by Juno Wells
Meric quickly made his rounds to ensure everything was as it should be. There was still no sign of the enemy ship and that concerned him somewhat. There had been periods such as this when the three ships in his armada spent all their time scanning, so it wasn’t totally unexpected that things were quiet out in the black.
He went to his quarters to cleanse his body and see to the minor cuts and scrapes left by his rough sparring with Tabor. Thinking of breeding with his delicate human queen was beginning to make his mating lust rise. If he allowed his mating scent to peak in the public areas, the males would be thoroughly disgusted and the females would be mobbing him. He needed to think and the solitude of his cleansing room provided that for him.
Standing in his mister, he waited for the soft fog to cover his body before rubbing cleansing foam onto his body. It was strange, the more the fog filled the enclosed cleansing unit, the clearer his mind became. He wasn’t too proud to admit that he’d made a foolish mistake. Queen Stacy was easy to talk to. He just had to find the right words to explain why he was doing an about face on this issue of being her breeder. Rinsing off, he hit the drying cycle and allowed it to cycle through.
By the time he emerged from the cleansing unit, his young were waiting on him. The caretakers from the nursery had them bathed and in clean clothing for their evening out. Visiting Salon’s quarters was one of their favorite outings because his lifelong friend was a talented storyteller. Much of Draconian heritage had traditionally been passed down by storytellers and tonight was important because his little ones would be told the story of the fall of their queens to symbionts. Meric and his father had spoken a bit about it in their presence, but both had put off their curious questions. None but his oldest remembered their mother. Queen Stonara had thankfully taken little interest in them after they broke from the shell. It was not something he wanted his children to know, but it was part of their history and they needed understand why they had escaped to this sector of space.
Meric locked down the corridors between his suite and Salon’s so they could move freely without drawing the notice of any queens who might be wandering around. It felt weird to have over thirty of them on his ship all at once. They were curious and actively mobile, which meant he was bumping into them off and on. He picked up his youngest, his sire took the hands of the twins, and his eldest followed behind, chatting amiably with his grandsire.
As always, Salon greeted them at the door with a smile. “Welcome clade of Rheric. I so look forward to our get togethers.”
Phan grinned at Timric and they sat down with their legs crossed to talk away from everyone else. Phan leaned over and immediately whispered something in Timric’s ear, and his scion turned shocked eyes on Meric.
Letting his youngest down to play, Meric shot his oldest a disapproving look. It’s impolite to whisper, and he knew it. Timric pulled out his handheld and switched on a traditional game of skill and cunning to play with his friend.
Salon and his father were lifelong friends, and his home was about the only other place Meric felt at ease to let down his guard and be himself. It was unwise to become over-familiar with his crew, as he needed them to see him as an authority figure. Hearing his sire and Salon speak with ease made Meric think of his relationship with Salon’s oldest scion. As if thinking of Tabor called to him, he strolled in the front door. He looked none the worse for wear after their sparring because he’d obviously used a dermal healer on his chin. He smirked and brushed his thumb against his chin as if showing off how perfect it still was.
Meric spoke pleasantly, “Vanity is not a desirable trait for warriors to possess, my friend.”
Grinning, Tabor responded, “I’ll be sure to work on that. I don’t see your queen. Have you not spoken to her yet?”
“I barely had time to make rounds on the ship, shower and gather my young to make this visit on time. Clearly I have had no time to broach such a delicate subject with her.”
“You’re not stalling, are you?”
“No, but I’ve given some careful thought on how to proceed. I’m just going to go have a direct and straightforward conversation about it. I feel that it is the only way to correct my former mistake.”
“If you don’t mind my saying so, I believe that is a mistake. It’s far too forward and presumptuous. It would seem like you are demanding and expecting that she is still interested in pursuing you.”
“I had considered that possibility as well. We’ve never had to worry about such things in the past. Draconian queens simply selected us, whether we were agreeable or not.”
“Luring females is simply a new skill to be acquired. Who better to figure it out than us?”
“This is true. It is a skill we can pass on to those under our command once we master it ourselves.”
“I believe that Calen was onto something by requesting to spend one-on-one time with his chosen queen. I reviewed the conversation between the queens several times. Your queen stated the other was lucky. That means she approves of the behavior.”
“Really? I noticed the behavior has not endeared him to his queen, for she stated clearly that she had not accepted him.”
“I believe that spending time alone with her while sharing your thoughts would be the correct combination. Queen Riya complained that not knowing his heart and mind was keeping her from accepting him.”
Salon’s voice sounded off from nearby. “I believe starting out by sharing small things about yourself and building up to more important disclosures is the correct way to proceed.”
Glancing over at the elder warrior, Meric saw his father standing beside him with a serious expression on his face. “Salon is correct,” he said. “Disclose from the least personal to the most personal details about your life. Allow her to warm up to you again.”
