How did this happen? Sky Savannah was a smart choice, it was usually completely abandoned. Who wanted to sweat to death in their suits near the edge of the galaxy for a few rare fungi? What was anyone else even doing there?
Judging by his interface they had arrived near Terra - an earth-like planet with substantially higher nitrogen levels. A few humans worked month-long shifts in research labs, observing the planet's fascinating biodiversity, but due to the high risk of fire and the stronger gravitational pull affecting their bodies, they kept a rigid rotation schedule.
Lionel dipped around one of Terra’s moons, glad to have a physical object between himself and any impending ship; not that it would make any particular difference in a game of hide and seek.
He took a moment to scan the surrounding area for any commuter ships, this late in the day, there was unlikely to be a crew rotation scheduled for arrival.
As if sensing the direction of his thoughts, Harriet answered.
No other ships detected in range.
“Keep monitoring for any movement nearby. I don’t want to be caught by surprise.”
Affirmative.
He forced himself to relax, unclenching his fingers from the thrust levels before manually activating Rover’s recalibration.
This hadn’t been the trip he expected when he left The Dump. Methodically he began removing his suit, focusing on the pull of the zipper, the scratch of fabric against his arms and the way he had to peel it away from his sweat-soaked skin. Any other topic to try to calm his racing mind.
It helped him reach one clear conclusion: it didn’t particularly matter why he was at the Sky Savannah as soon as he was rid of the dragon. Even if the other ship swore blind that they saw an infant dragon, who would believe them? Especially when he clearly had no dragon hanging around his ship. He nodded.
“Now,” he looked at Aura, she was oddly calm since returning on board, restricting herself to running in small loops. He narrowed his eyes, had she been chasing her tail? He smirked then shook his head. It wouldn’t do to forget that these creatures were violent, able to destroy a planet or two on a whim - he’d already let himself slip up several times with Aura. “It’s time to get you home.”
She looked up at him with big eyes.
His plan was simple. When the vanguard retreated from the humans, they didn’t withdraw access to the interface itself and though it had morphed into something unrecognisable from the initial days, there were still ways to contact the vanguard. Lionel imagined several people had been dumb enough to try to prank them over the years and the messages were just ignored but a signal about a missing dragon, he expected they would come flying pretty fast.
“Harriet, what’s the easiest method to contact The Vanguard?”
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No sooner had the words left his mouth than Aura tackled him, knocking him to the wall and pinning him beneath her.
His heart raced as he forced his hands beneath her claws trying to pry himself free. Even a hatchling dragon was incredibly heavy and she didn’t budge an inch.
“Aura. What are you doing?” He croaked, still trying to squiggle free.
Her eyes glared daggers at him and he froze in place. She could remove his head from his body in one swift bite if she chose. He’d been so stupid! Had he truly started to lower his guard around a dragon?
Her teeth sank into his shoulder and he screamed.
Captain incapacitated.
Harriet sent the ship into a rapid flat spin, darting upwards and forcing them apart from one another.
A thick barrier appeared around Aura.
Containment Protocols Initiated.
Her standard programming was set to only interfere in dire situations. It could only mean one thing: he wasn’t doing very well.
Lionel blinked rapidly, the lights flickering overhead and blinding him. He convulsed, smelling the coppery tinge of his own blood and it dripped down his arm.
His interface started to react and a wall of code began scrolling in front of his face.
Now? He tried to brush it away with a sweep of his arm and felt a stab of pain.
What was happening? His wound was bad but it wasn’t critical. If he could simply get to the first aid kit he had some healing spray in there. It would sterilise and seal the wound easily enough.
Excuse me?
“I didn’t want to bond with you so soon. Too soon! But you can’t contact the vanguard!”
The voice was melodious but firm. A muddle of emotions flooded him: confusion, fear, hurt, concern. It was too much at once, too foreign and the interface was changing him in ways it wasn’t supposed to. It clawed inside his mind like a hungry harpy, latching on and tearing new pathways. He screamed but it didn’t stop there, crawling around his body chiselling new channels, moulding his, reshaping him into something different.
His eyes rolled back in his head.
The pain has to end. The pain has to end.
Although he wondered if he was simply lying to himself, the mantra repeated until the words stumbled over one another and he would rather die than live like this if it never-ended. Then a comfortable warmth enveloped his body, tucking him in while strange visions clouded his mind and he let himself be swept away.
Lionel scrunched his face, feeling something wet against his cheek. Everything hurt his whole being felt like it had been wrung out and hung to dry. He ached in places he didn’t even know could ache. Should he be able to feel his kidneys?
He shifted, becoming aware of a heavy weight on his chest. He surrendered, abandoning the idea of sitting up altogether.
“How long have I been out?” His voice was raspy.
Two hours and 27 minutes.
His head pounded with each word she spoke and he dropped his voice to a whisper.
“Status update?”
Rover remains cruising near Terra, no other vessels have approached. The ship's functions are all in good condition. Your general health seems...
…satisfactory.
That was an unusual statement for her.
“General health?” He’d been impaled by a dragon who was currently sitting on his chest. He froze at the realisation.
Aura seemed to comprehend his signal and lifted herself away.
By my observations, you have undergone several changes.
“You’re making it sound like I’ve hit puberty.”
Nothing quite that dramatic. However, I would like to put you in the scanner for a full assessment.
Well, it was never a good sign when the personal robot requested to study its creators.
“I’ll - I’ll head to the medical bay shortly.”
He circled Aura, she was remaining concerningly still. She had escaped the shield, which was to be expected, but was no longer posing an active threat.
“Sorry.” She said, ducking her head slightly, “I couldn’t think of another way to communicate and you don’t understand all the emotions I use. And it was too soon.” She was rambling.
Lionel’s eyes widened. Had he hit his head somewhere?
“I changed my mind. I’ll go to the medical bay now.” He backed away from Aura and she watched him go silently.