Three months after Allison and Damian publicly announced their marriage, things had settled into a more comfortable routine. Damian had been promoted to Lieutenant-Commander, and he shared quarters with Allison and the two dragons. Karin, Sam, Kat, and Cheryl were also promoted to Lieutenant-Commander.
That particular day, Damian and Allison could be found in the midst of a sparring match in the Yel'Hal-tor's massive gym. Only a few crewpersons were in the gym at the time, so the two Vulcans were immensely enjoying themselves.
The two Vulcans circled each other, waiting for the right time to strike. The heat of Vulcan itself seemed to hang in the air, and the stench of ancient smoke wafted between them.
Damian darted in, hoping to get a quick strike. His hand arced down toward Allison's shoulder to deliver a fight-ending nerve pinch...
And abruptly he found himself soaring through the air, and before he could react he slammed into the opposite wall, approximately thirty feet away from where he had been and in the opposite direction to boot. He slid down to the floor, dazed. "Ouch. Not again."
Allison stepped over and helped him up. He rubbed the back of his head. "I'm never going to get this right," he complained.
"Oh, you just need to be patient," Allison said.
The two had been at it for several weeks now. Allison was trying to teach Damian a form of Vulcan self-defense, but the Aussie just couldn't figure out how to keep from being thrown yet. On the other hand, both of them had become quite good at sword dueling, particularly with their newly-constructed lightsabers.
During the Dream, the dragons of K'ti'ma had trained both in the Jedi way. With the teachings, they had learned some basic Force skills and how to build a lightsaber. Allison had actually built two, and kept them in specially-designed, easy-to-reach holsters on her forearms. The lightsaber on her left was blue-bladed, and the one on the right was green. Damian had also built two, and used a similar design for his holsters. Both blades were purple.
So far, they hadn't had to use them on any setting stronger than the practice setting. But they both knew that the time would come, eventually.
"Hey, you're doing better," Cobalt remarked from across the room. "At least you lasted a few seconds longer this time."
"Yeah, bringing the total time up to...what, ten seconds?" Illumina shot back, grinning at her padmiri as she did so.
Damian threw a towel at her. The bronze dragon lightly skipped out of the way and stuck her tongue out at him. He shook his head and chuckled a little. "I'm beat. Why don't we go get something to eat before our secondary shift?"
"Sounds good to me," Allison agreed.
~~~~~~~
The mess hall was slightly more crowded than the gym. Allison and Damian had to wait in a short line to get their food, but the wait wasn't too long. Allison synthesized an exotic shrimp and lobster platter with cheese biscuits and Sobe Dragon, while Damian got an Australian meat pie and a salad with a glass of milk to drink. Illumina and Cobalt weren't particularly hungry at the time, so they headed back to their shared quarters to wait for the two officers.
As the pair headed toward a table in the back, they passed by Karin. The half-Romulan was busy enjoying a plate of pasta, with no meat of course. She looked up as they walked by.
"You two are weird," she commented. "Carnivorous Vulcans."
"And you're a vegetarian Romulan," Allison replied immediately. "We're all one big freak-of-nature family."
"Yeah, it shows."
Allison snorted in amusement, and then continued on to their targeted table. Sitting down, the two dug into their meal almost immediately.
"So, anything interesting happen at Comms lately?" Allison asked Damian, then took a swig of the Sobe.
"Not really, except it seems the Admiralty is getting a bit nervous about us," he answered. He winked. "Evidently dragons and lightsabers make them a bit uneasy, especially in the hands of one of Kirk's relatives and her husband."
"Yeah, we would," she commented, grinning. "Seems to me that Admiral Fitzpatrick really doesn't like me. I wonder why that is. Well, the Admiralty will go to hell before I do what they want me to do. And the best part is, they know it, too."
"I don't really get it. What's so bad about the big brass?" Damian asked.
"Well, as far as I care, they're fairly incompetent. They don't give a care about the feelings and personal beliefs of those under their command. Hell, they even made us promise not to interfere with the timeline. They don't seem to get that, just by our presence, we're royally screwing the timeline." She grinned and sent him a telepathic message. So forget the brass, we're gonna blow their little scheme to hell!
~~~~~~~
Delta shift started fairly calmly, with the now-familiar change of bridge staff as personnel were released from duty as their replacements arrived. Damian took his place at the Comms console, nodding to Felsinger as the ensign turned the station over to him. Allison sat down in the command chair, and noticed that Cheryl and Monica were already at the helm/nav station. Kristian looked up from the Science console as the pair of Vulcans entered, smiling slightly.
"Anything important happen last shift?" Allison asked.
