by Saxon Andrew
“The probabilities are good that some of them have had their computers replaced just like Emmett did with this ship. I’ve wondered what Jimmy found out that got him killed and I know that Emmett boasted about you many times. He was really proud of what you were capable of doing. I suspect Jimmy had the original computer removed from his ship and his new computer revealed to him that it was armed. He tried to warn Emmett but just wasn’t successful.”
“What makes you think he changed his computer?”
“He was on the planet where you were installed in Emmett’s ship when he died.”
“I missed that.”
Gregor sighed, “Some of the ships with humans on them may no longer be under the Movement’s control. The Movement knew that if these rogues had access to the weapons on their ships, it would come down to a fight and they would make sure the blasters from one ship would not penetrate the force field of another. It would take more than one ship to destroy a vessel with an operating force field.”
“They really do think far ahead in their planning.”
“That’s right, Computer. I heard the Dragon Ship Commander tell the Monarch that the blaster on my ship was far more powerful than the ones they use. It only made sense that our force field could handle three of their warships if it took two of our blasters to penetrate our force field.”
“But you weren’t sure about that?”
“No, I wasn’t. But things worked out for the best.”
“Are you delaying going back to avoid seeing Kaylee?”
Gregor blew out a hard breath, “Computer, you know me better than anyone I know.”
“The Dragon Engineers are waiting for you at Bellingham, Gregor. You need to gather your courage and get back into the game now.”
Gregor closed his eyes and lowered his head, “Go to full boost.” Gregor felt the acceleration push him back in his chair and he leaned back with his eyes closed…but sleep wouldn’t come.
• • •
“Gregor, we’re moving into orbit.”
Gregor opened his eyes and said, “Contact the Dragon Engineers to meet me at the clearing in an hour.”
“Contacting them now.”
The ship spiraled down to the planet and Gregor stepped out of the landing bay, looked up at the sky, and stretched. This felt like home. He saw a group of people moving his way and recognized Anderson, Ellie, and William among them. He started walking toward them as the ship ignited its boosters and rose into the morning sky. “Gregory, it’s good to see ye.” Ellie ran up and hugged him as Anderson arrived and slapped him on the back. Gregor stumbled forward and Ellie punched her husband in the ribs, “Ye big beast, don’t hurt the lad!”
Anderson rubbed his ribs, “I should give ye the same advice, woman!”
“Ye big sissy.”
Gregor laughed and looked at William, “Ye are making arrows.”
“Yes, we are, Gregory.”
“I’ve brought some other beings with me and they’ll be landing momentarily. I ask ye to be polite and not do anything to antagonize them. They come to help ye.”
“I take it that they are not human.”
“No, they are not and they may startle you with their appearance.”
Ellie smiled, “I doubt that, Gregory.”
A Dragon Freighter came down from high orbit and settled into the clearing. A huge Venzel Dragon came out of the landing bay doors and Ellie’s head went back, “I take it back, Gregory. That thing is…”
“Frightening.” Gregor interrupted.
“And then some!”
The Dragon moved forward at incredible speed and stopped in front of Gregor, “We’ve been ordered here to follow your instructions, Master.”
Gregor saw the crowd was extremely nervous. Something this big shouldn’t have been able to move as fast as it did. “What is ye name?”
The Dragon looked at the crowd and smiled showing two rows of sharp serrated teeth, “I am called Kel and tell your friends that they have nothing to fear from me and the others like me on my ship.”
Ellie looked at Kel and said, “What exactly are you?” The crowd didn’t even flinch at the question. They were awe struck by the giant Dragon.
“I am a citizen of the Venzel Empire. We have formed an alliance with the Human named Gregor to stop the human organization that threatens my species.”
“His name is Gregory,” Ellie said with a raised chin.
William sighed, “Ellie, they know him by Gregor, and it was in that name that we made an agreement.”
“They may call im anything they choose but he’ll always be Gregory to us. Ye brought them here for a reason, Gregory.”
