by Saxon Andrew
Ana reached back to the table and picked up a document. She walked up to the giant and handed it to him. She remained standing in front of the giant as it took it and stared down on her. Ana showed no fear and Gem was never more proud of his wife than at that moment. The giant nimbly went through the pages with its giant clawed hands and handed them back to Ana. She took them and backed into her place next to Gem. The Giant stared at them and said smoothly, “It appears your documents are in order.” It stared at them in silence for another moment and then it looked at Leonidas, “May I see the sword you are holding?” Leonidas hesitated but then stepped forward and held the blade out for the Dragon to inspect. It stared at the sword as Leonidas showed it both sides of the blade. It raised its eyes and said, “This sword is a MacGregor Clan Sword. How did you come about possessing it?”
Gem said, “I purchased them from a trader whose family has been holding them for more than six hundred years. They were originally traded for on Bellingham more than a thousand years ago.”
The giant beast stared at Gem and remained silent. The Leader behind it said, “Majesty, we should kill them all!”
The giant turned and looked at the Leader. “Be thankful I chose to come with you. Not only would you have caused the Empire extreme problems with the Cartians if you attacked these beings but they would have probably killed every one of you.” The Leader’s eyes widened and the giant said, “Did you not see how fast they moved when they confronted your line?” The Leader glanced at the four humans and then turned back to the Giant, “I did.”
The giant sighed and bit the Leader so fast that it was barely seen. The leader collapsed to the floor and instantly went into convulsions. In less than ten seconds, it was dead. The Giant turned back to the humans confronting him and said in a very smooth voice, “The Empire cannot endure the stupidity of those that refuse to use good judgement.” It paused and smiled, “It is my understanding that you have been asking for the location of my species so that you can hunt us. We decided to grant your request but now I find that you’ve taken out a Cartian Policy to prevent our little get together.” The Dragon shook its head, “You’ve really disappoint me!”
Leonidas put his sword back in his scabbard in an instant. The other three followed his lead and put theirs away as well. “We have no desire to hunt your species or do you any harm.”
The Dragon tilted its huge head and said, “Do I need to play a recording of you saying something different?”
Sam spoke up from the table, “We said that to get you to come here.”
The Dragon looked at Sam and said, “Why would you do that?”
“Because we need your help.”
“That’s a crazy way to ask for it. Why did you do it?”
“Because we needed to communicate with you and…” Sam paused and shrugged, “It appears it worked; you’re here.”
“Exactly why did you select my species to antagonize?”
“Because getting to Bellingham in not possible. I speculated that they would have shared their technology with you and we need you to listen to what we have to offer for your assistance.”
The Giant stared at Sam and Jek said, “We request an audience with your Queen and Monarch.”
The Dragon’s head moved so fast toward Jek that everyone was stunned, “How do you know about them!?”
Jek smiled, “We’ve questioned some of the survivors from your attack on Earth and learned that you and Bellingham were allies.”
The Giant stared at Jek and said, “You are the only one that is not human; why is that?”
“My planet is going to be attacked by an aggressive civilization and we have nothing that can defend us against their warships. There are more than thirty species living in peace on my home world and I am one of them.”
“And you’re the only one present here. Why is that?”
Sam said firmly, “Because he is my second-in-command. There are many more species on our ships in orbit.”
The Dragon looked at Sam and then looked at each of the others. It looked at Leonidas and said, “What about the four of you?”
“There are actually seven of us that have decided to help them against the coming attack.”
The Dragon nodded slightly and said, “Wait here!” It turned and walked through the line and hissed at the remaining seven dragons. They took a step back and went down to all fours. Sam thought, “What’s going on?”
“It is going to contact its leaders.”
“Keep us out of trouble, Jek,” Sam thought back.
“I’ll do what I can, Sam.”
Chapter Eleven
The ten waited at their table and Leonidas looked around, “Well, that went better than I thought.” He looked at Jek, “Didn’t it?”
“Quite frankly, if you had not shown your swords like you did, I think they would have just left us here. There is something about your swords that has captured that Dragon’s full attention.”
Gem shrugged, “I can understand why.”
“What is he going to do, Jek?” Sam asked.
“I have no idea. I’ll know more when he comes back after speaking with his leaders.”
They sat down and Embree stood up to go to the bar. Shelly looked at him and said, “Where are you going?”
“I need more than a glass of ice this time.” Shelly stared at him and then stood up and followed him.
• • •
An hour later the huge Dragon came through the entrance and the line of Dragons went up on their back legs. “The Queen has agreed to meet with you. Four of you will be allowed to go.”
Leonidas looked around the table and saw Gem’s expression. Gem didn’t want to leave his children. He knew what Gem was thinking and he said, “Desiree, myself, Sam and Jek will go.”
The Dragon’s expression showed his surprise at the selections. Ana said, “Gem and I should go with you.” Leonidas saw the Dragon look at her with a knowing expression.
Shelly said loud enough to be heard, “I should also go!”