"Well, nothing much happened, except Ensign Malikan finally beat Lia at arm-wrestling," Kristian said, handing her a padd. "Other than that, it's pretty much been quiet up here. Oh yes, and Admiral Morrow called up yelling about some overdue reports."
Allison read over the padd as she spoke. "Sounds like a normal day, then. Thank you, Commander."
~~~~~~~
Only a few minutes passed before Damian noticed something odd. Scanning through the comm channels, he'd caught a snatch of an advertisement. Going back, he began to listen.
"Captain?" he called after a minute. "I think you'd better hear this."
She was instantly at his shoulder. "What is it?"
Damian called up the ad onto the speakers. "Listen to this."
*-the Quadracil Zoo recieved this new addition to their ranks yesterday at 1250 Drenat main time. The creature seems to be slightly sentient, but all it has been able to communicate is that it is something called a dragnon of Kitimiey. No one knows what exactly that may mean. In other news-*
Damian turned it off and swiveled his chair so that he faced Allison. "Sounds like they can't pronounce it right, but that's definitely a dragon of K'ti'ma," he said.
"Where did that signal originate?" Allison asked. The entire bridge was now listening in, all joking put aside at the mention of an imprisoned dragon.
Damian called up the planet on the main viewscreen. "Deilar VIII, in the Khimto sector. It's class M, with a spacefaring felinoid race that are known for collecting various specimens from different planets."
"Sort of like in The Eye Of The Beholder," Allison mused, thinking out loud. "Well, if there is a dragon in their zoo, we can't let them keep it. Cheryl, set a course for Deilar VIII, Warp Seven."
"Aye sir!"
~~~~~~~
The Yel'Hal-tor pulled into orbit around the eighth planet of the Deilar system after only a few hours. A pair of sleek, needle-shaped ships appeared and zipped around the outer hull. If it was possible for a spaceship to look nervous, they managed it.
"They're hailing us," Damian said.
"On screen," Allison ordered.
The main viewscreen shimmered, and the image of Deilar VIII was replaced by a felinoid face. The Dei looked like a Terran tiger, with white primary fur and rainbow-colored stripes. Its eyes were a luminous blue.
"This is Krimov Mrelar of the Deilar Space Authorities," the Dei said, and the voice was feminine. "We do not recognize your ship. Identify yourselves."
"Mrelar," Allison addressed the Dei, standing up, "I am Captain Ael of this starship, the Yel'Hal-tor. We are merely visiting your planet on a routine survey mission for our government. Will you allow us to carry out our duties?"
"I will report to my superiors and then give you an answer," Mrelar said, and then cut the channel. Her image was replaced with that of the planet again.
Kristian raised an eyebrow. "Well, THAT was polite."
"Oh, give them a break. They don't even really know who we are," Allison said. "They're not used to dealing with humanoids."
The Dei came back onscreen a few minutes later. "Your request for visitation has been accepted," Krimov Mrelar said. "You may send down your crewpersons as you wish, but do not interfere with our way of life nor take that which does not belong to you."
"Understood," Allison acknowledged. "Thank you. Yel'Hal-tor out." Damian cut the channel, and Allison turned to face her crew. "Damian, call Jessie and Steve to the transporter room and then get down there yourself. I'll get Cobalt and Illumina."
~~~~~~~
The group materialized in the midst of a busy metropolis. Cobalt and Illumina looked around curiously, ignoring the stares of various Dei. Allison took advantage of the situation and walked up to a nearby pair of Dei. "Excuse me...I'm Captain Ael of the starship Yel'Hal-tor. Could you be so kind as to point us in the direction of the Quadracil Zoo?"
The larger of the two aliens, a female, pointed wordlessly down a nearby street. Her companion was a bit more descriptive. "It is a very short distance away. You will not fail to see the sign."
Allison respectfully bowed. "Many thanks, gentlebeings." Gathering her officers with a glance and the dragons with a mental nudge, she started off down the street in the direction the Dei had indicated.
Gentlebeings? Damian inquired through their Bond. Where in space did you pick THAT up?
It was in a few books, okay? she sent back. Besides, it's the only thing I could think of. Now let's get to that zoo and rescue that dragon already.
Your wish is my command, wife.
Response to reviews: (figured I'd better get in the habit)
wingnut: Indeed it is.
Dark Jedi Princess: You think YOUR Comcast is being a snit?
Mistoffelees: That I did. School, ack, it is evil. Kill it!
Tavia: Thanks, and as it just so happens, I have. I agree, it did sound very Pernese, although I didn't mean it to. High-five for Pern! ^_^ Foreshadowing isn't quite finished yet, the events alluded to in chapter 11 will be revealed a bit later. Patience, young Padawan.
Damos no Yami: As well you should. :P
Everyone else participating:
I need your ages in 2011, if nothing else. And photos. Come on, don't do this to me.