Tales from the Hall of Heroes, A Riders Choice
#1 of The Knights of Juno, Tales from the Hall of Heroes
This is the first of a story series that is sort of a collection of semi short stories, telling of the greatest heros of the Knights of Juno. I will probably be posting these less regularly than the main story line, but they do contain some good stories, so I would recommend giving them a look.
Also, since I forgot to do this with the Knights of Juno main story line, this is how the series flows. If you have already read the other stories on this list, then feel free to skip ahead to the story. The last Dragons series was first, then the Knights of Juno, Prelude to War and then the Knights of Juno. This series is just side and back stories. If you haven't already, you might want to go back and read the Last Dragons and the Prelude to War before continuing, but it isn't required. To understand the story.
Anyway, you aren't here to hear me talk, so on with story.
Daelin was not a happy man. Oh sure, his life was probably better than it had been at any point prior to this. Daelin was an American Marine and quite proud to be one too. He was a fifteenth generation Marine, the men in his family having been marines since the Revolutionary War, and members of the British Royal Marines for four generations before that. Everything had been going as planned. He had been a Sergeant and a squad leader after only five years in the Corps, and he had already been taking the entrance examinations to get into Annapolis to become an officer. But then his company had been seconded to a 'Special Project', which turned out to be hunting down dragons. And things had started to go down the tubes the day they were placed in the project. They had deployed into the mountains under the control of a pair of civilians, and that alone had been cause for worry for him. And, in quick succession, Daelin had narrowly avoided being cooked alive by dragon fire, stomped by dragon claws and bitten in half. Unfortunately, more than fifty of his fellow marines had not avoided these deaths, most of them men he had known and been friends with for years.
And then, that very same day, he and the entire regiment he had belonged to had come within a hair's breadth of being the first casualties in a war with Dragons. But then, Lance Corporal Mikael, this skinny kid that had only just joined his squad had killed the general that was in charge of them. Mikael. Even thinking the boy's name brought a flash of anger to his mind. But, having seen the destructive power of a single dragon, and having witnessed the marines' inability to harm them first hand, Daelin had grudgingly admitted that Mikael had done the right thing. But what made him unhappy, was that now, ten years after the event, he was being torn by two allegiances.
He was a US Marine, but he had also joined a few dozen of his fellow soldiers in becoming dragon riders. Mikael had been the first of the riders and the Dragonlord Argil, the huge white and silver dragon that was the leader of the dragons, had chosen him to be his rider. Which made Mikael the de facto leader of the riders. And Daelin was starting to chaff having to take orders from him. Now a First Sergeant in the Marines, Daelin was the highest ranked marine who was a dragon rider. But that didn't matter, he still had to take orders from Mikael. And, to make matters worse, the government was putting pressure on him, trying to bring the dragons and their riders under their sole control. Daelin was an honorable person, and he didn't believe that trying to force dragons to work for humans was a good idea, to say nothing of it being remotely smart.
"What is the matter Daelin?" His mount asked. The white and silver dragon that he was bonded with was Argil's older brother, but he didn't seem to have any problems taking orders from his younger sibling. It seemed to be an instinct bred into the huge reptiles to obey the dragonlord. Daelin privately wished that it was that simple with humans.
"Its nothing Nix." He replied, leaning back against the stone he sat against. When he leaned back, he felt the rough surface of the stone through the new jumpsuit he wore. He still wasn't used to the enchanted material, and to perfectly honest, he preferred the feel of his fatigues to this stuff. But his fatigues didn't provide nearly enough protection against the elements. He was startled a moment later when Nixarian settled right in front of him, looking him in the eye. Despite their size, dragons could be very quiet when they wanted to be.
"Something is bothering you Daelin." He commented, his eyes unreadable. "I can sense it. Tell me what it is so I can help you."
"You can't help me with it." The First Sergeant stated, looking away from the reptilian face that was staring at him. "No one can. It is something I have to deal with on my own."
"Suit yourself." The dragon stated, then suddenly cocked his head, listening. A moment later, Daelin jumped as a voice began speaking into his head. 'Daelin, return to the mountain ASAP, we need to talk.' The voice made him bristle internally, for it was the voice of Mikael. Daelin sighed and walked over to his mount, slinging his new assault rifle across his back. The weapon was a prototype, one of the new weapons that the military was experimenting with. He appreciated them supplying him with it, but he also liked the sword he wore at his side, almost more than the rifle.
