Guttural voices echoed down the massive corridors and bounced off the stony walls in what appeared to be the waiting room that opened up tremendously from the abnormally large umbilical behind him. Several dragons, some in armour similar to the two dragon escorts stood still while talking to each other, then their conversations fell silent as they turned to look and occasionally point at the trio of visitors as though they had never seen a human or a Naga before.
The two escorts led them towards a series of wide convex slabs of concrete that rested in the centre of the room, when Alex looked to his left he could see another three concrete slabs lined up in a row. One dragon was resting on the concrete slab with their four limbs and wings limply hanging off the sides and touching the floor. As Alex got close, he could see that the concrete was not a solid grey colour but instead had flecks of glossy black embedded in the smooth surface.
“Sit.” The escort said.
Not going to offer us drinks, show us where the bathroom’s are? I see we are in the presence of Draconic hospitality at its apex.
Silas slithered close to the concrete structure and slowly leaned back on it. Clemens jumped up on top and then layed flatly on his belly with his head sticking over the elevated edge and his chin resting on top of his crossed arms. Alex took too long to comply before the Dragon that had bothered speaking to them turned around and crept forward until the green lighting of its helmet almost blinded Alex.
“Sit.” It said again forcefully.
Alex quickly sat down on the edge without taking his gaze off the helmeted escort.
“Stay.” It said in its modulated staticky voice.
“We’re not dogs, we are Alliance Naval personnel who just saw some horrific, messed up shit before seeing my ship blow up!” Alex spouted angrier than he intended.
“Do not exaggerate.” It said unfazed by Alex’s outburst.
It was the wrong thing for Alex to focus on but he couldn’t help noticing the strange accent being noticeable as it finished its sentence. The dragon walked off while the one that hadn’t said a word to them stood guard and watched them.
Facing the way they came in, Alex saw his yacht in full view from the observation windows in front of him. A gentle hum vibrated through the walls and floor around them that had Alex looking around the cavernous room searching for the source of the noise, he found his answer just out of sight from where he sat as he got up and approached the window. Below, the gap that showed nothing but the stars beneath slowly closed up with large hangar doors slowly moving closer together until they finally connected with a muffled thump that could be felt through the floor.
Shortly after the armoured dragon returned with three others close behind it; the three new dragons wore white garments that hugged their body closely, satchels filled with tools and equipment hung limp on both their sides with a red cross marked on the outside of the satchel.
As they approached, the trio of medical dragons continued to march onward into the umbilical followed by the guard that had watched them. Then the guard that had left them tilted its head down at Alex.
“All three, come.”
“Hold on a second, buddy.” Alex said, standing up from the concrete bench. “We are not going anywhere without our doctor and transmutated crewman.”
“Besides, where are you planning to take us?” Silas said.
“Hopefully not from behind.” Clemens added, giggling.
Silas leaned backwards to be face to face with Clemens and raised his hand up with his fingers outstretched. Non-verbally Clemens thrusted his open hand forward creating a thundering clap sound behind Alex who wore a face of repressed annoyance.
I’ll give him this, he’s quick… the moron.
The dragon then shook its head and even through its fuzzy, modulated voice, it still sounded deeply annoyed as it maintained its professionalism. “You will be taken to join with the others we have rescued. The Zhol’yat and your doctor will be taken to the sick bay where superior equipment and professionals await them.”
That statement made Alex chuckle slightly as a grin crept along his face. Sure he thought Liyurch wasn’t the most professional acting or even the most experienced Doctor in the Navy, but the kid knew his stuff. Alex knew that if he needed emergency surgery or treatment for pain he knew the right doctor to speak to. He then took two steps towards the Draconic Marine and placed his hand on the shoulder plate of its forearm.
“Trust me when I say this, buddy. Doctor Grayich is by far the most exceptional doctor I have seen, nobody is in better hands… er, well claws, than his once he is inside your infirmary.”
Then the Marine cocked his head backwards in a sudden burst of motion. Alex also noticed the other Marine turning his head towards Alex. This was rather strange, Alex told himself. Just a minute ago they seemed so stoic and uninterested and now it’s like he got their attention.
“Kholohst diz re’kar Grayich?” The marine that stood silent finally said towards their more vocal colleague.
“Khaa, u diz re’kar Grayich.”
