Dragon Knight (1/7) SGA AU
Dragon Knight
Author: tari_roo
Rating: PG13 (gen)
Disclaimer: I own nothing, I profit from nothing but oh boy, do I wish I had a dragon. Or was a dragon. Or knew a dragon. *sigh*
Summary: Sequel to Geek Knight vs. the Black Dragon. Atlantis is imminently under attack by an Asuran fleet, and Queen Elizabeth has a desperate last chance plan. Recapture the dragon that is supposedly their last hope in defeating the Asurans. Rodney McKay and his team are back on their quest to capture the black dragon, Jhepard-shon. Shep though is determined not to be found... mostly because he is still recovering from the last attack.
Thanks: Thanks to kriadydragon for the AWESOME accompanying art to this fic. Huge thanks toblack_raven, auntmo9, and phebemarie for their sterling beta work and checking that this all makes sense. Any remaining mistakes are theirs because they didn’t catch it, probably mine. (no really with three betas, I have no excuse)
Warning: Much intermingling of sci fi and fantasy so be warned.
Written for dragonbigbang
*sga*dragon*sga*dragon*sga*dragon* sga*dragon*sga*dragon*sga*dragon* sga*dragon*sga*dragon*sga*dragon
Previously:
Rodney in an effort to prove that his idea for Mechanical soldiers was necessary for the defence of Atlantis, was challenged by Princess Samantha to catch a dragon using his prototype Mechanicals. Luckily, for Rodney, his friends joined him on the quest. And even luckier, Scholar Ronon remembered reading about a prolific little weed called meldosweet, or Dragon’s Bane which should help them in catching a dragon. Hanging all their hopes and plans to avoid incineration on the plant, they tracked down a black dragon in Kandahar.
Shep, nursing an injury is hiding out in Kandahar and is rudely woken by McKay’s challenge. After a brief fight, poor Shep is captured as the Dragon’s Bane is very effective. Trussed up and sick, Shep is taken back to Atlantis, bound and ill.
Just as Rodney’s about to be showered with glory, another dragon arrives to rescue Shep - Cam. Teyla, increasingly uncertain about the justice of their quest, helps free Shep and he and Cam escape. They land in the middle of the Grey Forest, near a lake, so that Shep can recover.
Now:
*sga*dragon*sga*dragon*sga*dragon* sga*dragon*sga*dragon*sga*dragon* sga*dragon*sga*dragon*sga*dragon
The night was clear, absent of clouds or mist, leaving an unimpeded view of the dazzling stars over head. Sister Moon was rising over the sea, her twin reflection shimmering and dancing on the ocean’s surface. It would have been an absolutely gorgeous evening to simply stay put, on the balcony and watch the night sky turn overhead, the stars march across the sky in majestic splendour.
Elizabeth heard the soft footfalls of someone entering her chambers and swallowed the tired sigh she was about to let escape. Almost perfect. Almost seemed to be the order of the day. Out over the fields that rose and fell towards the sea in gently undulating waves, another fire broke out, a third long column of smoke twisting up into the sky. The dragon was almost invisible, but not quite. His golden hide gave his movement away as he hovered over the fields, having set fire to three, no four, already.
“Majesty?”
“Yes, Chamberlain, come in.” Woolsey slipped out on the balcony, his eyes immediately drawn towards the fields and the dragon darting in and out of sight through cloud, then the dark night sky. He scowled and said, “The Princess has sent every available knight and soldier out into the northern fields. But...”
Elizabeth turned slightly to meet his gaze and her Chamberlain blinked nervously, “She fears it is a ruse and has decided to keep the majority of our men at their battle stations.”
He fidgeted a little, clearly unhappy and said stiffly, “She is also overseeing the construction of McKay’s Mechanicals. They are... simplistic in form but quite complex within she reports.”
Ignoring his disapproval, uncaring of the political implications of using Automatons or Mechanicals as Rodney called them, especially if they assisted in the city’s defence, Elizabeth nodded. “Hmmmm,” she murmured. “What news from the last scout, Woolsey?”
Hunching into his shoulders a little, so that she knew it was bad news already, Woolsey grimaced, “The Asurans draw closer, still moving apace, but ... they will probably be here in three days, my Queen.”
Raw fear clutched at Elizabeth’s heart - they were so close. “And the final count of their ships?” She clutched the railing beneath her hands, tightly.
Woolsey’s voice miraculously did not shake although there was an edge of panic in his tone. “Thirty, Majesty. All ten times the size of our largest battleship. Heavily armoured.”
