She smiled then and kissed his cheek. She was quite beautiful in the odd sort of otherworldly way that all Francescan royals were and he began to stammer, “Um, if you’ll excuse me, I believe my Companion and your people need help…” He turned to go and stopped when a grinning Casten came jogging up to him surrounded by the queen’s people armed with guns they’d taken from their former captors. “What? That was fast.”
“When Ange checked out, his golems all collapsed,” Casten said. “And his organic followers…well, they kinda had the fight taken out of them when we landed on half of them and then they saw their ‘glorious’ leader screaming and falling to the ground. So I think we can safely say we won.” And unlike Paress’s own stammering with the queen, Casten swept up to her and kissed her hand as he melted into an expert bow followed by his kneeling before her.
All of the other people did the same, kneeling and shouting, “Long live Queen Artzia! Long live the Francescan Star Empire!” The only people still standing were the queen…and Paress Handrel. She looked at him with a curious smile.
“Oh, right!” Paress mumbled, coming out of his daze and quickly kneeling. He caught Casten’s eye and saw the Companion snickering at him. Damn him, he thought. He thinks he’s so suave. It’s all because of the damn suit!
All Companions wore uniforms that were reminiscent in some way of the color scheme and design motif of the Hyper Battle Machine they were assigned to. Since Allepexxis was in the form of a black dragon with some red highlights, somebody at the Space Knight Academy felt that a perfectly tailored black suit with deep red cufflinks would be perfect for the Companion to wear. And so Casten’s inhuman physical perfection was complimented by a suit that made him look all the more perfect and dashing.
Casten seemed to know what Paress was thinking and shrugged as if to say, “Don’t hate me because I’m beautiful.”
Paress rolled his eyes and sent a quick telekinetic burst to knock Casten off balance. The android instantly caught himself, but the moment was enough for the queen to ask with concern, “Are you okay, Companion…?” She reached out a hand to him.
“Casten, your highness,” he answered smoothly, taking her hand. “Yes, everything’s quite alright,” as he kissed her hand, lingering a half a moment too long, causing the young queen to blush. “Quite alright,” Casten repeated.
Paress was about to launch to his feet and knock Casten into the next time zone, when Casten’s expression suddenly changed. His eyes grew distant for a moment before snapping back into focus. “Paress, Allepexxis is picking up multiple starships emerging from jump. Their signatures are Aldonis.”
“Dammit,” Paress said, his annoyance with Casten quickly replaced by his anger with Ange’s alien backers. “I’m sorry, your highness, but I have to go.”
“Yes, by all means,” the queen said. “Show these Aldonis invaders they’re not welcome.”
“Of that you can be sure,” Casten said earnestly and without his former flirtation as he turned to go with Paress.
“You’re staying here with the queen,” Paress ordered. “Companions aren’t supposed to be with the Space Knight during battle anyway and you never know if Ange may have other friends who might pop up.”
Casten listened and then nodded. “You’re right.” He held up his data pad. “I’ve got you covered and will be with you as always.” With a salute he said, “The Companion wishes the Space Knight luck in battle.”
Returning his salute, Paress said, “The Space Knight thanks the Companion for his support and friendship.” He quickly turned to go and ran back to Allepexxis, the queen and the crowd of people calling their thanks and wishing him luck. But he couldn’t help noticing the sad people in the background cutting those who had been tortured and hanged down from the trees. And now the Aldonis were hoping to swoop in and take the planet those people had died for.
“That’s not going to happen,” Paress said angrily as he climbed up and inside the blast door opened on Allepexxis’ chest. As he made his way down the entry tube that led to the cockpit, the blast door closed, followed by more doors that sealed and protected the cockpit inside the Hyper Battle Machine. He climbed into his seat and fastened his seatbelts as the view screens and controls around him became active after being in standby mode since he landed.
Casten appeared in his usual window on Paress’ screen, now being transmitted from his data pad instead of the secondary cockpit. He seemed to have found a spot away from the queen and the other people so he could better concentrate on his job. At a questioning look from Paress, Casten said, “Don’t worry, I’ve still got eyes on the queen. She’s about twenty yards away and protected by a bunch of her people, but I can get to her fast if need be.”
