Chapter Ten

1.

BEDFORD WOULD HAVE REACHED for his gun but Stone’s hand fell on his. Without thought Bedford jerked back. Foolish of him—especially considering they were both suited up—though most men would have considered it an understandable reaction. Stone gave him a questioning look, and then his gaze narrowed. His head tilted a little and Bedford could see thoughts and speculation speeding through the other man’s mind. Had Stone worked out that Bedford knew his secret? To hell with him if he had. Now was not the time for this. Stone shook his head; Bedford couldn’t tell whether the gesture was one of reproach or simply backing up what he’d clearly meant to convey by that touch.

Stone had stopped Bedford from drawing his gun and using it. Although Bedford doubted a blast so small would ignite Jupiter’s atmosphere, it already being so turbulent, the gesture was pointless. No way could one small gun be a defence against one of these creatures. They paused in the entrance, the depths of Jupiter behind them, the vastness of its upper atmosphere ahead. Above, several draco flew back and forth.

If only they could have made it out faster. They’d had to waste a certain amount of time to get back into their atmosphere suits, the contraptions making the last part of the journey cumbersome. At least they’d all had cleaner air, but dragging Kaplan along in the more bulky suit proved difficult. Tally had no longer been able to manage him alone.

Bedford had feared the delay was one too many, but he could make out the outline of the cutter without trouble, and above in the swirling vapours he was sure he could spy the outline of Her Majesty’s vessel, although the cloud could be confusing his perception. Whether he saw the ship or a phantom, with the evidence of the cutter ahead, he was sure Sovereign not only awaited them but would be ready to offer whatever protection she could.

Tally and Stevenson came up from the rear carrying Kaplan between them. To bolster the two exhausted men and even to give Kaplan hope if he could hear, Bedford raised his hand in a universal gesture that all was good.

No sooner had he done so than Stone’s hand fell on his again. He turned his gaze to stare out of the entrance in time to see the cutter taking off.

Bedford shot out of the cave as if someone had propelled him as a bullet from his own gun. He ran, waving his arms, not wasting a breath shouting when he wouldn’t be heard.

He came to a stop when he realised why the cutter had swerved. One of the draco cut across its path, missing where it stood by just a few feet. The beast at once circled back in an erratic flight pattern before rising more smoothly. Bedford glanced around and noticed the creatures seemed to be gathering but were keeping their distance…for now.

For how long? The way they were moving in, he expected a concentrated attack any moment.

Bedford wasn’t waiting to find out. He watched the flight of the cutter, realised where they were heading and pushed Stone that way as the others caught up. The ship backed out of the shifting platforms, before dropping down between two layers, and then easing through a narrower passage. The cutter’s approach pattern was risky and they needed to be there waiting if it succeeded.

2.

THE TORPEDOLIKE SHAPE HAD never looked so beautiful. Tally dragged himself into the airlock first, only so he could turn and help others in behind him. As soon as the lock closed, the ship moved, but it had hardly turned when it took a hit. No-one had to explain what had happened. Tally had seen how close the drifting plateaus of land were to the ship. The pilot had to be skilled or mad.

For a few seconds the turbulence was so bad he expected part of the ship to tear away, but then it was moving free and rising. All they had to do was make it back to Sovereign without one of those flying lizards catching them.

Would all of them make it?

As soon as Bedford gave the all clear, Tally pulled off his atmosphere suit and, with help from the others, removed Kaplan’s helmet.

Ye Gods, but this was not how a man should die. Tally’s dismay upon hearing that Nate wanted him to stay away had been extreme. The order had made him want to dash on in there, but the sickening dread of what he would see coupled with Bedford reminding him that distractions only served to slow down the work had kept him out. If he had seen Kaplan turning into this, he would have dragged both men out, and Nate likely knew that.

Feckin’ hell. A man shouldn’t come this close to crying so often in the space of a couple of days. First the belief he’d lost Nate, and now for this to happen to Kaplan… Tally looked at Nathaniel who noticed and returned the stare. Tally had much to say but now wasn’t the time and he wasn’t sure he could be as eloquent as he wanted to be. Later… Then Tally would tell Nate what he was thinking.

“Best leave him as he is.”

Tally saw the sense in Bedford’s words. The suit did at least offer Kaplan’s poor abused body some protection. Kaplan was so still he seemed to have slipped into a coma, but he was breathing.

So far in the journey Doctor Beverly had reported minor ailments and injuries only. Now he had an actual casualty on his hands. One he couldn’t have envisioned in his wildest dreams. Tally stared at Kaplan’s blue-white emaciated face and hoped the good doctor could perform miracles. For once, he wasn’t sure whether it wouldn’t have been kinder to let the poor bugger die.

