Tellek put the weapon to his shoulder, locked onto the alien, and hit the firing switch.
Bethany Anne reached out to where she calculated the tip of the missile should strike. As it drew near she started twisting her body, pulling her hand away from the missile, and as it slid by her, she moved herself and the metal-based missile into the Etheric.
It made it about twelve feet before it exploded in the whiteness of the Etheric, pelting her with a few pieces of its casing and the strong surge of energy that was its real payload.
Dragon Capital Planet McCaffrey, February 2100Fredi shouldered the new rifle and sighted in on a small shrub several hundred meters away. Gently pressing the trigger with a foreclaw, two things happened at once. The shrub shredded, and Fredi was rocked back on his tail from the recoil. "OUCH!"
"Told you it kicked, Dudapoof."
"Terfl, you said it kicked, but I thought you meant it kicked humans. I didn't think it would have enough recoil to move a dragon!"
"Yep. It's their latest toy for their Marines. The United Earth Space Force is testing them now, and I borrowed one to show you and Gappa Merln."
Merln rumbled, "Pretty impressive, especially for such a frail species." Then they felt something shift.
"What the fuck?" Bethany Anne stepped to one side and put her back against the rock wall that she'd suddenly appeared next to. "Dragons?" The cuts from the missile shrapnel were already healing, but she left a smear of blood on the wall.
Terfl said, "Um. Hello?"
"Hello. Sorry to pop in like this…" BA said, looking around. "Can you tell me where I am?"
"McCaffrey? Bardsey Island? Do you need medical assistance?"
"No, I'm fine. And I doubt you'd have anything for my species anyway. Am I anywhere near Dorasei?"
"Never heard of Dorasei, so I would guess not. And are you not human? From Earth?"
Bethany Anne stopped examining her surroundings and gave her full attention to the smaller of the two dragons. "Yes, I am from Earth. Enhanced human - vampire. You know of Earth?"
"Oh, yes. Just came from there, actually. Was there for a few years, after the Stobor invasion. Did you say vampire?"
"Yes… Stobor? Invasion? What the hell has happened there since I left?"
"Well, I don't know when you left, but the Stobor – an insectile race that out-breeds a planet and moves on to invade others – attacked Earth in 2091. Earth formed the United Earth Space Force and has joined our Federation. We've been fighting the Stobor alongside them for a few years now. I'm Terfl by the way, and this is my father Fredi, and my great-grandfather Merln."
Bethany Anne looked again, but there were still only two dragons in front of her. Then the wall she was standing against shifted, and part of it turned to look at her. She realized she was leaning against the flank of an absolutely ginormous dragon. It's eyes were the size of Terfl's head. She took a small step away from the 'wall'.
"Hello… Nice to meet you all. But that story about Earth… it just can't be!"
After considerable to-and-fro with their differing stories, Terfl simply said, "Another time-line shifter. It happens. Is this traveling something you do without a technological device?"
"Yes, I just draw energy from the Etheric and shift there."
"Can you 'feel' your way back where you came from?"
She paused for a moment and drew energy. "Yes, I still know which way to go."
"Then you can probably go back any time you like. I have a question, though. Vampire? Like, drink blood, avoid silver and sunlight… well, that one obviously isn't true… THAT type of vampire?"
So Bethany Anne explained about nanocytes – which Terfl was quite familiar with, as apparently they had a version of their own, and many humans, especially UESF troops, were enhanced. Nowhere near to the level BA was familiar with, but still. Finally, Terfl slipped and BA figured out that she was a serious "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" fan from an Earth TV series over a century in her own past. Bethany Anne actually remembered the series, and had thought it rather silly. She could get to like this little dragon!
The dad, Fredi, had finally set down the rifle he was holding. He'd been very careful never to aim it towards BA, but at the same time was obviously prepared to at least attempt to defend his child. She motioned at the rifle. "That doesn't look like it was designed for your use. Stock is too long, trigger guard too small. Human?"
"Yes. UESF Marine weapon, the JDS-One. We were just playing with it."
"JDS?"
"Don't ask me to explain humans. 'Jean Dukes Special', I believe. Some fictional character."
"Okay, this is getting stranger and stranger. I know Jean Dukes! And that looks exactly like something she would come up with."
"Then I imagine the humans who designed it will be pleased. Fictional characters in one timeline are often to be found in 'real life' in another timeline."
Bethany Anne shook her head. "Well, I would love to stay and explore here, but I've got people who will be worried about me if I don't get back pretty soon."
"Can you remember how to get here? Merln is the only inhabitant of this island, but if you come here, he can contact someone and they can bring you to the mainland. We'd be happy to show you around. We'll be off back to Earth shortly though, we are just here because my aunt is getting married, and Earth sent an ambassadorial delegation. I can leave word with the Emperor and he'll assign someone as a tour guide."
"I may do that if I ever have a free weekend. Kinda busy fucking up Kurtherians at the moment myself. Stobor sound like a nice vacation compared to them."
"Bye!"
BA drew energy again and shifted…
Noel-ni Mother Planet DoraseiThe Empress was back, and she was on fire. A bit more so than she had planned, actually, thanks to the extended trip through the Etheric.
"BRING ME THE ONE WHO HURT MY SUBJECT!" she screamed, her bright red eyes staring at Jhrex.
Dragon Capital Planet McCaffrey, March 2100Jack walked into the workout area and noticed that Terfl was running through a rather unusual combat routine. He paused to watch for a moment. When she finished with a loud "HEEYAH!" and stabbed the sparring robot in the chest, he started laughing.
"Terfl! Are those wooden stakes? You have holsters made for WOODEN STAKES?"
"Yes. What's your point?"
"You've gone off the deep end! One too many Buffy marathons. There are no such things as vampires!"
"Hmph. Little do YOU know. By the way, we've got a sample of some new nanites, our medical crew is looking into a fix for your nanite overproduction issue. May have some improvements, too…"