by Lucas Marcum
Holding her head high and doing her best to look imperious, like she belonged there, Acevedo walked aft confidently with Martinez and O’Malley in tow. About 30 yards down the passage, she came to a set of stairs. One went up; the other headed below. A sign was painted in a flowing, elegant script on the wall.
From behind her, Martinez whispered, “Sergeant, what’s that say?”
“How the fuck am I supposed to know? I can’t read it,” Acevedo hissed. “Now be quiet.” Making a sudden decision, she started up the staircase. The stairs led to a landing, then to a sturdy door with more writing on it. Reaching out, she cautiously tested the handle, but found it locked. She frowned, then turned and led the two men back down the stairs, and stopped on the landing.
Leaning close, she whispered, “I don’t…” There was a muffled boom from somewhere forward, then a split second later came several screams. The three soldiers traded a look, then startled as gems implanted in the bulkheads flashed yellow. A rhythmic, musical chirping could be heard.
With a tight smile, O’Malley said in a low voice, “Looks like Sergeant Jones and the orcs are doing their thing.”
A muffled voice emerged from the gems, speaking in the melodic elven tongue. Acevedo listened, then laughed quietly. “It’s the intruder and fire alarms. They’re reporting a dozen rogue orcs and several fires, and summoning all available security to the forward decks.”
The door on the landing above them flew open, and two elven soldiers rushed out and charged down the stairs. Seeing Acevedo’s armor markings, they nodded respectfully as they hurried by. A split second later, they vanished down the hallway in a clatter of boots. There was another muffled explosion and a series of popping noises from down the hall. Acevedo turned to O’Malley to say something and froze. The door above them was standing open a crack. Through it, she could see the back of a single, unarmored elf, who was sitting at what looked like a control panel. She tapped O’Malley, then pointed at the door. O’Malley looked at what she was pointing at, then elbowed Martinez. The young paratrooper took the piece of lead pipe from his waistband and clenched it in his fist. Then, silent as a shadow, he made his way up the stairs and slipped through the open door, approaching the unaware elf from behind.
Sixty seconds later, Acevedo and O’Malley followed. The elf was lying motionless on the floor, and Martinez was busily tying the handsome elven man’s hands together. O’Malley quickly bolted the door behind them.
“Tape.” The harsh whisper seemed loud in the compartment. Acevedo dug into the bottomless pouch and tossed the roll to the young soldier, who taped over the elf’s eyes and mouth. He then shoved the elf aside, stood up, and pointed behind him. “Check that shit out.”
Stepping forward, Acevedo could see an extensive control panel with dozens of lights, switches, and dials, all neatly labeled in Elvish. In the center of the console were two double rows of switches, each with a little light next to it, shining red or green. Frowning, she stepped closer and squinted at the controls, when O’Malley’s whisper startled her.
“Sergeant, look.” Startled, Acevedo looked up and saw the large glass window in front of her. O’Malley was staring out of it, his mouth hanging open. Acevedo stepped up, and her jaw dropped. The window overlooked a massive compartment that occupied the majority of the inside of the airship. Two catwalks ran the length of the room at the same level as the control room. Below was a large open area of decking, and along both sides ran two massive rows of doors. About a third of the way down on the left, a door stood open, and several orcs were shoveling straw into it from a small cart. In the middle of the room was a small platform with a table on it. At the table were half a dozen elves in the distinctive robes of the dragon mages. They were leaning over a sheaf of papers on the table, apparently speaking to each other.
“This must be where they keep the dragons.” O’Malley’s voice was awed. “They use these doors to feed and water or whatever it is they do for dragons. The outer door must open to let them out.”
Martinez had stepped up behind them and was staring out the window, then at the control panel. After a moment, he said in a thoughtful voice, “It’d sure be a shame if all those dragons got loose, huh?”
O’Malley and Acevedo traded a look, then looked at Martinez. O’Malley replied, “Martinez, you’re a genius. It’ll neutralize this ship as a weapon if they don’t have their dragons.”
