by Stella Cassy
She laughed then pointed into the camera feed. "That mark on your neck."
I rubbed the healing spot where Illion had claimed me. It had faded slowly, as if my body wanted to make sure everyone on board saw it.
"It means more than a claiming. Our inner dragons, they know certain things. They can discern. If his dragon likes you enough to claim you, that means you are morally sound enough for Illion's dragon to approve of and want to keep forever. My boy, he feels he has a lot to prove, but I've never seen his dragon accept any female longer than a few solars." She pursed her lips.
I rubbed the spot on my neck, trying not to imagine my new mate with his past trysts. "So the dragons are picky?"
"Very," she said. "If his claimed you, then I gladly and willingly welcome you into the family."
"I'm glad to join your family." I wasn't lying. She made me feel like I was the most important person, like she couldn't wait to meet me in person.
"Do you have any questions? About our culture, or Illion?" She waited expectantly as my mind completely blanked.
"I want to be a doctor, for the Drakon," I said.
She nodded her head encouragingly. "That sounds wonderful."
"But, on Earth, once I finished my residency, I could've gotten a job pretty much anywhere I wanted. But now, I have so much to learn."
"When you're here, we'll put you through training at our hospital. You'll learn in no time. There aren't many female doctors here, so I think you'll get the women coming to see you. And lots of men will want to meet the human doctor. I think you'll do well and have plenty of chances to prove yourself."
"I hope so."
"Is there anything else?" she asked kindly.
"I..." I stared at her. "I can't think of a single thing. Maybe if I think of something, I could call you back?"
"I hope you will call me back either way. I know on these missions things can get volatile, so I will always have my comms unit on. I will be available for you."
We hung up leaving me feeling more wanted than I had in years. Both Illion and his mother genuinely wanted me to be in their lives. It was a strange feeling to think I would have family again after all that time. Strange, but so welcome.
I met my first Drakon female after I hung up with Leiren.
"Hello!" I exclaimed. "I hadn't even known there was another female on board!"
She nodded shyly. "I work in the kitchens. I saw them almost hurt you, and I wanted to help, but I couldn't."
Her voice was barely above a whisper.
"Are you okay? Did you need to see me as a doctor or is this a social visit?"
She held out her arm to show me a nasty burn. "Oh, no, how did this happen?" I asked. "I thought it was really hard to burn Drakon."
"It's a cold burn," she said with a grimace. "We freeze our food that way, and if you touch the ice, it eats right through our scales. We are made of heat and hate the cold."
"Oh, like dry ice on Earth. Ouch. Let me consult the books to see what we can do."
I was able to find a cream in the cabinet to help with burns and sent her on her way with the promise that she would visit again. As soon as she left, I realized how much I missed female companionship. Between my phone call with Leiren and my visit from the shy kitchen girl—I'd never even asked her name—I knew I needed to make female friends as soon as we landed on Thirren, if only for my own sanity.
23
Illion
Sleep eluded me. Thoughts of how different my life would be once we returned to Thirren haunted me, as well as residual anger at the Coovians. How dare they? Did they not think we would retaliate?
The more I contemplated it, the angrier I became, eventually deciding to get up and try to message Thirren and ask what measures they were taking to avenge the attack. Running a ship knows no night, or time to sleep. Crew Three bustled around the deck just as busily as Crew One would in a few solars. They nodded to me, already used to seeing me pop in and out. I'd made it a practice before I'd been poisoned to keep odd working times, to keep the crew on their toes. I didn't want to stay comfortable with Crew One and have no relationship with any of the other members of my team.
Before the poisoning, I'd had their begrudging respect. They'd laughed behind my back still, but not as much. Since surviving the attack on my life, they treated me with as much respect as they would my uncle Lehar or Commander Tarion.
Finally, I was proving that I was more than my last name. All it took was nearly dying.
I didn't bother checking to see what time it would be back home, just pinged the general comms contact for the organizers of the elements missions.
Ranel's face swam up on my comms unit. "Illion," he said shortly. "You're recovered from your ordeal?"
This was the first time I'd spoken to him since embarking on the mission. My check ins had always gone to Carissa. "I'm recovered and furious," I growled at the projection of his head. "What measures are being taken to teach these Coovians that they can't continue to rebel against the Drakon? They don't have the means or the intelligence to mount a successful attack against us."
"We do not allow attacks on the Drakon to go unpunished. You know this." His facial expression was completely blank, something I still strived to achieve. Drakon men were not to show emotion. Emotions bred weakness.
"They caused me an irreparable delay," I said through clenched teeth. "How am I supposed to win this contest now? Rethryn will have smoked me. Don't tell me he's already back with his element?"
I almost didn't even want to ask. If he said he was, I would continue with the mission—after all, it was vitally important that we return successfully, no matter the order of our return. I wasn't sure how I would move forward if I didn't win my own crew. After being captain of my own mission, it would be difficult to acclimate myself to being a member of a crew. Even one like Lehar's. He was a good man, a noble Drakon, but I was already spoiled to my own command.
