It hasn’t moved Alex repeatedly told himself. Why hasn’t it moved?
He stared at the remains as if to expect it to hear his thoughts and suddenly spring back to life. Yet it did not.
These creatures, these things that would stop at nothing, take gunfire like it was nothing and still butcher men and women with the ruthless efficiency of a feral butcher now lain slain in front of him. And here it rests, supposedly, defeated by the laser. Alex was nervous about even getting too close to the insect queen lest it suddenly spring back to life and leap out at him.
Supposedly he had once heard that Terran cockroaches could still survive after being decapitated due to their uniquely designed nervous system. Rather than their brain being centralized in one location was instead spread out in small clusters all over its body. Of course, he knew the odds of this alien monstrosity before him bearing any similarities to Terran insects were miniscule but its appearance prompted his mind to come to such a topic.
Consciously maintaining a five metre gap from the corpse with his rifle raised and finger gently pressed against the firing mechanism. His right cheek touched the buttstock of the weapon, his eyesight perfectly in line with the optic aimed at the thing’s head. He remained unconvinced that it was dead after a few minutes of no movement and let out a quick burst of bullets into the creature’s eyes. They popped like balloons full of whipped cream but the creature still refused to move.
It… it really is dead?
Round and round his thoughts would go in a never-ending spiralling parable. A perpetual never ending cycle of surprise swiftly followed by disbelief, then his analytical mind would step in and examine the evidence before briefly coming to some far-flung conclusion that never really had any weight. Then the cycle would continue once more.
It is in some sort of hibernation.
It is preserving itself from suffering too much damage.
It is playing dead for its own survival.
These thoughts and more were among the common answers his analytical mind could conjure up. These things held no weight under further scrutiny but in his state of mind which still was coming down from an adrenaline high, was still searching for anything that made an iota of sense. Perhaps a comforting thought strung together by logic and reason that he could use to justify what he is seeing with what he knew.
And still, the creature did not move in the slightest.
Wisps of white smoke gently billowed out the barrel, hissing with intense heat from the muzzle break. Gingerly he lowered the rifle but did not flip the weapon’s safety switch on. And then he let the rifle drop to his side.
As if somebody had turned up the gravity settings where he stood, the rifle in his hands suddenly grew heavy as it dragged him down. His knees began to buckle under his own weight and subsequently collapse to the ground. No longer forcing his body to remain upright as it had a second ago he leaned forward until his chin was pressing into his chest while coming down from all the adrenaline in his veins.
The gentle sounds of waist high golden grass brushing against his ear drums brought about a certain calm that lowered his beating heart. The sensitive tympanic membrane was filled with the rhythmic whoosh of blood pumping in his ears, the sounds died down to allow him to hear the footfalls hitting the soft earth approach him. Uncertain where he was able to muster the strength to lift up his head, Alex was able to see who it was and saw Samantha with several of her crew closely behind.
“You did it…” she said disbelievingly. “It’s finally over?”
She didn’t sound as jubilant as she should have been, Samantha was usually more emotionally volatile than most would assume from looking at her. So for her to be so sullen and unemotive at a time of great victory was both concerning and curious to Alex.
“Yeah,” He mumbled. “It’s finally over.”
Cheers and whoops shattered the silence of the windswept moors, they didn’t come from Samantha though. The quartet of engineers and mechanics behind her were jumping in the air and thrusting their arms skyward. One of them even went as far as extending both their middle fingers at the creature in a form of an aggressive, yet jubilant celebration of their victory.
Samantha approached Alex and knelt. “You don’t sound so happy.” She said quietly to his face.
“I’m just coming down from an adrenaline high.” Alex lied. He knew that wasn’t the real reason, truth was he wasn’t sure if he knew the reason himself.
Samantha snorted amusedly. “You forget that my kind can smell people’s emotions. I know you aren’t alright.”
He didn’t say anything. Not wanting to confirm her suspicion. After a few moments of awkward silence and no eye contact with the Lykan, Samantha gently nodded to herself as she took the hint and left him without saying another word.
He remained still for a solid minute later, looking at the creature’s remains. Its rot had already start to settle in as the smell of its cooked meat and decomposing body reeked of the stench of rotten eggs and dairy that expired a long time ago wafted across the fields as the wind carried its stench.
He got up after the smell became too pungent for him to handle and made his way over to the hill where the survivors had gathered once more. He sat atop the lone rock that jutted out from the ground and kept his gaze low as he wondered to himself.
It really is dead, it is over? Have those fallen been finally laid to rest?
Have those I failed forgiven me?
After another ten minutes of brooding a familiar sand-coloured shape of scales and limbs that seemingly blended well with the gold grass entered his field of view. Liyurch wheezed and panted loudly, his lungs in dire stress from overexertion as his chest swelled in great proportion then deflated.
“I know I’m a dragon… but this is ridiculous!” He panted.
The dragon’s forked tongue lolled out of his mouth by ten centimetres in length. His neck bobbed up and down with each laboured breath he took. This was enough to snap Alex out of his stupor as he cocked his head up just enough to be facing the dragon.
