by C. Litka
03
After my breakfast she pulled the last of the landing jets, while I cut circular patches from the flattest parts of the crumpled mass of the gig's bow and engine compartments to cover the holes left by the extracted landing jets. Siss swam slowly about, hunting through the vines, or watching us work. She didn't like the heat and brilliant blue sparks my plasma cutter produced, so she didn't pester me. Later, Cin made a second, light meal, and retired to the control compartment to get some sleep. I watched Siss drift into the control compartment a little later to nap as well. If I had to sleep with a feather-rug, Cin could too. After I welded the patch on the last landing jet hole, I made myself a mug of cha and climbed up through the crater that was rapidly filling in with new growth vines. I carefully searched the sky for dragons before climbing out onto the matted vines and on to the edge where I settled down to enjoy the view.
The battered and flattened plain of island was sprouting new life as well - fresh green and leafy vines shot up from its matted surface. Colorful birds and lizards swooped and soared about me, chasing the big beetles and butterflies that flirted in and out of the loose tangle of vines. There were a few larger islands, hazy blue in the distance and no dragons in sight. And underneath the trivial buzz of the beetles and the calls of the birds and lizards was a vast, peaceful silence.
Peaceful, that is, until I found myself flung violently into the air - tumbling head over heel, with snaking strands of vines and a cloud of dust and leafy debris all around me. A lifetime in free-fall had me instinctively acting to dampen my tumbling and frantically, I looked about for a vine to keep me from being carried away from the island. The one I managed to grab proved to be unattached to the island, but it served to further stabilize my movements. Other vines, still attached to the island, waved out of reach. Around me the birds, lizards and beetles darted, shrill in their alarm.
This wasn't good, but fighting panic, I told myself that air resistance, which was already slowing my movement down would likely keep me floating near the island. Cin could easily reach me and tow me in using one of the jet packs. She'd be up shortly to see what happened. I didn't think the inexplicable violent movement of the island would fail to awaken her. Still, it wouldn't hurt to call for help, I thought, and so I did.
'Cin! Help!'
I was quickly proven wrong, about it not hurting. A very large dark blue feathered head with a wide mouth on a long neck suddenly appeared on the far side of the island. It peered around and spotting me gave out a glad roar. I could almost hear its telepathic exclamation - "A snack!" The dragon shot up, above the island with a single sweep of its long, wing-like arms - giving the island another abrupt jolt that flung up another cloud of leaves, vines, and debris.
I had my darter out before it cleared the island. It was one of the lizard type of dragons with a large, crocodile head on a long neck, a body like a prehistoric ocean dinosaur, and a long tail. All told, it was likely upwards of 30 meters long with perhaps a 15-meter wingspan. It had a crown of yellow and light blue feathers, though its body was feathered in dark blues fading to a pale blue underside with yellow fringes on its wing edges. It'd make a pretty picture, but viewed from 60 meters away, and seeing the eagerness in its eyes to enjoy an unexpected snack, I found it to be very, very unpleasant.
It's initial upward flight carried it maybe 60 meters above the island - a second or two away, so I didn't hesitate, letting fly half a dozen darts in its direction. I had the darter set for max non-lethal charge, with the usual A-B mix of regular and armor piercing darts. As I mentioned before in describing the last time I'd found myself this close to a dragon, they tend to concentrate your mind wonderfully. All six darts hit the dragon, though in truth it would've been hard to miss at this range. The regular darts exploded in three flashes of bright blue plasma on hitting the dragon, its feathers bursting into flames. The armor piecing ones gave off only a spark as they penetrated the dragon's feathers and thick skin. Alarmed by the smoldering little fires, the dragon let out a startled roar, and with a beat of its wing-like forelimbs, flung itself another 30 meters away from me, giving me a little more breathing room and time to negotiate, as it frantically beat out the two smoldering spots on its breast and on its wing where the darts had discharged.
