by Maia Starr
"Thank you, Captain Jones; that is more than suitable. I will need to notify my superior once I have established communication from Earth. My crew and I would be honored to join you on the journey to Earth, as I have never seen the beautiful planet, and neither has my crew. I hold you in the highest esteem for your rescue and hospitality. How long before we arrive on Earth? I hope that we are not taking up too much space and resources aboard your ship?"
"No, not at all. We arrive in a week. This research vessel was equipped to handle six more months in space, so we have plenty of resources, food, and water available for you and your crew. And as for space, you, the captain of your ship, will have your own quarters in the guest cabin. However, it is the only sleeping space we have free and I'm afraid the rest of your crew will need to make camp in the infirmary. We shall make it as comfortable as possible for your crew."
"That is more than adequate, Captain Jones. Thank you again. Now if you'll excuse me, I would like to see if my crew has awakened and if they are in good medical standing," I said as I stood up, ready to leave the office.
Captain Jones stood up and extended his hand to shake mine and said, "Of course. A good captain is always thinking of the crew. Dr. Maltra does have some experience seeing to the medical needs of weredragons, so you are in good hands."
"I do not doubt her expertise," I said as I began to walk out the door, but the captain stopped me with one last question.
"Captain Ky-Vesa, one last question. We have heard rumors on Earth of a sudden revolt against the Drackon mating with human females. It is just rumors, yet enough to have us take certain precautions. Is it true?" he asked.
I did not know what to say, because this captain had rescued me and my crew and I owed him honesty, yet I was under specific orders from the king not to speak of the revolt. I had to honor my king.
"It is unfortunate those rumors have been circulating, but there is no reason to think there is any danger in it. The Drackon, just like humans, are full of different thinking minds and not all the minds think in the same way. Captain Jones, there is no reason to think there is any danger involved in a few thinking an opposition of the majority. Now, if you will excuse me," I said as I quickly walked into the hall before he could give me a follow-up question.
Chapter 3
DR. FELICITY MALTRA
I wanted to force myself to think that my fascination with Captain Ky-Vesa was purely medical, but I knew I was kidding myself. He was unlike anything I had ever seen. Not only in the attractive sense, but also just in his overall being. He was different than the typical Drackon warriors I had seen before because he was not typical, he was special… he was a hybrid.
I knew of their existence, but I had never seen one in person before. Even though he was not shifted into full dragon form, where I could see the spectacular colors of a hybrid weredragon, there was still something very different about him. I guess it was because he was more human than Drackon. His tall, muscular form was like the form of a human male, only so much taller. His strong, muscular body was very tone and firm, more so than a human male. His eyes were that of a Drackon, with the yellow, vertical pupil, like a cat, crossing over his brown eyes. His strong facial features with a squared jaw and full lips were almost romantic and more human than alien.
I hoped that I would get a chance to see him shift into a weredragon. I knew the hybrids were faster in speed than your average Drackon and were something to look at. But the unusual circumstances of this rescue made it very unclear to me what would happen once we returned to Earth and I knew I may never get a chance to see Captain Ky-Vesa in his full weredragon form. Of course, I didn’t know then that this mysterious hybrid was going to be intertwined with my fate.
After Captain Ky-Vesa’s crew awoke and I tended to them, I was ordered to arrange for the infirmary to be their living quarters. I was glad for it because it would be easier to keep an eye on them in case they had residual side effects from the minor injuries they suffered. It had been two days since we rescued them, and every day we were closer and closer to Earth and I grew more anxious. I did not want this voyage to end because I now had five weredragons under my care and the curious doctor in me enjoyed the chance to treat them and learn more about their bio engineering. It completely fascinated me. However, Captain Ky-Vesa had his own quarters, which I was in the act of walking to in order to change the bandage on his arm.
I knocked on the door and quickly straightened my hair, fixing my bangs that rested on my forehead and pulling my ponytail tighter and higher. The door opened and Captain Ky-Vesa stood there with his shirt off and a large grin on his face. My eyes went directly to his toned, six-pack abs—not that I had a choice. At my five-foot height, his abs were directly in front of my eyes.
"Dr. Maltra, nice of you to visit. What can I do for you?" he asked, leaning against the side of the doorway.
"It is what I can do for you," I said as I held up the ointment on the one hand and a roll of bandages in the other.
"Oh, the possibilities…” He grinned. I gasped at his reply, as though it offended me, but deep inside, those possibilities he spoke of had me growing heated. I had to ignore it. I was a professional doctor, after all.
"Come in, and Dr. Maltra, call me Drin," he said, moving aside and gesturing for me to enter his small quarters.
"Thank you, Drin. You may call me Felicity. Please, have a seat so that I can do my work," I said as I moved over to the desk with the chair in front of it.
