A Warrior's Return (32 page)

The dragons flew off the fuselage of the
bar-Seth as Eleanor slowed down.

“Eleanor!”

“Yes Captain?”

“Dive the ship as close as you can to the
beacon array!”

“Yes Sir!”

“But without shields we’ll flood!” Katie
said.

“Yes I know Katie.” Was all Talaric
responded with.

Talaric spoke again, “Can you close the
doors throughout the ship?”

“Already done Sir!” Responded Levyon from
the background.

“Okay then get the generators ready to
deploy Ellanara and try to extend the dome upwards as far as you
can towards the surface. I think if I remember right the beacon is
only around three hundred feet deep at this point in the ocean.”
Talaric said.

“Will do brother, rather smart thinking on
your part I must say.” Ellanarra said.

Talaric shrugged, “I have my moments.”

Talaric heard Katie gasp and he wheeled to
see what she had seen. One of the enemy craft was hovering only a
short distance away.

In the background fire could be seen
interlacing across the sky all around the ship’s hull, as the very
air was lit up by the flames of the tannin, who were landing on the
enemy craft and ripping them apart with talon and fang.

This enemy ship must’ve slipped through the
rain of fire. It opened fire with its guns directly at the forward
windows of the control room. There was a red flash across the
windows.

It was the largest of the tannin and Talaric
heard Ellanara say, “Kregridor!” The heavy caliber rounds of the
enemy craft smashed into the heavy back plate armor of the tannin
and sheeted off it in a lead rain to either side. The force of the
shots rippled the massive expanse of the tannin’s back, as if
giving it a back massage.

The firing stopped and the tannin turned its
head around toward the enemy craft and Talaric saw a missile shoot
off at point-blank range toward them. The tannin lunged off the
ship’s side and somehow caught the missile midflight with the quick
clasp of a taloned paw around the missile. It brought the missile
up and bit off the smoke streaming end of it.

The tannin spit the remains of the missile’s
jet pack off to the side, before lobbing the remaining body of the
missile at the enemy craft, which exploded into a fireball of flame
as the missile hit it. Talaric blinked and looked around the room.
Things had certainly changed while he was gone that was for
sure!

“Wow!” Was all Katie could muster and then
as if speaking to her inner self she said, “I think I like
dragons!”

“They’re tough blighters I’ll give you that!
Hang on crew we’re going under!”

The bar-Seth smacked into the waves hard
without the benefit of a shield to soften the blow and immediately
began to sink dictated by Eleanor’s downward thrust. Bubbles
streamed out around the bar-Seth as water made its way into damaged
sections of the ship.

Everyone was still for the most part each
reflecting on their own mortality, as they considered the
likelihood of the watery grave that they would share with the
bar-Seth. It had been a wild ride, while it had lasted.

The bar-Seth with a crackling groan of
crumpling metal alloy hit the bottom of the ocean and even more
water started to pour into the ship including the control room,
where it leaked in around the hatchway doors.

“Generators are on their way and drilling
into the core. It will take a little while.” Ellanara’s words came
through the com completely garbled sounding, as water came up over
the top of my seat.

I fought my way clear of my station which
was on the lowest level of the control room. A torrent of sea water
was rushing down the stairs so hard that it knocked my legs out
from under me. I fought back up to my feet sputtering for air and
hacking up seawater.

I felt myself lifted up bodily and I saw it
was Titus. He dragged me along with him, as he waded up the stairs
against the full force of the water rushing down at us. He snatched
Katie up with his other hand, as she was being carried away by the
fast moving current past us.

Eventually Titus cleared it to the uppermost
level, where the water was only a foot deep, but the control room
was filling up fast!

Talaric grabbed a hold of me and I leaned
into him feeling completely drained of energy, as my teeth began to
chatter from the cold of the water and the shock of our
predicament.

“What’s the holdup Ellanara?” Talaric asked
impatiently.

