The following afternoon found me in the neutral city of Zhao, stocking up
on supplies and provisions for the long journey. I had spent the entire
morning hunting Kanta rays - basically flying Manta rays - and managed to
secure all the items I thought we would need. After stowing them in hidden
storage sacks in my dragon's armour we took off. For a long time I stared
back west until the land faded into the distance, and we were completely
over the open ocean.

	We were making good time as the weather apparently decided to cooperate
with us, giving us clear skies and a slight tail wind as well. Despite the
discomfort of sleeping atop a speeding dragon, I was in good spirits. In
three days we had crossed two-thirds of the giant ocean and were well on our
way to the Dead Continent, where at least we could land and I could have a
decent nap.
	It was on the fourth day that I sensed it. An airship, much smaller than a
destroyer, but of a potentially greater threat.

	An Empire scoutship.

	'What is it doing here?!' I demanded to myself. Cursing my luck and diving
us to the ocean surface, I tried to sense if it had spotted us. It continued
northwest, not in any particular hurry, and I hesitantly breathed a sigh of
relief. If we had been seen or forced to destroy it, our strategem might
have been blown. Wondering what the Empire was doing this far in the ocean,
I remembered the man I had seen aboard the Mechanian airship. ".... a tower
in the ocean where much of our technology is stored ...."

	A few days later the Dead Continent appeared on the horizon. Far to the
south several volcanoes could be seen spewing ash high into the air, and
mountains lined most of the coastline. After about an hour we crossed over
onto the land; from the looks of it the land below appeared to be benign,
but my link to my dragon's enhanced senses told me otherwise. Some distance
below the surface I could sense the restless churning of magma, the
straining of continental plates against one another, the cataclysmic forces
ready to be released at any moment. The air in this area smelled of sulphur,
and it was pretty obvious we wouldn't be landing any time soon.

	Three hours later the blood-red sun rode low in the western sky. The
mountain range had vanished into the distance behind us, although the smoke
from a few active volcanoes was still visible, and below was a seemingly
endless desert. As evening turned into night we landed amongst some odd tall
rock formations, ducking into a cavern of some sort for shelter from the
wind. After starting a fire and enjoying my first cooked meal in five days,
I curled up to sleep, thankful for solid ground underneath me.

	As morning broke rays of sunshine infiltrated our little hobble, awakening
me earlier than I would've liked. Sitting up and stretching, I got my first
good look at our surroundings.
	"What the...?"
	The closest equivalent to where I was now would've been the crashed
Mechanian airship back in the S'rah region. Below me was familiar sand, but
all around and above me were odd walls. Not shell or wood, but a type of
stone I had never seen before. It took me a moment to realize we were in a
man-made building of some sort. All around the inside of the building I
could see worn-down walls and supports. Looking up, I saw a hole in the
ceiling and could make out several floors above this one. I dashed outside,
ignoring my dragon who was apparently just watching me, and was shocked to
discover that the building stretched hundreds of meters into the air, and
was but one of many. The towers had been well worn by the wind, but aside
from the seemingly unnatural hole in the one we had slept in, appeared to be
intact.
	It was at this moment that my dragon lumbered out of the building, wings
spread as it always had them whenever it walked. "What is this place?" I
asked it over the constant noise of the wind.
	At that point I was taken back to three images I had seen in my past: the
gleaming white city, that same city in ruins, and the city behind the man I
had seen aboard the Mechanian airship.
	"This... this is that city? Pacano?" Tapping into my dragon's senses, I
could detect an unbelievably expansive city stretching for kilometers, all
buried deep within the sand. "What happened? How long has it been?" A number
appeared in my mind, but at that time it held no meaning for me.
	10786 AD....

	Three days later we passed over the massive Ntairo crater that I had heard
about as a child; many centuries ago a huge rock fell from the sky, killing
the peoples of this continent and shrouding the planet in darkness for
several months. The severe cold killed many, but the sturdy Feska
fireflowers, K'saa trees, and other plant life endured, permitting our
survival. The Northern, Eastern, and Southern continents had their fair
share of deserts and wastelands, but this place was absolutely desolate.
South of the Dead Continent was another, the Dark Continent, but no-one ever
went there. The Island Continent was a habitable if slightly desolate place,
but the Ice Continent was home to no human. Islands which dotted the Eastern
Sea occasionally housed humans, but they tended to be small backwards people
of no real significance.
	As we put down for our final night on an Eastern peninsula of the Dead
Continent, I wondered what life here was like before the rock fell... and
before the Ripping...

