by Maia Starr
"Yes, Captain," my brother said as he walked with my crew and they were led off to the left toward a building housing living quarters. I was led off to the right toward a communication tower with satellites on the roof. I turned to get one last look at Felicity, and I was shocked to see that she was looking at me in return. We didn't even get a chance to say goodbye, but perhaps that was for the best. If I had to say goodbye to her, I would pull her into my arms and push my fingers through her red hair. I would plant my lips firmly on her pink lips as she looked up at me with her beautiful, green eyes. No, I cannot allow that to happen. I had a promise to keep and a bloodline to continue; I was sure that this lust for this human female would soon pass.
Minutes later, I was seated in front of a communication screen as King Caspin Rykor appeared in front of me.
"Captain Ky-Vesa, we have lost communication with your ship. What has happened?" he asked.
"King Caspin Rykor, I regret to inform you that my ship is lost. We sent out a distress signal and we were rescued by an Earth research vessel. We are now on Earth, and my crew is safe and well taken care of. The Earthlings showed us great hospitality and even mended our injuries," I reported to the king.
"I am glad to hear of your well-being and of the good care from the Earthlings. Tell me, Captain Ky-Vesa, what happened to your ship?" the king asked.
"We were en route when we crossed paths with a cargo bride ship carrying human females from Earth. The ship was attacked by a purist ship. We stepped in and protected the cargo bride ship, covering them until they could escape. We engaged with the enemy and suffered great impact to the ship. We lost nearly half of it and had to jump into hyperspeed in order to escape the purist ship."
"Damn Ukir! He has taken this purist thinking too far! We must declare war on the purist faction. They are going to ruin our peace agreement with Earth. I cannot let that happen because of some radical thinking!" the king shouted in anger.
"I understand, King Caspin Rykor. You should also know that I did not report this to the Earth ship that rescued us. I know that we were still on an embargo, keeping this information from Earth. I reported to them that we were hit by an asteroid . After our ship was hit, we went into hyperspeed to escape the asteroid field and were knocked unconscious by the quick maneuvering—that is what I reported to them. That is what I will report to the Earth Council, unless you order me to do otherwise. I am at your obedience as a messenger and representative of the Drackon," I said to him.
"That was good thinking. It was not a good time to let the Earth ship that rescued you know the truth. But I fear that if you tell them the truth now, they may not believe you, after the asteroid lie. No, it is time that I take responsibility for the actions of my Drackon, even the radicals. You are to meet with the Earth Councilthen?" he asked.
"I am, in exactly an hour and half," I replied.
"Good. I want to attend the meeting as well. As soon as the meeting begins, inform the Earth Councilthat communication is needed and I will be waiting for the line to open. I will inform them myself about the purists and why we have kept it quiet," the king said.
"Yes, Your Majesty. I will report exactly that."
"Until then, Captain Ky-Vesa, and also great gratitude in rescuing the bride cargo ship from the purists. Upon your return to Mooreah, there will be a great feast and honors for you and your crew," the king said before signing off.
I didn't need the honors and feasts as I was only doing my job, but it did give me great pleasure to know that my crew would be honored; they deserved it. They worked hard, and they were fierce and great warriors.
I stepped out of the communication closet into the hallway, walking toward the exit in order to find my crew and brother in the living quarters, when I ran into her.
"Felicity."
"Drin," she whispered as her green eyes grew wide.
"I was just speaking to my king before meeting with Earth Council. Now I am to go find my brother and my crew," I said to her.
"I have just finished meeting with my supervisor, the Research Council master."
"Did all go well?"
She was silent for a time and then she said, "I am going to go freshen up and then head to the registration building. Goodbye, Drin. I am glad that your arm is mended."
"The registration building? As in the bride registration building?" I asked confused.
"Yes. I am just going to check on an old patient is all," she said as she looked at the ground and walked away from me quickly. It was a very odd encounter, but what could I expect?
"Captain Ky-Vesa, I am guide Michael Anson, but you may call me Michael. I am assigned to visiting Drackon and I am here at your assistance. Is there anything I may help you with at the moment?" a man came around the corner dressed in the official blue and white uniform of the Earth Council.
"Yes, Michael, I was trying to find my way to my crew in the living quarters. Can you show me the way?"
"Absolutely; follow me. I will also show you your own living quarters as well. Would it please you to point out buildings and areas as we walk along? Or would you prefer a walk in silence?" the assistant asked.
I laughed at the attention to detail and realized that I was not the first Drackon guests they encountered, and they probably had had a few hotheads in the past. However, I was a captain; that new information was power. I wanted to soak in as much information as possible just in case I would need it later.