“What’s wrong with you?” Alex asked more rudely than he intended.
Liyurch looked up at his captain, his breathing was slowing down yet he still took in large deep breaths. “I get that I’m a dragon,” The young dragon said breathlessly. “but I am so much more than some glorified flamethrower! Fёdorov had me try and burn the alien’s remains. I’m not a full-grown dragon, I have limits and my fire glands aren’t in peak condition.”
Alex looked up and over at where the alien insect’s body to see black smoke billowing out from the carcass of the creature’s lower half. The wind carried the smoke away but there was a certain noticeable smell of charred pork lingering on his tongue that prompted a mild gag reflex. It made him feel sick to even be aware of such a stench from such a foul creature.
He looked back down at the wheezing dragon then at the alien creature as several survivors gathered around the smoking remains. Liyurch had taken two steps towards the creature when Alex stopped him.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Alex barked.
“Back to the alien, I need to burn as much of it as I can. Major’s orders.”
“Not right now, you’re not,” Alex replied. A hint of authority crept into his voice. “Sit down for a few minutes and catch your breath. Don’t want my doctor getting lightheaded.”
The dragon complied thrusting his haunches down on the soil, his wings twitched at the slight touch of the Savannahn breeze, his tail had curled in on itself until it was at the back of his rump in a circle. The limb reminded Alex of a python that curled up and let its head rest between its coils. One thing that Alex took notice of as he sat there on his little rock with a stunned gaze fixed on a lone patch of grass next to the dragon was the overwhelming silence that filled the air around them.
Who could blame these people? All of them just suffered through two traumatic events, then there was his crew who had survived this thing once already. He fought back hard to press against the tears from escaping his eyes, no way was he going to let the crew see him at his weakest, at least not publicly. He had gone through something indescribable; he could not find the words to even begin to describe these events to an interrogator or the Admirals. And what was worse was that he wasn’t certain he wanted to.
His mind blanked out leaving an empty void of harrowing memories to fill in until finally he made a new thought: I need to get out.
“Captain Rowan!” He heard a voice reach out and shake him out of his stupor. They mustn’t know he plans to leave. Not while he still had duties to perform.
When he looked up to locate the source of the call, he found Clemens waving him down. Next to him was Gabby Hazaari as she seemed deeply invested in a conversation with Navigator Collins. Fёdorov was also present as he rallied what little of the Phoenix’s surviving company of Marines. Even Silas, the Naga that he had bonded with on the captain’s shuttle was present. At least this time he was wearing his clothing. Alex made his way over to his crew, giving him ample time to push down the thoughts he was indulging in and put on a neutral expression.
The presence of a joyous smile was prevalent on all the faces of those who had gathered into their little clique. A small part of him wanted to slap that contemptuous smile off their faces and scold them for taking such pleasure after all that they had been through. All the while another part of him wanted to ask why they were congregating separately from the Atlantis crew.
They were all gathered around Hazaari as she chirped excitedly causing the plumage on the back of her neck to ruffle. She tapped on her Wrist-Pad with her golden talons with small tak-tak sounds whilst keeping her eyes fixed on the device.
Ultimately, Alex decided that he was going to cut straight to the heart of his questions and decide what to do from there. “What is going on?” He asked with a stern voice that made Hazaari squawk in alarm.
Clemens was the first to speak up as he approached Alex. “Sir, its some good bloody news that’s for certain.” The young pilot said with a voice of barely contained excitement. “It’s the Hellas! They caught our distress signal in orbit and spotted our nuclear detonations-“
“Slow down!” Alex barked out. “Who is the Hellas?”
Clemens huffed as he caught his breath. “The Draconic frigate Hellas is on patrol of Savannah. Their Shipmistress is calling out for us after sensing the nuclear detonations we caused.”
He looked at his pilot with a raised eyebrow as he thought about how long it took the dragons to notice them. “What the hell took them so long to notice that ? Why didn’t they respond to our SOS earlier or even bother helping?”
“Savannah has no artificial satellites in orbit to bounce signals off of, so the Shipmistress claims they were on the other side of the planet.”
“How convenient.” Alex said dryly.
“She won’t say anything more until she speaks to whoever is in charge,” Clemens continued, ignoring Alex’s comment. “They don’t believe our story and won’t dispatch shuttles and aid unless they speak with you, sir. If you’d like, sir, I am more than willing to charm her pants off to get her to talk.”
“She’s a dragon!” Alex’s eyes rolled.
But Clemens stared unmoving, then with a shrug he said. “Meh, I’m not picky.”
Alex shook his head in disgust. Their relationship was at a point where Alex had settled on a concrete idea of Clemens’ personality and yet every now and then Clemens would say or do something that would either surprise or disgust him.
Beyond the disgust he felt towards his helmsman's voyeuristic tendencies was a sense of repose. Relieved that there was some help to be had even if that assistance came from the dragons of all species. Then he thought to himself that beggars can’t be choosers.
“You know a dragon would crush you, right?” Alex said with a raised eyebrow towards Clemens. A sliver of humour had worked his way into his voice making his statement sound more like akin to a warning that dared Clemens to test it out.
