Like M-Squadron had done, the birds had split into three groups, each one targeting a different ship. This time however, as the merlocks reached the enemy, their ships’ shields were no longer functional, and their plasma cannons didn’t work well once targets were so close. The dragon-like birds landed on the outer shells of the destroyers and started ripping away their armour. In reply, the Solarians were flooding the outer decks and hulls of their ships with troops attacking with plasma rifles and handheld rockets. A bloody battle quickly developed. Arthur’s merlock let out a high-pitched cry, answered in turn by several cries from merlocks already engaging the Solarian ships. M-Squadron one by one banked and dived on the ships.
‘Let’s see if we can’t give these boys a hand,’ said the Major. ‘Rifles ready! And remember, if the Indians could shoot from horseback, then we can do the same from the backs of these glorious beasts.’
Arthur readied his plasma rifle. It was going to be hard to fire and hold on to the merlock at the same time.
The Major and Insuro opened fire first. Arthur was behind the Captain as M-Squadron came in from below the destroyers, rising up to where they were able to see the bitter battle unfolding.
‘Make your shots count!’ called out the Major, already in action.
With the merlocks hovering, it was easier to balance themselves. Arthur and Sky raised their rifles.
‘You take the left side and I’ll take the right,’ shouted Arthur above the sounds of battle below them.
‘Fine! Just watch their wings,’ called out Sky. ‘We don’t want to be shooting ourselves down!’
The Solarians continued to pour all the fighters they could muster onto the outside of their ships in one last-ditch attempt to save themselves. It was a terrible sight. The merlocks were not defenceless, though. They were able to shoot what could only be described as sonic pulses, which made short work of the enemy, sending them hurtling backwards, often over the side of the ship.
Those merlocks not engaged in fighting the Solarians continued to rip through the ships’ armour with their powerful beaks and claws. Eventually, a sharp sound like twisting steel filled the air. Arthur spun round to see the end destroyer losing its rear stabilisers, which caused the stern of the ship to sink downwards while the front engines frantically burned fuel to maintain altitude. Sensing their chance, the merlocks focused on ripping through the centre of the ship, destabilising its shell and causing the metal to buckle before it finally split in two in a giant fireball. Arthur stared in shock and awe as the two halves of the ship fell away, hitting the glacier, which had already begun to break up. A number of new cracks had appeared and stretched off into the distance.
With one of the Solarian destroyers down, the others didn’t last long. The merlocks who’d been targeting the doomed ship joined the attacks on the two remaining. Unable to repair their destroyers or regain control, the Solarians began to panic and abandon their ships. All of a sudden, hundreds of cylindrical escape pods were jettisoned from them. A number of merlocks broke off and went after them.
‘By the looks of it, they’re not going to be showing any mercy,’ commented the Major.
‘That is correct, Major, there will be no mercy shown and no quarter given,’ said Insuro.
Seconds later, another one of the destroyers started to rapidly lose height and plunged straight down, end first, into the glacier.
‘Come, friends, the end is near and our presence is no longer required. Let us away now to the Nira valley. There we will await the injured and transfer to the Gorkan for our return to Tresk. Keeper, please convey this to your merlock and he will know what to do.’
Arthur did what he was asked, and this time he found communicating much easier. The bird emitted another high-pitched cry and the remaining merlocks of M-Squadron turned away from the last stricken Solarian ship, speeding towards the last rays of sunlight fading below the horizon. Arthur glanced back at the moment when the destroyer’s upper deck disintegrated into flames before exploding in a huge mushroom cloud of smoke and flame.
25
Rendezvous
It would take, according to the Major, about eight hours to reach the Nira valley. Arthur hung on tightly to the merlock and Sky to him as the land below vanished into the evening, slowly revealing a night sky that shone and sparkled more brightly than Arthur had ever seen before. Although he was freezing, he felt glad to be able to gaze upon it in all its wonder. The night air was so fresh and so clear, it was as if they were flying through space itself. Arthur watched the others. There they were, all of them flying on the backs of these huge dragon-birds far above the ground, bathed in the light of the stars. It felt unreal and exhilarating at the same time. He would never have believed that any of it could be possible.
