Airo rode silently in the rising strike shuttle. Veralla was in the cockpit, her snout glued to the viewscreens. Magus stood off to the side, and the old Knight's pensive gaze kept alternating between him and the dragonet.
They landed inside the skyship's main docking hangar. Veralla almost immediately jumped out and ran toward the arriving squadron of dragons. Airo glared at the great winged beasts, his sword arm flexing. A young Highlander, dressed in the Radiant Order's customary red-gold combat armor, waited at the docking station. The adolescent Knight was large and muscular, standing at seven feet tall, all fair features and golden hair typical to Highlanders. Airo noticed the man's armor was of a much more advanced design than Ferrtau's.
The large Knight did a double take as Veralla rushed past, but his attention quickly turned back to Airo and Magus. "Welcome aboard the Vorzii! I..." the towering youth stuttered as he noticed Magus' crimson insignia. "Uhh, have we met, sir?" he asked respectfully.
"No, we have not," the old Knight said evenly. "Let us not linger. Proper introductions will be made in due time."
The large Knight nodded in agreement. "Uh, right, of course, sir. We shall leave this area immediately. I'm Terlokhi Stamat, by the way. At your service." He saluted with an open palm to his heart, and inclined his head in deference. "And you must be Commander Airo," Stamat said, lifting his eyes.
Airo was caught off-guard. "I am," he said, nodding curtly.
"There is someone who wants to meet you," Stamat said. He eyed Airo's armor-hidden features appraisingly, though his demeanor remained friendly. "Please, follow me to the bridge."
Stamat turned and started to walk across the hangar. Airo and Magus followed him. En route, the Radiant Knight spoke over his commlink. "Zozzy, get us out of here."
"You've got it, big man," came a deep-voiced reply on the open frequency. "Where are we headed?"
"I suggest we go home. We've done enough on this patrol," Stamat said.
"Ooo-kay. Operation 'Spooling Engines and Vamoose' engaged. Bridge's open whenever you feel like coming."
They went to the upper decks via a gravshaft. The skyship's interior surfaces were overlaid with a golden finish, and the lights were subtly shifted into an alternating cyan-purple hues, with the overall end design striking just the right balance between functional and gracefully wondrous. While they walked to the bridge, Airo wondered who had identified him. Was it possible Consortium representatives were onboard and acted jointly with the Radiant Knights? It seemed highly unlikely. The Radiant Order have been considered pariahs to the rest of the galaxy after the Dragon Independence War – at least according to Dragon Retreat's datalinks.
Stamat glanced over his shoulder at Magus. "So, are you perchance a Knight, sir? Your... personal effects carry the symbols of the Order but they look different from the standard uniforms."
"There has never been a set standard in the Order's dress code," Magus remarked dryly. "Individual Knights have always been free to carry whatever garments they like. The current tradition is a product of a collective desire for proud display of one's aspirations and accomplishments. Which is perfectly normal."
"Right," Stamat said, though he seemed a bit confused. "If you don't mind me asking, sir, where are you coming from? I can't remember seeing you anywhere at the headquarters, and I think you weren't aboard the Starhaven when it returned from its last voyage."
"I was on a personal exile here, on Terra Para," Magus said calmly. He didn't add anything further. Stamat seemed like he wanted to ask more, yet decided to not press the issue. Airo, meanwhile, was certainly ready to hear the entire story, but figured the old Knight would tell him even less than he was willing to share with other members of the Radiant Order.
The upper decks of the skyship were quite cramped even by spacecraft standards. Stamat explained the two hangars running the length of the skyship were the only really open spaces in order to house dragons, while the rest of the available room was taken almost entirely by weapon and shield modules, gravitic lift generators, life support, and the engineering section. A series of gravshafts, both vertical and horizontal ones, led them to a large circular area which housed the crew quarters. The bridge was near the top, and as they headed that way, Airo noticed several groups of people huddling around the multi-tiered deck. His gaze lingered; he recognized them as inhabitants from Dragon Retreat.
They entered the bridge. Like the hangar, the place was wide and open-spaced, with battlestations arrayed on three levels. Dozens of Radiant Knights in red-gold armors were present, keeping the skyship's systems fully staffed. A spherical hologram-haptic interface over a huge circular mainframe acted as a Command-Information-Communication center.
The lights were currently dimmed as the skyship was still in combat mode. Airo saw two familiar figures outlined by the CIC's blue glow. He narrowed his eyes. It could not be...
"Boss!" Zuckeroff shouted. "You're alive!"