“It’s done I just need to get some extra
power up before engaging the dome!” Ellanara said.

The water was up to our knees now and I drew
closer to Talaric. I didn’t want to die, not now when we had almost
made it!

“Engaging the dome!”

We all turned to look out through the
remaining sections still uncovered of the forward windows to see
the dome slide up over both our ship and the bright particle beam
of the beacon array that we were parked close to.

The particle beam sheeted out over the dome
as it desperately tried to find a way through to the beacon array,
it flickered as its power fluctuated and then it disappeared
altogether.

“At least we have that accomplished. This
world is safe for the time being.” Sparky said in the
background.

“Don’t count us out yet Sparky. Eleanor do
you see what I gave you?” Ellanara asked.

“You recharged the power supply with the
generators and rerouted all of it over into the engines!” Eleanor
responded excitedly.

“Yes I’ve cut off the power leaks so it
shouldn’t drain off on you. The dome is going to expand upward in a
couple of seconds. It should reach close to a hundred feet from the
surface of the ocean. Can you try to bring the ship up with the
dome?” Ellanara asked uncertainly.

“Yes I can!” Eleanor said resolutely.

The bar-Seth groaned and creaked before
sluggishly moving upward heavy laden with water, as the dome
expanded narrowly upward toward the surface. The cold water was up
to my waist now.

It was at my chest, when the bar-Seth
stopped and started shuddering.

“That’s all I can get out of her! She’s
gonna slip back under in less than a minute.” Eleanor said
grimly.

“That’s good enough anyway! I see an air
pocket outside the glass! We’re at the top of the dome. Put that
thing in auto pilot hover mode and let’s get out of here!” Talaric
yelled out.

“I would Sir, but that function wasn’t
covered in basic training! Couldn’t tell you where the bloody
button is for that!” Eleanor said grimly.

“It’s this one here!” Said Levyon, as he
pointed toward a yellow button.

His imaging was fluctuating and his voice
was somewhat garbled, but still understandable. Eleanor hit the
button and jumped out of the chair and into the water.

“Yikes! That’s cold!” She sputtered out.

She turned back to Levyon, “Sorry about
crashing the old girl! Best old crate I ever flew!”

“It has served my master’s intended purpose
and that is enough. I wish you all well.” He said simply before he
flickered once more and went out.

Talaric drew a pistol and I jumped slightly
at the loudness of the percussion of the shots. The forward glass
screens busted at the impact of the heavy caliber bullets and the
slightly elevated seawater beyond the glass pushed through the
broken windows with a mighty whoosh.

“Swim for it!” Talaric called out as the
water levels equalized with those outside the ship.

We dove forward into the water as the
bar-Seth began to sink slowly downward. It was hard to hold my
breath let alone swim, because the water was so cold. I wasn’t even
sure I was out of the ship or which way was up.

A hand grabbed me by the foot and drug me
upward in the opposite way I had thought the surface to be. More
hands pulled me up and my head broke the surface of the bubble
formed by the escaped air of the bar-Seth, which had already sunken
back under.

I looked around frantically for Rafael, but
relaxed at the sight of him riding high on the shoulders of the man
who had taught him how to whittle on the helicopter ride out of the
desert.

“Now what?” Katie chattered out.

“Now we….” Talaric trailed off as he looked
up suddenly at a darker shadow above the dim glow of the dome’s
ceiling. Whatever it was sank completely through the dome with
ease.

“Wait for help.” Talaric finished, as we all
stared at the massive green and purple dragon as its head rose out
of the water massively over top of us.

“How are you all fairing?” The beast spoke
out loud, which was shocking and Eleanor in her typical brashness
of character responded.

“About as bloody well as one can expect
sharing a blinking ice water bath with a monster such as
yourself!”

Now was not the time for your big mouth
Eleanor, I screamed inside myself.

The dragon just gave a belly shaking laugh
that rippled the water around us.