Alex looked behind him to see Silas and Clemens looking at him confused, possibly hoping that Alex would have answers as to what they were saying in what he presumed to be Draconic. The duo continued to converse in draconic with short responses for a brief moment before they were interrupted by Clemens shouting to get their attention while snapping his fingers.
“Hey! Any reason why you two got so chatty?”
“We were not aware Fleet Admiral’s son was onboard.” One of the marines said. Alex lost track which one spoke more and which one remained silent up until now. Then they both turned to face Alex at the same time with their expressionless helmets and said. “If you are his commanding officer then we will guard you with our lives.”
He must have meant Liyurch’s commanding officer. Alex told himself.
“You weren’t going to do that before?” Silas said with a raised eyeridge.
“Come.” One of the marines said, gesturing with his right foreclaw.
The trio followed their marine escort out of the waiting room and down the massive corridors that filled the ship. Each step they took bounced off the walls and reverberated around to sound louder than it should have been. Twenty steps out of the waiting room took them to a four way intersection, Alex took notice of a strange block that looked like an upside down pyramid with four faces hanging from the ceiling. Each face had an illuminated background with untranslatable clawscript written in black with arrows pointing in the three opposing directions they were facing. One marine continued straight forward however the second one stopped in the middle of the corridor and held his claws out to stop Alex from moving further, its fingers were spread out across his belly and even underneath its armour he could feel how the power their own fingers held and just how dangerous a dragon was outside of its armour as it was inside one.
It then jerked its head towards the left and gestured for Alex to follow.
“Where are you taking me?” he demanded.
But instead the marine ignored him and continued to walk down the lengthy corridor, occasionally turning its head in the direction of the nearest speakerphone that blared an announcement which echoed throughout the halls. Alex called out to it again and was met with no visible response. Instead it continued to march forward with its tail stiffly swinging behind it. Finally Alex did something that was probably considered stupid in hindsight and instead grabbed the tip of the Dragon’s tail and tugged on it at the same time he stopped blindly following it and this time Alex was able to evoke a response from it.
Despite the dragon’s size and its bulky vacuum proof armour it was still able to swing its whole body around with such deftness that the Alex suddenly found himself staring at the bright green bars of light that he assumed provided visual output for the face underneath all that armour. But instead of showing fear or apologising he instead focused on breathing steadily.
“Where are we going!?”
The dragon continued to look down at Alex and its chest suddenly puffed up and deflated in what sounded like a sigh of defeat through its vocal modulator.
“Ship Master Armadra wishes to speak with you in his private chambers.” Then it spun back around and marched onward.
The dragon had led Alex through the massive corridors and up a winding set of large stairs that took Alex nearly three steps to cross before ascending up the next one. Once at the top of the staircase the duo turned left and a massive door with clawscript written on the panel was boldly displayed stood before them. The dragon then walked towards a small terminal situated next to the door frame and spoke softly into it, the door opened with a loud clunk followed by a sharp hiss of compressed air being expelled as the metal frame slid into the walls of the ship.
The first thing Alex took note when the door slid past him was the strong yet not overpowering scent of vanilla and incense hitting him like a wave as it escaped into the corridor. The room the smell came from was larger than the hangars on the Phoenix and bathed in deep harvest gold colours that seemed quite easy on Alex’s eyes with the front room square shaped while in the back connected via an open frame a dome shaped room at the back. It took the human a moment to notice the absence of the floor through the comforting levels of golden light bathing the walls and the mist that covered the floor. The mist seemed motionless inside the chambers, hardly moving yet occupying every inch of floor space inside. On the door’s threshold, the mist gently crept out into the corridor as though it had found new ground for it to cover. The dragon standing next to the door frame stared at Alex.
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.
“Ship Master Armadra is waiting for you.”
Once inside the large room, Alex’s nose became dull to the smell of vanilla and incense, everywhere he looked he only saw shapes bathed in comforting golden light. However what drew Alex’s attention was the wall of holographic shapes and images flickering between him and the domed room beyond it, he could see something move beyond it but he was not sure if there was something behind the holograms or just the imagery messing with his sense of perception. Slowly Alex crept close to it, still the shapes continued to move and confuse him as languages that were more likely Draconic than not were speaking in tune with the mouths of depictions of people displayed in the holographic screen then a large dragon’s head poked out through the veil of photonic energy suspended in the air, startling the human.