Clemens chuckled. “I see that as a win.”
W.O Gabby Hazaari kept her gaze fixed on her wrist when Alex walked away from Clemens with a dismissive handwave. She tapped away with her talons and straightened her posture when she noticed her captain standing next to her. “Sir!” She squawked. Half from surprise at the sudden appearance of her captain and the rest from the already built-up charge of excitable energy the latest news has prompted.
“Officer Hazaari I am told you got in contact with the Draconic patrol up above?” He asked her calmly.
She nodded enthusiastically. “Yes sir, I left my Wrist-Pad on an open channel as I tried to get their attention, they only just got back to me a couple minutes ago. They said they wanted to speak to you?”
“May I then?” Presenting his open hand, gesturing for her Wrist-Pad.
Without any hesitation, the Garuda communications officer took the device off and handed it over to her commanding officer. He brought it up to his face and spoke into it.
“This is Captain Alexander Rowan of the-… former commanding officer of the UTSS Phoenix.”
Internally he was cringing, his near slip-up of professing himself to still be the commanding of a ship that no longer was in one piece was almost a falsity that was looked down upon by commanding officers. The equivalent of lying on your resume.
As he continued, he adjusted his voice while adjusting his posture by pressing his shoulders back and sticking his chest out so he would sound less rattled. “I’m given the understanding that you do not believe our recollection of events on why we are here. So, to whom do I have the honour of speaking to?”
A feminine voice with deep baritone qualities replied. For a moment when he heard her speak, the timbre of her voice had more masculine qualities to the sound that it had led Alex to believe it belonged to that of a male dragon instead.
“This is Shipmistress Lorris of the I.D.N Hellas,” The commanding officer replied. It was a good thing she used the feminine expression of the rank. “And your subordinate speaks no lie: I do not believe you. Some kind of alien organism? An alien vessel that destroyed an entire fleet mixed of Terran and Draconic ships? Does your crew take me for a fool?”
Her masculine voice was ripe with disbelief. Alex could have almost heard her voice go down an octave. And hearing it parroted back to him, it was no mystery as to why she didn’t believe their story. In fact, from the way she described it was nearly something he himself would say had the roles been reversed.
“I realise it’s a lot to take in,” He started, his voice slowly losing composure. He tried to speak at a slightly slower pace to grant him a more concise tone. “but what my crew have told you is truthful. We were the crew of the Phoenix, these extraterrestrial organisms were discovered and we were sent to investigate. Look, we have a lot of injured crew and people in need of medical attention down here and a lot of us need to get off this planet, so it would be very appreciated if you could dispatch your shuttles and evac us off-world.”
Then he waited for his draconic counterparts' response. A confirmation of his demands, or perhaps a doubling down of her disbelieving stance, or even feigning ignorance and leave them there. But nothing of the sort came, she responded in a more formal tone and said she was going to get in touch with STARCOM to inform them of the situation on Savannah and await clearance for her to launch a rescue.
In politics, the sovereignty of Savannah was a very delicate matter. And the dragons would always put the safety and security of the planet high on their list of priorities.
“Keep your communications device close,” She growled, a deep trill sounding off at the back of her throat. “As soon as STARCOM responds to me I will begin deploying my shuttlecraft. Godspeed Captain Rowan.”
The device clicked as the channel was cut.
He stood there and let his arms drop to his side, finally they could go home. He turned on his heel and saw his crew standing around impatiently looking at him, all eyes focused on him as if waiting to see what he would do next. Clemens was first to break the silence as he asked what the Shipmistress had said. Judging by how they looked Alex would have guessed that they were listening in on his conversation to hear every syllable and every consonant. Especially the species with greater hearing.
He thrusted his arms outwards and said with a wide grin. “We’re going home.”
Their faces switched of the same expression waiting eagerly to hear what Alex had to say about his conversation. And in an instant those same faces consisting of muzzles and beaks and snouts had suddenly erupted into unrestrained jubilation with some jumping on the spot as they whooped and cheered.
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The Atlantis crew who had remained clustered together on top of the hill were suddenly reinvigorated from the cheering and proud bellows of unrestrained jubilation that it had caused them to gawk at their Phoenix colleagues with perplexed expressions. Most had taken to looking back and forth between themselves, exchanging confused glances between themselves and the celebrating crew. Samantha came down the hill, confused like the others but more concerned than anything for she had no idea of the news that awaited her. She asked what was going on, her voice was stern like that of a parent trying to stop a child from embarrassing them further.
“We just got called by the Draconic patrol,” He looked up to the sky as if to show her the frigate’s metal belly casting its massive shadow on the land. “We’re getting rescued.”
She let out a shriek of excitement before placing her paws over her mouth to compose herself in front of the crew, but in those large golden eyes that darted around excitedly with unfocused energy.
“Oh my god, are you serious!?” She asked in a hushed tone.
Alex nodded. “I should be hearing from them soon. Once they’ve gotten in touch with STARCOM they are going to be sending down shuttles to our location.”