“Can you take us all through the shield
Thora?” Ellanara asked uncertainly.

Thora nodded and extended a massive forearm
out to us and bent down slightly.

“Climb on brave strangers and welcome to
your new home. You are certainly deserving of it!”

Like shivering, half drowned rats, we
climbed up the scaled arm onto the heavy plated monster’s back.
There was plenty to hold onto, but it was hard to hold onto
anything because I was so cold.

Talaric pressed over top of me and secured
me to the dragons back, as Rafael was held down by the warrior, who
had elected himself as Rafael’s caretaker. I reached my hand out to
Rafael and we each held each other’s hand as the dragon, I took to
be a female, craned her massive head around.

“All on board? Good. Now hang on my dears!”
She said before she swam through the dome wall that seemed to have
no effect on her.

We were enveloped completely in cold
seawater again and I almost lost my breath and swallowed seawater,
but I held onto it out of desperation. The pressure was greater to
than before.

I hadn’t realized how much the dome had
shielded us from the outside pressures of the ocean depths. In
panic I saw Rafael lose his air, but faster than a blink the
warrior holding him opened his mouth overtop Rafael’s and shared
his own air with Rafael.

Dear God where did they make these kind of
sacrificial amazing men?

Apparently on this world was the clear
answer. I wanted to be a part of raising men like that and
fortunately I had just the man to do it with. We broke through to
the surface and we all gasped for air like fish out of water.

The massive wings to either side of us
unfurled and beat vigorously pulling all of us into the air with
the monster as it took flight.

It was midday and the sun was bright. The
breeze blowing over us was warm and I lay against the dragons back
in complete relaxation, as I soaked the heat up.

Roric moved to the side of Krista and they
stared at each other smiling as they lay basking in the sun on the
back of the tannin.

“Was there enough excitement on this trip
for you honey?” Roric asked smiling.

Krista rolled her eyes and laughed, “Too
much! Way too much! I don’t think I’m leaving home ever again!”

Laughing Roric asked, “No more complaints
about having to stay home and miss the action then?”

“No! It’s the home life for me. As for
complaints, I’ll never have a complaint, as long as I have you to
lie beside me at night and walk beside me in the day!”

Roric reached out and brushed a stray
ringlet of red hair streaked with gray off of Krista’s face and
leaned forward toward her, “You know me dear; I never disappoint my
lady do I?”

“Never!” Krista whispered back fiercely
before their lips melted together in a kiss of shared passion and
physical desire for each other.

I had to smile and wipe away a tear, as I
watched the emotional exchange of love between Talaric’s parents
unfold.

“I want that to be us Eva!”

I flipped onto my back as my breath caught
still in my lungs. I looked up with my heart in my eyes at Talaric,
who had risen above me.

He took my hand and looking into my eyes
said, “Would you be willing to make me the happiest of men by
becoming my wife? You are my greatest friend, my closest confidant,
and the focus of my every desire. I don’t want to live one more day
without your presence by my side or your hand in mine. Would you
please share your heart with me and no one else’s for the rest of
my life?”

“Oh yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! I thought you’d
never ask!” I screamed out before I grabbed his head and kissed him
with all my heart, as I experienced more joy flow through me than I
had ever dreamed possible.

Titus glanced away from the kissing couples
and looked down at Katie lying beside him and grinned big, as he
lifted one eyebrow suggestively.

“Not a chance big man!” Katie said with a
grin on her face, because she knew he was only teasing her.

Titus laughed big and rolled over onto his
back and stared up at the warm blue sky overhead for a moment and
then turned his head to the other side to meet Sparky’s eyes.

Titus reached his big hand out and the
smaller man shook it firmly.

“I didn’t think that we would live to see
this day my friend.” Sparky said with a slight smile before he
added, “I guess the ‘Big Man’ upstairs, as you would say, had a
different plan in mind.”

“He sure enough did! Ain’t it great to be
alive! Thank ya Lord!”

A few things about me