Archion doesn’t ask questions about the reason for my visit, but I know he has them. All of the information he’s shown me has already been reported to the Council, but reading dry reports is not the same as direct questioning, I have always found. We are in sight of the airlock which we exit in silence. The human on guard duty will not be privy to my private conversations.
Once we’re outside and alone again, I let the silence extend. The warmth of the setting suns soaks into my scales, bringing some semblance of relief from the empty ache. Thankfully, the pain in my head recedes too.
“How are they doing militarily?” I ask.
“Sir?” he asks, actually looking at me with a quizzical expression.
“Militarily,” I repeat.
“They aren’t, sir,” he says.
“Yet they’ve fought off the Invaders,” I observe.
“Yes sir,” he agrees.
“And Ladon found his way to that military base,” I say.
“Yes sir,” he says.
“So I pose the question again,” I say. “How are they doing militarily?”
He doesn’t answer for several strides. I let him organize his thoughts. We have a long journey back to the compound. I study him as we walk and suddenly a fire ignites in my chest. My hearts burn, my limbs grow heavy, and my stomach clenches. How is it he has found his mate and I haven’t? An urge to strike him surges and I ball my hands into fists but manage to stop myself before I act.
“They are weak, but determined,” he says. “The humans are tenacious. They possess an inner strength that is highly admirable.”
“Even the females?”
“Especially the females,” he answers.
“I see,” I say.
We travel back to the compound in silence. Archion looks askance in my direction a few times, but I let him stew. I’m lost in my own thoughts and do not have time for his concerns. We drop into one of the hidden tunnels and before long we’re emerging past the posted guards who snap to attention as I walk past.
“Archion, report for punishment for breach of secrecy protocols,” I say without bothering to look at him.
I feel him bristle as his bijass rises in response, but he doesn’t act on it. Instead he snaps to attention.
“Yes sir,” he says.
I stride through the compound, taking the halls that will be least traveled. I’ll make my report to the Council in the morning. Tonight I want to be alone.
Behind my closed doors I slip off the plain loose robe I wore to blend in at the City. My prime cock is stiff and throbs painfully, but I ignore it. Naked I go to my water bowl which is kept full by my assistant. I rinse my eyes then place cool water on my cock, trying to calm my raging desire for a female that I haven’t seen.
My cock jumps, my stomach clenches, and my balls tighten. I close my eyes to focus, to think of nothing. I empty my mind of thought and emotion. Or I try.
I can’t.
In the blackness behind my eyelids is swirling desire. A storm assaulting my control. I breathe in, then exhale slowly, repeating this cycle over and over, but it doesn’t help.
An impression of her consumes my attention. She’s perfect in every way. Fine, strong hips perfect for the bearing of many children. This is the future that was predicted so long ago. That we would emerge from the Devastation, not unharmed, but stronger.
We would be reattuned to Tajss, living in harmony with the planet. The humans were the key. Our reward for the horrors we have survived and those that we caused. The weight of my past is crushing but it was all done to save Tajss.
She is my salvation. She tugs at my very soul, calling me to find her. When I do we will make the most beautiful, passionate love.
I’m barely aware of my hand on my cock, slowly stroking.
Our love burns brighter than both the suns of Tajss. When we are finally together the surviving planets of the Federation will know of our love because it is a supernova, waiting to happen. Even these Invaders might well retreat before the glory of that moment.
The dragon roars as I explode, finding some measure of relief. The aching need recedes enough that I will be able to sleep. I clean myself and lie down. Tomorrow. Tomorrow will be the day I find her, at last. She will be in my arms.
I’m coming, my love. My treasure.
GONG – CLANG – GONG – CLANG – GONG
“AAARGH!” Someone is roaring in rage outside my room.
I leap from my bed, eyes bleary, head ringing with the sounds of the alarm. Another scream echoes through my closed door. I throw the closest garment at hand over my head, the plain robe from my trip to the City, and throw the door open. A young warrior is running down the hall with fear etched into the scales of his face. Still, his eyes are hard and determined.
“What is this alarm?” I shout to be heard over the din.
“Invaders!” he says. “They’re in the compound!”
“Impossible,” I snap.
“Yes, s-s-si-sir,” he stutters, trembling as he stops and comes to attention. “But they are.”
I grab my lochaber from the wall rack. I haven’t wielded my weapon in battle in more than a lifetime, but still the smooth wood is familiar. It settles into my hands like an old friend or the feel of my own cock.
“Where?” I ask. He points down the hall. I try to remember his name, but it doesn’t come to me. I don’t interact with the younger ones often enough to know them all on sight. “Follow me.”
I take the lead, racing toward the danger. Invaders, in the compound? He has to be wrong. How did they breach our defenses? How did they get so close without setting off the alarms long before they reached the compound?
A subtle acrid scent fills my nostrils. Almost drowned out by the clanging of the alarms is a faint but familiar sound. I run faster down the hall, unable to believe it. I must be mistaken—it can’t be what it sounds like.
We reach a door. I grab the handle and jerk my hand back in surprise. The handle is burning hot and my scales are seared.
Tendrils of smoke emerge from beneath the door like grasping fingers. I take a step back and push the warrior behind me. Then I kick the door with all I’ve got. It shatters beneath the impact, shards of wood exploding into the room beyond.
The now-open door is a window onto chaos.
Fire is climbing the walls of what was once a gathering room. Fallen, mangled bodies litter the floor. I’m agape at the horror before me but barely able to process the bodies. The war is here, raging inside our compound.
Four Invaders fill the room, massive monsters with their four arms, roaring their triumph. Wetness splashes onto my tail and the backs of my legs as the warrior behind me loses his stomach.
“Fight!” I yell, glancing back at him. “With me!”
I shift my grip on the lochaber and charge. My backup was pale faced and shaking, but his training kicks in and he is at my side. He swings his lochaber in a wide arc and I match it from the other angle. We split apart, moving around the massive post in the center of the room, avoiding the flames licking up to the ceiling.
We close on the opposite side of the post, finishing our swings. I adjust my swing, weaving it between the defensive weapons of my opponent. They all seem to have the same armaments. Swords in their upper two hands and heavy sticks with wicked-looking spikes sticking in all directions for the lower two.