It was midday in the oppressively hot center of Steel City as my family sat debating how best to defeat the demonic invaders that were trying to wreak genocide and destruction upon our home. People bustled by us, going about their daily business, oblivious to the threat that might be coming for us all.

The city was the only metropolis of its kind on Vaxivia, a planet in the outermost reaches of Earth Federation Space. Outside of its great walls loomed a vast and unforgiving wilderness, marked occasionally with small, rustic human settlements, but otherwise untamed.

The four of us had been stranded for over a month now, grounded on this unfamiliar and dangerous new planet. Younger brothers of the new king, we had been exiled by our countrymen, according to the law and tradition of our people.

Adding to our great fortune, we were then hunted because of our royal lineage by our enemies, the Infernians, and we narrowly stymied a plan to destroy the line of succession to the throne of our home planet, Dragselia.

We sat discussing our options in a public hospitality forum, a large open area with concrete tables and benches. In the center of the forum was an ornate and detailed fountain, but no water ran from it. On a desert planet such as this, water was not a resource frivolously spent.

“We should return to the Outpost immediately and work with the local militia to continue searching for the ship,” insisted my older brother Karun.

Karun was easily the most obsessive of our family. Having served in the military for years prior to our exile, he was intent, serious, and difficult to dissuade.

Zaruv, older than us both, snorted, “And if there are Infernians tracking us still, we’ll open ourselves up to another attack.”

“Precisely! By positioning ourselves outside the safety of Steel City, we may be able to draw out any Infernians still hunting us. Or would you prefer to bury your head in the sand again?” Karun fumed.

The stifling heat did not bother us. As Dragselians, we were immune to the effects of fire and heat. However, the stress of our situation and the direness with which we needed to warn our oldest brother, the newly crowned King Mulkaro, about the plot to claim his life and those of his children, had all of us uneasy and on edge.

“Are you trying to blame me for this, Karun?” Zaruv asked, looking offended.

“Hey, look! I got food, so you can stop biting off each other’s heads!” Andie, Karun’s human mate, returned to the table with bags of food.

She slid onto the bench beside Karun, kissing his cheek quickly. Her attempt to calm the two down temporarily succeeded.

“Oh great! Thanks, Andie!” said Jennifer, Zaruv’s perky, redheaded mate.

Both of my older brothers had had the good fortune to find human mates in the brief time we had spent on Vaxivia. Though we were different species, humans and Dragselians had been mixing for millennia, ever since Dragselian colony scouts had first encountered the human civilizations on Earth Prime. Pavar doesn’t have a mate yet.

But Pavar was the youngest of us and also had the biggest appetite. He eagerly snapped up his share.

“Aha! Food at last!” Pavar stuffed his mouth. Between his massive bites, he added, “Thank you, Andie, for finding a way to quiet these two bickering old women.”

Zaruv harrumphed and Karun gave him a steely-eyed look but said nothing as Andie passed out hot flat read wraps stuffed with spicy desert fruit and dromedary steak.

The street food in Steel City was delicious. One of the few points of optimism that we had encountered over the course of the last month and a half of chaos was the food. After the militia rations of tasteless dehydrated nutrient blocks that we had eaten during the journey from the Outpost to Steel City, my brothers and I had enjoyed our exposure to human food.

Possibly because the planet was populated primarily by refugees who had fled the perpetual political and social turmoil of Earth Prime, the people of Vaxivia seemed to make the most of what pleasures they had.

Of course, we were seeing a whole different side of Vaxivia now. When we’d crash landed, we had been in stasis and awoke to find ourselves in the unknown wilds of Vaxivia. Jennifer, who would go on to become Zaruv’s mate, had found us on her compound near the Outpost, a small, spartan human settlement.

Steel City, the main interplanetary transport center for the whole of Vaxivia, was a fascinating mix of grandiose and urban industrial. Sleek, reflective towers were surrounded by bustling open-air markets filled with shoppers, street performers, and vendors from across the galaxy, hawking exotic foods and tech.

I excitedly looked forward to exploring this new metropolis—we had barely dipped below the surface of human culture, and I wondered what else there was to learn and experience.

As everyone ate, I decided to weigh in on the current discussion. “During our audience with Charles yesterday, he and I discussed the tech that will be required for rebuilding our ship, when we do finally find it.” how do they know what condition it’s in, if they haven’t found it yet?

Charles Janeway was the unofficial mayor of Steel City, having become so after purging the city of the corrupt crime organizations that had governed most of the planet. Those organizations had been led largely by disguised Infernians.

I continued, “There is no point in searching for something we can’t repair, surely. He advised that we might seek assistance from the head of the Lord-Case Company.”

Andie looked surprised. “LCC? I don’t know that you’d even get in the door there. That’s one of the largest aerospace companies in this quadrant of the Earth Federation. I don’t think you can just walk in there and talk to their head honcho.”

Karun inquired, “What exactly do they do?”

“They are practically the sole supplier of anything that drives, flies, or otherwise moves on Vaxivia. In short, they make all our vehicles.”

Zaruv nodded. “Yes, Charles mentioned that to me as well. We should seek an audience with their CEO and explain our position.”

