Patrick could hear the fighting happening just yards away. They need me. A wave of energy rushed over him and he channeled it towards the transformation. With this final burst, he felt the slits snap open on his neck and cold air rushed to fill his new lungs. Patrick paused for a few moments to regain his composure and then took off around his ship. He saw Gin-us already hard at work destroying one of the Plutonian ships. It was shaking violently beneath him, the thrusters blasting in every direction as it made a weak attempt to shake free from his grasp.
There was a second ship playing defense as well, flames of red and blue threatening to consume it. This left two ships on the offense and Patrick flew to the nearest with every intention of following the same strategy as Gin-us.
“There he is!” Roger couldn’t contain his excitement as he watched Patrick head into battle.
Patrick was a dragon, similar to Gin-us yet also very different. His dragon was a deed-reddish-brown with a wing span tenfold of Gin-us’. Patrick spread his wings far and with a single flap hurtled his body forward like a torpedo.
“Focus all firepower on the fourth ship!” Jane hollered across the radio channels to all the Icemen and Firemen.
Patrick was clearing the distance between his ship and his target, now only seconds away. As he approached, Patrick couldn’t help but feel that the ship itself was trembling in fear as it faced him. The Plutonians were afraid, but their General used this to fuel their fight and resolve.
The first missile flew at Patrick while he was only yards from the ship. He saw it take off and tried to dodge but his body was built for speed in one direction only. He was not as nimble and agile as he had expected to be, his many hours flying like a bird now counting against him. He continued on his trajectory, directly into the path of the missile.
Patrick let out a deep growl as the missile tore through the membrane of one of his wings, the air now rushing through it as he tried to maintain his course. He flapped furiously with his remaining wing and finally landed atop the ship. He dug his talons in deep, the sound of metal tearing open filled the air. Patrick began pulling at whatever he could grasp, the metal beneath him peeling away like the skin of an orange to reveal the inner workings of the ship. He was laser-focused now, pulling at everything and anything in his line of sight. The sounds of the battle raged around him, drowned out by the sound of his own heart beating like a drum in his head.
He was so engrossed in this destruction that he didn’t hear or see the missile fired from another of the Plutonian’s ship. The pain exploded in his left shoulder and he was sent reeling into space. Disoriented, Patrick struggled to right himself and saw that the ship that had once been in flames was now back in the fight. Patrick watched, helpless as the ship swiveled on its axis and sent a second missile towards Gin-us.
Gin-us never saw it coming and the missile exploded as it collided with the side of his head.
“No!” Roger shouted and banged on the window as Gin-us’ world went black.
The attacking ship swiveled back around to Patrick and shot off a third missile. The shot was dead-on but Patrick was ready this time. He grabbed the missile midair and, using its own thrust to his advantage, spun around and tossed the missile right back at them. He couldn’t have aimed better if he tried. The missile glided effortlessly through a small burnt-out hole, exploding only after it had penetrated into the ship. Yes! Patrick grinned as the lights on the ship went dark and the engine died out.
Surveying the battlefield, Patrick realized things still were not looking great. His own ship was no longer firing while the other was doing its best to hold off two of the enemy ships. Gin-us was currently no help which left Patrick with no choice but to keep fighting. He again began tearing yet again into the ship he had already been attacking. From the corner of his eye, he noticed a rogue shooting star slowly making its way towards the battlefield. How can I use this to my advantage?
He was desperately trying to think of a way to turn the tides of the battle while simultaneously going blind with rage as he tore at the ship. As the shooting star got closer, Patrick realized it was actually another Plutonian ship. Gin-us was still unconscious, one of his ships was in flames with the two remaining enemy ships relentlessly attacking. He knew the battle was over and it was time to either retreat or surrender.
Patrick pulled one last chunk from the ship's insides which did the trick. The lights inside shut off as Patrick launched himself towards Gin-us’ lifeless body. Please be alive!
