CHAPTER 8 – HAVEN BY THE WAY

"There is a time when each of our kind seeks solitude: a contemplative journey when only the skies, the stars, and one's own nature are present. Such self-reflective and brooding absences are carried out among myriad places in this galaxy. This is not one of them. At best, this is merely a launch point for such affairs, yet far more likely this is a semi-remote location where fledglings can come and sulk away petty problems at their leisure, pretending to be adults."

– Kyyteeraah the Elder, clarifying common misconceptions about Dragon Retreat

The present, Terra Para, somewhere in the northern hemisphere

"Why are you fighting the air?" Veralla asked.

Airo already regretted answering the first question. He took a wrong step, and missed the strike, his stance ending up in a completely different position. He sighed in exasperation and lowered his katana.

"I am training," he said patiently.

"Oh!" the dragonet exclaimed. "What is 'training'?"

Airo closed his eyes. His power armor's audioenhancers hissed almost imperceptibly as they scanned the frozen landscape for sounds. He debated for several seconds whether to say anything at all. Then he sighed again.

"It is a complex word," he explained. "In my case it means going over a series of exercises and practice routines to keep one's technique, reflexes, and muscle memory in optimal condition."

"I see," the dragonet said in eager reflection. After a second she perked up. "Can I train with you?" she asked, lashing her tail excitedly.

"No, you may not," Airo said hard, glaring at her.

She shrank immediately. "Okay," she said timidly. "May I at least stay and watch?"

It was the first question, repeated and rephrased. Airo snorted with annoyance.

"You may," he said.

Veralla lifted her head and hrrr-ed happily. Airo shook his head and restarted his routine from the beginning, clearing his focus. He tried to ignore the presence of the dragonet. He made the mistake of opening up a little to her while he was still irrationally glad for the saving of his life, and the little monster had begun to follow him everywhere, taking his taciturn conversation too avidly. He regretted his slip of discipline, for now he had to suffer such interruptions on a constant basis.

Airo exhaled slowly, letting the world fade into the background, and began to practice again. He moved through the familiar motions, working back memories seven centuries old into physical reflexes. The katana slashed the empty space with soft, subliminal thrums. He increased the speed and complexity of his forms. Mind, body, and blade were becoming one with the surrounding coldness of the arctic wasteland and the supple boundaries of his power armor. Nothing interfered. Everything was in complete concert toward a single purpose – the graceful, precise, economical movement which would end another's life.

Ferrtau's life.

His blood boiled at the thought of that name. He struggled to maintain focus, and channeled his rising fury into a reckless series of wide slashes. He was just about to perform a switch-handed flurry when the commlink hissed.

"Dudes, we've got company approaching from the northwest!" Zuckeroff said in an excited voice.

"Don't use the general frequency!" Kiana cut in, her tone oddly strained. "Report in proper manner along the chain of command!"

"But, Ki..." Zuckeroff sounded perplexed. "I thought, um, that we're both under the Boss' command?"

"I have seniority, gamebrain!"

Airo sheathed his katana. After having his concentration ruined for the third time, he decided he had enough for today. At least the reason for the last interruption was important. "SAI, scan the area," he said to the power armor, looking in the indicated direction.

"At once, Commander!" Yeoman Cloud acknowledged loudly, its exuberant character unharmed from the rigors of the warpstorm. Status icons blinked on the HUD, and the overlay summoned several virtual screens scrolling with processed data. Then the image zoomed, and highlighted three large landcruisers cleaving a path through the icy wastes.

Airo narrowed his eyes. The landcruisers looked like giant metallic boxes on tracks. Their front sides were decked out with viewpanels and floodlights, with a sensor module on the roof. It was an utilitarian design at its barest. What caught Airo's attention was the absence of any kind of detectable weaponry or signs of military colors and identification. According to his power armor sensors, those were civilian vehicles.

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He checked the ambient environment. The radiation levels were nothing compared to the warpstorm he nearly died in, however they were still lethal to unshielded individuals. Airo couldn't stop himself and glanced at the dragonet, who was completely exposed. She watched him expectantly, probably not realizing he was done practicing.

"Are you okay in this weather?" he asked her, and instantly berated himself for posing such a question to a dragon, forgetting the damned species' physiological indifference to the elements.

"Oh, yes, I am fine," Veralla said brightly. "The radiation is not very strong, like in that awful storm. Only the air tastes more bitter, I think." She flicked out her forked tongue to reaffirm her words. Suddenly, her expression became concerned. "Are you okay?"

Airo snorted. "Yeah, yeah," he said gruffly.

"Look, look, those are moving vehicles!" the dragonet said, noticing the convoy. "Rrrr, they make larger snowy clouds than our ATV did!"

Airo peered again at the approaching landcruisers. Civilian. Not the rescue forces, then. Yet who in their right mind would trek across the hostile land of a paraworld, with nothing but thousands of kilometers of frozen wastes? And what were the chances of two such parties meeting in one place?

Unless...

