New life
Chapter 1

 

[color=red]CONFIDENTIAL[/color]

This report is only for agents and personnel with Alpha accreditations.
This report must be read carefully, and every detail taken into account.
We remind every person(s) in charge of Project Centaurus operation that copying or relaying any information to the public or any opposing force will be severely punished to the fullest legalities of the law as to guaranty the confidentiality of this operation before official records are created for the wealth of the Consortium.
This file is not permitted for viewing of any personnel under the age of 18 depending on location of birth
This report will automatically be deleted from this terminal and information about it will not be permitted outside of standard secured viewing areas or official meetings with persons with a minimum rank of captain. We thank you for your time.

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---------Credentials Accepted-------------------

 
  In the year 2581 the Consortium’s great council under the guidance of Haldar, 540th president of the consortium, decided; according to the recent energy crisis and conflict over its border due to insufficient energy production and increasing rate of natural resources’ consumption, to send colonists in the nearest system outside their border: the Centaurus Galaxy
The project has been named rebirth; its conduct has been given to general McGregor. Upon a humble acceptance of the mission, The Consortium Research Ship CRS-Hope was commissioned and remodeled as the ship for the potentially dangerous journey across unknown space. The journey is estimated to last 15 years, only 9 of which will be manned by its crew. During the automated duration of the trip approximately 4,137 individual crew members will be placed into cryostasis including most forms of hybrid clone life.
          All chosen crew members have Armed forces of the Consortium backgrounds including a minimum of 5 years served, and specialized training which makes them eligible to be important to the success of the mission.
To all leadership authorities reading this briefing, we must not fail. This mission is of paramount importance for the safety and prosperity of the consortium and its allies. All means must be used to ensure success of this mission. You are here by granted to use any means you deem necessity to successfully complete the mission upon your best judgments.
         

          -Glory to the consortium and its enlightened guide-

 
[color=red]WARNING[/color] this report will self-destruct in ten seconds.

 
……………………………………

 

"And we're supposed to save the world in this!" Shouted Nick as he threw a handle across the hall. The metallic object flew in the air and hit the metallic floor of the empty corridor with a loud clicking sound that echoed throughout the large empty space. Nick was standing before the door of the rest room, his laser riffle in one hand the other clenched on a knife he tried to put in the lock mechanism. "I’m tired of this piece of shit breaking all the time…” he grumbled as he tried to fit his blade in a crack to open the wire box.

To his own surprise, as the panel began slowly giving way, his knife broke too, the blade staying stuck in the panel. He looked down at the handle in disbelief and like he did before threw it away. "It's definitely not my day." he sighed in desperation as he tried to force this door to open once again.

It had been at least five minutes that he was trying to open this damned door. The automatic system was malfunctioning, the card reading device was failing as well and when he tried to open the door manually the handle broke in his hand. And to top it all of the emergency opening was inaccessible, held away by a jammed electrical panel. He tried with all his might to make the tough steel panel slide on its rails, but the thing wouldn't budge.

He finally let go, giving up after one last fruitless attempt, his muscles on fire, throbbing with the humongous effort he just gave. "Why do this kind of shit always happen to me?" he grunted as he let himself slide against the wall until he was in a sitting position. A long minute went by in the quiet corridor, the silence only disturbed by his heavy breathing and frustrated grumbling. His opportunity to catch a break after a long and boring patrol was screwed and there was no other place at a reasonable distance that offered the same peace and quiet. As he was about to give up and file a report to the maintenance team, he suddenly heard the familiar clack of the mechanism as it unlocked, letting the thick metal door slide with a muffed hiss in the wall.

Nick stared at the entrance in disbelief, questions racing in his head; was the door still malfunctioning? Or was someone from the security team messing with him by remotely controlling the door? The answers to his questions soon came when the sounds of footsteps reached his ears, coming from inside the room. A small gasp stuck in his throat as a golden yellow and black snout attached to a long slender black neck slowly came out of the room to take a peak outside. Nick observed in an utterly shocked silence the two amber eyes as they glanced around the empty corridor with curiosity and a hint of anger, as if who they belonged to had been interrupted in a middle of something important.

However, when they finally spotted him, he saw them light up with happiness and amusement and a bit of surprise, as a wide and warm toothy mocking smile curled his lips. "Hi Nick" he politely said with a strangely low-pitched voice that contrasted with the size of the creature it belonged to. "Hi Lyam… didn't know you were there." Stammered Nick, trying to hide his surprise as he quickly collected himself and rose to his feet. "Yeah… me too…" whispered Lyam in return, looking ever so slightly embarrassed, one of his clawed paws slowly scratching the floor, "So… what are you doing here?" he quickly added with a more joyful tone. "Well… I wanted to take some rest… drink a coffee… or two… and have a quick nap… that's quite the goal of a rest room." Joked Nick, feeling very nervous now, pointing at the large sign standing atop the door. Lyam chuckled in return. "And you… what were you doing in there?" "Oh… I… I… I was taking a nap too…." Muttered Lyam, avoiding Nick’s gaze. Nick wasn’t quite sure, but he could swear he saw a slight blush creep up the dragon’s scaly cheeks for a split second. "So why was the door locked?" "I didn't want to be… disturbed… you see… after all… it's my room too now." "No… not really…. Are you sure you were only sleeping in there?" "Of course, I was! What are you imagining?” exclaimed Lyam, taking a step back, looking offended, “Listen… my head was aching… have been working very hard today and decided to take a nap until the painkillers did their thing."

Nick wasn't quite convinced by this answer but showed no hint of suspicion, shrugging it off as another excuse from the dragon. "Yeah… whatever. Can I come in now?", he sighed, "Yeah sure" answered the dragon after a second of hesitation as he moved out of the way, allowing him to enter.

Nick stepped in the large and quiet room. It was plunged in thick impenetrable darkness that only a few weak lights managed to pierce. To his own surprise he realized that even the shutters had been lowered which seemed to add weight to Lyam’s explanation. Aside from Lyam’s claws clicking on the ground next to him as he padded away, only the low buzzing of some machine could be heard in the background. Nick, after fumbling for a few seconds, switched on the light and grimaced as he inhaled.

The air was hot, as if someone had pushed the heaters at their maximum setting. It was not all, it seemed thick, heavy and moist; filled by a strong animalistic fragrance foreign but not quite unknown to him. Having no other choice, he took several deep breaths, trying his best to cope with this strong scent invading his nose and overwhelming his senses. It had to be the natural yet heavy musk of the creature standing by his side but still… there was something new… something… different.

Nick tried to show no sign of discomfort, both to not show it affected him, and to not offend the dragon as he made his way in. He left his assault rifle on a table after making sure the safety lock was engaged and walked to the small kitchen located in a corner of the large and mostly empty room. There he made himself a much-needed coffee and patiently waited until the machine prepared it for him, listening to the low purrs and buzzes the thing made as it worked. Taking the opportunity, he looked around him. The room was composed of the small kitchen he was standing in; a circle of couches around a large holographic screen that was currently switched off and of several tables piled together in the opposite corner. On the opposite side of the rest room Lyam was lying, sprawled on a couch, his half-lidded eyes staring at the ceiling; sometime quickly glancing in his direction. At first, he ignored him, grabbed his cup of coffee and walked to the large window. He raised the shutters and deactivated the opacifying system and let the dim light of the nearest stars flow in which surprisingly yielded no protest nor complain from Lyam. Taking a sip of burning hot coffee he let his gaze wander outside, observing the millions of stars displayed before him as pieces of rock from nearby asteroids flew by. Looking at the immensity of space made him wonder and realize how small, pathetic and insignificant they were compared to the immense endless space.

"Hey, you know we've entered the Centaurus system!" said Lyam after a while, breaking the peaceful that had filled the room. "Nope. When did it happen?" "Two days ago. We're currently in the Macroinan solar system." Nick didn't really care but he had nothing else to do other than to listen to the young creature. "We will soon pass the first planet." Added Lyam, in a cheerful tone.  "Really… interesting." "Yep… it's called D914A1815." "Quite a shitty name" commented Nick after another sip of his hot beverage. "Nickname Dinaro." Specified Lyam. "Much better." "It's totally boring" added Lyam with a disappointed sigh, "We won't even stop there." "Why?", interrogated Nick, surprised by the sudden change of tone, listening more closely now. "Because it's only a dead pile of burning rocks. There is nothing interesting on the surface." Explained Lyam, “and even if there was anything of value, we don’t have the means to establish a colony there, we’d have to terraform the whole planet first.” "Great… more annoying trip." Sighed Nick, starting to feel tired and depressed from the seemingly endless journey through space; the long days of patrols through t empty halls; the training, briefings and countless tests slowly getting boring.

"The next planet should be more… exciting." Added Lyam, catching Nick’s attention. "Why exactly?" "It's the first promising planet. From what I’ve read it’s quite a big one at that. Survey showed water and plant life; I mean actual forest", continued Lyam, not hiding his excitement and impatience. "How far is it?" "Three days of flight and we'll be in range of its atmosphere." "Fine… we'll finally get started… I was getting bored of roaming around this ship." Let out Nick, relieved by the news. "Yes, me too… it's even more frustrating for the scientist team we have literally nothing to do."

"Don't complain the security team is doing rounds and playing cards all day it's not much more interesting.", grunted Nick in response, tossing is empty cup in the garbage compactor. "I think everyone is a bit bored." Acknowledged Lyam, noisily sighing and flopping back onto the squeaky couch that served as his bed.

Nick nodded in approval, loosing himself in the contemplation of the space outside as his mind drifted away, back in time. He remembered six years ago when he received his new mission order. He had been stuck in a boring peacekeeping mission in one of the systems in the outer belt when he had received the classified and highly protected document. After reading it he lost no time in taking his decision, immediately leaving his small crappy home in the suburbs of an immense sprawling city and took the first military transport ship at the nearest spaceport. He learned during the journey in the uncomfortable and cramped vessel that all the other soldiers onboard were going to the same meeting. They arrived at the spaceport five hours later, docking in one of the countless landing pads the immense installation had to offer. They had no time to admire the beauty and magnificence of the brand-new installations and were guided by grumpy soldiers, through a labyrinth of corridors, elevators and walkways to a large meeting room that was already full of different peoples. There were humans and different kinds of aliens, all of them waiting, questioning what that whole thing was about and why it was kept so secret. At first glance Nick identified what and where many of them came from. There were soldiers of widely different units, doctors and paramedics, and a whole plethora of scientists and mechanics. After ten minutes someone climbed on the large stage in the center of the room and tapped the microphone until a loud unbearable noise forced them all to silence and attention. The man who wore the uniform of a general, and a high-ranking one at that judging by the medals adorning his chest, cleared his throat and began to talk. Nick knew him; his reputation had preceded him. It was simply general McGregor, the most famous and renown officer of the army, the decorated and honored hero of the great war of the origin system; the man under which every new recruit dreamed to serve. Nick remembered the old tales of this war. It had all taken place on this good old earth, starting at first as a small insurrection that quickly escalated in a full-blown war that then rapidly expended to the entire system. The cause? An alien rebellion no one took seriously until arms were taken and used against innocent civilians that found themselves stuck in the crossfire when fights broke into streets and cities as the local conflicts turned into a blood bath. It was a massacre; cities were raised to the grounds by artillery shelling and bombings as factories, roads and other infrastructures were sabotaged and blown up daily causing millions of casualties. Earth was lost in the span of only three months, turned into a constant blazing inferno. Everything was burning, devoured by all-consuming flames, from forests to cities; oceans were infected with deadly pathogens agent or transformed into a toxic stew of acids and chemicals, orbital strikes and artillery shells had ravaged the entire surface, leveling skyscrapers and mountains to the ground without distinction, only leaving a dry piece of rock where nothing could survive. Even the air had become poisonous to any form of life, full of ashes, dust and toxins; all of that carried around by the powerful winds that constantly blew over the dead no-man’s-land. The rebellion then carried on to Mars, Venus…. Soon the entire solar system was ablaze, all colonies torn apart by the conflict of an unprecedented scale. One by one, all planets fell to the hands of the enemy; no one seemed to be able to stop them or even just slow their ruthless advance; not the consortium impressive military forces, nor its fleet that got totally obliterated, not even its planetary annihilation weaponry which were eventually destroyed like all the rest. The consortium’s leadership was in complete disarray, unable to hold any of the front line, loosing terrain after each bloody battle.

It was until the commandment was entrusted the general McGregor after the complete collapse of the council of admirals that oversaw all operations until that point. He changed strategy, adopted new tactics, and used the remaining forces he had to take down the enemy from inside. Instead of rushing his forces into bloody and pointless battles he built small units of highly skilled commandos to infiltrate the enemy lines and wreak havoc while other units were carrying diversion attacks or bold operations to take down priority targets behind enemy lines. When the enemy came into battle all their ships were destroyed, blown up from inside by the consortium’s agents or rendered defenseless by their sabotage operation where what remained failed into countless ambushes along the way to battle. The surprise was as immense as confusion that followed. The remaining enemies had no choice but to scatter and retreat; believing the consortium had developed a new weapon of death and chaos. The disorganization that followed sounded almost like a joke; entire enemy fleets would battle against each other; believing one another to be a traitor, officers became paranoid, slaughtering their own troops in their desperate search for the spies while the real agents were continuing their work mostly undetected, undermining the enemy’s efforts from within. It gave the Consortium enough time to rebuild a new, more powerful and high-tech fleet, give their units a better training and make some major changes to their military doctrine. In no time power had changed hands and the rebellion was crushed, loosing battle after battle, colonies after settlements and finally forced to surrender. Only their highest ranked chiefs refused and preferred perishing rather than facing the shame of defeat and the prospect of imprisonment.

