ooo
Tem-aki studied the rough, white rock escarpment surrounding Dasya Voltain’s observation port, then raised her gaze to compare the rough limestone to the distant arc of the molten moon. She didn't know what it was about the hot, red moon, but the closer it got the more papillae bumps popped up on her skin. She shivered and turned her attention to the holo-image of what she had concluded was a reclamation unit harvesting some sort of chemicals.
“Computer, please transmit this to Admiral Roget and Administrator Fitzminor.”
“Complying.”
After s few moments, a slightly static voice said, “You are on a restricted waveband. This is your second warning.”
“Administrator Fitzminor requested that this data be sent to Admiral Roget.”
The pompous voice said, “If you do not cease and desist, your transmission will be forcibly ended.”
Tem-aki sighed. “This is Adjutant Atano. Admiral Fitz-” With a screech, the transceiver relays were back-fed, causing an overload and an alarm began shrilling. The next second, she smelled hot metal. “Computer, cease transmission.”
“Complying.” She snapped the cover off the radio. Inside, the board had several tiny molten puddles where the most fragile joints had been. “I don’t believe the idiot did that!” What hadn't he understood about the information being requested? When the admiral found out why the data they wanted had been cut off, she hated to think what would happen to the 'by-the-book-fool'.
She looked out the window at the rising arc of what she was starting to think of as the demon moon and shivered, as she felt more alone than she had ever been in all her life.
ooo
A high-pitched keening raised the small hairs on Thunder's arms. Muscles tensed to flee, he cautiously moved forward until he was near the opening from which the awful sound was coming. He took a deep breath, then blew it out and peered around the door jam. It was the water-infested room and the black and gray creature was huddled on top of a floating mat on the far side of the chamber. Previously, the fish-boy had seemed oblivious to the water surrounding it, yet now, it seemed to cringe away, so that probably meant that it wanted to stay clear of him. Therefore, he needed to wade in, to question it.
Thunder looked back up the long corridor, where a patch of sky was still visible. He turned back to the crying creature, which seemed to be his only source for information. The water appeared to be the same depth as before and that hadn't killed him. Thunder looked back at the beckoning sunlight, then gritted his teeth and half-stepped, half-fell into the waist-deep pool.
Ripples of disturbed water caressed the mat and the fish-boy huddled, whirled toward the door, sniffed, and then threw its hideous head back and howled like a baying wolf.
"Easy, kid, I only want some answers." This assumed the creature could communicate, as a barton or cat could.
"M-m-m-m-mmmm," the thing shrieked.
Thunder focused on the whimpering animal and tried to ignore the fact that he was standing in hip-high water, in a space, which had a strange type of door, that he did not know how to operate "Relax." He grabbed the mat, which he had previously been on, pulled it close, then shoved it into the doorway and hoped the bubbles were sturdy enough to jam the door open, because there was no way he was going to get locked in this dreadful room.
Cautiously, he maneuvered across the pool, then he tentatively put out his hand and gently caressed the fish-boy's cool leathery hide.
"M-m-m-m-mmmm-mm. Cccccccc. M-mmmmm-mm," it screamed.
“Its okay, I won't hurt you.” He continued stroking the creature, as he would a yeti.
“Cccccccc. M-mmmmm-mm.”
"Like to talk, do you?"
"Ccccccccccc-ca."
Thunder looked at the tempting ray of sunlight on the floor of the dry corridor, and steeled his resolve. Hand, gentle on the fish-boy's black back, Thunder inspected the creature's pale, distorted face. A network of thick white slashes crisscrossed its features from where the hairline would have been, if the creature had hair down to where it's waist would have been, if he had a waist. As its ear-cringing howls calmed, Thunder studied the opaque white orbs, which should have been eyes. What horrible accident had befallen it?
He gently touched its face, feeling for signs of where the nose and ears might have been. While he didn't find any indication that any had ever been in the conventional areas, he discovered that he could understand it better than a Yeti and confirmed that it was male.
"Mmmmmmmm-mmmmm-mm ccccccc."