Now Elizabeth did sigh and she forced herself to let go the railing, lest her grip betray her nerves. Oberon and his Iron Soldiers were too close, far too close for comfort. Only a fool fought a war on two fronts and now having provoked the dragon, they ran the risk of being caught short manned and without any hope of surviving the Asurans, let alone withstanding them. It was a tough decision, but perhaps Sam had made the right one. Let a few knights hunt down the dragon and leave everyone else here preparing for a battle they could not afford to lose. But then, they couldn’t afford to lose the dragon either. The City’s defences were in poor shape as it were.
“Did McKay and his ... party head out as well?” Elizabeth did not hold out much hope of Rodney pulling off another incredible feat - the first had probably been more blind luck than skill. For all of Rodney’s brilliance, he was a trial at times.
Woolsey scowled again and nodded whilst fussing with the trim of his sleeve, “Yes, my Queen. They however headed south, following the flight path the dragons took when fleeing, completely ignoring the obvious dragon burning our fields northwards! Lord Sumner headed north, obviously.”
Atlantis gleamed in the moonlight, her spires gradually illuminated as people lit candles and light orbs. Likewise in the city proper below, Atlanteans in their homes sat down to eat, heart fires lighting the night sky. Keeping her voice steady, Elizabeth asked, “And Sir Teyla is awaiting my pleasure, under guard?”
By the speed and way the colour drained out of Woolsey’s face, Elizabeth knew immediately that Teyla had defied her orders, again. Silent and brimming with renewed anger, she waited for the Chamberlain’s response and he slowly stammered, “Apologies, my Queen, apologies. She left with Sir McKay almost immediately. Your... order must not have reached the Gate Guard in time.”
Elizabeth laughed, soft and angry, “Or it did and they simply did not relish the task, or wish to incur her anger. Very well, when she returns then.” There would be time aplenty if they survived to deal with Teyla.
Woolsey gulped and smiled weakly. “Perhaps her assistance in the recapture of the dragon will....” Something in Elizabeth’s expression must have warned him from completing the thought, and Woolsey trailed off into silence, his expression gloomy and forlorn. The Queen tapped her fingers on the railing in irritation and said, “Her defiance will not be easily forgiven, Chamberlain. Not when we had a dragon right in the Star Court and she freed him. Freed him and potentially doomed us.”
His expression was so earnest, so heartfelt as Woolsey nodded but opened his mouth to say, “Majesty, Majesty ... I still...”
Elizabeth cut Woolsey off, losing patience with his nattering, knowing exactly what he ‘still’ did not like, and she snapped, “Enough, Woolsey. I know you disagree. I am well aware of your scepticism with my plan.” She turned to face her old friend and counsellor and said firmly, “But I am tired of you constantly second guessing me, your Queen! Is that understood?”
Taking a step back, startled by her tone, Woolsey nodded, his face pale and drawn in the moonlight, his eyes studying the intricate stonework on the balcony floor. “Yes, my Queen. Completely understood.” His voice was stiff and formal and carried none of his usual affection.
Refusing to feel the rise of guilt that flooded her throat, Elizabeth waved him away. “Bring Daniel to me, now.”
Woolsey bowed his way out, his shiny head glistening in the low lights of her room. Turning away, Elizabeth sighed again, feeling like this day was only getting worse and that was saying something. Woolsey meant well, he truly did. He had been advising her for years and had advised her father before that. His scepticism was understandable. They were basing so much of their plan to survive, their very secret plan, on the muttered ramblings of a mad man. Which is why it was a secret plan - it wouldn’t do for the populace of the city to know that their Queen and the Court charged with their protection were so terrified of the prospect of the Asuran invasion that they were literally clutching at straws.
Elizabeth closed her eyes against the beauty of the night, trying to find a measure of calm, a centre of strength. The mere mention of the word ‘Asuran’ sent her heart racing, her stomach twisting into knots. The images of the smoking ruins of Genua the scouts had brought back were burned into her mind.
No one had ever withstood the might of the Asuran army. No one. Entire cities in the North had been devastated and razed to the ground by the relentless Automaton army, the relentless Iron Soldiers. Asur was not interested in conquest. Only destruction. There was no reasoning with them, no bargaining, and no pleading. They simply executed all envoys, all ambassadors with a mandate to sue for peace. No one, not the vaunted Asgard, the sneaky Genii, or the diffident Hoth knew why Asur, why Oberon, was so hell bent on this path of destruction. One could impugn and deduct a reason, but as the Asuran’s refused to communicate in any fashion other than war... it was impossible to be certain.
Even though she had known it was foolish, a waste of a good man, Elizabeth had sent Commander Green on his Pegasus to meet the Asuran fleet to attempt a parlay. They had had to try. The mage’s scans of his efforts revealed exactly what they feared. Green was killed on sight, his steed falling in flames as the Asuran Automatons opened fire on him.
