by Maia Starr
He charged at Sentinel Vuna and my breath caught in my throat as I feared for him. I had only just seen him with my own eyes for the first time and now the captain was going to murder him. The Sentinel flew backwards across the landing point but quickly rebounded and shifted himself into a dragon. It was beautiful. It was magical. It was fucking unbelievable! Then the two went at it, fighting like savage animals. My heart was beating fast as I watched them fight. Part of me was terrified, while the other part was excited and turned on by the event. There was so much primal energy as they attacked each other and I had never seen two dragons go at it. It was fascinating.
But when it was finally all over and the guards pulled the Sentinel off of the captain before he beat him to death, I was in for a very big surprise. The Sentinel sentenced the captain to a prison cell and put him under investigation. But what this meant was that the captain would not be allowed to marry, and just like that in the blink of an eye I was free. I was scared to think that I would be sent back to earth without a proper weredragon to wed. But I was also excited that I was getting a second chance to choose another as a husband.
But when the Land Sentinel called me by my name, I assumed it was because he had seen my photo. The registration office had in fact sent out my choices, the Land Sentinel had seen my photo. I was suddenly happy that he knew my name and what it meant. But when he replied, "How do you know who I am?" I suddenly realized that he did not know me from the registration. He did not know that I had chosen him as my number one choice for a husband. I felt embarrassed and stupid by assuming. I quickly covered my tracks and said, "I heard the others address you just now."
He looked at me suspiciously. He wasn't buying it. But I was not going to tell him that I had chose him as husband, it was too embarrassing to admit it to someone who was obviously angry at me as well.
"Take her to my office and do not leave her unguarded. Sit at her side every second. I will attend her after I have looked over the ship," he said to a guard next to him in a cold manner.
Wait. Was I under arrest to? Did they think I had something to do with whatever captain Mordikye was up to? That was bullshit! Even though technically I was there on an espionage mission of my own, I had not done anything yet. I was completely innocent. But what could I do? I was a human female in an alien world surrounded by alien weredragons. There was nothing I could do. I would be really pissed off if I came this far only to be accused of a crime I did not commit. I had gone through so much just to study the flagion rocks and I wasn't even getting to the point of beginning that mission.
I watched as Sentinel Vuna, the weredragon of my dreams coldy passed me by and walked into the ship. It stung.
"Right this way, Dr. Adams," a guard said as they escorted me down the ramp and across the port landing area. I took this moment to look around at the new planet I would call my temporary home, the planet of Sala. The environment was astonishingly beautiful, better than the photographs I had seen. The sands were a soft yellow that seemed to glow in the light of the sun. Rocky mountains in the distance made my mouth water as a geologist, as I wondered what gem treasures were hiding in there. I had an itch to go dig. The sky was a soft blue and I wondered how many stars you could see out here once the sun went down. Even through all the strange commotion and the unknowing that I was suddenly faced with I was still excited. This was epic. I was in deep space! How cool was that? It was unbelievable for an explorer like me. I had a little kick in my step as I began to think this through as I continued to walk. I smiled. I was actually happy. Then I felt the back of my neck get hot and I turned to look over my shoulder. Sentinel Vuna was staring at me from the top of the ramp of the Beti. I was shocked to see him looking at me. He had passed me by so coldly and I assumed he would be deep in the ship by now and doing his investigations, but instead he was watching me. He was watching me be happy and almost skip across the area. I felt silly but at the same time excited and thrilled that he was watching me.
Moments later I was taken inside of a building that was very technologically advanced. Every thing looked almost the same as it would on Earth, but much more futuristic and progressive. They were definitely an alien race that was more advanced than we were. The door swished open and the guard push me into an office. It looked very familiar to me. It was obviously the office of someone that studied the land. There were projected maps all over the walls. I was in my element. I walked along, excited to be looking at the maps although I could not read them. It was in the Drackon language, but the markings on the map that marked elevation were the same as on earth. I was looking at maps of Sala, until I came to one that was drastically different. It was a map of the area surrounding Cerista on the planet of Mooreah. I was intrigued and I went over it thoroughly, trying to memorize as much of it as I could. I picked out a few areas that seemed to have ravines and could be a good place to hunt for the flagion rocks.
I sat down in front of the map to study it while I waited. I was in the office for a long time and I was tired. After all, I had been on a spaceship for weeks traveling from Earth. I pulled my knees into my chest and wrapped my arms around them and dozed off. I did not know how long I was asleep until I felt a warm hand on my arm nudging me awake.
"Dr. Adams, Dr. Adams, wake up," the voice whispered.
I slowly woke up almost forgetting where I was. I looked up straight into the gorgeous brown eyes of Sentinel Vuna. His gorgeous face and a strong physical form looming over me immediately snapped me back into reality.
