Thrax

He pivoted his head about the interior of the craft.  “Scan everything in here,” he said.  “Get every bit of data you can about their technology, and try to get into their computers, which may tell us more about them.  But try not to tap into something that might send a signal back to the other ships.”

The three Knights went about their task quickly, probing the whole interior of the enemy craft and its contents with the sensors and computers in their badges, recording everything they found in every device, locating memory cores, and analyzing and storing their contents.

Once they were done, Thrax and his team bounded out of the fallen craft, spread their wings, slashed their tails, and leaped back for the treetops and the open air.  They left the stricken place as quiet and still as they had found it. 

*****

When the recon party returned to Glaurung, it was to a flurry of activity as most of the Knights and Corps members present gathered around Thrax to watch him display the collated data from the fallen vessel, two of them continuing to stand watch on top of the vans and another two remaining on the cliff face.  Agena stood outside the group of weredragons, watching them study what Thrax and his team had found, suddenly envying their closeness as comrades and their shared understandings, much as someone with no interest in sports might feel listening to her talk with her fellow Sphereball players.  Still, she listened and caught a few interesting snatches of the things they were saying.

“Thankfully, our technologies are just similar enough that we could extract data from their memory cores…”

“Our translation systems were able to process parts of their language…”

“The androids and their devices have a visual display/input system…a lot of their language is based on symbols, not words…”

“Look at this!  Do you know what this means?  Do you know how we could use this?”

“But we’d have to have access to…”

“It could only be done from a point where…”

“But look here!  This schematic doesn’t match the ship we found!  This one is for…”

“This diagram shows where you’d have to go and what point you’d have to…”

“Right!  And then you’d just have to…”

“That would work!  But then someone would have to get into…”

“If we mounted an all-out attack, we might be able to get through their defenses, then reach that point and…”

At length, the group broke up and the other Knights and Corps returned to their former positions while Thrax and Meline stayed together.  Agena watched them, feeling slightly awkward, not knowing whether she should approach them, until Thrax waved her over.

She joined them and asked, “What did you find?  Is it something you can tell me?”

Thrax replied, “It’s something important—perhaps the most important thing in the world just now.”

Agena’s interest was more than peaked now.  “What?”

“We think we’ve found the way to destroy them.  Or make them destroy themselves.”

Eyes widening, Agena almost gasped, “You have?” 

“Yes,” said Thrax.  “They seem to rely heavily on androids and robotics, and their ships and android soldiers operate via a number of shared root commands.  We believe we’ve found the root command to self-destruct in case of capture by an enemy.”

“That’s amazing!” said Agena.  “How can you use it against them?”

“We’re not sure yet,” said Meline.  “But the Mentors need to know.  This information needs to be relayed to the entire Knighthood and Corps.  Someone, somewhere, may find a means and an opportunity.”

Taking his badge in hand once more, Thrax said, “We can’t delay.  People must be dying every minute.  I’m going to inform the Mentors…”

His last word was going to be “now.”  But then another voice cut him off.

“Incoming!” came the shout from overhead.  “Alien craft incoming!”

Agena felt her heart catch fire and her blood turn to ice at once.  Oh no… was all she could think.

Circling in the air up above were the two dragons who had gone back up the cliff.  Thrax called up to them, “How far off?  Report?”

Immediately, one of the pair in flight went into a dive and landed before Thrax and Agena.  “Just about two kilometers off,” he replied.  “And headed this direction.”

Thrax bellowed out a command: “Abandon the aerovans!  Get everyone out of the vans and assemble them out here!  We’re going into the cave!”

Agena glanced nervously into the cave.  She wondered how far into it they would have to go and how long they would have to stay.  And, just as ominously, she wondered whether the aliens would send their soldier androids after them.  She had a frightening image of Thrax leading his people in a battle underground in close quarters.  Finally, she wondered who, if anyone, would come out alive.

“Thrax,” she said, “let me help you get the people out of the vans.  I’ll help people who are hurt, I’ll carry supplies, whatever.”

His reptilian features took on a tightness that Agena could have sworn was a smile.  “Good,” he said, “let’s hurry.”

Together, they rushed to the nearest van along with Meline and the others.  To ease the process of getting the people out of the vessels, the weredragons all morphed back to human.  In spite of the oncoming danger, Agena found the sight of Thrax shifted from dragon back to man comforting, much as she knew he would change back to his reptilian self at an instant’s notice.

Meline, too, returned to her red-haired human form, and for the first time, Agena noted how beautiful the dragon Dame was.

 Even if Meline had never wanted Thrax, she had surely never lacked for the companionship of other females.  Agena took only a second to ponder this before pitching in with the task they’d set themselves.  Everyone moved fast, dividing their efforts between removing sacks of provisions from cargo holders and removing passengers from seats.  In a matter of moments, dozens of people were gathered out in the open between the two vessels and the opening of the cave.