CHAPTER TWENTY
CAPTAIN INEQ SHUN
We arrived on Tiok and passed over the village of Pacu. It was in chaos.
“Looks like the Aeriwanas are being drawn out of the village,” the commander said.
“Yes, that is a good thing. Set the coordinates for the outer banks, our building target,” I ordered.
“Coordinates set,” he said. “We have to find her. I won't give up until I find her,” he said to himself. I understood. I would do the exact same thing if it were Alexandra out there.
“There it is,” the commander said a few minutes later as the isolated small post came into view. There were about five buildings; we were going for the tallest one. That was where we thought Camilla was being held.
“Land this ship behind that outcrop of rocks over there. We are going to go on our own wings. We have to be stealthy. We do not know how many Aeriwanas are there. Hopefully, they have already been called to the village for the battle.”
“Yes, Captain.”
We set the ship down behind an outcrop of rocks to hide it. Then we shifted into Dragon form and flew low along the land toward the building, going around the back. We flew straight up the wall and landed on the roof. We could get a better view from there.
“The village Aeriwanas are under attack! Commander Harkin wants us all to report there immediately!” an Aeriwana shouted as he ran out of the building. I looked at Roan. We nodded in acknowledgment. This was good for us.
We waited low on the roof as we watched twenty or so Aeriwanas run out of various buildings and get into small land speeders. One by one, they each took off across the land.
“You stay and guard the human. The commander wants to use her as bait in the invasion on Kelon. Do not let her out of your sight,” the Aeriwana said to another.
“Yes, sir!” the Aeriwana responded, and then we watched him walk into the tall building. That was confirmation enough that the building was where Camilla was, and she was still alive.
“Thank the ocean, she is still alive,” Roan whispered to himself.
“Yes, good news. As soon as the last land-speeder takes off over there, we shall go in. We will take out the Aeriwana quickly. Do not give him time to use mind powers on us. We are going to have to shoot him on first sight and surprise him from behind if possible.”
“Got it.”
We waited, and then the last land-speeder took off. I nodded at the commander, and we flew down the back of the building and entered. We listened for any sound. Fortunately, Camilla was very loud.
“What is going on out there? I demand to know!”
I looked at the commander and smiled. He sighed in relief. We followed her voice. It was the perfect distraction too. When we walked into the room where she was being held, the Aeriwana was facing her. The commander did not take any time. He aimed and shot. The Aeriwana fell to the floor.
“V! You are here! You are really here!” Camilla began to cry. She was being held behind bars.
“I am here!” The commander ran to her and grabbed her hand. I looked for the keys to the cage. I found them on the wall.
“Keys!” I shouted. I opened the cage and Camilla ran out. She jumped up onto the commander and wrapped her legs around him. They shared a very deep and happy kiss. I was facing the door, waiting for any more Aeriwanas to come in.
“Someone would have heard that shot. If there are any more here, there are coming. We have to get back to the ship now,” I said. “The window.”
There was a very large window, and I broke it open. Then I flew out and made sure it was clear. “All clear! Let's go!” The commander came out of the building with Camilla in his arms. We flew back toward the ship. We were lucky. The diversion of the battle was just what we needed.
“I gave up all hope. I didn't think anyone would come for me,” Camilla said as the commander set her down inside the ship.
“I have been trying to come for you since that day. It is complicated, and the king had to grant us permission. I apologize a thousand times that it took so long.”
“Where is Alexandra?” Camilla asked. I looked at the commander, and he looked at me. We both knew what we were thinking. But I would let them tell Camilla what they had done. This was not up to me.
“She is safe. She is on our home planet,” the commander said.
“And that is where you will take Camilla. I want you to fly to Pacu where you will leave me. Then you will return directly to Kelon to get Camilla out of here. She has been through enough already.”
“But, Captain. You want to just fly out on your own in the middle of a battle?”
“I will be fine. Do as I say; that is an order. Let's launch.”
“Yes sir,” he said. He kissed Camilla and then moved into action.
We flew directly toward the battle. When we arrived, there was a full-scale battle on the outskirts of the village, just as we had planned. We had drawn all of the Aeriwanas out of the village to fight. The air battle was being fought between ships; on the ground, there were Aeriwanas fighting our warriors. Our warriors flew in the air as well as ran along the sand. It was chaos everywhere.
“There, that ship over there. Take me to that one. As soon as I jump out of the ship, take off directly back home; is that understood?”
“That ship? Captain, that is the biggest ship in the Aeriwana fleet.”
“Yes, it is where Commander Harkin will be. He is the head of the snake, and I have to cut off the head of the snake. Don't worry about me. Just do as I say,” I said.
“Yes, Captain,” he said. This new relationship between the commander and I was different. It was cold. We used to be buddies and talked to each other with sarcasm and wit. Now it was dry and just following orders. But it was all that I could deal with at the moment. All of the things that happened between him and Alexandra were still too fresh in my mind.
“Open the door!” I shouted as we came near the large ship. The door opened, and I flew out. It closed behind me. I was dodging bullets as I flew straight toward the ship. I landed on top of it. It was time to go to work. I knew that if I did not defeat the Aeriwana here and now, that they would always be a threat to my child, and I was not having that.
This motivation was something new to me. I never had a human and a child to think of before. I always went on missions because it was my responsibility. I always went on missions because I was a restless warrior. I needed the danger. I craved it. It was something that I needed to calm this fierce dragon inside of me.
But this was different. This had an entirely different meaning than any other mission before. The future of my human and my offspring were at stake. It was up to me. Their lives were in my hands. If I did not defeat this now, then the conflict would continue for years. My son would be fighting the same battles that I fought, and my fighting would have been for nothing. No, I did not want that for him. I wanted him to be a skilled warrior, but I did not want him to have to fight the opposition. I wanted him to fight our real enemies, not the enemies born of our own race. I flew harder and faster as I thought about this. I would not let anything distract me from accomplishing this mission.