by Saxon Andrew
Lyla said, “Why are you worried about them? The beams can remove them.”
“We’re going to need their ships. They will be an addition to Andy’s plan that he didn’t know would be available; we’re going to make good use of them. If we have time, we’ll build our own but I’m going to take what’s available and put them to use. We will not be burning them as we originally planned.”
Harmony looked at Andy, “I have to go home and get some rest. Will you be able to come join me?”
Andy smiled, “We have some time on the Destroyers. I’ll be coming home from now on.” Harmony smiled and yawned again. Andy tilted his head, “However, you might be interested to know that Dinah came home just in time to lay her eggs. You can wait until tomorrow to make your selection if you want.”
Harmony jumped to her feet, “Oh no! I’ll do that before I do anything else.”
Andy smiled, “I thought you’d say that. One of the eggs makes the egg Dinah came out of look small.”
“Lead me to them.”
Mark said, “I’m right behind you.” Andy took Harmony’s hand and led her to the nest. Harmony thought Andy was joking about the size of the biggest egg; it was huge. She took a small marker and put an ‘H’ on it. Dinah watched her and didn’t react. She had to be restrained when Mark made his choice. It was clear that Harmony had Dinah’s blessings. Andy led Harmony home and had to carry her the last fifty yards. The Community’s newest Master Archer was spent and asleep before Andy put her to bed.
Andy looked at Harmony and shook his head. She was so beautiful. He got ready for bed and lay down beside her. He thought about all the things he had read over the last four weeks and knew there was so much to do. The new gliders had to be built and some boats had to be taken. But tonight, he was right where he wanted to be. His fatigue took him and the Community’s Royal Couple slept in peace.
• • •
Jonathan rose another two hundred feet above the cliff and saw hundreds of dinosaurs rushing out of the forest. He swung out over the disturbance and saw a Spinosaurus moving through the forest. It had been a long time since one of the giant predators had moved into the Community’s lands and this one was monstrous. It had brought down one of the huge herbivores next to the river and was tearing huge chunks of flesh out of its long neck. He thought about going back to the community to gather a hunting team but knew he would be challenged by Mark and Andy if he didn’t use his newest weapon. He sighed and pulled the blaster out of a holster on his back and turned toward the giant. He flew over the river and pushed the small button on the gun’s handle and aimed it at the giant’s head. As he flew over, the Spinosaurus smelled him and raised its head and sniffed the air. The giant head was just ten feet below him when Jonathan sighted the hand gun on the creature’s head and pulled the trigger. The red beam hit the giant head dead center and it exploded into an orange mist. The Spinosaurus’ body collapsed on top of the beast it had killed. Johnathan turned the glider into the wind and rose higher as he watched the death scene below. Within ten minutes, the Raptors began arriving and the feeding frenzy was incredible. Even small predators rushed in to steal bites as they quickly ran away. When the Allosaurus arrived, there was very little left other than bones that had been ripped apart to get at the really juicy parts. The roars were incredible and many predators would not need a meal for weeks to come.
Johnathan didn’t like using the gun. It just seemed…unfair. There was no risk to the shooter and it demanded very little skill. He wondered if the need for Master Archers was going to be a thing of the past. He shook his head and flew north along the river.
• • •
The Destroyer fleet arrived at their home port and started moving their plunder ashore. The captured slaves were moved to the slave yards to be auctioned off to the highest bidder and the young males were taken to the military compound to decide which would be used to sail the ships and which would become a warrior. Those that didn’t pass either test were shot and their body thrown into the sea. The Fleet Master went to the Commandant and was allowed to report. The Master knelt and lowered his head, “Sire, it appears two of our own have escaped after killing several of our warriors.”
“Who?”
“Singer and that white haired slave of his.”
The Commandant shook his head, “I knew he was going to be trouble after he lost his family. I should have forced him to turn that slave over to me long ago.”
“Sire, it was too late in the season to start searching for them but I thought you should know.”
“We will look for them when our next fleet goes out. If they’re still alive, they will be made an example of for everyone to see.”
“I’m sorry, Sire.”
“Don’t be. I knew this was coming.”
The Fleet Master left and knew the Commandant would slowly kill his brother if he was still alive. What he was going to do to the white haired slave would be unimaginable. She would receive the blame for what happened…as she should.
• • •
The Commandant called his wife in to his quarters and looked at her, “It appears that Singer and that blonde slave of his have run away.”
“Oh?”
“They also killed some of our warriors making their escape.”
“What do you intend to do?”
“I’m going to send the slave’s sister with the fleet and use her to pull them in; if they’re still alive.”
“How will you do that?”
“I’ll have her tortured on the beach and use the loud speakers to announce that she will die if they don’t turn themselves in.”
“You know Melody is my favorite. I’ve owned her since she was a child.”
“I do; but I intend to use her.”
The woman stared at her husband and knew he had wanted her to get rid of Melody for a long time. Her eyes narrowed and she said, “She is my property; not yours.”
“This falls under the safety of the union.”