3.

“THE CUTTER IS SAFELY back, Captain.”

“Good. Now get us out of here.”

No sooner did the ship move than the race was on. The moment Sovereign turned the dragons gathered. The second she rose out of the quiet zone, the beasts took formation, bearing down as though they were a great flock of birds.

“Let’s avoid them, gentlemen.”

The calculations for their best path to break through Jupiter’s atmosphere and break the great planet’s pull had already been determined, but first they had to rise, rise, rise through many miles of vaporous gases, avoiding high winds, storms, and these great winged beasts.

For several minutes the ship and crew took part in a quiet race. Then Sovereign shook, slewing to the side. Theobald turned his head and even from his viewpoint saw a claw had snagged and pulled on the ship. The creature had to have come from beneath, but fortunately, from its size, it was likely adolescent

“Aim. Fire.” Theobald gave the command in a calm monotone.

Their weapons fired and the creature peeled off, spiralling downwards. Theobald gave no more than a split-second thought to whether it was dead or injured. His only priority was that of the ship.

“Let’s not let that happen again,” Theobald commanded, and for the next few minutes no-one did.

Avoiding the creature ahead, rising on great wings that unfurled like a ship at sea raising its sails, proved more difficult. Theobald opened his mouth, a dozen commands speeding through his mind, each analysed with the training that had provided him with this command. Before he could select the most appropriate they were saved by happenstance. A red flash drew his gaze to one side. A great roiling blaze stroked fire over the side of the ship. The ship came away unscathed—she had been built to survive worse—but another flame followed, and something on Jupiter ignited, creating a flash fire that shook the ship. Even as Theobald commanded the ship to peel away, so too did the threat of the dragon ahead.

They struggled to get back on course; Sovereign swung in a brutality unforgiving wind. Men pressed buttons and pulled at levers, working to get the ship under control. The ship dipped, dropping several feet in the direction none on board wanted to go. One glance revealed a maelstrom of turbulent gases below and rising out of the midst what appeared to be a mountain of grey craggy rock. Theobald needed to blink before what he was seeing defined into a spiralling pattern of flying creatures coming up to drag them down from beneath.

4.

“NO, NO. HMM…” MARCUS couldn’t breathe. He tried to twist, to push off whatever lay on top of him, but he couldn’t do that either. His body had become a slug wrapped inside a chrysalis, cocooned.

“Wollf return to your seat until…”

“I’m fine, Commander.”

The second voice was lighter than the first and Marcus sensed he should have understood why. He should also have understood the words. Seat? He was lying down, and his name wasn’t Wolf. Who was Wolf? Was there a wolf?

Not a wolf. Something worse.

Marcus began to thrash against whatever restrained him. Some kind of padded suit, straps, hands. Soft hands; a cool touch.

He was at once aware of movement around him, others joining the first person, of their being jostled about as the world lurched.

“Hold him down.”

“Without hurting him? How?”

“Use this.”

Another constriction went across his chest. They were tying him down!

Noooooooooooo! Marcus wanted to weep and wail. He had to fly free. With the thought, he was.

He saw…

Swelling mist and bilious pink clouds with flashes of fire in their depths. The wind lifted him, though at times the currents fought to spin him around and he had to correct his course, but he had learned how to do this. He’d taken spills when he was young, but not now. Now he was fully grown and strong, one of the largest of his kind. His own kin moved out of his path.

Filled with this great power, Marcus grew calm. If he could become…this, the sacrifice would not be so great. He had these thoughts without truly understanding them; aware that this…promise would be unfulfilled, clinging to hope nonetheless. He wanted this. If he had to change, he wanted to be this. The animal was powerful, but it didn’t like him in its mind, though it thought of him as nothing more than a flea, an irritating itch. The creature flew in pursuit of prey. More than that—in pursuit of a prize.

He breathed in the noxious fumes of Jupiter, but even though it stung on the way down to his lungs, he could feel it filling him. The gases went into pockets and capillaries, into organs no other creature had, and his body took it in, transformed it. In the pit of his stomach a fire ignited and he welcomed the burn.

Jupiter fuelled the weapon the creature had been borne with.

Marcus shook his head and moaned. That soft hand touched his brow. A voice told him to lie still. Marcus saw a glowing thing, an egg of some kind… Domed anyway.

He didn’t know why but he’d been borne with an imperative to protect it at all times.

With a toss of its great scaly head, the creature tossed him out of its thoughts. Marcus gave a cry.

“Can’t you get this door open? Is the doctor here?”