“Yeah, but is setting loose 20-something angry, battle-trained dragons in Amish country really a good idea? They’re going to tear the shit out of the place. Civilians will get hurt,” Acevedo replied. She rubbed her chin and frowned at the mages gathered in the center of the room, who remained completely unaware of their presence. One of the mages stood and walked away from them, along the lines of sturdy iron doors, headed towards the far end of the compartment.
Suddenly, one of the doors right next to him slid up. Startled, the elf turned, his face a mask of shock. He managed to get a partial scream out before the serpentine head of a dragon flashed out and snapped the hapless mage up, pulling him into the cell. The group of elven mages at the table turned in shock.
“Holy shit!” Acevedo exclaimed. “Did you….”
“Whoops,” Martinez said mildly, removing his hand from a switch. Acevedo and O’Malley turned to the private, stunned. “Now we know what these rows of switches do. Twelve per side, two each.” He gestured at the control panel with a smirk. “I’ve played enough video games to know these are the door controls.” He pointed at the shocked mages standing up below. “And they’re right in the middle of them all…”
O’Malley stared at the smirking private for a moment, then grinned. “Hit it, Private!”
“Yes, sir!” The paratrooper snapped switches as fast as his hands could move. After a split second, Acevedo took the next row, snapping switches furiously. Across the board, the green lights turned red, and the doors below slid open one after another.
Snapping the last switch, Acevedo stood up and peered down at the lower deck. The mages were backing up onto their platform, their faces showing expressions of horror and shock as the massive, sinuous shapes of the dragons emerged into the interior of the ship. For a few seconds there was a tense standoff as the elves backed up slowly. The dragons, sensing their freedom at hand, moved forward. One of the mages stepped forward and started to chant. A nearby dragon’s eyes drooped and slowed. Another dragon saw this, screeched in rage, and blew a white-hot jet of fire, incinerating the elf where he stood. That seemed to break the standoff, and the dragons pounced. The roaring blasts of fire, the blood-curdling shrieks, and the scratching of massive claws on the decks were deafening, even from behind the thick glass where the three soldiers watched.
A few moments later, nothing remained of the elves except bloody scraps scattered around the room. Two of the bigger dragons, a black one and a red one hissed and snapped at each other. A moment later, they leapt at each other in a tangle of teeth, claws, wings, and flame. As they fought, they set fire to the floor and the support beams between the iron cages. At the far end of the compartment, Acevedo could see a double door open, and an orc step through, start at the carnage, then spring back and try to slam the door. He was too late. A smaller gold dragon sprang at him, bursting through the door and disappearing into the passageway beyond.
After a few seconds more of watching the dragons tearing the ship apart and seeing the flames rise, O’Malley shook his head in disbelief. “Incredible.” He looked at Martinez. “You have a talent for destruction, Martinez.”
Martinez grinned. “If you want something broke, sir, you ask the junior enlisted.”
“No kidding. Let’s get out of here.” O’Malley took a last look at the inferno below, then stepped to the door, unbolted it, and peered out cautiously. “Acevedo. You’re up.”
Taking the rope that led to her pretend prisoners, she moved down the stairs to the passage they’d entered through. As she stepped into the main hall, she caught sight of a dozen armed
and armored elves at the far end of the hall, their faces grim. Not stopping, Acevedo kept going down the stairs, turned the corner, and popped into a smaller passageway. Spying a door, she immediately opened it and rushed through, followed by the other two soldiers. She closed the door and held a finger to her lips. The clatter of boots from the deck above grew louder, then faded. She looked at O’Malley, blew out a breath, and nodded. O’Malley nodded back.
“Sir,” Martinez whispered. “Are these what they look like?” He motioned at a box nearby. O’Malley stepped up and peered inside the box. Nestled neatly inside were a dozen wands packed in wooden racks. O’Malley looked up and saw that there were dozens of boxes just like it, as well as racks of what appeared to be staves, and stacked sets of armor.
“Holy Mother…” O’Malley muttered.
Holding up two wands, Martinez exclaimed, “Fuck YES!”
With a tired grin, Acevedo said, “Sir, if you thought Martinez could do damage by pushing buttons, wait till you see what he does when we turn him loose in a magical armory.”