"As you command, Felicity,” he said playfully as he sat down. I began to remove the bandages from his muscular arm. I felt my body tense up at the closeness and the manly scent radiating from him. His warmth was intoxicating and his silence was letting my mind wander to naughty thoughts. I needed a distraction. So I began to ramble on.
"I checked on your crew. They are all doing very well, including your brother, medically speaking. They seem to be excited to go to Earth as they have never been, or so they say. Have you been, Drin? I am sure you will love it if you have not been and—"
"No, I have not. I think I can speak for my crew when I say they have not been to Earth either. We are all very excited to see the beautiful, blue planet. I have heard great things."
"I have heard great things about your planets of Mooreah and Sala as well. I hope to one day be able to see them," I said to him.
"Oh, is that so? Have you registered? Is that what you mean by seeing it one day? You're waiting for your chance to marry into a Drackon marriage arrangement?" he asked me.
"Registered? Me? No, absolutely not. I am not a human female that is ready to be taken away just for breeding purposes. I have far too much going on for that. I merely meant I wanted to experience your planet as a visitor. Especially from a research perspective; it is very fascinating."
"I understand, Felicity," he said to me quietly. I wondered if I had offended him.
"I don't mean that marrying a Drackon is a bad thing. I just meant it's not for me," I said, trying to cover up my offensive comment.
"It is not for me either, marrying a human female." Drin said. I noticed that his tone had changed from playful to bitchy and I realized that I had offended him. I needed to talk about something else and quickly. I poured ointment into my hands and began to massage his injured arm. His strong muscles underneath my fingertips were very distracting. I turned and looked into his face and he was staring down at me with what I could only decipher as anger.
"I think I might be the only one on the ship not excited to go back to Earth," I said trying to make small conversation so that I wouldn't think about how I wanted to move my hands from his arm to his chest and tight abs.
"Are you not excited to go home? Are you not excited to be in the arms of your husband, Felicity?" he asked.
"I do not have a husband or lover. I am devoted to my work. It took a lot for me to be on the A.R.S. as I was given the position as doctor on the ship only to have it taken away from me a month before departure. It was given to a mal
e doctor."
"Because he had more experience than you, a female?" Drin asked. I looked at him and narrowed my eyes in frustration for thinking such a thing. But he was from the Drackon alien race and that was how they viewed females, so I had to excuse his ridiculous comment.
"No, I am more experienced than he. He was given the position because the Earth Council feels that human females might be in danger in space venturing near any Drackon areas. So they gave the position to a male, but he grew sick a few days before departure. So I was given my position back. We were supposed to be in space for another six months and I have a lot of projects and experiments I’d hoped to conduct. Now, however, I don't know if this mission will be relaunched or canceled. But I do know that they will probably replace me with a male, so you see, that is why I am not excited to go back to Earth," I said as I finished wrapping the fresh bandage around his arm.
Then I was shocked as I felt Drin’s fingertips underneath my chin. He lifted my face and stared into my eyes as he said, "I am sure that all will work out in your favor, Felicity. You are a great doctor, and I can attest to that to your Earth Council, if it will help you."
I looked into eyes. They were so exotic, and yet I could see that he was so sincere and delicate in this moment. It was such a change from the brash and arrogant comments that he had been making playfully since we first met. This was a side of Drin that I had not seen yet, and it was tender; it was hypnotic. We stared at each other for a moment and he began to lean down toward me as though he were going to kiss me. His lips were so close to mine and I lost myself in the moment. I had never been kissed by a Drackon before, and now I was itching to have that experience. My lips slowly parted ready for him. He lightly brushed his lower lip across mine and I ached for him to press harder. But then…
"Drin!" We both turned to see his brother, Eral, standing in the doorway. I didn't even hear the door open. We both quickly moved away from the almost kiss.
"Yes, Eral?" Drin growled the words.
"The crew wishes to meet with you in the infirmary. They have many questions and desire answers," Eral said as he looked at me with an angry face. I got the feeling he did not like me. I didn't see why; I had treated him and all of the Drackon, making sure their injuries were healed rapidly. He should have nothing but gratitude for me instead of that sourpuss face he was giving me.
"I should go," I said as I grabbed the bandage and ointment and stepped out of the quarters, closing the door behind me. As I walked away, I heard raised voices; the brothers were fighting. I assumed it was about me, but why? It seemed to me like the brothers were hiding something from me, but what? Could there be more to the circumstances of their rescue other than an asteroid hit? Maybe there was something to the rumors about human females being seen in an unfavorable light amongst the Drackon alien warriors.
This got me thinking about my future on this research vessel. I made my way to the office of Captain Jones to tell him just how much I wanted to continue to be a part of this research, to see if he would fight for me. I didn't knock; I just walked right in.
"Dr. Maltra, come on in as usual," he said, putting a folder down in frustration.
"Captain Jones, I am very concerned. I must be heard," I said walking back-and-forth in front of his desk in a fury.
"But of course you must to be heard," he said sarcastically.
