The Quantum Dragonslayer

by Kevin McLaughlin

  It was apparent why as soon as Scott looked at the dog. Toby generally walked around looking something like a metal golden retriever. Every step oozed a sense of trustworthiness and good virtue. He’d been designed to inspire those feelings.

  This Toby was something very different. He looked like he always had, but at the same time different. Every movement had a sharp, predatory look to it. None of his physical features were any different, but it was like having an angry wolf in your midst instead of a fluffy lapdog.

  “Toby, cool it down a bit before one of these guys spears you,” Scott said. Then he turned to the warriors. “He’s a friend, guys. Plus, your spears won’t do anything more than annoy him.”

  He wasn’t sure if that made the spearmen feel better or worse. They lowered the spears, but they were still eyeing Toby like he might rip their throats out at any moment. The robot didn’t even have teeth! Scott wondered if the dog’s “combat protocols” could do anything more than growl and look mean.

  Knowing his mother, they probably could.

  He stalked through the wall of guards and reached Hector. Tamara was nowhere in sight, but her father was busily donning armor. A spear rested against a log beside him.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” Scott asked. “Those leg bones have barely started healing. You over-stress them, they’re going to snap like twigs.”

  “You think a chief can sit idly by while his people fight?” Hector asked. “Tamara gave me your warning, then took scouts south. She thinks the attack will come from that direction, opposite the smoke.”

  It was possible. They could try to come in from the opposite side. There was an easy way to find out, of course.

  “Toby, run a sweep with the drone. Find our bad guys,” Scott said.

  “On it,” Toby replied. His usual banter was gone.

  Two more drones shot from the ship, joining the first in their hunt. That was his entire compliment of the little quad-copters. He’d worried bringing them would be useless, but they were proving well worth the pounds of weight they’d cost. Another little bit of survival gear his mother had foisted off on him.

  She’d hoped Scott would find the peaceful, advanced world he was looking for. But she pointed out to him that humanity had as many stumbles as it did rises. It was possible he’d come back in the middle of a war, a plague, a famine, or who knew what else. She’d made sure he prepared for almost any eventuality. The Stargazer’s storage hold was full of boxes she’d sent along, some of which Scott hadn’t even opened yet.

  “Got them. Two forces. One coming in from the west, and a larger one from the south,” Toby said.

  “How many men?” Hector asked.

  “Twenty to the west. One hundred and twelve from the south,” Toby replied.

  “Damn. That many?” Hector said. He ran fingers through his beard. “That can’t be just Yaven. He’s found allies to help him.”

  “What do we have to work with?” Scott asked.

  “I send thirty men north to the fire. I sent a boy running after them as soon as Tamara warned me of the ruse, but they won’t be back for a while,” Hector said. “Tamara has another forty armed people with her, and I have forty more here, although most of them are not warriors.”

  “What about the rest of these people?” Scott asked. The camp housed at least a couple hundred men, women, and children.

  “Not trained,” Hector said. He coughed from the smoke. “They can swing a stick, but they’ll fall like nothing before trained warriors.”

  “Got it. Reinforce Tamara, then. I’ll take the west side,” Scott said.

  “By yourself?” Hector asked.

  “I won’t be alone. I’ll have Toby,” Scott replied.

  “Good luck, then.”

  “You too.”

  Scott started off toward the west side of the ship, hoping he could cash the check he’d just written. There were twenty trained fighters coming at him. Those kinds of numbers were crazy to think about, but he had all the advantages he could ask for.

  “Don’t miss,” Toby said.

  “Thanks. Be careful out there. You’re annoying as hell, but you’re still the best friend I’ve got,” Scott said.

  “Aw, all mushy right before the fight,” Toby replied. “I’ve got eyes on the enemy. Two drones are monitoring our combat zone. They’re coming forward at a slow jog. Not even trying to use cover.”

