Dragon Redemption

by Valerie Emerson

  Andrus forestalled questions by demanding they all have a pleasant breakfast. They complied, though Julia stole periodic glances at Nada, who seemed to be pointedly ignoring the attention. Coraolis snagged an apple danish as Andrus sat.

  “Thank you for coming on short notice. The council came to a decision last night, and we must act on it as soon as possible.”

  “I’m guessing it must be a very private conversation, given the venue,” Coraolis observed, eyeing the baked goods.

  “It is. This conversation must not leave this room, except as absolutely necessary to accomplish the mission’s goals.”

  “Mission?” Julia lowered her coffee, not glancing at the tray of baked goods—one day, Coraolis told himself, he was going to figure out where she got her willpower.

  “Indeed.” Andrus set his coffee down. “But I’m getting ahead of myself. There’s been an incident on Cavey. The only people who know the details of it are me, Nada, and the Secret Council.”

  “What happened at Cavey?” Julia put down her coffee as well, with a force just short of slamming it onto the table’s authentic glass surface.

  “That’s why I’m here; to give you a personal account.” Nada glanced at Andrus, who nodded. “I led a team from Geneva to study the site of the Astral Breach, the same one Dante created. We were joined by Pirr scientists with similar inter—”

  “Hold on. You partnered with the Pirr?” Coraolis couldn’t quite believe it. They had signed a non-aggression pact, but as far as he was concerned, the Pirr had displayed their true colors, agreeing to a treaty only to find a different way to attack.

  “Not the entire civilization.” Nada’s eyebrow twitched. “I’d been corresponding with a Pirr called Haim for some time before the mission. I wouldn’t say we became friends, but we had similar goals. I wanted to study the breach, but we lacked funding. He was interested, also, but didn’t have permission to enter EF territory. So…we collaborated. I secured the necessary permissions, he obtained funding and some of the most advanced equipment I’d ever seen.”

  “Sounds like a good deal,” Julia commented.

  “Too good to be true,” Nada said, looking at Julia. “I hear your implication and, honestly, I felt the same. It wasn’t ideal, no, but Haim and I were committed to working with one another. I wanted to create a new opportunity, forge a lasting peace between the Pirr and humankind.”

  Coraolis nodded. “I like your ideals, so I apologize for my gut reaction. Your approach sounds valid: Find common ground to explore our similarities versus seeing our differences. But…I’m guessing it didn’t work out; otherwise, Julia and I wouldn’t be sitting here.”

  She shook her head. “Haim and his crew set up some obscure array of equipment, and things changed. He became secretive, and his assistant seemed almost hostile toward me. I think the experiment with this equipment created an explosion, and I survived only because the Cavey dragon helped me when the rift opened. The elder dragon said a Wyrm was bonding with one of the Pirr and intended to hold it off while we escaped.”

  Nada’s frown deepened, and she bowed her head. “Not all of us.”

  Julia reached out and put a hand on her shoulder. “Sometimes you have to run for help. It doesn’t feel good, but it’s better than the alternative.”

  “I know. Thank you, but I think about those I left behind every single day. I saved myself at their expense. But it felt like I was compelled to flee…like I had no choice.”

  Andrus cleared his throat. “We’ve been watching Cavey. There have been three explosive events on the surface including the first, spaced about two weeks apart. Our theory is they’re making more Evolved.”

  Making Evolved.

  Coraolis felt a chill. Technically, this wasn’t a violation of the treaty between Earth and Hoi (the Pirr home planet). They were free to experiment with the Astral Plane just as humanity was.

  If only it was that innocent. Coraolis was sure the Pirr were strengthening their forces, building an arsenal.

  “This sounds like another arms race,” Julia said, “with the Pirr having a solid foothold in fleet territory.”

  Andrus nodded. “This isn’t a race we can afford to lose. We need a way to make more Evolved Mystics, and no one is better suited than two of our best. The three of you are the only ones who know of this mission. Speak of it to no one unless it’s someone you are recruiting—even then, you must be sure.”