Wonderful, now everyone was giving opinions on how to proceed with making amends to his queen. Worst of all, his eldest scion actually seemed to understand what they were talking about. “If you are successful in luring Queen Stacy, will we have to move out of our new quarters? I just got all my things unpacked from our move from the Raspian.” When Meric didn’t answer, the young warrior became alarmed. “You’re not sending us back to the hatchery, are you? You promised we’d never have to go back there.”
Meric stepped over in front of Timric and place his wing around the young teen. “I’m a warrior of my word. If I end up mated to a queen, I will be forced to follow her wishes when it comes to where we live. Where I go, my scion go.”
Phan spoke up. “The humans call that a packaged deal.”
Timric’s voice was miserable when he spoke. “She may not even wish children.”
His friend stepped closer, and stated excitedly, “She wishes children more than anything, even a mate I think.” Everyone turned to Phan who smiled encouragingly. “She became a doctor of scion on Earth because she likes young but cannot physically have them herself. She speaks fondly of her friend Hope, who selected a warrior with a newly hatched scion. Queen Stacy even showed me pictures.”
Timric’s expression brightened. “I wish I could meet her and judge for myself.”
Meric sighed. Perhaps Timric would warm to the idea if spent time around their new queen. “Would you like to begin your medical apprenticeship, Timric? You are getting to be mature enough for your opinions to be taken into consideration when our family makes decisions.”
His face lit up. “I would love that. Can I begin tomorrow?”
Nodding, he smiled down at his eldest. “Yes, you may but I must warn you that when you are participating in activities and learning settings outside our private suite, you must behave as a warrior. Do not wear you expressions on your face for others to see. You must be polite and courteous to all the queens on this ship, regardless of whether they are nice to you or not. I wish you to study hard and take your apprenticeships seriously. And always remember that you represent our family before others. We will suffer any loss of respect you bring upon yourself.”
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nbsp; Straightening to his full height, Timric nodded. “You can trust me to act right. I wasn’t raised by wild animals.”
Meric tried to keep the smile off his face. “That is just the kind of quip you will keep to yourself when you are before a queen. Come, I believe dinner is ready. Salon has important information on our history to communicate over dinner.”
Meric was beginning to feel the tightness in his chest again as they heaped food onto their plates, and Salon launched into the history of how their queens were infected with symbionts. His deep voice and the dark nature of the story converged to hypnotize his four scion.
Naturally, Salon didn’t get into the more disturbing details about how the symbionts were creatures that fed off negative emotions and enjoyed tormenting warriors. He presented them simply as a contagion that made Draconian queens poor breeding partners. Timric and Phan were shocked at the information, but his youngest seemed more intent on playing with his wing tip. His hand shot out to grab his older twin’s hand when he tried to shove a tiny piece of dolma up his brother’s nose. It worried him that his brother was holding still and seemed to be encouraging him. These two did not appear to know fear and lacked a marginal degree of good judgement even by tiny warrior standards.
“Nipi, Kipi, stop.”
His youngest wheezed out a laugh. “Tabori, quiet.”
Once they settled down, Meric noticed his friend was looking wistfully at him with his children. Clearly Tabor appreciated Meric’s naming his youngest after him but Meric wondered if he understood all that Meric had sacrificed to hang onto the four that remained.
The rest of the evening was uneventful and just the bit of relaxation Meric needed to face the tough task of luring his queen. Running a finger down the horrible scar that ripped down the side of his face he thought over his situation carefully. Allowing Timric to work with her had been a rash decision. However, he honestly felt she could be trusted at this point. He thought back to exactly the moment that happened and realized it was a culmination of events, with the grand finale of Tabor pounding some sense into him during the sparring match.
Tomorrow was important, and he was already brainstorming ideas to advance his cause. Bringing his com to his lips, Meric spoke quietly with Calen. Ideas flashed through his mind one after another.
15 Young Warriors
Stacy
Yawning, Stacy ambled down the corridor to the medical unit. She was still getting the two-warrior escort everywhere she went. They just hung back and waited outside whatever door she entered. She knew it was shitty, but since they never initiated conversation or responded well when she did, she was beginning to forget they were there. She almost regretted giving Meric the boot when he was escorting her around. At least she could get a short conversation out of him every now and then.
Skipping breakfast was really no loss. Since the Draconians had the same food for every meal, breakfast didn’t seem much like a morning event anyway. She’d grab a hydration pouch in medical and maybe a food bar later in the morning.
Today they were replicating plasma. Phan wasn’t going to be very happy about that because it was going to be all kinds of boring. A smile lit her face when she thought of the precocious young warrior. All the other healers were more like nurses or medics in that they only came when needed. Usually it was just Phan to keep her company. Since most of the warriors were aloof and she actively avoided the groomers because they were kind of handsey, that left Phan as the person she spent the most face-to-face time with. She was starting to think of him as the younger brother she never had.