"Oh Sentinel Vuna, I am sorry. I am very tired from the journey. I did not mean to doze off. It was my first time traveling into deep space."
"Get the doctor some water," he said to one of his guards who left the office. I stood up and stretched and tried to wake myself up. The Sentinel’s eyes were on me the whole time.
"Sentinel…" I began to say but he interrupted me and said, "Call me Terik."
"Very well… Terik. What is to be done with me? I don't understand what has happened."
"I do not have answers for you yet, but I do have questions," he said as he moved around to his desk and sat behind it.
"All right. Ask me anything you'd like," I said sitting back down in a chair in front of his desk.
"Are you aware of why Captain Mordikye is in trouble?"
"No, only what I vaguely heard when you fought each other. Something about cargo?" I said suddenly realizing that I was under interrogation. I guess I should've expected as much but it was still a bit frightening.
"Yes, that is exactly right. We believe the captain has been smuggling illegal cargo from other planets onto Sala and Mooreah. These are unauthorized deliveries and could be dangerous. He is breaking the law, the Drackon laws. He is under investigation until we figure out the truth."
“That is unbelievable,” I said trying to make myself seem innocent.
"Now tell me. What do you know?" He asked me.
"I don't know anything," I said to him honestly.
"How was it that you were not in the same cargo hold as the other wives?"
"It is sort of a long story," I said to him.
"I am here to listen. I am here to gather the facts. Leave no detail out. If the captain’s story does not match yours then we have a problem," he said sternly.
I began to panic realizing just how serious the situation was. The Land Sentinel thought I had something to do with it, the illegal cargo. The irony was I did have something to do with illegal cargo, but not this particular event with Captain Mordikye. My illegal cargo had yet to be found in the land of Mooreah, excavated, and shipped to Earth. But I should not feel guilty about something I had not done yet. This was about Captain Mordikye and nothing else.
"Water for the female," the guard said as he walked in carrying a large cylinder filled with water and a smaller cup.
"Thank you, I am parched," I said grabbing the cup and filling it with water. The water tasted differently than the water on earth, but in a good way. It was clean and crisp.
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"I'm listening," Terik said.
"I went to the registration building on Earth to be registered. When I arrived I ran into Captain Mordikye in the courtyard of the building. I went inside and registered and made my choices," I said emphasizing the word choices. I did so to see how he would react. Had he received my file? Maybe it would jog his memory that he had seen me before? He only flinched for a second but said nothing so I continued, "After I registered I ran into Captain Mordikye once again in the elevator inside the building. He asked me if I had registered, to which I replied yes. That was the end of our exchange. The very next day I received a call from the registration office letting me know that Captain Mordikye had picked me and was a match."
"A match? Meaning he was one of your choices?" Terik asked me.
"Yes, Captain Mordikye was one of my choices. I made three choices that day," I said to him, once again trying to get a rise out of him.
“Continue," he said.
"With such a quick match combined with the fact that Captain Mordikye was on Earth and I had already met him, I accepted his offer and was on his ship when he departed, destined to be his wife."
"So on Earth the only contact you had with the captain was at the registration office? You never met with him or any of his constituents before that?"
"No, I had never met him before or even knew of him until that day. Now I am here with you," I said to him.
"Did anything unusual happen while you were on the ship with the captain on your travels to Sala?" He asked me.
"Yes, it did," I said to him. He looked up at me in shock. I don't think he was expecting me to be so cooperative in his investigation. But I had to protect myself. I had no loyalty to Captain Mordikye and I was not going to let his illegal involvements stop my own mission. It seemed that we were going to be unable to marry anyway.
"Go on," he said to me.
"I would like to, but I am scared. What if what I tell you makes Captain Mordikye very angry and he tries to punish me for it? He is supposed to be my husband soon," I said to him.
"Dr. Adriana Adams, I offer you complete protection as long as you tell the truth. You will be under the direct protection of the king, and there is no reason to suspect that Captain Mordikye would ever find out that you have told me anything," he said.
"You promise the protection?" I asked him.
"I promise on my honor," he said, sitting up straight and in a regal manner. It was quite adorable.
"Very well, I was having a moment with the captain on the ship," I began to say but was quickly interrupted.
"Moment? What sort of moment?" He asked.
I smiled and felt my face blush, "Kissing, we were kissing and in a passionate embrace."
"Did you couple with Captain Mordikye while on your trip?" He flat out asked.
I gasped, "I don't see how that is any of your business," I said angrily.
"It will be the king’s business if you are carrying the captain’s offspring," he said sternly and with the tone of jealousy.
I sighed, "No, I did not couple with the captain."
He sighed in relief and then continued, "Continue with your story."
"The captain and I were interrupted when his lieutenant came in and mentioned something about all the cargo ships being checked on Sala. The captain seemed to panic and he sent me away to my living quarters. That is all. I didn't see him after that. I assumed he was very busy, and it seemed to take longer than expected to arrive on Sala."