As Nick understood it, it was this highly respected man that was in charge of whatever they had been summoned here for and knowing how much of a privileged honor it was to serve under the orders of this highly estimated and respected general he listened with all the ears he had.

The solemn speech the general had been giving them had been about the major crisis the consortium was now facing. Since the Great War the consortium had expended beyond the borders of the solar system and was now controlling the whole galaxy. Their power had grown far more impressive than in the old days; much like population. But with that rapid and steady growth came increasingly important issues with food, water, and resources in general. After one thousand years of expansion, growth and massive consuming several planets had been drained of all their resources; becoming dead deserts of rocks and dust or getting so polluted by the non-stopping industrial production and exploitation that they were now inhabitable, their very air turning toxic and unbreathable. The main consequence was massive chunks of population moving to other planets resulting in overpopulation of these planets, city expending much more than they should have done, leading to these peoples, that had been forced to leave their home behind, living in military prebuilt house that lacked everything from comfort to basic hygiene. Nick knew this situation all too well. As a soldier he was often called in these sectors to "maintain” calm and relative peace which meant walking around with his riffle, shooting in the crowd if it got too out of control and quell rebellions the hard way if needed. He hated this part of the job, but he had no other choice; he had to obey.

However, what was the point of this whole speech besides reminding them of the crude and harsh reality they had all lived in? Soon however he got his answer as the general came to the interesting part. The consortium had a plan, a way out of this mess. At first Nick just chuckled at himself, having heard similar speech and promises many times over only to be faced with the disappointing reality. What could be the plan this time anyway?  Forcing all these pour peoples to work harder, to gain less credits and to ration their already small reserves of food and beat them down if they refused? No thanks. He knew that would only cause more civilian unrest and protests which they didn’t need right now with such an already unstable situation.

Nick didn't approve the latest decisions of the consortium, but he still held the secret hope that it would be different this time around, after all the great hero of the consortium couldn’t just repeat the old mistakes of the past. And for once he was right; the plan stunned him, leaving him speechless, eyes glued to the holographic displays that had popped around the general, drinking his words, making his heart swell with hope.

"The consortium has approved my project, codename “Rebirth” but I prefer to call it the Centaurus project!" shouted the genera, clearly and sincerely happy, his joy quickly becoming communicative throughout the crowd. "It consists in a long, potentially dangerous, and challenging exploration of the still unknown Centaurus galaxy. Our latest probes and scanners have showed that this galaxy has vast amounts of unexploited resources and habitable worlds that the consortium could use to solve our current predicament. The journey will be difficult, tough but the rewards will be satisfying for everyone I’m certain.” He continued as maps, charts and diagrams were being displayed one after the other all around him, detailing all potentially interesting worlds they would be visiting. “Let me explain in more details what we will be doing in this over fifteen years journey to the unknown. My mission, your mission, our mission… will be to explore, cartograph and gauge every promising planet we identified there and determine if they are suitable for colonization or terraforming. Once this first step is done, we will establish advanced bases of operation on each world. These bases will be our main hub for exploration and extraction or manufacturing of materials and will also be our lifeline between the ship and future colonists. Once secured and established these bases will have to be kept in working order and defended until colony ships and their relief crews arrive"

That was definitely interesting, risky sure, but still interesting enough to keep Nick's attention entirely focused to the general's lips. "I'm here today… before all of you to recruit the bravest, the best, and possibly the craziest of you to join me in my ship and form the crew it needs to accomplish this glorious task." All the assembly raised their hands in utmost union, yelling, screaming and calling to the general to choose them. He gave them a warm smile, pleased by their enthusiasm, but nevertheless made them a sign to remain calm and quiet before adding. "I'm happy to see you all so enthusiastic at the prospect of this mission… and I will be happy to welcome you abord my ship." "Excuse me Sir… what is the said ship exactly?" questioned a voice in the first ranks, taking advantage of the silence to ask the question that had been burning everyone’s lips. "It's none other than the mighty… the indestructible… the magnificent… the deadly…" Exclaimed the general, pausing at the last second before revealing the name? keeping everyone suspended to his lips. "The Consortium Research Ship numbered D18-H35-093W more, commonly known as the CRS Hope!" A long and heavy silence followed the announcement, leaving the crowd speechless. The joy, eagerness and motivation that could previously be seen had now vanished from the rows of livid faces. A cold chill ran down Nick's spine as he heard the name, the mere sound of it ringing all the alarm bells in his head. “The CRS Hope… damn… this thing is still flying?!” he muttered to himself, trying to hide the fact he was shaking from head to toe. He remembered the unusual story of this ship built two hundred years ago by one of the best manufacturers of the time to be one if not the best battleship of the consortium’s fleet. But this quite beautiful ship, the jewel of the fleet, that was supposed to spearhead all future operations was crippled with faults and defects of all kinds, ranging from computer glitches and error to serious manufacturing defects, making it more dangerous to its crew than its enemies. This ship quickly earned the reputation of being the worst ship ever built by the consortium as well as a flying coffin. In the fleet, being assigned to the CRS Hope in any way had become  synonym with certain death. He recalled the stories he had read and heard about it: how the power core malfunctioned and triggered a meltdown in the ship, killing all the crew in a fiery inferno. Or when the navigation system failed and led them in an asteroid field. When it came out it was apparently barely more than a pummeled and torn wreckage wandering in infinite space.

Or this time when, after a critical failure of the control surfaces the ship came crashing in a city center during the annual military parade and killed thousands of peoples that were either splattered under the weight of the ship or killed in the collapsing and many fires during and after the crash. There were many other stories but listing them all would be pointless. However, he was almost sure he had heard rumors of the ship’s decommission and planned destruction few years ago, but it seemed that instead the Consortium found a way to repurpose even this cursed piece of junk.

"I know this ship has had a bad reputation among us.” Said general McGregor, trying to appease the mounting fear that crawled over the audience, “but don't worry, there is no reason for concern as the ship has gone through thorough maintenance and testing. Yes, you heard me right, it has been specially reviewed and refitted for this specific mission. The engines have been changed, the power core has been replaced by one of the most stable and advanced one at our disposal, the weaponry has been upgraded, an anthropic engine has been implemented for faster than light jumps. I can assure you this ship is now safe, much safer than it has been in the past, and with all this new armament and systems installed we are protected against all the threats we could come across during our journey." A huge sigh of relief shook the room, everyone seemingly reassured by the state of the upgraded and repaired ship. A shiver of adrenaline ran down Nick’s spine as the general continued his mission briefing. The adventure sounded great, and, he couldn’t deny he had always dreamed of exploring the unknown space, fight in unknown lands against huge alien creatures as he had seen in some old adventures movies. Besides, it couldn’t be worse than staying there, doing the same routine and hope to make it through another day in one piece.

At the end of the general's speech, he was among the first to come to the recruitment office which meant he got his place on board in a blink of an eye at an even higher rank that he had in the regular army. He went from simple soldier to sergeant and was assigned to the Delta team. The delta team had several missions to accomplish during the trip: first they were in charge of the security on board and when exploration time would come, they would be assigned to the scientists’ protection.

Rapidly many more soldiers, mechanics, scientists, and crew members came to be a part of the voyage and in about two hours the whole crew had been selected, from the basic mechanic, all the way to the navigator and command officers and everyone assigned to their station, to the frustration and sadness of those who were dismissed.

 

………

 

One week later; after packing all his things up he had come back to the spaceport. Not the same from last time however. This time he had to travel into a very different solar system far away from his current location; all the way to Origin Hub, the main military space station and departing point of most ships. It was a huge sprawling hub for passengers and merchandise transport coming from all over the galaxy. He had managed to arrive some time before the other, having managed to get on a ship performing a more direct journey and so found himself alone in the massive dock housing the CRS Hope and took time to observe the ship that would be his home for the next couple of years.

This thing was a real beast of steel and many different metal alloys made to withstand the rough conditions of a space flight. It was parked in a large hangar that looked almost too small for the sheer size of the massive ship. The general was right it looked gorgeous and no detail seemed to have been forgotten. Giving a clear description of the ship was impossible; it had a profiled look with a narrow front, allowing it to fly at high speed even in thick atmospheres while offering a great view of the outside to the bridge crew. While he walked around, he noticed how larger and bulkier the ship became as he made his way toward the rear and indeed, the back of the ship was just huge, having to accommodate the massive exhaust stacks of the equally gigantic engines. He marveled at the long rows of canons on each side of the ship. The sheer sight of it made him shiver in fear, he knew that in case of any threat along the way these monsters would spit a storm of fire and steel right into the opponent’s face before they had time to even aim at their ship. Even the front of the ship was fitted with a forward-facing gun that could shred anything that dared to stand in their way, from pieces of rock to other ships.

Soon however the room began filling up with soldiers as they arrived from their respective ships, the growing crowd staring in amazement at the ship proudly standing before them. In no time the whole crew of volunteers was assembled next to the ship, awaiting orders when suddenly the cargo hold opened several meters above their heads on a large nacelle that slowly descended toward the ground.

On the nacelle stood the general McGregor, dressed in his shiny uniform, looking down at them with a small satisfied smile curling his lips. With him came several people Nick didn't know: one of them wore the uniform of a captain, another looked like a pilot; another seemed to be a scientist. There was also a muscular guy with hands as large as Nick's chest coated in grease and scars; “probably the main mechanic of the ship” supposed Nick. He also noticed a tall and svelte man with a slightly mad look; he was wearing a belt where several ionic grenades were attached and, on his uniform, the easily recognizable sign of the artillery commandment team. Next to him was a real mountain of muscles wearing a uniform that seemed to be too small for him adorned of a golden triangle on his jacket. "That has to be the Delta team's commander" whispered Nick for himself. "Not a funny guy, isn't he?" grumbled another guy next to Nick. Nick looked in this guy's direction to discover a young-looking man with a pale face, blond hairs and cobalt blue eyes. The guy was looking back at him with a warm smile across his face. "Sorry… didn't even introduce myself. Name's Jake." he said warmly, extending a hand toward Nick. "Nick… nice to meet you." he answered, a bit taken aback by the unexpected introduction. shaking hands politely with the stranger. "I guess you're in the Delta team?" enquired Jake. "Yup… and you?" "Same thing, I hope it’ll be better than here." "We'll find out soon I guess." Replied Nick, switching his focus back to the slowly descending platform.

The general, when he finally touched the ground did a short greeting speech before asking all the soldiers to get in formation unit by unit. One by one each unit was called by its respective chief and climbed on the nacelle that was then pulled back up that vanished in the ship’s guts with them before coming back empty after a short time. Rapidly it was Nick's turn to enter the mighty vessel, a shudder of anticipation running down his spine as his units was called by their commanding officer and, in an orderly fashion walked on the platform; his hands wrapping around one of the metal bars on the side of the nacelle as it began slowly rising toward the ship. He had never been on such an enormous battleship and, deep within he hoped it would be amazing, feeling like a kid in a toy store, surrounded with all the brand-new toys.

Once the platform had stopped he found himself in a dimly lit cargo bay. It was a huge space cluttered with crates piling up all the way to the ceiling, as well as huge things attached to the ground by magnetic locks that he couldn’t quite make out yet. The only way out of the cargo bay from where they stood, was to follow a narrow alley snaking and slithering between the packed cargos, materialized by two rows of green lights on the metallic floor. Slowly, cautiously they made their way around thousands of supply crates and boxes, passing by massive objects that looked somewhat like shelter equipment for the future colonies. "Damn… they were not joking with this whole thing" whistled Jake, impressed, "Look at all the things they are taking for this mission!"

Nick only gave it quick glances; not particularly interested by all of this. "My goodness look at that!" shouted Jake, grabbing Nick's shoulder with surprising force, forcing him to stop. He sighed but reluctantly turned his gaze in the direction his new found work mate was pointing at. A gasp escaped his agape mouth as his eyes bulged wide in shock when he discovered what the dude was trying to show him. In front of them, secured to the floor by energy bonds and magnetic locks, stood a large vehicle fitted with three sets of wheels, each of which were much bigger than any of the men facing the machine. "A nomad!" yelled Nick, stumbling backward and bumping into another crate from sheer surprise, "Damn they really came prepared for this whole operation." "And look there" added Jake, excited like a child as he pointed at something else a few meters ahead. "A… A tank… a fucking tank!" gasped Nick, met by the enormous vehicle and it’s equally massive guns. "Not one… ten at least…” let out Nick, waving at a dozen or so vehicles parked in two rows on each side of their walkway, “and it's not any tank. It's a Type 295 conqueror." "Damn… I thought it was still a prototype…" mumbled Nick, taken aback by the information. "Apparently not anymore." Chuckled Jake as the group walked passed the armored vehicles. They stepped further and came to an abrupt stop upon discovering several vessels suspended to rails running all along the ceiling. They were small and arrow-shaped with the cockpit located in the front and a huge exhaust port protruding out of the back, made of a slick black metal gleaning in the dim light. "A… A raptor!" exclaimed someone, "It's impossible…" stammered another, "Damn… even the president's personal fleet doesn't have these fighters" “Yes, I heard they were supposed to be introduced in like five years at best”, confirmed a third person. "Where did they even get all that stuff from?” mumbled Nick, left speechless by the discovery. The realization finally struck him as he was faced with the outpouring of means and resources invested into this mission. The Consortium was really determined in their attempt to colonize this new galaxy.