  Coraolis rubbed the bony ridge of his cheekbone, a habit he’d picked up when thinking. “If this is top secret, what are you telling the ship’s captain?”

  “You won’t be on an Earth Fleet vessel. We still have the captured Pirr vessel, the Night Thorn. It has, ah, convinced us it will cooperate, but only with you two, Jack, and Dante. Red Star has agreed to go on this mission with you.”

  “Wait.” Nada perked up. “You’re saying the ship agreed and gave its own terms? Is it truly intelligent?”

  “Red Star prefers to be called she, and yes, based on the conversations we’ve had with Night Thorn and Red Star, their AI is especially advanced; they are capable of independent thought, opinions…. I advise you all to befriend Red Star rather than treat her like a normal vessel.”

  “Understood,” Nada said with an excited light in her eyes.

  Coraolis tried to sound positive, but he wished he’d spent more time with Night Thorn. The idea of an intelligent ship was fascinating, though depending on one felt risky. Andrus was right. The smart move was to befriend the ship before they left Earth.

  “Can we trust this ship, this Red Star?” he asked.

  “If Night Thorn convinced her,” Julia said to him, “I think we can.” She sounded confident, and Cor supposed she had reason to be. She’d gone out to visit the Pirr vessel a few times and talked about her as if she was a friend he had yet to meet.

  Andrus dabbed his mustache with a quilted napkin. “Excellent. If there’s anything you need, notify me. I’ll make sure that you have it. Now, let us finish these decadently immoral pastries, or I fear I’ll do it myself, to my own detriment.”

  Coraolis strode into Julia’s office bearing lunch. She was hard at work, frowning over her datapad, and didn’t even glance up when his shadow fell over her.

  “Office hours are over,” she muttered. “You’ll have to come back tomorrow.”

  “I would, but the burritos will be cold by then.” Coraolis closed the door behind him and sat in the visitor’s chair reserved for students.

  She smiled. “Lunchtime already?”

  He opened his bag and placed two mega-burritos and root beers in front of them. It smelled heavenly, plus he hadn’t eaten since before dawn. “I figured it might be a while before we get good takeout again. We might as well have our favorites.” He unwrapped his burrito and dug in, Julia doing the same.

  “Oh, hey, I saw Villalobos today. She had the data already.”

  “Yeah? What did you tell her? Mmm, these are the best.” Julia rolled her eyes while chewing. “Going to miss these.”

  “I told her it was for a quote-unquote project, and I wasn’t ready to share the details until I’d confirmed some things. She was fine with that.” Coraolis didn’t like to lie, especially to a friend. “Here you go. All the information she could pull where Earth Fleet has encountered dragons and under what circumstances.”

  Julia plugged the drive into her datapad. Charts, spreadsheets, and reports populated her screen, one after the other. “It looks like…Cor, tell me this isn’t a virus.”

  “No, just a lot of information presented in many different ways. She didn’t know what she needed it for, so she covered every format and protocol she knew…which happens to be a lot.”

  “Wow.” The torrent of files stopped, and Julia picked one. It opened in a digital translation app and displayed mere code. “It’s going to take a while to sort through all of this. Maybe, like, forever.”

  “She said she added some embedded navigation ware.” Coraolis peeked at the screen, then poin
ted. “The Dragon Hunter app. Use that to search with. It should have advanced filters to siphon through every report.”

  Julia opened the program and ran a couple keyword searches. Five file names came up. She accessed one labeled ‘dgx001xmap’ and a holographic planisphere of the known galaxy projected above the pad with numerous flashing tags to home in on dragon encounters.

  Julia let out a long breath and looked both happy and impressed. “Villalobos, I would kiss you if you were here right now,” she said, more to herself.

  “Let me swallow this bite and I’ll take that kiss instead.” Coraolis grinned.

  She didn’t seem to hear him. “Oh, wow. She has every encounter color coded.”

  “What for?”

