Two weeks had passed by the time the ship was finally nearing completion. Ragal and his brothers had salvaged a good deal of the wreckage and I sent a team to continue recovery. Fortunately, because of the properties of the alloy used for the ship’s body, the acidic waters of the swamp had left it mostly intact and we worked tirelessly to piece it back together.

There had been a certain degree of public fallout and shock when footage of Ragal and his brothers racing to and from the burning hangar in the full splendor of their dragon forms hit the media. But with the backing of Charles Janeway, militia approval, and the endorsement of the LCC brand, most of the fears about an alien presence on Vaxivia were allayed.

There would always be some who could not accept aliens, but the imagery of Dragselians rescuing human workers from a massive inferno put to rest the notion of hostile intentions.

We relocated the construction to another hangar, and, while we assisted in the rebuild, Ragal introduced me to the technology of their ship. Their stasis pods had the potential to drastically revolutionize our medical technology.

With so many of Vaxivia’s settlements spaced at great distances in the wilderness, if injuries couldn’t be treated locally at the small community-led clinics, they were generally fatal. Though Steel City had top-of-the-line medical facilities, the chances of outliers making it to the city with severe injuries were slim at best.

It was an exciting time for Vaxivia and LCC, between the hydro-harvesting program and the aerospace and medical tech that Ragal and his brothers openly shared with us. The future was bright.

One point of darkness remained, though. When I confronted my father with the accusations Tadisha had made, that he had been complicit in selling mining rights within the Vaxivian-controlled asteroid field that we harvested from, he was shocked, having no recollection of it. Part of me wanted to believe him, but the seeds that Tadisha had planted had taken root and I wasn’t sure what to believe.

When I revealed his backdoor deal with the Infernians, I was met with less of a reaction than I had expected from the group.

It was four days after the attack and we had been overseeing construction progress for the day. Convening in a workspace to look at projections for completion and travel speed, it was only myself, Ragal, his brothers, and Andie and Jennifer. After the treachery in my own office, I was in the process of thoroughly vetting all my employees.

As the meeting wound down, I finally brought it up.

“I have something to tell you all, something I probably should have brought up right away, but I wanted to see if there was any truth to Tadisha’s words before I raised the alarm.”

Everyone’s attention was riveted on me, and I felt my cheeks flush.

Ragal put his hand over mine to assure me. “It’s okay, just tell us now. I’m the last person who will judge you for hesitating to reveal something,” he said with a small smile.

I nodded. “During my time alone with her, Tadisha revealed the reason they chose the Lord-Case Company for infiltration. Apparently, our mining operation in the Vaxivian asteroid belt uncovered rich stores of the element iridium.”

I paused and brought up the holo projector, with a visual presentation on the metal.

“It’s one of the densest metals known. In its natural state, it’s extremely brittle, but when formed as an alloy, it is nearly indestructible. The Infernians somehow manipulated my father into granting them access to those mines and have used them to create their fleet.”

I lowered my head, feeling ashamed. “I confronted my father, because it made no sense. He has always been a shrewd businessman, but I cannot believe he would broker a deal like this if he understood in any way the implications of it. He has no recollection, but given his physical condition, I’m not sure he can recall much—another Infernian gift.”

Zaruv responded, “Well, it is no worse than we already expected. The last assassin we encountered taunted us about their fleet but, as with any Infernian, it is hard to separate the truth from the vileness they spew.”

“Indeed, they are not the only ones with a formidable force. Dragselia’s military has a few tricks up their sleeves, too. Your information will prove helpful as we formulate battle strategies. Thank you for telling us,” Karun said.

Pavar’s eyes glistened with a violent anticipation. “They have no idea what kind of fight they’re starting, but they’ll soon find out what it means to challenge the strength of Dragselia.”

Relief washed over me as the conversation shifted toward military strategies and tactics. Little could be done now, but it was clear that the brothers would hit the ground running when they were finally able to return to Dragselia.

Ragal looked curiously at me. “You said your father’s medical state is due to the Infernians?”

“Yes, Tadisha told me they had infected him with some kind of nanites. I have Steel City’s top medical experts looking into it, but so far they haven’t come up with any solutions on how to cure him.”

“I have heard of this before. It’s one way they gain control over a Dragselian host to create the Naga serum they use to affect their human appearance. It takes only a handful of nanites to gain control over a host. They self-reproduce and colonize the host system, giving an Infernian the ability to completely control the thoughts and actions of the victim.”

“Many good Dragselians have been lost to their effects,” Karun said somberly.

Ragal looked suddenly alive. “It gives me an idea, though. The knife that Tadisha stole from the lab and used on me. It is magnetized and drew out the iron in my blood. If we could determine the electron cloud pattern of the nanite colony in your father…”

Seeing the track of his thoughts, I finished, “We could then configure a magnet to draw out the nanites, while leaving the iron in his red blood cells intact!”

Animated, we continued talking well after everyone else filtered out, working through the night, theorizing ways to create an iron-barrier magnet.

Over the following days, we took samples of my father’s blood and tested an experimental nanite resonating device. We basically lived in the lab, bouncing ideas off each other. It seemed impossible, but I fell in love with Ragal even more during those long hours.

When we finally felt ready to apply the magnetic resonance, I was a little apprehensive, but I knew if we didn’t do something, I would lose my father forever.

We brought him to the lab; he had nearly lost his ability to sit up and was bedridden, leaving us with no extra time for testing.