“Yes, I did. I want them to harvest some of the baby trees and see if they can’t develop a weapon to use against the force field starships.”
Kel turned his head almost faster than they could see, “Baby Trees?”
The crowd drew a breath at the question. Gregor looked at them, “Kel does not know ye customs.” Gregor turned to Kel, “On this planet, it is impolite to ask a question.”
Kel stared at him and then said, “Well pardon me in advance but how do you learn anything here?”
The crowd tried to look offended but William started laughing. Soon the entire group joined him. Gregor looked at Kel, “You might have said it this way; ‘You get information another way.’”
Kel stared at Gregor and then said, “What other way?”
The crowd laughed harder and Gregor turned to them, “I ask you to be accepting of our new friend’s communication process.”
William smiled and nodded, “We will, Gregory.” He turned to Kel, “We are amazed at what we see. Ye are incredibly fast on your feet.”
“It comes from a time before we developed technology. Speed was essential to catch a meal.”
Anderson smiled, “Now that I can understand.”
A roar was heard in the distance and Kel’s head whipped around and he lifted his nose, “That sounds like a large predator.”
Gregor smiled; Kel was getting it. He didn’t ask what it was but made a statement.
Ellie nodded, “Aye, it is. And it’s about twice your size.”
Kel’s eyes widened, “Now that is something I would like to see.”
Anderson tilted his head back, “I don’t know if ye would want to get close to it without being armed. It’s really dangerous.”
Kel sniffed the air again and smiled, “Oh, I don’t know about that.” He turned to Gregor, “If I have some free time, I want to go out and hunt one of them.”
William said, “Now that I would like to see!”
Gregor shrugged, “I don’t have a problem with it but I don’t want your Queen upset if you’re harmed.”
“Don’t worry about that. I’ll get clearance before I go out. Now, ye mentioned baby trees.” The crowd burst into applause recognizing the Dragons effort to speak in their terms.
“The wood from the young trees can penetrate the force field.” Kel’s eyes narrowed as he struggled how to speak in a statement instead of a question. Gregor quickly said, “I brought my ship down and the only thing that penetrated the force field were arrows made from young trees. The large trees have absorbed too much metal from the soil for them to penetrate.”
Kel nodded, “Ye are going to demonstrate that for me.”
Gregor smiled, “Very good, Kel. Yes I will but first I want some of the Clan Members to take you out into the forest to harvest some trees for you to experiment with.”
Kel looked at the group and Anderson stepped forward, “I’ll take ye out.”
“I will bring some of my associates.”
Anderson nodded, “The more the merrier.”
Kel looked at the freighter and fifty Dragons came out of the door. The crowd was impressed and Kel smiled, “We don’t like to be unproductive. The sooner we get started on this, the better.”
Anderson started walking toward the forest, “Then follow me.”
Ellie pulled
her bow over her shoulder and yelled, “Not without me.” Anderson raised his arm and Ellie ran under it.
The crowd moved into the forest and Gregor watched them leave. “That’s how a couple should be, Gregor. They share the risks.”
Gregor raised his hand and started rubbing his forehead. He sighed and turned around, “It’s good to see you, Kaylee.”
“Is that why you took so long to get here?”
Gregor looked up and then looked her in the eyes, “No, I sort of dreaded this conversation.”
“You didn’t think I could figure out the lie you told me.”
“It wasn’t a lie, Kaylee.”
“What do you call it?”
“Trying to protect someone I care about. I lost Emmett because I didn’t pay attention to what was happening around me and I was not going to make that mistake again.” Gregor saw her eyes soften slightly and he stared at her in silence.
Kaylee sat down on a log at the clearing’s edge and patted it beside her. Gregor sat down and stared at the forest. “How did you know?” he asked.
