The Ship Attacks

There was no flash of light, no dramatic sequence of any sort. They were simply in the Celestial Mechanic's room one second, and somewhere else the next. The atmosphere and the gravity were subtly different from where they had been, and they stood there for a short time as they recovered from the jarring transition.

They saw that they were in a desert. The sand under their feet was warm, but not burning, for it was night and fairly cool. There was, indeed, a pale and sickly moon in the sky. In its light, they could see the outline of a tower floating in the air. A mountain loomed ahead of them in the shadows, in which a cave was carved out. A faint light seemed to be glowing in the cave.

They saw that Belinda had appeared beside them, with Gareth lying on the ground. He seemed to be staring off into space and moaning quietly. She seemed even more jarred than they were, as she’d had no advance warning. "What happened?" she asked as she looked around her.

"We were directed to a being called the Celestial Mechanic," said Astra Six. "He said that he was one of the twelve Guardians of the Universe, whatever that means, and that he would repair Compassion and cure Gareth if we carried out a mission for him. We have to find someone called Dominic Adoni before the Mechanic's enemies do. This world is called Blindari in the Arcite system. I don't know if that means anything to you…"

"It doesn't," said Belinda. She realized that, at least at first, she had to handle a sort of leadership role. The new Freds and Astras seemed uneasy and disoriented in this environment, whereas she was used to alien planets. She also knew something about this period of history, or at least its counterpart in her universe. Things might be somewhat different here. But she couldn't think straight, not after... Not after what had happened... "Did the Mechanic say anything about the natives of this planet?" she inquired.

"He seemed to think they were primitive," said Fred Five. "Maybe they live in one of those caves."

"On the other hand," said Astra Five, "he seemed to be a being far greater than we are, and could think that everyone is primitive. He pointed out that they'd react badly to seeing a giant skull, but I think most people would."

"There's probably someone living in that cave anyway," said Fred Six. "I think I see a light coming from it, and in a deep desert like this, where else would you live? I don't see any tents here."

The Freds and Astras headed towards the cave, their hands on the handles of their chainswords. When they'd gone here, they'd been given clothing and weapons appropriate to this era. (Excepting Astra Four and Sir Cuitous, of course.) They were wearing Tcivilian clothing of the kind a human citizen of the Alliance might wear. Belinda had been given a disruptor pistol, which as an Eternal Champion she was experienced in using. But the Freds and Astras had never used even a crossbow, let alone a gun (although Astra Six had had some training in bow and arrow). They had been given chainswords, which were appropriate to this period and more like the kind of weapons they had used in their world.

Belinda picked up Gareth. He was still breathing, thank God. She had lost so many friends already, she did not want to lose another one. She followed them toward the cave.

They all stopped when they reached the mouth of the cave. The light was closer, but still faint. Reluctantly, Belinda put Gareth down, and entered the cave first. She instantly regretted it. If there was someone in here, they needed someone who was more diplomatic, such as Astra Five. Belinda was hardly a diplomat even at her best, and she certainly didn't trust her judgement now. She felt too angry and confused after what had happened.

She heard a noise and instinctively reached for her laser pistol, but didn't pull it out. If she had to talk to someone, she didn't want to have a weapon out--it wouldn't make a good first impression. She heard something rustling and coming her way. Then, it hit her on the face, a sharp talon which scratched her left cheek, and she fell to the ground. She heard a hissing sound, and saw a large hulking shape above her. It looked as if diplomacy hadn't been required after all.

She struggled to pull out her gun, ignoring the pain in her left cheek, but as she did she felt claws rake her arm. She dodged to the side, but her gun clattered to the ground. She called for help. The Freds and one of the Astras had come in with their chainswords fully powered. The other one was presumably watching over Gareth. All around her was the chaos of battle, and she couldn't tell who was winning. She dodged the creatures' attacks, and felt blood flow down her arms and face. She needed to fight these creatures with magic. She almost didn't want to use it, as it felt like too easy a way out for a warrior, but she had to. She pulled her mind together and tried to say a spell, but the words just didn't come out.

1. Suddenly, there was a bright flash of light, and a strange whining noise.

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