Chapter 15
North had never savoured battle. Neither inflicting violence nor taking a life held any glory for him. He had been forced to do both several times during the war, however, as war teaches many to do.
He had not taken pleasure from any of those occasions, but at least he had a modicum of solace in knowing that it was necessary. That he was protecting innocents from an enemy who meant them harm. From fellow sentient beings who knew what they were doing.
But this, now, was just slaughter. And it ate at his soul to watch.
He forced himself to watch though; looking away would have been an abdication. Absolution, almost. He did not deserve that.
With disgust, he felt like the hunters of old Earth, who preyed on endangered, defenseless animals even after Humans became fully conscious of the damage unnatural extinction could have on the planet. At least he was not doing this for some sick trophy.
The Draco's pain had gone on too long, and still it did not flee. North had ultimately ordered Thorpe's team to evacuate while it was distracted, thinking that the sooner they were clear, the sooner they could end this travesty.
The majestic creature's throes shook the very ground they stood on, as if nature itself railed against them. North had ordered the intensity of the EMPs steadily increased, hoping the Draco would eventually relent. But it did not, instead remaining to suffer more.
North knew that the pulses it was enduring must surely be agony. Its internal organs would be rupturing, the hydrogen bladders it used for body heat alone would be leaking deadly gas into its body. And still it persisted.
There was almost a nobility in it, North thought. The great Draco had been alone for so long; this land was all it knew - its home - and it had been wounded for centuries too. A wounded animal always fought harder.
"This one's made of stronger stuff, sir," Major Kimura said to him, echoing his own musings. "The combined intensity of the EMPs is fifty percent higher than what we used against the other Dracos. Much higher could… could kill it."
Kimura's last statement was neither suggestion nor warning, only fact.
North remained staring at the poor creature. "Maintain current intensity," he said. Part of him wondered if they'd all be better off - Draco included - if they just finished the job. Let it hold on to its nobility.
Then, there was some hope.
The team underground started emerging from the pit. If they could only get to the shuttlepods and get away, then they could put a stop to the torment.
But the Draco, driven by rage and pain, had pursued the fleeing group.
"Increase the range!" North had ordered the MACOs, and they had swiftly obeyed.
The Draco was beyond suffering now though. It barely reacted, seeking only to destroy those it perceived as its attackers.
"Sir, we have to put the generators to maximum!" said Kimura, concerned.
"Hold off on that, Major!" North shouted. "There is still the possibility of resolving this without any deaths." He couldn't let another Draco die due to misunderstanding.
"The Draco doesn't feel the same way!" Kimura shouted back at him. He was stepping over a line, but North related to his desperation.
North cringed, the dilemma burning him even in this cold.
Something new happened then. One of the figures in the distance started running straight for the Draco.
Producing a pair of field binoculars from his pocket, North zoomed in to see that it was Guardsman Threv.
"Damn fool," North cursed the young Andorian's reckless zeal.
Astoundingly, Threv leapt into the creature's mouth.
"The hell is he thinking?" said Kimura, looking through his own binoculars.
An explosion rang out through the still air, flames bursting from the Draco's mouth, and not its own.
North, Kimura, and the rest of their group stared in disbelief. The Draco fell to the ground, shuddering the earth.
A grenade, North realised. Had Threv sacrificed himself?
"There!" called Kimura, as if in answer. "He was blown free, I think he's alive!"
The MACOs cheered and North exhaled, rubbing his face with a gloved hand.
He was darkly relieved that the Draco had been neutralised by someone other than him, and he hated himself for that.
But it was not long-lived.
The Draco, still alive, rose again and fury became it.
As it advanced on Threv's fallen form, Kimura whipped around to North.
"Sir! We have to turn up to maximum!"
There was no time for any more dilemmas. The Draco grew closer to Threv, opening its mouth…
"Do it!" North barked. Then, quieter, "And may God have mercy on us all."
Kimura order his men to follow suit, and the Draco reared up again.
It let out a bloodcurdling noise, unlike its prior agonised wails. This was a death rattle, and it was pure horror to the ears.
The Draco then collapsed, shaking the earth for the last time, the mist of its breath ceasing soon after.
Silence hung over them all for a moment.
Kimura then withdrew his scanner, aiming it towards the still Draco. After consulting the small screen, he looked to North and solemnly nodded.
It was dead.
But there was no time to mourn just yet. North ordered the medics to see to Threv, and get him ready to be shuttled back to base.
He then slowly marched through the snow towards their vanquished foe.
Thorpe approached him when he reached the Draco's massive, lifeless body, offering only a nod of acknowledgement. There was nothing either could say.
The Draco itself was just as magnificent in death as it had been in life. A gigantic beast of legend that had lived up to its mythic status.
North stood at its snout, gazing up at its empty grey eyes, each bigger than his own head. He thought of saying something significant - something that would encapsulate his sorrow and salute the proud creature's majesty.
But nothing came to mind. It would only have been a hollow attempt to recoup his own honour and alleviate his grief anyway. North felt he deserved neither.
He placed a hand against the Draco's hard white scales and said only, "I am sorry."
The snow continued to fall on them all lightly, lying undisturbed for a while.