He understood why she kept her tone hushed. She didn’t want to lose her sense of professionalism from the overwhelmingly good news. But the more prominent of reasons was to instil the sense of professionalism they were taught to retain. Even to remain calm and collected whenever trapped on any planet. It was more for maintaining the morale of survivors than appearing professional which a lot of captains and commanding officers would attest to.
“Alex, my god, that’s great news!” Samantha said, still choosing to keep her voice low. She stopped herself from letting her voice get any louder and took in a deep breath, held it, then released it. “We should inform the rest and keep everyone close until we get back.” Alex concurred.
Standard procedure for rescue after a planetary fall was to wait around the crash site wherever possible to allow the rescue craft to find you. Out here in the flat grassy plains that stretched on for endless miles where the Atlantis stood out even from a great height in orbit. Its charred gunmetal grey finish on what was left of the hull stood out amid the golden plains.
Both Captains stood on top of the rock and the survivors gathered around. Samantha explained to her crew and the rest of the Phoenix survivors about the incoming Draconic shuttles. They all rejoiced. Some even managed to shed tears of joy as they raised their faces to the sky and let their voice soar into the heavens as if to let the dragons know where they were.
Unsurprisingly it was Fёdorov and a handful of his marines who remained stoic and unemotive despite the good news. The Major stood at the back of the crowd with his arms crossed across his broad chest and tilted his head slightly in a subtle nod. That was about as emotive as Alex would ever see the man get.
Liyurch was grateful for no longer needing to set fire to the alien remains as his constant complaints about exerting his glands was starting to get on Maj. Fёdorov’s nerves.
Alex felt internally happy to see his and Samantha’s subordinates smile at the good news that was being delivered. However, the looming shade of darkness still permeated within him. Only one other person present was someone he could trust with what he harboured inside. When all was said and done, he intended to take her aside and explain to her. He was hoping she would be supportive and respectful of his decision yet the mere thought of talking to her about this caused his stomach to knot and painfully tighten within his abdomen.
“So we are going to remain here in two groups sorted by the vessel we come from.” Samantha shouted to the gathered masses. “All Atlantis crew are to gather on the left here and Phoenix crew to the right. So sit tight, if you need to leave for whatever reason report to either myself or Captain Rowan.”
She let the statement hang in the air. All that was heard was the gentle swooshing of the breeze and the rumbling of the distant thunder in the sky while the crews voices became a jumbled murmuring. Then, with such spontaneity she clapped her hands together that made Alex jump in place she declared. “Right! So lets get in formation and show the dragons just how organised and formal the Terran Navy is! Dismissed.”
Everyone broke up and began making their way to either side of the rock where the two captains stood as they began forming three rows for each crew. Alex grabbed Samantha by the shoulder and silently nodded over to the Atlantis and the duo jumped down onto the ground. Once at the base of the mountain Samantha spoke up.
“What’s up, got any updates from the Hellas?”
“No, its not that it’s…” Alex found himself suddenly struggling to even form the words needed to explain to her how he felt. He gestured to the side with his head and she followed him as they put distance between themselves and their crews. A lump formed at the pit of his stomach that seemingly got stuck in his throat aiding in his inability to elaborate. “I thought about this a bit and I would like your support, Sam. When this is over and we return to Terra I am going to hand in my resignation from the Navy.”
Her cheerful expression turned sullen, her eyes blinked rapidly in confusion.
“Wh- Alex, you have gone through some shit in recent weeks I grant you, b-but I think retiring is a bit of an overreaction don’t ya think?” She stammered.
But Alex remained stern in his choice and shook his head. “No, you don’t understand. It’s n- its not just what I went through, its everything. I lost my ship, I lost my best friend, I sacrificed men’s lives for nothing and I cost you your ship and your crew. Now look where we are. Not even the Navy gets permission to be in this region of space without express permission by the council and the Draconic navy. Lets face it, that alone is a career ender and I’ll eventually end up being forced to quit. At least this way I’ll get ahead of them and take my leave with what little dignity I have left.”
Samantha’s face went from concern and warped itself to scowl at him before setting her muscles to stone, stuck in a permanent scowl. Alex braced himself for what might come next. But he was not prepared when his right cheek suddenly flared up in pain and the sound of her palm striking the side of his face registered to his brain.
“Alex, you fucking asshole!” She spat. “It’s not your fault for any of this shit happening. The people we sacrifice is just part of being in command, we gotta make the tough decisions and not feel sorry for ourselves when we make them. It sucks, yes, but that’s the job. Yes, I am pissed off about my ship and my brother but I…”
She stopped herself as her voice slowly began breaking and her eyes became cloudy with water welling up. In response to this she squeezed her eyes shut and took a deep breath before opening her aurum-filled eyes once again.
“I realise that as easy it is to blame you for that,” She continued with a strained voice. “It wouldn’t be right to pin the blame of those things on you. You had no idea what you were dealing with when you accepted this assignment, nor did you have much of a choice in the matter. You also did the right thing trying to scuttle your ship and as much as it pains me to admit it, at least you tried to go down with your ship and my stupid brother just had to be the big damned hero like he always thought he would be.”