Leonidas looked at them and turned to Gem, “You and Ana along with Shelly and Embree must go to meet with your King to get his agreement to help them.”
Sam looked at Shelly, “You have to persuade him to help us!”
Gem looked at Shelly, “Your Commander is right, you have to come with us.”
Shelly looked at Sam and Jek with a concerned expression. Sam smiled, “I know you can do this, Shelly.” Shelly closed her eyes and then nodded.
The Dragon stared at them and then turned to Leonidas and Desiree before saying, “You will not be allowed to carry your swords into the Queen’s Chambers.”
Leo looked at Desiree and took the scabbard off his shoulder and handed it to Ana. The Dragon quickly said, “The Queen has expressed an interest in seeing your swords. You should bring them with you.”
Jek looked at the Dragon and said, “Do we have the queen’s promise that they will be returned to them at the conclusion of the audience?”
The Dragon looked at Jek and lifted his communicator. He spoke in hissing and clicking sounds and then said, “She agrees that they will be returned to you.”
Jek smiled and asked, “Does she agree that we will be granted to leave with our lives?”
The Dragon stared at Jek and its huge head went back slightly, “Why do you ask that?”
“Because you could place the swords on Leonidas and Desiree’s dead bodies and keep your agreement in returning them,” Jek replied.
The Dagon actually smiled and said, “Now I didn’t expect that sort of insight.” It spoke into its communicator again and then said, “The Queen has agreed that we will not harm you.”
Jek nodded and Leonidas and Desiree handed their swords to the giant Dragon. “When do we leave?” Sam asked.
The Dragon smiled showing his teeth and fangs, “Why, right now unless you have other matters to attend to.”
Leo turned to John, “You are in command while we’re gone. Wait on us to re
turn here.”
Blakely looked at the giant Dragon and said, “Yes, Captain.”
Leo and Desiree took their scabbards off their shoulders and handed them to the giant Dragon. He handed them to one of the other Dragons, turned, and the four followed it between the line of seven Dragons. The seven picked up the dead Dragon as they followed the giant and four leaders out of the building.
Gem looked at Embree and Shelly, “You need to come with us to my ship.” Shelly watched Sam and Jek disappear through the entrance and nodded. Embree looked at Shelly, “They’ll be alright.” Shelly nodded and followed Gem and Ana out of the building wishing she could believe he was right.
• • •
Freddie looked at John, “Well, what are we going to do now? It appears all of the excitement just walked out of the room.”
John shrugged, “Contact the crews and give them shore leave. We’re pretty much useless until either Leonidas or Gem comes back.”
Freddie smiled and held John’s arm tightly as she said, “No one can relax and take it easy in difficult times as much as a pirate.” John smiled as he leaned over and kissed her on top of her head; she was absolutely right.
• • •
The four walked five miles to the Dragon’s shuttle and were forced to work hard to keep up. They arrived at the shuttle and Sam was amazed. The shuttle had to be large to hold nine Dragons but this one was as large as some of his warships. They stepped on board and the Dragon turned to them as the shuttle lifted, “My name is Kel. I have been given the responsibility of watching over you and I want you to know that you have been given a rare gift. My Queen very seldom agrees to speak with any other species.”
Sam nodded, “We do appreciate her willingness to meet with us.”
“You should know that anyone that comes into the Queen’s presence will be covered with blasters that her personal guards carry at all times. Do not make any sudden moves while you’re in her presence. I recommend you answer her questions honestly; she will know if you’re not telling the truth. Further, she may end the discussion at any point and it would be wise for you to be silent and leave the room if she does. If there is any information you want her to know prior to our arrival, you should give it to me now to transmit to her.”
The Dragon stared at the four and Sam took his personal communicator off his wrist, “There is a recording of an attack on my home world that I would like her to see.”
The Dragon extended his clawed hand and Sam said, “May I send the recording to one of your devices.”
“No, you will allow me to see everything on your device or nothing.”
Sam looked at Jek and he nodded. He looked at the Dragon and handed the communicator to him. Leonidas looked at him and Sam shrugged, “Desperate times call for desperate measures.”
The shuttle arrived and entered the huge warship as the Dragon issued commands in loud hissing and clicks. He looked at the four guests and said, “You may move freely around the ship. I’ve assigned one of my crew to be responsible for your meals and handling your needs. If you have any questions, feel free to ask him to call me.”
Sam nodded, “We will. Thank you.” The Dragon stared at them for a moment and then left the landing bay. A small Dragon moved forward and said in perfect Cartian, “If you will follow me, I will show you to your quarters.” They followed the Dragon out of the landing bay and all of them wondered what they had gotten themselves into. They had placed themselves into the hands of the most dangerous species in the universe with no means of defending themselves. They would soon see.
