“Your reaction is understandable, considering how deeply your people were involved against the Sidhe.”
Vaughn blinked, then looked up at Crux.
“Do they know? I mean, the elves, . . . Sidhe that I talked to, don’t seem to be aware of that part of their history. In fact, they don’t even remember that they came from Earth.”
The big dragon frowned. At least, that’s what it looked to Vaughn like he was doing.
“No, they do not.” He admitted. “And they won’t take the word of an ancient enemy against those of their druidic record keepers. We’ve supposed it’s because of the trauma of the Exile, fleeing Earth in magical starships to avoid being wiped out by a vengeful human race. Else one would think they’d hesitate longer to enlist humanity’s aide after first nearly destroying them, then being nearly destroyed by them far in the past. Or, in the very least, use the advanced technologies at their disposal, as well as their massive military to destroy a struggling human Directorate long ago, before you again became a threat to them.”
His frown deepened.
“Instead they recruit you and your former colleague, Dr. Finn to aide them in their quest for an ancient artifact that may, or may not help them hold their venerable empire together.”
That earned the dragon a sharp look.
“You know of the quest?” Vaughn carefully asked. Crux snorted.
“There’s very little the Isivir, or the Pax can hide from the lore masters of the dragons, colonel, even their misguided quest for the Crown of Oberon. Only a fool thinks a weapon can prevent a war. Give the Praetors enough time and they’ll find a counter to the Crown, if the Pax can find it and use it as they intend to, crushing the rebellion and returning full control of the Pax to the council.”
The wiry human studied the massive reptile for a long moment.
“Ixim indicated the dragons are in favor of the Pax. Yet you speak against it, lore master. Why?” She asked after a significant pause. Crux took equally long to ponder his response. When he spoke, it was measured and calculated.
“We are too few in number to go to war against the Pax.” He replied. “Or even against the Sidhe, as reduced as they now are from their former magical power. While we would hurt them badly, in the end we’d be destroyed. I, for one, don’t relish the thought of extinction. We are too old a race, too used to life to want to throw our lives so uselessly away in a quest to restore our former glory.”
He paused to tap the talons of his left claw against the ground in a slow rhythm.
“But to hold to a thing out of fear cankers the soul, colonel. We support the Pax not because we believe in it or its charter, but because we don’t want to be destroyed. That generates resentment and anger, something now bubbling to the surface in the form of the Praetors and their rebellion. While we don’t support the Praetors, there are many amongst us that are considering this an opportune time to press our own claims of independence. The dragons have languished under the Pax’s boot. We would be free again, or in the very least, granted equal status. If the Praetors split the Pax wide open, it could lead to our own separation.”
Vaughn pursed her lips thoughtfully. Damn, this thing was getting more and more complicated by the second. First Deks admits there’s a rebellion working against the Pax and its guiding council, seeking to split the Pax apart unless serious governmental reform could be put in place. Second Brin admits the Teserin are forced to support the Pax out of fear of being destroyed by the Juresil and Halinor.
And now this: the dragons, possibly the most potent threat to the Pax’s well-being with their command of magical powers, also chaffing under the Pax’s restrictions and denial of rights though they too support the charter through fear. If things didn’t proceed in a calm and orderly manner in the next few months to relieve the growing pressure, the civil war could be even more devastating than what she could imagine.
“It’s ironic.” Crux chuffed, following a line of thought in his own mind. “We lend our magic, even our very name to the Pax to assist in its creation and now we find ourselves marginalized and minimized to the point where we contemplate destroying it. What fools were we to think we’d stand shoulder to shoulder with those we once conquered.”
Hearing the dragon begin to spiral down into melancholy, Vaughn hastened to change the subject.
“You say you know of the Crown of Oberon, Crux. What lore do the dragons have about the talisman?”
“The Crown?” Crux frowned, his attention pulled away from his darkening thoughts. “Very little, to tell you the truth. It was old before the Pax was even considered by the monarchs of the old kingdoms. And, for the most part, it existed outside our ken, a device created for the war between the Sidhe races and your ancestors.”
Vaughn nodded thoughtfully. Made sense, in a strange sort of way. The name could only be common to both cultures if the elves and the humans both were aware of such a powerful talisman. According to Crux’s brief history lesson, they had more than a fleeting common history during the centuries of war that raged between them, vicious enough to push the elves into forming the Pax and fleeing Earth in the distant past.
A ragged smile touched her lips as she realized she was already calling the Sidhe elves in her mind. The transition seemed almost natural. The smile vanished however when she considered the consequences of having such knowledge. It may take very little, in the tinderbox situation that was the Pax under siege, to stir up old hatreds by revealing old memories. And that could mean more trouble than the Directorate could hope to withstand, even if it were as technologically advanced as the Pax.