In that moment he had nothing to say. He had thought that she was determined to blame him solely for her brother’s death like he had blamed himself for as well. He was certain she would continue to hate him but to hear her supportive, albeit harsh words and justify his mistakes had felt as though a weight had simultaneously been removed and added. He felt happy with himself that she no longer held the blame for what had happened, perhaps she was just very emotional and didn’t take the news too kindly and took it out on him.
He had opened his mouth to protest to her statement when she interjected before he could utter any sound. “So, with that out of the way, I won’t help you quit, Alex. But what I will do is give a friend some time to themselves and figure this shit out, after all, I believe you and your crew were owed some extensive R&R back home, right?”
Alex couldn’t help suppress a rising chuckle Samantha elicited with that response. She saw that smile and in turn, smiled as well to reveal her rows of serrated canines. A wicked gesture that only a few hundred years ago would have haunted a man like Alex and rallied a makeshift militia to exterminate the vile threat to humanity, but nowadays he accepted the look as the standard of how Lykan’s express themselves.
In the end, she was right. It took her to tell him he wasn’t to blame for everything that happened for him to realise it himself and she was spot on about the R&R, no way was he going to let that slip through his fingers. If not for himself then for his crew who had gone through such unusual hardships as he had.
She slapped his shoulder hard, her lips closing over her teeth like a show curtain lowering on an ending performance to leave only her sincere smile. “Just, don’t beat yourself up over this shit. Its good you are taking responsibility but saying all this was your blame is beyond excessive. It ain’t like you could have done anything different to get a better outcome.”
“Ya know, Sam. I think you may be right.” He sighed heavily. “Guess my mind is still trying to deal with everything right now and I have no answers.”
Hazaari’s Wrist-Pad chirped and he pressed on the screen to answer the incoming hail.
“STARCOM has conferred with Draconic High Command and are unanimous; we will begin sending our shuttle craft to the crash site,” The Hellas’ Shipmistress said in her distinct gravelly voice. “We have our cameras fixed on the crash site, we suggest you stay nearby and create a signal for the pilots to spot if possible.”
Alex looked over to Liyurch who was plodding over happily towards the Phoenix group. He cursed himself at the thought of turning the dragon back into a glorified flamethrower. He is not going to be happy about this.
“I understand,” Alex responded. “We aren’t going anywhere and we will see you soon.”
And that was the end of the conversation. Neither word was shared between Alex and Samantha who both worked their way to the groups. Alex went up to the young dragon who rested on his rear, cushioned by his reinforced pelvic bone holding up his body. Liyurch looked up with bright, hopeful red eyes. That spark of strange innocence that should have long been consumed by his profession, age, and everything he has gone through thus far. Perhaps it was because he consciously chose to see the world like that, or perhaps he simply didn’t process innocence-shattering events the same way everyone else did.
He didn’t take the order too well when Alex told him to resume burning the remains, but he complied without complaint or resistance. At least that made that part easier.
Ten minutes flew by quickly; a distant, continuous rumbling echoed through the sky as two white, linear streaks broke through the clouds and headed straight for the Atlantis. The shuttlecraft grew exponentially in size on their approach, contrary to the Wedge-tail shuttles that were common in Terran starships the draconic designs were built and designed solely for the use and operation of dragons only. Thus, they were significantly large than the Wedge-tails with a significantly greater wingspan for atmospheric operation situated further towards the back of the craft rather than the centre. The craft had also boasted a distended cargo hold that sagged beneath the craft’s otherwise sleek frame. The cargo compartment gave the shuttle the appearance of a creature with a bloated stomach except it was capable of supporting crew and cargo alike. When they flew overhead their hull profiles reminded Alex of ancient hypersonic aircraft used by humans pre-Revelation day.
Each wing was affixed to the bloated hull whilst connected to an engine that split its exhaust nozzle into two outlets for more thrust. Over the sound of the deafening roar of the engines he could still make out the sound of the engines servo motors whirring to rotate the angle of the thrusters from vertical to a horizontal bearing. Several small jets could be seen firing beneath the bulky cargo hold as it descended to the surface. Wind picked up from the engine efflux washing over them with the strong taste of ozone permeating the air.
Landing gear emerged from multiple parts of the shuttle hull, two long arms with four large rubber wheels had swung out from underneath the vessel's wings and touched the ground with a loud thud. The landing gear was depressed as the shuttle placed all its weight onto the braces as they crept down towards the base of the axle before the hydraulics in the apparatuses were able to successfully repel the craft back up by a couple of feet.
Towards the back of the shuttles swollen undercarriage were large bay doors that swung open underneath the craft’s tail section. Engines powered down and all that was left was the descending whine of turbofans and pumps ceasing, it had created an audio vacuum where their senses were deprived of sound over the roar of thrusters leaving only a ringing sound that permeated Alex’s ears. Each craft was the size of a mansion, the craft’s nose was on a downward angle with the cockpit canopy on top and canards sticking out from the sides and the cargo bay looked larger than the hanger bay in the Phoenix, in fact it looked like it comfortably fit a Wedge-tail shuttle along with a hundred passengers.