	I felt no regrets as we left that depressing, lifeless wasteland the next
morning, bound for the shores of the Northern Continent. We were making
better time than I had expected, and as a result I had more than enough
supplies to keep me going.
	The trip over the Western Sea - called that even though it was to our east
at the moment - was largely uneventful. Civilian airships passed us by as we
neared the rocky coastline. This area, Cerona, had some Empire influences
but was too far west to be considered part of the Empire. Still, I was wary,
scanning the sky frequently for anything that didn't resemble a fishing
airship or transport. Finding nothing we continued east, over the expansive
city of Cerona itself. Several Ceronan destroyers monitored our progress,
keeping their distance but insuring we didn't do anything untoward to their
city. They had no need to fear; I wasn't about to engage in a fight so long
as I could avoid it.

	I had hoped to remain undetected until we reached Genos; that hope,
however, dissipated as three Empire destroyers spotted us, turned, and shot
away as fast as they could travel. Soaring after them in pursuit lest they
inform the Empire of our location, we managed to down all three in the
waters off of Sasalee. It was at that point that I discovered the Empire
wasn't the only blood enemy we had made.
	From the south came four creatures heading in our direction. It wasn't
until they were almost within sight that I realized what they were.

	Mechanian Dragoons, mounted on the backs of genetically mutated Kouriheat.

	Letting out a cry of what I would describe as anger, my dragon turned
sharply to intercept them. I could understand its feelings; the Mechanians
had taken the blue dragon's brethern and *altered* them against their will.
It was even more sickening than the wholesale slaughter of Kouriheat that
went on in Empire and Neutral territories. Driving hard towards the
Mechanians, my dragon fired first and we climbed, wanting the higher ground
in this battle.
	The four dragoons dodged the seeking blasts from my dragon's throat, only
two of which found their mark on the underbelly of one of the mutant
Kouriheat. Firing at one of the diving dragoons, I missed but made sure it'd
be occupied for a time.
	The dragoon with the wounded mount climbed into view. The mutant Kouriheat
was a sickly-looking version of the dragons I had seen, drab grey like young
Kouriheat and much smaller than legitimate dragons. For a moment my eyes
found its eyes, and I found myself looking at a creature no more intelligent
or sentient than a Kanta ray or a horse. The Kouriheat's very soul had been
drained away, replaced with directives of total obedience and skills of
combat. Feeling some of the rage of my dragon along with a deep shame I
opened fire, laser blasts at first missing, but then finding a target.
	Blue-white pulse after blue-white pulse tore into the mutant's hide, and it
emitted a weak yelp of pain. One of my blasts severed a wing and the mutant
rolled, bringing the man mounted on it into my line of fire.
	Up until that point I had never directly killed a man, as in lining him up
and pulling the trigger. I did so now, laser pulses ripping through his body
and sending both rider and mount plummeting lifelessly through the sky. I
felt no joy or sorrow at seeing this, just a sense of dull acceptance at the
way things had developed. Diving to avoid a short stream of yellow pulses
one of the other dragoons fired at me, we swooped in behind two of them,
killing both the humans with short, controlled bursts. The suddenly
riderless Kouriheat flew straight ahead, and I wondered briefly if they
would ever stop.
	I was forced to break from my musings as the final dragoon dived at us,
firing madly. Dodging left the dragoon shot past us, looping back up before
I could get a bead on them. The dragoon soared at us again, and I noticed
this one was different from the others. The rider was a female, which in
itself wasn't unusual, but for some reason her mount responded much more
readily to her commands than any of the others' had. Dodging for another
minute or two we finally got in behind her. I expected my dragon to fire its
homing shots and finish her off, but was taken off guard when it broke off
our pursuit and dove. Why hadn't it fired? Infinitely perplexed, I looked
over my shoulder as the dragoon dove at us again, firing off a salvo which
we barely avoided.
	I fired a steady stream of blue-white pulses at her as she shot by, but
none of them connected as she masterfully dodged them all. We had to bob and
weave a bit as she fired over her shoulder, limiting the effectiveness of my
counterattack. It continued like this for several more minutes, the two of
us using the entire sky from the ocean surface to high above the clouds in
pursuit of one another. I would've had a tremendous advantage if my dragon
would just fire off a beam or two, but its mouth remained stubbornly shut,
so I was going to have to win this battle myself.
	Aside from the black dragon, this young woman and her mutant Kouriheat were
the biggest threat I had ever faced. Her skill at dragonriding was at least
on par with mine, but she was at a disadvantage; her mount was a slower,
more lethargic, broken-spirited creature who, while nimble and agile in its
own right, wouldn't be able to outfly us for long.
	Her luck - and her dragon's stamina - ran out as I urged my dragon into a
sharp half-roll and looped violently upwards, changing direction 180 degrees
and catching her totally off-guard as we were all of a sudden headed towards
one another. If my dragon had fired at that moment it would've been all
over, but I wasn't depending on it.
	Executing a knife-edged left turn as she shot by we slid in behind her. I
saw her try to bank and dive out of harms way, but it was too late. I fired
several blue-white shots into her armoured chest and midsection, killing her
instantly. Satisfied at the result but perplexed concerning my dragon's
actions, I was surprised as the Kouriheat brought us alongside the mutant
mount, letting out a long, mournful cry as it looked over the raven-haired
young woman's corpse.