Gradually, though, a feeling of tiredness came knocking. Checking he was still tied securely to the merlock, he tucked his head behind its neck, out of the wind, and gazed sleepily at the stars.
‘Are you still awake?’ asked Sky.
‘I think so,’ he said.
‘I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a beautiful night,’ she said. ‘All three planets are in alignment. Have you seen them?’
Arthur turned his head to the other side. There, rising far beyond the horizon, were the planets Skellar and Tresk. He gazed at them, and at the stars, and fell asleep.
Their arrival was a big event. Thousands of Andarrans came out into the valley that night to see for themselves the spectacle of these solitary giants, who not only had allowed themselves to be harnessed and ridden, but were also travelling together in such unusually large numbers. The merlocks, on seeing so many Andarrans gathered in the valley, were at first reluctant to land, and Arthur had to try to explain to his merlock that they were not going to be in any danger and that it was just curiosity.
As M-Squadron landed, other merlocks carrying the wounded also started to appear out of the darkness. Soon the valley floor was full of the giant creatures, with Andarrans rushing to help the injured. Trying to dismount, Arthur collapsed in a heap on the ground. Sky fell on top of him.
‘I can’t feel my legs. What’s your excuse?’ He asked, trying to rub them whilst watching out to see if he could spot his father.
‘As much as I like the idea of squashing you, sadly this time I wasn’t thinking about it or I’d have enjoyed it more. I really can’t stand up,’ she grinned.
Remembering that he hadn’t heard anything out of the cat for a while, Arthur opened the top of his pack. The cat looked as though he was sleeping. Arthur prodded him just to make sure.
‘Do that again and I’ll call those fingers of yours a snack!’ grumbled the cat.
‘Very nice, Cat! How do you manage to sleep through everything?’
‘It’s how we’ve evolved to get through the stress of living with you lot. Now, close the top please, it’s cold!’
‘Arthur, look – I think it’s your father,’ said Sky.
It was his father! A huge surge of relief flowed through him. Even though they’d only just landed, already they were hearing rumours that a lot of the injured and their merlocks hadn’t made it.
‘Papa!’ shouted Arthur, struggling to walk over to him. Sky shuffled along next to him. ‘Papa, be careful how you get off!’
‘Oops, too late,’ muttered Sky, as his father fell onto the ground, like almost everyone else who had been on a merlock. Together they helped him stand and move to where the Major and the others had gathered.
‘How are you feeling?’ Sky asked Arthur’s father.
‘I have never been so cold in my entire life. I really thought I was going to freeze to death. Those buggers firing rockets at us didn’t help things much,’ said his father, trying to make light of the situation. But then, as he remembered something, his smile faded.
‘I saw Joe go down – the chap you helped rescue. One second he was just in front of m
e, and the next a ball of flames. Poor guy, he was going to propose to his girlfriend when the mission was over. Although… although I don’t see now that this mission is going to end the way everyone had hoped.’
Arthur’s father sat down next to the Chief Engineer. Andarran medics were prioritising the wounded into urgent and non-urgent cases. As a favour to Arthur and the Major, Insuro asked Sezan to see to the Earth group.
Merlocks continued to land, gradually becoming fewer and farther between. As Arthur gazed at all that was going on – the dragon-like birds arriving and leaving; the medics hard at work seeing to the wounded; the amazed and wondrous expressions of those who had gathered to watch it all – he caught site of the Base Commander. For a few uncomfortable moments, they locked stares. The Commander’s was icy and cold. Arthur suddenly remembered about Finna and wondered if she’d been found.
‘Keeper,’ came Insuro’s voice inside his head.