“I can’t stop you doing this, but what happens if they turn themselves in?”
The Commandant looked at his wife and saw he was cornered. He paused and said, “Then your slave will be returned to you.”
“If she is harmed in any way, I will take my damages from your fortune. Is that clear?”
The Commandant stared at her and nodded. She left the room and he knew the chances of them being alive in a year were remote…but there was a possibility. He shook his head and called in the Admiral. He told him that the slave would be taken on the next voyage and that she would not be harmed in any way. She would be taken to the beach and she would be strung up to be tortured; however, if her sister and his brother turned themselves in, she would be brought back unharmed.
“Sire, the chances of them being alive is remote.”
“I know that and I fully expect you will end up torturing her. Make her death painful and long if they don’t come in.”
“It will be hard to prevent her from being attacked on board the ship.”
“Make sure everyone on board knows that if she’s abused that the abuser will be brought back for me to torture and you will be strung up beside them.”
The Admiral stared at the Commandant and saw his small evil smile. He knew the odds of them turning themselves in was small…but…this was not a risk he was going to take.
• • •
The Fliers started practicing using their new weapon. The safeties were kept on as they would draw the gun out of their holsters, bring it up to aim, and pull the trigger. The warriors didn’t take the training seriously at first but Andy demonstrated how he wanted them to be able to perform. Andy had been practicing for more than a month in the holy cave before the weapons were passed out to the Archers. The speed he drew the gun was incredible and the practice shot he took at a small target two hundred yards away was unbelievable. Now the bar had been set and the Community’s Warriors began practicing with a passion. The warriors were deadly before they were given t
he red beam blasters; now, they were a force nothing on the planet could match. However, they were heavily outnumbered by the Destroyers and their rifles. The coming war would determine who would rule the planet.
• • •
Harmony took to the new hand weapon like she had been born with it. She set an example to the other Master Archers with the time she spent practicing. Finally, Dinah’s egg hatched and Harmony had one large female Cursor to care for. She named her Melody and the two of them were constantly together. Even as a hatchling, the Cursor was huge and in no time it had grown to the size of the regular cursors. In nine months, it was almost as large as its mother. It was carrying Harmony for short rides at six months and for long rides at nine. She was just as adept as her mother at smelling trouble and was learning all the survival commands she would need to follow; then the wind shifted.
The flag on top of the cliff began blowing off the ocean toward the community. Harmony knew the Destroyers would be returning with the freshening wind and they would be a formidable force to face. She saw Andy’s determination to face them and hoped there wouldn’t be a huge loss of life. Even with the new red beams, the Destroyers would not fall easily. A week later, Andy dispatched two Fliers to the south to keep their eyes out for the Destroyer ship that was coming. It wouldn’t be long now before the fight they had been practicing on would commence. She knew she was going to be with Andy wherever he went. She would not allow anyone to harm the man she loved so much.
• • •
Johnathan and Dot flew south and fought the easterly wind blowing up the cliffs. They would climb and the winds would blow them several miles inland where they would then begin a shallow dive back to the cliffs to repeat the process. It took ten days to arrive over the southern lands that had been invaded by the Destroyers the previous year but they continued moving east along the shore line. They would land at night on hills and take off again the following day. A hundred and fifty miles up the coast, they saw the Destroyer Scout Ship under full sail moving west. It was stopping every fifteen miles to launch boats to explore the beaches and lands beyond them for settlements.
“You should go back and tell Andy they’re coming.”
“What are you going to be doing?”
“I’m going to continue to scout their activities and find a place where we can ambush their shore party. The wind will be with you so you’ll make it back to the community in half the time. Send a scout back immediately so I can let him know where to send the Archers.”
“How will you do that?”
“Once I see the scout arrive, we’ll start fires at the ambush site. Our Fliers will arrive ahead of the Scout Ship. Tell the archers to bring a supply of tar pouches to get the fires started.”
“Jonathan, don’t get into trouble.”
“Whatever do you mean?”
Dot grabbed Jonathan’s face and kissed him fully on the lips, “I don’t want to have to find a new lover.” John touched his lips where Dottie had kissed him and watched her fly off to the west. Darn, he had no idea she felt that way. She called him her lover and he had never touched her. Perhaps he should. He thought about it and decided that he would stay aloft in the winds and sleep intermittently in the top of trees. She was right.
Sleeping on the ground was not the safest thing to do on this planet. If he had to go down, he’d do it in a clearing where he could see trouble coming from a long way off. He saw the Scout Ship drop anchor and he looked for the tallest tree in the forest next to the beach and flew in toward the highest branches. He came in against the wind and furled the Glider just as he arrived at the tree. He pulled the retract cord and the wings folded back. He fell three feet into the tree and grabbed a branch. He completed putting the glider into its case and settled in to watch the Destroyers as they moved toward land in their small landing boats. Within a week, John knew their tactics as well as they did. This was not going to be easy. They were well disciplined and their organization was impeccable. Their advances had overlapping fields of fire and they moved like a well-oiled cutter rod. The Fliers should arrive within another week. He needed to decide the best strategy to meet them.
