AN: I just want to give a giant thank you to those who reviewed, favorited, and followed my story. You have no idea how happy you made me. There may have been squealing. Anyway, please tell me how you like this chapter and let me know if I made anything confusing. Enjoy!
Same warnings and disclaimers apply.
Chapter 1
It was a very long time in coming, but salvation for Merlin arrived in the form of a Star Fleet transport vessel. At the age of 15, Merlin and Will had almost given up hope that Merlin would ever be able to escape this wretched place.
The USS Glory was on a very rare mission to trade what it could with the Drakkon people of the outer limits. The empire rarely allowed vessels from off world to even enter orbit, let alone land. Therefore, this was an opportunity that the boys could not afford to let pass by.
All the pair's careful planning was about to pay off. That night, when Mr. Fury was asleep after his second bottle of fire brandy for the night, Will helped Merlin out the window in the bathroom down the hall. Both boys then made a mad dash across the mostly wooded landscape to the cargo shuttle from the Glory.
All of this went remarkably well, one might say too well, but no child had ever dared sneak out of the Home, so none of the Caretakers were on alert.
Once the boys made it to the field containing the shuttle, they quickly crawled over to the side panel that they had witnessed earlier in the day being opened to store large crates. Upon testing the door, it was found to be sealed tight. Yet this posed very little problem for Merlin.
The Drakkon race as a whole is the offshoot of an alien life form that closely resembled the legendary dragon from Earth. The Drakkon retained the affinity for harnessing the energy of the Universe around them that their ancestors had once possessed, but on a lesser scale. This is a skill that must be honed over time in the School. Children who show a strong Connection to this power are sent to The Empire for a more in depth training regimen.
Somehow, perhaps due to the legend that the human race was made from the soil itself, Merlin's human mother's blood has given him a Connection stronger than any Drakkon on record has ever had. His Connection may even rival the Originals.
Will spotted this gift in Merlin early on and was able to help him hide his Connection from the Caretakers. If they had found out, Merlin would, without a doubt, have been sent to a lab in The Empire and experimented on without mercy.
Therefore, when the panel on the shuttle proved immobile at the time, all it took was a flash of golden fire in Merlin's eyes to reveal the inside of the cargo bay. Slipping inside, Merlin surveyed the contents of the room.
"Well there are quite a few containers with Drakkon goods to go back, so we should have no problem finding one to hide in." Merlin stated.
"Alright," Will muttered, "how about this one? There is enough space around the Ankar Vase for the two of us to fit."
"Perfect," Merlin grinned as they climbed inside.
The fit inside the crate was a bit cramped, mostly due to Merlin's long, lanky limbs that foretold a tall frame once he grew into them. The rough walls inside proved very uncomfortable against the day-old lashes on Merlin's back, but the pain would prove well worth it if it got him off this bigoted planet.
Pulling the lid back onto the crate, Merlin and Will settled in for a long journey.
After several tense hours, during which the boys could have been discovered missing at the Home, the pair heard the human crew return to their shuttle.
"Well, I'm glad that's over" stated a male voice.
"Tom, don't be so negative, this was a chance to learn from and trade with a very advanced species. I doubt any other humans will be invited back for another 25 years or so" Replied a female voice.
"I just don't appreciate being talked down to like a lower life form, is all." replied Tom.
"Let's just get back to the ship so I don't miss my little girl's birthday party." A second male voice interjected.
The hiss of the main cabin's door could then be heard followed soon after by the high whine of the engines.
BREAK….BREAK…
After a few hours of flight, Will and Merlin finally relaxed. They were now out of communications range with Drakkon. The first part of their escape was completed with no hitches.
Upon relaxing, a realization dawned upon Merlin. "Will, we don't look like the humans."
"Crap, you're right. Can you put some sort of spell on us? We need to blend in with any race other than our own."
"I think so. I read about a race called the Romulans. They are the only ones we could imitate, I think. With our superior strength and long life span, they are a better choice than humans. We could never pull off their emotionless cousins, the Vulcan."
"Ok, what do they look like? It's not too weird, is it?" came the weary reply from Will.
"No, they share our pointed ears. All I need to cover are the scales on the sides of our faces. I don't think anyone will notice our enlarged canines, besides, for such a long-term spell I don't know if I can do any more than covering our scales." Merlin pondered.
"Alright, then that will have to do. We will just need to be careful."
"Ok, here it goes." With that, Merlin's eyes shone once more and the forest green scales that framed Will's face faded into smooth skin, with Merlin's own ocean blue scales fading shortly after.
About 30 minutes later, the duo heard the shuttle dock inside the Glory. The two men and one woman who made up the shuttle's crew were immediately ushered away f or debriefing. Merlin and Will took this chance to leave their crate. Locating the door out of the cargo hold, the boys slipped out into the hall. Doors lined every side of the corridor. Using their superior sense of hearing, the two found an empty room that could have once been a Rec Room, but was small, stuffy, and had long sense been used as storage of miscellaneous broken pieces of equipment. The redeeming quality that it did have is the Replicater in the corner, so at least they would not have to go hungry until they reached Earth.
Days went by; exactly how many is unknown to the pair due to the lack of any form of time keeping in the Rec Room. Upon hearing the announcement that landing parties were to report to their respective shuttles for transport home, Will and Merlin exited their hideaway to run down the corridor. Their passage went mostly unnoticed due to a spell performed by Merlin to divert attention from them. Once they reached the shuttle bay, the boys clambered aboard another shuttle's cargo hold. Soon they found themselves en route to a new planet and a new life.
End Note: I'm not sure how regular my updates will be, but I will try to make them at least once a week.
9/23/12