They kept wondering about what else was stored in those crates and hidden in the bowels of the ship until they left the immense cargo hold. They entered another part of the ship that at first looked like another storage area. This one however was partially empty and some strange looking creatures could be seen walking or rather lurking in the immense space; carrying or pulling heavy looking crates and containers. "Clones…" grunted Nick in disgust, grimacing at the mere sight of these artificial beings, “You don't like them?" enquired a puzzled Jake. “No… they are just disgusting monstrosities made in laboratory." "They’re definitely not the prettiest things but they’re pretty useful.”

Argued Jake. “Of course they are!" spat Nick, glaring at one of the creatures as it walked past them without even noticing or even paying attention to their presence. "But they're ugly as fuck and so dumb!" "We don't ask them to be smart; just to carry heavy things and do all the hard work. And… well I’ll give you that they are really weird looking. I wonder why they make them look like this." He admitted, stepping aside as one came a bit too close for comfort. "Maybe this design is better for what they’re required to, or perhaps it’s because they don't want us to come too close or to make them look fearsome." added a third guy, intruding in their discussion. "Or it's to respect the laws." suggested a fourth man. "Laws?" asked Nick in doubt. "I heard some rumors saying that there’s an old law that forbids human cloning so they make them look like animals." "Really weird animals in that case." commented Nick with a little chuckle. He stared at one of the creature as they walked past it. It was a tall quadruped creature; its body was entirely black, made of a thick rubber-like material, its massive paws were fitted with long and sharp ivory claws at least twice bigger than a human, it’s long and thick tail swaying behind him as he walked while, perched atop an equally long neck rested a bulky head ending on a long reptilian snout. Their mouth didn't hold any teeth, only a long broad rubbery tongue. Their reptilian eyes were the only part of their body that had a bit of color but upon staring at them you could see how empty they were. These cloned beasts engineered by some mad scientist in their lab were strong sure but it didn't stop Nick from hating them with a burning passion, was it because of how odd and alien they looked or because they were nothing more than glorified slaves, even he couldn’t tell. "And look at this, they all from the newest generation." shouted a fifth guy. "What's the difference?" snorted Nick. "Stronger… faster… less dumb I guess…" "Wonderful… at least we won’t have to repeat commands a dozen time before getting a reaction…", Sighed Nick as they exited the room, all the while under the empty but watchful eyes of another clone sitting near the door.

 They spent the next hour visiting the ship. The lower levels were composed of mostly storage areas, as well as the power core, the engines and the armory and ammo stowage with large ammo elevators for the shells the main batteries of guns. On the way they stopped in the armory and were all given their weapon. They didn't really have a choice; some were given a shotgun while others like Nick got assault rifles, a few others got semi-automatic rifles or sniper rifles. The entire group also received a laser pistol and an energy blade to complete their arsenal which was also the standard issued armament for the non combatant personnel such as scientists and engineers. This equipment was clearly high tech and fresh of the assembly line but was surprising for a space ship; this kind of weaponry was most often seen in warzones, not in the hand of security forces inside spaceships. These guns were clearly meant for the exploration phase of their mission even though it hadn’t been made explicitly clear at this point. Once all of them equipped and briefed on their use they were shown their respective quarters and were allowed to leave their bags in before continuing on with the visit.

The fourth deck was a giant laboratory where scientists were already looking at the whole set of gears and instruments they were provided. For Nick they were nothing more than kids cheering and shouting happily as they unveiled their new toys. In a darker corridor Nick noticed a thick door baring many complex locks with a large red panel saying containment zone. Restricted area; do not enter. He had no time to wonder what could possibly be hidden behind this door, they had to move on. This floor was also where the onboard hospital was located, thankfully for now it was empty and quiet, except for the nurses and doctors getting acquainted with their new environment.

The fifth floor was a habitation floor that consisted of a maze of corridors and doors leading to countless rooms. On the far end of this floor, toward the rear, the hydroponic installations were located, including low gravity crops and specialized labs tasked with developing new seeds capable of growing in the new unknown and possibly hostile environments of the planets they would explore. The sixth level was where all the canons were located as well as their first stage ammo storage and artillery command center. From here the impressive artillery of canons, turrets and other weaponry could be aimed and fired with utmost accuracy from just a press of a few buttons.

The seventh floor contained the refectory and a wide resting area which included the gym, movie theaters, a library and other recreational facilities. The eighth and ninth floors were restricted areas too; more precisely the eighth floor was the high ranked personnel's quarters whereas the ninth led to the commandment center and the cockpit. Suddenly, as they were ending their tour of the ship and heading back down to their rooms, the speakers crackled to life before the loud voice of the general echoed in the corridor.

"Attention please! All personnel are requested to be present in the refectory in ten minutes. Thank you." Nick followed his superior's instruction and headed to the refectory. When he arrived the place was already crowded, most of the crew having already made their way to the meeting point. Immediately he noted the presence of large screens in every corner of the room. Exactly ten minutes after the announcement had been made they turned on, revealing the wrinkled face of the general that, judging from the background was standing on the bridge near to the flight crew. "Comrades… colleagues… welcome to your new home!" he shouted as an introduction. "I hope you're all enjoying this new place and have already taken your eases. We are currently making the last preparation and will be taking off soon, for our six years journey to the Centaurus galaxy." "Six years… damn, haven't brought enough underwear for this trip." joked a soldier, earning a few discreet giggles for other nearby crew. "But don't worry, you won't see time fly by I can assure you. Just in case some of you are unfamiliar or have never been on such long intergalactic journeys, we will all be put into cryostasis after leaving the Consortium’s territory which should happen in one week.” Nick was relieved in some way, having to spend six years just wandering the ship doing nothing sounded like the worst assignment ever. Thankfully this ship had all the necessary system to fly itself to the destination without any inputs from the crew.

The speech lasted for five more minutes during which the general detailed their missions during the first week of flight which mainly consisted in preparing the ship for the jump into faster than light territory. After that the whole crew was allowed some free time prior to departure and so Nick went back to his room. He started by tidying his things in the different cases and wardrobes his bedroom had to offer. Ten minutes later, as he was lying on his bed, relaxing, he felt the ship rumbling and vibrating beneath him. He looked outside by one of the large windows and discovered the vessel slowly rising in the air; lifted from the ground by powerful vertical thrusters; gaining some altitude as the hangar’s roof folded open to let the immense vessel sore into the spatial sky. He observed the spaceport’s exterior as the ship began to move slowly, gaining speed as it moved further from the docks and the worst of the traffic, other vessels forced to halt or to change course to let the enormous and mighty come through. In minutes they had left the confinement of the shipping bay and were truly in space with nothing but them and the immensity of the starlit firmament. The ship sped up until it reached its cruising speed; the spaceport becoming a shrinking point of shimmering lights in the distance. Nick; a hand pressed against the window bided a quiet farewell to that place he would perhaps never see again, the place he had called home for so many years. As the spaceport vanished in the inky black space he turned around, taking a deep breath and letting this past life behind as he set his sights on the journey ahead.

 

………

 

The first week was pretty uneventful as expected and turned out to be boring for almost everyone; there was nothing to do once the pre jump preparations had been completed, which took about a day or so. So everyone was left with more or less nothing to do and they all spent the long days doing sport, training and practicing, chatting, watching holographic videos or… well… doing nothing as was the case right now. Nick spent most of his time with the rest of the Delta team which allowed him to quickly learn to know each and every member of the team and even more of the little squad of four men under his orders, it was a great way to improve cohesion and also make new friends. His squad was composed of Jake, whom, aside from being a great companion was also a very competent soldier and close combat expert. There were also Alan, a former special force agent, not the most talkative but a very competent man that had already proven that he was great when it came to breaking up the fights and other conflicts that were already arising. And finally there was Carlos, a paramedic that had decided to enlist himself in the security division rather than be stuck into the scientific teams, and his skills as a doctor were always a great addition to any team.

The fourth day as they were enjoying their break by drinking a can of soda in a corridor he saw, in the corner of his eyes a strange form moving in an adjacent corridor. Intrigued he focused his attention on the shimmering gold color it had until his eyes burst open in utter shock and disbelief, resulting in him choking on his soda and spitting it all out on the floor to the mocking comments and loud bursts of laughter from his friends. "What the fuck is that?" he gasped, trying to catch his breath, pointing at the bizarrely shaped thing that had just vanished in another corridor, of which only a long tail was still in sight. "Oh that… it's Lyam" casually answered Jake. Before taking another sip "Lyam! This thing has a name?", let out Nick, puzzled by both the nonchalance and lack of surprise from the other man. "Yes it does…” “Is it a clone?" enquired a confused Nick. "Yes it is one, and so what?" sighed Jake, tossing his empty can in a garbage can where it was instantly dissolved. “What the hell is he… I mean it doing here?" growled Nick "his place is in the lower decks with the others." "I don't think so" replied Jake with a hint of mystery. “What do you mean?" "Well, from what I know he is a member of the Echo team." Explained Jake, “and I was told he had special rights in the ship, so as far as I’m concerned he has the same rights as any member of the Echo team”. “Echo team… you mean… the scientist team?" questioned Nick after a short moment of reflexion.  "Yep, this one." "Great… just great. Why the heck are they even allowed to have a clone in the labs, what use could they even get from a clone?" “Maybe for experiments” suggested Alan; chuckling to himself before tossing his own can into the bin and narrowly missing. “Nah must be there to clean all the toxic stuff they leave behind in the labs after experiments” snickered Jake. "Actually I talked to the guy in Echo team and one scientist told me it's a prototype of a new kind of clone that is being developed. It's absolutely weak compared to the others but from what the guy told me he is super intelligent; smarter than all the scientist team and has a memory that would just blow your mind." Replied Carlos; crossing his arms over his chest as he spoke, a hint of envy crossing his face as he mentioned the capabilities of the creature. "Damn… but… I still don't see why he is there?" mumbled Nick, scratching his head. "I just told it to you he is there to assist them." sighed Carlos, rolling his eyes in exasperation. "No you told me he was way better than them." “Hey that’s true why do we need a team of god damn dickheads in white coats fooling around with all their complicated gear when we have him” pointed out Alan; trying again to throw his empty can from a long distance in the garbage can. "Indeed; but in comparison he has no experience and could fail at any moment," explained Carlos, "and apparently he is very shy and subject to anxiety crises." added a fifth guy with a rounded face, green eyes, a broken nose and red curly hairs named Brandon who had just arrived; a can in each hand and had overheard their conversation. "Not perfect" commented Nick with a mocking smile. “That’s why it’s a prototype, it’s currently undergoing field testing” huffed Carlos. “I hope their precious new toy doesn’t decide to blow in our face this time around” chuckled Nick, giggling as he left his men, going for his round, finding the prospect of this overly engineered clone prototype quite amusing.