Dragons are apparently fussy about their feathers, since it concentrated on putting out the little dancing flames amongst its feathers before turning its attention back to me. By that time, we'd drifted further apart and further away from the island. Though I was still slowly tumbling, I managed to keep my darter aimed at the big blue dragon. Flames out, but its feather still smoldering, it swung its large crocodile head back to me, and gave a loud, long, hissing roar. Angry, but now wary as well, it watched and hissed at me, but for the moment, made no move for me.
'That's just a sting, sir dragon!' I yelled out in Cimmadarian, holding the darter with both hands. 'The next darts kill! Don't be fooled by the small size of the weapon. I can and will kill you if you continue your attack!'
I was, indeed, pretty confident a lethal dart or two in the right place - it's head or neck - would fry its nervous system, at least paralyzing it if not killing it outright, so I faced the dragon with a fair amount of confidence in my negotiating position. I had my first encounter with a dragon well in mind and Tri'n's way of dealing it. She felt that they were telepathic, and my experiences with Siss seemed to confirm that. So I thought confident thoughts and conjured up vivid pictures of what my lethal darts would do to it. Even if they didn't kill the dragon outright, they'd likely leave it paralyzed, unable to move, to be eaten alive by the scavengers that it would surely attract. I tried to paint in my imagination gruesome pictures of scavengers, talon-hawks feeding on the living dragon.
And then, out of the corner of my eye, I caught a frantically undulating form and felt a clawed hand on my waist as Siss drew up beside me. Wrapping her tail around my waist, she opening her mouth gave a loud and very menacing hiss in the direction of the dragon. I was impressed. And touched.
'Siss you're a very brave! Thank you! Together, we should be able to take that dragon on, if it comes to a fight.'
She cast me a quick, rather doubtful look, but went on hissing.
The dragon, in the meanwhile had begun to cautiously drift closer, studying me with its two jet black eyes.
'Keep your distance dragon!' I bellowed again in Cimmadarian. 'Or I'll send my fierce friend here to teach you some manners!'
Siss abruptly stopped hissing and looked up to me in disbelief, her wide crocodile mouth still open. The dragon, on the other hand, gave a sharp, bark, the dragon's laugh. It may also have winked as well. It certainly blinked.
'Just kidding, Siss,' I assured her. 'Just a bit of humor to begin negotiations.'
She regarded me warily, turned back to the dragon, but did not hiss. No doubt calling my bluff about negotiations.
The dragon was still slowly drifting closer, so I decided I'd better get talking.
'That's close enough. Or I'll sting again!' I bellowed. It may have stopped drifting closer, or just slowed down a little. It didn't move more than its head however, so I continued, 'I'm a stranger - I'm from the outside. I'm a peace-loving man and hope to make as few enemies as possible. I've been told that you're intelligent beings. Too intelligent to risk your lives foolishly. I believe you can understand me, and perhaps read the pictures in my mind. Don't mistake those little stings I just gave you for the full power of my weapon. The darts I used were designed just to put people asleep. It also has darts that kill them by burning up their insides. Even though you are far larger than people, they'll do the same to you! I've got plenty of them,' I added, carefully imagining what would happen...
As with the first dragon I encountered with Tri'n, this one continued to study me for some time with its great black eyes, in a manner that somehow left me in no doubt they are intelligent creatures. And then suddenly it gave a great wave with its forearms and shot upwards relative to Siss and I, but also
in our general direction, the blast of air from the beat of its forearms threatening to send us tumbling once again. Siss, however, twisted using her three-meter length to keep us more or less stable - stable enough for me to send several more regular non-lethal darts exploding on the dragon's sky blue breast as it arched above us. I flipped the switch to lethal darts. Whether it was the little fires in the feathers of its breast, or it caught my thought that the next darts would be lethal, it seemed to abandon any remaining intention of having me for a snack, and continued ifs flight upwards and over us, using its head to beat out the smoldering fires in its chest, though roaring in anger as it went.
Siss and I watched it flap its way away from us, trailing the occasional tendril of smoke. "The vanity of feathers," I thought as I watched it regally fly away.