“Try to keep still, Marcus. We’ll have ’elp here fer yer soon.”

Marcus failed to understand. He was floating free.

“At last.”

What was last? Marcus knew some of the people were moving away from him and he wanted to shout out. Don’t leave me…here. There was nothing here, not now. He had to leave, return to…Sovereign.

The ship heard him. That made no sense but he cared not why. He was hurtling through gaseous clouds carried by the winds and yet apart from them. He saw Sovereign as if his mind was a disembodied thing and then he was plunging down, into her, flying through corridors, passing pipes, hearing the hum of wires, and the distracted thoughts of men. A few turned their heads in passing as if they’d noticed him. Others ran to urgent tasks. The ship…

Sovereign was in pain, but this was a hurt she could survive if she could fly fast enough. This knowledge gave her power.

Another blast of what had to be dragon fire shook the ship, but a greater concern took over: escape. Entering the upper reaches of Jupiter’s atmosphere, the hull began to screech as Marcus, or his mind, or maybe his imagination, reached the bridge. One mind there was sharpest, reacting at least seconds ahead of the rest. This one gave orders. Commands piped from the bridge had men from engineering rushing to obey. Gunners were already in place. What sounded like a muffled explosion reached Theobald’s hearing but he had no time to pay it much mind. The bosun had already called for reports around the ship and swiftly received confirmation there were no hull breaches, although small fires had broken out and the crew were rushing to contain them now. If he concentrated, Marcus could see these events as if he were part of the mind of the captain, every man on board, and of the ship itself. Reports from the engine room contained screaming as one man had been burned, but for the captain of Sovereign that was part of a day’s job. Trying to break Jupiter’s pull now caused the juddering that could be felt throughout the ship.

“We’re reached the right trajectory, Captain.”

Theobald gave the man who had spoken a nod. All that was left for them to do was get out of here.

“We’re not alone, Captain, sir.”

Indeed, they were not. Marcus knew what gave chase, for he had been in its mind. The largest of the dragons followed in their wake. Some miles existed between them and the creature but the beast gained with every passing minute, and it had the advantage of manoeuvrability. With its wings tucked back, the draco slithered through the atmosphere as a seal could swim through water.

For the next few minutes, the crew held their nerve and forged ahead, and all the while the dragon gained and gathered speed. Marcus was torn between wanting to be part of the beast and longing to escape with the ship.

His body…

The others had brought back his body to Sovereign, but his mind? His body was damaged. Broken. Marcus wanted to leave it behind; now that his consciousness was a part of the ship, some other perception clung to him, held him fast. If he had thought it would do any good, he would have begged and pleaded, but he sensed a resolve quite unlike any he had ever encountered in the mind of a man.

What was this thing that had held of him?

He could not pull free of it so watched helplessly.

Theobald caught a sideways look from Barry, but had nothing to say in reply. Both men stared resolutely ahead. The creature was too far away to turn their guns towards it and every particle of energy Sovereign had was currently focused in the fight against Jupiter.

As the minutes passed, Theobald began to calculate when to risk firing upon the creature. Too soon and the shot would be pointless. Too late and it would be upon them, but if they fired and happened to ignite a pocket of flammable gas the resulting explosion could knock them off course and they’d miss their chance to break orbit. Even if they survived that, the creature would be upon them and they would have to start this battle all over again.

Don’t do it. Marcus knew it wouldn’t work. He didn’t know how but he just knew.

Theobald shook his head slightly, the only outward sign of his turmoil. I can’t risk it.

Marcus caught the captain’s thought and as much as he could in this disembodied form, he sagged.

Whatever the outcome of this, they were committed.

Five hundred feet until they breached atmosphere sounded like nothing at all but despite the engines straining, Jupiter was a greedy planet, wanted to cling to everything in its vicinity.

Four hundred feet but the creature was only a hundred and fifty feet back.

At three hundred feet, Theobald readied the guns to hold fire until his command. The dragon was no less than a hundred feet on their wake, but the ship was glowing white, screaming in protest and vibrating.

Not yet. Not yet. Soon but not yet. There’s still a chance.

Two hundred and the creature behind them flapped its wings, and opened its mouth. It wasn’t a giant but seemed so at this close range. It wasn’t big enough to swallow them whole, but the slightest nudge might change their course and right now that could spell disaster. Theobald was aware of the men under his command looking at him, but he was judging on something a little more than hunch. All or nothing. Just a few more feet.

Yes. Marcus urged the captain to hold off just a few moments yet. He could feel the creature’s lungs starting to strain, its fire waning.