Somehow following Vaughn’s reasoning, Crux spoke.
“While I always relish in illuminating minds with the revelation of knowledge, I suggest you keep this nugget to yourself, colonel. No use inciting those who’d be your allies, against you.”
“I was thinking much the same thing, Lore Master Crux.” Vaughn admitted with a grin. “At least not until we find the Crown!”
It was sometime later that found Vaughn in the massive central chamber, the one Ixim called the flight chamber, sitting casually with her back against the wall. Scattered throughout the chamber, half the throng that they had passed through to reach Crux now stood revealed in their draconic forms, lounging on the flat stone slabs as they continued their conversations in rumbling voices. Occasionally a flare of flame would appear out of the dimness to lick at a stone column or table to warm it, improving its comfort to the reptilian creatures, throwing the chamber into stark shadow and ragged edge. But, for the most part, it was warm, spicy murk that the wiry human gazed into from her perch on one of the blocks.
Though tales of dragons now raced unchecked through her mind, Vaughn found herself oddly at ease in the great chamber, untroubled by the fact that a good fifty dragons were in various states of relaxation all around her, each easily as long as a Marine Corp drop ship. Instead, with a small electric lantern at her side throwing a bright circle of blue light around her, she felt quite comfortable and safe as she chewed her way through some cheese and dried meat Ixim had brought for her.
Just as the name of her draconic Isivir colleague passed through her mind, Vaughn caught a shifting in the shadows off to her right. She turned in time to see Ixim step into the lantern’s reach to adjust his dark tunic with a tug.
“Ixim.” She greeted him with a nod before taking another bite of cheese, a solid type very similar to cheddar in texture and taste. She washed the mouthful down with a swig of cold, spring water, cached in a pewter mug sitting by the lamp. Magical, the mug stayed both cold and filled with water regardless of how much she drank.
“Colonel.” Ixim returned the greeting before he sat down cross-legged on the other side of the lamp.
“Did your security sweep yield anything?”
Once again wearing a Teserin form, Ixim bobbed a curt nod.
“A team of Viseith actually managed to penetrate fifty paces into the buffer park before drax security agents took them out.” The drax wasn’t happy to report that, Vaughn quickly noted. “They were heavily armed and had an adept with them, clearly anticipating an encounter with some of my people.” He frowned, staring off into the darkness. “A second team was also intercepted en route, before they could reach the park. They too had an adept with them, a level four, no less. Almost enough to engage a drax in extraspacial combat.”
Vaughn whistled softly. The Praetors must want her dead in the most awful way if they were willing to sacrifice two very rare adepts in an attempt to reach her.
Ixim, of course, had already moved to assigning blame.
“A mole back at the military base must’ve overheard us discussing our plan to bring you to the nest and informed a local Viseith cell.” The drax reasoned out loud, finally bringing his gaze from the darkness and over the lamp to look at her.
“Thankfully I brought you to where we could protect you. I’m not even sure an Isivir compound has the power to hold the enemy at bay now, with the Viseith moving at will through the city. We need to get you off this planet as soon as possible.”
“Agreed.” Vaughn rasped. “But we can’t move until we have another team or we’ll find ourselves in over our heads. Any word from Isivir Command?”
Ixim nodded and returned his gaze to the darkness.
“A coded message that indicated a new team had been assembled from local field agents and a handful from nearby systems.” He said, hooking his arms around his knees. “They are currently inbound and should reach us by midday tomorrow.”
“So I just have to stay alive till them, right?” Vaughn grinned lopsidedly.
“Oh, you will, colonel, have no fear of that.” Ixim returned, looking at her once more. “The Drax will see to that. You’ve the favor of Master Crux himself, a primary magnate in our society. No creature in this galaxy dare harm you or they’ll face the combined wrath of the Drax nation!”
Unsure of how she felt about that, Vaughn fell silent. They hadn’t talked much after Crux told her of the early history between the elves and the humans, mostly personal stories about one thing or the other. But somewhere in there she must’ve made quite the impression with the dragon lore master or she wouldn’t now be rating such a strong feeling of protection from the Drax. ‘That, or Ixim likes me more than I thought.’ She silently mused.
Either way, she felt safer than she ever had, sitting as she was in the heart of a dragon nest. If anybody could keep the Viseith at bay, it would be the Drax and their magic. For the Praetors’ covert arm had already shown they would dare to try to kill her, and more than once.
“I guess all we need to do now is let Brin know of the team’s impending arrival.” She rasped.
