Hi everyone! I realise that I haven't updated this in... close on two years? but I got really stuck. This chapter and the next (which will be up tomorrow or the day after) form what I think of as the next arc, but I'm stuck after that, and I won't update again until I can work out where I'm going. I desperately need suggestions, so please send me some!
"We ready to leave?" B'kennor asked, turning to look over his shoulder at the assembled dragons.
"Don't forget to put your helmet on!" D'ron said, hiding a smile.
B'kennor made a face at him. "I'm not stupid, you know," he said reproachfully, and lowered the helmet of the space suit over his face. "Now are we ready to go?"
The suited figure he knew to be Drianne shook her head and tapped the front of her helmet, and B'kennor realised he had forgotten to turn on his suit's communicator. Glad of the helmet that hid his embarrassed blush, he flipped it on and repeated the question.
"We're just waiting for V'lan and T'car," J'nin's voice crackled through the speaker. "They're getting suited up in the dining hall."
"Actually, we're finished and on our way now," came V'lan's amused voice as he and T'car came into view.
"Right, now that we're all here…" B'kennor said as they joined the circle of riders around him. "I said this during the brief, and I'll say it again: as much as we all want revenge for the death of friends, the purpose of this mission is to gather information, and only that."
"We know, B'kennor," D'ron said impatiently.
"I'm just making sure we all remember," B'kennor said, fixing him with a stern glance. "I won't lose people on this mission because they forgot their instructions in the heat of the moment."
D'ron looked away, abashed, and mumbled an apology as Elena put a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"Okay, let's get moving," B'kennor said, turning away.
The team mounted up and, with a pump of B'kennor's arm, were in the air. Twisting his head to check the formation, B'kennor could see Drianne, J'nin and Riasa on his left and D'ron, V'lan and T'car on his right, all them spreading out to form a V with Dioanth at its point.
"Ready? Take your visualisation from Dioanth and let's go between!"
x
"This is a really strange place," V'lan commented, looking around.
"What makes you say that?" T'car asked sarcastically.
"I think it's all the Thread pod things," V'lan answered thoughtfully, ignoring T'car's tone. "Or it could be the lack of air, or feeling ten times lighter than usual, or…"
"Keep your mind on the task at hand, guys," J'nin admonished. "The dragons have air tanks, so we have a little bit of time, but we have no idea how long it will to find the little bastards. Right, B'kennor?"
B'kennor nodded. "Spread out and search in pairs. Keep in contact through the radio, and report anything suspicious."
x
"How is everyone going?" B'kennor asked.
"Nothing yet," J'nin reported.
"Elena hasn't recognised anything," D'ron replied, glancing over at what could be seen of her troubled face through her helmet.
"Nothing to report here either," T'car said. "How much time do we have left?"
"About fifteen minutes worth of air for the dragons," Drianne answered, checking a gauge on her suit, "and about an hour for us. Let's head back. It looks like we need to scan the surface from the Yokohama more thoroughly before we try this again."
"Sounds good. See you in a…" T'car trailed off, looking up from his communicator to find his partner had vanished. "V'lan?"
"T'car? Is something wrong?" Drianne asked urgently, exchanging worried glances with B'kennor.
"I can't see V'lan. He's probably just wandered off," T'car said, sounding faintly exasperated. "V'lan! Where are… Shards!"
"T'car? T'car!" Drianne shouted, but only a burst of static met her frantic queries. "Camanth, can Talleth or Dareth hear V'lan or T'car?"
No, they cannot. They are very upset, the queen answered, and Drianne could hear the worry across the link.
"Come in, all parties," B'kennor said into his radio.
"B'kennor? What's wrong?" Riasa answered, alarmed by his tone.
"We've lost contact with V'lan and T'car, and even the dragons can't hear them," Drianne said grimly.
A gasp was heard at the other end. "Oh no!" Riasa exclaimed. "We have to go after them!"
"We're coming to meet you. Tell D'ron and Elena what's going on, and we'll all go."
x
D'ron groaned. What happened? he wondered. The last thing I remember is… His eyes shot open and he lurched into a sitting position, his eyes darting wildly around the room.
"D'ron! Calm down!" Elena pleaded. "We're all okay; there's no need to panic!"