The rear-facing hatch hissed as its hydraulics lowered its door onto the soil and five full-grown dragons emerged. All but one wore a transparent plastic shield over their eyes and were draped with cream-coloured canvas satchels on their sides with tools firmly secured by nylon flaps. Each one had a strip of white fabric with the familiar red Star of Life stitched on the fabric sleeves. The draconic medics wore these armbands around the bicep muscles of their forelimbs to announce their profession to any who sought their aid. The final dragon, the one who did not wear the medicinal symbol instead wore a beige jumpsuit with a large helmet over his head and the visor pulled down to shield his eyes. Alex assumed this individual must have been the shuttle’s crew chief as he was standing by the ramp guiding the four medics out of the cargo hold.
Each dragon carried themselves with the usual aplomb that was typical for their kind as they seemed to be in no hurry to help the lowly non-draconic personnel.
The second shuttle landed on the other side of the hill, then deployed its crew of medics as well a short time after landing. Same as the first shuttle, the second one had carried four medics led out by the shuttle’s crew chief.
They painstakingly examined each person who boarded the shuttles with Atlantis and Phoenix personnel going into separate craft and the pilots were just as eager to take off from the planet as though with each passing second they were on this world some unknown debt of punishment would steadily accrue.
Inside the cavernous cargo hold were rows of seats lining the walls which made way for larger harnesses in the centre of the shuttle that held the dragons firmly in place as the craft began its ascent. With his head propped up against the hull behind him, he could feel the rumbling of the turbopumps begin powering up thruster nozzles just on the other side of the titanium wall violently expelled its fuel. Even muffled and suppressed, the thrusters roared to life, a brief whir of motors could be heard and then the engines increased their volume tenfold followed by inertia pulling him towards the rear of the craft.
His ears popped and his body shook. His injured left shoulder was aggravated by the onset of intense G-forces, the scabs over his bite wounds felt like the skin was getting pulled open once again. Throughout the climb and the multiple times his ears popped, Alex mentally scolded the dragons for not giving them any headsets or ear protection that would fit on their heads. During the early moments of their ascent, one young ensign had dared to ask their draconic saviours where their ear protection was, the crew chief grumbled something in Draconic and walked over to a locker embedded in the wall towards the front of the hold. He swiftly returned with a dragon designed helmet and lazily dropped it in front of the Ensign, the protective piece of equipment was too large for the human. The concave dome inside the helmet was wide enough for the human to fit in if he curled into a ball.
Since then, none of the survivors asked their hosts for any hospitality as the message was widely understood.
Alex tsked and shook his head disapprovingly. Such poor hospitality, they could learn a thing or two from the Lykans or the Naga’s. Both species were widely known for being hospitable and friendly. Lykans enjoyed inviting guests over to share in a meal in their household whereas Naga’s were widely known for their love of parties and celebrations. Not that it mattered much but it was always a positive aspect of a Transmutation victim becoming one of the two species. They would always be welcomed into a foster family with open arms and open hearts.
His ears popped a final time as the shuttle bucked and jerked around as the pilots fought against atmospheric turbulence. The shuttle began pointing its nose upward on a sharp incline which Alex could tell as he felt his stomach lean towards the rear of the vessel and his vision started showing the floor going on a steep angle as he tried to keep his head straight.
A few minutes later the shuttle levelled off its ascent and the roar of engines died down drastically. The turbo engines outside still rumbled with the extreme velocity of which it pumped out exhaust but now it could only be heard inside.
Alex felt his stomach suddenly go into freefall despite the shuttle leveling out. His body grew lighter and less constrained within his harness. They had broken orbit, an assumption he was proven right when he looked over to the loose dragon helmet which had eerily drifted upwards of its own accord within the shuttle’s bay. His arms, while limp began drifting upwards too before Alex regained control and brought them close to hold on to his harness. The shuttle gracefully moved and glided among the stars. The quiet inside the cargo bay was disrupted by a gravelly voice booming in from all directions, only Grayich and the crew chief understood the language whereas Alex only knew a few words. After the message was given, the dragon crew chief kept his claws firmly tightened on every surface he encountered as he tried to get himself seen by as much of the crew as possible.
“We… haff… brok’n orbit,” The dragon shouted, standard English was something he wasn’t proficient in as his accent came thickly and heavily along with a deep growl that saturated his speech that seemed to make everything he said come off as threatening and intimidating. He stuttered at the start of each word and even seemed to be visibly struggling with trying to form the words. “Oo… arrr… free… to… Qi’taris? Do zhyum ikana.”
“He says we are safe to freely explore the shuttle!” Grayich's voice echoed of the hull. His little voice sounded short tempered and annoyed. Maybe he too found it frustrating hearing the elder dragon voice the message in such a lengthy amount of time.
