Chapter 5

"I think it best if the Wyrms pretend just to be wild beasts, for now," Rosa told the assembly while the wyrms listened in through her Bond with Klyphon. "To be safe, we should abandon this site in case they decide to just destroy it. We can hide in the forest until we see what their intentions are."

"Their intentions are to capture us and return us to Earth," Lily said, her gaze focused somewhere far away. "There, they will make a public spectacle of killing each of us in a slow and horrible way, while other humans are forced to watch."

"That means... !" Rosa had to shout over the horrified murmurs from the rest of the refugees. She continued when they quieted some. "That means that they must land their ships and come out of them. When they do, with the help of the wyrms, we might be able to overpower them. If they stay in the ships, we haven't got a snowball's chance. This is good news, people!"

"We need dragon riders," Lily said quietly. "I can give the riders weapons to use that not even the Conquerors' armor can turn aside, but we need everyone we can get on dragon-back."

"We don't have time!" someone shouted.

"We have at least two local days before the Conquerors make their first sweeps," Lily answered, "and within a couple of hours - long before they are within sensor range - all of the women can be Bonded."

"How do you know that? It only took us a few hours to land!"

"If you remember, our vector after our escape from the Sol system brought us into this one going like a bat out of hell, and we exited hyperspace way closer to the planet than the Conquerors have. I can sense their thoughts. They're in no hurry. They know we were damaged before we got into hyperspace and they know there's no repair facility here. They're pretty sure we're not going anywhere, but they don't know if we're in the ship, lurking somewhere in the system, waiting to ambush them. They're going to take their time and scan the whole system as they come in. That'll take them at least two days, maybe more, but they will find where we crashed when they get here. Now there are more than enough Wyrms to go around, so please, ladies..."

There was a loud uproar as everyone tried to talk at once; mostly men arguing with women. Rosa finally raised her voice, shouting even louder than the others.

"You know what awaits us on Earth," she told them. "Can Bonding with a dragon be worse? The choice, no matter what your beliefs, is stark: Bond and maybe live, or be captured and surely die a horrible death. You must choose now."

"You men," Arno said, stepping up beside her, "I know what you're feeling. I felt it too, when Rosa first told me of her Bonding. Without the women as Riders, though, we have no weapons to fight the Conquerors. Will you take sticks and stones to go up against the Conquerors' battle armor, in the forlorn hope of protecting your women and children, or will you let them become the weapons we need to protect all of us?"

"Why do they have to be Riders to use these weapons?" someone asked loudly. "Why can't you just give them to us all?"

"They are energy weapons," Lily answered, and Rosa felt an electric shock run through her body as Lily touched her. "Rosa will demonstrate on that stone."

The indicated rock was roughly spherical with a diameter of about two feet.

Point your palm at the stone and think of destroying it, Lily told Rosa, using the Speech.

Rosa did as instructed, and a bright beam of light shot from her palm to strike the rock. A small area of the rock glowed briefly red.

"As you can see," Lily told the watchers, "using only her own energy, Rosa barely warmed the rock. This time, Rosalinda Maria Gutierrez, please connect with your dragon, then try again."

Klyphon? Do you know what she's talking about?

I believe she intends something like this... Rosa suddenly felt herself infused with tremendous surge of energy.

This time when she pointed her palm at the rock and thought of destruction, a blindingly white beam of light erupted from her hand and struck the rock with enormous energy. It exploded into an incandescent cloud of white powder, leaving only a small crater where it had been.

"Without her Bond, Rosa could not even have made that stone hot enough to keep your feet warm," Lily told the astonished audience. "With the Bond, she is able to draw on the Wyrm's energy to augment her own."

"So why not just give this ability to the dragons and let them do the fighting?" Someone else asked.

"First of all, without the Bonds, the Wyrms have no real reason to fight on our behalf. Secondly, even if they were anatomically suited for pointing and firing, their bodies would be far too busy with the mechanics of flight to be able to use a weapon like this effectively. I am assured that, whenever possible, they will employ their fiery breath on our behalf, but a Conqueror's armor would simply shrug it off. Our most effective weapon will be the teams of dragons and Riders. Now, are we going to talk until the Conquerors arrive, or are we going to prepare for battle?"

"What do we do?" one woman asked striding away from the crowd.

She was soon followed by another, then another, then two then three, until almost all of the women stood in a semicircle around Rosa, Lily, and Arno.

"First," Rosa told them, "I suggest you take off your clothing from the waist down, then, one at a time, walk to the top of the hill with your arms outstretched at shoulder level. Your dragon will find you."

