Chapter 26

TWENTY-SIX

Yuric turned in his seat at the weapons console, his fingers hovering over the controls. “How many ships do you think they’ll send?” he asked, his eyes fixed on the viewing screen.

Ellion’s wings rustled with tension. “I don’t know. Maybe one. Maybe ten,” he replied. “The Axis won’t want to waste resources on a small penal colony.”

Just then, the sky erupted with flashes of light. Twenty Axis ships burst through the atmosphere, their sleek, dark forms filling the viewing screen. They were combat vessels, armed and ready for battle.

“ Fek! ” Yuric cursed, his hands flying over the weapons controls. “You were wrong about that, my friend.”

The first volley from the fortress’s weapons struck true, destroying two Axis ships in brilliant explosions. But there were too many. The remaining ships spread out, taking up attack positions around the fortress.

“Incoming!” a Hecron warrior shouted just before the first blast from the Axis ships struck the fortress. The entire structure shuddered. Warning lights flashed across the command center’s screens.

“Hull breach on level three,” another Hecron reported, her voice tight with worry.

Yuric kept firing, taking down another Axis ship, but there had to be twenty returning fire. The fortress rocked with each hit, the ancient structure groaning under the assault.

Ellion gripped the arms of his command chair. “Keep firing,” he ordered, even as another blast shook the fortress. “We can’t let them land.” But he knew, with a sinking feeling in his gut, that they were badly outnumbered. The Axis had come prepared for war.

Another blast rocked the fortress, sending sparks flying from several consoles. The ancient structure groaned under the assault. The command center shook with another hit from the Axis ships. Smoke filled the air and alarms blared.

“ Masar! ” Lekrin, the warrior at one of the stations, shouted over the noise of battle. “They’re breaking off their attack and heading for Settlement 112-1.”

“Power down the weapons,” Ellion ordered, rising from his command chair.

Yuric spun around, his eyes wide with disbelief. “We can’t stop fighting now.”

“We can’t fire near settlements without killing people there,” Ellion growled, his hands tightening on the command console.

“That eliminates our ability to attack from here. We’d have to leave and go to the settlements,” Yuric said as something shorted out and warning lights flashed red across all the screens. “Would you have us abandon the fortress?”

“Yes. We abandon it,” Ellion roared.

“We take the fight to them,” Yuric declared. He turned to Lekrin. “Gather our warriors. Take them to the settleme—”

“No,” Ellion said. “You and your warriors have done enough. I will deal with the Axis ships. Whoever is operating them will have me to deal with. If you can, enter the other settlements— the three that don’t have Axis ships hovering over them—and get as many Terians to safety as you can.”

Understanding dawned in Yuric’s eyes. “You’re going to face them alone?”

Ellion nodded, already feeling the dragon stirring within him. “A dragon is harder to hit than a fortress. I can move faster, strike harder.”

“That’s unwise,” Yuric protested, even as another blast rocked the fortress. “There are more ships out there.”

“Fewer than there would be, thanks to you,” Ellion corrected with a grim smile. “And a dragon’s fire can do a lot of damage.” He turned to the Hecron warriors at their stations. “Power everything down. Don’t give them a target.”

As the fortress’s systems went dark, Ellion strode toward the exit. His scales were already beginning to thicken. “Keep your warriors safe and save the Terians, Yuric,” he said. “They have turned hard and cruel over the centuries, but there is hope for them, if the Axis don’t destroy them. I’ll handle the ships.”

Before anyone could argue further, Ellion sprinted down the corridor toward the main doors. His bones began to crack and shift as the transformation took hold. By the time he reached the courtyard, he was no longer a male with wings, but a massive purple dragon, ready for battle.

With a mighty roar that shook the mountain itself, Ellion launched himself into the sky. The Axis ships hung there like dark stars, looming over the settlement. A few had landed. They weren’t ready for a dragon. It was time to show the Axis what he could really do.