Wizard's Blood [Part Two] (84 page)

“
There are several, all quite interesting. Once this is all over, you owe it to yourself to do a bit of exploring. I won’t ruin it for you by telling you what you will find there.”

This was an area that Jolan would like to pursue a bit more, but for now he needed to learn about things that might help with the war. “It sounds like the ships you have available aren’t in the best of shape,” he said a bit dubious.

“
They’re not,” replied Iach-Iss. “Come. Let us show you.”

Jolan had in mind something the size of a fighter aircraft. When he thought of a scout, he envisioned something nimble and small. The three ships that Iach-Iss led them to were considerably larger than what Jolan had in mind, but then given the size of the dragons, this might be equivalent to small. The ships were located on the wide flats out in front of the enclosed portions of the dragon’s nest where Jolan had spent his entire time since waking on the medi-table. It was good to be back out into the fresh air and sunshine after so long. He was a bit disbelieving when Asari told him the entire open area appeared as solid granite from the outside, with a barrier that not even Shyar had been able to penetrate until the dragons granted her access. What appeared open and accessible was actually a hidden and extremely secure facility.

The ships were each somewhat larger than the U.S. space shuttle which Jolan had once seen up close, although very different in appearance and material. Each was distinctly saucer shaped, something like a pair of flattened cereal bowls inverted on top of each other. The ships used some kind of double-hulled construction with the outer hull completely transparent and only one penetration for access obvious to Jolan from where he stood. The material looked like a very thick plastic, but he was certain it was really something far more exotic.

The inner hull was actually coated with some opaque substance, or perhaps it was integral to the material, but it showed a variety of colors and markings, and sported a number of windows and other penetrations. Some were clearly weapons, while the functions of others were not so obvious. Many of the apparent penetrations seemed to be covered over with a slightly silvered surface.

“
The inner hull is free to rotate through any angle with respect to the outer surface,” Den-Orok rumbled as Jolan inspected the ship in front of him. In flight, the outer hull remains in the desired flight orientation to maintain the proper interface with the external environment. Thus, if something aggressive is coming up from behind or off to one side, the pilot can rotate the inner hull and align desired weapons and sensors toward the threat, while maintaining the desired flight conditions outside. All pilot views and controls will continue to be available despite the change in orientation.”

It seemed like a good way to get confused and make undesired flight control adjustments to Jolan, but perhaps it was more straight-forward than it seemed. Iach-Iss explained how the external barrier also contained all of the protective shielding, and would respond to weapons fire commands by allowing a brief opening at the appropriate locations in the outer hull for the weapons to fire, linked of course to the relative angles of the two hulls. On top was a complete sensor array, duplicated below. The lower section also contained twelve equally spaced drive surfaces that were used to propel the ship.

Even not knowing much about the ships, Jolan could see that this one had been engaged in combat. The outer surface was darkened and bubbled in several locations, and the inner surface showed large areas that had been blackened from some kind of energy blasts that had managed to get through the outer shield. A section of the inner hull seemed to have been vaporized in one location, and while the hole didn’t appear to go all the way through, some of the ship’s innards were exposed and clearly damaged.

“
This is my ship,” Iach-Iss said. “It is in better shape than the other two.”

He wasn’t kidding. Den-Orok’s ship was far more battle worn, and it was clear that the two hulls were no longer free to rotate as he’d described the normal function. In several places the outer hull had been breached, and the metal remains of the material had welded the inner and outer surfaces together. Several holes appeared to go all the way through the two hulls, and blackened and scorched areas covered most of the ship.

“
It still flies?” Jolan asked doubtfully.

“
Of course,” replied Den-Orok sounding somewhat perturbed about the implied criticism. “The shields still provide some protection, and of course seal the operator from the environment outside. The shields are much degraded, and most of the weapons as well. None of the projectile weapons remain, but the energy based weapons all work to one degree or another.”

The final ship which had belonged to Sams-Ough was clearly a wreck. It was amazing it had made it back, and Jolan could understand how the third dragon might have died from wounds received flying it. He wondered if it would even yield any useful parts.

Iach-Iss led them back to the first ship and, by some means Jolan didn’t recognize, opened the doors so they could proceed inside. There was a great deal of room in the scout ship, although from the four massive flight seats it was designed to normally hold four of the dragons.

“
A single pilot can fly and operate all relevant systems,” Iach-Iss explained as they looked around. “It is better to have a dedicated weapons officer if much fighting is to be done. The pilot would sit there, and the weapons officer over there.” The dragon pointed as he explained. “The remaining positions are for a science officer and a communications officer when the missions call for such. Mostly we each flew our own scout, or we teamed up in pairs.”

Jolan walked over to the position that had been pointed out as the flight control area. The large holographic views showed clearly everything outside the ship, front and rear. He knew he wasn’t looking through a window, but it was hard to shake the feeling that he was. There were additional holo projectors where the pilot could call up alternate views or supporting information from any of their satellites, or link to information from any of the other scouts. The ship had been sitting here dormant for over a thousand years, yet here it was fully powered and seemingly ready for immediate use.

The control area was also very unusual. There were almost no controls that Jolan recognized, and other than a few colored switches nothing the pilot could use to provide input to the vehicle.

“
How do you control it?” Jolan asked.

“
The pilot forms a telepathic link with the ship’s intelligence,” Den-Orok explained.

“
The ship has an intelligence?”

“
Of course. There is far too much for a single mind to deal with. The pilot is in charge, and communicates his desires to the ship, which in turn is responsible for seeing the request completed.”