“Eyes on the queen, huh?” Paress asked. “I’ll bet.” He smiled and shook his head as Allepexxis rumbled and launched into the air using its anti-gravity repulsors.
“I can’t help it if the ladies like me,” Casten grinned.
“‘The ladies’… Good Lord,” Paress said, shaking his head some more and Casten chuckled. When Allepexxis was four hundred feet off the ground, Paress slammed the Machine into full throttle. The dragon’s wings tucked in close and all thrusters opened wide as blue flame exploded out and Allepexxis screamed skyward on a course into space.
Chapter Three
The ground quickly shrank away and Allepexxis rocketed through the heavens, barreling through multiple layers of clouds. As the Hyper Battle Machine reached escape velocity to break free from Cymarus’ gravity, Casten spoke up. “Hey Paress, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t go running into fights without thinking.”
“What else am I supposed to do?” Paress asked. “The Aldonis aren’t just coming for a friendly chat and this is my job you know.”
“What? No! Not that,” Casten said. “I’m talking about when you jumped out of Allepexxis and ran straight for Ange. That was a pretty dangerous thing to do.”
“Casten, the queen was standing there naked with him holding her leash. Or did you not notice that? I couldn’t bear the thought of it going on any longer.”
“I understand, but you were lucky.”
“Lucky? The bastard didn’t even get one hit on me. I kept breaking his bones so he couldn’t do his magic stuff.”
“Exactly. You used your telekinesis to stop him from speaking his magic or making magic gestures. But what if he was a different kind of magician? Not a…mouth-hands guy, or whatever you call it…a gesturer? Whatever. What if he was a thought-magic guy? As in, he thinks of the magic and suddenly you burst into flames or something?”
“Nah, that magic’s so rare…” Paress said.
“Yeah, and so is a super telekinetic ESPer. And yet here you are. So then it comes down to whose mind-stuff is faster: his or yours?”
“Alright, I understand. I’ll try to be good. But you know, I’m on the edge of space and about to deal with an enemy fleet. So can we table this for now?”
“Anything to weasel out of an argument,” Casten sighed.
“That’s what I’m all about,” Paress said with a grin.
But the smile left his face as Allepexxis left Cymarus’ atmosphere and flew into space to be greeted by a fleet of thirteen Aldonis starships. His tactical screen identified the makeup of the fleet as five destroyers, five heavy cruisers, and three battleships. The Aldonis were coming to play hard.
“Paress, be careful…” Casten warned.
“Yeah…” Paress agreed as he placed Allepexxis between the alien fleet and the planet below. He slowly unfurled Allepexxis’ wings to both appear bigger and so that the Aldonis could get a better look at his weapons. His Machine was bigger than the destroyers and over half the size of the cruisers, but was still dwarfed by the battleships.
He hailed the fleet. “Attention Aldonis starships, I am Lieutenant Paress Handrel of the Imperial Francescan Space Knight Corps. You are trespassing in the planetary and system wide space of a world belonging to the Francescan Star Empire. You ar
e hereby ordered to leave immediately.”
His hail was met by moments of tense silence, a typical tactic of the Aldonis and something he really wasn’t in the mood to deal with just now. Just as Paress was about to repeat his warning, a window opened on his screen showing a puffed-up Aldonis admiral, his skin a rich green and white hair pulled into a top knot fastened with a golden band. His chest was covered with all manner of gaudy decorations.
“Francescan Space Knight, we have been invited here by governor Anloo Ange, who wishes for his planet to join our federation. It is you who are trespassing. Leave now or be destroyed.”
Paress couldn’t help but smile at the mention of Ange and his new title. “I’m sorry, but there is no ‘Governor Anloo Ange’. There is a prisoner by that name— but with no title— who tried to overthrow the lawful monarchy of this planet. He has been dealt with. This planet is ruled by Queen Artzia Francesca as it always has been, and always will be, part of the Francescan Star Empire.” As he spoke, he could see Casten out of the corner of his eye, pantomiming a big smile.
Paress tried to put on a warm smile as he said, “Your compliance with these facts would be most appreciated as there has been quite enough bloodshed today.”