"This isn't him panicking. He always thrashes like a fish when he wakes up," V'lan offered from his seat against the wall. "Comes from spending too long playing with fish as a kid…"
"Dolphins aren't fish," D'ron corrected automatically. "What happened anyway? The last thing I remember is you and T'car disappearing…"
"Well, we've all disappeared now," V'lan said matter-of-factly.
"What he means is we've all been taken captive," said another voice, and D'ron turned to find T'car pacing up and down behind him. "The others are over there," he added, nodding towards the far corner where four space-suited figures were lying.
"They're all okay," Elena assured him. "They're just unconscious. I think they got a bigger dose than we did, so they'll still be out a little while."
"A bigger dose of what?" D'ron asked in confusion.
Elena looked down at her hands in her lap, but not before D'ron caught the beginnings of tears in her eyes. "We were attacked," she admitted. "A group of Gongadu were waiting at the meeting point and attacked everyone as soon as they arrived. Then they brought us all here."
"That's the story, huh?" someone said groggily, and they looked up to find B'kennor struggling to stand. "So how do we go about getting out of here?"
You don't, said a voice in their minds. Elena bit back a sob, and the others looked around for the one who had spoken.
"Don't bother looking," she choked out. "The Gongadu communicate telepathically, like you do with your dragons. They also use similar mental energy to attack, which is how they knocked us out before. There are probably none of them near us at the moment, but someone 'heard' us waking up and decided to play with us a bit. They won't do anything more until we're all awake."
Wrong, pitiful creature, the voice said scornfully, and a section of the wall they were facing slid down to reveal three blank grey cones. Despite the fact they didn't have eyes, D'ron had the unnerving feeling they were watching them.
"Are they Gongadu?" T'car asked in a whisper.
"Yes. That's what they looked like last time," Elena whispered back in a shaky voice.
The last time we had test subjects of your species, we were unable to complete our tests due to the disturbance. There will be no such barrier this time, one of them said. Bring one out, and we will begin.
The wall slid apart, and one of the Gongadu entered. D'ron gazed up at it, frozen in place by his shock. Though he himself was tall, the creature dwarfed him, and grey tentacles sprouted from what he couldn't help thinking of as its shoulders to writhe so wildly it was impossible to tell how many there were.
Elena's scream broke him from his trance, and he spun to see V'lan being dragged away. "V'lan!" he yelled, and lunged forward, but the door slid closed behind the furiously kicking V'lan.
Remove the subject's head protection in preparation for the study of the gas exchange system, one commanded with the wave of a tentacle. Elena let out another cry as V'lan's helmet was forcibly removed and he began to gasp silently, his eyes wide with panic.
Subject appears to be unable to utilise high nitrogen atmosphere, another Gongadu noted, but D'ron was too fixed on V'lan to hear. His gasps were becoming more desperate, and his lips were beginning to turn blue.
"Please!" Elena screamed. "He can't breathe! You can see that! Why won't you stop?"
To complete the experiment, it is desirable to see how long your species is able to survive without your necessary gas, one stated.
"But he'll die!"
That is not a problem. We have more specimens.
V'lan fell to his knees, and pitched forward onto the floor, motionless. It appears this one is nearly dead, the central Gongadu said dispassionately. Prepare the next subject.
The wall slid open again and D'ron, blinded by rage, launched himself at the surprised Gongadu. His helmet rammed it in the cone and it staggered back with its tentacles thrashing. "Get everyone out!" D'ron yelled, and B'kennor and Elena hurried to obey.
You will not escape, one of the other Gongadu said menacingly, and advanced on them. D'ron whirled and punched it so hard it flew across the room and collided with the last one, bringing them both down in an unconscious heap.
T'car stumbled past them and dropped to his knees beside V'lan. "V'lan," he sobbed as he jammed his helmet back on, "please don't die. You can't die. You can't!" But V'lan's eyes, usually so full of laughter, were already blank.
"He's gone, T'car," D'ron said gently, kneeling beside the younger rider. "It's too late."
"He… he was my best friend," T'car said sadly. He turned his tear-streaked face to D'ron. "I'm not leaving him behind."
"I understand," D'ron said softly. "Now let's get out of here."
He stood, and turned to find B'kennor supporting a half-conscious Drianne while Elena was desperately trying to wake J'nin. "I'll take him. You help her," D'ron said, inclining his head towards Riasa, who was slumped against the wall looking dazed. "Let's get out of here."
I doubt anyone felt that was worth the wait, but at least it's something, right?