Three days later they crossed the few beacons forming the great belt: the border of the Consortium’s territory. Here started the unknown; the unexplored. The very thrill that made excited chills shake his body They were finally in somewhat unknown and dangerous, uncontrolled space, marking the true beginning of their adventure as they left the safety of the Consortium behind. Sometime later the voice of the general burst from the speakers "Attention please; all crew get ready for cryostasis. Make sure everything is secured and all non-vital systems shut down, we will be starting our jump in thirty minutes. Any crewmember spotted outside their cryopod by that time will be severely reprimanded" Nick didn’t need to be told twice, immediately springing into action, going through his bedroom, locking the different cases and wardrobes, making sure everything was well secured and didn’t risk breaking away during the jump. The, after he had meant sure everything was perfect, he turned his attention toward the cryostasis pod that was lying, waiting for him on the opposite side of the room, near his bed. "Let's see how this thing works…" he sighed as he got closer. He grabbed the holographic tablet that came with it and switched it on, easily finding the instructions. "Let's see… welcome to the Croystasis pod model DX911 blablabla……" he mumbled to himself as he quickly went through the first lines of usual bullshit presentation and other disclaimers without really paying much attention until he found the section containing the user instructions. "So… the user must be totally undressed; no nonorganic materials are allowed inside the pod to ensure complete and safe cryogenic stasis. Damn… it's an old model” he noted, surprised by this discovery, a bit puzzled by the fact they hadn’t chosen a newer model. “Ok… next… the subject must keep all limbs inside the tube to allow hermetical sealing… makes sense. Then… the subject must keep his arms along his body… obvious… and must stay immobile to allow proper cryostasis." After that came all the boring and pretty much useless instructions for him. Having been in the military for quite some time he was used to cryostasis, and the various procedures related to it. He scrolled directly to the end of the holographic document. "Before entering in the pod the subject must type in the console the cryostasis duration in days then close the door from inside once fully settled in. Locking of the door is performed automatically, however in the case of a malfunction locking can be achieved via a handle located on the right side of the pod… that’s good to know” he continued, making a mental note to himself in case he would need to use this handle as he kept reading, the next line immediately catching his attention. “WARNING: once the door is shut the cryostasis procedure will be initiated, do not try to open the door unless required for life-threatening reasons. In case of such emergency or a malfunction please press the emergency button.” After finishing the instructions, he looked around his room one last time; cracked his knuckles and grunted "Let's get to it." He prepared clean clothes for the time he would wake up; took a quick shower and, after disposing of his used clothes accordingly, came back to the pod, fully naked shivering in the chilling air of his room and from the contact of the cold metal floor under his bare feet. He grabbed his mission order and activated the control panel, the machine coming to life. On the rather small screen he entered all the different information in accordance with his orders. However, when he was about to confirm everything, he froze; his finger just mere inches from the OK button, hit by a sudden spike of uncertainty and doubt. He threw a quick glance at his orders again then at the panel. A little detail had attracted his gaze; something he had never noticed before. His briefing said the trip in hyperspace was expected to take 2190 days or exactly six years, but he was asked to awake in 2169 days. "Three weeks earlier!" he exclaimed, looking up at the ceiling "Damn… that's gonna be boring…" he whispered, realizing there probably wouldn’t be much to do during that time. He confirmed it anyway; he had no other choice anyway. If he disobeyed, he would risk severe punishment from his superior and would probably even be denied taking part in the planetary expeditions, forced to stay on the ship for the entirety of the mission.

A low buzzing sound filled the silent room as the thing activated; a greenish light radiated from inside the pod, revealing a clear liquid filling the empty space as the door unlatched and slowly swayed open. He waited in silence, something holding him back from entering the pod just yet; taking the time to gaze at the infinite space by the window of his room one last time. He took a deep breath, taking his eyes away from the majestic spectacles of the dark skies filled with stars, readying himself for the long but also very short sleep. He was about to enter the empty pod awaiting him, sitting down on the uncomfortable ledge when a loud knocking sound made him flinch. He turned his gaze toward the door to his room. Who could be disturbing him right now? Wasn't everyone supposed to be asleep already?

He hesitated for some time, pondering if he should go check it out or not; and finally decided to ignore it. It had to be a crew member, probably an officer, checking if everyone was in stasis and opening the door to them would just get him a good dose of reprimands and in a heap of troubles. But the knockings came again; much louder; much more insistent. Was it important? Was there a problem?

He got on his feet and, ignoring the fact that he was naked, walked to the door, listening closely to see if he could hear any other sound that would help him identify who was behind his door. He turned on a little panel on the side that was linked to a small camera displaying a view of the outside corridor, his eyes widening in shock when he took a gander at the slightly blurry image. There, on the other side of his door stood the thing he less expected to see. It had a black and gold scaled body; was walking on four large paws ending on rather impressive claws; had a long and agile tail swaying widely behind him ; a long neck leading to a strange head, an elongated snout; two amber eyes and a large, powerful mouth full of sharp fangs, or so it seemed. His glimmering amber eyes were looking in every direction with a mix of panic and worry, his neck frantically twisting from side to side, as if checking, no rather, hoping someone would come as he paced before his room. He really seemed to be stressed out; on the brink of breaking in tears. Nick sighed, why did it have to fall on him? There was a whole ship full of people but it was as his door that this thing came knocking. He waited, hesitant on what to do; a part of him hoping that maybe he would go away on his own while the other was tempted to open the door and help the poor thing despite the fact it was disturbing him. But, as seconds ticked by, it became obvious that it wouldn’t be leaving any time soon, still walking back and forth before his room, eyes constantly darting back at the door. What could he do now? He couldn’t just leave the thing here, it really looked worried and, despite the repulsion it inspired him, a part of him was tugging at him to open the door and help. He kept his eyes on the monitor, the creature seemed so panicked; so afraid… so cute in some way that he couldn't resist. “I’m gonna regret this…” he sighed, reaching forward to unlock the door. He waited for a few more seconds until it turned away and the only opened the door; the loud sound it made when the metal panel slid in the wall had the creature squeaking in fear as it spun around. When his eyes fell upon the naked man standing in the entrance with a grumpy and annoyed look twisting his traits, he couldn't hold a huge sigh of relief, his eyes glinting with joy. "Finally, someone awake!" he shouted, stepping closer to the man, “thought I was going to stay stuck like this” he exclaimed in utter happiness. Nick was taken aback by a few things, including among other thing the cheerfulness of the creature, not expecting the happy nuzzle the creature gave him. The contact of his soft scales brushing against his skin felt strange, somewhat alien to him, nevertheless he couldn’t help but shiver from it.                                 

Even the creature seemed disturbed by his sudden overflow of happiness as he pulled away. "Sorry… I…" he stammered; his mostly inky black cheeks turning a deep red hue as he seemed to finally notice the man’s lack of clothes, his head turning away to avoid staring at the naked man. Nick felt increasingly nervous from the unexpected contact, being very confused by the creature, both amazed and surprised by his affectionate behavior and very fluent speech. He observed the thing standing before him with more attention and a growing embarrassment, spotting the two amber orbs sneakily glancing back at him.. "Lyam…… is that it?” he mumbled, not knowing what to say nor do, “I mean… you're Lyam right?" "Yep… it's me…" he answered, looking just as shy and uncomfortable as he was, his claws nervously taping the floor. "What do you want?" "Well… I… I… kinda… need your help…", admitted Lyam, bowing his snout down. "What kind of help?", enquired Nick, raising a quizzical eyebrow. "I have some issues with my cryostasis pod… and I… well… I can't solve them alone." "A scientist that can't solve a problem that's new." Chuckled Nick, earning a nervously from Lyam, still avoiding looking at Nick directly. "Well… it's out of my reach… literally." "I don't get it…" "I mean I can't close the pod myself… my arms are too short." This revelation had the only effect of making Nick burst into laughter. "Yeah, yeah keep mocking me” hissed Lyam, his lips pulled back, revealing rows of sharp, ivory fangs, “I'll make you pay for that." "With what…" "Oh my claws are sharp and my fangs even more." Replied Lyam with a daring look, going as far as noisily snapping his jaws shut.  "Yeah yeah… and me I have a riffle with piercing rounds. And trust me your scales are a pathetic shell against that.", retorted, not impressed the slightest by the clone’s threat. "Oh really… where is it? Because the only gun I see right now is this." Taunted Lyam, provokingly. Before Nick understood what Lyam implied or could cover himself, the dragon's snout bumped in his private parts, his nostrils pressed against his flaccid penis, his tongue swiftly dashing over his balls. Nick gasped and shoved the pesky creature away from him, hiding himself as best as he could with his hands, blushing profusely from the unexpected touch.

This time it was Lyam's turn to laugh, proud of himself. "Little scaly bastard." grunted Nick, giving a gentle push in the creature's chest, finding it surprisingly soft and warm to the touch. They both laughed together until they could only gasp and cough, choking on bare air. "Anyway… are you gonna help me or not?" let out Lyam, panting for breath. "I'm coming… just give me a second to get in some clothes." "No need to dress yourself up, ninety-nine percent of the ship is already sleeping." Explained Lyam, stopping Nick before he could slip back into his room. "Who is the last percent?" "Us of course…" chuckled Lyam, "besides… I… pretty much… enjoy what I'm looking at right now…" he added, staring intently at Nick, or more precisely at his crotch. "Little pervert…" grunted Nick, giving Lyam a gentle pounce to make him look away, feeling very uncomfortable with the clone’s comments and behavior. "Anyway… let's get to it before we get pinned to a wall." At his words the voice of the captain filled the corridor. "Attention please. Five minutes before entering anthropic speed. All crew must be in cryostasis before this time." "Let's hurry then." sighed Lyam. "After you."

Lyam took the lead, guiding him through the maze of corridors forming the habitation quarters. While they did so he took the time to observe the very unusual clone from up close, noticing countless details on them. Mostly, the scales; all the other clones had that black, thick and smooth rubber-like skin with no visible feature whereas Lyam had something much more detailed, looking like actual scales. He couldn’t help but marvel at the level of details in them, watching how the light reflected on them. And to top it all off there were even colors, approximately half of his body, from the base of his skull to the very tip of his tail, the whole underside of his body sported this magnificent golden shade that seemed to radiate a natural glow of some sort. There were also stripes, curves and dots of the same shimmering gold scattered all over his body, on his fore and hind legs, along his neck and flanks, even his spine had similar spots. As his eyes were wandering on the somewhat elegant form, like mesmerized by the graceful way he moved he realized that Lyam was for some weird reason swaying his rump with his tail held upright, revealing everything that was hidden below it. Nick felt slightly disturbed and puzzled by this very unusual creature so shamelessly exposing itself to him. He avoided staring too much, not wanting to appear like a weirdo, but he couldn't keep his eyes away from the rather handsome and intriguing form wagging right before him; taking quick, sneaky glances at Lyam's backside, feeling warmth spread over his cheeks every time he did so. He had to admit this tight rump had a little something that made it look very appealing even to him, something that made it hard for him to take his eyes off of it, something that, after just a few seconds of watching had him feeling somewhat aroused, his flaccid member pulsing slightly in interest. It was hard to deny that Lyam was beautiful by both the look of his pristine scales shimmering and shining in the light and by what he had tucked away under his tail. Nick took another furtive glance, finding himself staring once again at the clone’s rear. There, near the tail base, nestled between two firm-looking black cheeks, clearly visible in the golden of his scales, was a tight puckered ring of muscles that he assumed, was the entrance to his anus; below he could distinguish two plump spheres protruding from underneath his scaly hide. His balls were huge and judging by their sheer size they were probably full and heavy with seed waiting to be released. Right under he spotted a strange scaly rift in his scales that was slightly wet and parted, giving way to a pointed red tip glistening with some clear fluids. "Like what you see?" chuckled a voice coming from right in front of him, forcing Nick out of his thoughts and observations. "Eh… what… what did you say?" mumbled Nick, a red blush warming his cheeks as his gaze shot up, crossing the creature’s malice-filled amber irises. "I said are you enjoying what you see?" "I don't see what you're talking about…" lied Nick, trying to pretend he had not seen a thing even though the crimson red hue covering his cheeks begged to differ. "Don't lie to me I know you have been staring all along… I'm not doing all that for nothing." Sniggered Lyam, continuing to teasingly wave his rump at the human while glancing back at him with a devious glimmer in his eyes. "I'm not into gay stuff…" mumbled Nick; trying to hide his blush. "Oh really… that's not what a certain part of your body is saying." It took Nick some time to register what the dragon meant. He gasped, looking down, discovering himself at full mast, his hard cock throbbing eagerly before him. "Don't hide yourself” quickly spoke Lyam before Nick could attempt anything to cover himself, “I'm enjoying it quite a lot." He added, fisting his eyes on the human cock, clearly enjoying the view. "Little bastard.” Hissed Nick, not knowing what to do at this point, feeling great discomfort from the clone’s constant staring, “I never imagined clones could be such teases." He commented to try and take Lyam’s focus away from his crotch. "I am indeed.", chirped Lyam, proudly puffing up his chest. "And to answer your question yes I'm enjoying it…” half-heartedly admitted Nick, “you look quite well endowed… from a human point of view that is. Though compared to those in the cargo hold you must be so tiny." "I'm not tiny!" protested Lyam, trying to look impressive. "You know you're not very intimidating when you're barely above my shoulder." "Fuck off… I can still be very dangerous when I want… and you'd better not push me to my limits." Growled Lyam, throwing the human an angry glare, finally looking away to Nick’s relief. They walked in silence, taking one corridor after the other, yet to Nick’s dismay he noted that Lyam was still swaying his back enticingly but in a much more discreet way. "Stop teasing me it's not working!" finally let out Nick, fed up with the other male’s behavior. "Maybe it’s not working… but I really love making you feel uncomfortable." Replied Lyam with a devious grin. “What a tease…” sighed Nick, shaking his head in disbelief. “Yes… apparently I'm really good at making peoples freak out." Giggled Lyam amusingly. "I see that."

"Here we are!" he exclaimed after one more minute of awkward walking in a deep, tensed silence; Lyam stopping in front of a door; finally lowering his tail to Nick's relief. He unlocked the door and allowed Nick to enter. The room was very similar to his own but much emptier, only containing the normal furniture, no decorations on the wall, nothing in the wardrobes. There were only a few holobooks and actual books in a shelf as well as a small portable terminal atop another shelf. "Yes, I know… I don't have a lot of things… I'm not attached to material things" let out Lyam like he had anticipated what Nick was about to say, "Let's get to it shall we."