"Officer Kawanaga," he asked over the commlink, "can you explain the meaning of this?"

"I told you, call me Kiana," she hissed. "And I have no idea what you're talking about, Commander."

"You did not call the Consortium," Airo said flatly. "Why?"

"Look, I have my reasons," Kiana said sullenly. "Me and Zuckeroff, we... you know what, go to the void. I've called for a rescue, and now they're coming. Mission accomplished, go debrief yourself for a job well done."

Airo felt his blood boil. Reasons or not, he wanted to shoot the insolent girl. Yet the landcruisers had nearly reached the comm tower, and there was no time for arguing. He had to sort out this mess himself.

"Zuckeroff, take firing position on the north balcony at the top," he said.

"Um... yeah. Right, Boss," the astrior said.

"And you, Lieutenant Kiana, show insubordination one more time, and you are on your own," Airo said, voice pure steel. He cut the commlink without waiting for a reply. The landcruisers were already climbing the comm tower's ridge. Airo commanded his power armor. "SAI, connect to the tower's communication array and contact the nearest Consortium base."

"I am sorry, Commander, but I cannot establish contact. It appears there is a malfunction in the communication array."

"Whelp of a dragon...!" Airo growled, then caught himself, as the first landcruiser stopped several meters away in a spray of snow.

The vehicle extended a walkway, and drones disembarked from its insides. They were serpentine in shape, with two pairs of grasping manipulators near the top of their body, and their heads had onyx masks vaguely resembling a humanoid's face. The slitheroids were carrying laser carbines. They moved silently, forming a half-ring around Airo and Veralla. He saw how the dragonet tensed and sidled closer to him. The other two landcruisers stopped behind the first, and their interiors also disgorged a platoon of slitheroids each.

"Boss," Zuckeroff whispered over the commlink, "should I shoot them?"

"No. That will not be necessary," Airo said. He stood relaxed in a non-threatening posture. The drones' small arms couldn't harm him, while his veronite blaster and katana would reduce them to smithereens if it came to that. However, due to Kiana's infuriating actions, these strangers were his only ticket out of the wasteland. So he had to play carefully.

After the slitheroids took their positions, three figures climbed out from one of the landcruisers. The figures wore standard vacuum suits, and were unarmed. They were transhumans, and all of them were female. Two of the women flanked the third as they approached. Airo looked at them, yet he was able to discern only a few details as he gazed at the clear visors of their vacsuits: those to the left and right had blue skin and stout frames, while the one in the middle had a finned helmet, and her face had a pale complexion. The three of them stopped just short of the protective wall of drones, as if suddenly petrified.

Airo took a step forward, ready to initiate conversation. He was debating in his head what to say, considering his power armor probably seemed intimidating to these people, when he realized they weren't looking at him at all, but were staring at Veralla instead.

Oh, great.

He didn't say anything, focusing his gaze on the middle woman. She glanced at him in appraising contemplation, yet she watched the dragonet intently, to the point Veralla shrank a little, nervous from the attention. "Are you the one who contacted us on the comms?" the question was for Airo, though she kept her eyes on the dragonet.

"It was one of my team," he said.

"And this here is a true dragon?" the woman asked pointedly, still staring at Veralla.

"Yes," Airo said, jaw clenched tight.

"Hi, my name is Veralla," the dragonet said tentatively, stepping forward.

The woman blinked, the gesture made almost comical by her large eyes. "Veralla? This is your name?"

"Yes!" the dragonet said brightly. "Airo gave it to me!"

The woman turned, and finally regarded him in truth. "You are from the Consortium," she said thoughtfully. "And yet you are accompanied by a dragon – a fledgling, on top of that. This is a rare sight."

"It is not by choice," Airo said grimly.

The woman tilted her head. "Then why did you contact us?"

Airo stifled an angry sigh, and willed himself to speak calmly. "I... my team was stranded in the wasteland after crashlanding on the planet. I... we seek passage to an urban area from where we can rejoin the main Consortium forces."

The woman nodded, her large eyes fixed on him, as if they could see his face through the power armor's helmet. "So you say. Who else is part of your team?" Her gaze didn't shift, yet one of the women behind her glanced upward, indicating they knew about Zuckeroff's position.

"We are four in total," Airo said. "Counting both humans... and dragons." He was thankful the power armor hid his grimace.

The woman nodded again. Her expression was one of rapid contemplation. She reached some conclusion, and spoke to him formally. "I am Councilor Itrix, and these are Ramara and Nerisca," she said, indicating her companions. "We offer you to accompany us to our shrine-town of Dragon Retreat, where you can take time to rest and present your case to the council. What is your answer?"

Airo stiffened. This was not what he'd expected. Beside him, the dragonet bounced. "Oh, we shall go, we shall go, we shall go!" She craned her head to regard him. "We shall, right?"

"It is not as though I am spoiled for choices," Airo muttered. He stood at parade rest, and said, louder, "Very well, I accept your invitation. My team can be aboard within the minute."