He reached Gin-us in just enough time to see the new Plutonian ship come into firing range, weapons already blasting. A missile flew over Patrick’s shoulder and crashed into the ship behind him. If the ship had been aiming at Patrick, they were absolutely horrid at it. Another blast fired off, flying yet again over his shoulder and crashing into the same ship. The first had cracked the window around the command center and the second completely blew it out. Plutonian soldiers were sucked from the ship as the air raced out into the vacuum of space.
Without questioning the turn of events Patrick wasted no time in dragging Gin-us back towards his ship. Within the space of a dozen breathes it had turned into a three on one battle. The Plutonians knew they didn’t stand a chance and tried to flee. The newcomer refused to let this happen and gave chase, blowing the ship to bits before they could get away.
The battle was now over and Patrick let out a deep sigh of relief that rumbled from deep in his belly and came out with a puff of smoke. As the new ship came flying back Patrick strained his vision to see who it was. His stomach did flips and landed in a tight knot as he saw Flupotia sitting at the helm, smiling and waving back to him. Gin-us had woken up enough by this point that he was able to pull himself to the interior of his ship and transform back to his normal body.
With Gin-us safe, Patrick made his way back to his own ship. The outer doors seemed to crawl at a snail’s pace as they closed. Patrick stood cramped in the space, tapping his giant claw on the ground as he waited for the doors to close. As soon as it was possible he transformed back into himself, opened the inner doors, and took off for the command center. He found Jane and John sitting at the secondary control stations, sweat dripping from their foreheads as they tried to catch their breath.
“Patrick,” Jane nodded as she smacked her lips and cleared her throat trying to address the dryness of her mouth, “that was a close one.”
“You all did great. Perfect execution.” Patrick gave a grin and pushed his hair back from his eyes.
Jane nodded to Patrick and returned to her computer. John continued to stare at Patrick with a wide smile that wouldn’t quit. Roger was sitting silently in the captain's chair with his arms crossed over his puffed-out chest.
Patrick pushed past Roger without thought and reached for the radio. “Flupotia, come in.” Radio static followed as he switched his coms to an open channel. “Flupotia, are you there? Come in!”
“Flupotia here. Coming in loud and clear.” She sounded out of breath herself.
Relief washed over Patrick as he fell into the chair behind him lifting his shirt up to wipe the sweat from his face. He locked eyes with Roger, still sitting in the Captain’s chair. He raised an eyebrow at him before continuing his conversation with Flupotia.
“What happened to you? Everyone says you disappeared shortly before the attack?” He stood and began pacing back and forth as they spoke, trying his best to hide his desperation for answers.
“It’s a long story.” Flupotia paused for a moment before continuing. “Let’s dock the ships together, salvage what we can and round up any survivors. Then we’ll talk.”
The radio went dead and Patrick motioned to Jane and John to send out the bridge. He waited a few seconds as Flupotia’s ship flew into sight and the bridge began to extend towards him. Patrick watched his own bridges as they began to extend. One traveled towards Flupotia’s ship while the other made its way to the surrendering enemy. Confident he was no longer needed in the command center, Patrick strapped his holster back
on and made his way down the to the hatchway hoping for answers he wouldn’t get.
◆◆◆
III: A New Discovery
Patrick was fidgeting with the control panel on his bridge as he waited for the ships to dock onto one another, a migraine just starting to creep up the base of his skull.
The bridges were slow, taking far too long in Patrick’s opinion to connect the ships. A buzzer finally went off indicating all systems were cleared and Patrick slammed his fist into the button releasing the door lock. The doors hissed open as the pressure equalized on the extended bridge. Unable to wait for the doors to fully open, Patrick shimmied his way through the narrow gap in the doors and ran to Flupotia’s side. She looked overly tired as she walked out on to the bridge, deep bags set beneath her eyes.
“Flupotia!” Patrick stepped forward and placed his hands on both of her shoulders. “What happened to you all?”