Thunder put his hands on either side of its head and looked within. Torn cartilage and scarring spoke of a terrible trauma in the past.
Compassion filled him.
As his senses probed the interior of the animal, he realized that the breathing apparatus was at the back of its head, but its form of hearing remained a mystery, unless it involved the smashed cartilage where its forehead would traditionally be.
ooo
Raine leaned toward her monitor and verified that everything was in order before she turned her attention to the starboard window, where a mooncow approach the closest Crystalline Reclamation Unit. From her vantage point, the CRU's mirrored surface made it look as if the giant beast was approaching an oddly shaped juvenile. As soon as the mooncow was in the correct position, the CRU's automated harness disappeared beneath the beast's burning heat. Raine held her breath in anticipation of the first glimpse of brilliant azure liquid, which supported Kalamar's entire culture.
Nambaba's warning system beeped. Raine jerked her attention to her monitor. A tiny white speck was moving from the center to the bottom, where a blue arc indicated Kalamar's moisture-laden atmosphere. A kelp-colored dot broke out of formation and began zigzagging in front of the white one. Situation in control, she turned her attention back to the majestic view of dragon milking.
ooo
Warmth and power surged through Thunder's back as he sensed Kazza's presence. He allowed the great cat to see the fish-boy through his eyes, then merged his myst power with Kazza's and together, they willed the creature's torn fragments to realign in their proper place.
ooo
"Gold Leader, Eleven here, I need help."
Raine looked back at her monitor, where one kelp-colored dot was frantically zig-zagging toward the Sea of Sorrows and four tiny white specks were moving to intercept it. "I'm on my way."
"Thanks, Gold Leader."
As she maneuvered Nambaba out of position, the radio crackled. "This is Gold-Twenty-Three, I've got two runaways." Twenty-Three 's tone was tense. "Heading for The Sea of Storms."
"This is Gold-Seven. Mine are turning, too. Same vector."
"Thirty-Nine, here. Ditto."
Raine's view-screen showed dragons converging on Eleven's position. "Maelstrom!" She keyed in Headquarters' frequency. Cold sweat bathed her body. "Has someone turned on an energy beacon in the Sea of Storms?"
"Negative," Headquarters relied. "What's going on up there?"
"I don't know. We're trying to contain it, but may need reinforcements." Raine rammed Nambaba's stick forward and swooped between a dragon and the rim of Kalamar's atmosphere, then flared the tentacles. The dragon veered away.
"Bravo, Gold Leader," Eleven said. "That took guts."
"Thanks." Raine glanced at her instruments and her stomach churned. Would she have made the move if she'd realized how close to the atmosphere she was? She tapped the configuration code and held her breath.
"CRU-Four here. Our mooncow refuses to tether."
"Hold off reclamation until we get the dragons quiet," Raine said.
"Confirm order."
On her monitor, white fractals and greenish pixels performed a well-known dance above the rim of Kalamar's atmospheric layer. Occasionally the greenish pixels splayed into a starburst. The only motionless white fractals were next to the azure cigar-shapes. Obviously, she'd overreacted when she gave her unprecedented order. Just then, a white squiggle twisted and the azure cylinder spun away.
<
br /> "Order confirmed. Hold off reclamation until mooncows are under control."
ooo
Bit by bit, Thunder and Kazza repaired torn cartilage using the energy channels of the creature's body to reassemble and mend the damage. Slowly, working from the center outward, the scarring melted away and the middle auditory chamber reformed in its proper position.
When Kazza eased the pressure on his back, Thunder realized how stiff he was and that there was water all around him. He sensed a purr of promise from the great cat, then Kazza's presence dissipated as the tide of space and time restored the distance between them. Thunder succumbed to total exhaustion and fell asleep.
ooo
Inside Dasya Voltain ’s science lab, Tem-aki divided her attention between repairing the damaged radio and studying the strange holographic image of the way madrox seemed to almost mate with the strange ships.