"Commander!" Kiana seemed genuinely happy to see him.
Stamat smiled widely as he approached the CIC center. "We got them just in the nick of time, but everything turned out fine. Everybody's safe now."
"Thank the stars! Is Veralla okay?" Kiana asked.
"Who? The Goddess?" Stamat was confused. "Ah, the little dragon you told me about."
"She is fine," Airo cut in impatiently. He glared at Kiana. "Did you use your powers to call another set of delusional idealists, instead of real backup?"
"Hey, there's no need to be rude," Stamat said, mildly miffed. "I know you Consortium types aren't very fond of us, but we're not the bad guys here."
"I didn't call anyone," Kiana said crossly. "This skyship came to us by chance. If it wasn't for them, we'd all be dead now!"
"Right, right," Airo relented. "That much is true," he added, trying to close the matter quickly. To his surprise, he felt relief seeing Kiana and Zuckeroff alive and well.
"Actually, we did come to Dragon Retreat on purpose," Stamat said. "Our patrol was originally bound for another region, but there was... well, some sort of energy spike in the local Æther, and we came here to investigate."
"I sensed a strange surge, too," Magus said. He gazed thoughtfully at Airo. Airo was getting annoyed at these weird inspections the old Knight gave him. He resisted the urge to punch the man.
"Yes, you saved us, thank you," he said to get their attention and shift the conversation to more important matters. "I will consider it a personal favor if you tell me where are we headed now."
"Home," Stamat said.
"Which is where exactly?" Airo asked pointedly.
"Oh. Yeah. About that. I'm not sure if it's right to discuss the location of our base to outsiders," Stamat said, rubbing his neck and smiling apologetically. "I think it's better to talk to Glawlrhain or Lylana once we arrive. They're in charge after... well, after what happened at the Shard." Stamat hurried to change the subject. "Come now, I'll introduce you to Zozzy!"
The front bulkhead of the bridge was comprised entirely of a single one-way observation window, inclined inward. The helm was a triangular area nested slightly lower than the deck's floor, with seats for five pilots and three command officers.
The main pilot's seat was taken by a bulky humanoid as large as Stamat. The armor hid many of the Knight's features, but Airo saw enough claws and striped orange fur to realize this was not an ordinary human being.
"Yo, Zozzy!" Stamat called. "All lights are green?"
"As green as a Saurial's scales," rumbled the feline creature, as it turned to greet them.
"Wow, you're an uplimal?" Zuckeroff asked.
"That I am," Zozzy said with a predatory grin.
"Do your best tiger impersonation," Stamat teased.
Zozzy lifted a clawed finger. "Watch it, big boy," he warned, though his tone was relaxed. He frowned at Magus. "This one of ours?"
"Yeah, think so," Stamat said, glancing sideways at the old Knight. "Any Revenant on our tail?"
Zozzy focused his attention back on the control interface. "Even if they are, Vorzii is already far ahead of them." The uplimal suddenly turned around again. "Wait, are those Sol Force uniforms!? Stamat, what are Consortium soldiers doing onboard?"
Before the Highlander Knight could answer, the commlink chimed. "Hey, Stamat, there's a sweet little dragon down here that's looking for her soulkin. She says his name is Airo. Know anything 'bout that?"
"Yeah, Commander Airo is here at the bridge," Stamat replied. "Say, Teha, how's Lung? That was a rather close call out there."
"Oh, the firebreathing smartjaw is peachy. She got into a verbal fight with Alomar again, but that's routine. Ok, I'm sending the fledgling up. Meanwhile, can I ask you something on a private channel?"
"Sure thing," Stamat said, and switched his commlink.
Airo quietly separated himself from the others. He found a relatively private spot near the CIC center, and took stock of his injuries. Nothing was broken; otherwise he would've known by now. However, most of his body felt severely stiff and sore, and his head... Airo winced. That punch had definitely put him in a bad condition.
"SAI, status report," he said through his teeth.
"You have a severe concussion, Commander," Yeoman Cloud replied instantly. "Other significant bodily traumas include a half-dozen pulled muscles along the back, ground collar bone, sprained right elbow joint, and possible torn ligament in the left shoulder area. You've been constantly administered with painkillers for the last forty minutes. The armor's low-intensity restoration fields are trying to repair whatever damage they can, however, your head injury alone requires immediate medical attention." The SAI paused for a second. "I would've informed you earlier, Commander, but the standby mode you have lastly ordered twenty days ago is still in effect. I suggest–"
"Keep current settings," Airo said curtly, and the interface went silent.
