Chapter 8

"It's certainly seasonal weather up here," Mamao'lani said.

Sitting in the rear section of a shuttlepod as it flew over the polar region, he was looking out of a side window and the white streaks of snow blurring past.

"Not to me," said McQueen, sat next to him, instinctively clutching her excursion jacket close around her. "Chrissie back home was always nice and warm," she added in her Australian drawl.

Mamao'lani chuckled in sympathy. "Same here, Commander. Not too fond of the snow, in all honesty. Not this much of it, anyway."

MACO Major Kimura, sat across from both of them, scoffed. "This is nothing. Growing up in Hokkaido, we'd get snow up to here some winters." He held his hand up to his broad chest.

"Sure, sure," McQueen said teasingly.

"It's true!" Kimura protested, albeit with a smirk.

"Well," said Mamao'lani, "I much prefer a warmer Christmas. And a nice, warm Christmas dinner too!" He chuckled again, patting his portly stomach.

McQueen smiled with him. "Looking forward to the senior staff dinner, Ambassador?"

"Oh, wouldn't miss it," he replied. "I'm hoping for some nice roast ham!"

The science officer shook her head, still grinning. "I prefer cold meats, and a Christmas lunch. But I guess I can compromise."

"Then there's the Prime Minister's speech to look forward to as well," Kimura said.

"I know," said McQueen, wide-eyed. "So mysterious. Wonder what the news is?"

Mamao'lani had his own speculations on that matter - his political contacts on Earth were saying nothing though - but right now he found himself thinking of food still, and not for the usual reasons.

"I wonder what it eats," he said, staring out the window again. "Our large Draco friend."

"The Tellarites reported seeing some sort of woolly equine creatures when they first arrived in the area," McQueen said. "The equines fled from view when approached, so clearly they know to fear other lifeforms. Might be the Draco's prey. The others are primarily herbivores, but this one won't have much choice given its environment."

Mamao'lani nodded. Then, remembering McQueen's penchant for giving Berengarian wildlife fanciful names, he asked, "What are you thinking of calling these equines?"

McQueen smirked bashfully. "Snow ponies."

Mamao'lani grinned at her.

Their shuttlepods landed a good distance from the pit, so that the giant Draco wouldn't see their approach. This concealment was mutual, as they could only detect the Draco as a vague, but massive, bioelectric field. McQueen, however, said that she had been modifying a scanner to cut through this natural interference, based on scans of the more local, smaller Draco, but it would require closer proximity.

She and Mamao'lani, surrounded by a ring of MACOs, trudged across the thick snow towards the pit, cursing the biting cold. Two of the MACOs carried a portable EMP generator, while several were armed with grenade launchers; a stark reminder of their contingency plan.

McQueen, her fingers numbly grasping her scanner even through heavy gloves, spoke up over the whirling winds. "It should be directly ahead of us."

Mamao'lani, holding the back of his hood up, squinted through the blizzard. He could just make out the pit, the crane, the melted remains of an EMP generator, and two shuttlepods - one ripped apart and on its side several metres from the other.

Then, Kimura called out, "There!"

Everyone looked to where he was pointing. Mamao'lani's eyes widened as he saw it. A huge white shape, barely noticeable against the arctic background, was lying patiently by the pit. Now that he could make out the Draco's outline, he was stunned at its size. He remembered as a boy seeing pictures of massive creatures that once lived on Earth but were now extinct, like dinosaurs or humpback whales, but this one was even larger than them and very much alive. It could have worn one of the mountain Draco like a scarf.

And yet, the monumental beast just lay there, silent and still. It had most likely learned to be stealthy to compensate for its size while hunting, he speculated, which would also explain the white scales. Watching it keenly though, he noticed that it was breathing laboriously, mist jetting out from its snout in random clouds.

"Readings?" he whispered to McQueen.

McQueen, staring at the Draco in awe, tapped at her scanner again. "Uh, still patchy, but better than before… The bones are the key. Easier to detect that all that bioelectric flesh and- Wow…"

"What is it?" Mamao'lani asked. He and the MACOs kept their focus on the Draco, which remained unmoving.

McQueen stared at her scanner in disbelief. "I think… According to the growth of its skeletal structure and teeth… This Draco is over ten thousand years old!"

Mamao'lani now whipped his head around to look at her. "That's… even older than Caeldon…" The elderly Clan Mother had been estimated to be over six thousand years old, and claimed to be the oldest Draco in memory, but it seemed as though she had competition. Mamao'lani looked back towards the immobile giant with newfound amazement.