Everyone, including the medic dragons hastily unbuckled from their harnesses and launch themselves to freely move about the hold. Alex maintained his grip while swinging his legs out and facing the wall. There was a window towards the rear of the shuttlecraft that was half the size of the compartment’s wall and situated between the floor and ceiling. He approached it with both hands firmly clasped around two handle rungs next to the glass pane as he gazed out. Outside he could see the onset of dusk settling in on the untouched world’s horizon. The stars were shining bright on the opposing side of the spacecraft and all he could see was the bit of land they were evacuated from growing smaller and darker as the night closed on the crash site.
Almost poetically so as if to say the struggles are over. But they’re not over, are they? A part of his mind wondered if some part of him was left back down on the planet, or perhaps back in the Sagittarius nebula.
Two of Savannah’s potato shaped moons were already peeking behind their planetary cover with their third orbital companion still resting in the distance in a light grey cloud of rocks and dust.
Night soon encompassed the land. Closing the day that the monsters were defeated, their reign of terror and unjustified slaughter was brought to an end. Those who had perished at their hands or claws could now rest that the beasts were gone.
Before the shuttle docked with the Hellas, its pilot spoke in Draconic that the crew chief didn’t bother translating. Liyurch had picked up the task and informed the crew that they were going to need to be strapped in when artificial gravity hits the shuttle.
Everyone was quick to do so, surprisingly quick despite being in Zero-Gravity. Of course, the hard part was trying to get his lower body into position so he could fasten himself in. Once he had achieved it, he secured his harness and placed his hands firmly on the straps. The shuttle rocked gently as something collided with it. A muffled whirring and hissing could be heard all around them, then his body began feeling heavier. By the time he was experiencing standard Earth gravity his whole body felt like it was made entirely out of lead. Only a few minutes of weightlessness and he could hardly keep his balance. Thankfully nobody took notice of him struggling to stay upright as they were all preoccupied trying to keep themselves upright as well.
The rear bay doors opened with a sharp hiss of hydraulics and the droning sound of a motor lowering the ramp to expose the occupants to a large hangar that put the one on the Phoenix to shame. Draconic Marines had lined themselves from the shuttle to a massive door on the other side of the room with their leader guiding them to their guest accommodations without any words exchanged.
Once inside the guest quarters aboard the frigate, he began to wonder around the perimeter of the room and inspect the facilities on board. Except for a dragon sized bed that was at least four times as wide as his bed back on Terra and four times longer it had given the human a sense of royalty at being given such a large bed. Unfortunately for him his elation at such luxury was quickly struck down as the mattress was completely stiff and rough on his back.
“Right, dragon bed, dragon mattress” He groaned.
The room was devoid of sharp corners, furnishings, or anything that would indicate that it was a guest room. There was a large black screen seamlessly embedded on the other end of the room which Alex assumed to be a control interface for lighting, climate control, and opening shipboard communications channels.
A chime gently rang out in the room from no obvious speaker grille, he had no clue how draconic systems functioned so he walked over to the door and pressed on the large button to open the door. For a door its size it was quick and did not make a lot of noise. Possibly magnets he wondered to himself, he looked at his visitor with surprise as he was not expecting their arrival.
“Maj. Fёdorov,” He said surprised.
The burly Slavic soldier had his hands firmly clasped behind his back and his posture looked stiff as though he was imitating his parade rest stance. His combat power armour was removed and it gave the man a smaller, yet still powerful and well-toned physique. He wore a dark grey singlet and dull grey-green camo fatigue pants leaving his massive, bulky arms exposed. For the first time, Alex could see the bruises, scratches, and cuts that decorated the hardened marine’s body.
“This is a surprise,” Alex continued. “What can I do for you, is there something wrong?”
Fёdorov swallowed before he answered in a quiet voice. “I am off-duty, you can call me by my name, sir.”
He didn’t move at all as he spoke, behind him were two Draconic Marines who were positioned outside his room. And while Alex couldn’t see their eyes behind their vacuum-sealed helmets, he was positive that they were both glancing over at him and the Major.
“May I come in?” Fёdorov said without moving.
Alex gestured for his Master-At-Arms to enter and quickly closed the door behind him as it soundlessly glided over its rail.
“To what do I owe the pleasure then, Fёdorov?”
He kept his hands firmly behind his back and was vigilant about his posture. Fёdorov seemed cautious, unable to express his thoughts into tangible sentences. “I owe you an apology. I thought you were a spineless coward who didn’t do so much as a hard day’s work in his life. And I resent you for usurping command of the men under my leadership and ordering them to die when they didn’t have to on the Phoenix”
Well this turned to shit very quickly. Where is this apology he started off with? “Yes you mentioned that back on the CIC… in far less diplomatic words.”
“But what you did today, back there on the planet. You stopped me from distracting the creature, you could have easily stayed back and controlled that laser cannon. But you didn’t, why?”
Alex sat on the corner of the firm draconic mattress and slumped his shoulders. He thought long and hard on the answer before speaking with a shrug of his shoulders. “I don’t really know. Seemed like the right thing to do.”
Fёdorov let out a thoughtful ‘hmph’ to himself as he walked over to the glossy black square in the wall.