The lights flickered on, and she began priming the plasma pumps. The soft whirl of the machine in the background was reassuring. Sliding on her lab coat, she grabbed a hydration pouch and a data pad. Running through her stock of plasma, she discovered the medical unit was low on seven types. Each clade had a different type, and there were forty-seven known clades. It was imperative to keep enough plasma in stock to handle a ship-wide emergency. A quick scan of the other ships alerted her that they needed plasma as well. Depending on how long the task took, it might take another day or two to complete the task.
When Phan arrived he had another young warrior at his side. She stepped out to meet them with her data pat hugged to her front.
“Healer Stacy, I wish to present to you my fellow warrior, Timric. He has been assigned to the healing unit as his first apprentice opportunity. Timric, this is Queen Stacy the Lionheart. She is in charge of our medical unit and was a healer on Earth before relocating to Dracon Two.”
Timric brought his hand up and held out the most beautiful yellow flower she’d ever seen. “I brought you a gift for allowing me to mentor with you, Healer Stacy.”
Smiling down at her new charge, Stacy accepted his lovely gift. “Why thank you Timric. That was very thoughtful of you, but unnecessary. I’m happy to have you training with us.”
“I appreciate the warm welcome, my queen. I am pleased to be working with you.”
“You can just call me Stacy, not that anyone ever does.”
“To address a female without an honorarium would mark me out as ignorant or disrespectful. I have no wish to offend you or break with tradition. It would not make my sire proud if I did such things.”
Looking over his golden hair and unusual wings, she replied lightly. “Well, I don’t need to ask who your father is. You have your father’s beautiful hair, wingspan and penchant for being politely assertive.”
“My grandsire says one can tell a lot about a warrior from the way he carries himself. You’ll not find me dragging my wings around your medical unit.”
“You’ll be productive and carry your weight, Timric. I’m sure you want to do your father proud. Even I have noticed Captain Meric appreciates a male who follows the rules.”
“He did not attain his rank by being disrespectful to queens or dragging his wings.”
“That’s an unusual expression and you’ve used it twice. Do you mind if I ask what it means?”
Shooting Phan a shocked look he quickly explained. “I am told that our wing base is properly situated on our backs for flying, not for walking on two legs. Therefore, it takes a great deal of self-discipline to keep them up and off the floor. It’s an unnatural position. Males who cannot manage it are thought to be lazy or lacking in discipline.”
“I haven’t seen any warriors who allow their wings to touch the floor.”
“I should say not. My father handpicked the entire crew, save you.”
“I did not know that. You are a wealth of information.”
“Thank you.”
“How long are you scheduled to be with us, Timric?”
“Until you determine that my skill set is adequate.”
“Are you planning to become a healer? If so, the training will be much more intense and may last for years.”
He glanced quickly to his friend before answering. “My goal is to captain my own ship one day. Like my sire, and his sire before him, I wish to be a revered warrior. My sire is training me to be a protector of worlds.”
Flat-out grinning at the young warrior, Stacy could see his father’s influence stamped all over that answer. He was absolutely adorable. Meeting Timric was turning out to be a genuine pleasure. Meric kept his private life separate from his work life. That’s probably why she’d never met Timric.
“What level of training do warriors need?”
Handing over the data pad he walked in carrying, he explained, “My sire has created a curriculum of areas that I need to master. He stated that he had sent it to you along with a note expressing his gratitude for your agreement to mentor our warriors.”
“I haven’t checked my messages yet. Let’s see what areas you need.” Scrolling through the lists, she smiled. “It looks like warriors are trained in advanced life saving techniques. On my world, you would be called an emergency medical technician. They drive around in tiny shuttles and provide emergency care for those who cannot get to a medical unit.”
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“That was my understanding as well. Warriors need to be able to treat themselves and save lives in the event of a battle or crisis. I have no wish to disrupt your normal schedule. I will simply learn my tasks when it is convenient for you.”
Phan asked, “What are we doing today?”
“We need to synthesize plasma. We’re short on several types. If we run out in a crisis we’ll have to pull warriors from their duties to donate blood. It’s inefficient, less effective than high-quality synthetic plasma and the donor’s absence might impede the captain’s ability to manage the crisis at hand.”
Phan nodded. “Then this is an important task to learn.”
“It is critical to monitor our stock and ensure it is not depleted or outdated. I’ve already primed the plasma pumps. They should be ready in the next ten microns. We enter a sample of fresh plasma, and the machine does the rest. It comes out packaged in individual sealed pouches and must be placed in the cryo-freezer within a few hours for the best possible outcome. I like to generate a bulk of stock before I open the cryo freezer. If we open and close it a lot, some of the more fragile stock might be negatively affected. Does that make sense?”
“Yes, it makes perfect sense.”
Both of the young warriors seemed eager to get started. After she walked them through the process, the three of them worked together for several hours, doing quality control checks on every third batch. After a four-hour cycle, they’d accumulated a large stock of plasma.