Siss gave an indigent hiss.
Reaching over to her, I pulled her close, careful not to disarrange any feathers. 'We sure scared that dragon, didn't we Siss? Thank you. That was very brave of you. I'm amazed with your courage and loyalty. I'm in your debt. You must be the bravest dragon in the Pela.' She had to have been, and I was in her debt. I was taken aback at her show of courage and concern. I looked at her with new respect.
Her eyes were bright and she was hissing and barking happily, the tip of her tail wagging.
'Our next problem is to get back to the island,' I said. Turning about, I found the island was even further away. I also saw Cin standing on the flattened plain of the island, hands in her jacket pockets, shaking her head.
'There,' I said pointing to a long trailing vine, not too far off. 'That vine seems still attached to the island. If you can either nudge or pull me in that direction, I can get back on my own.'
Siss grabbed the collar of my jumpsuit and undulating her tail and body like a crocodile in water, slowly hauled me to the vine. Once I had a hand on it and gave it a tug to make certain it was still attached, I said, 'Thanks, Siss, you can go on ahead.'
Siss raced ahead and wound herself around Cin. I could hear Cin loudly telling Siss how brave she was while Siss barked out her tale.
'What a careless lummox Litang is to fall off an island! It seems he can't be left on his own without a keeper,' Cin went on. 'And then, after falling off an island, what does he then go and do? Why he annoys a big, dangerous dragon, that's what he does. The idiot. What was the man thinking?'
Siss barked and wagged the tip of her tail - finding it all so humorous.
'And then you, my brave, brave friend, go streaking out to save the clumsy lummox from his foolish folly! Why I nearly died with fright, afraid my poor brave Siss would get hurt or killed defending Litang from the dragon he'd gone and riled up by putting darts in it. Why you could've been killed! Oh, my poor, little dragon...'
And so it went, the girls having a good laugh at my expense, as I pulled myself along, hand over hand, back to the island. Reaching the island, I climbed aboard and made my way to them, both of them watching me with laughing eyes.
'Why, Litang, you've gotten a lot better with your darter over the years.' she exclaimed. 'How many dozen darts did you sent its way?'
'I'll have you know I sent only eight, and it only took two to capture you,' I added. 'It seems I have gotten a little better. But then, these aren't barroom brawls either. Perhaps that has something to do with it.'
'And I did like the way you tried to talk your way out of it having you for lunch. Very Unity Standard, very Unity Standard indeed!'
'I have it on good authority that's the best way of dealing with dragons. I've already seen its success in action. They're as telepathic as Siss is, and if you conjure up a sufficiently convincing scene of the power of your weapon and your willingness to use it, they'll usually make the wise decision and lunch elsewhere.'
'Oh, that's just your Unity Standardness.'
'It's wisdom, Cin. The Pela is the dragon's realm. And I'm thinking it's wise to keep on their good side whenever possible. Look how lucky we are to have a dragon friend like Siss.'
Cin looked down and ran her fingers along Siss's feathered head. 'I suppose she is something more than a nuisance.'
Siss growled a mild objection.
'Indeed, I'm lucky to be able to count on such brave friend,' I said, giving Cin a challenging look.
Cin returned my glance with an unconcerned laugh. 'Indeed you are.'
The insurmountable problem with a small island was that it hid half the sky, allowing any potential danger to get close enough to pop up without warning, a few dozen meters away. Something had to be done, so I devoted the rest of my watch to cutting a tunnel from the gig's upper hatch through the maze of vines to the edge of the island. There, I cleared a deep hollow arbor within the vines where we could sit and still be able to watch a bit of the Pela go by, while being hidden from sight and protected by the surrounding vines. And if another dragon should land on our tumbleweed of an island, we'd have enough vines around us to keep us from being flung into space. Once that was finished, I pulled the new growth vines out of the crater wall and wired some opposite vines together so they'd start forming a canopy over the gig as well. We had, I decided, grown too casual about the real dangers of the Pela, beast and man.