“Ahh, you must be the captain of the ill-fated Phoenix.” The dragon cooed in its deep voice.
“That’s correct.” Alex said, regaining his posture. “My name is Captain Alexander Rowan of the U.T.S.S Phoenix.” He proudly beamed.
The dragon cocked his head to the side as though he was amused. Then the Ship Master disabled the wall of holograms which blinked out of existence to show a large bed occupying the majority of the dome room. Armadra then climbed up into it then sprawled himself across the surface with his wings stretched out.
“My full name is Ship Master Lyrus Armadra and I welcome you and your crew to my vessel; the Galaxius Mons.” Lyrus spoke with pride. “We have contacted Alliance navy and they will be sending a ship to meet with us to take your crew back to Terra. In the meantime Captain Rowan, you and your crew are free to make use of our recreational facilities and our oxygen factory is open to you as well. But I only ask that your crew make no attempt to access restricted facilities such as the engine room or the Bridge.”
Alex then shifted his posture with his hands firmly clasped together behind his back while he listened to Lyrus speak.
His only term and condition for his hospitality seemed reasonable enough for Alex to agree to them without a second thought. Then again, beggars couldn’t be choosers especially with who rescued them, it was the least he could do to repay the dragon.
“I understand you have rescued as much of my crew as you could and for that I am thankful.” Alex continued. “If it is okay with you Ship Master, I think it might be best that I see my crew. Help bolster their morale and spirits.” Alex said.
He was just about to turn around when he heard the Dragon clear his throat in an attempt to capture Alex’s attention. And while it did work, he then remembered that he did not know the layout of this ship and he had no way of knowing where his crew was situated.
“I do have one other request.” Lyrus added with a singular raised talon for emphasis. “I ask that you join me for dinner tonight so we can be better acquainted.”
Alex let out a dry chuckle. “Sure thing, Ship Master. May I?” Alex gestured to the door.
“Please… Allow me. Officer Ortiss!” the dragon suddenly shouted.
His voice thundered with such ferocity that it nearly made Alex jump out of his skin as though he had done something wrong and was getting the full scope of a Dragons vocal capability being used in a disciplinary fashion before Alex then realised he was calling out to the marine that had brought him here. Sure enough, Alex was right when he saw the armoured dragon walk past him and then kneel in front of Lyrus.
“Officer,” The dragon said with a much gentler voice. “While the crew we rescued are all guests to our hospitality, Captain Rowan here is my guest of honour. As such I expect you to follow him at all times and assist him with whatever he requires of you. Save for entering the bridge or engine room.”
Did he just assign me a babysitter disguised as a personal assistant? Alex couldn’t decide if he was supposed to feel flattered or insulted. Sure he was a guest aboard a Dragon warship but there was hardly a need to keep a personal eye on him. Clemens on the other hand, definitely would warrant someone to watch him. Perhaps there was a hidden benefit to this that Lyrus hadn’t factored in. Alex gazed at the resting dragon sprawled all over the bed with his limbs, wings and tail spread out among the surface and could see behind the nictitating membrane that he had a calculating and well planned mind. He seemed to be genuine and not as full of himself as most dragons tend to be and that was good enough for Alex.
Alex then bowed respectfully to the dragon and walked back out of the Ship master’s personal chambers. Once they had left Armadra alone, he then turned to face his dragon escort.
“Ortiss, correct?” He asked into the blank expressionless helmet.
“Yes sir,” Ortiss nodded. “Second lieutenant Ortiss.” The dragon said, pronouncing their rank as ‘left-tenant’. Knowing its name, Alex still was unable to tell if the dragon was male or female behind that staticky modulated voice.
“I wish to assemble my crew and speak to them, could you take me to them?”
Ortiss nodded again.
“I can have security officers round them in the Guest Barracks so you may see all of your crew.” Ortiss said while reaching for the wrist pad on its left foreleg.
Then the dragon disabled its external speaker. Alex could hear muffled draconic speech coming from inside the helmet. Not enough for him to make out any particular word but he could hear speech followed by short pauses every now and then. He also noticed the Dragon’s head move as it spoke as evidenced by the occasional bobs and sharp swings from side to side.