"Michael, I would enjoy your guided knowledge. Please also point out the buildings of the city beyond the windows," I said to him. Michael's face lit up as he obviously enjoyed feeling useful. As we walked, he informed me of the building layout of the base. He pointed out buildings in the distance, including the registration building. Finally, we were at the living quarters building and he showed me to my very large and ample living space.
"Your meeting with the Earth Councilis in an hour and I will fetch you then to guide you to that meeting. Until then, this green button here will contact an assistant for anything you shall need."
"Thank you, Michael,” I said as I moved into my living quarters and quickly freshened up, splashing water on my face. Then I sought out my brother and the crew and offered them the same information the king told me.
"Did the king say when we are to return to Mooreah?" my brother asked.
"We did not discuss that matter. But I do think we are at the mercy of Earth and most likely will find a ride on the next bride cargo ship," I said to him.
"And when will that be? The sooner we are out of here, the better," my brother said. I knew what he was thinking; he wanted me far away from Felicity because he had never been anxious to leave a planet before. Usually after a long journey in space, he was more than happy to spend time on the planet stretching his wings and exploring, as he was a very curious young Drackon.
"I myself am more than happy to spend many months here on Earth. It is a beautiful planet; the human females are beautiful and the people are hospitable. I am anxious to explore and to go for a flight," one of my crew members said. The others joined in, in agreement with him.
"I will know more after this meeting with the Earth Council, which the king himself is attending. This is a very serious matter with the purists and we all must remember that the humans may look at us differently after they find out that there is a faction that is against them and their females. Stay quiet, stay close. We cannot afford to show any odd behavior that may endanger our well-being while here on Earth. It is very important. Do not take flights without me and do not explore the city without my explicit permission; is that understood?"
"Yes, Captain," they said in disappointed unison.
"Good. Now, my quarters are stocked with beverages and food, and have a great view of the city. Come with me, take leisure there in the captain’s quarters," I said to them with a smile.
There was an uproar of cheer and light mood as they patted each other on the back and followed me to my living quarters. At least it would keep them
occupied and not feeling antsy to get out and explore. Here they could eat and drink and relax with a view. They were all excited and happy as they settled in and raided the kitchen, all except my brother, who was pouting and frustrated. I walked over to him and said, "I'm counting on you to keep an eye on the crew. Do not let them get too drunk or out of line. Can I count on you?"
He straightened up his back and his demeanor changed. He was glad to have an assignment, "Yes, Captain, you can count on me.”
I slapped him on the back and said, "Good. I am off to meet with the council and your king. I will report back as soon as I am able to on the results of this meeting."
As soon as I opened the door, the assistant guide, Michael, was standing in the hall waiting for me. I nodded at him and he led me off to the Earth Council meeting. As I entered the large, round room with several human males and females in uniform sitting around a table, they greeted me with a smile and stood up.
"Captain Ky-Vesa, it is a pleasure to meet you. We are honored to have you as our guests and your crew. I am Council Member Jennifer Mendez."
"Counsel Mendez, I have been ordered by King Caspin Rykor to not began this meeting without his presence. The king will be attending this meeting through communication. Can we set that up?"
"The king? Yes of course. Michael, will you set it up immediately?" Michael scurried away to a wall panel console and every member took their seat and waited. I was offered a seat in the middle of the table, next to Mendez. We all waited as communication was established to King Caspin Rykor. As soon as he appeared, the entire council stood up and Mendez greeted him. "King Caspin Rykor, as always, it is an honor to speak with you. The council and I are ready to commence the meeting when you are."
"Mendez, it is good to see you as well. I always enjoy my conversations with Earth, but I must inform you that this meeting is unfortunately a dark one," King Caspin Rykor said to them. There was a low chatter of murmuring from the council, as they were not expecting this to become a dark, political conversation. I tensed up as I readied myself for anything.
"The floor is yours, King," Mendez said to him as the council sat down in their chairs, ready to hear what the king had to say.
"It is with great regret that I inform the Earth Council about a new faction that has risen here on Mooreah. Know that this is a radical faction and that I, the king, do not back their beliefs or violence. This faction has become known as the purists. They are a hostile, ignorant group of Drackon that has come to be against the Drackon and the humans mating.
“They are called purists because they have the belief that the Drackon should keep the bloodline pure and only of Drackon blood. Now, as you know, I am a hybrid myself and my mother was a human female, Queen Marissa. I do not hold the same beliefs as the purists and for two years, we have ignored them as a radical group and nothing more.
“Every Drackon is allowed to think freely; they are allowed to mate with Drackon female or human female according to their own wishes. It is not something that our government forces on anyone. But now the small, radical faction of purists has grown and they have grown out of control and have become violent. Therefore, I must inform you that it is not an asteroid field that damaged Captain Ky-Vesa’s ship. In fact, he was engaged in battle against the purists.
