The Lycanthrope - Chapter Three

The camp fire blazed as Pendragon and Magus sat either side of it eating their meals. While Pendragon favoured using the replicator that had been beamed down to them Magus insisted on using old fashioned camp-style cooking. It didn’t take long for Pendragon to come round to Magus’ way of thinking.
    “Where did you learn to cook this good, Magus?” asked Pendragon, wiping the gravy off his place with a slice of bread. “That’s the best piece of beef I’ve had in years!”
    “I have met many chefs over the centuries.” replied Magus. “I would have tried my recipe for steak and kidney pudding but for some reason it didn’t quite seem right for tonight.”
    Pendragon looked around and saw Amarus and the other security guards lapping up their meals.
    “Beef obviously isn’t on the Traxxon menu.” said Pendragon.
    Pendragon continued to look around.
    “Where’s Talbot?”
    Magus looked around.
    “I haven’t seen him since we beamed down.” he said. “He’s probably off somewhere trying to get a bit of sleep. He looks like he could use it.”

    Pendragon put his plate on the ground and got up. He started to walk about in an attempt to get the stiffness out of his legs. While he did this he looked up at the sky, looking at the two full shining moons. It seemed slightly eerie to him because there was not a sound to be heard.
    “I definitely think this would be the perfect place for a fledgling colony.” said Pendragon. “And those moons up there would make a wonderful romantic backdrop.”
    “Moons have not always made good romantic scenes, Commander.” said Magus. “The sight of a full moon sometimes strikes fear into the hearts of some men.”
    Magus began to stroke his beard.
    “How does that poem go? Ah, yes. ‘Even a man who is pure in heard and says his prayers by night, may become a wolf when the wolf bane blooms and the moon is full and bright.”
    “There hasn’t been any reported werewolf sightings for years.” said Pendragon.
    Suddenly a howling noise, similar to that of a wolf, rang out throughout the countryside. Pendragon leapt to his feet and drew his phaser.
    “The sensors showed that there were no life forms on this planet.”
    “Then there are three possibilities. One, the sensors malfunctioned. Two, someone is playing a joke, or three, there really are life forms here.”
    Pendragon began to look around the surrounding area.
    “We’d better get everyone together.” he said. “We’ve no idea what that thing might be.”
    Before they could do anything Pendragon and Magus heard the noise of a man screaming as if were fighting for his very life. Pendragon, with phaser in hand, charged off. Magus, using his powers, took to the air. Magus travelled faster than Pendragon, and he soon saw the man that was screaming. It was one of the security guards. He saw the guard struggling on the ground with what appeared to be some sort of wild dog. Suddenly a phaser blast hit the animal and it let out a huge cry of pain and looked behind him. The phaser blast came from Pendragon. A few seconds later Magus landed on the ground. On seeing Magus the animal fled. Pendragon soon caught up with Magus, who was looking at the lifeless body.
    “He’s dead, Commander.” said Magus. “His jugular vein was almost ripped from his throat.”
    “What was that thing?” asked Pendragon. “It looked like some kind of rabid animal.”
    “To me it looked like some kind of wolf, perhaps even a werewolf!”
    Amarus and the other guard came rushing over. The first thing they saw was the dead body.
    “What happened?” asked Amarus.
    “We’ve one dead man and some kind of animal running around here.” said Pendragon. “Has anyone seen Talbot?”
    The others shook their heads.
    “We’d better hurry up and try to find him.” said Magus. “His life may be in great danger.”
    “Amarus, you two head east.” said Pendragon. “Magus and I will check in that direction.”
    Pendragon activated his communicator.
    “Pendragon to Talbot.”
    There was no reply.
    “Pendragon to Talbot.”
    Again, no reply.
    “I’ll go on ahead.” said Magus, taking to the sky.
    Suddenly a glow appeared around Magus’ right hand, lighting the surrounding area. He then moved forward through the air. While Magus did this Amarus used his natural heat powers and did the same while the guard followed him on the ground.