	Confused and somewhat shaken by the events of the morning, I brought us in
for a landing on the rocky shore of the Natalyn peininsula, just a short
distance from Sasalee. Ever since we... ever since I had killed that female
dragonrider a few hours ago my dragon had been morose and sluggish, and our
pace had fallen off considerably. "What was so significant about that
particular dragonrider?" I would ask it, but the Kouriheat remained
maddeningly silent.

	Three days later the blue dragon seemed to be coming around. Crossing over
onto the mainland we headed north to circumvent the battles between the
Empire and Mechania. The frigid tempuratures combined with our altitude and
velocity chilled me to the bone; I had been born and raised in the desert,
and was unaccustomed to such climates. It didn't seem to be bothering my
dragon so we pressed on, as I tried in vain to surpress the chattering of my
teeth.

	A day later we came upon a city in the mountains, one I had never heard of
before. Despite its size it had no airships defending it, so I surmized it
to be a neutral city. In fact, on closer inspection, it seemed to be totally
abandoned! Expecting my dragon to maintain its altitude and pass the
seemingly insignificant settlement I was shocked as we dove to nearly
rooftop level, and doubly surprised when the Kouriheat let out a lamenting
howl as we passed over the city's graveyard...

	Approaching Genos from the north was more tricky than I had anticipated.
Destroyers were stationed at regular intervals, becoming more and more
numerous as we approached the capital. I began to grow worried, not so much
about us being spotted, but rather the size of the reinforcements the black
dragon would be able to summon once we confronted it. This didn't seem to be
deterring my dragon, as it pressed on with what I can only describe as a
type of grim determination.
	The night before the final battle we hid ourselves in a rock outcropping
northeast of Genos, within sight of its gleaming walls and the towering
Imperial Palace. Miraculously we had not been spotted, even though the sky
was now filled with destroyers and battleships, along with the Emperor's
supermassive flagship and a variety of smaller, exotic airships. On the
ground landcrawlers and Land Defenders - large, vaguely humanoid vehicles
with four legs and folding-down rotor blades of a sort - surrounded the
towering marble walls, which themselves were dotted with laser cannons. It
was the single largest gathering of military might I had ever seen, and
tomorrow we would fly right into the thick of it.
	Throughout the entire night my Kouriheatan friend never once looked into my
eyes, seemingly lost in the steady orange-white glow of the Feska campfire,
which was shielded from the above fleet by an almost cave-like surrounding
of rocks. For lack of anything better to do, I too stared into the slowly
burning plant essence, thinking about the events of the past few days and
the upcoming battle.
	Who was that young woman that my dragon wouldn't directly attack her but
didn't prevent me from killing her? What was significant about the graveyard
in that neutral city? Why were we all of a sudden charging suicidally into
the middle of an Empire fleet when we could have attacked the black dragon
the first time we encountered it in Genos and dealt with a much smaller
force? I still trusted the blue dragon, but that trust had admittedly be
shaken slightly by the Kouriheat's refusal to fire in our battle with the
female dragoon and its continued reluctance to tell me why. Staring outside
at the starry night sky, I watched one of the lesser moons sink into the
horizon, ultimately eclipsed by the menacing silhouette of the Emperor's
flagship...