  Why would they? Yaven saw him fire a pistol one time, sure. But they’d never seen the carnage a semi-automatic assault rifle could create. Scott found a position behind a fallen tree trunk directly in the enemy’s path. He pulled a second magazine from his vest and laid it next to him on the trunk. They he aimed the rifle ahead and waited.

  It felt like forever before he saw the first human stepping around a tree into the clear space ahead of him. It couldn’t have been more than a minute or so, though.

  “Target in the kill zone,” Toby said. “Recommend waiting until you have three targets before engaging.”

  Sure, just think of them as targets. Little pop-ups, like on the range. Not human beings who were going to bleed once his bullets hit them. Scott swallowed hard.

  A second man stepped out behind the first, then gestured behind him. One after another, more people flowed around the tree. Three, then four, then five, and more kept coming. Scott’s breath came in rapid gasps.

  “What are you doing? Engage targets!” Toby’s voice said in his ear.

  Scott couldn’t move. His finger was on the trigger. One of the warriors was lined up in his sights. But he couldn’t fire. Sweat poured down his face, stinging his eyes.

  “Oh, for the love of… one dog, coming to the rescue,” Toby said.

  Then the robot all but exploded out of the brush near the enemy warriors. He hit one of them hard, tackling him to the ground. The man went down without even a chance to call out.

  The others around him saw the attack, though. They all had swords in their hands. Together they turned and raised their blades, preparing to cut the robot to bits.

  “No!” Scott shouted. His finger jerked on the trigger.

  One warrior went down. Scott moved the rifle a centimeter to the right and fired again. Another man went down. Over and over he kept it up, aiming and firing. The warriors didn’t even seem to know what was happening. Some of them crouched down in the ferns, but those were no cover against bullets.

  Finally, they’d had enough. The remaining men called out to each other, backing up around the tree in full retreat. Two of them pulled back wounded men, dragging them to safety. Scott let those go. He already felt sick enough to his stomach with what he’d done.

  “You did it,” Toby said. “Good shooting.”

  Scott stood up and walked toward the carnage he’d wrought.

  “I wouldn’t,” Toby warned.

  He kept going. Scott needed to see what he’d done with his own eyes.

  When he did, his stomach finally rebelled, and he threw up.

  Thirty-Five

  The clearing around the Stargazer was in chaos as Scott returned. He’d let the remaining warriors go, hoping they would keep on retreating. Toby had a drone following them to make sure they did, but the drone watching the southern fight was showing a battle that wasn’t going well for Hector’s people.

  Scott shouldered the rifle and drew his pistol. He’d grabbed a sword from one of the men he’d killed. It was more like machete than a real sword, but it felt good in his hand.

  He strode past his ship to where the battle was being waged in a straight line. Hector stood in the middle, fighting an even bigger man wielding a massive axe.

  “Toby, help Hector,” he said.

  “What about you?”

  “I’ll be fine,” Scott lied.

  Nothing was going to be fine again. He’d killed people. He was a killer, and it didn’t feel good at all. That those warriors he’d shot planned to do the same thing to him and Tamara and all her people didn’t make a lot of difference.r />
  But Scott had discovered something during the brief fight. He might not enjoy killing people, but he was pretty damned good at it, at least in this world where he was the only person with a gun.

  He walked up to the battle line, raising his pistol in one hand while still holding the sword in the other. He fired, and the man he’d been aiming at whipped around from the force of the impact. Scott wasn’t sure where he’d hit, but with the .44, it barely mattered. Any impact was going to put someone down, at least for a while. Shooting from ten or fifteen feet away, it was almost impossible for him to miss.

  The pistol’s bolt locked to the rear sooner than he’d thought possible. Had he really spent an entire magazine already? Scott sheathed his sword, ejected the spent magazine, and inserted a new one. Taking the pistol in a two-handed grip this time, he continued to blast a massive hole in the enemy line.