“My comrades are beginning to locate your crew and localise them into one area.”
“Since we are going to be spending time together Ortiss, I don’t suppose you care to show me your face so I am not conversing with your helmet?”
The dragon remained still. Not saying a word, not even a claw twitch.
“… I prefer to keep my helmet on.” Ortiss finally said.
Shortly after, Ortiss had led Alex starboard bound through the massive corridors of the Galaxius. One feature that seemed to have stood out more than anything to him was that some of the corridors that he went through rarely had steps leading down to the decks below. Apart from the massive winding steps that led to Armadra’s personal chambers, there were no others to be found on the Galaxius. As time and distance travelled wore on, it became ever clearer to Alex that the only method of traversing the vessel horizontally came from the massive freight elevators that seemed to be hundred metres apart from each other on all sides. But perhaps the more eye-catching features that took Alex both surprised and stumped him were the ramps that existed in some sections. Long straight corridors that ran adjacent to existing corridors sharing a thick wall of hull plating gradually inclining up or down for nearly fifty metres before curving itself to continue sloping to the deck above or below.
Then the Draconic Marine led Alex down one such slope after passing two others in the otherwise flat corridor. After descending down two decks, a curious series of thoughts came to Alex that he did not know about Draconic Architecture. And so, he asked Ortiss about the dimensions of the Galaxius. Alex hoped to get a better understanding of the vessel's structure to give him a better idea of just how large the ship truly was.
“The Galaxius Mons is constructed from the same template as all other Prodromus Class vessels. Eight point fourteen kilometres from bow to stern; that does not include the fore blades in the extended position.” Ortiss was quick to answer the question.
Even through the muffled modulator, the sound of Draconic pride and smugness could still be heard. Alex assumed their smugness was so strong it couldn’t be filtered out by electronic means.
“All Prodromus Class ships are equipped with a oxygen factory which is included due in part of Draconic philosophy. It is a large hollowed out area located in the aft section, situated just before the main engine room which you will see eventually. It has many large trees derived European forests on Terra.” Ortiss continued to speak.
“The Prodromus Class sports a series of Uzh’koht engines for its primary means of propulsion and twelve Type-three plasma pulse engines for more minute course corrections.” Ortiss continued to drone on.
Alex was led down another two decks and then they turned left at the clearing, walking down the long straight corridor. Every dozen metres or so, the corridor sported what Alex deducted to be support frames for the ship’s internal infrastructure; the beams on opposing ends were connected by a third that seemed to be glued to the ceiling.
Ortiss pressed their palm on the scanner to open the door next to it. Similarly to Armadra’s personal chambers the door let out a series of alert beeps followed by muffled clunks coming from within the walls and sharp hisses before sliding itself into the wall and leaving behind a series of scratches in the metal work. Past the threshold, Alex saw his crew assembled in a large atrium while four other dragon marines surrounded the displaced crew. Their intimidating posture and positions almost looked like they had herded his crew to this location rather than escorting them. His attention was immediately drawn by the large marble podium in the centre of the room with a large dragon regally posing with its left leg raised and brought close to its body.
The statue’s body was smooth and lacking any specific detail such as scale patterns or discernible markings. However, the sculpture’s head seemed to have gotten more care and precision as each muscle and tendon on its snout was painstakingly made to make the face recognisable from a distance. Alex didn’t need to read the commemorative plaque underneath to know that this dragon was none other than Robert McKenzie. Or at least that was his human name.
The dragon whose actions helped shape the world and created a better future for all Terrans. The dragon who stood bold and true in front of man’s unsuspecting leaders and begged the question “is there a future we can co-exist?”
The entire Alliance regarded him with reverence as the founding father of modern society. The man, the dragon who chose to forge a better destiny with his own claws and went out and did it. But to the Dragons, their idolatry of the man went beyond what many in the Alliance was willing to do. He was seen as something they aimed to strive for, to meet his standards.
He was the first modern Dragon hero.
When Alex stepped into the large room which he realised was an unusually large four-way corridor junction with the other three exits sealed and pieces of art decorating the interior of the large battleship. The crew immediately snapped to attention when he entered the room and he responded with a crisp sharp salute.
“At ease!” He shouted.