"Don't worry. Nobody is back yet, and even if they were, that doesn't make your mission fruitless. You're helping to save the entire planet of Thirren. You will be bestowed with much honor, even if you do not win the prize from the royal family."
I sat back, contemplating his words. "I suppose you're right. Are the other missions facing difficulties as well?"
"I'll just say none of us expected this to happen quickly." He smiled at me, the first emotion I'd seen from him. "You will learn of the other missions in time, don't worry about that. Just focus on your own and finding another planet to negotiate with. You should be nearing the second destination?"
"Yes, we are very close now." I tapped my claw on the chair, still angry. He hadn't promised retribution.
"I know you're angry at the Coovians, Illion. But we must prioritize our missions. The most important right now is the return of the bartered elements to Thirren. Once our children, women, and elderly are safe and have hope of the future, we can focus on returning the pain that has been inflicted upon us."
"People think us weak after the Pax attack," I mused. "Have I not been the only envoy attacked?"
Ranel pursed his lips. "You'll learn of all that when your mission is complete. Now, focus on the task at hand and allow your anger to brew under the surface. You will have your revenge. If you do well, perhaps you'll be given the chance to lead the team that carries out the mission."
I brightened at that thought. "That would be a just reward for the hardships we faced on Coovoo."
He laughed, shocking me. I didn't think he'd ever been so jovial with me. Maybe the other missions were going so badly that ours was the favorite despite our troubles. "I thought you might like that. While you're on the path there or home, make a note of any planets you pass. Scan them and bring back information on them. You're far out into the galaxy, and our maps aren't as thorough as I'd like them to be."
"I've been doing that all along. Is that not a part of a standard mission?" Part of each team's daily duties was to monitor the scanner, which was able to read informat
ion from planets within a rotations’ travel and tell if they were rich in several different resources like water, carbon, and approximately how many life forms were on the surface.
He nodded. "Good. Then get the water and get back here, Illswing."
His casual use of my hated nickname was like a shot straight to the groin. He wasn't favoring me. The bastard was just in a good mood for some reason.
"Yes, sir," I said stiffly before clicking off the comms unit. "Asshole."
24
Leti
I woke in Illion's bed but without Illi. After our bout of lovemaking the night before, I'd slept like a baby. It had helped knowing he was well. When he'd been sick I'd barely slept, constantly waking to check his vitals. Eventually I'd given up on sleeping in my own bedroom and had just stolen a few hours here and there on one of the beds in the medibay.
My body made up for it. I checked the time on the comms unit in the wall and realized I'd slept half the day away.
Marking day and night in space was difficult. I wondered how anyone kept themselves from getting all switched around. I'd made myself keep a strict schedule, only sleeping during the hours we would designate as night if we were on a planet.
It hadn't occurred to me at first that the planets were so far apart that their time zones would be vastly different. They had different suns, different orbits.
Time was relative in space. I felt like I'd read that somewhere when I was on Earth.
Eventually I'd given in and slept when I was sleepy. It helped me with treating Illion, anyway, since he might've needed care at a moment's notice.
I tiptoed to my room beside Illion’s. I hadn't accumulated much, and it was fast and easy to move it to his space. He had an in-suite shower, which was a bonus. I'd managed to get a small bottle of sweet-smelling soap from the kitchens and had been using that as shampoo and body wash. It worked fairly well, but I would’ve killed for the stuff I used on Earth. Maybe if Illion took me to visit I could buy a large supply. I didn't know how long it would be until we made it back to Earth. I'd have to figure out a way to make some money so I could take anything with me back to space that I'd been missing. Like books. If I could find a good used bookstore sale, I'd buy my body weight in novels. And Illion's, too.
I made a mental note to ask Illi's mom if there was such a thing as romance novels on Thirren. Surely they liked to escape into fantasy worlds as much as humans did.
When I was properly showered and had grabbed a food bar, I set out to the medibay to make sure nobody needed me. Surely they'd known where to find me if they had needed me in the night. I had a comms device I could wear like a watch, so I grabbed it from where I'd left it in the lab.
If I was to be the only source of medical care on board, I'd need to keep it on me.
Satisfied that I hadn't neglected anyone while I'd slept, I made my way to the deck to find Illion looking pensive.
"What's wrong?" I asked, taking a seat beside his. Chase wouldn't mind if I pilfered his usual spot.
"It's nothing. I'm just mulling over our options to show the Coovians the error of their ways." He smiled at me. "But that is a mission for another solar. How are you this morning, mate?"
I touched my neck thoughtfully where the bite mark lingered. It was taking an enormous amount of time to heal. Once things were settled down, I couldn't wait to study Illion's saliva. I hoped to collect a sample during the heat of passion.
Another reason I needed girlfriends. I couldn't ask his mom about the bite. It was far too intimate. I had a suspicion that Drakon women would speak to his mother about it without qualms, but I was not Drakon. It was out of my wheelhouse.
"I'm very well. Are we close to the next destination?" I looked at the screens set up all across the room, but to me, space looked like space. No, wait. I spied a planet in the corner of one of the screens.
"We are. We will be there in a matter of solars."