Watching Martinez ripping boxes open gleefully and stuffing items into his pockets, Acevedo asked, “Do you know what any of that stuff does?”
“Nope,”—Martinez held up a staff—“but they look like what the bad guys torched my homies with, so I’m going to figure out how to use it on them.”
With a shrug, Acevedo looked at O’Malley. “Might as well, sir.” She pulled the enchanted bag they’d taken from their elven prisoner and tossed it to Martinez. “Fill this. It’ll carry way more than your pockets.”
Reaching into the sack, Martinez removed the three M-16s and two grenades that were left. He stuffed one of the grenades in his pocket and handed the other to Acevedo. O’Malley and Acevedo each received a rifle. He then began scooping armfuls of wands, rings, and staves into the bag, which swallowed them all.
Suddenly, he froze and held a closed fist up. Acevedo and O’Malley halted in place, listening. Outside in the corridor, they could hear the clatter of boots, and someone speaking in the fluid, melodic language of the elves. O’Malley pointed at the far end of the compartment, where there was another hatchway headed back to the passage. Moving quickly, he headed towards it, with Acevedo following. Martinez hesitated for a moment, then waved Acevedo towards the far door. He reached over to a large crate full of neatly stacked wands, held the grenade over it, and put his finger through the pin. He looked at Acevedo questioningly.
Seeing the far door swinging open, she nodded and made a ‘hurry up’ motion with her hands. Martinez grinned, pulled the pin, dropped the grenade into the box, turned, and ran. As he did, an elven soldier stepped through the far door. Seeing him, the elf shouted and started to sprint towards him, clearly reacting on instinct. Reaching the far end of the compartment, Martinez dove at Acevedo, carrying her out the hatch and into the passageway, just as the grenade exploded with a deafening ka-WHUMP.
Dazed, Acevedo sat up and looked at the hatch they’d just dove through. Martinez lay just inside, facedown with his hands covering his head. With a sinking feeling in her stomach, Acevedo stretched her leg out and kicked the paratrooper, who looked up with blood dripping from his nose, grinned, and gave her a thumbs up. He glanced behind him into the room, which was out of Acevedo’s line of sight. His grin faded, and his eyes widened.
He scrambled to his feet and yelled, “Fucking GO!” There was a burst of gunshots from behind Acevedo. Rolling onto her stomach, she could see O’Malley lying prone on the deck, firing at a second elf down the corridor outside the far door of the compartment. The elf was stumbling slightly from the concussion of the blast. The rifle rounds sparked off his armor in flashes of blue light as he drew his wand and pointed it shakily in their direction.
“Sergeant, we gotta get the fuck outta here!” Martinez screamed.
Ducking as a bolt of energy blew a large hole in the door next to her, Acevedo replied, “We can’t, or he’ll smoke us! Stay in cover!” She pushed herself as close to the wall in the meager protection of the hatch as she could.
“You don’t understand! That grenade did something to those wands and staffs. They’re all broken and glowing and shit, and they’re getting brighter! We gotta go!” Martinez yelled.
Risking a quick look into the compartment they’d just left, Acevedo could see a blue glow that was visibly getting brighter, and a low hum seemed to vibrate the deck underneath them. Making a sudden decision, she called out to O’Malley. “Sir, we gotta go! The wands are gonna blow!”
Without replying, O’Malley rose to his knees and emptied his magazine in the direction of the elf down the hall. He rose and turned to run, but stumbled and fell to one knee as a bright blue bolt shot through the space where his head had been seconds before. Leaping to her feet, Acevedo pulled the much bigger man to his feet by his collar and propelled him down the hallway towards the staircase they’d come down. The deck was now noticeably shaking under their feet, and the air felt strange, like it was charged with electricity, and smelled of ozone. Reaching the corner, they threw themselves around it. Martinez risked a fast look behind them.
The elf had made it to the second door and was illuminated in the beams of blue light pouring out of the room. Suddenly there was a flash, and the elf vanished, collapsing into a pile of ash. From the depths of the room, there was a sharp crack, and the deck plates shook violently under their feet. Martinez looked at Acevedo, who pointed up the stairs. More cracks followed, sounding like gunfire, then there was a moment of complete silence, then a shattering series of explosions rattled the hallway they’d just left, throwing them around in the narrow staircase. There was a sudden whoosh, then a roaring sound that hadn’t been there before, and the light from the passageway changed.