Without waiting he jumped in his pod, splattering some of the liquid on the floor in the process. When Nick came closer the creature had already rolled on his back, his tail curled in an awkward position; his paws hanging in the air; eyes closed. Nick couldn't help himself and looked down, catching a glimpse of red in the pool of green liquid. "You'd better close this damn thing and run back to your pod before they start the jump instead of staring like a pervert.” Let out Lyam, cracking an eye open, an amused smirk curling his lips, “I can show it to you in six years…." He offered as he leaned back and relaxed in the greenish pool.

"In six years then" grumbled Nick, surprising himself with his own answer as he grabbed the handle and pulled it down. "Have a good sleep." whispered Lyam as the pod closed; instantly sealing. "You too…" answered Nick. Through the thick glass he could see Lyam smile in his direction, waving a front paw as a good by sign. He looked at a holographic clock. One minute left. He ran back in his room, making his way with relative ease through the quiet corridors and jumped in his pod, closing the door behind him. Just after he heard the loud hiss indicating that the pod was hermetically sealed a loud bang shook the ship. "Hehe… right on time…" he whispered as the cryostasis tube activated.

 

………

 

A loud noise echoed in Nick's head. It sounded like the old alarm clock he had when he was young. He rolled on his side, trying to ignore the pesky noise and go back to sleep, However when he did so he was puzzled to hear another sound, the sound of liquid sloshing around, like the water in a swimming pool or a bathtub. Slowly regaining some of his senses he realized he was dipping in some freezing cold liquid goo. Confused and still in a half slumbering state he tried to breath but only a disgusting substance invaded his lungs instead of the fresh air he was expecting. He abruptly woke up; coughing and spitting the liquid he had just swallowed, pulling himself out of the thick goo he had been lying in. "What the…" he whispered, lost and confused. He tried to get in a sitting position, only for his head to smash straight onto a tough and cold surface. "What the hell…" he grumbled, massaging his painful head. His eyes blinked a few times, trying to identify where he was but at first, he only distinguished a blur of colors, only able to make out that he was in a tight space bathed in a low green glow. It took him some time to realize he was dipping in a cold blue green liquid, surrounded on almost all sides by thick, slippery and cold metal at the exception of the ceiling that was a large, curved glass panel showing only darkness beyond. He let out a long-relieved breath, recognizing the cryopod. "Six years" he whispered to himself, his foggy mind finally putting two and two together. He flinched; it felt so weird, for him barely a second had passed, like he had just blinked his eyes but in reality, six years had gone by; six long years of travel through infinite space. He reached out with a hand and opened the croypod, listening as the door unsealed, locks unlatching before the thick glass panel slowly rotated, allowing him to get into a more comfortable sitting position. He felt slightly dizzy; his head ached, his muscles felt weak, and his brain fuzzy and numb. “You don't dream when you're frozen” he thought to himself as he emerged, dripping with that disgusting cold goo. He felt like he had been drinking for an entire week except that his throat was so dry and sore. He tried to get up but only fell back in the liquid, his legs giving way under him. "Damn it…" he cursed under his breath, trying again, only yielding the same result. Finally, after his muscles had recovered some of their strength, he managed to get up, drenched in the substance that stuck to his skin. "Great… I'm good for a shower.” He walked on wobbly feet to the bathroom; keeping himself upright with everything he found on his way. As he turned the shower on the scalding hot water made him gasp and flinch; immediately clearing his foggy mind. His body had felt so cold before that the water felt almost burning; the shock making him tremble. He stayed a long time under the hot water jets; cleaned himself of the sticky substance and clearing his thoughts fully from the deepest, sleepless slumber. Once satisfied he got out of the shower, dried himself, shaved, and dressed up. When he came back to his room, he heard a strange sound coming from the cryopod, noticing a reddish, blinking light emanating from it. Intrigued he threw at a quick glance at the console… and immediately froze. A red message box filled the whole screen, covered of warning and error report. He looked up the most recent one. “Error sealing compromised; refrigerant leak detected. Subject's protection and safety compromised. Emergency awakening procedure engaged…” “What the fuck!" he gasped in shock, questions and interrogations flooding his mind. He let a trembling finger anxiously slide across the screen making all the errors scroll before his eyes until he reached the first one.

“ERROR emergency unlocking procedure unsuccessful; please try again.” “Why did someone try to open my pod?” he mumbled to himself, increasingly confused, "It was… one week ago…" he added, comparing the date on the screen and the one on his communication device. Fearing the worst, he checked the following reports with more interest. Apparently, someone tried to engage the emergency procedures at least one hundred times with only successive failures for different reasons going from system failure, invalid password, glitches and error in the script; all the way to a suspected tempering with ID access rights. Surprised by this last message Nick opened the report and dug for more information. He found it at the bottom of the document. "E001-2908-5481-AE… someone of the Echo team?" he exclaimed, surprised, the whole situation starting to make even less sense. The Echo team was only supposed to wake up weeks after the Delta team. Had there been a malfunction with his cryopod? Had he overslept? So many questions without answers. However, something wasn't right, something looked very unusual: the two letters at the end indicated something very different. What meant this “AE” code at the end of this ID? Upon boarding the ship, they had all been given an ID, all of them ending with a letter indicating their assigned team. Furthermore, some had this added “A” letter, meaning that whoever owned this idea was a high-ranking officer. This lead him to one conclusion; was it the scientist's chief who tried to wake him up? Why him? Was there something wrong? Had his pod failed in some way, explaining why they never managed to open it?

To be sure he went into the logs of the cryopod. At first all seemed normal. There were just the daily checks of vital signs for six long years until a manual intervention on the console for a suspension of the cryogenic stasis was requested one week ago. The same operation was repeated countless times until three days ago. From there the machine only showed error reports, intrusions in the system to manual opening of the case that failed until the latest report announcing a leak in the confinement case. "Damn… they really tried everything to wake me up…There really must have been a problem" He looked around his room. It was empty and silent as he expected it to be, however some things didn't seem to be at the place he left them in. For example, his bed was quite messy but he was certain he had made it before going into the cryopod but now it was all messed up; the covers pulled back and surprisingly warm to the touch. On top of it all, there was a strange scent in the air mixed to the usual smells of his cabin. It was like… an animalistic fragrance; a musky odor that assaulted his senses. It reminded him much of Lyam's natural scent he had a hard time dealing with when he entered his room. But why was this scent here? Nervous he finished preparing himself and realized the whole place was strangely silent; not a footstep nor a voice in the nearby corridor, not even sound of a holo screen in another room; only the deep rumbling of the engine in the background. "It's getting really weird in here."

He grabbed his assault rifle; made sure it was loaded and stepped closer to the door, opening it slowly, making as little noise as possible. The corridor was plunged in a complete darkness, only the red emergency lightings were activated, showing a vague empty hallway. Nick turned on his flashlight and took a long, slow, circular glance in the corridor. Nothing, not a single sound, not the slightest movement in the dark, only the endless metallic hallway vanishing into obscurity too thick for his flashlight to pierce. He took a step forward, his foot immediately colliding with something large; something heavy; something that whined when he touched it. He gasped, as he toppled over the thing. He hit hard the cold steel floor, his finger involuntarily pulling the trigger. A flash of blue light illuminated the corridor for a split second as a projectile burst from the barrel of his weapon, bouncing on the wall with a loud noise before vanishing in the darkness.

He was given no time to recover as something jumped on his back and rolled him over with an incredible force; right before a heavy weight fell on top of him. He gasped; all the air he had fleeing from his lungs as the thing pressed harder against him; squashing him against the uncomfortable steel floor. He saw two amber orbs gleaming in the pitch-dark hall, soon joined by many other glowing lights radiating from the creature. He trembled in fear, feeling sharp blade-like things caress his clothes. What was this thing? What was it planning to do to him? Crazy plans formed in his mind as he tried to break free from under the beast, pushing with all his might, trying with everything he had to wiggle himself free but to no avail. Had aliens somehow taken over the ship? Was he the last one alive? Was it why they tried to wake him up? To flea?

A cold sweat wetted his back as the two gleaning eyes slowly closed the gap between them. He felt the moist air the creature was breathing billowing right in his face, carrying with it a strange smell he couldn’t identify. He tried to squirm out of the thing's grasp, but it held him in place with too much strength for him to resist; its claws digging in his clothes, shredding the thick fabric with an alarming ease, grazing his skin with their sharp edges. It was now dangerously close to him, the thing leaning down; it's maw a mere inch away from his face, razor-sharp fangs ready to tear him apart. He thought his last hour had arrived; that he was about to die, shredded and floating in a pool of his own blood. He screwed his eyes shut, bracing himself, feeling the thing’s large maw slowly part open, expecting it to snap shut at any second now….

But instead, a warm and wet thing came probing at his face, triggering little shivers as it slithered along his skin. He was both disgusted and horrified by this thick appendage licking his neck and cheeks, slathering his face in a thick layer of slimy saliva. "Get off me…" he managed to spit between two laps, trying to move his head out of the way to avoid the licks. The beast didn't seem to hear a word and only kept his ministration up, moving higher until his broad tongue dashed over his lips. He grimaced in disgust, glaring at the two amber spheres hovering in darkness before him. Astonishingly he found them not full of an animalistic hunger for his flesh and bones but full of joy and a childish playfulness. It didn't make any sense; why was this beast happy and so affectionate with him; like he would do to an old friend he hadn't seen in a while.

He held still, puzzled and speechless, pinned on the freezing cold floor as the creature ground itself against him, hugged him in a strange but affectionate fashion and covered his face in his saliva.

Finally, the slimy tongue withdrew itself, only to be replaced by a contact of something soft and warm against his left cheek, sliding against his skin in a weird grinding motion. Suddenly, through the many noises the thing made he caught something; something that sounded like whimpers; like some sort of sobs. Cold droplets began raining down on his face, one even falling on his lips. Curious he let it slip inside his mouth, noting it felt like slightly salted water. Was the thing really crying?

An instant later the beast's muzzle had reached his left ear; A low voice full of happiness and held back tears whispering between two hiccups. "I'm so happy that you are awake." His eyes shot open. This voice, this voice so sweet and soft… he knew it, he had heard it before, and not so long ago….

"*GASP* Lyam! What the… are you doing here?" he managed to mumble between two series of ravenous licks from this slippery tongue, still trying to make sense of the situation. Lyam didn't answer nor flinch, too busy holding and licking him, showing no sign of stopping. Nick was getting tired of this really weird affection he was given by the playful creature when he realized the grip of his claws had loosened on his legs; giving him some space to move. He kicked the beast that squealed in pain, his tight grip vanishing as he staggered back with a loud whimper. Before he could recover Nick had rolled to the side; grabbed a hold of his riffle; deactivated the safety lock, loaded a round into the chamber and fired. The loud noise it made echoed in the empty corridor as the bright blue flash lit the obscurity for a split second. He hadn't really aimed precisely he just wanted to make sure the little too affectionate creature wouldn't come back. However, as his heartrate calmed down, he started to hear Lyam's whines and whimpers of pain. Worried he searched for the flashlight switch that had turned off when his weapon had fallen to the ground. After a few seconds of fumbling, he found it and pointed it toward Lyam; the bright light of his torch probably blinding his eyes; the laser sight aimed right between his eyes. At first glance he spotted a large wound in his left cheek, blood pouring out of it, staining his pretty pristine golden scales with trail of vermillion blood.

"Calm down… don't shoot at me!" whined Lyam; turning his head away while trying to stop the blood flow with his bare paws, red droplets dripping on the floor below. "Don't ever do that again!" Growled Nick, loading another round in the barrel just to make himself clearer. "It was just a hug…" squealed Lyam, gritting his teeth in pain; "just a good old fucking hug!" he protested; tears forming in the corner of his eyes. "I don't like hugs…" grunted Nick. They stayed like this for a long minute; glaring at each other from a good distance in the dead silence of that dark empty hall; the only sounds that could be heard were the low whimpers Lyam let out, his traits twisted with pain, his bloody paw still clutching his wound.

Slowly Nick lowered his weapon, disabling the shot that had been patiently waiting to be fired, feeling terrible for his bad aim and reaction. "Can I at least nuzzle you? You don't have problem with nuzzles… right?" cried Lyam, tears and blood flowing down his cheeks. Nick let his weapon fall again and opened his arms to the little creature staring at him. In a deep silence Lyam slowly and cautiously closed the distance and affectionately rubbed his scaly snout against Nick's cheeks, finding a good place to rest his chin on Nick shoulder.