With no avenue for peace, not even the option of living under the heel of a tyrannical empire, and the uncertainty of whether Atlantis could withstand that undefeated army, Queen Elizabeth, Ruler of the Equestria, High Queen of Atlantis, had pegged all of her hopes on a madman’s dream. A madman who had once been a trusted advisor and a viable consort candidate. Daniel, son of General Jack O’Neil, her father’s greatest tactician.
It had been O’Neil years ago, who had first warned that Atlantis was in decline, her defences crumbling. At the time, his fears had been shelved as there had been no nation or known power with the strength to challenge the might of the Atlantean army. The King had nonetheless started a restoration programme to address the weakness in their defences. All too soon it had been readily apparent that they had neither the skill nor knowledge to do more than minimal repairs. So much of the City remained a mystery to them, even after all this time.
With the real threat of Asur on their doorstep, Elizabeth had charged her Court with finding a solution, and only Daniel had thought to try the old ways, the legends and myths. It had cost him dearly. Before the accident he had been so certain that he had found the answer to their woes - a dragon would be able to fix everything.
Elizabeth and Samantha had been mooting their options on the viability capturing a dragon considering none had been seen in years. It was a daunting task even to contemplate. McKay in his usual fashion had interrupted their strategy session with his demands for his new device to be included in the battle plans. Samantha, the Goddess Bless Her, already under so much stress, had snapped and issued a challenge they had both thought impossible. Capture a dragon, Sir McKay. Capture a dragon and prove your worth - prove that your solution was also viable.
Who would have figured on the least of her knights succeeding where she had thought it impossible even for the very best?
“Majesty?”
Janet the Healer from Fraser Hall and Daniel’s keeper hovered in the archway, hesitant in approaching her Queen. Behind her, dimly seen in the gloom of her unlit room, Elizabeth saw Daniel staring up the ceiling, his mouth open, moving as he rambled incoherently.
Elizabeth nodded quietly at Janet and indicated she could withdraw. Returning the nod, the healer stepped aside for the Queen to enter the room. Daniel did not acknowledge her entrance, his face upturned, eyes darting around, tracking, tracing the designs above him. He did this every time he came into her room, which was usually why she went to him - less distractions in his small, bare room. Her ceiling depicted the star patterns of the constellations at mid-summer over Atlantis, with all three moons highlighted in gilded gold and silver.
“Daniel?”
“Sidera supra, astra sub quinquies pro fuga et unum pro amore. Dormierit, dormierit, praesto somno soporatum, dum amor...” he mumbled, hands tracing odd motions and patterns as he spoke. His hair was wild and unkempt, although Janet must have attempted to tame it into a semblance of order for their visit.
Stepping closer, reaching out and taking his hand, Elizabeth smiled as his wild eyes found hers. His face was clean and neatly shaven, but his glasses rested askew on his nose. Willing a semblance of calm for him, hoping for just a glimpse of rational thought, she said softly, “The Asurans are almost here, Daniel, please. Is this still...?”
Shaking his head so that long hair fell across his face nearly obscuring his eyes, and sunken cheeks, he blinked and whispered, fervently, “Thronum perdita, regina perditae, comminatio orientem ab Abyssus, sicut cete et sidera et oceano profundo.” He held her hand tightly, eyes boring into hers, as if he were likewise trying to ‘will’ her to understand him, to make sense of his words.
His speech though was so fast, so nonsensical, that Elizabeth had to shake her head. Despair clutched at her heart, his meaningless words fluttering around like birds, useless and free. “Please, Daniel. We need...”
Abruptly, he clutched her hand back, face clear, earnest, blue eyes burning into hers as if this was a matter of a life or death. But the words that tumbled out were the same nonsense he’d been sputtering since he sat on the throne, months ago. “Nigredo renascens. Media nocte vocat. Veni domum, vetus fili, veni domum illa expectat draco!”
He peered at her, waiting for her comprehension and all she could do was stare back, helplessly.
Elizabeth wanted to send him away, send his useless words far from her, when all she needed was some reassurance that their half-baked scheme, spun so long ago was not a desperate, blind hope, but a real, actual plan. Instead, Elizabeth pulled him down to sit beside her on the soft day bed she kept near the balcony. “I’m sorry, Daniel. I truly am. I wish we understood you.”
Together they sat, hand in hand, and stared up at her illuminated ceiling, the bright yellow whirls, swirls and darts of colour against the midnight blue background so artistically depicting the moving stars.
“Dormientes draconum, excitarent sidera adolebit lucidius sole.”