Jolan realized now why the ability of the pilot to face any direction with respect to the flight direction wasn’t as important as he’d thought earlier. The pilot obviously communicated the desired flight direction and speed to the ship’s intelligence, which in turn handled the mundane details of keeping it on course and safe from anything appearing along the flight path. The pilot wasn’t really engaged in making realtime minute adjustments of the ship’s flight parameters.

“
Then there is no way I could fly this,” Jolan stated.

“
That is correct. You lack the ability to communicate with the ship’s control mind.”

“
I thought you wanted to train Asari and others to fly some of the vehicles?”

“
Those would be the much simpler skimmers. They have simple manual controls which can be learned by humans.”

Iach-Iss led them over to the communication section and activated several of the screens. He brought up one view of the castle where Shyar had been held captive for so long and another of the Council of Mages building in Cobalo. Each view looked like a camera was floating a hundred feet or so above the respective building. Jolan had seen such impressive displays before and now appreciated how comprehensive the system must be.

“
Even if this couldn’t fly, the screens would be extremely useful for the intelligence they could provide,” Jolan said.

The dragons nodded. “I think it is time we returned to the world of humans and see if we can finally end this matter,” Iach-Iss said solemnly.

They all agreed to make the trip that day instead of waiting until the following morning, so there were preparations that needed to be attended to. One of the first things was for Jolan and Shyar to send a note to the crew of the
Wave Runner
. Shyar explained what the plan was, and that the three of them would be returning to Cobalo with the two remaining dragons. She suggested the
Wave Runner
should head for home at their convenience. Jolan added his thanks and apologized for having them wait for several weeks which turned out to be unnecessary, but added that without their efforts getting the three of them to the Lost Territories the dragons would never have been found. The crew’s efforts would be instrumental in bringing a valuable ally to Angon, an ally that might be the turning point in the war. They also told the crew to not be concerned if a pair of flying vehicles approached and landed later in the day. The dragons had offered to drop by the ship and allow them a chance to give the crew their personal thanks before they headed off to Cobalo. It would also give the crew a chance to meet the dragons. Since they had given so much to get the group here, Jolan thought it only fair they would be among the first to meet them.

“
We think someone should go on ahead to prepare those in Angon for our arrival,” Den-Orok said when they had found the rest of the group loading up the scout ships.

When Jolan looked at the dragon in confusion, Den-Orok explained. “One of you should go back by portal. Since Asari wants to fly on the scout and Iach-Iss is anxious to speak more with you, we suggest that Shyar make the trip. That would give her a chance to prepare them for us. From what you have told us and what we have learned ourselves, we will come as a surprise to the people of Gaea once again. It would be best not to arrive in the middle of confusion.”

“
I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that you have a portal,” Jolan said finally. “The maps didn’t show it, and we’ve seen none of them since coming to this part of the word.”

“
It is the only one here,” Den-Orok agreed. “You will not find it listed, and it won’t show when activated. Special restrictions have been placed on it, and it requires a coded entry before it can be activated. I will show you.”

Jolan looked at Shyar. “Is that okay?”

She nodded. The flight would only take three or four hours, so it wasn’t like they would be separated for any great length of time. She could see the wisdom of letting people on the other end know what was going to happen, otherwise the sudden arrival of the scout ships might create a bit of panic. She could also make arrangements for where the dragons might stay. While accommodations might have been commonplace for the dragons long ago, especially in the castles, finding a place that was large enough might take a bit of creativity.

The decision made, Shyar bid a temporary farewell to the two dragons, and then Iach-Iss took her and Jolan back into an area of the Dragon’s Nest they hadn’t seen before. Asari continued to load items with Den-Orok and stayed behind. Far in the back they found the portal. It looked the same as all the others, and Jolan now realized why the dimensions of the stone structure were as large as they were.

Iach-Iss touched a small plate to one side, and the portal came to life. Shyar had already sent a mental message to Tishe warning her that she would be arriving unannounced so the guards wouldn’t over react when someone appeared at the Council Building portal. On the far end, this portal wouldn’t show up, so they wouldn’t know where she had come from.

Iach-Iss stepped into the portal with the two of them, and showed them how they would activate the Dragon’s Nest portal from any of the others. “This is the special code,” he said in his rumbling voice, selecting the symbols from the special menu he had shown them how to access. After he was certain they had the code firmly locked into their memories, he backed away. “Now you can come here whenever you desire. Do not share the code with any others. The nest would not recognize them and would see them as intruders. The results would not be pleasant.”

Shyar and Jolan embraced, and after a moment he also stepped back. “Tell Vaen what is coming,” he said. “She will probably want to tell the Queen. I think it would be appropriate if the Queen was there to greet our guests.”

Shyar nodded and, after a long look at Jolan, she stepped up and selected the desired portal. Only a couple of portals were active at the moment, two of them with addresses she didn’t recognize. They might be something that Angon was using, or they might be portals in Ale’ald somewhere. It made her a little uncomfortable that she was only a hand selection away from being back in that fearsome land.

Jolan watched as Shyar vanished from view. He knew she was now home in Cobalo, but it made him feel a bit alone to suddenly have her so far away again. Since they had gotten back together they had been hardly out of each other’s sight except for the days Jolan spent in the Mage’s Box, and he didn’t recall any of those.

“
I would like to show you something,” Iach-Iss said after Jolan turned away from the empty portal. The dragon led him across the open expanse and into another large hallway. At the end was one of the few doors Jolan had seen here. At the door, the dragon showed him how to open it and led him inside where they were surrounded by a number of machines which were equipped with the dragon style display capabilities.