He flew west the next morning and found the site for the ambush. There was a large clearing about four miles inland from the beach where the ground was dry and the tropical trees had not yet taken root. He flew back to the Scout Ship and watched it sending boats onto the shore. It would remain there for a day and move to the next site. It shouldn’t be long before the Fliers arrived. Five days later, he saw the single Glider moving toward him and he smiled. He circled above the forest until Dottie flew in and he yelled, “Follow me. How far are behind you are the warriors?”
“They’ll arrive the day after tomorrow.”
“We need to prepare the ambush site prior to their arrival.” John flew to the clearing and took the glider down. He retracted the wings and slid the back pack off as he pulled his gun and turned 360 degrees. Nothing moved and he continued to scan the tree line for any movement.
Dot flew overhead and searched the ground below for predators. The forest was thick around the clearing and it was almost impossible to see anything inside the trees. She eventually flew in and landed beside Jonathan. They put their gliders back into their packs and moved cautiously toward the tree line. The giant trees towered above them John picked one that was slightly leaning into the clearing. “Cover me, Dot.”
“Got it.”
John put his hand gun in its holster and pulled the heavy cutter. He extended the blade to its full twenty foot length and slashed a notch into the huge trunk. He then cut down into the notch from the backside of the tree and it crashed down into the clearing.
While John cut the trees down, Dot killed more than fifteen raptors and one of the new giant predators. As soon as the two Archers would leave for another three about four hundred yards away, a massive number of predators swarmed the ones that Dot had killed. The two Fliers cut down ten giant trees and dropped a tar pouch into gouges cut into the huge trunks. They then waited for the wind to blow through the clearing and they ran along one of the trunks and released their gliders. They lifted into the sky and headed west to meet Andy at the cliffs.
They arrived at the end of the long range of foothills and landed. Dot started a fire and poured a small amount of tar on it. The black smoke rose instantly and they sat down, opened one of their pouches, and munched on some dried meat. John chewed slowly and said, “Dot, these warriors we’re facing are really well trained. They move forward in groups while others cover their advance.”
“They won’t be able to see us.”
“They’ll be able to see the red beams being fired.”
Dot’s eyes narrowed and after a moment she slowly nodded and shrugged as she said, “Then the rule of the day will be fire and drop.” Jonathan nodded and took another bite. He wished he had brought his bow. Seeing an arrow in flight wasn’t easily done. He looked at Dotty and saw she was thinking the same thing. They looked to the south while they waited for Andy to arrive with the community’s best warriors. Just before sunset, Andy flew in and landed on the cliff a hundred yards north of them. The three hundred archers following him began landing around the two Master Archers as Andy folded his glider and walked forward to them, “Have you found the site for the ambush?”
John looked at Dotty and then turned to Andy, “I have and we’ve cut down the trees for the fires.”
Andy stared at Jonathan for a moment, “What has you bothered?”
John shook his head, “Andy, these guys are good. They’re highly organized and they will be able to see the red beams being fired. I’m not certain our camouflage uniforms will be enough.”
Andy tilted his head and shrugged, “I guess we’ll find out. Some of us brought our bows. We’ll just have to adjust on the fly. I do think we’ll need the guns to take the ship.”
Jonathan shrugged.
Andy hoped Jonathan was wrong but he started to worry about the coming fight.
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br /> Chapter Nine
The Leader of the Deck Watch Team stared at the beach where the warriors had gone ashore and wondered if they had found anything of interest. He glanced at the slaves cleaning the deck and saw them start working harder as he stared at them. Good, they knew not to get lazy on his watch. He sat down on a chair at the rear of the large ship and leaned back. He glanced to the north and almost fell over backwards. He jumped up and saw huge plumes of smoke rising above the forest. He ran to the Commander’s cabin and knocked. He waited and heard, “Enter!”
He opened the door and yelled, “Sire, you should come look at this!”
The Commander pulled on his shirt and left the female slave in the cabin. He walked out and the Watch Leader pointed to the north. The Commander turned and saw the huge plumes of smoke rising in the distance. His eyes narrowed and the Leader asked, “Do you think it’s a wildfire?”
The Commander stared at the plumes and shook his head, “No; the smoke plumes are separated. If it were a wildfire, it would just be one giant smoke plume. It looks like someone is attacking a community inland about twenty miles north of here.” The Leader stared at the plumes and the Commander said, “Fire the recall rocket.”
“Our troops won’t get back to the beach until after nightfall.”
“I know that. We’ll bring them on board in the morning and set sail for that location. We should arrive shortly after midday tomorrow and we’ll send them ashore to see what’s going on.”
The Watch Leader went down to the main deck and pulled a rocket out of a barrel and stuck the pole it was on in a three foot container. He struck a match and lit the rocket’s fuse. He stepped back and the rocket blasted out of the container and flew high into the atmosphere. It released three small balls that exploded with massive retorts. The Commander looked at the Leader, “Let me know when the troops are back at the beach.”