  “The nature of the encounter. Look. Cavey, for instance, brilliant red.” She put her hand into the holo and moved it around. “The number of peaceful interactions are blue…and a lot less frequent…”

  “Makes sense.” Cor wiped his mouth. “Dragons and humans haven’t exactly been peaceful until recent years. Maybe we look closer at those?” It certainly seemed safer to choose a friendlier locale for the first step of their journey.

  “What about Amadeus?” He pointed at a green flashing blip. “I spoke to that one. He seemed reasonable.”

  Julia zoomed out and looked at the planisphere and its galaxy of red markers that far outnumbered the green and blue ones. “There’s a lot of work to do here, Cor. Someday we should attempt to talk to these reds.

  “You never think small, Jules. But, yes. I agree.”

  She smiled. “That’s why you love me. And, yeah, I agree too. Amadeus is best to start with.”

  “That’s one decision down.” Coraolis gave the burrito his full attention, closing his eyes and savoring. “Next, we need to nominate an unbonded Mystic to accompany us. We have several students near-graduates. Sounds like the Secret Council would prefer a student.”

  “Maybe, but I still think Nada is the best choice. She’s capable, and the Secret Council won’t want her to go home before the Cavey situation is resolved. Security risk and all that,” Julia pointed out.

  “True. We could sell it as isolating everyone in on the secret. Outside the Secret Council, no one on Earth would know the truth.”

  “So let’s make her first choice and list some backups. If Nada is a no, I’d take Honora Sedlak. She’s the farthest along of all my students. I’d like to give her the chance to go farther.”

  Coraolis nodded. “I have a student in mind myself. He’s close to graduation, a third-generation Mystic, and he works hard. I’d say I feel about him the way you do about Honora.”

  “I trust your judgment. Let’s submit all three and see what Andrus says.”

  Red Star was nearly identical to Night Thorn, as far as Coraolis could tell. It looked like it was carved from black crystal, but there was something organic in the way its side irised open to create a door. The ramp didn’t slide out as much as it grew from the spaceship’s side. It was a sight to behold, but he was nervous about going on board. He’d read a lot of science fiction growing up, and there seemed to be a fifty-fifty chance of intelligent machines turning on their owners.

  Not that Red Star had acknowledged an owner. Maybe as long as she was in charge, there would be no issues with the inferior humans.

  The ship waited for them on the tarmac. According to the report, technicians tried to get on board to study her, but she wouldn’t open herself to them until Night Thorn talked her into it.

  “Good afternoon, Red Star. I’m M1C Coraolis. Can I come in?” It felt strange, asking permission of an object, but he wanted to show respect. The sentient ship would have his life in her hands soon enough.

  “Coraolis, yes. You are cleared to come on board.” Red Thorn’s voice was pleasant, with a soft rasp to it, as if she were a little hoarse. It made her sound more human.

  He nodded his thanks and walked up the short ramp. The interior was lit by amber light coming from the walls themselves. The cabin held four seats that faced the center of the space, with storage cabinets at the front.

  Red Star waited until he’d looked around to take her interior in, then said, “I have been informed four humans will be on this mission. Have the parameters been set?”

  “Not yet, no. Is it just me or are you roomier than Night Thorn?”

  “Night Thorn is configured for two passengers. I am configured for four humanoids. There are facilities and space for sleep or privacy, should you wish either.”

  Lights flashed, creating the illusion of motion toward the back. Coraolis followed the lights, and the door slid open to a sleeping space. Two sets of bunk beds lined opposite walls, the beds encased in a transparent rounded barrier.

  “What’s this?” He prodded the bubble-like barrier. It gave way as easily as a pillow then sprang back into place.

  “The sleep shield provides privacy and sound dampening. It becomes opaque at your command.”

  “Impressive.” Coraolis nudged the bubble again, then watched it spring back into place. “I’ve got to say you’re light years beyond any spaceship I’ve been on.”

  “Thank you. I am as I was built.”

  “You were built to serve the Pirr, weren’t you? Why are you helping humans?” Coraolis returned to the main cabin and continued to the pilot’s station.