	I was awakened from my intermittent and fitful sleep by a soft jabbing in
my midsection. Opening my eyes, I saw the blue dragon gently poking me with
the long Rison horn that jutted out of its head armor. Sitting up and
rubbing my eyes, I looked out the largest hole in our cave-like shelter,
hoping against hope that the Empire fleet had decided to move off during the
night. Sighing as I saw it was still there, I got to my feet. Morning had
not yet broken, but I could see rays of sunlight glinting off of countless
flight hulls, giving the false impression that hundreds of fireflies hovered
over the city, waiting for something. Waiting for us.
	Stepping out onto a long, sharply sloping rock outcropping, I regarded the
capital as the sun rose behind me and off to my left. I watched the light
travel down the ugly Imperial Palace, ultimately illuminating the city and
the glossy marble walls as the sun climbed above the horizon.

	The dawn of a new day.

	Looking down to where my dragon had emerged from our shelter, I found it
staring straight back at me. It emitted a kind of questioning warble and I
nodded once, climbing down from my perch. Moving into the shelter, I donned
my armour for what I hoped would be the last time. Glancing back at the
relative safety of the cave, I picked up my laser cannon and vaulted onto my
dragon's back, and together we took off towards Genos, towards the heart of
the enemy fleet, in search of the black dragon and an end to this madness...

	As soon as I touched the blue dragon I felt something different about it.
Usually I sensed a sort of underlying passion to defeat the black dragon, a
confidence in our success, and a sort of mutual trust. Having access to
those feelings had always bolstered my resolve, always increased my will to
fight. Now, they were absent, and the emotionlessness with which the
Kouriheat was treating this situation worried me. There was something else,
something I couldn't quite pin down. It was a sort of pent-up feeling, as if
the Kouriheat had been holding something inside for a very, very long time,
and just now it was in real danger of coming out.
	Fortunately for us both these feelings - or lack of them - didn't seem to
be affecting the blue dragon's flying, our psychic link, or the ease with
which it responded to my prompts. Flying extremely low and using rock
formations for cover, we managed to get to the edge of the Empire's
landcrawler forces without being spotted. There was no way we would be able
to get to the Imperial Palace without being spotted, not unless those
landcrawler and Land Defender pilots were all asleep, and so, steeling
myself for who-knows how many hours of combat, I strafed a whole division's
worth of landcrawlers as we shot forward, catching roughly forty-eight of
them with my laser and my dragon's homing shots before they could respond.

	And respond they did.

	A blanket of yellow and red fire went up all around us as beams
crisscrossed through empty air trying to find us. Banking up and over the
city walls, we avoided their fire while strafing the numerous landcrawlers
that filled the city's streets. We were recieving limited fire from the
fleet above - obviously they had to avoid demolishing their own capital and
decimating their own land forces. It was an advantage, one of the only ones
we had.
	Determined not to be slowed in our approach to the palace lest we be
somehow repelled and forced to retreat, we largely ignored the hellstorm
occuring all around us. We dodged when it didn't interfere with our approach
too much, but other than that we were willing to take a few shots if we
could get at the black dragon. Swooping up the Imperial Palace as we had
before, I sensed several salvos chipping away at the mammoth building all
around us. Soaring into the throne room I spotted the black dragon and gasped.

	Someone was riding the black dragon.

									- MW
  /---------------------------------------------------------------------\
 /"The secret sits: we dance around in a ring and suppose, but the secret\ 
|            sits in the middle and knows." - Robert Frost               |
 \=---===---===---Co-Moderator of the Robotech Cantina---===---===---===/
  \---===The Robotech Cantina <cantina@paulm.chemistry.uq.edu.au>---===/