He stood alone for a moment, forcing his throbbing head to think through the current situation. However, his solitary contemplation was broken by Kiana and Zuckeroff who soon joined him.
"Boss, I can't tell you how glad I am for you to be still brooding around," Zuckeroff began from a distance. "I thought we lost you and Veralla for sure!"
"Yeah, how did you two escape Dragon Retreat in the first place?" Kiana asked. "The entire shrine-town was practically buried under those abhorrent light shows."
"Revenant," Airo said absentmindedly.
"What?" Kiana balked.
"Revenant," Airo repeated. "At least he calls them so." The thought of Ferrtau enraged him anew, and he felt the pain receding from him, supplanted by an overwhelming, murderous desire to track down his archenemy and finish what he had started.
"Who calls them so?" Kiana asked. "And who was that posthuman the Radiant Knights incinerated out there in the wasteland, anyway?"
"It was Ferrtau," Airo growled.
Kiana and Zuckeroff both gasped. "That was the Lightbringer?!"
"Yes. And they did not kill him. He escaped."
"Great Cosmos," Kiana breathed, while Zuckeroff stood speechless.
There was a commotion at the bridge's threshold. Suddenly, a familiar voice called. "Airo!!!"
He turned and saw Veralla rushing straight at him. Thankfully, the dragonet didn't bowl into him as he feared she'd do. "Airo! Oh, I am so very, very, very, very happy to see you are well!" she said, rearing, wings outspread. Airo made a cautious step back, in case she decided to hug him. Veralla then noticed Kiana and Zuckeroff, and rawr-ed joyously. "Kiana! St'aep'hon! You are alive, too!!!"
"We won't leave you easily, whippersnapper," the Conduit said, grinning widely. Zuckeroff gave two thumbs-up.
Veralla hrrr-ed merrily, full of delight. "Are the Council all right, too?" she asked.
Kiana's smile faded. "Alas, no," she said sadly. "They died helping us and the other townspeople to evacuate."
"Oh," Veralla said, her exultation deflating. "Oh, I will miss them. They were very nice, Councilor Usylor especially." The dragonet's webbed ears perked up again. "I met other dragons, Kiana! They were very large and splendid! Some of them were not very nice, but others were very kind! And they had humans with them, too! Airo, I saw humans and dragons both talking to each other! They liked each other!"
"I see," he said mechanically.
"And we talked, and I told them about you, and how you fought against that terrible human, and how you saved both of us! They said they wanted to meet you!"
"Uh-huh."
"And they said they have never seen a dragon like me, and that it was very strange I could not breathe fire or fly, but they promised they would teach me how! Airo, why is your helmet on?" Veralla asked abruptly, worried. " Are you injured?"
"I am fine," Airo snapped. "I just forgot about it." He retracted the power armor's helmet.
Veralla hrrr-ed in dismay, while Kiana and Zuckeroff goggled. "Your face looks like it hit a hardlight wall," she remarked. "Uh, Boss, did the Lightbringer do that?!" he asked.
"I am fine. Now, are you three done pestering me?"
"Actually, I wanna return to the part of you telling us how you and Veralla escaped the shrine-town," Kiana said.
"Airo talked to Ferrtau," Veralla explained. "He... he wanted to take me for some reason, but Airo did not let him. I would not have gone anyway, because his soul was very dark and he controlled those terrible creatures. So he became angry at Airo, and Airo shot him. We then tried to run with an ATV, but Ferrtau caught us and tried to kill Airo."
"Which raises some very disturbing questions," Magus Dei said as he came forth to join the group. Kiana and Zuckeroff stilled, awed into silence by the presence of the old Knight. Airo eyed him resentfully, wishing he could exert the same effect on the two Sol Force commandos.
"I spoke to the young lad called Stamat, and what he told me was dire indeed," Magus continued. "However, his information raised more questions than it provided answers." He regarded Veralla, who shrank a little under his gaze, yet nevertheless returned him a curious look of her own. Nobody spoke, waiting for the old Knight to continue. Magus studied the dragonet at length. "You are a peculiar dragon, young one."
"I am?" Veralla asked uncertainly.
"Who gave you your name?"
Veralla brightened. "Airo did!" she said happily.
"Hmm." Magus turned to Airo. His purple eyes had almost the same intensity as Veralla's, only they were a darker shade and lacked slitted pupils.
"What do you want from me, old man?" Airo growled.
"Nothing. If I wanted something, you would have been dead seven centuries ago."