I wasn’t so certain that was the best course. “I worry, batr, that the head of a large, multi-planetary company would not necessarily feel inclined to assist our mission for nothing but the warmth of their own goodwill.”

“Surely they will, if they have any interest in protecting their own people. We all heard of the Infernians, did we not? Once they have taken control of Dragselia, their thirst for power won’t suddenly be quenched. The Infernian threat is one we all face,” Zaruv argued.

“I am saying they will be more concerned with protecting their own financial interests than acting on altruistic motivations. Consider that they run a business that was operating on this planet long before Charles stepped in and rid Steel City of his Infernian predecessors. They may not be as moral as you,” I reminded Zaruv. “We should seek accommodations and expect to settle here until our situation is resolved. The ship will likely have to be rebuilt within Steel City, where we have access to the needed materials.”

Jennifer spoke up, “You all make good points, but another thing to consider is that Vaxivians are extremely distrustful of outsiders.”

“Yeah, and the fact that you all can shift into dragons isn’t the easiest thing for ordinary folk to swallow,” added Andie.

“Perhaps we should settle outside the city, where we won’t have to be so vigilant about protecting our identities,” countered Karun. We all missed the freedom of being able to shift at will.

As Dragselians, my brothers and I had two forms. In our bipedal, humanoid forms, we could move about freely in Earth Federation Space colonies.

Dragselian skin colors ranged significantly compared to those of the ancient Earth humans and had limited our ancestors’ ability to assimilate into human culture. However, the last several thousand years of intergalactic travel and species interaction had resulted in a large enough palette of human complexions that my pale purple skin and Pavar’s icy blue hardly stood out as extraordinary.

Our dragon forms, on the other hand, were a bit more conspicuous. But for the journey between the Outpost and Steel City, we had primarily hidden our dragon forms, fearing the alarm and panic that might be incited on such an isolated and somewhat xenophobic planet.

“Why don’t we just go find the ship first? It may not be as damaged as you assume,” said Pavar, always the first in our group to act on impulse.

Zaruv answered, “Considering we failed to find it in over a month of scouting, it would be fair to assume that it is not intact. Even with Ragal’s technical expertise, we should expect it will not be a simple repair.”

Karun reluctantly agreed, “If you think you will need the assistance, Ragal, I trust you.”

Pavar rolled his eyes. “Well then, let’s hurry along and meet with this CEO. Must we agonize over everything?”

“It’s called being strategic,” Karun answered.

“I call it being slow,” he huffed back.

Andie interjected, “Easy now, boys. Don’t go getting your dragon bits in a bunch. You’re both right. If we need to get help from the big shots at LCC, and it sounds like we do, then we should seek them out as soon as possible.”

Zaruv reached inside Jennifer’s small leather bag that accompanied her everywhere. As a nurse practitioner—and especially since becoming entangled with a Dragselian—she always had a bag of basic medical supplies at the ready.

Pulling out a file and laying it on the table, Zaruv said, “Charles gave this to me this morning. It contains information about the company’s holdings and backgrounds on its executive board.”

Karun grabbed it first and scanned quickly. “The CEO is Tyler Lord-Case. He has apparently suffered significant health setbacks and has little to do anymore with the management and operation of the company.”

Zaruv replied, “Yes, apparently he has signed over the majority of the business operations and control to his daughter, Tasha.”

“Then perhaps it would be better to meet with the CFO instead,” Karun said, flipping through the pages. “The press has labeled Tasha the ‘Corporate Princess.’ She appears to have expanded the business considerably in the short time she has been running things. I doubt she would be the most compassionate point of contact for our cause.”

“Just because she took over her father’s business and has done well doesn’t mean she’s a cutthroat,” added Jennifer. “It is possible for someone to be successful and a decent person.”

Zaruv agreed, “If we simply present the situation to her logically, explain to her what devastating ramifications might come of her failure to aid us, surely she will be persuaded.”

Andie glanced at the file over Karun’s shoulder. “I don’t know anyone that gorgeous who isn’t an asshole.” Andie was nothing if not direct.

“Well, in that case, maybe we should try a different approach. One of us could curry favor with her in a more intimate way,” I joked.

Zaruv smirked at me and tossed the photo of Tasha in my direction. “You’re welcome to try, batr, though something tells me she isn’t lacking in suitors.”

I picked up the photograph and understood the fuss. She was stunning. With long, sensual waves of jet black hair, pale blue eyes that were the exact color of a midsummer Dragselian sky, and full, red lips that beckoned urges in me I hadn’t bothered with in far too long.

I swallowed down my excitement and nonchalantly answered, “Perhaps it is worth a try.”

Zaruv laughed roundly. “You’d better set about it then, before Pavar sees her picture and beats you there.”

Pavar straightened from his bored, reclined position to grab at the picture, but luckily, I had always been the faster of the two of us.

I snatched it safely away and fended him off as Zaruv continued, “Tasha is giving a presentation to investors tomorrow night. It might be a good opportunity for you to approach her.”

Tomorrow night seemed far too long to wait.