Arthur turned away from the Commander and sought out Insuro, whom he found with Luca. Arthur smiled. He was glad that she had made it.
‘Keeper, we will transfer to the Gorkan shortly. If you have any things still remaining here, or words of parting you wish to make, then go now and make your preparations.’
Arthur relayed the message to Sky and the Major.
‘Everything we had is still in my pack on the glacier,’ said Sky wistfully. ‘So no, there is nothing I need to get. And actually, I can’t think of anyone to say goodbye to, either. I mean, especially after what happened.’
Not long after the last of the merlocks had landed, a transport from the Gorkan set down in the valley and uncloaked. Both Luca and Sava had volunteered to join Insuro’s personal guard. With all that had happened regarding Char and his treachery and the other rotten members of his squad, neither of them felt they would be able to serve in the Argon brigade without Char’s dishonour following them. Insuro, on the other hand, was happy for them to join his guard. As he later said, ‘They are very capable and intelligent fighters, whose honour should never be questioned.’
Vello had returned with Margot. Although Margot would be okay, it remained a mystery what had happened to Yan. Even with the help of the merlocks’ sonic abilities to destabilise ice, they had been unable to find him. Margot was distraught for a long time after that. The losses of Vijay and Yan caused her to feel guilty that she’d survived where they hadn’t. The Major told Arthur she was suffering from something called ‘survivor guilt’, and it was a common phenomenon.
Of the Earth crew that had been rescued, all except Joe had made it back. Sezan said that Arthur’s father would be okay, though he would need to rest and recover his strength. Upsettingly, though, he cautioned Arthur that there might be psychological effects from his father’s time in captivity, and that he should look out for any serious changes in his behaviour. This rattled Arthur a lot. He didn’t want his father to keep suffering. In time, he came to understand a little how Margot was feeling. If it hadn’t been for him, his father would not have been put in this mess, and if he had only insisted that his father be allowed to come with them in the escape pod, then he wouldn’t have had to suffer at all. At least, that was how Arthur saw it.
As they boarded the transport, Arthur looked back over his shoulder. It had been very difficult to say goodbye to the merlock. Things would have ended badly if it hadn’t have been for the help that it and the other magnificent creatures had given them. Arthur glanced one last time at his merlock and waved as the doors began to close.
‘Arthur, look! It’s Finna!’ said Sky, pointing towards a group of Andarrans still watching. Arthur tried to follow where she was pointing, but the door thudded shut before he’d been able to spot her.
‘Damn!’
‘I swear it was her! Honestly, I think she even waved as the door was closing.’
Arthur shrugged his shoulders. ‘You know, don’t you, that we should be grateful to her, after all,’ he said thoughtfully. ‘If she hadn’t got herself captured, then all that happened would never have happened and it would have been too late for my dad and the others. So… I hope it was her. I hope she got back home.’
26
Decisions
No sooner had their transport landed on the Gorkan than the mighty flagship, which was still cloaked, departed immediately for Tresk. Arthur escorted his father and the rest of the Earth crew to the ship’s medical deck, where they were to undergo evaluation. He hadn’t expected that Sezan would want each of them to be put into regeneration machines. He’d really been hoping it would just be a quick check-up and then he could finally spend some time with his father. Sezan, however, was adamant about what was required.
‘Whilst asleep, they will able to heal faster, and further scans and analyses can be done,’ he told them.
Reluctantly, Arthur hugged his father tightly and tried to reassure him that the machines were fine and that Sezan would look after them all.
‘Right then,’ said his father. ‘When I get out, I’ll look forward to thrashing you at that Kerrenga game you mentioned.’
‘Sure you will, Paps,’ winked Arthur, and he helped his father into the machine. He stood to one side as the top was put on and smiled encouragingly through the slit in the side of it. Seconds later, his father was asleep.