The Aldonis admiral seemed to consider this as an aide whispered something in his ear. He turned back to Paress. “Our scanners show that it is only your Machine protecting this planet. All other starships seem to be destroyed, interestingly enough by weapons signatures that seem to match what our scanners are telling us are of your own weapons.”
Paress frowned at that. The fact was, Ange’s people had taken over Cymarus’ planetary defense force, so when he and Casten arrived, they had to destroy the very ships that were stationed at the planet to protect it. “They were traitors and were dealt with accordingly,” Paress said tersely. “Now about your own ships...”
“Since it’s only you here,” the Aldonis interrupted, “I think that perhaps we shall take what we came for. Your emperor won’t go to war over one Space Knight and we’ll gladly give the queen over to him to avoid anymore conflict. As you say, there has been too much bloodshed today.”
Paress’ blood ran cold as he replied, “But maybe there hasn’t been enough bloodshed on your end, Admiral. You dare threaten me? This Hyper Battle Machine is easily capable of destroying a fleet three times your size.” In his window, Casten was raising his arms to the heavens in a gesture of despair at Paress’ words.
“What you claim and what our sensors tell us are in wild disagreement,” the Aldonis admiral said.
“Then I suppose there’s nothing left to say,” Paress said, ending the transmission.
“Paress, what are you doing?” Casten demanded. “You’re going to start a war.”
“No, these assholes are gonna start a war,” Paress corrected. “Remember Sonni Lansen. He didn’t take shit from the Aldonis and neither am I.”
At the mention of the Francescan sloop-of-war captain turned folk hero, Casten smiled. “Sonni Lansen lived in a different time. I appreciate the sentiment. You know I love the guy, but come on.”
“Casten, I’m doing this, okay?” Paress looked his Companion in the eye meaningfully.
“Alright,” Casten agreed. “We always promised to go the distance together when it mattered. I just wish I was there with you.”
“Me too,” Paress said, his hands gripping Allepexxis’ control sticks tightly. As he did so, he could feel his mind and body synchronizing more fully with the Machine.
A low rumble started from deep inside Allepexxis and its power levels began to climb steadily. With higher power levels came a massive burst of constant heat and vents from under Allepexxis’ armor opened up, sending flame erupting out from between the armor joints. From the outside, it looked as if Allepexxis’ inner frame was on fire and only its armor plates were keeping the fire in check.
As this was happening, the rows of razor sharp teeth in the dragon’s head grew so long that its jaw had to open farther to allow for the extra space the teeth needed. The claws on Allepexxis’ hands and feet also grew much longer as the blades on the wings grew sharper and more curved. It was like the black dragon was transforming into a larger, more deadly version of itself, which in all actuality, it was. This was known as Destroyer Mode.
No doubt that the Aldonis’ sensor scans were now more in agreement with Paress’ claims and Paress smiled. He could see the Aldonis ships moving more into a defensive posture now and he couldn’t help but laugh. “Yeah, now you’re starting to rethink your options...” As Allepexxis synced up with Paress more with every passing moment, his feelings radiated into the Machine.
The dragon let out a roar that sounded like a nightmare coming to life and even Paress felt a slight chill. But also exultation. He could feel to his very core what Allepexxis wanted, and right now it wanted nothing more than to destroy the Aldonis in a feral orgy of violence. Paress could almost see visions entering his head of the black dragon shredding apart starships and crushing Aldonis bodies in its mouth, their blood staining its teeth. And he loved every minute of it. It was easy to say these were simply his thoughts translating the visceral feedback from Allepexxis’ other-dimensional computer. “The mind of the Machine is inscrutable” went the saying. But Paress wondered if maybe these thoughts were actually his own and Allepexxis was simply magnifying them.
He half expected the Aldonis to run away, but to their credit– or perhaps suicidal foolishness– the gun ports on their ships began to open. Paress was glad they did. Today he would not only make an example of traitors, but also send a message to the Aldonis to keep their noses out of Francescan business.
Just as he was about to blast into the enemy fleet and destroy it in an explosion of violence, a warning chime went off signaling more ships were coming out of space jump. Were even more Aldonis coming? No matter, he’d kill them too.