Closest to the bottom of the stairs, Martinez risked another look into the passageway and froze in shock. Where the passageway had been, and the compartment beyond, was a gaping hole in the side of the ship. He could see the green fields of the Pennsylvania countryside thousands of feet below. Several energy conduits at the edge of the hole sparked and snapped, sending dying points of light that fell out the gaping wound in the side of the ship.
“Holy shit,” he muttered.
Glancing over his shoulder, Acevedo shook her head and said shakily, “Good call on getting out of there. Goddamn.” She looked at O’Malley, who was cautiously peering up the stairs as he reloaded his rifle. “There’s a big hole in the ship, sir. Want to take a look?”
“No. We need to get back to the boat,” the captain replied. “If setting the dragons free, wiping out the dragon mages, and blowing a hole in the hull doesn’t incapacitate this thing, I don’t know what will.” He jerked his head. “Let’s go.” He moved up the stairs, followed by Martinez. With one last, awed look at the massive hole in the hull of the crippled ship, Acevedo picked up her rifle and turned to follow her comrades.
-12-
“Falling”
Aboard the Dragonship ‘Silverwing’
Somewhere over Central Pennsylvania
Cautiously working her way up the flight of stairs towards the deck they’d entered the ship from, Acevedo paused at the last landing. She turned and whispered, “I’m gonna look real fast, and if it’s clear, we should haul ass to the boat and be ready to go when Sergeant Jones and the orcs get back.”
There was another burst of gunfire from forward, then a faint, triumphant yell in the guttural language of the orcs. O’Malley gestured in the direction of the yelling. “What did he say?”
“I don’t know,” Acevedo replied. “It sounded like a taunt, asking if they wanted more, and referencing some kind of animal, but I didn’t recognize the voice. It wasn’t our guy.” She took a cautious look into the hallway, then gestured to the two men behind her. “Clear. Let’s go.”
The three soldiers moved rapidly into the long hallway. Ahead of them they could see the open door to the dragonboat that they’d come in. Rushing to the door of the boat, Acevedo pushed herself up aga
inst the wall and carefully peered inside.
Suddenly, with what sounded like a swear word, she dove into the small ship before O’Malley could react. There was a series of thumps, a short scream, then a loud slap. This was followed by a furious shriek, then a stream of swearing in Spanish, mixed with grunting and the sounds of a scuffle. O’Malley jumped through the door and saw Acevedo rolling around the deck of the dragonboat with their elven prisoner, who’d freed herself from her bonds.
As O’Malley moved towards them, Acevedo rolled on top of the elf soldier. The elven prisoner was clawing at Acevedo’s face as the tiny sergeant hurled punches down at the other woman. The elf kicked, bucking Acevedo forward, where the elf promptly lowered her head and headbutted Acevedo in the face. The two rolled free of each other, blood pouring from Acevedo’s nose and mouth as she fell onto her back. With the nimbleness of a trained martial artist, the elf rolled to her knees over the fallen soldier, pulled a knife, and grinned evilly. She lifted the dagger over her head just as Acevedo’s bootheels connected under her chin as the young woman kicked up with both feet. The elven lordling flipped backwards, dropping the knife, and landed in a senseless heap, twitching. Acevedo kicked the knife away, clambered on top of her, and rained punches onto the defenseless elf’s face.
“Acevedo. Stop.” O’Malley called. “Stop!”
“Stupid fucking bitch!” The meaty thumps of Acevedo’s fists hitting the elven woman’s face punctuated each word. “Fucking kill my soldiers? Invade my fucking country? Try to stab me? Break my nose? BITCH!” She lifted the elf by her platinum blonde hair and drove a final hard right hook into the elf’s jaw, then released her hair. The elf’s head hit the deck with a wet, meaty thump, and she lay still.
“Enough,” O’Malley ordered. “Get up, Sergeant.”