Arthur left the med bay and went up to the bridge. The last time he’d been there, it had been shot up pretty badly – in his mind he could still see smoke and fallen fighters everywhere. Now, though, it looked as if nothing had ever happened, not a sign, not a scratch. As he stepped onto the bridge, Commander Yann greeted him with a polite nod. Arthur did the same and glanced about the room, looking for Fon. He remembered Sky telling him that Fon was going to be okay, but Arthur hadn’t seen him again before being transferred to the captured Solarian ship, bound for Earth. It suddenly seemed like such a long time ago. He wondered if Fon had made it after all.
‘Arthur, we’re over here, if you haven’t forgotten what we look like,’ called out Sky cheekily, seeing him looking around for something.
‘Ha ha,’ he said. ‘I was looking for Fon but I don’t see him.’
‘Oh, right. No, I haven’t seen him either.’
‘Where’s the Major?’ He asked, noticing Captain Schmidt chatting with Margot near the starboard section of the bridge window.
‘Ooh, yes! Good thing you reminded me. He and Insuro are in that room behind the bridge and they wanted you to go and join them when you got here.’
‘Okay… aren’t you coming?’ He asked, turning to go and seeing Sky not moving.
‘I would, but they didn’t really ask for me, and, well, he looks so comfortable that I’d feel bad about disturbing him,’ she said, referring to the cat asleep on her lap.
Arthur looked at the cat curled up and rolled his eyes.
‘All he does is sleep, eat and moan,’ he said with a sly smile.
‘And when I am not doing all of those things, I am saving your backsides,’ the cat mumbled sleepily.
Arthur and Sky tried not to laugh.
Insuro stopped what he was saying when Arthur entered the conference room and, without glancing to see who it was, motioned to him to take a seat next to the Major. Already seated around the table were Commander Yann, Vello and a number of holograms of Treskans that Arthur wasn’t sure if he had seen before.
‘Keeper, your arrival is opportune,’ said Insuro seriously. ‘As you know, it had been my intention to return to Tresk for several suns before commencing our mission to your solar system. However, the stars do not appear to be favouring us at this time. A probe sent through the wormhole to the Solarian homeworld reports that the ships from your vision are no longer there.’
‘Oh,’ mumbled Arthur. ‘And the Horizon – our ship?’
‘None of them.’
‘Oh,’ he said again, wondering if those visions had just been figments of his imaginati
on.
‘No, Keeper,’ said Insuro, guessing what he was thinking. ‘I have no doubts that what you saw was real.’
Arthur nodded.
‘We had also planned to take more warships with us,’ he continued. ‘But due to unforeseen events and commitments, and now given the additional time constraints, we can be assured of only one further Interceptor class vessel to accompany us.’ Insuro stood up and walked over to a window and stared out of it, pausing.
‘If we can make it through the wormhole before the Solarians, then it will be enough to block it. If we can do this, the enemy will require many of your Earth months or even years to find their way to your solar system.’
Insuro returned to his seat.
‘It is with this objective in mind that we now make directly for the wormhole with all possible speed.’
As Arthur listened to what Insuro was saying, his mind filled up with thoughts about what would happen if they didn’t make it in time. What if the Solarians were there already? What if they had already attacked? He felt sure that even the Gorkan, the mighty flagship of the Treskan fleet, would be no match for all the warships he had seen. If the Solarians had already left and were heading to Earth, was it because of the rescue they had just made? Had they not been careful enough? Still, he thought, none of it mattered now. All that mattered was getting there as quickly as possible.
‘…in this eventuality, then that will be our choice of action,’ said Insuro. ‘Are there any questions?’
Arthur had already lost track of the discussion. He had been consumed by his own thoughts, and so he shook his head to give the impression that he’d been paying attention and had no questions. It all, in any case, seemed painfully simple. Either they got there first, blocked the wormhole and bought Earth some much-needed time to try to come up with a way to defend itself, or they arrived late – in which case there didn’t appear to be any good outcomes.
Arthur and the Andarran Rescue Page 22