Terik stood up from his desk and paced back-and-forth. He was thinking. Then he said, "And that was it? You didn't notice anything else unusual? Did you notice any large cargo being carried on the ship?"
"No, I did not wander around the ship. I mostly spent my time in my living quarters, visiting some of the other females in the cargo rooms, and having meals with them. Those are the only areas of the ship that I was in. Plus I don't think I would know what was unusual; I am not Drackon. I do not know what would be unusual to you. I am a human female, remember?"
"How could I forget," he said very quickly as he stared at me. Then he quickly recovered and returned back into an official tone.
I was tired of this game with him. I wanted to tell him that I had chosen him as my number one choice for husband, but I could not get the words out. I wanted him to know because I did not know what was going to happen now and I didn’t want to be sent back to Earth. But my pride was keeping me from saying it out loud. He was being such an ass to me. I did not want to give him the satisfaction of knowing that I had wanted him above the captain.
"Very well, Dr. Adams, that is all for now. I will fetch you if we have more questions. I am very busy. I will have my assistant show you to your living quarters," he said as he pushed a button and said, "Send in Luqan."
"What is to be done with me? If Captain Mordikye is sent to prison forever, what is to be done with me?" I asked.
"You will be sent back to Earth," he said matter of fact.
I gasped. That was unfair. I could not let that happen. "But that is so unfair! It is no fault of mine that my match ended up being a criminal. I should be able to choose another. That is what would happen if I were still on Earth. I really had my heart set on seeing Mooreah," I said standing up and getting in his face, but the Drackon warrior towered over me. I tilted my head back trying to still be stern but it was hard when he was so tall.
"Why is it so important to you to see Mooreah?" He asked looking down at me.
"Back on Earth, I am a geologist. I am a lover of the land and I like to study it. I had my heart set on seeing the land of a different planet. It would be very exciting for me, and now you are robbing me of that experience for something that I had no control over," I said to him.
"I am sorry Dr. Adams. But that is the law; you will be sent back to Earth. There's nothing I can do about that. We follow the laws here, the strict Drackon laws. Unlike Captain Mordikye, who seems to make up his own laws. There is nothing I can do for you. It is likely that Captain Mordikye will be persecuted for his crimes, and you will be left without a match and sent back to Earth," he said to me.
"You called for me?” A tall Drackon female with long blonde hair and cat like sea green eyes entered. It was the first Drackon female I had ever seen. So far in walking around the planet of Sala, I had only seen Drackon warriors. She was stunning. I was envious, who was she?
"Yes, Luqan. This is Dr. Adams, the match to Captain Mordikye. See her to the red room living quarters. That is where she will stay until this is sorted. Give her anything she needs and show her the way of the quarters."
The female turned and got a good look at me. Her eyes widened with shock. Then she looked back at Terik. What the hell was going on here?
"This is Dr. Adams? But… How is that possible when earlier we…" She began to say.
"Say nothing more of that. Do you hear me?" Terik said to her sternly. She quickly closed her gaping mouth and followed orders and said, "Understood. Dr. Adams, if you will follow me."
I looked at Terik and he quickly looked away from me. Why was he avoiding me? I followed the female Drackon out of the office but as I did I turned over my shoulder and said, "Thank you, Sentinel Vuna, for your hospitality."
Then I walked out. I followed the Drackon female quietly until we had moved down three different hallways away from Terik’s office. Then I finally said, "Are you going to tell me what that was all about?"
She smiled and said, "No, I'm sorry, but I'm not at liberty to say."
"Alright, I guess I will have to accept that. I have not seen a female Drackon before. Do you work for the Sentinel?"
"Yes, I am his assistant. You may call me Luqan," she said.
"Assistant? So you must handle a lot of his affairs, especially intimate ones. Did you know that today is not the first time I have seen Sentinel Vuna?" I said, trying to get information out of her.
"Oh, is that so?" She said as she pressed her hand against the wall and a door opened. I followed her ins
ide.
"Yes, I saw his photo at the registration office. I put him down as one of my choices for a match. In fact, I put him down as my number one choice, but it didn't exactly work out under the circumstances with Captain Mordikye."
Luqan turned to me and smiled a big grin, and said nothing more of the matter. Instead she began to give me a tour of the living quarters, which were a lot like my living quarters on the ship. "Here is what you humans call the kitchen, there's fresh food and water to drink. Over there on the other side of that half wall is a resting bed. And through the door is a private washroom facilities. Here on this panel is a communication line that will connect you with an operator. If you ask the operator for me, Luqan, I will get in touch with you shortly after. Have a good rest, you must be very exhausted after such an intense trip with Captain Mordikye. I know how intense he can be," she said with a mysterious smile as she left the room.