“Already done.” Ixim quickly said. “The weapons master will stay the night in the regen tank, having no desire to spend it in a drax nest. She then will join us to greet the team at the Sith’anur base.” He looked over at her. “I had considered taking you to the market, to sample local culture and food, after your meeting with Crux. But, with the Viseith obviously active in hunting you, I think that too great a risk. You’ll be staying the rest of the day and night in the compound instead. I’ve secured you quarters and you can proceed there now, if you like.”
“Mmmm.” Vaughn mumbled around a new mouthful of cheese. She swiftly chewed and swallowed. “Actually, I wouldn’t mind a little fresh air. Does the building have a porch or protected tower of some sort where I can finish my meal and watch the sun set?”
Ixim grinned.
“Aye. I know just the place!”
The powerful drax agent was as good as his word. He quickly led the curious human high into the lofty reaches of the massive structure that was the nest main building, to an open tower than soared from the northwest corner. Overlooking the building roof, which spread like a gray field before them for nearly a full square kilometre, pierced by skylights of several sizes including the great dome covering the flight chamber, the tower also provided an excellent view of the downtown core.
The tower itself was proportionally as large as the rest of the building, a good twenty square metres across, a scarred and scratched platform Ixim said the younger dragons used as a launching pad for practice flights over the roof. Finding a spot along the northern edge where a relatively broad ledge granted a place to sit, Vaughn settled in after Ixim left her, eating the rest of her meal as Galus’ sun dipped towards the western horizon.
Though the rest of the continent was being blessed by late autumn weather, snow falling even as close as the Silver Mountains some ten kilometres out of the city, Ven Cor’brin was equally blessed by being not only in a temperate zone, but close to the sea as well. With the sea acting as a buffer for the vagrancies in the weather, the city instead saw rain and mild temperatures through the winter months.
So, instead of the rain she saw falling in the hills and the dark clouds over the mountains in the distance, all Vaughn felt on her high perch over the drax compound was a gentle breeze blowing in from the bay tousling her hair. Smiling in the idyllic dusk’s grasp, she leaned against the stone and contentedly chewed on the final piece of dried meat, her high spot above the city placing her perfectly to take advantage of the breeze and hear soft music wafting up from the market. It was dreamy stuff, sliding around the harmonic scale without effort yet maintaining a clarity and fragility that touched deep into her soul.
Interwoven with the music were the sounds of the living city; the quiet hum of power conduits and generators at work, the thrum and rush of traffic passing through the aerial levels and the murmur of distant voices. All combined into a whole that, though entirely alien, was strangely comforting, a balm for the anxiety that had plagued Vaughn just this morning, enhanced by the breeze’s caress and whispered passage through the urban forest verdant and thick all around her.
A flicker of light along the western horizon brought her attention there and she watched the sun slip behind the horizon. The buildings were nearly completely photo transferring, allowing the sun’s light to pass directly through them via advanced transfer sheathing, altering it little in the process. Thus Vaughn was able to gaze through the thickly populated core towards the setting sun and enjoy its final plunge into the west, thanks to the buildings becoming transparent to the sun’s light.
The sky purpled into indigo night and, eyes half shut against her growing fatigue, Vaughn watched the sky fill with alien constellations, broken only by the silver coins that were the orbital stations. They hung in the clear air with such definition, she could almost reach up and take one, the stars glittering diamonds dancing on a field of velvet ebony. They were unchallenged by Galus’ moon, which was yet to rise.
Her nostrils filled with both the fresh scents of sea and forest carried in by the breeze, and the spicy aroma of the city spreading around the drax compound, Vaughn could feel her eyelids getting heavy.
“You wouldn’t be the first to sleep up here.” Ixim said softly from the staircase that climbed the last few metres up the tower to the platform. Jerked to full wakefulness by his voice, Vaughn blinked to clear her vision, sitting up to face the approaching drax.
“The breeze off the sea, the clear night sky; it’s nature’s succor against a world gone mad with technology and advancement.” He continued as he walked towards her, eyes lifted to the heavens. “If it didn’t make the Sidhe so nervous, I’d fly the night sky every night.” The smile he aimed at Vaughn when finally he drew his eyes down and onto her was wistful.
“Unfortunately a full sized drax flitting between the skyscrapers is frowned upon so I reluctantly forbear. And with the Viseith hunting you, I suggest you also resist the impulse to sleep up here. Come, I’ll lead you to your sleeping quarters.”
Nodding, Vaughn accepted Ixim’s helping hand to stand. Then, with a final look at the tranquil night sky with its burden of starry light, she turned and followed him down the staircase and back into the belly of the nest.