Nick let the snout rest on his shoulder, his hands slowly caressing Lyam’s neck, listening to his low coos and purrs. The soft contact lasted for a while until Nick shoved him away a bit roughly, feeling a warm liquid trail along his face. He gathered some of it on his finger and looked at it under the light of his torch, finding out that it was fresh blood. He gazed at Lyam and realized blood was pouring from the large wound he had just inflicted him, the injury looking much more severe from up-close than what he had imagined. "Are you ok?" he let out, worried. "Yeah… just… aches a bit…. At least now I know I shouldn't mess around with you.", retorted the dragon, grimacing in pain. "You can hug me but don't jump on me like that." Sighed Nick. "Understood…" "Anyway follow me we should patch this wound up before it infects." Let out Nick as he turned around. "No… no… there is no need to…" stammered Lyam, taking a step back like he was afraid of it. “Come on don't act like a child I have access to almost all the ship. We should find some bandages for you at the hospital." "Nick… I mean… there is no need to worry for me… It will heal itself on its own." "Dude! Don't be a fool, it’s bleeding quite badly, we can’t leave it like this." He shouted, surprised by Lyam’s reluctance. "Nick; use your eyes and watch." he huffed, looking annoyed by the human’s protest. Nick raised an eyebrow and stared at the young creature. And unexpectedly; before his amazed eyes the wound began closing, the bleeding magically stopping as the flesh, skin and scales regenerated. "What the…", gasped Nick, now his turn to step back. "Nanotechnology…" whispered Lyam with a slight amused smile. "Damn… where did you get that?" "Implemented… along with… many other things…" elusively replied the clone. “Like what?" "Well… they've increased my strength, made me smarter and gave me many mechanical augments" he explained, pointing at the many scars covering his body. "That must hurt…" mumbled Nick with a pained grimace. “Grew used to the many aches…" sighed Lyam, looking down at the scars snaking along his flank.

Nick slowly looked around, noticing that despite all the commotion they had caused nobody, nothing seemed to have heard or spotted them, the ship as quiet as ever. "Where are all the others?" enquired Nick. "Sleeping… I think I already told you that… didn’t I?" "Yeah… maybe… I don't remember. Anyway… why are we the only one awake?" "Well… my cryopod malfunctioned… like critically malfunctioned. Right now my room is flooded with cryogenic liquid. All the electronics are dead and all my things are… unusable.” Explained Lyam, avoiding direct eye contact with Nick. “When did it happen?" "A week or so ago” “And me? Why am I awake?" "Well I searched the whole ship for someone awake but everyone was still in stasis." continued Lyam. "Doesn't answer my question, how did you even get into my room?" questioned a doubtful Nick, crossing his arms as he waited for the full explanation. "You forgot to lock the door, just had to open it." "And you tried to open my pod right?" guessed Nick, quietly cursing himself for forgetting to lock his door. "Yes… I tried… again and again… but access was denied to me every time I tried." Confirmed Lyam, his distress clearly audible, tears beading at the corner of his eyes. "I saw your Identification code in the logs of the pod… it looked really weird." Commented Nick, eager for this very part of the explanation. "Yes… I know… I have a special access code… it's because I have access to parts of the ship forbidden to the others of the scientist team." he explained. "Like what?" "Like… well… the containment area… and… I don't know…. There are just so many place I have access too it would take me a day to list them all.”

"Ok I understand.” Muttered Nick thoughtfully, intrigued by the fact they gave this cloned creature such high privileges. “And then what? Did you try to open it… manually?" "Yes… one day ago… but I just got kicked away by the security measures." Admitted Lyam, looking down at his paws. "So… why am I awake if you didn't manage to wake me up?" "Well… I…” Lyam froze midsentence, glancing all around him as if worried someone would hear him, “I… I had to hack the system… please don't tell anybody.” He begged; throwing a pitiful glance at Nick. “Fine… you have my word.” Said Nick with a hint of amazement, awestruck by the fact the dragon was able to hack his way to his pod. “Thanks…” sighed Lyam, relieved, “anyway… I just managed to speed up the process." “Why did you try to wake me up in the first place anyway?" "I felt so alone… I wanted company…" he winced. “Seriously…?” grunted Nick; annoyed a bit more by the pesky creature. "And… I needed your help?" shyly added Lyam. "Again? That’s starting to become a habit” giggled Nick, quickly joined by Lyam, “anyway for what?" "Well… I don't have access to the food stocks… I can't even start a food generator… and I must admit, I’m starving" "And you need me to do it for you right?" deduced Nick, a slight smirk curling his lips. "Exactly…" he nodded, his belly gurgling noisily to prove his point.

"Then let's find you something to eat." He stepped forward just to receive the beast's tail right in the crotch. He winced, falling on his knees, pain bursting from the point of impact. He saw the black and gold appendage swaying just above his head, missing his face by a mere inch. "What was that for?" he whined, protecting his aching balls. "That was for kicking me in the nuts…" growled Lyam, his snout inching closer, his bared fangs glistening with saliva. “You… bastard…" Nick hissed; his jaws pressed together; his fist clenched to try and ignore the pain sparkling from his balls.

"I know it hurts but you deserved It." spat Lyam angrily. "You little scaly… bitch… I'm gonna make you eat your fucking balls…" roared Nick in pain. "At least try…" huffed Lyam; "I still can bite…" "And I still can turn your balls into bloody shreds." he grunted in return; pulling out a knife from his right boot. Lyam squawked and walked back, keeping his distance with the sharp blade. Nick got on his feet with a grunt, his balls still throbbing with pain. "So let's find a food generator before you decide to eat me alive." Lyam squeaked in fear; staring at Nick in horror "That's awful what you say you know…. I'd never eat someone." "Yeah yeah… pretend it never crossed your mind little monster." "No… never…. Listen… I know I have claws… and fangs… that they look sharp… and trust me they are. But I never ate someone, never will and never even thought about it. I've never tasted blood in my entire life anyway.” Exclaimed Lyam in protest, “Actually… I don’t think I ever tasted raw meat." "I'm joking Lyam… I'm just joking…" answered Nick, rubbing Lyam's head just behind one of his ivory horns; making him purr in delight. "Come on follow me."

 

After a short but good meal in the crew's cafeteria that Nick managed to open, they began to wander throughout the silent ship thanks to Nick's access code.

Sadly, even with his clearance couldn't access the control center but they still had tones of places to keep themselves busy. First Lyam showed him his room. It was much worse than Nick could have imagined. When Lyam opened the door a greenish fluid immediately invaded the corridor. In a second he had his feet dipping up to his ankles in green goo that carried an acrid stench. “Gross…” squeaked Lyam; moving to the side to avoid getting his paws stained by the gunk. “Damn… that's one hell of a mess…" mumbled Nick, taking a good look inside. The whole room had become a lake of light green glowing liquid; wandering objects floating on the surface, furniture such as the bed barely visible, even the adjacent bathroom seemed flooded. "What happened here?" "I don't really know. When I woke up my whole pod was flooded with this shit. I couldn't breathe, I was drowning in this crap.” Recounted Lyam, his sad gaze wandering around his drowned room and belongings. “When managed to open the pod I discovered that all the room was just more and more of this mess. I think it's one of the pipes that broke off.” He continued, pointing at a crack in a wall near the pod, almost completely hidden by the flood. “Can you stop the flood?” "Not from here I’m afraid. I don’t have the equipment to stop it and the flow control valves are in a different sector which requires a maintenance access code to access." Calmly explained Nick as the door was shut and sealed, preventing more of this green goo from streaming out of the room. “So, to put it simply, I don’t have access to this kind of stuff”. “And me neither”, disappointedly let out Lyam, watching his room for the last time, “It's not a big deal… I can sleep somewhere else." He quickly added, appearing not too bothered by the loss of his place.

They kept walking and chatting in the ship's desperately silent corridors, not even noticing that they had taken several stairs going down, deeper in the ship's entrails, stopping only in what looked like one of the cargo holds. The place was pitch dark and silent as the rest of the vessel was with the only difference being that the slightest sound echoed indefinitely in the massive hall, making each step feel like an entire crowd was advancing in the room. They walked in silence with the only source of light they had being the tiny flashlight on Nick’s gun. “What are we doing down here again?” enquired Lyam, throwing unsure glances to the piles of crates as they came into view for a few brief seconds. "I was thinking, maybe we could restart the generators. I'm getting tired of walking in the dark." Explained Nick as he made his way deeper. "B-bright Idea… however could we leave this place like… quickly…?" stammered Lyam, unsure. "Why?" "I don't feel… comfortable in here…" "Yeah me neither…. It feels like a ghost ship in here… like something is gonna jump from the shadows and tear us apart…" mumbled Nick, flinching as they walked past a vehicle hidden under a big net. "Yes…" squeaked Lyam, trembling in the beam of Nick's flashlight, “I’m really… really not liking this place”. “Yeah me too…" agreed Nick, making a wide circular motion with his riffle to check their surroundings; making large crates appear then vanish in darkness.

They arrived after a time that felt endless to them, in front of a thick reinforced steel door perfectly sealed that could only be opened by using a large wheel in the center of the panel. “Quite old-school for a modern ship”, Chuckled Lyam “Feels like we just entered a submarine”. “Yep but we have no other choice but to open it, unless you wanna stay in the dark.” “I’ll leave that to you,” purred Lyam as he sat on his haunches, waiting, “that thing looks kinda heavy.” “I’d enjoy a hand to crack that rusty crap open.” Protested Nick as he put a hand on the old rusted metal, trying to make it budge but the damn thing appeared to be stuck. “Very funny.” Huffed Lyam, snarling at the human though Nick couldn’t see it very well. “I’m serious.” He retorted, managing to make the wheel move a bit more. “Then how do you expect me to open that with my paws?” pointed out Lyam as he raised a paw, “this kind of thing has clearly not been designed for me.” “Whatever… I’ll do it” grumbled Nick, looking to the ceiling in disbelief and frustration. Nick grabbed the old, chipped wheel and, after some struggle and a lot of elbow grease, turned it several time until he heard a loud noise indicating that the door was unlocked. He pulled it until the heavy panel began to rotate on its supports with a loud wincing noise that filled the entire cargo hold. "Come on it's this way…" grunted Nick, massaging his aching hands. Lyam hesitated then stepped in the room, the heavy door closing behind them, making a loud bang at it slammed in its frame before automatically shutting itself and locking.

"Well… at least we know the locks still work…" tried to joke Nick but it sounded empty. They found themselves in a place darker than the rest of the ship, this very room having close to no emergency lighting. It seemed even emptier than all previous room in this sector, smelling of dust, rust and old grease. Everything was silent, terrifyingly silent, beside the usual rumble of the nearby engines. After an instant of hesitation the two exchanged a nervous and unsure glance before continuing on, feeling increasingly antsy in the pitch dark environment. Pipes materialized in the light for a brief second, looking like twisted metallic arms coming from the walls and floor; wires were dangling from the roof like bundles of tentacles ready to lash out at them if they dared to walk below them; the very few lights blinking and buzzing, only adding to the gloomy decor. "What's this place?" squeaked Lyam after a few meters. "A maintenance access… quite creepy Huh…" "Yeah… very creepy. Why are we using it anyway?" "Well the main access point is locked down like… well like almost all the ship for security reason and I don't have access to this part of the ship to lift the lockdown." "Damn they're really paranoid." Muttered Lyam, his eyes following a large pipe that coursed along the ceiling above him "You have no idea." he sighed, pointing his flashlight forward. "What's that noise? And… where does all these vibration come from?" questioned Lyam, seemingly coming up with any subjects of conversation to break the heavy silence and to hide his own fear. "The engine…" grunted Nick, crouching to get below a thick pipe. “Where are they?" “Right behind this wall.” “And… and the generators?” "Behind this door there." answered Nick lighting up another metallic door barely visible at the end of this long and traitorous hallway.

A loud noise made them freeze. "Shit… what was that?" squealed Lyam, looking in every direction, sticking close to Nick uncomfortably close even. "I don't know… but I don't like it…" replied Nick, scanning their surrounding. They kept walking; Nick pointing his riffle ahead of him, making sure no dark corner was left unchecked. Once again, a minute or so later the loud sound came back, shaking every fiber of their body. "Crap…" whined Lyam as his snout bumped hard into a pipe he had totally forgotten was there "Can we leave this place quickly please?" he begged, his amber eyes full of tears and fear, his tail hanging low and his paws nervously scraping along the ground. He looked like he was on the brink of a panic attack and it was the last thing Nick needed right now. "Calm down we're almost there…" he tried to reassure him, although this place was scaring the living hell out of him. “I hope so…” murmured Lyam, not wanting to stay another second in this cursed place. They finally arrived at the end of the maintenance corridor, the door giving little to no resistance compared to the first one. They quickly stepped forward, entering a much larger room that was thankfully illuminated like a Christmas tree. It looked like a control room full of consoles, screens full of graphs, gages and a plethora of other indicators. Near a wall Nick noticed some of the servers that were probably storing every little piece of information about the generators. "So… do you know how to use it?" asked Lyam, following the human’s gaze. "Kinda…" "What does that mean?" said the dragon surprised, tilting his head to the side. "Simply that I know how to restart it… not to… control it precisely." "Well let's restart it then… and after that let’s take a warm shower and have a good meal." Rejoiced Lyam. "Don't talk about food you're making me hungry…" laughed Nick, "I could eat you alive." "Shouldn't it be me who say that?" commented Lyam with a sly grin, "I mean… with the claws and fangs… thing… not like I would of course but… just saying…" he added with a little amused giggle at the sight of the decomposed face of the human. "Yeah, forget about that." Nick put his riffle down near a console and switched it on. "Identification required…" ordered the synthetic voice of the AI linked to the machine. Nick put his wrist above a scanning device; waiting patiently as a green ray of light went several times over his skin; giving it a faint greenish glow. "Verifying credentials, please wait…" called out the voice in it's cold and emotionless tone. "Authentication confirmed… welcome sergeant Nick… " "Yeah yeah shut up and give me access.", grunted Nick, skipping this first screen. “Warning Delta level accreditation only gives you access to basic control system. A Charlie access or greater is required for the full use of the generator controls." Informed the AI as a yellow information box popped on the screen, displaying the same information. "I don't care." The screen shifted, revealing a bunch of graphics and numbers indicating the state of the reactor core, the energy output, the heat generated, the coolant levels, showing a reactor in optimum working order. Nick began typing on the keyboard with one hand while moving through the interface with the other. "Ah… there we are… the restart function." He exclaimed after a few seconds of rummaging among the countless menus and programs. "Warning… the restart function has been disabled. According to the flight plan the generator will self-reactivate in two days twenty hours fifteen minutes and forty-two seconds. Alpha access is required for modifications of the flight plan." Announced the monotonous voice as he selected the restart function. "Are you kidding me!" roared Nick, slamming his fist in the console's metallic frame. "So… you mean we're gonna stay in the dark for three days…!" screamed Lyam, eyes bulging out in terror, "Damn I'm starving." "No… no… don't worry… just… let me try something…" grumbled Nick, quickly writing a bunch of commands. "Emergency restart procedure has been required by user… beginning emergency procedure." "The emergency procedure?” exclaimed Lyam, relieved but also surprised, “Aren't you gonna make all the system crash?" "No no no… I'm just bypassing the security". "If you say so…" let out Lyam, sounding uncertain, his claws nervously taping on the floor.