"Ambassador…" McQueen consulted her readout again. "I'm also seeing signs of massive internal organ degradation, years old, maybe even centuries." She looked up, her eyes flickering, and not just from the snow. "I… I think it might be dying."

Mamao'lani looked back to her, his heart sinking. Such a majestic beast, not long for the world. It almost hurt to think that they had discovered it too late.

"The MACOs reported that it seemed… exhausted after it breathed fire at them," McQueen continued, trying to maintain a professional tone, but Mamao'lani could see she was just as hurt as he. "If its hydrogen bladders are damaged, it could be burning itself from within. It…" She choked. "It must be in so much pain…"

The Ambassador looked to the poor creature with sorrow. It continued its strained breathing. "It's so old… Probably been on its own for ages… Others of its kind dying out… Driven to primal instincts to survive while its body struggles to keep it alive… Can you tell its intelligence capacity?"

McQueen shook her head. "Can't get detailed brain scans at this range."

"Regardless, if our people exacerbated its condition, however unintentionally," said Mamao'lani, "the least we can do is treat it with dignity. Maybe try to help it." He approached Kimura. "Major, let's advance. I'm going to try to communicate with it."

Kimura nodded. "Alright, sir, but if-"

"I know, Major, I know," Mamao'lani said. "If things take a turn for the worse, you and your troops can take over." He sighed. "You'd probably be doing that poor thing a favour."

Their entourage slowly closed in on the great white dragon, which continued to puff out warm mist, barely moving otherwise. Kimura took them as far as he felt was safe - about halfway between the Draco and their shuttlepods - before halting them.

Mamao'lani took out the universal translator unit he'd been given. He was familiar with the operation of such devices from his long diplomatic career, and polyglot Lieutenant Sylor had programmed the base's units to understand Draco speech patterns. If this polar one was capable of language, they'd soon know.

The Draco's massive head suddenly lifted and turned in their direction, regarding them curiously but cautiously, perhaps still unsure of what to make of the new creatures. The MACOs tensed and aimed their weapons, but Mamao'lani held out his hand.

"Hold your fire."

He then spoke loudly towards the Draco, holding up the UT unit. "Greetings! Can you understand me?"

The Draco remained statue-like, its grey eyes darting from from Human to Human. It had not reacted badly though, a good sign.

It didn't last.

"We mean you no harm-" Mamao'lani continued but got no further.

The Draco let out a mighty roar, blowing a gust of frigid air towards them.

"Back to the 'pods, sir," Kimura immediately ordered, keeping his aim and his eye on the Draco.

Mamao'lani was about to argue for staying, then the Draco charged them, forcing him to agree with the Major.

He and McQueen made haste towards their landing site, several MACOs escorting them, while the rest laid down grenade cover before the pursuing behemoth.

It merely ran through the explosions, the ground thundering under its tread, forcing the grenadiers to fall back. Kimura called for the EMP generator.

McQueen heard this and stopped in her tracks. "No!" she called. "You'll hurt it more!"

A MACO grabbed her and tried to drag her away, but she struggled against him. Mamao'lani put a more gentle hand on her shoulder.

"They have no choice, Jess," he said, his voice strained. He knew exactly what she was feeling.

The beast stopped short, rearing up and screeching as the invisible electromagnetic waves were focused on it. It crashed back down to earth, almost knocking the rest of them off their feet with the shockwave, and started to wail and thrash.

"It's not working!" shouted McQueen, her voice breaking. "It's not retreating, they're just hurting it!"

Mamao'lani winced. She was right. The mighty Draco had likely never learned to flee from danger, for there was nothing indigenous here to challenge it. He was about to call for Kimura to abandon the effort when the decision was made for him.

The Draco opened its mouth, ready to breath fire.

"Fall back!" shouted Kimura. He and his troops swiftly ran, fanning out away from the line of fire, leaving the heavy EMP generator behind.

A huge jet of blue-hot flame issued forth from the Draco, vaporising the snow into steam and melting another generator.

From its effort, and relief at the termination of the EMP, the Draco staggered, but soon resumed its pursuit of them.

Thankfully, they all managed to reach the shuttlepods before the winded beast could catch up, and were airborne again in no time.

The anguished Draco roared up at them, safely out of reach, before slinking back towards the pit.

Mamao'lani watched it from the 'pod's rear camera monitor, realising with grief that neither diplomacy nor conventional firepower were going to be effective here.