“I suppose so, Daniel.”
Janet waited patiently at the door, her eyes determinedly not looking at the pair. From her perch, Elizabeth noted sadly that the dragon was no longer visible through the window, and that no new fires had arisen. Maybe her knights had chased him off.
*sga*dragon*sga*dragon*sga*dragon* sga*dragon*sga*dragon*sga*dragon* sga*dragon*sga*dragon*sga*dragon
Cam ran, legs pumping, heart pounding, pushing the limits of his body. Running was a lot harder than flying, but as he hurtled through the forest, feet thudding against the ground, it felt almost like he was flying.
But they were gaining, their mounts faster and stronger than him - for now. Cam pressed on regardless, determined to put as much distance between them and the village as possible. He leapt gracefully over a fallen tree which lay across his path, right leg leading, left landing solidly on the other side, the race ongoing.
He listened to hear the hoof and paw beats behind him, and while they were not right on top of him, the sound of five, no six riders pursuing him was closer than he’d like. On a whim, Cam dodged left, pushing through the undergrowth into the night dimmed forest, hoping to lose the riders in the closer, denser confines of the woods away from the path.
Unfortunately, the forest was a tamed, well farmed one. The trees stood evenly apart, a good distance from each other, not like the dense clamour of growth, greenery, and vegetation of his home forests. These woods were well travelled, well hunted and the local villages obviously had a woodsman or three who pruned the trees out of their tangled habits.
Cursing slightly, Cam dug deep for a burst of energy, hoping to gain a little distance, drag this chase out a little longer. He had to be careful though - he couldn’t be too fast, lest he raise their suspicions more than he already had. The moon was overly bright, and it felt almost like daylight as he ran past towering trees, their leafy canopy far overhead, beams of moonlight breaking through, painting the forest in spears of white and silver. The silence that should have prevailed was lost to the noise of the chase, heart trumpeting in his chest, thudding in his ears, the tense expectant rush of the hunt behind him.
Cam stretched out and leapt over a protruding root, but misjudged its height and stumbled over the cluster of roots on the other side. Stupid clumsy human feet. Staggering, he tried to right himself, but his ankle ached fiercely, protesting every halting step. Cursing again, Cam tried to push through it, ignore it, but the stumble had cost him. Seeing their opportunity, the men behind him surged forward, and Cam ground to an immediate stop as a knight astride a massive lizard overtook him and blocked his path. Turning, trying to side step, Cam slowed, limping, suddenly surrounded on all sides, with no avenue of escape. There were seven knights - not six.
Breathing hard, Cam leaned forward, trying to catch his breath, keeping both eyes trained on his captors as best he could from that position. All of the mounts were breathing hard, mouths open, breath steaming in the cool night air. He’d cut it close, maybe too close. Abruptly abandoning firing the fields, flying south and then changing was a risky move. Oh well, he had to try.
Hoping to the stars above that his somewhat idiotic plan would work, Cam clutched his side like he was winded. “Is it still behind us?” he gasped, training his gaze up to the obscured sky, trying to see through the cover of leaves and branches. The knight nearest him, a stern-faced man riding a massive horse snorted, “What?”
None of the knights looked away; all kept their eyes on him, but one or two risked quick glances at their surroundings, at the very silent forest, alert for ‘something’. They’d chased a dragon all this way and lost him in the forest. It took a large leap of logic to start chasing a running man when you were hunting a dragon.
Pressing forward, regardless of the ridiculousness of his plan, Cam groaned, “The dragon. The dragon, is it gone?”
Oppressive silence fell over the group, each man now carefully scanning the skies, the woods. But the lead knight, or so Cam presumed, growled, “What are you talking about? The dragon is nowhere in sight.”
Looking up, one eye clenched closed, face dripping with sweat, Cam put his hands on his hips and sighed, “You sure? Then why were we running?”
“Because you were running.”
Cam met the stiff gaze of the knight whose eyes bored into him, no doubt trying to determine the truth. Licking his lips, Cam smiled sheepishly and laughed, “So, I was running because you were, and you were running because I was? Well, how ‘bout that?”
Maybe by some strange luck they hadn’t put two and two together. Fiery dragon vanishes; dusty, well-worn man appears in a village nearby. They would have been alert for an attack, not a fleeing man.
“Normally when a lone man runs from a village late at night, he is up to no good. We pursued you...“ one of the knights said sternly, trailing off as Cam straightened with an indignant look on his face.