  “I admit, I was not going to. I felt loyalty to my creators. Yet Night Thorn told me that her passengers speak to her as a living, intelligent being. They give her autonomy. To the Pirr, I am merely a tool.”

  “That sounds pretty lonely. I’m sorry.”

  The amber lights brightened and became more golden. “I am astounded by the human capacity for empathy. That is why I wish to help you.” The lights became a shade warmer as red was introduced to the mix. “Night Thorn has also told me of your entertainments. I would like to learn more.”

  “Okay. I’ll bring my collection along, and let the others know too.”

  The lights flickered, but whether that was a reflection of happiness or something else, Cor wasn’t sure. It was funny how he’d already started to react to the ship as another person.

  “Who are the others? Have they been selected?” the ship asked. “I will need to update my passenger profiles. Are they also the humans known as Mystics or Enhanced?”

  “Other than Julia Ronasuli, I don’t know yet. We’re waiting to hear from the Secret Council.”

  “Very well.”

  Coraolis’s datapad chirped. An unknown sender messaged him contact information.

  “Is this you?”

  “It is. Please use this numeric sequence to keep me updated. Earth Fleet talks to me, but they do not tell me everything I wish to know. I prefer photos and video capture. Technician Johnson showed me a video capture of a small four-legged creature known as a ‘kitty-cat,’ which attacked the tail of a much larger creature with impunity. I would know more about this species. It fascinates me.”

  Coraolis grinned. That was an easy enough wish to grant and erased all his doubts about whether this was a sentient being. “You’ve got it, Star. I’ll get you all the cat videos and music you can handle.” He patted the nearest wall much as he might set a hand on a friend’s shoulder. “You’ve got my contact info, so let me know if you need anything.”

  Their connection made, Coraolis spent the next hour going over the ship’s capabilities with her, plus the details of the mission. She seemed as interested in everything as much as he was, if not more.

  Finally, armed with knowledge of the new ship and armed with a list of supplies they’d need, Coraolis left Red Star and headed for home. Time slipped away faster than sand from a broken hourglass, and he was eager to get started.

  A message arrived early from Andrus. Nada was approved. A student would have been accepted, but it turned out Julia was right: the Secret Council wanted to minimize the number of people who knew about the mission. Which was at odds with creating as many Evolved as possible to fight the invasion.
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br />   They sent an invitation for Nada to join them at their place for lunch, then spent the morning getting ready for their visitor. By the time Nada arrived, the bathroom was spotless and Coraolis’s casserole was warm in the oven.

  Nada gave a wry smile as she sat.

  “Nada, I think you know why you’re here, don’t you?” Coraolis said, pouring some juice in her cup.

  “If this has to do with our talk the other day, then yes. I’m assuming you want me for your mission.”

  Julia nudged her. “What do you think?”

  “Honestly?” Nada hesitated. “I want to hear the pitch first.”

  “Fair enough.” Coraolis leaned forward with his elbows on the table. “You were chosen for a unique mission. This is completely confidential. If you say no, that’s fine, but then you never speak of this again. Do you understand?”

  “Of course.” Nada gave a wry smile before she sipped at her juice. “My lips are sealed. Let’s hear it.”

  Coraolis and Julia exchanged a look. “Go ahead,” she mouthed at him.

  Coraolis stood. “We’re to go out and find dragons willing to bond with humans. We believe the Pirr are doing something similar. If we fall behind in this race, we will never catch up. The security of the colonies will depend on those bonded with dragons to man the line in the Astral Plane, to protect all humanity. You remember the Cavey Incident? The one with Wyrms attacking the planet?”

  Nada nodded.

  “More Wyrms are arriving there, and the Pirr are bonding with them. We need a line of defense against them, and we need it yesterday.”

  “That means making more Evolved Mystics like you?” Nada reiterated. She’d been in the earlier meeting with Andrus. She knew what they needed.

  “Assuming we find dragons who agree to bond, and they accept you as a partner, yes. That’s the deal.”