One at a time, the women were snatched from the ground as eager Wyrms took turns choosing Bond-mates.

When a gray-haired woman with wrinkled skin passed her on the way up the hill, Rosa reached out to stop her.

"Are you sure about this, Mandy?"

With a twinkle in her eye, the woman, who was in her late sixties replied, "Do you know how long it's been since I've had a good stiff cock, sweetie? I've never been more sure of anything in my life."

Rosa could not help but laugh. Still, she shot Lily a questioning glance.

I will heal her if she is harmed, Rosalinda Maria Gutierrez, Lily smiled. We really do need everyone we can get.

Reluctantly, Rosa released her hold on the woman's arm and watched as, one by one, all of the women of the colony took their places at the top of the hill to be snatched away by dragons.

A shrill voice drew Rosa's attention and she turned to see a teenager fighting to free herself from a man who was, presumably, her father.

"I'm seventeen, father!" she shouted. "Do you think the Conquerors will care how old I am when they get me back to Earth? Let me go! I'd rather get fucked to death by a dragon than wind up in the clutches of those monsters again!"

"But, honey... !" was all the father could say. "I love you! I hate to see you lose your virginity like that."

"Would you rather see me die a screaming, tortured virgin, father," the girl's tone softened. "I know it's not what you wanted for me dad, but I have to do this, don't you see?"

Sobbing, the man took her in his arms and embraced her. They held each other for a long moment, then, reluctantly, the father released his daughter.

Rosa watched as, self-consciously, the girl stripped off her jeans and undergarments, then made her way to the top of the hill.

There were far more dragons than human women so the young woman didn't have to wait long to be plucked from the ground.

As the dragons flew off with their prospective bond-mates, Rosa turned to Lily.

Can we really do this, Lily?

Nothing is certain, Rosalinda Maria Gutierrez, Lily answered. I wish I had more time to learn how to use these powers with which I've been gifted. Nortrun is pumping me full of knowledge as fast as he can, but there is so much to learn, and as with anything, practice makes perfect.

Then here is what we shall do: Rosa told her, As soon as the others return from their bonding, you will give them their weapons. Klystron and I will then lead them in training exercises while you and Nortrun continue your training.

Lily smiled at her affectionately and answered, This is why you were a good choice for leader, Rosalinda Maria Gutierrez. Nortrun will feed while the Bonding takes place, then I will borrow his energy to sustain me while I transfer the weapon power to the others.

Ah! I should have guessed that it would require a great deal of energy, Rosa replied. Come to my hut and feed yourself while Nortrun finishes his feeding. The other dragons can feed while we arm their Riders.

"That, I can do, most eagerly," Lily smiled as she replied vocally.

"Rosa, can I talk to you for a minute?" Arno asked.

"What is it, Arno?" Rosa asked a bit impatiently. She didn't have time for his possessiveness right now.

The hurt showing on his face from her tone, Arno answered, "If you remember, we were able to salvage some of the weapons from the Conqueror's ship..."

"Yes, of course," she answered her tone softening with guilt. "I'm sorry Arno, I guess I've just got a lot on my mind. What about the weapons?"

"Well, I've got a couple of ideas," he answered, waving away her apology. To her relief, however, his expression cleared. "We can rig some rudimentary stationary firing positions with the bigger guns, but the smaller ones, while not exactly personal weapon size, are light enough to be relatively portable."

"Hmm. What's your proposal?"

"Well, Lily has given me The Speech," he answered, almost reluctantly, "and I was thinking that one of the larger, younger dragons might be able to carry me and one of those weapons..."

"I see..." Rosa answered. Then, to her Bond-mate, What do you think, Klyphon?

It will depend on the total weight, but I think a large Wyrm could carry ... How heavy is this thing you want to carry, Arno Lukas Vogel?

Maybe half my body weight, Arno answered

I see... Klyphon mused. Let us see who remains un-bonded. I believe that two or three of my larger cousins could take turns, but what about aiming the weapon? Balance is another key. The weight should be near the front of the Wyrm's torso, directly under the wings for best effect.

Perhaps some kind of harness... Arno mused.

No! the vehemence of Klyphon's response took both of the humans by surprise. A Wyrm will never be harnessed again! When we were on Earth, humans tried to bind us, to treat us like their farm animals! We will not be bound!

Okay, okay! Arno hastened to placate the golden dragon. It was just a thought. I'll think of some other way.

Harness yourself, if you're so fond of harnesses! Klyphon fired what he thought would be the last round of the skirmish.