John ran across around over and between frozen rubble, moving clockwise around the castle. Within moments of leaving Charles and Zesiro he had cracked the palm stunner open, and with a practiced hand and swiftness that belied the frigid air had removed a tiny chip from its slot and closed the weapon tight. Linking his cybernetic with the device, he quickly disabled the safety and began to adjust the power settings.

John, not being stupid, had planned to not shoot the dragon unless it had noticed someone else, preferably only after he had hidden away somewhere; unfortunately for him, the dragon was rather perceptive, and no sooner was John's stunner back online than the dragon had turned its attention to the group.

John raised his weapon, carefully sighted on the dragon's head, and pulled the trigger. In a single instant an invisible beam ionized a stream of air between the weapon and the target and a bolt of lightning surged through the air, delivering 600mA directly to the skull. Enough to kill a man, but to the dragon, it appeared to be little more than a nuisance. John studied the dragon for a brief moment, and then grimly dialed up the voltage. 38 shots left, give or take a dozen. 

Odds were good he wouldn't find a lethal frequency before then, but with a flying target he didn't need it. If he could just get a voltage strong enough to get through its skin then that should be enough. Disrupt its flight muscles long enough, and it should drop out of the sky.

Once again, lightning stabbed the sky. 37 left.