 "Accost denied!" shouted the unpleasant voice after a long time of running the pre restart checks, the screen blinking red as a large error message blocked any interaction or input. "What have you done?!" "Nothing… I just sent the request and…" yelped a confused Nick, taking a step back, making large gestures toward the locked console. "According to security protocol SC 255-3, any activation of an emergency procedure with an access ID lower than CHARLIE requires a justification report. Please send a report to the NOX system before any further attempt.” Coldly announced the voice, “Warning! Noncompliance with standard procedures exposes the users to severe sanctions and potential injuries. The Consortium and the admiralty deny all responsibility in case of injuries or death sustained by the user caused by activation of emergency procedures." "Bureaucracy sticks to us everywhere we go… even in the far end of the universe" spat Lyam angrily, eyes rolling up in utter frustration. "I think we have no other choice than to write this fucking report." Grumbled Nick, as upset as the black and gold dragon. "I let you do that, keyboards are… not really my thing…" huffed Lyam waving his claws.

It was much easier than Nick had thought, he just had to choose in a list of keywords. "So… let’s see… failure of onboard systems… external intrusion… hull breach… no… ah here it is, unintended awakening of crewmembers before scheduled date." Instantly the information displayed on the screen changed. "Please enter the number of crewmembers awake with their rank and identification code." Nick began to enter his personal information. In an instant a virtual ID card materialized on the screen, he read the information again; making sure nothing was missing then confirmed it. "So… now onto you…" he mumbled, turning his attention toward the black and gold dragon, patiently waiting for him to complete the tedious procedure. "Go fuck yourself…" hissed Lyam reluctantly. "Excuse me what did you say?" "I'm not giving this machine my name!" growled Lyam defensively. "Can I know why?" "I have my reasons…” elusively retorted Lyam, looking away. “This answer doesn't satisfy me. Why are you so reluctant?" "I'll say nothing… this information is top secret…" "Ok mister top secret… but if you don't give me your ID, we'll never restart this generator.”  Grunted Nick in response, stepping away from the console, “The choice is yours. Do you want to stay in the dark for three more days? Without food; without water; without any source of entertainment. You’re sure you want that? Or will you quit your confidential bullshit and give me what I need!" "I won't… you'll never get something from me like that.” Snarled Lyam in return, glaring at the console in distrust. “I don't know… put someone else's name in there… they won't see the difference." Suggested Lyam after a few seconds of hesitation, adamant on not giving away his personal information. "Really… you're the dumbest scientist I've ever met. You know they're gonna crosscheck all the data and interrogate us when they see the report and they'll probably investigate if there are any discrepancies. So don't act stupid and give me your ID code." Ordered Nick, fed up with the dragon’s behavior. "Go eat a big juicy cock!" roared Lyam, jumping to his paws, adopting what most closely resembled a fighting stance, his claws slowly scraping the floor, "And for food… I could put all those claws and fangs to use… if you see what I mean…" he rumbled, dashing his tongue across his fangs. “For someone so shocked by the idea of cannibalism… you sure changed your mind quickly…” commented Nick, keeping his eyes glued to the dragon as he took one, very slow and cautious step to the side.

In an instant Nick had grabbed his riffle; spun around and emptied the entire clip near Lyam; some rounds piercing the metal floor; some other ending in the walls and the rest inflicting light injuries to the clone, nothing more than a few gashes and bruises that would quickly heal. However, one ended up piercing the thick scales of his shoulder plate, digging a little bloody hole in his flesh. "Have you lost your mind?!" he screamed, backing away in terror, vermillion blood leaking from the many lights wounds his gun had inflicted him. "Don't ever say that again…" "Say what?" "That you're gonna eat me…" "Chill out I was just kidding. You're no fun." winced Lyam, his traits twisted by pain. "I don't joke with people's life… even less with you." growled Nick, forcing the creature's maw open with his gun; the hot barrel resting on his tongue. "So now you tell me what I need to know or I press the trigger." He warned, staring intensely in the wide amber eyes of the dragon. Nick wasn't prepared for what came next. Lyam’s jaws clamped shut around the weapon as he violently yanked back, managing to slip out of Nick's grasp, throwing the gun away in one swift neck twist. Nick had no time to recover and was brutally shoved on his back by Lyam's snout; all the air in his lungs fleeing out as the bulky muzzle was rammed in his chest. He tried to get up; or to sit at least but Lyam was much quicker to react than him. Before his brain even registered it Nick was pinned to the ground under the beast's surprisingly heavy weight; sharp talons digging in his supposedly thick armor as if it was made of butter. "Damn… he really has sharp claws…" he thought as a cold sweat travelled down his spine. Lyam's snout slowly inched closer, bared fangs glistening with thick smelly saliva, oozing and dripping over his chest armor as a low, menacing rumbled growl filled the silence. "Listen carefully Nick… you can't force me to do what I don't want to do… so don't try to intimidate or threaten me again. I’ve been nice so far but if you force me I won’t hesitate to result to violence. I have never tasted human flesh before but there is always a first time right?" he grumbled, licking his lips in a disgusting anticipation, his eyes blazing with anger. "And I still can do this!" shouted Nick, slamming his head in the dragon's snout. The contact of hard scales and bones against his forehead felt… different; incredibly hard and tough but also soft at the same time. Nick had put all his strength in that hit and Lyam definitely felt it. Nick heard something crack and the dragon backed away, leaving him alone, yelping in pain. However the blow had some unintended consequences. The sheer force of the impact left Nick stunned, half knocked out on the cold steel floor, his vision blurred and a loud whistling noise filling his ears. He slowly came to a sitting position, groaning in pain, massaging his painful head. He could clearly hear Lyam's winces of pain as he slowly lifted his snout, blood trickling from his nostrils. "My snoot… you broke it…" winced Lyam, looking at the blood dribbling on his paw paw. “Deserved it…." huffed Nick as he climbed on his feet, supporting himself with one of the control consoles, the world still spinning around him. "Next time I hope you learn to not try that kind of thing with me." "I'm gonna make you eat your own tongue!" "Just try…" Nick walked on wobbly legs to the console where the report was still waiting for him. "So… are you willing to give me your fucking ID code now or are we gonna wait another eternity?" "You'll have to break more bones before I give you this info." Hissed Lyam, not giving up the slightes. "Don't tempt me…"

Nick sighed; he wasn't going anywhere like this. Lyam was stronger than he expected and he seemed determined to keep his lips sealed on this information. "Why does he refuse to give me this damn code? Is there something I should be aware of?" he asked himself, wondering why the clone was so stubborn all of a sudden; all the while wandering around the different interfaces, looking for an alternative solution until something caught his eye. "Hmmm… what do we have here." he whispered, pressing a button and read the description that popped on the screen. "Security scanner… scans the entire room for identification of all personnel in range. Delta authorization required to use this functionality. Hmmm… that's great." He muttered, too low to be heard even by Lyam’s sharp ear. "What have you found?" enquired the suspicious dragon, on edge although relieved Nick was onto something. "Something… just… give me a second to read the description." He waited for some time, making sure to keep Lyam in the dark and suspended to his lips. The suspense was total. He could hear each heavy breath, every loud gulp the creature made as he awaited the eureka that never came.

He finally pressed the button. Instantly all the exits of the room slammed shut and locked, preventing anyone from leaving the room. "What the hell…" gasped Lyam, finding himself trapped. “Please hold still while the scanner proceeds to your identification." said a synthetic voice in the speakers. "A scanner! You… bastard!" Shouted Lyam; looking in all direction for a way to get out of there. "Chill out it's just a scanner." "No no no… you don't understand… I…" he stammered in total panic, fear clearly visible in his eyes; his sentence ending in an ear splitting shriek of pure suffering.

Nick watched as a green beam of light illuminated the room, going from one wall to the other. The second it touched Lyam he howled in an obvious pain, his body tensing then jerking. He stared at Nick with empty eyes as he fell on the floor; convulsing harshly. "My goodness… what have I done…" whispered Nick, wiping all the sweat that had formed on his forehead. He looked powerlessly at the beast shaking, trembling and blanking out before him. That’s when he noticed a thin grey smoke escaped from his neck. It was weird, what could be the cause of this smoke? It seemed to come from… beneath his scales. "What the fuck is that?!" mumbled Nick, totally helpless. He turned his gaze at the control console and saw the progress bar filling half of the screen. "Come on… hold on… we're halfway through."

He knew that a scan like this took around one minute and the thirty seconds left were probably the longest of his entire life. Finally it ended with a small "blip" sound. "All personnel identified… stand by while the system analyses the data." Nick threw a quick glance at the screen to see the system going at an incredible speed through all the crew's files to identify both of them. Suddenly it stopped on a precise folder using the same code Nick had seen earlier as its name. It opened before his eyes; showing a series of picture on which he could see Lyam from different angles and below lines of text. It was a complete identification file. He read.

 

Name: Lyam REDACTED
Surname: Lyam
CRS HOPE ID: E001-2908-5481-AE
Species: dragon
Characteristic: cloned
Gender: male
Age: REDACTED
Height: 6 feet tall (shoulder height)
Origin: Granver genetic labs.
Location: CONFIDENTIAL
Detailed identification: prototype of the Mark II series from the Chimera cloning project.
Specifications: increased strength by 200%; increased intelligence (off scale numbers more precise examination required). Regeneration capabilities (nanobots hive) prototype of mechanical augmentation EXO MARK VIII implemented. Presence of large wings for high altitude and high speed flight (warning: removed for safety reasons. Make sure to do regular checks to prevent their growth).
Important information: growth cycle interrupted for convenience and ease of transport. Advise  chief researcher Victor Rogers before reactivating growth.
Warning: users of the Mark II prototype (identified under the name of Lyam) must be aware of emotional instability inherent to the unit. He is subject to high level of stress and anxiety and as such has a tendency to overreact during so called panic attacks.
Recommendations: It is highly recommended to not put the prototype under any kind of stressful or dangerous situation unless required during field testing. Beware that the prototype may become aggressive in such situation, resulting on a favorable terrain to premature death or important injuries and probable destruction of the prototype.
Disclaimer: The Granver genetic labs and its partners will deny all responsibilities in case of unexpected prototype malfunction or turn back. Any injuries to users will not fall on Granver labs.
Pursuits: in case of damages or destruction of the prototype the responsible will risk judiciary pursuits for destruction of military equipment.
Further information on the prototype is available below; click the link to see the complete file.

 

Nick did so but instantly the screen turned a deep red as tones of warnings appeared everywhere. "Warning restricted access. The following information is restricted to qualified personnel. An ALPHA PRIME access is required to pursue the opening of this file." "ALPHA PRIME… damn… they really want to keep it secret." Whistled Nick, impressed by the level of security and secrecy surrounding Lyam.