“Not now.” She gave him a brief half smile before brushing past him towards the second bridge on his ship which had attached to the enemy. “Let’s deal with the prisoners first.” It was clear that unconditional surrender was her main concern at this point.
She has got to stop doing this to me. As they boarded the ship, Patrick kept close to Flupotia.
They met Gin-us in the command center where the Plutonians had already surrendered. They sat on the ground with their hands behind their heads. Most had wide eyes, their pupils dancing back and forth across the room. Others had squeezed their eyes tightly shut and were shaking uncontrollably, faces drained of color. Within an hour the ship had been swept and all the enemy soldiers were locked in their own holding cells. Twelve in all were rounded up, Patrick was surprised to find how young many of them were. A few were no older than him.
While locking the soldiers up, Patrick had been surprised to find other prisoners already occupying the cells. These prisoners were freed, much to their relief. All in all, there were two Firemen, an Iceman, two humans and eight others that were new species for Patrick. Two of them were Scrupoils from Neptune, an animal best described as hippos walking upright on two legs. There were five Petros, humanoid in shape with skin of dark grey that was as hard and thick as stone. The final creature released had almost been missed. It stood no taller than three inches and looked like a miniature Dalmatian with a large fang hanging from just beneath its snout.
When Patrick asked the Petros where the creature had come from they told him he was a Pintlupus from Venus. Patrick took an instant liking to the small creature and requested he travel on his ship, even going so far as to name the creature Peanut. Flupotia gave in with great concern after the Petros chimed in that the fang of the Pintlupus contained enough venom in it to kill off a quarter of the human population.
With their new resources and personnel, everything had to be redistributed. Flupotia kept the newer ship she had arrived on with no story or explanation as to how she had gotten it. This ship was fully stocked with missiles and had its fuel tank topped off from the remnants of the other ships. The other two ships in their fleet were also outfitted with a few missiles, although Flupotia took the majority of them. The Firemen and Icemen left Flupotia’s ship and redistributed themselves under Gin-us and Patrick’s command.
The Petros chose to travel with Gin-us and his Martian crew, having made friends with a Martian while they were captive to the Plutonians. The Scrupoils were left in the showers on Flupotia’s ship as they seemed most comfortable there.
It had been a brutal but brief battle. And with it now behind them, the army flew towards the jump point with a renewed confidence. They had won their first battle off Earth and felt ready for anything. Their determination to push forward without a pause had been transformed. And they would continue until King Flaca was dethroned and all of his prisoners were released.
◆◆◆
Sardena watched the battle unfold in the skies from the safety of her home. She had felt a strong urge to reach out at a number of critical moments but remained hidden. Now was not the time for her to make an appearance. There was still much for Patrick and his army to do before they would reach her home. The most important of those was receiving her gift. Regardless of whether they wanted it or not, it was something worth interfering for.
Sardena scanned the life forms in the room around Patrick and settled on Jane. She was smart, resourceful, and respected by Patrick. If anyone was to suggest a diversion from their normal course, it was most likely to be accepted coming from her.
“Jane…” Sardena reached out with her mind, just a whisper in the back of Jane’s head. “You must head to a new bearing. The Firemen and Icemen have grown weary and deserve a rest. Conserve the fuel you have. Use the trajectory of the meteoroids to save energy.”
Sardena settled back in silence and watched as Jane plugged numbers into the computer. Her math was quick and efficient. I knew you were the right person for the job. Confident that Patrick would soon be on his way to her gift, Sardena settled into a deep sleep, having worked more in the past few months than she had for centuries.
◆◆◆
As the group continued on towards Venus from the jump point, Patrick felt a strong desire to reach out to Flupotia. With each passing second, the feelings grew stronger and stronger. He had so many unanswered questions. Where had she gone when the fighting started? What happened to her ship? Why was she limping? Where did she get the rockets from?