"I must know when this ship returns to Earth, will it re-launch? Will I be on it? What is to happen to me? You know how I was passed up to begin with simply because I am female. It is most unfair! You must appeal to the Earth Council upon relaunch that I pulled my weight on the ship. I demand it!"
The captain stood up from his desk and came around the front of it where I was pacing back and forth and said, "You demand it, do you?"
"Yes! If you were to plead with the council that I am vital to this ship and the mission upon relaunch, then they will not say no. I am almost sure of it; are you not? They treat me very unfairly! Just because of some silly rumors…" I rambled on passionately and angrily.
"You, Dr. Maltra, are absolutely infuriating… and irresistible…" Captain Jones said. Before I could respond in shock to his sudden admittance of his feelings, his hands were on my shoulders and he had pulled me toward him. He planted his lips firmly on mine. What the hell was this? I put my hands on his chest and pushed him away from me.
"What the hell, Captain?! Are you out of your mind?" I shouted at him. Before he could answer, I was out the door and storming down the hall. This was bullshit.
"Felicity!" It wasn't the captain that was yelling after me; it was Drin. He jogged a few steps and caught up with me. I was breathing heavily and angry.
"I wanted to find you and apologize about my brother. There are some things between my brother and I that…" Then he got a look at my face and said, "What is it? You are flushed. You are angry. What has happened?"
"I was pleading to Captain Jones about how much I wanted to be on this research mission if it were to relaunch from Earth. I thought he, of all men, would take me seriously. But he wasn't even listening. Instead, he kissed me. I pushed him off me and ran out of there," I said without thinking about what I was saying. Of course, that should be a private matter, but my mouth always was far ahead of my brain.
"He did what?!" Drin shouted in a deep tone that reverberated in the hall. It was almost frightening. "I'll kill him."
"No! Drin don't. It is fine."
"So you wanted him to kiss you?" he said, looking at me confused.
"No, I did not. But that is no reason to kill our captain. It was just a misunderstanding. Thank you for jumping to defend my honor, but it is not necessary. Promise me you will do nothing, or even mention this again. I should not have told you," I said, putting my hand on his forearm to get his attention as he was staring down the hall toward the captain's office. He turned and looked at me finally and said, "If that is what you want, Felicity."
"Yes, it is what I want. Now if you'll excuse me, I just want to be alone," I said as I walked away toward my living quarters. I shut the door behind me and threw myself onto the bed. Being a woman in a man's world was hard; now I was a woman in a man's world and a Drackon alien world. Tears began to fall down my face, not because I felt helpless, but because I knew now that if the ship were to relaunch, I would not be on it. The captain would now see to it after I had rejected his advances. Plus, would I really want to be on a ship in deep space with Captain Jones, having to fight off his advances? It wasn't exactly my dream situation for work. I cried because I knew this mission was over for me. What would I do with myself now?
Two days had passed since the incident with Drin, and the incident with Captain Jones. I was feeling a little more secure, even though being the only human female on the ship made me feel vulnerable. I couldn't exactly blame the captain for having these needs when there were no females on board. What the hell was the council thinking, allowing that? It seemed to be a stupid decision.
I had done my best to avoid both of them. I had bandaged Drin’s arm when he visited his crew in the infirmary, so as not to be alone with him. It wasn't that I did not trust him; it was that I did not trust myself. Since that moment, when he brushed his lips across mine, I could not stop thinking about him. I dreamt about him that night, and then the next. But my dreams were much more detailed now. They were downright naughty. I would wake up soaking wet from each a dream, and I do not mean from sweat.
I went into the infirmary to search for Drin in order to apply the ointment and change his bandage. It was to be the last day, or possibly the next to last, that I would need to tend to it. It was healing rapidly, more rapidly than it would on a human. But it made sense, because Drin was a hybrid, and he was only half human.
"I am looking for Captain Ky-Vesa?" I asked the crew in the infirmary. One of them, with blond hair and blue eyes, turned and looked at me with a smile. He was not a hybrid; he was a full-blooded Drackon.
"I believe he is in his quarters,” he said to me.
There was a moment of silence. I looked around to see that Drin's brother, Eral, was not in the infirmary. Perhaps he was in the living quarters with Drin. That would mean we would not be alone; it was safe to visit him there. I grabbed the ointment and the bandage roll and said, "Thank you."
I walked out of the infirmary into the hall. I walked fast now down the hall so that I could avoid any awkward interactions with Captain Jones. We had barely said a few words to each other, and it was usually during meal times. I was sure that he felt embarrassed by the incident; I felt embarrassed as well. I was just going to act as if it didn't happen. He obviously had a momentary lapse in judgment. I knocked on the door to Drin’s living quarters. He opened the door, and once again, he was not wearing a shirt.
"Dr. Maltra, please come in. I have been expecting you," he said to me with a smile.
I walked in and said, "If you were expecting me, you think you would remember to clothe yourself, Captain," I said to him.
