Jez: 1) Thank you. 2) Excellent advice, though, it's accepted custom to travel in military vessels, because there are bandits, and such. 3) It sits in the middle, as sort of a hinge pin, and can be seen between the doors. 4) Modified the scene, and explained the fighters. They were actually just attempting to do damage to them. The bigger attackers were the only one's with arrows, and they were after the Dragoria's wings, which are vulnerable. 5) I added a few things to explain that. 6) I see what you mean. I split it into two chapters as you suggested.
Chapter 25 was replaced.
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"That's the Wahari?" Kim pointed. "Looks bigger than I thought it would." It was painted in the Imperial Red and Gold. There was a banner flying from the single mast. Adam didn't say anything, but he knew exactly what that meant. It also caused a black hole in his stomach.
"She's the biggest thing flying, except a few of the super cargo ships." Adam shrugged.
"And only because they aren't being shot at." The captain added. Shego laughed.
"That must be the Nafar then." She pointed. The ship was impressive painted black and silver, with a flame pattern between the silver lines. A banner similar to that on the Wahari, flew over head. Adam's stomach contracted into a ball.
"And there's the Dragoria." Ron pointed. Painted with the illusion of silver scales, the ship was an incredible sight, as it waited in holding pattern over the house.
House Tervion itself was considerably smaller than Marcae, if only because of location. It sat on top of a plateau, and was a much airier castle than Marcae. Two towers sat on the front, joining to a third at the back on inverted arch walls. The front walls were buttressed with steel bars, and rounded stone piles. The main doors were enourmous, on hidden hinges, that swung inwards. There was a single foot thick steel bar in the center, held them closed, acting as a second hinge to open them from the out side. To swing them inwards, it required the bar be lowered, and at just over a hundred and fifty feet, that took time. Two tall towers over the door and another inverted arch completed the front wall. Two towers further back, acted as ship docks, though only for loading and unloading. Two triangular flags hung between the ship towers, and the outer towers along the forwards walls. They were tied down, at tips and mid-points. There were also strings of triangular flags, flapping in the breeze between the dock towers. The Avant Guarde was the thirty fifth ship to arrive, and they'd been brought up on deck, to wait. Only the Dragoria was still moving, a point of design. It had crystals, but they drew it through the air, since the house dragons never stayed in place, neither did their ships. It gave the affect that the ship was pacing.
"They make me nervous." The captain grunted. "I wish they'd stop that."
"They'll fall out of the sky." Kim pointed out. Adam and the captain had the same repsonse.
"So?" They asked, more than a bit nastily. A pair of arrows, which exploded green, came from the docks.
"These two, then the Wahari, and the Nafar, and we'll be up. The Dragoria would be with us, but they have to land..." The captain cut off as she tackled Adam and Shego. Kim nailed Ron, as arrows laced the deck. Two dozen fighters swept low, across the deck, lances aiming for them, standing on the deck. Shego's free hand blasted the last man in the back, sending him over the edge, and into the open air below. Noreen was already up, shouting orders, as they came back around. The Wahari, and the Nafar were similarly under attack. Two ships, larger than the fighters, but smaller than the Dragoria, were attacking it, barrages of flaming arrows launching into the armored sides of the ship. Shego blasted at the incoming fighters, but they'd seen that, and were dodging her fire. Kim lunged, knocking one off his fighter. The craft caught Adam in the chest, and carried him over the side. Ron turned, and lashed out with lightning at the remaining fighters, as they swept over head. It didn't have the intended effect. They accelerated exponentially, coming back around from the same side. Plasma arced over head, missing, as they'd been so accelerated. "All port cannon's load Grapes of Wrath!" The captain screamed. "Tilt us thirty degrees starboard!" The ship rolled, as the fighters came in again. "PORT CANNONS FIRE!" She bellowed. The ship rocked, as a wall of fire issued from the guns, shattering both fighters, and pilots, splattering them on the side of the ship. "Level us off!" The ship rolled back flat.
"Boo-yah!" Ron yelled, coming to his feet. Kim glared at him. "Sorry."
"Did you have to kill them captain?" Kim asked. Noreen rolled her eyes.
"They were trying to kill us, so yes, I did have to kill them. I'm not in the habit of negotiating with terrorists." She replied, calm and even. "Not while they're shooting at me." She turned towards the other ships. "Good, looks like the Wahari and Nafar are alright. And the Dragoria? There they come." The ship swept out of the clouds, clear of the two ships that had trailed in into the sky. Noreen noted mentally there was no wreakage anywhere, in the sky, or on the ground.
"Where's Adam?" Shego asked suddenly. Kim and Ron looked around, finding him gone. Noreen shrugged.
"He went over the side." She pointed.
"Over the side?" Kim asked.
"When you knocked that guy off his fighter, the fighter hit him and he went over the edge." She shrugged again. Kim stared at her, horrified.
"How can you be so calm?" She asked.
"If he was dead, we'd have known it." As if on cue, he appeared over the side, now standing on the fighter. He stepped off as it touched the deck, brushing off his armor. "See?"
"What?" He asked, staring at them.
"Where in hell were you?" Kim snarled. "We were worried." Adam laughed.
"I'm sorry, I couldn't reach the throttle, to stop the damn thing, to get on top. I was halfway to the mountain range." He pointed to the range, several miles distant. He shrugged. "Captain, are we secure?" She nodded. "Then let's party."
"The Wahari and Nafar are docking now." She replied. "I'll need to examine that fighter, but I might have an idea who did this. No visible house colors, but..." She shrugged.
"That's creepy." Kim commented, as Adam walked away towards the bow of the ship, appearently to watch the ships dock.
"Kimmie-kins, I completely agree." Shego commented.
"I know what you mean KP." Ron nodded.