I mentally corrected the word solar to hours in my head. The translation chip worked well, but there was a word in English for the word he was using and that was solar. There apparently wasn't a word in Drakon for the English passings of time like hour, day, minute, or year.
Continued use of the chip meant I wouldn't learn the Drakon language. It translated everything for me, funneling into my brain somehow. I longed to study that, too, but one thing at a time. All I could focus on while on the ship was being the sole physician.
"And once we're there?"
"I'm totally unsure," he said. "I studied the information we had on this planet, but it doesn't mention any sentient beings, only animal, plant, and aquatic life.
"That planet doesn't look aquatic to me," I said doubtfully. "It looks dead."
Illion's head swung toward the screens. He stood, his caudal thumping the ground.
His crew had been quick to correct me when I'd called it a tail. When I had asked them to move him to the hydration bed, his caudal had fallen and hit the ground hard. I'd asked them to mind his tail and they'd laughed. I was glad they hadn't been offended by it.
I eyed it as he walked toward the screens, focusing on the planet. The size and shape of it was perfect for certain bedroom activities. A thrill ran through me. He hadn't tried anything with it, but maybe that was for my benefit? The next time we were alone together, I was finding out if it was even an option.
"You're absolutely right," he said. "Something is wrong." He pointed to one of the crew that sat behind what looked like a desktop computer. "Bring up the stats on this planet."
He walked around the desk and bent over, studying the information over the soldier's shoulder. "The coordinates are right."
Grabbing a tablet, he pressed buttons while walking back to his seat beside me. "All the information we have on this planet says it should be teeming with life. This makes no sense."
I stayed quiet as he combed over the information in his tablet and the crew drew us closer and closer to the planet. "Do you think it's safe to land?" I asked. "Don't you have scanners that should've seen this in advance?"
Illion looked up at me blankly. "Yes, it's safe, and yes, this should've been caught. That's what I'm trying to figure out now, why it wasn't, and if our other readings of planets along the way have been accurate."
While the crew brought us closer and closer to the planet's surface, Illion poured over his tablet, searching for answers. By the time we landed, he still didn't have any.
The crew stared at the screens, still shocked that the long journey we'd embarked on was ending in a big fat squat.
"Well, let's go have a look around. Since we're here." Illion's voice was flat. Taking his hand, we followed the crew out onto the planet. It was barren, destitute.
The sun, hotter than the one on Earth, judging from how sweat instantly popped up on my skin, had baked the ground. If there had ever been any wildlife on the planet, it was long gone. "Is it possible that another part of this world is less dire than this? I know on Earth, we have parts that look like this. There's a huge desert that never sees rain, and then in another part of the world, there's more water than anyone could ever need."
"The scans indicate the entire planet is like this, but we'll orbit it before we leave," Illion said. His crew fanned out, kicking rocks and looking around. The flat landscape didn't give them anything of note to look at or explore.
"There's just nothing here," I said.
Illion waved to Lieutenant Chase. He jogged over and joined us. "Chase, this is a good time to check the sensor. The only thing I can think of is mechanical failure."
Chase grabbed a couple of the crew and headed around the ship. "Those three are particularly adept in electronics. If anyone can pinpoint a problem, it's them."
We returned to the ship and pulled up the program responsible for reporting the findings of the sensor as well as the camera that would show us their progress outside.
"Chase," Illion said into the comms unit on his arm. "We've got the program up and ready to test when you give the
word."
"Thanks, Captain."
We sat back and watched them fiddle with electronics far too sophisticated for me to understand.
"So, what's this mission all about?" I asked. "I've picked up bits and pieces, but don't know the whole story."
Illion turned his chair around and smiled at me. "It's my chance," he said, his voice excited. "There was a war on Thirren."
"The Pax, right?" I remembered because I hated them so much. I wanted to train and start another war with them so I could battle in it.
"Yes. They invaded, and we prevailed, but took extensive damage." He watched the crew move around the sensor thoughtfully for a few moments. "In retrospect, we've been too proud. The Drakon are a noble race. Our ancestors explored the universe, exerting our dominance over the planets closest to Thirren. We expanded on that, but I think we took on too much."
"That must be hard to say." Every Drakon I'd encountered had been proud to the point of being pompous. Admitting that would've been sour.
"It is," he agreed. "But it is what it is. The bombs, direct hits, and explosions from their ships
did something to our ecosystem. I don't know the why behind it. I'm a captain, not a scientist."
"I'd love to see the research." Admittedly, I wasn't the best in that field of science, but it called to the intellectual in me. "Even if just to understand."
"Well, the volcanoes have become active. The Drakon can handle it fine. We've got measures in place. The problem is... well, everything else."
"The animals?"
"We eat a lot of meat, as you've seen. So much that we have to store hundreds and hundreds of pounds of it here on board just for a mission that will only take a few rotations." He scoffed. "Well, was supposed to only take a few rotations."
"Yeah, what will we do if we start to run out of supplies?" I hadn't even thought of that. The entire time we'd been on board, I'd been taking things like fuel and food for granted. But we were in a vessel with finite space and resources.