Thrax

Thrax addressed his comrades: “We’re going to try to decoy the aliens.  We’ll put the aerovans on autopilot and have them head away from here.  The aliens may pursue them and give us time to get into the cave.”

Meline said, “The nearest settlement to here is Clawbridge.  We’ll have the vans head for there; it’s the most logical place for them to go.”

“Good,” said Thrax.  “Transmit those coordinates to the vans’ computers.”  Then, more loudly, speaking to the crowd: “Everyone, this way!”  He gestured to the mouth of Glaurung.  “We’re going inside.  Meline and I will go last.  The other Knights and Corps will take the civilians and medical personnel in first.  Move!”

Under the guidance of the armor-skinned personnel, those who had been inside the evacuation vessels began to move quickly for the mouth of the cave—all but Agena.

“Thrax,” she said, “I want to stay out here with you.  We’ll go into the cave together.”

“I can’t allow that,” he said.  “You’re under our protection, remember?”

“Then protect me out here,” she insisted.

“Absolutely not,” Thrax said with a shake of his head.  “I’ll join you inside.”

“I don’t want to leave you,” Agena said.

“You have to go; I can’t have you out here when they’re on their way.  You must go.”

“Thrax…!” she protested.

“Agena!” he shouted.  “I have my orders, and I’ve given you yours!  You’re to go to the cave—now!”

She glared at him, angry, hurt, and frightened.  How dare he give her orders?  How dare she refuse them?  Didn’t he know how the thought of leaving him with danger on the way made her feel?  She searched his eyes—and saw just a glimmer, a spark, to tell her that he did know.

A few steps away, Meline watched the empty vans retract their ramps, shut their hatches, and lift up from the ground.  In a moment, they were over the treetops.

In another moment, there was a deafening blast, a shock of light, and a hammer-like sensation of force that smashed through the trees.  Meline, Thrax, and Agena barely had time to react.  Instinctively, Thrax hurled himself in front of Agena.  He did it in the last possible instant before the shock wave battered them to the ground.

Lying under the spread-eagled Thrax on the soil and grass, Agena heard the sounds of things crashing and the crackle of fire.  She peered up and saw torn, twisted, and burning fragments raining all around them.  She winced and wanted to scream at the sight of some of them hitting the ground near her and Thrax and others landing near the fallen Meline.  She looked up into clouds of smoke that blotted out treetops and sky—and through them came the dreaded shape of one of the alien craft.

Thrax stirred on top of her and shifted off of her.  Meline likewise began to move again, pulling herself up from the ground as Thrax did.  Thrax offered Agena his hand and pulled her and himself up to a crouch.  The alien craft hovered over them.

“We’re going to have to make a run for it,” Thrax called, “into the—!”

Those were his  last words before a wailing cacophony hammered at them, making them feel as if their brains were spinning inside their skulls, their ears were bursting, and their muscles turning to putty.  They flinched, their bodies jerking into spasms of pain.  They screamed but could not hear the sound of their own voices.

They did not feel themselves hitting the ground again.  They felt nothing but darkness closing in on them.