Chapter Twenty-Six : Fire Everything

James managed to convince Spock to come back to the beach. If Nero wanted a fight, they'd have one, and James preferred to have all of them for it. If Nero didn't want a fight, he'd fly away and there would be nothing they could do about it. Spock acknowledge the logic of that and went without much of a fight. James had the feeling both of them thought they wouldn't make it to tomorrow without a fight.

Unfortunately, as so often happened, he wasn't wrong.

Just as they made it back to the beach to see everyone else had woken up and was looking around—presumably for them—the giant Blood Dragon dove over the edge of the cliff before them and pounded into the ground. The Snow Elf leaped to the ground and straightened with the finesse of a mountain lion.

Everyone froze as though they couldn't move. James glanced around to see if Psijic-Spock had made an appearance, but no such luck. He glared at Nero. "I'm James Tiberius Kirk, the Dragonborn," he said.

Nero nodded. "Hi, James. I'm Nero."

Spock looked like he'd been slapped in the face. Not hurt, but severely offended. "I'm told we know each other," he called across the ice field before them.

"Destroying that little settlement you called home was as close as I could get to revenge at the time." Nero looked apologetic for a moment. "I know you don't remember what you've done."

"I'm unclear how I alone could have caused the genocide of your race."

"You haven't yet. But I feel as if I've been waiting for this day my whole life."

James sighed and shook his head. "If you're going to try to kill us, then do it. But you do know that your alliance with Aldiun can only last so long. He'll destroy the world and you with it."

Nero directed his attention from Spock for a moment to James. "You might have been a great man," he mused. "The Dragonborn, born and destined to save the world from destruction. But that was another life. A life I will deprive you of, like your ancestors did for me."

James wasn't sure who threw the first fireball: Spock, Nero, or Aldiun.

It became clear as soon as fighting broke out that James was not at all prepared to face the World-Eater. He could barely hold his own and catch enough breath to use his Voice. But still, he knew that he was the only one who could face Aldiun. Nero was otherwise easily dealt with, even if he was a mage of similar or better skill than Spock.

With a running leap, James took hole of one of the scales on Aldiun's neck, slashing wildly with his sword and Shouting at the impenetrable scales. The dragon rumbled in laughter.

"A noble effort, Dragonborn," he said. "But you'll soon see your efforts will be for naught." Aldiun planted his claws in the pebbles and shook James off like a fleck of dust. "You never include the possibility of a no-win scenario."

James slowly picked himself up from the pebbles. "I don't believe in no-win scenarios."

Aldiun just laughed and looked down his long nose at him. "No one can escape death. Not even the Dragonborn."

Perhaps not, James thought. Perhaps not. Unless he cheated. James jumped to his feet and screamed, "Fus ro!"

Aldiun blinked.

At once, Nyota was on his head jabbing with her knives, perhaps only an annoyance to the huge dragon. It seemed enough to distract him. Sulu gained some new courage and ran toward the World-Eater, screaming. Meanwhile, Montgomery stood by a ways off with a very small animunculus he was directing to attack Nero. James couldn't see Chekov, but he assumed the Khajiit might be bargaining for his life about now.

James was jarred out of his focus on the dragon when Nero suddenly screamed at Spock to stop what he was doing. Unexpectedly, everyone, even Aldiun, froze. He turned his enormous head to look at the small Snow Elf, and blinked. James followed suit, keeping one eye on Alduin all the same.

"You and you," Nero screamed, pointing at Spock and then at James. Then he gestured helplessly at the rest of them. "You destroyed my home and it's hundreds of thousands of inhabitants. Not even our culture was saved—"

"You're the member of an endangered species," Alduin finished. The dragon looked at James. "A species that must, like all others, face its day of reckoning."

"Yes, yes." James didn't know how Nero had worked up the gall to wave Alduin's words as if they were flurries of snow. "But I want Spock dead now." He paused, then said, "Fire everything!"

James cringed and Aldiun bucked his head, tossing Nyota and Sulu aside as though they were nothing.

"You dare to give me orders? You of all should know, of all people, that you cannot escape death." Alduin whirled upon the Snow Elf and roared in indignation, bounding toward Nero. "He is here for you now."

Nero scrambled away from the dragon in a sudden panic, but he had to know it was for naught. Perhaps, unless James did something to stop Alduin. "Nero!" James shouted, holding his hand out as though to pull him up from the ground, but he was too far away. "Come with us; we can save you!"

Spock stopped running to glare at him, suddenly his hand was putting a death-grip on his shoulder. "Dragonborn, what are you doing?"

James glanced at Spock and then back at Nero, who seemed to be considering. "Showing compassion," James answered. "It may be the only way to earn peace—it's logic; I thought you'd like that, Spock."

He looked like he'd been stabbed as he admitted, "No. Not really. Not this time."

James smiled a little and looked back at Nero, who'd apparently decided. "I would rather suffer the genocide of my people a thousand times! I would rather die in agony than accept help from you!" Nero spat.

"You have it!" James agreed, and pushed Spock off ahead of him. "Run!"

It wasn't a moment before Alduin swooped in on his once-ally. James filed that away for the future: don't make friends with a dragon. They'll sooner eat you. He glanced back to see Alduin shout fire at Nero and roar at the sky. The dragon called after James as he ran.

"You cannot defeat all of us, Dragonborn," he bellowed in James' native tongue. "We are returning and stronger than ever. And there's only one of you." With that, Alduin jumped into the sky and beat his mighty wings.

James stopped running, turned around. The landscape danced in flame under the dragon flying toward the horizon. There would always be more destruction. But, James thought, at least it was not only James.