by T. S. Ryder
Libba spat at him. The glob of moisture fell back onto her own forehead as everything went black.
Chapter Two
"Stealth shields are up."
Brask nodded at his pilot and best friend, Biryl, to acknowledge that he had heard him. Their small ship was especially designed for these raids. Usually, it was used in attacks sanctioned by the Justice Board, but when it came to Science Alpha Din, nobody dared touch him. His mother, Nylæq, was one of the most powerful dragonesses on Bronæl, with half the Science Board, not to mention the other boards, in her pocket and the largest privately-owned fleet of ships at her disposal.
Everybody knew that Din practiced unethical scientific experiments, but every attempt to imprison him for his blasphemy was frustrated. His mother was too powerful and used a variety of means to ensure that her son escaped justice.
And so Brask had no choice but to step outside of the law himself. Din's horrendous experiments on non-sentient beings were bad enough, as they were unable to give their consent to his methods, but he had crossed a line now. There were newly-formed laws to prevent the abduction of human females from their planet, yet here Din was, kidnapping one for his twisted experiments.
Humans were sentient. They could understand and protest against the experiments he intended to perform. The Creator only knew that Din would enjoy every scream, every plea for mercy. It made Brask's fires burn so hot they scorched his throat.
Brask's informant had told him that the human on Din’s ship was going to be disintegrated and her DNA injected into Din's crew and sold on the black market. It left the fires in his belly nothing more than coal. What sort of depraved Stlozyn couldn’t wait a year or two for an ethical cure? If he had his way, they'd all be stripped of rank and set under the supervision of the Sanitation Board, cleaning sewers and sweeping streets.
"Bring us in close," he ordered Biryl. "I'll have to jump across."
"I still think you should have brought more of a crew," Biryl grumbled, steering the little ship in closer to Din's. "Look at that thing. If we make it out of this alive, I might just start believing in that Creator of yours."
"You won't and you know it," Brask replied, lightly punching his friend's arm. "You'll still believe the atoms of the universe exist by chance."
Biryl shrugged.
Din's vessel was a huge, intimidating vessel armed with all the latest weaponry, big enough to pull a small asteroid off its course. It was unthinkable that a science vessel should be armed like a warship. Weapons were for guards and Justice Keepers, not scientists. Certainly not scientists who flaunted the blasphemous unethical practices Din employed. If it were not against the Warrior's Code, Brask would have killed the dragon long ago and submitted himself to the Justice Board. But he was physically superior to Din, and to kill him without direct provocation would be just as bad as the experiments the Science Alpha performed.
"I still say you should have brought more of a crew."
"The fewer involved, the fewer imprisoned if Din stops us. Or killed, depending on his mood." Brask scowled. "Open the cargo door on my mark."
Biryl nodded. Brask walked to the cargo bay, sealing himself in to prevent the vacuum from ripping Biryl from the pilot's chair. He took a moment to compose himself before he let his beast transform him. His body lengthened, the tiny scales that covered him grew bigger and thicker and his mouth filled with razor-sharp teeth. Wings sprouted from his back and a tail ending in five barbs stretched out behind his body.
Once the transformation was complete, he let out a short barking sound, knowing it would travel through the ship. Sure enough, the doors opened seconds later.
The vacuum of space hit Brask hard, knocking the breath from his lungs. His fires burned hotter to counteract the cold that had already frosted over his eyes. He pressed his wings against his back, streamlining himself. The force of being sucked from the cargo bay was enough to shoot him directly onto the hull of the science vessel they hovered over. He latched on with his claws, knowing he had only seconds to get out of the nothingness that was stealing his life even as he scrambled along the ship's hull.
Brask quickly found an exhaust port. They were made big enough for a person to slip inside to clean off the internal residue, and the Justice Warrior was just able to squeeze himself in. Though air brushed against his face and his lungs begged him to inhale, he resisted the urge. These emissions were the only ones that could not be broken back into their atomic level and restructured into useful gasses; to breathe this air would mean instant death.
He made his way through the ventilation shafts, taking the route he had memorized before he started this venture. His scales were steaming from the toxic gasses by the time he got to the filters. He tore through them and into the ship. Alarms were ringing, and he hoped they were because of the distraction his informant was meant to cause.
Thirty seconds to get to the human, he thought, moving to the door.
He didn't bother to suppress his beast. He could move quicker this way, and if he ended up in a fight, his thick scales and ability to breathe fire would give him an advantage over the energy weapons the scientists would use against him.
Unless they had cannons. But then, if that was the case he would be reduced to organic waste no matter which form he took.
It was a sign of Din's arrogance that there were no guards patrolling the halls, and no one challenged Brask as he made his way to the human’s holding cell. It was locked with a passcode, but no matter. The Justice Warrior grinned as he charged the door, the metal screeching as it crumpled.
The human female screamed when she saw him. He let out a puff of smoke, tinging it green to show that he meant her no harm, and reached out for her. They had to move quickly if they were going to get away before Din discovered the intrusion.