    It was a few minutes later when Magus saw something in the distance. On a hill nearby Magus saw the outline of a baying animal in the light of the planet’s two moons. The animal appeared to be howling at the moons, and it also appeared to be growing in size. Magus then floated towards the hill. As he got closer the animal stopped howling at stared straight at Magus. A look of horror appeared on Magus’ face as he realised what the animal was - a werewolf.
    Magus reached into his pocket and pulled out his small communicator. He then activated it.
    “Magus to Pendragon.”
    Pendragon was at the foot of the hill. He stopped when he received Magus’ signal.
    “I’m here Ambassador.”
    “I’ve discovered what the creature is Commander. That creature is a werewolf.”
    “How can that be?” asked Pendragon. “There’s only one way a werewolf could be on this planet.”
    Pendragon thought for a moment.
    “Magus, would it be possible for you to scan this entire planet?”
    “I could do it in a matter of minutes.”
    “Do it. See if you can find any trace of Talbot!”
    Magus, still floating in the air, extended both of his arms either side of him. A glow then appeared around him and he closed his eyes. A beam of mystical energy then shot out from his hands and began to circle the planet at a tremendous speed. The process took roughly two minutes. During this time the werewolf continues to stare at Magus. Also, Pendragon had started to make his way up the hill. Soon the glow disappeared and Magus opened his eyes. He looked down at Pendragon.
    “I can find no trace of Lawrence Talbot in his present human form.”
    “What are you saying?” said Pendragon. “That thing up there can’t be Talbot, can it?”
    “Talbot told me himself he had spent the past few years stationed on space stations and tried not to get transferred to starships or starbases. It appears that we now know the reason why.”
    Then Amarus and the other security guard arrived on the hill. They were surprised to see the wolf sitting on the hill staring at Magus.
    “What is that thing?” asked Amarus.
    “A werewolf, Mr. Amarus.” replied Magus. “A werewolf by the name of Lieutenant Lawrence Talbot.”
    “So what the hell do we do now?” asked Pendragon.
    Before anyone could answer that question the werewolf leapt off the hill towards the security guard, his mouth open, his fans bared, heading towards the jugular.
    Pendragon raised his phaser and fired at the werewolf. Although the werewolf let out a huge cry of pain there was no would, and the blast seemed to have no other effect on him.
    “Put your phaser down, Commander.” said Magus. “Your weapon will have no effect on him!”
    The struggle between the guard and the werewolf seemed to finish. Although they had tried to do everything within their power to stop the attack the guard was dead. The werewolf turned his attention back to Pendragon, Magus and Amarus. After one second the werewolf leapt for another attack, this time towards Amarus. Amarus raised his hand and fired one of his fire-blasts at the werewolf. This blast knocked the werewolf off his course, and he let out another huge cry of pain. He then lay on the ground smouldering from the attack. He seemed unconscious.
    “What do we do now?” asked Pendragon.
    “That I am trying to decide.” replied Magus.
    Magus raised his hand and closed his eyes. A few seconds later a wolf bane plant appeared in the ground nearby.
    “I didn’t know wolf’s bane was found on this planet.” said Amarus.
    “It isn’t.” replied Magus. “I just created it. If we are to save Talbot we must use this plant to protect ourselves.”
    “Save him? Are you kidding?” said Pendragon. “He just killed two of our crewmen!”
    “You must remember this, Commander. Lieutenant Talbot was not responsible for his condition. He was obviously attacked by another werewolf. That is why he is now a werewolf. I can see now why he has spent the past few years on space stations and didn’t want his transfer to the Valkyrie.”
    “Is there anything you can do to help him?” asked Amarus.
    “There may be something.” said Magus. “Something that I could do that would allow him to carry on with his normal life.”
    Suddenly they heard a growling noise as the werewolf began to stir. Magus again raised his hand, and a glow appeared around the werewolf. A few seconds later the werewolf was unconscious again.
    “So what do we do now?” asked Pendragon.
    “We wait until the morning.” replied Magus. “And hope the Valkyrie returns soon.”
    The rest of the night was peaceful compared to the previous few hours. When the sun began to rise the slow transformation began, and the werewolf became Lawrence Talbot again. Magus cast another spell so that Talbot remained unconscious. It was mid-morning that the Valkyrie arrived back in orbit around the planet.