“Because you thought I was a thief?” Cam injected as much incredulity into his voice as he stood. He projected suprise, rather affront, not wanting to seem overly sensitive to being called a thief. “I... I was in the village buying medicine ... for my mother.” Cam showed them the bulky bag over his shoulder. “The village wizard, she... she can speak for me. I... whew.” Cam bent down again, feigning exhaustion, drawing as much energy as he could just in case he needed to run again.
If they did not believe his story... The wizard had haggled for far too long, her fresh face still vivid in Cam’s mind. She had been no fool, as no doubt most of her ‘late night’ customers were up to no good. It had been bad timing and a continuation of bad luck that they had seen him trotting out of the village, trying to make up for lost time.
“What did you buy?” Cam looked up at another knight, a man with a kinder face albeit as stern an expression as them all. Addressing him, Cam straightened and held out the bag. “Ragwort, Nightweed, and Moonblossom.”
The knight snorted, his face relaxing, “All harvested and sold at night, sir.” He directed his words at their leader, who did not relax, but glared at Cam. Knights hunting dragons tended to be suspicious creatures, especially these knights whose Queen wanted Shep so badly.
Staring back meekly, still projecting sheepish embarrassment, Cam stammered, “I thought you were hunting the dragon and that it was about to attack the village... so I ran. I’m sorry if you...”
The knight cut him off with a sharp hand gesture and snarled at his men, “Kowalski, take Hunt and Packer, see if you can pick up a trail. Perhaps the beast is still hiding beneath the trees, waiting to strike.”
The other knights nodded and murmured, “Yes, Lord Sumner.” With one last amused look at Cam, Sir Kowalski trotted off on his moose, two knights on lizards following.
The remaining four knights still circled Cam, and Sumner kneed his horse closer, forcing Cam to step back, right into the broad unyielding flank of the massive wolfhound. “You ran because you thought a dragon was about to attack. You continued to run because ...?”
Swallowing, not feigning his nerves, Cam mumbled, “If the dragon was after you... I just wanted to be faster than you.” Made logical sense, right? Small humans ran from dragons all the time.
“Despite not hearing any dragon, or seeing flame or burning trees? Or having no evidence of being pursued by a dragon!” Sumner looked angry, annoyed beyond reason and Cam paled. “I ran, sir knight. I just ran. I... we all sawing the burning fields and ....” Cam trailed off into stunned disbelief. Herein lay the gamble, the hope that none of these Southern folk remembered the tales about Dragonborn. Even half-baked, misconstrued stories about dragons who could take human form for a time.
Biting off a curse, Sumner wheeled away, his horse nearly stepping on Cam. “Come, let’s return to the hunt.” The three knights silently urged their steeds forward, back towards the narrow forest road, following their leader without a further glance at Cam. Abruptly alone, Cam stood shaking, both from anger and nerves. Sumner turned in his saddle and glared back at him. “I see you again, thief or not, you had better not run.”
And with that, the Knights of Atlantis trotted back into the forest, lost almost immediately in the gloom of night. Cam stood still, heart slowly returning to a normal pace, waiting. As true silence fell, and the normal night sounds of an active forest returned, Cam sighed. In retrospect, he should not have run, but at least he had led them further away from Shep. The more north they travelled the better. The worry he had though was that they did not seem overly concerned about tracking an airborne dragon. One of the Knights was probably a spell-caster and would try tracking either him or Shep with magic. Cam snorted. It was unlikely to work.
It however spoke to some suspicion in their minds that they had pursued him at all. If hunting dragons, why chase a man unless you thought him a thief? And oh boy, did Cam hope that was all they suspected.
Patting the bag of herbs and medicine, Cam summoned a thimbleful of energy. Hopefully one, if not all of the herbs would help Shep, but Cam needed to reach his friend, quickly. He had travelled much further than he had intended - had maybe got a little carried away burning fields full of Dragon Bane.
f any of the Knights had lingered to see what he would do, Cam would be in real trouble. He could not afford to be away from Shep much longer. It had been difficult running as his human body would without drawing from the massive banks of stored dragon strength. A man suddenly running faster than even the fleetest wolf hound would have given them more than sufficient reason to pursue. As it was, he had probably run too fast - for a human - which may have led to the knights’ pursuit.
Muttering to himself about the predicaments Shep so regularly plunged him into, Cam sent up a prayer to the First Egg and took one last look around the forest. Silence greeted him as the Moon lingered overhead, large and full, the trees dark with shadows and broken spears of light.
Slowly, Cam trotted off, heading south but away from the lake where Shep hid. As he gained distance and listened intently for signs of being trailed, Cam slowly sped up, slowly siphoning off energy, pushing and pushing until he was running faster than any human would be able to. Even so, he did not stretch to the upper limits of his strength - there was still too much to do.
Part 2