A Place of Dragons

A Place of Dragons

I twiddled my thumbs nervously as I stared out the large transparent-aluminum
viewing port that was designed to show off the docking ships. Normally I
wouldn’t have been uptight, but currently there was only one ship docked at the
star-base and it was a “Dragon” owned ship. My chances , it seemed, of getting
out of my 6 month unemployment streak were slim. Most of the humanoid dragons
preferred to keep a pretty straight-forward crew of just “Dragons”, but there
were occasions where a human (or any other race) might be able to get a
position aboard such a ship if his/her qualifications were good enough. I fared
quite well with Ion Drives, Thrusters, and in a pinch I knew a little about
sensor equipment. I prayed that the recruitment officer for the ship would
think me “useful”.
I had no fears about being the only human for several months aboard an all
Dragon ship. One of the reasons I was picked to represent Humanity in Populated
Space was the fact that my Psyche scores showed that I got along well with
other races and showed no signs of Xenophobia, in fact, I was quite the
opposite! I preferred the company of other races to that of humans, as I
felt more than a little paranoid around my own people. I had friends, but I did
not visit them often and I had never had a date with any of the girls I had
known, let alone sex. So when a “Wolfen” vessel was sent to introduce Humanity
to the rest of the Galaxy, I had no one to stop me from deciding that it would
be a fun and interesting adventure, and I took the various tests put before me
and passed. Granted , the first year was tough learning all the new
technologies, languages, and socially accepted behaviors, but I got by. And
here I am today, nearly 10 light years from home, surrounded by a variety of
alien beings that range from the bizarre to the beautiful, and to me some of
the most beautiful of all were members of the “Dragon” race.
I had never spoken to any of the dragon-kind before, as they are one of the
more influential races, and were rarely seen in any of P.Space’s inner
stations. Since the big money comes from fuel ore refining or auctioning
planets off for colonization, most of the Dragon fleet was in deep space or on
the outer edges of Populated Space exploring uncharted sectors for new mineral
reserves and habitable solar systems.
Luckily my last post aboard a small scout ship left me stranded at one of the
outer posts, and Dragons here were not an uncommon thing. Which was fine, for
I found that Dragons were VERY stimulating to look at, yet it was a two-edged
sword since most ships that docked here were of the Dragon race and would hire
only Dragon members. My credits were already running low. If they became too
depleted I would be shipped back to Earth and replaced by someone who could
support themselves. I didn’t want that, as it most likely meant terminal
boredom. Laws here in space were much more lax, and back on Earth a lot of the
freedom I have here in space would be taken away.
This was the cause of my nervousness, and by the time it came for me to be
called into the interviewing room I was dry-mouthed and fidgeting.
The receptionist , who was a member of the Deer species, noted my condition and
asked me if I needed some water. I nodded my head and she smiled at me and
pointed to a water fountain around the corner. I drank several mouthfuls, and
thanked her for her help.
Asking me to follow her, the doe led me to the Recruitment office for the
docked ship’s Company, which was just past her desk. The doe opened the office
door for me and led me into a beautifully decorated room filled with plants of
the like I had never seen before. A large polished wooden desk with various
lighting devices and a computer console sat situated in the middle of the room.
A large, black leather-like chair that looked to be quite comfortable
accompanied the desk, its twin sat on the opposing side of the desk. To add to
the beauty, and the expense of the room, the entire length and height of the
back wall was a reinforced section of transparent aluminum several inches
thick. The sight of a wall that opened into space was quite spectacular.
While I was still taking in the beauty of the room, the doe wished me good luck
and winked a heavy eyelid at me and smiled. It was the first time another
species had found me attractive enough to announce their interest in me
sexually, and it suddenly threw my mind off course. I quickly pried my jaw from
the floor to say something, but the doe had already closed the door and left. I
made a note in my mind to have a nice discussion with her at the conclusion of
my interview. Even if I didn’t get the job, I might still get to come out of
this ahead. I was quite “unexperienced” and I hoped to correct this deficiency.
There was no one currently in the room so I sat myself down in the chair facing
the stars. The chair was better than it looked. It was quite soft and from
somewhere within it came a cool breeze. The chair had a comfort control with
adjustable temperature, operated by a dial that was in the left hand arm rest.
I turned the dial and set the temperature to a comfortable setting.
I heard the swish of an automated door and turned to my right to be greeted
by a tall, athletic, yet good looking middle-aged female blue dragon. She
entered her office from a side room and crossed to her desk without making a
sound, the starlight playing off of her scales sparkled and made her appear
more silvery than blue in spots. Her cheek ruffs, which the Dragon species had
somehow acquired in their evolution, were short and well combed and she was
wearing the equivalent of a light weight dress that hung near her body. It
revealed a little more than I was accustomed to seeing on most Dragons on other
sections of the station. The black color of the dress did not prevent the light
from the stars to shine through as she crossed in front of the viewing window,
and I could see quite plainly for just an instant the graceful curves of her
Dragon body. I realized I was staring and quickly averted my gaze before my
attention to detail was noticed by her.
However, it was too late to avert my gaze for other things, and my eyes held
that image in my mind until I had a growing problem.