“The filament was gone.” Gregor closed his eyes and then nodded. Kaylee continued, “The most important one is not me but you and I figured that out after I moved away.” Gregor exhaled and Kaylee said, “The only way for that filament you created to be gone was for you to remove it. That means you possess the means of stopping and creating them. So the only reason you had to order me out was to come up with a lie that on the surface appeared to be true. You had to know that both of our ships would have been safer than just you facing those three Dragon Warships.” Gregor nodded. Kaylee stared at him and shouted loud enough to make him wince, “WELL SAY SOMETHING!!”
“I just…just…wouldn’t be able to live with myself if something happened to you. I nearly lost my soul with Emmett’s death and if something happened to you; that would have sealed it.”
“Hey, you told me that if I ever came around you again, it would be the last thing I ever did.”
“That was before I knew you, Kaylee. You were just that woman then.”
“And what am I now?”
Gregor looked at her and then looked back at the forest, “The most beautiful, courageous, smartest, and talented person I’ve ever met.” Gregor stood up and walked away.
Chapter Sixteen
He had only gone ten steps before Kaylee caught up to him, grabbed his arm, and spun him around, “HOW DO YOU SAY SOMETHING LIKE THAT AND WALK AWAY!?! Gregor’s mouth opened and then closed. He stared at her, tried to speak again and then turned around to leave. Kaylee grabbed his arm again, “ANSWER ME!!”
Gregor blew out a breath and hung his head, “I just…I can’t…I can’t find words when I’m in a confrontation with someone I care about…I just freeze up.”
“You had no difficulty talking with that Dragon Queen!!”
Gregor shrugged, “I didn’t care about her!”
“Are you telling me you care about me?!”
Gregor looked at her, opened his mouth, closed it, shook his head and said, “I just can’t do this, Kaylee!” He turned and started walking away.
She ran around him in an instant and put her hand on his chest stopping him, “Can’t do what, Gregor?”
Gregor looked up at the sky and then looked her in the eyes, “Everyone! I mean everyone I’ve ever cared about is dead! I watched my mother and Emmett die in front of me. I just can’t survive that again!” Kaylee dropped her hand and Gregor shook his head, “I just can’t do it.” He stepped around her and walked toward the settlement. Kaylee watched him leave and saw the pain in his eyes. She remembered that he was traumatized when he was four years old and forced to leave training. She lowered her head and began to understand. Pieces began falling into place. Gregor said that in all the ships he and Emmett pirated, no one was ever harmed. He refused to kill the crews on the Dragon Warships. He refused to harm Anderson when he was attacked. The only people he had killed were trying to kill him.
And now he was going to have to face off against powerful human warships coming to steal children from Bellingham. And he knew that she was going to be on the front lines trying to stop them. She sat down and remembered that she had hurt his feelings earlier when he said that no woman would ever want him. She was silent and didn’t correct him. She left to go after Sam and he supported her doing it. She had done nothing but tell him he was unworthy and she had the nerve to call him a tramp for kissing that woman on the cheek, which was probably the purest emotion she had ever received. For all Gregor knew, she really didn’t care about him and she had done nothing to show him she did.
Kaylee sat down in the sand and put her head in her hands and wept. The good never get what they deserve and she felt dirty for her behavior. She stood up and called her ship down from orbit. It arrived and she ran on board and went to her quarters. She avoided looking in the mirror.
• • •
The next day, her computer said, “You’ve been asked to report to the Clan Gathering.”
Kaylee shook her head, “Tell them I’m not going.”
“Kaylee, the Dragons, Clan Leaders, Gregor and you have been directed to the gathering to determine how to confront the coming menace.”
Kaylee rolled over and stood up from her bed, “How long before I have to be there?”
“At sunset, which is ninety minutes from now.”
“I’m going to shower and change into some clean clothes. I’ll take the mini-shuttle down to the surface.”
“It’s on Gregor’s ship.” Kaylee’s head slumped and the computer quickly said, “I’ll have his ship come over and I’ll move it into the landing bay by remote control.”
“Thank you, Computer.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“No, I don’t.” Kaylee took off her clothes and went into the bathing compartment.
