Shadowrun 01 - Never Deal With A Dragon by Robert N. Charrette Page B
Authors: Robert N. Charrette
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hidden, even from her eyes, in darkness and haze. Lights mounted on the exposed girders of the structure cast sharply defined cones of light onto the floor. Hart stood on the highest level, a platform with twin ramps leading down in opposite directions. She could just barely discern other platforms hugging the walls at various levels below her. The chamber formed a great bowl, each level spiraling toward the crowded floor of this carefully guarded sanctum.
In the center, a great vat made of some transparent substance sat on a platform of machines and monitors. Technicians stood in a recessed pit around the cylinder, monitoring consoles and adjusting dials. The color of their clothes was washed out by the iridescent glow emanating from the vat. They paid no attention to the motions of a dark shape that roiled the milky fluid within the receptacle.
Still watching the activity below, Hart strolled down the ramp the Dragon had taken. She caught up with the beast on one platform that offered a wide, graveled area with an unobstructed view into the theater. As she approached, he settled his bulk on the rough surface and arched his neck until his head rested on the railing around the landing's perimeter.
In the bowl below, mages and technicians bustled about, performing activities that sent mingled odors of rank organics, the ozone of technology, and the sharp scent of sorcerous workings wafting up to the visitors. This environment should be more to his liking . Hart decided as she watched the beast nestle into the gravel.
" This is more satisfactory ," the Dragon confirmed, unasked.
Hart and her employer observed without interruption until Hart noticed someone approaching. It was the master sorcerer who had arrived at the side of the wounded man just as Hart left to catch up with her employer. The mage stopped a few meters away to compose his face into a pleasant expression before stepping forward to where he thought the Dragon could see him. From where she leaned against the beast's withers, Hart felt more than heard the soft chuff that she recognized as a sign of the Dragon's amusement.
Hart knew that the beast could see that the mage stood waiting. The Dragon let him stand there for some minutes, a period sufficient to establish dominance, then inclined his head to signal his attention.
The Human smiled. "You are just in time, Lord Dragon. It's almost ready."
" It will work as desired, Doctor Wilson? "
"Certainly. The last two prototypes performed well within parameters. Mutability factors have all been right on prediction and there has been no decay in stability. We have no reason to believe the process is flawed."
" Well that you should not ."
Wilson swallowed, his fear apparent to Hart. She had no doubt that the Dragon sensed it, too. He could probably smell it.
"I meant no disrespect, Lord Dragon. It's just that, as both a mage and a scientist, I expect all new processes to have some problems. It's only natural. This project has gone very smoothly under your guidance. I have no doubt that the product will meet with your satisfaction."
The Dragon flexed its wings slightly, dismissing Wilson's remarks. " Show me ."
"As you wish, Lord Dragon." Wilson wet his lips with a pink tongue that only slightly protruded beneath his mustache. "With your indulgence, it will take a few minutes."
The Dragon remained silent. Wilson turned quickly and vanished into the darkness of a side tunnel. A moment later, he reappeared, emerging from a corridor onto the floor of the chamber to have a brief conference with a quartet of his fellows.
Hart wanted to get a closer view of the operation. Reaching into her shoulder bag, she retrieved a pair of glasses. She tapped once on the frame to adjust the setting to magnification and settled them on her head. What she saw on the screens was fascinating, though she understood very little of the abstruse hermetic formulae, much less the chemical formulae. She wished she had a copy to study at
In the center, a great vat made of some transparent substance sat on a platform of machines and monitors. Technicians stood in a recessed pit around the cylinder, monitoring consoles and adjusting dials. The color of their clothes was washed out by the iridescent glow emanating from the vat. They paid no attention to the motions of a dark shape that roiled the milky fluid within the receptacle.
Still watching the activity below, Hart strolled down the ramp the Dragon had taken. She caught up with the beast on one platform that offered a wide, graveled area with an unobstructed view into the theater. As she approached, he settled his bulk on the rough surface and arched his neck until his head rested on the railing around the landing's perimeter.
In the bowl below, mages and technicians bustled about, performing activities that sent mingled odors of rank organics, the ozone of technology, and the sharp scent of sorcerous workings wafting up to the visitors. This environment should be more to his liking . Hart decided as she watched the beast nestle into the gravel.
" This is more satisfactory ," the Dragon confirmed, unasked.
Hart and her employer observed without interruption until Hart noticed someone approaching. It was the master sorcerer who had arrived at the side of the wounded man just as Hart left to catch up with her employer. The mage stopped a few meters away to compose his face into a pleasant expression before stepping forward to where he thought the Dragon could see him. From where she leaned against the beast's withers, Hart felt more than heard the soft chuff that she recognized as a sign of the Dragon's amusement.
Hart knew that the beast could see that the mage stood waiting. The Dragon let him stand there for some minutes, a period sufficient to establish dominance, then inclined his head to signal his attention.
The Human smiled. "You are just in time, Lord Dragon. It's almost ready."
" It will work as desired, Doctor Wilson? "
"Certainly. The last two prototypes performed well within parameters. Mutability factors have all been right on prediction and there has been no decay in stability. We have no reason to believe the process is flawed."
" Well that you should not ."
Wilson swallowed, his fear apparent to Hart. She had no doubt that the Dragon sensed it, too. He could probably smell it.
"I meant no disrespect, Lord Dragon. It's just that, as both a mage and a scientist, I expect all new processes to have some problems. It's only natural. This project has gone very smoothly under your guidance. I have no doubt that the product will meet with your satisfaction."
The Dragon flexed its wings slightly, dismissing Wilson's remarks. " Show me ."
"As you wish, Lord Dragon." Wilson wet his lips with a pink tongue that only slightly protruded beneath his mustache. "With your indulgence, it will take a few minutes."
The Dragon remained silent. Wilson turned quickly and vanished into the darkness of a side tunnel. A moment later, he reappeared, emerging from a corridor onto the floor of the chamber to have a brief conference with a quartet of his fellows.
Hart wanted to get a closer view of the operation. Reaching into her shoulder bag, she retrieved a pair of glasses. She tapped once on the frame to adjust the setting to magnification and settled them on her head. What she saw on the screens was fascinating, though she understood very little of the abstruse hermetic formulae, much less the chemical formulae. She wished she had a copy to study at
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