To his surprise, the female dodged his outstretched hand and swung her fists–dark purple with bruises, covered in dried blood–at him. Brask pulled back, making an annoyed noise in his throat. He hadn't counted on this. Did she want to stay on this hellish ship to be dissolved for her DNA?
One of the fists came at his eye and Brask didn't turn away soon enough. Pain lanced through the delicate orb, shooting back through the optic nerves into his brain. The dragon reeled back instinctively, sweeping a wing at the human as her fists continued to rain on his feet. She fell to the floor, letting out a pained grunt.
"Touch me and die!" she screamed, getting back to her feet at once. She darted past Brask into the hall.
Belatedly, the Justice Warrior realized that she didn't know he was there to rescue her. But they had already wasted precious time, and he couldn't transform and explain the situation to her. Whirling, he caught the back of her clothing in his teeth and hoisted her from the ground. She screeched, writhing every which way like a feral beast. When he wrapped her in a wing, securing her arms and legs, she bit him.
Creator help him, she actually bit him.
He felt the pressure of her teeth clamp on his wing, but the skin was too thick and her teeth too blunt to cause any pain. Brask shook his head as he started back down the corridor. The human had courage in her, that was for sure!
"I'll kill you," she screamed again. "I swear to God I will kill you!"
The invocation of a deity had his heart leaping, but Brask tucked the human closer to his body and ignored her continued spitting. Now she was screaming profanities, strings of curse words that he had never heard before. The fury in her voice let him know exactly what she thought of him, though. He darted through the corridors, fanning the fires in his belly in case he came across an enemy.
He did, but only once, a dragoness who nodded and stepped aside when he growled at her. Her gaze was on the human–clearly, she was a member of Din's crew who did not accept his blasphemies.
They were at the escape pod within a few minutes, but already they were running five seconds behind. That was not good. His informant, Trafin, a tiny, purple-scaled dragoness, was already there, firing up the cont
rols. There was hardly enough room for Brask in his beast's form, but he managed to squeeze in and hit the control to shut the door after them.
"Let me go, you freaking dragon!" The human was kicking again, making her hard to hold.
"Relax," Trafin said over her shoulder, as she piloted the escape pod away from the science vessel. "We're rescuing you."
Her assurances did nothing to calm the human down.
***
In the end, the human needed to be sedated in order to prevent her from harming herself further. Brask stood outside the medical bay, watching her sleep. He was fascinated by how soft and fragile she looked. She was plump like a baby, her skin smooth without the protection of scales. And yet she had fought tooth and nail against the perceived threat. He liked that.
He liked that a lot.
Biryl stepped up beside him, handing him a tablet with an attached infolink. The infolink, a spike that was inserted directly into the brain for information upload, was the most efficient way of transferring data, but Brask didn't use it unless he needed to. His brain wasn't able to handle the influx of information well. He preferred to process data as it came, rather than receive it all at once and have to sort through it to find what was relevant.
"Bruised knuckles, fractured phalanges." Brask shook his head. "And all self-inflicted. She must have been beating the walls trying to escape. I'd like to sever Din's head from his shoulders for this. The man has no respect for science or life."
Biryl grunted in agreement. "We've already healed her injuries. The real question is what we're going to do with her now. She was illegally abducted from Earth, but we illegally retrieved her. And with his mother at his back, Din might just get her back if we give her to the Science Board."
"It's illegal not to." Brask clenched his fists, welcoming the hot flood of anger in his belly. It was the reason he had chosen to go into Justice rather than Science. He was always deemed too emotional, but when it came to Justice, emotion gave him his strength.
"We are Justice Keepers, it's our duty to uphold the law." Biryl put a hand on his shoulder. "With the new members on the Science Board, maybe Nylæq won't have the influence to return the human to Din."
"We are Justice Keepers. But do we obey the word or the spirit of Justice?" Brask sighed, his shoulders slumping. "I am going to cleanse. I can feel the toxins from that exhaust still in my pores. Inform me when the human wakes. I want to talk with her myself."
Biryl nodded. "I will."
Brask turned away, his limbs feeling heavy. There was only one legal way to keep the human with them–but was it something she would agree to? And even if she did, could he do it in good conscience, knowing that she would be agreeing only because she feared for her life?
Creator, he prayed, let me know what I should do.
Chapter Three
The door opened and Libba went to smooth her hair before she remembered she had shaved her head on the anniversary of her best friend dying of cancer. Before she had donated it all, her hair had been long enough to touch her ass. But hair grew back, and honestly, other people needed it more than she did.
The alien who stepped into the room was bigger than the other one, Din, had been. He was taller, broader, more muscular. Like Din, his skin was covered in tiny scales, each one catching the light and reflecting it back. Instead of Din's orange, though, this alien was a silver-blue color, which made the red of his eyes all the bolder. A terrifying sight, even though there was something relaxed about him that made him not nearly as frightening as the other one.
She shivered at the thought of Din. Would this new alien want to kill her for her DNA too? At least her hands were healed, so she could fight him off a little more effectively. At least she hoped she could.