• • •
She landed just as the sun disappeared and she climbed out of the shuttle. She saw Ellie standing a few yards away waiting on her to arrive. She walked up and Ellie said, “Ye look like eight miles of bad paths through the forest.”
“Let’s just go to the meeting.”
Ellie grabbed her shoulder, “Kaylee, don’t ye understand that men never know what’s best for them. They have to be led to understanding. If ye don’t know it, ye should know that they have no chance against a determined woman. The question I have is; are you determined enough to get what you want or do ye just not really want it?”
Kaylee stared at Ellie and said, “You just asked a question.”
“Should I ask it again?”
Kaylee stared in Ellie’s eyes and, after a moment, chuckled, “No, that won’t be necessary.”
“Good, let’s go to a meeting.”
• • •
They walked into the gathering and Kaylee saw Gregor sitting to the right of the Clan Leaders with the contingent of Dragons. Ellie walked away from her and went to sit beside Anderson. Kaylee hesitated and then walked across the front of the gathering and sat down beside Gregor. He saw his eyebrows come together but he turned back to look at the Clan Leaders.
The Leaders began addressing the huge gathering under the giant trees and after a few minutes, Kaylee reached over and took Gregor’s hand in hers. His head came around and he saw she was watching the Clan Leaders. His hand was stiff but after a moment, he squeezed her hand and held it gently. Kaylee smiled; Ellie was right. She realized that she didn’t need to convince Gregor to care for her, he already did. All she needed to do was to just allow him to do it. His love would defeat his fears. She just needed to provide it good soil to grow in and words wouldn’t do it. Touch is what was called for and suddenly she found her heart. Gregor looked at her as he felt the temperature in her hand go up. She glanced at him and smiled. She turned back to the Clan Leaders and she felt Gregor’s arm relax.
The MacGregor Clan Leader was recognized and he looked at Gregor, “Tell them what ye know.”
Gregor released her hand and
stood up. He told them about how he learned that Grahame O’Connor was one of the high leaders in the Movement. He told them that was why the original Orange Robed Traders came to their planet to find children to take back to Earth. Several Clan Leaders questioned him and Grahame’s Clan Leader had the most questions but the gathering believed Gregor.
The Head of the Clan Council stood up, “What should we expect if the Orange Robes return?”
There was a moment of silence and Gregor said, “Ye can’t hide. O’Connor know where all your communities are located. That’s where he will send his ships.”
Anderson yelled, “He’s as good as dead if he lands.”
Kel hissed and the gathering grew silent. “He will not land his ships. He’ll simply fly over your communities and open fire with his ship’s blasters.”
The Clan Leaders stared at the Dragon and Gregor said, “He’s right. That’s exactly what he’ll do. But first he will send a ship down to drop off another Orange Robed Priest that will put his head in the dirt and cry out that there’s no reason for any loss of life, just give him the two children he wants and he’ll leave you in peace. You will, of course, refuse and the Priest will yell that he will call off the attack if you change your mind.”
The gathering was silent and Kel said loudly, “I’ve been examining the metal that you use to make your swords. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Gregor looked at him and Kel quickly said, “We took some of it out to our ships and fired a blaster at it.” Gregor raised his eyebrows and Kel smiled, “I don’t care what you say, that is the same thing as asking a question!” The gathering burst out laughing and Kel said, “We couldn’t harm it.”
Gregor shook his head, “I find that hard to believe. Fire is used to forge the metal into swords and I know your blasters are much hotter than any fire that could be made here.”
A swordsmith stood up, “Gregor, the blade has to be sharpened and formed before all the impurities are burned out of it. If it’s not done before the impurities are removed, the blade cannot be changed in any way.”
Gregor looked at Kel, “You have a reason for saying that?”
Kel extended his tongue in agreement, “I understand the tall trees have absorbed a huge amount of the metal. I’ve been wondering if a blaster could make it through them to the ground.”