Then, most of the madrox seemed to decide to head toward the planet's surface, as they had twice before. As she fused a damaged connection, fragments of the Kalamar transmissions resonated, “--- got Reclamation 8 in sight.” Though it wasn't clear, she could understand the words and hear the stress, so maybe the behavior was not typical. “It’s not good. The dragon is still attached and heading for home.”
“Vydian, cut the harness.” Though Tem-aki couldn't be positive, she was ninety-percent sure that this voice was the pilot she'd encountered in the asteroid field.
“Emergency eject, not responding.”
“Keep trying.”
Tem-aki admired the pilot's calm, professional tone, then laughed and wondered what else she should expect from a culture that seemed to have madrox as some sort of pet.
“It’s too late,” a new voice said. “It’s too frigging late! The dragon just dove.” Tem-aki stared at the holo-image, where a large orange molten wave expanded across the face of Vilecom. Obviously they had not anticipated what had just happened, even though it seemed like the logical conclusion. What insanity made the Kalamarans tie their ships to madrox?
“Control to shepherd One,” a deep, authoritative voice said. “Report to Central Command and be prepared to give a full account of today’s incident.” Tem-aki bit her lower lip and looked out the portal, to see which ship broke formation. As she'd expected, it was the one with the slightly deformed starboard side, which she had encountered in the asteroid field.
“Now?”
“At shift end.”
Well, she could now state with some certainty that the one known as either Gold Leader or shepherd One was the one who had captured her brother. And that was the ship she intended to keep track of. “Computer, monitor this ship at all times.” She tapped the screen.
“Complying.”
ooo
In the blink of an eye, the agitated dragons became docile. Raine stared at the monitor and wondered if this was some sort of test.
"Gold Leader, we're behind schedule."
"Resume pumping." She maneuvered Nambaba back into position, and watched as CRU-34 finished harvesting its dragon. Through the semi-transparent dome, it felt as if she was close enough to see the supports feather out and mechanically release the mooncow. Within minutes, the second one was being harnessed.
A melodious tone hummed through Nambaba's speakers; Raine keyed in her private com-code. "Gold Leader, I have trouble." She recognized the quiet voice of CRU-18's Communication's Officer.
"State it."
"The dragon we are harvesting is restless."
"How close is it to-"
"Oh Spirit, it's jerking the harness!"
"Free it!"
"That's against reg-"
"Just do it." Raine held her breath and stared at the monitor, which showed a coupled mooncow and reclamation ship tied in a violent wrestling match.
Something loud clanged, then static took over the channel.
Raine stared at the monitor, counting ships. Three of the eight Crystalline Reclamation Units were attached to madrox, and two were hastily separating from their mooncows, but the third pairing was slashing around in a violently erratic pattern. Raine swallowed hard and watched the madrox's savage, quicksilver movements, which looked like a frenzied shark fight.
"I don't frigging believe it," an overly excited voice said over the primary dragon frequency.
Raine swatted transmit. "This is a private waveband, please change fr-"
"This is CRU-91" The agitated person interrupted. "The cow wiped its frigging tail and sliced right through 27's hull! They didn’t have a chance!"
"Please clarify." But she didn't need clarification; the monitor showed an azure cylinder spinning out of position. Eyes wide, throat dry, she helplessly watched it vanish from view behind Vilecom.
"Eighteen was off our port when it went. I don't frigging believe-"
Raine hit her override switch. "Confine all transmissions to data. All Reclamation Units, release madrox, now. Acknowledge."
A chorus of voices shouted, "Will-co."
"Nine here, we're trying, but this old girl is fighting us."
"Cut it loose if you have to."
"Thirty-Nine here. They're breaking for the surface, again."
Raine rammed the collective forward and dove toward Kalamar's surface, again.
"Control to Gold Leader. Report to Central Command and be prepared to give a full account of today's incident."
Unbelievable! "As soon as I can."
"Now."
Raine looked at the monitor. Dragons were beginning to swarm toward the same point in the Sea of Storms. What could possibly be attracting them to such a deadly place? At least if she returned to planet, she could get to her home and assure herself that Dalf was alive.