With less than fifty feet left the dragon peeled back, contorting in the air. That these creatures could breathe the noxious fumes of Jupiter was miraculous; they apparently couldn’t survive the vacuum of the aether, which was what Theobald had counted on.

“Destination, sir?”

Theobald didn’t take his gaze from the view ahead. Sovereign had eased back but they still needed distance between them and Jupiter to escape its pull completely. “Just ahead,” Theobald commanded. “Just maintain as direct a route as possible until we’re away from here.”

Away. Marcus felt awareness slipping from him, struggled to stay. He’d rather be part of the ship than to return to his body, but even as everything turned black he knew this was one fight he could not win.

5.

THOSE IN THE CUTTER had awaited attention while Sovereign fled. As if they hadn’t had enough excitement, they’d had to hold Kaplan down when he’d started thrashing around. That in itself had proven difficult—they feared harming him while trying to stop him hurting his own self. In the end, he seemed to calm most when Wollf and Tally took over his care. Everyone had hated the delay but there had been nothing anyone could do about it. The ship was still juddering in the last moments of its escape, by that time there was crew available to see to their needs. The first thing Nathaniel saw upon stepping out of the cutter was two men carrying a litter. Upon his first sight of him, Doctor Beverly made the obvious connection and presumed Nathaniel needed its use.

“I’m…quite all right.” Nathaniel held up a hand. He looked beyond Beverly to where Arnaud came at run. The other man’s eyes went wide with concern, and he might have pushed through had not Doctor Beverly held Arnaud back.

“Give the men room. Give them air. This area is not secure.” Beverly stared at Nathaniel. “You look quite cut up.”

“On the contrary I am remarkably unharmed, though suffering nonetheless.” Already Nathaniel could feel the bruises and underlying aches developing. He’d managed to ignore those pains on the planet, but now they were settling in. This was the price as his body stopped producing much-needed adrenaline. “The blood is quite dry and as far as I’m aware none of it is mine.” He had the odd scrape, no doubt, and those who had gone below required a full medical; Nathaniel’s needs were no exception, or more important than the others. Indeed, there was another among them who needed help the most. He could see the doctor was going to argue and so said, “Kaplan is the one who needs your attention.”

At the very sight of him, the doctor’s eyes widened. “Get this man to the medical bay now. All of you require an examination now before you can resume your duties.”

As eager as he was to investigate the find he’d fought so hard for, not even Nathaniel was going to argue with that.

He stepped away to find a restraining hand on his arm, Tally on the end of it leaning in. “You scared me down there. Not once, not twice. I don’t know how many feckin’ times.”

The man’s concern was touching but Nathaniel was too exhausted for this. “I know.”

“I don’t care who orders me to stay out next time, Bedford or you, or the captain himself, I’m gonna be checking on ya.”

Nathaniel didn’t know what to say. He wasn’t sure he warranted such concern. “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”

Tally looked as if he would argue, but then young Sophia Davies came running up to Tally.

“You kept your promise.”

That Tally had, but Davies’ forthrightness fuelled by her relief was attracting attention. The Irishman was clearly a little embarrassed.

“I'm fine, Miss. Better not get close and get all dirty.”

Nathaniel was almost too tired to be amused, but as Davies went on her way saying she would check on Tally later, Nathaniel turned to his friend. “You’d better have that talk with Chief Boswell about those honourable intentions of yours.”

“Away with ya.” Tally ran a hand over his face. “Maybe I will though. Maybe over a whiskey. Speaking of which…I could be doing with a drink.”

As much as they could all probably do with one, it was the sick-bay for them all first. Nathaniel would skip the drink for a wash, but as he turned he saw Arnaud still there, and found more than a wash was needed to reassure Arnaud of his good health. Arnaud searched his face while Nathaniel searched his own mind. How best to explain all they had been through down there? Nathaniel could barely put one foot in front of the other but even at a slow pace it wouldn’t take long to reach the medical room. He’d have to make this concise. “Walk with me.”

An hour later, he was lying on his back behind a curtain in the sick-bay aware of hovering somewhere between waking and sleep.

6.

ARNAUD WALKED INTO THE lab. They were leaving Jupiter with another amazing find. Nathaniel had told him he would need his help but for now Arnaud had few of the details. He wished he could have seen the incredible things Nathaniel had given him the briefest description of, but if he had he’d likely be the one taking up permanent residence in the medical room. He didn’t know what to make of that and needed a few moments alone to think.

“Can yer spare a tiny drop ta drink?”

Tally had followed him in. The man was grubby and looked half-dead on his feet, but he clearly needed something stronger than water and he needed it inside him rather than out.