  Hector’s warriors poured through the breach he made, cutting down enemies with their spears. The bolt locked back a second time. Numb to it all, Scott holstered the pistol. He was out of reloads for it, but the AR still had plenty of ammo left. He unslung the weapon from his shoulder.

  Horns sounded, and the enemy force drew back, slowly at first and then retreating with even more speed. Scott aimed the rifle at their running figures. He could kill a few more as they fled, if he wanted to.

  But he didn’t want to. He wished more than anything that he’d never had to shoot anyone at all. There was no blood on his hands, but it felt like they might never be clean again.

  Scott sank to his knees in the middle of the ruined men he’d killed and maimed, sobbing.

  They found him that way, as the battle ended and Hector’s people counted their wounded and dead. Scott was vaguely aware of Toby growling at someone and looked up to see who it was.

  “Scott, are you all right? Are you hurt?” It was Tamara.

  “I’m not wounded,” Scott said. His voice felt faint to his ears. “I’m not sure I am OK, though.”

  “Can I come through?” Tamara asked. Toby woofed, and she stepped closer and knelt beside Scott. “First battle?”

  “Yes.”

  “It doesn’t get any better, not for most of us,” she said.

  “How do you stand it?” Scott asked, looking up at her at last.

  “Some people manage the pain of killing others by numbing themselves to it. They become cruel, cold, ruthless murderers. Others do their best to retain their humanity, in spite of the pain,” she said. “You saved a lot of lives today, Scott.”

  He got slowly to his feet on rubber legs. But he looked around the battlefield. Warriors were helping each other, true. But there were also children there, running about and carrying water. Hector had brought more than fighters to help right his ship. All those noncombatants had been at risk as well. Scott looked at the kids running about, still alive because they’d fended off the attack.

  “Yeah, there are worse things,” he told Tamara. Then he looked around. “Where’s Hector?”

  She grimaced. “Hurt. Badly. Toby saved his life, but he was wounded, and at least one leg bone is broken again.”

  “Take me to him?”

  “Of course,” she said.

  They went to an unwalled tent. In the middle lay Hector, a gash across his belly. His face was ashen, but his eyes lit up when he saw Scott.

  “You survived. Thank you for your service to my people,” Hector said.

  Scott knelt beside him. “I will always do what I can to help a friend.”

  He looked over the wounds. Most of them were fairly superficial, but the belly wound looked serious. Scott couldn’t see the full extent of the injury through the bandages over it, but it didn’t look or smell good. Belly wounds could go septic in a heartbeat.

  “You might need that pod again,” Scott said.

  Hector shook his head. “No. My people need me home. There were three clans besides Yaven’s in that assault. He has rallied a mighty force to his side. They won’t just strike here. They’ll hit the Keep as well. We leave shortly.”

  “I have medicine that will help, then,” Scott said. “Toby, get some antibiotics from the ship, please?”

  The dog darted off. Hector flashed Scott a smile. “Always trying to show off your magic tricks, eh?”

  “It’s not magic; it’s science,” Scott said, returning the grin. “But yes. The medicine will help your body fight infection. Keep the wound from going bad.”

  Hector looked around and his face fell. “I am sorry.”

  “Sorry?” Scott asked.

  “I told you I would help you get your ship in the air again. But I cannot. If we survive this war, then whatever is left of my people will give you what aid we can,” Hector said.

  “If you survive?”

  “Hero’s Keep is strong, but these are four clans allied against us. Our odds are not so good.”

  “I can…” Scott started to offer his help, but Hector cut him off with a slash of his hand.

  “No, my friend. You have already done much. If you leave this place, the ship and all her treasure become vulnerable. Guard this hoard. If the enemy seizes it, we will be lost for certain.”

  Toby raced back over and deposited a small packet of medicine next to Hector. “Take two now, then one every half-day until they are all gone.”

  “I will do so, for as long as I have breath,” Hector said.