But first, she had to answer for her decisions, which protected her crew as well as the reclamation units, to an idiot that blindly followed protocol and had never left the planet's surface, so didn't have a clue about how to do the job.
Despite the stupidity of the summons, Raine knew that if she did not report as soon as possible, she would face either demotion or death. She slammed the nav-stick to port and began her landing pattern.
ooo
Raine sat on the hard plastoid bench, back straight, eyes focused on the opposite wall where a mossy spot resembled a flying swan. When she half closed her eyes; the peeling paint became drab yellow clouds skewering a gray sky and the green bird’s flight took on an ominous feeling. Gooseflesh crawled over her arms, so Raine closed her eyes and wondered why the building was not being properly maintained.
She understood why Nambaba wasn't in the best repair, when the ship had been issued to her, it had been understood that its repairs came out of her pay. And that had not been a problem as long as Gornt was alive.
But why weren't the offices in decent repair?
The sound of rustling papyrus was punctuated by the faint murmur of voices. Her home sounded more alive. Even a shift aboard Nambaba, with the beautiful contrast between the chilly lifelessness of Ishdoo and the heat of Vilecom and the continual radio chatter between pilots was more lively. A distant door closed and the soft sound of footfalls approached. She opened her eyes and resumed staring at the mossy spot, until her peripheral vision detected movement.
Shoulders square and head high, Otami strutted toward her, but he ignored her so completely that he did not even give her a nod of acknowledgement as he swaggered past.
He might as well have proclaimed that she had been ordered here based on his complaints. Raine gritted her teeth and tried not to show how impatient or angry she felt at being treated like a disobedient child and facing the possibility of punishment because of the actions of some demented mooncalves.
The worst part was that, except for the beast that had left the sector, all the odd behavior had begun on Otami's shift, not hers. Of course, it would be just like him to have her ordered to fly the extra shift just so he could blame her for everything.
Raine gritted her teeth and prepared to be subjected to another one of Ot
ami’s one-upmanship tales. His continual jealousy and status-climbing explained why she had been ordered to leave space early. And if her pompous rival had known she was waiting out here to be questioned, he would have droned on, just to make her wait. She risked a frigid glance at Otami's departing backside.
Of course, she could be numbing her backside because the Fleet Overlord was nobility and he was making her wait so she would feel every inch of her inferiority. Her molars gritted with the loathing that she could not show.
With a whoosh, a door opened. "Thank you for understanding." The unctuous voice sounded a lot like her brother. It took all Raine's willpower not to look at the speaker.
"Any time." There was the sound of heels clicking in respect, then the purposeful reverberation of departing footfalls.
Another door opened and someone with long waves of brilliant purple, which curled down over a long gauzy pink jacket with iridescent pearl buttons pranced toward her. "The Fleet Overlord will see you now. Please follow me." Raine stood up and turned toward the pimply-faced, purple haired adjutant. He – at least she thought it was a he – made a precision turn, goose-stepped to the open doorway and then stood at attention, as if he thought he needed to guard the entrance.
Raine stepped past him, and entered the High Colonel’s sanctuary. She inhaled deeply and caught the scent of myrrh, her brother's favored scent. She frowned. Preston wouldn't have any reason to be in this room. Would he? Her gaze darted around the room’s thick tapestries, which all focused on the theme of dragons and their care, as she approached the huge slab of polished lava that had been turned into a desk.
She snapped to attention in front of the man who held her destiny in the palm of his pudgy hand. Instead of acknowledging her, the fat man's attention stayed on his monitor's scrolling data. Raine stood ramrod straight and focused on the frolicking dragons in the tapestry behind him instead of his gaudy gold tunic and perfectly dyed emerald coiffeur, which she suspected was a wig.
"Do you know what percentage was harvested during your shift?" he asked without looking up.
"No, Sir." Her neck and spine ached as if the weight of the world was balanced on top of her head.
Thunder Moon: Book 2 of the Chatterre Trilogy (Chatterre Triology) Page 15