"Hello. My name is Brask." The alien bowed. "I apologize for frightening you before, but we had limited time to escape from Din's ship and I couldn't take the time to explain."
Libba nodded, swallowing hard. She thought she had best not get her rescuer angry. Although she had a sense that he wasn't going to be angry with her anyway. Even though her mind screamed at her to take this alien as a threat, just like the other one, her gut instinct said she could trust him.
"Thank you. For rescuing me. I didn't expect…" What was she supposed to do now? She swallowed again. When she returned to Earth, she needed as much information as she could to tell the government about these shapeshifting dragons. "So tell me about yourself. Your people. Stlozyn, right?"
"That is correct. Our ancestors were taken from Earth hundreds of years ago and genetically modified to be soldiers. Hence our differences."
"Our differences as in you're covered with scales and can turn into dragons?"
Brask's brow furrowed. He opened his mouth and Libba shook her head.
"Right, you call yourselves dragons and dragonesses instead of men and women. The… animal form that you can take, it looks like the dragons in human stories."
"Ah. I see. Yes, I suppose that is the largest difference." He smiled. It was a startlingly charming smile.
Libba was surprised to feel her heart flip-flop at the sight. What the hell? He was an alien. Why was she reacting like this?
She cleared her throat. "So, you're going to take me home now, right?"
His smile faded. "I'm afraid I can't do that."
Libba bristled. "Why not? You're not planning on using my DNA to cure your fertility problems or whatnot, are you? Because I am telling you right now, if you try to hurt me, I will kill you."
She tried to sound more confident than she felt. Because, really, how was she supposed to even defend herself against a freaking dragon, let alone kill him? Clearly, her threats were amusing, because the smile came back full force. A gleam appeared in his red eyes. It was almost admiring. Why would he be admiring her?
"There was a discussion when human females began to be abducted from Earth about returning them. It was decided that it would be best for the females and Stlozyn both if they were given a place among our people, instead of being returned."
"Better for us? How the hell do you figure?"
"We have done research on Earth, and observed humans. The existence of life beyond Earth is sneered at in most cases. If you returned to your home and said that you had been to the stars, how do you think people would react?"
Libba scowled. She'd be put in a white padded cell. So much for collecting information for the government. "And better for you?"
"Because some people would assume we were wanting to invade. They'd seek out our scientists and…" Another grin, this one sardonic. "I have seen ET."
"Really?" Libba couldn't help but laugh. "You mean the movie by Steven Spielberg?"
Brask nodded. "It was part of my training when I served as a protective detail for a group of anthropologists. There is a certain risk that the human government would react negatively to our presence. And so it was declared illegal for humans to be returned to Earth. You have my sincere apologies, human."
"My name is Libba."
"Libba. If it were up to me you would all be returned. But I am unwilling to be branded a criminal. Not when I have so many plans."
He sounded sincere. Libba ran a hand over her bald head again. "What plans?"
"Nothing nefarious. It's a little difficult to explain if you don't know our culture."
"You're run by some sort of science board thing. You guys had some sort of plague that was making you infertile. What else do I need to know?"
Brask laughed softly. "Sit down. This is going to take a little bit of discussion."
Libba glared at him, but when he sat on one end of the bed, she sat on the other and folded her arms. "Okay. So explain."
"Our government is composed of various boards. The Science Board is our highest level, but we also have the Justice Board, the Agricultural Board and other boards that oversee various systems. The Science Board is the highest because science gets into every other field."
Libba nodded. So far so clear. "So a
re you a Science Alpha like that other dude was? Commander of the ship and all that?"
"I'm not a scientist. I'm a Justice Warrior. It's a rank of Justice Keeper. I'll admit I'm not very familiar with Earth, but I do know you have a military. I would be something like a colonel in your army." Brask settled back, giving her another smile. "Scientists are the highest citizens in Stlozyn culture. The pursuit of knowledge is considered the greatest of all occupations, but not everybody is considered worthy enough to go into the sciences. Me, for instance. I'm too emotional, too… some would say I don't have a rigorous enough mind."
He shifted, seemingly embarrassed, though there was no change in skin color to indicate if he was blushing. Did aliens even blush?
"You see, I'm a follower of the Creator."
Libba frowned. She thought for a moment, tapping her feet. "You mean you're religious?"
"Yes." He nodded, leaning closer. "Religion is not looked upon kindly on Bronæl."
"Bron—"
"The name of our home planet. I hope to create a colony away from Bronæl with an independent government that is welcoming for individuals with beliefs that can't be proven by science."
Libba was an atheist herself, but she respected the desire to live life within a belief system, so long as it didn't infringe on the rights of others. She'd fight for other people's right to believe as much as she'd fight for her own right not to believe. As for Brask's situation, she thought she understood. "And you have to have the respect of the Science Board in order to start a colony?"
Brask nodded.
So he couldn’t take her home without being a criminal and losing his chance at starting up this colony of his. Libba turned her face away, hiding the tears that stung her eyes. She was not going to cry in front of an alien, even if he had rescued her.
"So what happens to me now?" she asked.