As he swung onto the shoulders of his mount, he pondered why he liked it so much. Swords had always held a particular interest for him, but he had never found anyone who could teach him how to fight with one. But the riders had trained with them for several years now, largely because there had been three encounters so far with humans that possessed magic, and everyone of them had made rifles and even rider magic ineffective. The fights had gotten down and dirty as the riders had switched to hand to hand fighting. Thankfully, these encounters had been few and far between. As Nixarian lifted into the sky, he drew the sword he carried and examined it. It was a special weapon, crafted specifically for him by Argil himself, but what made it different from the other swords he had carried was that fact that, from pummel to point, it was crafted all of a black metal made by dragon magic. From its weight and the sharpness of the blade, he figured that it was some sort of Tungsten Carbide and Titanium alloy, but this was only a guess. This was only the second day he had carried it, but already he felt attached to the weapon. It was magnificent.
Then, he sighed, sliding the sword back into its scabbard and turning his thoughts back the problem at hand. Because of his rank and the fact that was a dragon rider now, he reported directly to the Commandant of the Marine Corps in the Pentagon, and he should have been elated. He was famous now, one of the lucky few the dragons had accepted as riders. But he wasn't. The political leaders in Washington had told him the last time he was there that he had a month to convince the dragons to obey the orders of the military. He had protested that they would never do that, but they didn't seem to care. So he was rapidly being faced with an undesirable choice. He looked at his jumpsuit's sleeve and sighed. He had sown his ranks onto his jumpsuit and he touched the stripes with his fingers. He was proud to be a Marine, but the orders he was getting made him feel very dishonest. Sighing once more, he returned his attention to the flight. Before he had first become a rider, he had feared the dragons; feared and hated them for what they had done to his fellows within his company, but now, he had to admit that he didn't think like that anymore.
He took a deep breath, looking around from his perch and smiled. Few ever got the chance to do this. His heart thrilled to feel the beat of the dragon's wings, to have an unobstructed view of the sky and land around. And, then the joy faded as he wondered what he was going to do. He felt like he would soon have to a make a choice between the dragons, and the Marines. And what scared him was that he didn't know which one he would choose. It wasn't long until they reached the mountain headquarters of the riders. It was the same mountain where he had lost so many friends, but he thought that it was somehow appropriate that this was where he called home now. Nixarian settled to the earth of the meadow where the other riders and their dragon companions were standing. Daelin dropped from the back of his dragon and gave a reluctant salute to Mikael.
All the other riders wore their Marine ranks on their jumpsuits, all except Mikael. The young rider wore no insignia on his white jumpsuit and it rankled Daelin. When the younger man had returned his salute, he took his place in the circle and sat down on the soil. The other riders followed suit, all except their leader who remained standing. Mikael waited until the huge Dragonlord nodded to him before speaking.
"We have a very serious problem." He said without preamble. "We have received word from overseas. It seems that the United States government has been spreading the rumor that the dragons are under their control and that if the other nations don't shape up, they would send the dragons to destroy them." Gasps of indignation spread through the gathered riders and Daelin looked down at the earth in front of him. "There is more." Mikael continued, speaking over the rumblings of the dragons and riders. "Word has reached me via a friend of mine in Washington that the President is going to speak in a press conference inside of a week, announcing to the world that we are under his orders. Even worse, my contact has told me that more than a few ultimatums have been delivered to the office of Foreign Affairs, stating that if the Dragons side with America, a state of war will be declared."
"Where would they ever get the idea that we would obey any country's directives?" Argil asked, the huge dragon's deep voice causing Daelin's chest to resonate. He closed his eyes and then stood up slowly, knowing that he was throwing his life at the dragon's feet. He spoke after a moment.
"They think that because they gave me orders that I was to convince you to obey their orders and that I had a month to do it." The dragons and riders alike looked at him in shock. "The month expires in eight days. I am sorry for not speaking about it sooner, but I couldn't bring myself to try to convince you."
"I am sorry that you had to bear that burden." Argil stated, and Daelin looked up at him; this wasn't what he expected. "It must have been terrible for you. What have you decided to do?"
"How do you mean?" Daelin asked, looking at the dragon. The huge beast smiled at him and spoke again.
"Well it would seem that the time has come to decide your allegiance." He stated and then looked at the gathered riders. "It has finally come down to this. The course is clear to me. We must publicly declare that we stand alone and independent of all nations. All of you must choose now. Do you stand with them or with us?"
"I stand with you." Mikael said, laying a hand on his mount's neck. "What about the rest of you."
For a moment, no one moved or spoke. Then, one man, a gunnery sergeant named James Tamerin, a marine who had once been Daelin's assistant squad leader, stood up with his combat knife in hand. The knife swiped twice and Tamerin's stripes fluttered to the ground. Then he sheathed the knife at his side and then settled back so he was leaning against Nightshade's side, his black scaled mount smiling slightly as he did so. His choice was clear. Moments later, riders all around the circle were cutting their ranks off. Daelin alone did not move. When Mikael gave him a concerned look, the warrior spoke at last.
"I do not choose one way or another right now." He stated. "I believe that we are all still American citizens and, maybe, given their recent history, this is a false belief, but I believe that the military knows better than this. I wish to go to Washington and speak to the Commandant. I think that I can convince him that they are being foolish."