Arnaud opened the door to his secret supply and took out two glasses. He poured both him and Tally a shot. They chinked glasses, and Tally tipped his back. A second later, Arnaud did the same. Tally glanced at him, looked away. Neither man said anything for a long drawn-out span.

“Nearly lost Nate down there.” Tally shook his head. He glanced at the seat where Kaplan usually sat, then glanced at Arnaud. No doubt Tally was remembering the last time they’d shared a drink. They had a man missing, one who might never enjoy a drop of brandy again, although Arnaud would happily hand over the bottle to him if Kaplan could pour it down his throat.

With another shake of his head, Tally put down the glass and wandered out. Arnaud bent to put the bottle back in the cabinet.

Almost lost Nate down there. Tally’s words echoing in his mind had him pouring another shot, swilling it around and swallowing it down. His mind flicked back to his conversation with Nathaniel.

“Did you know this would happen?”

“How could I?”

“You took Kaplan in my place.” Arnaud had stared into Nathaniel’s gaze, started nodding. “You knew. Maybe not this, but you knew something. You saved me, mon toujours.”

Arnaud hadn’t cared in that moment what Nathaniel did or didn’t want him to call him. All he had known was Nathaniel Stone had saved him from suffering Kaplan’s fate.

The guilt of that had Arnaud fumbling at the desk, dragging his sorry self onto a seat before the weight of that responsibility drove him to his knees. His hands were shaking. His heart pounding. Given what he knew now would he take Kaplan’s place? Not if he was sane.

7.

DESPITE HIS DISHEVELLED STATE when Theobald sent for him, Bedford went at as fast a pace as he could without running.

He stood with his back straight, and saluted, saying nothing. Time passed during which Theobald stood with his hands cupped in the small of his back, shoulders squared, staring out as they gained distance from the King of Planets. When he was done, Theobald took his seat. He took in Bedford’s appearance but maintained silence for several long seconds.

“I understand Kaplan’s condition is…” Theobald stopped, shook his head. “Well we both know how terrible his condition is and I’ll get a fuller report later when Doctor Beverly has had a better chance to examine him. I also want to speak to the other researchers as soon as they’ve had a chance to recover sufficiently.”

“Aye, Captain.” Bedford knew the captain would be speaking with all of the landing party, taking their reports individually. Nothing he’d said so far had surprised him.

“Off the record, Commander, I want a brief recap from you right now. When it comes to your turn to do so officially you’d better have a damn good reason for pushing my instructions beyond the limits. Whatever your reasons for disobeying orders if I thought it wouldn’t be detrimental to this mission, you’d be in the brig. Now, report.”

That one word order was enough to tell Bedford what sort of strife he was in but he did as ordered, recapping as quickly as possible what had occurred inside Jupiter.

“You think it was worth it?”

Whether the captain meant the damage to Kaplan or risking his career hardly mattered. The answer was the same. “Aye, sir. If I may be so bold, sir, I believe you would have done the same.” That was pushing the truth. He didn’t believe Theobald would have taken the chance had he seen the rusting hulk of machinery they’d had to work with, because he wouldn’t have been able to believe in possibilities beyond what he was seeing. He wouldn’t have believed in Professor Stone. Despite the change in the nature of their relationship, and whatever the reason for the man’s altered behaviour—Bedford still held some hope that could explain many of his actions—Bedford believed in the man’s intelligence and the possibility there could be something greater at work here.

“What did Stone find down there, Commander?”

“He believes it to be a star map, sir.”

“Invaluable?”

Bedford parted his lips to reply, hesitated, and then decided that right or wrong there was only one answer available to him. “Aye, Captain. I believe it will save us wasting time and guide us directly to wherever we wish to go.”

“Giving us an advantage over the Ruskies.” Theobald nodded. “You will face a reprimand, Bedford, but right now I have more important tasks ahead.”

When he gave his orders, Bedford blinked. “Captain, sir, we could all do with…” He was going to say some food and sleep, but the captain’s gaze silenced his protests.

“As soon as Doctor Beverly has given everyone the all clear I want them working on this great find, Bedford; make no mistake about that.”

“Aye, aye, Captain.”

When the captain told him he was dismissed, Bedford was thankful to be out of there. As tired as he was, he found he had enough energy to walk away at an extremely fast pace. The question of how to tell the other exhausted men that the captain wanted to see them as soon as they were dismissed from sick-bay threatened to sap what little energy he had left. As for himself and Stone, his orders were to ask Stone what he required to get the star map working, then to assign a team to meet his needs. Until work started he wouldn’t get a wink of sleep.

To further insult his injuries, as he walked into the medical room where the excursion team lay, the first sound he heard was of Tally softly snoring.