At this point, despite trusting Flupotia with his life, Patrick was struggling to look past her cloak and dagger act. Just as he felt these feelings arrive at a breaking point and he reached for the radio, Jane appeared at his side.
“Patrick.”
Jane looked past Patrick to the console behind him as he turned to face her. Since joining the rebellion she had refused to refer to Patrick as Sir, Commander, General or any other title of authority.
“I’ve been tracking a meteoroid that seems to be heading the same general path as us. It may take us some extra time to get to Venus, but it will save an insane amount of fuel and give the Firemen and Icemen a break.”
“Interesting idea,” Patrick paused trying to pretend he hadn’t already decided it was a great idea.
“I understand the urgency of our mission and that we are on a time crunch.” He furrowed his brow as if pretending he was deep in thought. “However, I do believe we also need to give everyone time to rest and reserve what resources we can.”
“Exactly. Could give everyone a chance to stretch their legs, maybe get off the ship for a short while.” Give me a chance to confront Flupotia. “Send the coordinates to our other ships and alter the course accordingly.”
“I’ll pass along the message.”
Patrick jumped from his chair and made his way down the stairs at a brisk pace. Patrick needed to make sure he got his hand on one of the few space suits and tethers they had available. While it was possible for him to transform and survive out there he wanted to be himself when he confronted Flupotia.
Landing on the meteoroid was bumpy. Patrick fell to the floor as he failed to recover from the balancing act he was already undergoing with one leg into a spacesuit. As the ship settled on the giant rock Patrick felt an odd tingle race up his spine. He took a few deep breaths and rubbed his neck, it’s just nerves. He picked himself up off the floor as Roger entered.
“Sir.” Roger nodded and gave Patrick a flat look as he opened the locker next to his.
“Roger.” Patrick felt his gut tighten and took a side step away from Roger.
Roger had made Patrick uncomfortable since day one. His stoic demeanor and cold attitude gave Patrick an uneasy feeling. The awkward silence between them only lasted a few moments as others quickly filed in the room around them.
Patrick sat there, struggling with his straps in a rush to be the first off the ship. He wanted to get out there and confront Flupotia but he knew if the suit wasn’t properly tightened, he was good as dead. He realized how pointless this exercise had been as he entered th
e exit bay and had to wait for Roger, John, and the two other humans they had saved, Elise and Oliver, to finish gearing up. There was a low buzz of excitement filling the air around them
“Settle down everyone!” Patrick called out above those around him. “As I’m sure you’re all aware gravity is going to be minimal out there. While these suits have advancements that keep us tethered to the ground, if you try anything funny and the link is broken you will float off and I make no guarantees we can save you. Stay close to your tether point at all times and move slowly until you’re comfortable with the feel of it.”
The inner doors clanged shut and Patrick turned from his group, releasing the pressure in the room. As the gravity around them began to lose force, Patrick felt his body rise slightly. While he wasn’t floating he still felt lighter. He readied himself as the alarm signaled all clear and he opened the outer doors. His ship had landed directly across from Flupotia’s and he saw her exiting as the doors to his ship inched open. He tossed his tether to the ground and stepped off the ship, the small device whirring to life as four heavily serrated wheels popped out and dug into the ground. He took a few steps off the ship and watched the device follow along with his stride. Satisfied he was safely tethered to the meteor, he took off towards Flupotia.
He was about thirty yards from her when he felt a tug on his entire body followed by a slight breeze in his suit. A tingling sensation raced up his spine again as he froze, there shouldn’t be a breeze inside my suit! A wave of nausea rushed over Patrick and sweat started to bead up on his forehead. He quickly scanned the small screen on his right forearm, all measurements showing there were no detected leaks.
“You felt it too?” Flupotia had reached Patrick, the look of concern on her face and the question she had asked making him forget any he had for her.
“Yeah,” he looked around at everyone else who appeared unaffected. “But what was it?”
Aliens from Arapholanx: The Burn of Magic Page 4
