once we've eaten I lead her to my bed where we lie together. She snuggles up against me and I stroke her softly, wanting to please her again.

  The heat must be worse than I feared as she falls too quickly into uneasy sleep. I wrap myself around her hoping my body will cool hers and fall into restless dreams.

  I wake up before her and lay very still listening to her breathe. Even here in the cool building her skin is warm.It's okay though because today I'll get the epis. She stretches and rolls into me throwing her arm wide. I smile in the dark as she runs her leg down mine.

  "Good morning," I say.

  She moans and stretches then her eyelids flutter open and I see her beautiful eyes and a peaceful calm spreads through me. She is my greatest treasure. She says something and I try to follow the words.

  "Good morning," I repeat speaking slowly.

  She mimics the sounds I make and in moments she speaks.

  "Good morning," she says in my language grinning from ear to ear.

  I climb out of bed and dress motioning that she should do the same.

  "Danger today," I say, pointing at my lochaber.

  She looks from it to me then nods. She raises one hand to her forehead and then brings it down sharply giggling. I smile unsure what the motions are supposed to mean but it makes her happy. I fix our breakfast and then gather the supplies will need for the day. The cavern is at least a two mark's walk. I can make it faster on my own but it's not safe to leave her here alone.

  I hitch the supplies onto my back and we leave as the sun is barely breaking the horizon. The journey to the cavern is uneventful. Calista talks almost nonstop but I love listening to the sound of her voice. I find it soothing, almost musical. Listening to her makes the journey go by quickly and before long the distant hill looms high. The long black crack in the world that will lead down into the caverns below. I pull Calista close and motion that she should stay by me.

  "Close," I say slowly. "Very dangerous. Danger."

  She nods and I see her lips tremble. I hate making her feel afraid but if I had any option I would not take her with me down below. Taking out my lochaber, I ready it and retrieve a small torch from my bag then breathe from my inner throat glands, lighting it aflame. Holding it in front of us as we walk into the darkness, the light of day fades and the torch is our only illumination.

  I pick our way carefully down to make sure we don't attract unwanted attention. The caverns are home to many of the more hostile creatures of Tajss because they're cool and a welcome retreat from the surface's constant heat. Suddenly Calista stumbles and knocks some stones loose. They rattle loud and the sound of them echoes off the cavern walls. The echoes are met with screeches as the sismis spring to life. The air is filled with the sound of their leathery wings.

  The sismis sweep down as a horde. A flurry of wings, teeth, and claws. I grab Calista and dive to the ground. The sismis are mostly blind and hunt by sound. She struggles under me for a moment only goes still when I hiss. The sismis dive and fly around searching for prey until at last they return to their perches along the ceiling.

  I roll off of her and let her stand, holding a finger in front of my mouth then pointing at the ceiling. She stares up into the shadows before nodding her understanding. Taking her hand I lead the way deeper into the cavern. The floor slopes down then the walls close in and I have to turn sideways barely able to squeeze through. When I emerge on the other side of the pinch point the cavern opens wide. Blue strands of epis hang from the ceiling and I smile. I look around and see no signs of danger. Climbing up onto a pile of boulders to get as high as possible, I cut a strand.

  The light of it dims as I cut and it falls to the ground. I climb down and carefully gather the strand up. The earth rumbles under my feet as I kneel. I look up but it's too late. A baby zemlja bursts from the ground a few feet in front of me screeching. I throw the epis back over my shoulder aiming towards Calista.

  "Calissssta! Run!" I yell, leaping to my feet and swinging my lochaber to the ready.

  I don't have time to look back as the worm targets me. It spits so I duck down and roll towards it. The rock where I was sizzles as the creature's saliva lands and eats through it. Swinging the lochaber I strike the worm right where it emerges from the ground. My blade barely scratches its protective hide as I miss the overlap between plates. Damn it.

  I hear Calista scream and one heart quits beating while the other double times. Still in a crouch I whirl on one foot. She's retreating towards the entrance to the cavern with the epis in her hand but her scream has caught the monster's attention. It dives under the earth and then the ground rumbles as it races towards her.

  "RUN!" I scream as I spread my wings.

  I follow the path of the monster. The ground underneath my feet bucks and jumps as it burrows below me. I'm only a few feet away from her so I leap but as my foot leaves the ground the worm emerges beneath me. I rise up on top of it as it climbs towards the roof. It opens its maw and I'm balancing on either side trying to avoid falling in to its sharp teeth. The jaw snaps shut then opens again. I flap my wings furiously gaining as much lift as I can to continue my dance on the edge of death.

  I bounce on the tips of my feet from one side of its opening maw to the other while slamming my tail down against it hurting it enough that it closes its mouth. Raising my lochaber over my head I drive the point down and slide it between the overlapping scales of its protective hide finding its soft, vulnerable flesh. The monster whips wildly back and forth at the pain which tosses me to the side.

  I'm tumbling head over heels.

  Spreading my wings I try gaining control of my spin but the force is too much and my right wing collapses and one of the small bones snaps. Pain explodes in my head then the rest of my body as I slam up against a wall and slide down. Distantly I hear Calista cry out.

  I shake my head trying to push past the pain. I'm unarmed and one wing isn't functioning. I'm in trouble if that monster is still alive. Our best hope is to get out of the cavern with our treasure. Calista kneels before me, her warm hands on my face. Moisture streams from her eyes and I feel how upset she is like it's a storm beating against me.

  "Run," I say again straining to get on my feet.

  Pain shoots from my wing and up my back. I'm bruised and broken but behind Calista's caring face I see the monster stirring. I get to my knees and touch her face. Leaning in I kiss her soft lips then whisper in her ear.
r />   "Calista, run," I say and point at the crack.

  She shakes her head, the moisture falling from her face and onto her shirt.

  "No," she says. "No, no, no."

  Frowning, I grab her shoulders and turn her roughly towards the opening. I point with a harsh, sharp gesture then shove her. As I do the worm rises up, it's maw snapping open and shut with a loud clack. It shakes side to side trying to work my lochaber free. Calista stumbles forward two steps then turns and looks at me shaking her head. She's not moving fast enough, I have to draw the creature away, it's the only way I can protect her.

  She turns and steps towards me. I shake my head then turn back to the zemlja. Throwing my arms wide I hiss loudly, issuing a challenging cry. It whips back and forth then turns its mouth to me.

  "Come you spineless animated dung! I, Ladon, will take you!"

  It drives up into the air preparing to crush me under its massive weight so I run towards it in a full charge. My eyes lock onto my lochaber where it protrudes from between the thing's scales. My aim was true but not deep enough. If I can drive the weapon further into the monster it will finish it. If I fail it will crush me and I can only hope I will have bought enough time for Calista to escape. Surely she'll figure out to consume the epis on her own.

  Each time my foot makes contact with the ground pain shoots up my leg causing my vision to blur. I push past it, I have to, for her. I will not be bested by a mindless creature from below. I will not let her see me defeated. I will protect her. The worm senses my footsteps as I pound the ground coming closer and it uses that to track me. It's big and doesn't move as agile as I do which is my only advantage. I use that.

  It arcs back then swings forward using its size and mass. As it slams towards the ground I duck and roll to the side. It hits the ground where I was and the force of its impact makes me bounce. Flying through the air I instinctively open my wings but pain blinds me as I try to move the injured one so I pull them back tight and spread my arms to slow myself then open up my ball and land on my feet skidding to a stop on the side of the monster.