The crew then rested their posture and spread their legs out at shoulder length. At least the ones that did have legs. He carefully studied his crew, their condition, their numbers, counting them to see just how many had actually made it off.
Many of the crew’s appearances varied drastically with only a handful of them still looking presentable. The rest had their suits in tatters, yellow circles staining underneath the arms, blood-soaked bandages covered entire sections of their bodies and one human woman with fiery red hair had bandages holding a pad in place over her eye which was covered in a red spot against the clean white fibres. Each one stood at their ease pose, maintaining eye contact solely on him as he slowly stepped closer to his crew. Towards the back of the survivors, Alex spotted the heavily armoured remnants of his Marine contingent and allowing Alex a small sigh of relief was the sight of Major Fёderov. But something was not right, each crewmember looked at Alex with tired, droopy eyes. No, not tired. Crestfallen.
An unspoken tragedy hidden behind each pair of eyes stared at Alex with sullen looks and tired expressions. He didn’t want to admit to himself that what transpired affected him more than it did but after seeing how it affected his crew, he knew there was only one thing to say to them…
The truth.
“Sit,” Alex spoke, barely louder than a mumble. “Sit please!”
Alex gestured with his hands and he began to sit down on the cold metal floor, cross-legged. The crew likewise did the same with the exception of their draconic escorts.
A chilling sensation crept up his buttocks through his suit and up his spine as Alex hadn’t realised just how cold it was. Beneath him he felt the gentle throbbing of artificial gravity orientating him to the floor which provided a soothing sensation.
“I… I am so sorry… to all of you.” He said barely containing the sombre tone in his voice. “I was tasked to keep all of you safe and instead I failed you. And because of that my actions have cost us dearly. I watched members of my crew get gutted and butchered by a foe we have never seen before, I watched helplessly as my own friend sacrificed himself to ensure the rest of us got out of that forsaken nebula alive… and even after we escaped I watched a fellow human reshaped by Transmutation.”
A few murmurs could be heard from the crowd, several of the dragon guards exchanged looks at each other. No doubt interested about the ‘zhol’yat’ on board.
“And for that,” Alex continued. “I am so truly sorry to each of you.”
He then let his words hang in the air with only the gentle sound of the ventilation system to be heard. Slowly rising in the back, Fёderov stood and he stared down his captain with cold piercing eyes before taking a few careful steps over towards him.
“Nobody could have predicted this and you did the best you could. Unfortunately there is no precedent for what happened.” Fёderov grumbled.
Fёderov, even to Alex’s surprise thrusted his arm forward with his hand open to the captain. It took Alex a moment to process the gesture then he gently clasped the Major’s armoured hand which he then used to pull himself back up from the floor.
“You’re young, stupid, but you make for fine captain, sir.” Fёderov added.
Then with a firm handshake. “I’m glad I have you on my crew, major.”
Alex then looked up to the copper statue held high proudly as it posed majestically as though its presence was to instil a sense of awe and aspiration to be like the dragon depicted.
Over the muffled echoing speakers an announcement was spoken in draconic followed immediately by the sound of a metal gong being struck three times, ringing for a short moment before the next one rang out. Soon, the lights all over the room switched from clean white to soft golden tones illuminating the junction.
Alex then looked over to who he assumed to be Ortiss. “Ortiss what is going on with the mood lighting here?”
“Night shift sir… we dim the lights to allow the crew to sleep without sacrificing visibility.”
Alex smirked as he looked around, his crew likewise did the same all the while admiring the ingenuity and simplicity of its inclusion. A small chuckle escaped him as he felt the calming ambience relieved his anxiety and replaced it with an almost serene sensation.
“Sir,” Ortiss spoke. “Ship Master Armadra wishes to see you in his quarters now.”
“Lead the way, Ortiss. But please send my crew to their accommodations.”
And with haste, the duo left the closed off junction while the other dragons carefully escorted the herded crewmembers off in a different direction. Alex took one last look behind him as he watched the tails of the dragons walk down the right corridor to where he presumed guest accommodations were held. No doubt this meeting with the Ship Master was a formality for him to show Alex the best hospitality afforded on this ship all the while creating a mix of casual professional banter over a shared meal. Even the thought of it was enough to make Alex realise just how hungry he was as his core rumbled, demanding sustenance. He paid it no mind as he went back up the decks to the Ship Master’s chamber.