As the nurses lifted him onto the stretcher to enter the resonance chamber, I kissed his pale forehead, holding back tears.

“I love you, Dad,” I whispered, wondering if it would be the last time I got to tell him that.

The procedure took an agonizingly long two hours before the imaging came back clear of nanites. His blood pressure and blood oxygen saturation dropped dangerously low at the halfway point and I held my breath. No one could enter the chamber once the resonance had started.

I felt my pulse spike and panic set in while we waited.

Ragal turned to me and gently urged, “He can still hear you. Speak to him.”

I went to the audio panel and froze, wondering what to say. I thought back to my childhood, to the early few years when we were just an average Vaxivian family. I remembered a song he used to whistle while he worked in his shop and started to sing.

Slowly, his levels began to stabilize and the fear that gripped me eased. I sang as much for him as I did for myself, remembering the times I had spent watching him work, how much I had admired him. Fully grown, I now understood the pressures and stress that had driven him further away from me. I clung to the hope now that, if he could make it through this, we might reestablish that relationship.

When the alert finally beeped that the procedure was over, I rushed in, eager to see if it had worked. He was still sedated and wouldn’t wake up for several hours, but already the color had returned to his cheeks, and the dark circles under his eyes had lightened.

By the time he finally came to, he had regained something of his old energy. We explained the situation to him anew; his memory of the last two years was clouded and hazy at best. Though angry, he was overcome with gratitude that we had broken him free of his Infernian enslavement.

With his health improved, he began spending time around the office again. The procedure had resulted in some damage to the nerves of his legs and he tired easily from walking too much, but he was perfectly capable of attending meetings again. It would take time, but Ragal and I believed he could make something close to a full recovery.

One day, as I assisted him out of a conference with the team working on the ship construction, he surprised me with his blunt, candid observation.

“So, you and this purple fellow, you’re together, I take it?”

“His name is Ragal, and yes… I love him,” I said, watching to see his reaction. My father had survived several alien attacks, and I didn’t know how he would feel about our relationship, though he had been amenable to aiding the brothers’ return to Dragselia.

Gruffly, he responded, “Well, considering how closely I took Albert into the fold, I’m not sure my judgment is what it once was, but any man who can keep up with you in the lab must be something. I do owe him my life, after all.”

I smiled, knowing this was my father’s way of granting approval. Still, I couldn’t help but feel unsettled, as the ship was nearly complete and would be ready for flight within the week. I knew Ragal had to leave, understood his duties clearly, but I wondered what it would mean for us.

Later that night, we were about to return to my loft, where Ragal had been staying after leaving his rented quarters, when he flew us out to the hangar, instead.

After I dismounted, he shifted and took my hand and we walked into the building together. No matter how many times I saw the ship, I still got chills looking at it. I felt like an awestruck child.

“Would you like to go inside?” he asked me.

I was taken by surprise. I hadn’t been into the hull of the spacecraft yet, though I had secretly been dying to explore it.

“If you’re going to be my tour guide,” I said, excited.

He approached the vehicle, walked under its large nose, and placed his palm to its surface. The polished metal seemed to heat and melt, shaping itself into a staircase that he gestured for me to ascend.

Breaching the spacecraft’s interior, I was dazzled by the scale of it. It was clearly constructed with the size of a Dragselian’s dragon form in mind. I had been in thousands of aircraft, but this somehow felt grander, epic.

“She’s about two hundred years old now,” he said, stroking a wall. “She has some quirks, but she is still a sound ship.”

I smiled, feeling a stab of pain. “I take it you’re excited to fly her again, to take her home.”

“Well, truthfully, I’m a little worried.”

“Oh? Why is that?”

He walked to the controls, inspecting the details that only a pilot could appreciate.

“Well, my brothers are talented warriors, but they are terrible pilots. None of them have the skills to copilot her with me,” he said, smirking.

“I don’t understand. They flew here with you.”

“Yes, and look where that got us.” He smiled and I could see he was joking.

“I’m sure you’ll be fine,” I said, reassuring him.

“Well, I’m hoping to find a new copilot for the return flight,” he said, looking at me oddly.

“Oh, well I can certainly talk to my old militia contacts about finding you a suitable copilot.”

He came up to me then, wrapping me in his arms. “What if I’ve already found one?”

“Me?” I croaked, surprised.

“I know it’s a lot to ask, and I know you have responsibilities here, but there is no one I would rather have by my side when I return home and face this threat. The future is uncertain, but the one thing I am certain of is that I want you in it.”

I was quiet, processing. My father was well on his way to being able to resume his previous duties, and, by the way he had involved himself in meetings and daily tasks, it was clear he wasn’t ready to slow down with retirement now that he had his health back.

Ragal started to look nervous at my silence. “Tasha?”

“Hmm?”

“What are you thinking?”

“I was just wondering whether we’ll have our own chamber, because I’m not sure I can keep my hands off you all the way there.” I smiled up at him.

“Anything for you, my love,” he said as he pressed his mouth to mine.

“Then how about a ride?” I asked.

“I’m not sure the engines are quite ready to be activated…” he started.

“I wasn’t talking about the ship,” I said, smiling coyly.

Laughing and giddy in love, we lost our clothes along the way as he showed me to our chamber. Like the scientists we were, we made sure to thoroughly test and experiment with its functionality.

Naked and wrapped around each other, we lay there inside the ship late into the night as we both contemplated the adventure to come, wondering what was waiting for us on the other side of the galaxy.

* * *