Driok
Iwas expecting the baron to double-cross me, but perhaps not as swiftly as he has done. I had mostly expected him to let us get away from Xracak City before doing something unspeakable.
Sending the Lxlt after us at his own gathering seems overkill, but then I get the impression the baron has encountered Sarkarnii before.
Maybe he decided to play his hand early after all.
However, regardless of his plans, I have spent my time putting my own in place. With my hand around Maggie’s wrist, I run out of the secondary, rear airlock as it closes down. I release a further burst of flame at the thing, and it shuts down tightly. No one will be following us through that exit.
“Where are we going?” Maggie asks as we head down the passage with the internal atrium on one side.
“We need to get to the spaceport.”
“And how are we going to do that?”
“I believe flying is the best option.”
Behind us there is the sound of pulsar weapons being discharged.
“How are we going to get to the flyer?”
“We don’t need a flyer.” I grin at her. “I only used one earlier because I didn’t want to attract attention.”
“You mean you think Xracak City would bat an eyelid at a dragon?”
“Hardly, but enough of their inhabitants might be too interested for my liking.” We reach the end of the passage and turn right towards a floor to ceiling window. “However…” I release another sheet of flame at the reinforced plas-glas. “We are out of options and leaving anyway.”
The window bursts, and there is a gigantic rush of wind.
I gather Maggie in my arms and make a run for it, leaping through the gap and into the traffic which buffets me back and forth.
I close my body around Maggie to protect her as we descend down the side of the building until finally we’re in a clear enough airspace for me to shift into my Sarkarnii form, unfurling my wings as I clutch Maggie in my claws.
“Hold on,” I rumble as I beat hard to gain height.
“Watch out,” Maggie shouts back.
A pulsar bolt sears over my wing, causing me to swing to the left.
“Give me some room.” Maggie is wriggling in my hand. She has the pulsar pistol out.
“You won’t hit anything at this dist—”
She fires, and behind us there is the sound of an explosion.
“You were saying?” Maggie clutches at one of my claws, which cage her like she belongs to me, which she does.
I quickly check behind me and see a flyer disintegrating. Unfortunately there are two more behind it which are clearly following us.
Xracak City might be huge, but it’s not lawless, even if those who care not for laws abound.
A place like this simply could not operate with the efficiency it does if lawlessness was tolerated.
I beat my wings up for a second or two until I reach a multiple lane of flyer traffic, one which winds its way in the direction we need to go, and one which is controlled centrally.
I maneuver myself underneath the stream of flyers and increase my speed.
Not unsurprisingly, several pulsar bolts whizz past me, along with one which impacts my hind leg.
“Driok!” Maggie calls out.
“It’ll take more than a pulsar bolt to bother me,” I respond.
“You need to go faster,” she adds.
“Not just yet.”
The flyers are catching up with us, which is something I was hoping because the moment they open fire at me, and consequently at the stream of traffic above me, I hear the noise I was hoping to hear. The whooshing sound of the enforcers.
Now I put on a burst of speed. Now I swing around above the traffic, out of the way of the enforcers. A quick glance behind me shows the flyers being controlled by plasma nets and the occupants being plucked from their seats by vicious looking metal claws.
“Nice one!” Maggie shouts above the sound of the city and the rushing wind. “Not sure about your choice of friend though. The baron was a bit of a twat.”
“He was no friend of mine,” I growl back. “Never trust a Ntahal.”
The spaceport is up ahead, and with a quick final look to make sure we’re not being followed, I descend to the hangar and shift into my biped form, catching my sweet mate in my arms.
She squeaks beautifully, and the dress she wears is still intact. It won’t be for long once I get her aboard and we leave this sector of space.
It’s quicker and easier despite her protests to carry her through the hangar and to the ship the Paralnyi procured for me. It’s a decent size and already has weapons installed.
“Is this it?” Maggie looks up at the ship as we climb the ramp to the main airlock.
“It might not be pretty, but that’s what I prefer. It won’t attract attention.”
“Like a dragon in the middle of a city?”
“Just like that.”
The airlock closes behind us, and there is the sweet scent of recycled air. I put Maggie on her feet, and she brushes down her dress.
“You’re bleeding.” She reaches for my leg, where the pulsar wound is rapidly closing.
“I won’t be for long. Sarkarnii heal fast,” I explain, ushering her up the main passage to the bridge where I fire up the pre-flight sequence.
Maggie puts her hand to her mouth, and I wrap my arms around her. “I promise, it’s not so bad.”
“Horace,” she says. “I left him…”
She’s thinking about the nevving horc! I’m not sure whether to be pleased she cares about it or growl because she’s worried.
“I didn’t pay the Paralnyi for this ship. I gave him our quarters instead,” I say quickly. “To buy time. To keep the baron off our tracks. I told him about the horc.”
Maggie looks up at me. “I brought him with us when we went to see the baron. I let him go do his own thing.”
“I know. It found me.” I grimace, trying to forget the feeling of the little tentacle feet on my scales. “I told the Paralnyi to look after it,” I say, eventually.
“Promise?”
“I promise.”
She studies my face for a short while, as if trying to be sure. Like I would do anything to hurt her, ever.
“Is there anything I can do?” she says finally.
“Can you get on the comm and request an exit window?” I point to the main comm console as I release her.
Maggie approaches it, checks it over carefully, and nods as if to herself before seating herself, perched slightly uncomfortably, as this ship is not made for bipeds. She activates the console and looks back at me.
“It’s like a giant comm.” She grins. “Can I also send messages to my friends?”
“Once we’re away from Xracak City, you can comm anyone you want,” I respond.
I leave Maggie calling up the spaceport control as I check over the fuel and weapons. All appear to be in order.
“Driok.” Maggie calls my name, making my stomach flip as always.
“Are we good to go?” I ask.
“There’s a problem,” she says, her mouth set in a hard line. “Apparently we can’t leave.”
“We can’t leave?”
“No.”
“And what do you think?” I grin at her.
“I think we’re leaving.” She grins back.
“I agree.” I punch the code into the console. “Good thing I asked for extra shielding.”
“Let’s hope it actually works,” Maggie says, gripping onto the console as the ship breaks its moorings and accelerates out of the hangar.
A barrage of pulsar bolts and missiles rain from every direction.
“Hold on, little mate,” I growl. “This is going to be rough.”