His hands broke their hold on each other to allow his right hand to thoughtfully stroke his chin. The Major had already shown signs of a five ‘o’ clock shadow growing and his skin covered in dirt and blood.
“You chose to throw yourselves into danger, chose the more dangerous role of trying to get that thing killed.” Fёdorov said in a flat monotone voice. Then he turned around to face Alex who was still sitting on the corner of the mattress. “I admire what you did, moments like that are what separate men from boys. Moments where you know you have to do something right and stop at nothing to do what is right. I cannot forgive you, not entirely for what you did with my men. But I can promise to not forget what you did today.”
The Major walked up to Alex and extended him an open hand. Alex felt the man’s firm grip when he accepted it and shook in silent acknowledgment.
Alex was dumbfounded beyond words. He genuinely felt proud about what he did and nodded softly and managed to keep his voice from breaking. “Thank you Major.”
Then without another word exchanged between the two, the burly man left the room and Alex was left by himself once more.
He contemplated on what Fёdorov’s words when he was distracted by a gravelly stentorian voice booming through some unseen speaker grille. A draconic dialogue with no English translation following suit. Soft motions were felt in his core, his muscles tensed slightly at the slight adjustment of the frigate’s heading and speed. At a rough guess, he must have assumed that the announcement made only a moment ago was the bridge crew announcing the ship was about to leave orbit.
Another chime at the door and he allowed the guest in. Similar to the sight of Fёdorov’s presence Alex was more surprised to see the young Liyurch Grayich. He allowed the dragon inside without another word.
“I spoke with the Shipmistress,” he started. His voice squeaky as he tried to work up the courage to speak. “She said she will be taking us to directly to Terra.”
Alex nodded approvingly. “Good.”
Another announcement from the bridge filled the air that made the captain roll his eyes. Another draconic message. Liyurch must have sensed his frustration and immediately knew what the problem was because without prompt the young drake had said.
“Bridge is reporting that everyone brace themselves for Jump in a few seconds.”
Alex looked around his bedroom. Aside from the glass screen interface and a large door that Alex presumed to lead to the bathroom he couldn’t find anything to buckle himself into. On most Terran starships it was protocol that all crew and passengers be strapped in for the duration of a Jump drive’s activation or deactivation. There was nothing in the room to suggest that was the case here, not even some lines in the wall indicating something hidden within the walls.
“I wouldn’t bother,” Grayich continued. “Draconic ships invest heavily in inertia absorbers so there is no need to fasten yourself to anything.”
Just as he finished, there was a distinct sound of machinery powering up hidden away. The hum of power it radiated with could be heard and felt through the surfaces of the room as the Jump Drive powered up. A dull hum that seemingly came from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. When the sound had reached its apex it released its energy with the sound of a dull thud coming from the walls and Alex was thrown to the ground at the foot of the bed from the sudden force.
The inertia that had thrown him to the ground was gone as quickly as it arrived, he was able to get back up onto his own feet to see Liyurch still standing tall seemingly unfazed by the invisible hand of motion trying to cast him down.
“Usually it helps that we have four legs to stabilise ourselves better.” He commented.
Making his way towards the screen interface he was able to summon a menu and call up the flight path. Most of the language depicted was written in Clawscript but he recognised the layout of the interface to know what things meant. The display showed two spheres with a dotted line connecting the two via a linear path with a pulsating dot going from the sphere on the left to the sphere on the right. Above the centre of the line was a series of Arabic numerals that went from days, hours, minutes, and seconds. These numbers Alex was able to easily assume to be the clock that determined how long it would take to get to Terra.
He rubbed his left shoulder subconsciously, the indentations in his skin left by his friend’s canines were now replaced with hardened scabs in a V shape row. After all that it has gone through he was surprised it didn’t hurt more.
“You know something, doc. I still struggle to believe we won. After all we did, we managed to beat the odds by the skin of our teeth.”
“I think you mean enamel,” Grayich added.
“Not the point.” Alex shot back. He took in a deep breath in and then let it out after holding on to it for a few seconds. “We made first contact and we killed potentially the only living thing out there aside from ourselves. What does that say about us? That if you are different then we must take every action to defend ourselves?”
“You can’t really hold that against yourself, those things attacked us not the other way around. They chose that path, not us. To say we killed them out of self-defence makes us no better than them is a poor mindset. One that suggests that our actions are no better than those taken who wish us harm. Perhaps why the species was once ruling a planet and only existed in one vessel was because their time in our universe was up, all we did was finish the job.”
A tightening of his stomach muscles had converted his organs into a knot as he recalled the last few weeks.
“Yeah, I guess. Though one thing I look forward to is going back home and unwinding after all this.”
“Then I’ll leave you alone with your thoughts sir.”
Alex didn’t acknowledge or even turn to face the dragon. He looked at his reflection in the glass surface of the interface, for a second he thought he saw some flicker in his reflection but chose to ignore it.
A few minutes later he returned to sit on the corner of the mattress and slumped forward in contemplation, wondering, pondering, and mingling with his thoughts. Knowing that everything was going to be better now.