“The purists were attacking a cargo bride ship full of human females. They attempted to destroy the ship, but Captain Ky-Vesa stepped in and saved the cargo ship. In doing so, his ship suffered massive damages and your Earth ship rescued his crew. We are in great gratitude for such a rescue."
There was an uproar amongst the councilmembers. Everyone was in shock.
"Quiet! Please! The king is not finished. He still has the floor. We are all in shock and have many questions, but allow the king to finish," Mendez shouted over the council. They grew quiet and sat back in their seats.
"I understand your outrage. I feel it too. But I know that amongst humans, there are groups of terrorists that also try to force their beliefs on to you using violence. That is all this is to us, and we mean to squash it. We apologize in keeping this faction a secret from you, but that was my call. I wanted to squash this radical group and dismantle it without causing any tensions between Earth and Drackon. We value our peace with Earth; I myself am half human. I hope that you will remember that," the king said.
"Thank you for informing us of this radical group faction. What is to be done?" Mendez asked the king.
"I think it would be safer to stop all cargo bride ships until this rebellion of the purist radicals can be squashed. We do not want to put any human females in harm’s way. That being said, I would be much obliged if a ship could be given to Captain Ky-Vesa and his crew in order to return to Mooreah. He is much needed in the oncoming battle against this faction."
"Yes, that can be arranged, and the council will discuss the halt of cargo bride ships and registration of human females. We also have their safety in mind. We do not want to send them into space when they are a target for this new, radical group," Mendez said.
The king continued, "Yes, it is best if—"
BOOM!
The entire building shook under our feet. There was screaming and the lights flickered off and on. I could hear King Caspin Rykor shouting, "What has happened? What was that?"
Everyone was on their feet, running to the large, glass windows overlooking the city. In the distance was a large, black and gray mushroom cloud rising into the sky. It was obvious that a bomb had gone off.
"That is the registration building!" Mendez shouted. I turned and looked at her in shock. Felicity was there. I grabbed Michael, who was clearly shaken, and shouted, "Grab my crew! Tell them their captain has ordered them to fly to the damaged building and help any in need! Go now!" Michael ran out the door as I heard Mendez shouting orders for emergency services to go to the registration building. I stepped back away from everyone and in a flash shifted into dragon form. For a second, everyone turned and stared at me. I had no time to explain as I ran forward and jumped, bursting through the glass window and off the twentieth-story floor, spreading my wings and taking flight towards the destruction, toward Felicity. I had to save her.
Chapter 5
DR. FELICITY MALTRA
After landing on Earth, I was a bit disappointed that Drin did not seek me out to say goodbye. I had grown fond of him after our time together in deep space. But I had matters of my own to attend to, now that we were back. I had to focus on my career and the next move for me now that this research mission had been interrupted.
I met with my superior to let him know I was available for other assignments. I wanted to be on the top of the list, as I did not plan on taking any time off and I needed the distraction. Drin and his brother were very mysterious and I felt like they were hiding something, but I did not know what it could be. Then it hit me: I could find out more if they were registered.
The registration archives contained personal information on each Drackon warrior that was seeking a human female for bride. I had connections inside the registration system and could easily access the database. The more I thought about getting access to Drin’s personal files, the more excited I grew and hastily made my way down the hall after meeting with my superior. That's when I saw him, Drin. Once again, I rambled on, making up excuses in order to get away from him. If I stayed near him any longer, I would probably wind up kissing him and creating a huge mess. And inside the Earth Council building was no place to get caught kissing a Drackon captain when I was trying to be taken seriously as a doctor.
That is how I wound up digging through the Drackon personal files inside the registration building. I scrolled the screen, looking for Captain Ky-Vesa, his brother, or any of his crewmembers. I came up empty with each search that I did. I even searched by year to see if they had been registered in the past, but decided to become unregistered, but again I found nothing. It was actually a little strange considering that most Drackon warriors were registered at one time or another. But these
warriors were not.
"Did you find what you were looking for, Dr. Maltra? The building is closing shortly,” the assistant archivist asked me as she walked over to my workstation.
"No, I did not. Thank you for your help," I said as I got up and moved away from the workstation. Moments later, I was walking out of the front door and across the courtyard. I could not get it out of my mind how mysterious Drin was. He was a captain, after all, and most captains were documented with some information, but I could not find any. Was it because he was a hybrid? A part of me was impressed that he was not registered and wasn't simply looking for a human female to call his own, like some sort of property. I was glad to know that he would not be matched soon with a female. I walked across the courtyard and stopped in my tracks as I realized that maybe he didn't want a human female at all, and I was a human. Why did this bother me?