• • •
Kel took the human’s communicator to his quarters and connected it to his console. He scrolled back to the earliest recordings and saw one of the being with long hair as a young child. It was hiding in the forest with a shoulder blaster along with many other warriors from different species. He tilted his head, “Where did all these different species come from? They were all lying in ambush as a large group of armed aliens moved toward them. This recording had to have been taken by someone else and transferred to this device. Kel increased the speed of the device and absorbed the information at a very fast pace. By the time the ship arrived at its destination, he had completed his examination. He scrolled back to the interview of the Pirate and watched it again. At the end, he pushed a button on his panel. A face appeared on his monitor and he said, “I’ve run across something that I think you should see.” He pressed a button and the device began sending its contents.
• • •
Leonidas looked out of the port and saw a beautiful planet below the Dragon Warship, “It looks like we’ve arrived.”
Immediately they heard over the cabin speaker, “You should start moving to the landing bay now.”
The four stood up and Sam said, “This ship is so much more advanced than ours.”
Leonidas tilted his head, “The only thing that makes it more powerful than my ship is the force field. It’s certainly not faster and from what I’ve seen of their weapons, they’re no more powerful than our own. I honestly think our missiles give us an edge, except for the force field, of course.” Desiree shook her head and Leo looked at her, “What’s bothering you?”
“This doesn’t add up.”
Sam turned to her, “What do you mean?”
Desiree sighed, “I’m a tactician at heart and them allowing us to see their weapons is just not something you would allow a stranger to examine. Would you bring beings on board our ships and allow them to look around if you really didn’t know anything about them?”
Sam stared at her and turned to Jek, “What’s going on?”
Jek looked at him and shook his head. Sam looked around and wondered if they were being watched or if they also had a telepath on board. Sam nodded and the four left the room and headed toward the landing bay. He knew Jek was capable of hiding his telepathic ability. There had to be a reason he was not talking.
They boarded the shuttle and Kel said, “We are going straight to the Queen’s Chamber. He smiled, “I’m sure you want to get down to it.” Sam nodded and glanced at Jek, whose expression was neutral. Something was going on with Jek and he couldn’t determine what it was. He sent him a thought but Jek shook his head again. Kel led them into a giant room with two massive thrones at the front. He walked up the center of the room and stopped about sixty feet from the two thrones. He looked to each side and the eight Dragons on each side of them raised their blasters and pointed them at the four guests. Kel smiled, “You will remain where you are.”
The four looked at each other and at the sixteen blasters pointed directly at them from the sides. Desiree whispered, “These Dragons are faster than any species I’ve run across other than the Insectoids.”
Leo nodded, “Our speed won’t save us.” Desiree nodded. Sam noted that fourteen of the sixteen basters were targeted on Leonidas and Desiree. It appeared they knew about the enhanced abilities they possessed. Suddenly, they heard a loud musical tone and they saw a male Dragon enter the room and move to the throne on the right. His size was incredible; he was fifty percent larger than the Dragon named, Kel. The tone continued and they saw Kel lower his head. They lowered theirs as well as the Queen entered the room and went to her throne. All four were stunned by what they saw. All of the Dragons in the chamber had hides that were covered with dark green, brown, and light green splotches. The queen was covered in brilliant colors that sparkled in the light. She was fifty percent larger than the Dragon on the throne next to her and it was clear she was more than twice as fast and all of them. She went to her throne and wrapped her tail around her legs as she stared at the three humans and Jek.
Sam looked at the Queen and saw that something was wrong. She was staring at them with eyes barely more than slits and it was clear her posture screamed menace and danger. He stepped forward one step and said, “Majesty, I thank you for the opportunity to come and speak with you.”
The Queen’s long neck extended toward them and she hissed, “I
allowed you to come here to speak with someone else. I have nothing to say to you!”
Sam’s eyes narrowed as he saw the Queen look to her left and nod. Sam looked in that direction and saw two humans walk quickly into the room. They were both wearing kilts and both had swords over their left shoulders and a quiver of arrows over their right. The had bows in their left hands and in an instant, they had their swords in their right hands pointed toward them as they advanced across the room. Sam thought, “JEK!!”
He heard, “You wanted to communicate with the humans on Bellingham. Here is your opportunity.”
Sam was stunned and he saw the approaching man’s face was filled with rage, hatred, and contempt. The two moved forward and Sam realized they were headed straight toward Leonidas and Desiree, who were forced to remain still under the blasters pointed at them. He knew they intended to kill both of them. Jek quickly allowed him to see the thoughts of the man and Sam grew angry.
Just before they arrived, Sam stepped in front of Leonidas and Desiree. The man stopped with his sword an inch in front of Sam’s nose and he said through clenched teeth, “Step aside or die! I am going to kill this Earth Scum!”
Sam stared into the young man’s eyes and said, “I have spent four months trying to find you. I’ve learned many things during that time about the humans on Bellingham and I have built you up into almost mythic proportions. I truly hoped that one day I might be like you. But now I see that I was wrong. You are nothing more than cowards that attack unarmed beings and you’re incredibly stupid, almost to the point of idiocy. Kill me if you must but I will not allow you to kill my friends without dying with them. Besides, are you not from Earth, just as all humans are. Is every human scum in your opinion?”