"I respect that." Mikael stated. "I hope you are right..."
***
The next day, Daelin was almost into the Commandant's office. He had to pass through one final security check point before he could see him. The two marine MPs standing at the checkpoint did not move as he approached and he laid his assault rifle against the checkpoint. They remained still then he moved to open the door too, but when his hand touched the door handle, the two marines blocked the way and the sergeant in charge spoke.
"I am sorry First Sergeant," He said, reaching for the sword bound at Daelin's side. "But you must remove your sword before you can enter here."
"Sergeant, if you touch my sword, it will be the last thing you ever do." Daelin stated and the marine jerked his hand back. "You can check with the Commandant, I am allowed to wear this weapon anywhere."
The marines looked at each other and then one of them touched the intercom switch and carried on a quiet conversation for a moment. Then he turned back and nodded.
"My apologies First Sergeant. Go right in." He said and Daelin stepped past the checkpoint, walking through the open door. He was surprised to find that the Commandant wasn't alone in his office. The Chiefs of Staff for the other services were there, along with the Secretary of Defense and the President himself, accompanied by his standard entourage of Secret Service agents. Daelin snapped a salute to the assembled brass and held it until the officers returned it.
"Welcome First Sergeant." The commandant said, "You have good news for us I take it."
"Unfortunately, no sir." Daelin replied, standing at rigid attention as he had been trained. "I have come to try one last time to convince you not to follow this course of action. Announcing that the dragons are working for the US is a very bad idea. The dragons will not work for you, or any human for that matter."
"How do you know about that?" The President asked suddenly, getting to his feet.
"With respect sir, that doesn't matter." He said, "I have come to tell you that if you announce that the dragons are working for you, many nations will declare war on the United States." This statement caused laughter from all the brass, but the president and the secretary of defense did not join in.
"They wouldn't be that foolish." The army commander said.
"Yes they would." The President said, looking around at his assembled Generals and Admirals. "The secretary of Foreign Affairs has brought numerous ultimatums to that effect to my attention. I am still going ahead with the press conference because the dragons will obey us. What choice do they have? We are the most powerful force on the planet and no one can stand against us."
"The dragons aren't going to stand against you." Daelin said, shaking his head at the arrogance of the Commander in Chief. "Nor will they join your enemies unless you make war on them."
"Son, listen to me." The president said. "If they aren't under my control then they are my enemies."
"I can't believe that I am hearing this." Daelin said and he knew his choice was made then and there. "I am afraid that you leave me no choice then." With that, he drew his black bladed sword. The Secret Service operatives in the room instantly drew their guns, but Daelin waved a hand at them, magic sparking at his fingertips. They froze in place, unable to move and Daelin cut his ranks from his jumpsuit. Then, he sheathed the sword once more and dropped the stripes to the Commandant's desk.
"Think about what you are doing son." The president said and Daelin looked at him with a cold gaze. "Tell you what, if you will reconsider, I will commission you to officer rank. Not only that, but I can guarantee you will be promoted to General ranks within a couple years. How does that strike you as a plan?"
"It sounds great, but I am not interested." Daelin stated, turning and starting to walk away.
"If you do this, you will be branded a criminal!" the President shouted and Daelin kept walking. "You will never be rid of the stigma. I swear it!"
"If that is what you think must be done." Daelin stated over his shoulder and then walked out of the room, leaving the leaders stunned. When he stepped out of the Pentagon building, the rider released the spell that held the agents in place, then he walked over to where Nixarian waited. Nix looked at him without his ranks for a moment, but did not speak, allowing the former Marine his silence. When Daelin had mounted the dragon, the pair lifted off, headed west.
'So.' Nixarian said as they left the city's limits, speaking into his mind. 'What happened?'
'They wouldn't listen.' Daelin said, sighing inwardly. 'I resigned. I am with you now. I had hoped that it wouldn't come to this, but my hand seems to have been forced. They have branded me a criminal and I don't doubt that they will do the same to every rider.'
'That is no big thing.' The dragon stated, looking back at his rider. 'I had a thought while I was waiting for you. To remain totally apart, it would seem to make sense that our riders belong to no country as well.'
'It would.' Daelin said. 'But that would mean renouncing our citizenship. I am not sure that that is such a good idea.'
'I will suggest it to the other riders when we get home.' Nixarian said and Daelin nodded, lying forward onto the neck of his mount. He was suddenly very tired. He wondered what his father would have thought about this, if he had been still alive. Would he have accepted his choice to stand with the dragons or would he have given in to the president? Daelin didn't know. Whatever the future would bring, he had made his choice. Regardless of how he felt before, he was a rider now, through and through...
Many, many thanks to my sister who came up Nixarian's name. You are a life saver.