  Around them, the warband was rallying the rest of his people, gathering them into a close group to better protect them during the journey. The ropes and pulleys hung abandoned where they’d been placed in trees around the ship. They’d been so close to getting him aloft again, and now Scott felt like he was back to square one.

  He couldn’t blame them for leaving, though. They’d tried. Maybe when this mess was over, they could try again. In the meantime, Scott needed to retain control of the Stargazer.

  Four men carefully lifted Hector’s litter from the ground and joined the band. Scott waved. The chief and his daughter returned the gesture. Then the ranks of warriors stopped, and all faced toward him. They raised their spears high, and slammed them into the ground in unison.

  “They honor you, Scott Free,” Hector called out. “For your service. For your warrior spirit. For the lives of their loved ones you saved.”

  “Good luck, Chief Hector of Hero’s Keep,” Scott shouted back. “I expect to see you when this is all over.”

  “One way or another, I am sure you shall,” Hector replied. Then his warband turned back toward the path for home.

  Scott watched them all until they were out of sight before making the slow climb back up into his ship.

  Thirty-Six

  Scott stepped out of the airlock and into a disaster area. His first thought was Toby must have torn through supply lockers looking for the antibiotics, but that didn’t make any sense. They were right in the medical cabinet.

  Besides, many of the packets scattered all over the floor were opened. He reached down to scoop a few up. They were all food packets. Scott turned the open one over. It was a hot dog package.

  “Mrrp?”

  He looked back up and saw Gorbash hovering in mid-air in front of him. The dragon wasn’t flapping his wings. He was just floating there, wings outstretched, with each of the bones running down through them glowing brightly.

  “Now how the heck are you doing that?” Scott asked, the mess his dragon had made of the place forgotten for the moment.

  He reached out toward Gorbash’s wing. The dragon held still and let his hand move closer. Scott’s fingers felt strange as they drew near, and the hairs on the back of his hand all stood up. On a hunch, he released the empty food packet he was holding a few inches away from the wing.

  Like Gorbash, the packet simply hung there in midair.

  “My god, it’s some sort of anti-gravity field. You’re actually producing a zero-g environment around yourself,” Scott gasped.

  “Mrrp!”

  That must be how the dragon had slowed the
Stargazer’ fall. Somehow it had negated at least part of the Earth’s gravitational pull over the ship. It hadn’t been strong enough to stop the crash. Why was that? Because the field was too weak, or because it didn’t extend far enough to cover most of the ship?

  Scott dashed over to the medical computer and checked the scans his machine had made. He whistled. The machine was thorough, he’d give it that. Scott now had detailed anatomical data on dragons. That might prove incredibly helpful later on. Maybe they had a weakness he could learn and exploit.

  But the wings — how did they work? He zoomed in on the analysis of the wing structures. There. At the ends of each bone, small structures that looked like the Hunter’s organ on an electric eel.

  “It’s an electric charge,” Scott said. “They’re running an electric charge down through the wing material.”

  “Interesting. The electricity plus the unusual material of the bones running through the wings is generating a gravity field,” Toby said, staring at the screen beside him.

  “How did something like that evolve?” Scott breathed. “It’s amazing.”

  “Different world, different evolution. If the dragons came here from that wandering planet, then they evolved under entirely different conditions from those on Earth,” Toby replied.

  “Better question is, what can we do with this information?” Scott asked.

  “Mrrp!” Gorbash chirped, still hovering in the air next to him.

  Scott turned at the sound and found himself nose-to-nose with the dragon. It leaned in and slurped his face with a long, wet tongue. He laughed, surprised. The critter was damned cute just fluttering there.

  “I’m a little envious of you, Gorby,” Scott said. “I wish I could get my ship aloft as easily as you can.”

  A thought struck like a thunderbolt. The dragon that died in the crash had almost been able to stop his ship’s descent, even with all the velocity the Stargazer was still carrying. It’s wing-field hadn’t even reached most of the ship, from Scott’s best guess.