The fabric of space distorted and with a bright flash, there were suddenly eight gigantic white battleships with gold crest work and gilt edges. Each was four times the size of the biggest Aldonis ship and Paress gasped when he realized that this small fleet was the Royal Lifeguard of the Emperor. And that’s when he noticed that a much smaller ship had also jumped in. It was sleek and beautiful, like a fragile dragonfly in white.
“I don’t believe it. That’s the Brynwal,” Casten said.
“The Emperor’s yacht,” Paress agreed.
Most Francescan starships were a bluish gray with the notable exception of royal household starships that were white and gold like the ones Paress was looking at now. But the Brynwal was a pleasure craft built for speed and luxury with no weapons to speak of and with shields barely above navigation deflectors; certainly nothing made to withstand concentrated military firepower.
And yet the small unarmed ship with no weaponry was actually positioning itself at the head of the Francescan battle line!
If Paress still wanted to entertain any doubts of who might be aboard, they were dashed when a window appeared on his screen surrounded by a gold border with elaborate design work. As if engraved into the gold border, the window was surrounded with text: His Imperial Highness, High Admiral of The Francescan Imperial Star Navy, And Keeper of The Solemn Seal of The Holy Promise of The Ancients, Emperor Gaius Sanctus Siegfried Francesca II.
The man who appeared in the screen wore a simple white tunic with a red sash holding the Seal of The Holy Promise. His hair was white and close-cropped and he had a neatly trimmed beard. He wore the same brimless field cap he had for decades, set at a slightly jaunty angle. Disconcertingly light gray eyes stared out and Paress automatically bowed his head and closed his eyes as all Francescan subjects were expected to do, despite the fact that Siegfried was transmitting area-wide and not just to Allepexxis.
“Aldonis fleet, you know who I am and you know I don’t mince words. Leave.”
Paress almost burst out laughing when the Aldonis Admiral suddenly appeared on screen, had a look of shock and horror to suddenly be v
isible, and gestured wildly until the screen went black again. Moments later, the Aldonis gun ports began to close and the ships all began to maneuver to jump out. All except for one. A destroyer kept its gun ports open and began to come around.
Siegfried II didn’t move, but a cold smile lifted the corners of his mouth. “Make sure you know what you’re doing,” he said softly.
Paress was dumbstruck. Here was the legendary Warrior Priest who as Crown Prince, defeated the Aldonis almost eighty years ago, resulting in the treaty that both sides were still bound to to this day. The man who personally led the fleet that defeated the Golden Enlightenment Army in the final battle against that powerful enemy. And now, at 105 years old, was staring down an Aldonis fleet, and a particularly aggressive destroyer…in an unarmed, virtually shieldless yacht.
The Francescan battleships still had their gun ports closed. They were honor-bound to keep their weapons sheathed until called upon by the Emperor. Technically, as a Space Knight answerable to the Royal Household, so was Paress. But just now, he wasn’t so sure he could abide by those oaths of honor. Allepexxis, seemingly picking up on Paress’s worry, screamed out another deafening roar, the flame pouring out from under its joints growing steadily brighter and hotter.
Paress suddenly grew embarrassed by what was happening. The emperor hadn’t reacted to the dragon’s demonstrations, but they were impossible to ignore. Just then, one of the Aldonis cruisers gently collided with the destroyer, interposing itself between the small ship and the Francescan fleet. A brief pushing match between the two ships ensued until the destroyer suddenly jumped out of the system in what for all the world seemed like a huff. The cruiser followed suit soon after, and then so did the other Aldonis ships until only Francescan ships remained. The emperor never blinked or moved the entire time.
With the danger averted, Paress loosened his grip on the control sticks and as his stress levels lowered, Allepexxis’s flames suddenly flashed away and its body went back to its normal configuration. Paress let out the breath he’d been holding for what seemed like forever, but almost choked when the Emperor suddenly said, “Space Knight Handrel.” Paress’ screen was now showing that the Emperor’s transmission was coming to him directly.
Space Dragon Allepexxis Page 3