He knew from sure sources that only high ranking officers such as the general had this type of authorization. "What is important enough on you to have all these security?" His eyes wandered on the screen, searching for a breach, a weakness in the virtual wall of protection, anything to quell his burning curiosity, but there was none. There was no other access point than the official one. "Whatever… I'll find out later…" he sighed, closing the file. A loud noise attracted his gaze to a small information bubble that had popped on the screen. "ALPHA code detected. All functions are now available." "An ALPHA access! What the heck? Where did it come from?" he let out, speechless. Nick was lost; his eyes went from the console to the dragon… lying on the floor, whimpering in pain. "You really have a lot of things to tell me Lyam…" The dragon only winced weakly. It'll have to wait. He went back in the menus and entered the restart procedure, quickly looked over the protocols and validated the command. "Generator restart procedure initiated. All personnel please vacate the core room and head to secured area while the generator restarts." Through the large window he saw the immense reactor awoke, just like them, from its long slumber, lighting up like a Christmas tree. From lager translucent pipes a glowing blue liquid was pumped in the reactor core. The same blue glow soon invaded the entire room as the humongous metal beast came to life. A regular energy pounding like the beating of a heart reverberated in the pipes as more liquid was injected in the core. "Ahhh… antimatter reactors… what a great invention…" he sighed; observing in amazement the state of the art reactor begin to do what it had been designed for: producing energy. "Reactor at 50%…" "Kinda slow…" he commented, staring at the machine behind the thick window. At his words everything sped up.

In seconds the reactor was ready, pouring pure untamed energy through the infinite network of cables and wires of the ship. “Reactor fully operational… primary systems online, cooling circuit online, heat level… nominal. Electric converters restart procedure engaged" announced the dead voice of the A.I.

At the very second the announcement ended, a series of red light was switched on, giving the entire room a creepy look. Nick turned off his own flashlight and walked to the barely conscious drake, taking the decision to leave his riffle behind this time. "Are you ok?" he enquired, grimacing from the acrid stench of burned flesh and scales as he leaned closer to the clone. A patch on his neck had turned ash black and the once pristine scales seemed to have melted, forming nothing more than disgusting goo. "I hate you so much…" cried Lyam, teeth gritted, heavy tears rolling down his cheeks, avoiding direct eye contact at all cost. “Are you ok?" "It hurts so much…" he whined. “My bad… just… what happened to you?" apologized Nick, feeling truly sorry for causing him such pain. "You… you didn't give me enough time to warn you… I have a microchip like you… but mine is… broken." mumbled Lyam. "Broken?" Repeated Nick; surprised "but it worked." "It does… but… it… malfunctions constantly." "I don't get what you mean." "It has a tendency to… overheat…" explained Lyam, waving at the burned and molten area of his neck. "Did I…?" "Yup… you did… and it hurts so badly. It's like I had a thousand fiery snakes boring and devouring my flesh." "Yeah… I think I get it." mumbled Nick. “Did it work at least?" interrogated Lyam, glancing at the human with a mix of anger and hope. "It did… and… even better than I imagined." Admitted Nick, answering with a knowing look to the dragon. "You know?" "That you have an Alpha authorization… yes… I'm pretty surprised you do… I mean… wasn’t expecting your special access codes to give you actual ALPHA level clearances." "No… not that… I mean… you read it right?" let out Lyam, staring intently at Nick, waiting; no fearing his response. "I did… and it was… a really interesting reading if you wanna know.” “I don't doubt that. Did you… restart the reactor at least?" "Yeah, it’s working now… thanks to you I guess…" confirmed, feeling a confusing blend of gratitude and guilt as he spoke. At the same instant a flow of white light flooded their eyes used to the pitch black environment. "Generators restart procedure successful. All electrical power has been reestablished. Security lockdown lifted. All systems are now operational." "Well… it looks like it did." huffed Nick, covering his eyes from the violent light.

They waited until their eyes grew used to the blinding light listening to the sound of the ship coming back to life around them. "Why do you have an Alpha access?" "I told you earlier, It's not exactly a… Alpha access… it's a partial one." “Be a bit more precise please." "Well…I can't access… all the ship like the highest crew member but I can activate all of the ship's programs and system… well… almost every one of them and also enter some of the restricted areas like I explained to you already." "It's weird…" "Yeah… I know, but it’s kinda helpful" admitted Lyam with a sly grin curling his lips. "So… shall we get out of here and maybe heal that?" proposed Nick, pointing at the dark burned spot staining his neck, “Unless you want to stick around here a bit longer of course.” "Good idea…" grunted Lyam as he got up, shaking himself, the few bullet wounds mostly healed by that time, "and this time we can use the main access." "That’s better…” nodded Nick, “I'm definitely not going back in this corridor." "Neither am I." vigorously approved Lyam as they made their way out; the door automatically opening when they came close enough to it. They left the room in silence, entering in an endless looking corridor, this time fully lit. "Much better than the maintenance access." shouted Lyam, his voice echoing in the empty space. "Definitely!" added Nick, not hiding his relief.

The long corridor took them back to an area they had already gone by before without entering: the waste treatment area. "What's this place?" asked Lyam, "Smells nasty." "Yeah, it's the waste treatment area." "Damn… what can they treat here that smells so nasty?" hissed Lyam, frowning and snarling from the foul stench permeating the air. "Wastes…" grumbled Nick, trying to ignore the awful scent. “What kind of waste?" "Not my specialty but from what I know it goes from the reactor's waste to… well… the crew's wastes." "Gross…" gasped Lyam in disgust, gulping down uncomfortably. "And you don't even know the worst part yet." Snorted Nick, covering his mouth and nose with a mask he found suspended to a hook on a wall to Lyam's envy. "Come on… it can't be worse than that." "You have no idea…" "Come on… there's no way it can be worse than this stench…" "You've been warned…. *sigh* they recycle it and we eat it again." "What!" squeaked Lyam in sheer horror "Don't tell me they're really doing that?!" "Indeed they are.” Confirmed Nick, “What? Did you imagine they would bring enough food to feed us all for fifteen whole years?" "Yes…" stammered Lyam, petrified by the news. "Do you have any idea of the room it would take and the extra weight we'd have to carry? It's better to well… recycle all that heavy cumbersome waste and use it for… greater things. And let me tell you that on other ships it left a taste in food so we can think ourselves lucky." "I'm gonna throw up." Mumbled Lyam, feeling sick.

At his words something enormous grabbed him by the neck and lifted him off the ground. Nick watched in disbelief as he saw an immense dark form coming from apparently nowhere carry the much smaller, comparatively tiny creature away. He followed the giant thing’s steps as it slowly walked to one of the recycling units. "If you fat dumbass think about throwing him in there I swear I will blow your head off whatever it might take to do so!" angrily roared Nick, the creature stopping dead in its track, its long neck and bulky snout hovering just above one of the recycler. Lyam was dangling from the very end of this immense maw, held tightly by the creature’s powerful jaws that had somehow managed to hook to his back without causing any apparent harm. "Are you ok up there?" shouted Nick from where he was. Lyam raised a thumb claw, his mouth seemingly stuffed; his cheeks bulging outward. The creature that was holding appeared to be waiting for something to happen, still holding Lyam over the recycler unit, not moving a muscle, standing perfectly still. It took Nick a minute or two to understand what the beast was waiting for. "You know you can throw up now… it won't go to waste." Lyam let everything out, a stream of a greenish mixture falling in the recycling unit. When and only when he was completely done did the creature curl his neck and bend over to let Lyam gently touch the ground. The very moment the strong jaws slightly opened, enough for him to move Lyam jumped out of the maw and rushed to hiding behind Nick, using him as some kind of shield, even though he was clearly visible behind the human. Before them stood a massive creature towering over them, standing on four muscular legs, its paw ending on sharp claws that seemed slightly undersized for the beast's proportions. Its body was in some ways similar to Lyam’s but much bigger: a broad chest, a pretty slender body, a thick sinuous and agile tail swaying behind him, a neck as long and supple, a large snout and two reptilian eyes with blue-grey irises to go with it. However, it lacked all the spikes, horns and other features Lyam had and when it opened its maws Nick only saw blunt teeth like horse's teeth and a broad thick tongue.

When the creature turned its snout to face them Nick found that it had a pretty… empty gaze, like it lacked something inside, like it was unable to feel any emotion. Nick's gaze slowly peeled away from the creature’s dead eyes, travelled down along the beast's neck. It was mostly black except for some parts of his body which were a deep purple color barely distinguishable in the blackness of his skin. One of the main differences with Lyam was that it’s hide didn't look or felt like scales, it was more like a slick, smooth rubbery material lacking any kind of noticeable feature. Nick knew what it was as did Lyam even though the little dragon seemed terrified by the sight of his much larger sibling.

"Why are you afraid? It's only one of your many brothers." taunted Nick in amusement. He knew he was right Lyam was in some way like all the clones the ship used for difficult tasks from moving the heavy equipment no human could do or go operate some maintenance on the still functioning reactors. On terrain they were used as equipment or troupe carriers or even as very effective and lethal walking fortresses. He had seen one fitted with a thick armor, shield generators and an armament that would make any enemy pale and turn tail in fear. They were pretty handy in the end even though Nick didn't like these creatures. Although everyone pretended and argued they were 100% safe he never felt good near one of them. Who knew what such creature could be thinking? Who knew what they could do to them if one suddenly became hostile and turned against its master? Anyone he would share his fears and doubt with, whether they were other crewmember, or scientists, would tell him that his fears were baseless and foolish and that none of these creatures presented a risk for them. Their brains were a marvel of technology, state of the art in terms of mind control, built for one single purpose: complete submission and obedience; their intelligence so reduced they often looked dumb and… somehow adorable in some way, like some sort of giant child. But Nick was one of those who didn't let appearance fool their judgment. He always wondered what these beasts could be thinking about regarding their condition if they understood it. He was a firm believer in the ghost in the machine theory that, for him, was well founded when it came to these creatures. More than once he had seen one act weirdly, not responding to commands or stopping for some reasons unknown to him to just… stare at his surroundings or at his own paws, as if suddenly hit by a sudden spark of intelligence or lucidity. Every time it had happened someone would just shrug it off as a malfunction and the model would be destroyed shortly thereafter.

He thought about this as his eyes slowly drifted along the creature’s muscular latex body, his concerns rising to new levels. If they had managed to give Lyam a greater mind than the best humans could dream of and forged him his own personality, why couldn't these beasts do the same. Surely not at the same level but enough to… break the mental bindings and understand their own condition and oppose it, which would result in another bloodbath. His eyes froze, halting on a part of the beast's anatomy he had never expected to see. Between his hind legs stood a large sheath with a vertical slit at its tip; right before a pair of hefty testicles the size of three or four watermelons nestled in a pouch. At least now he knew his gender… but he would have preferred to never see this sight. He was dragged out of his thought by a hissed growl. "I am not like them…" "No offense, but you look pretty similar aside from the size." Retorted Nick, looking back and forth between the two, very different clones, "I am nothing like them!" roared Lyam, defensively, angered by Nick’s word, "I am not one of these… dumb… stupid… monstrosities." "I never said that." Protested Nick, seeing how upset Lyam was.

A deep growl coming from above forced them to look at what it came from, coming face to face with a huge snout that slowly lowered itself to their level, coming close to Lyam's face, forcing him to back against a wall. "I think he caught what you just said. Hmmm… maybe they are less… dumb than you think they are." Chuckled Nick, finding the situation quite entertaining and intriguing at the same time. "*gasp* Shit… get me out of here." "Sorry, not coming closer to him. Don't want to be ripped in half." "Crap. So… what do I do?" "Apologize maybe. It could help." "Are you kidding me?" "Does it look to you like I'm joking?" "Well… if it's what it takes then." Mumbled Lyam, gulping down in apprehension. He took a deep breath and, with a very unsure voice said, "Listen… if you can… I'm sorry… I… I beg of you to accept my apologies… I didn't mean what I just said."

The beast seemed to hesitate for a brief second, making Lyam sweat hard then, to Nick's surprise, opened his maw and licked Lyam's snout. Well… with its sheer size he bathed him in saliva in one lick. "Gro…" started Lyam in disgust, stopping instantly when a deep rumble came to his ears. "Glad you forgive me" he rectified with a makeshift smile before returning the favor. His tongue looked tiny in comparison to the huge, cloned beast's own. Nick smirked toothily, petting the beast's chin. "Great… now that it's all over and done… could we… leave this place?" grumbled Lyam. "Yes sure… wasn't planning on staying any longer anyway." Nick took the direction of the exit, closely followed by Lyam which claws made a little annoying sound on the metal floor as they left the room and clone behind. "What a shame…" sighed Lyam with a sorrowful tone, speaking for the first time since they had left the lower levels of the ship. "What are you talking about?" "All these pour beings." "Why are you saying that?" "Look at them… forced to a life of labor. Just… mindless beasts forced to work…" "Do you see anything else they could do?" grumbled Nick. "I don't know… but it upsets me to see them like that. They don't deserve to live…" let out Lyam, the last part slipping between his lips in a barely audible whisper. "What!" "No… I mean… they don't deserve to live… like that…" "Then in that case what life do you see for clones like them?" enquired Nick, intrigued by Lyam’s word. "I don't know… but… nothing like this. They're used… like animals… like… robots… like… mindless beings." “They are clones they were designed for that… as you were designed too. It’s sad I know but that’s how it is.” Sighed Nick.

This time Lyam growled loudly, baring his fangs in defiance. Nick felt a hard shove in his back as he was pushed against a wall and violently flipped around. Lyam had risen on his hind paws, his forepaw firmly pressed against Nick shoulder. In this stance he was much taller than Nick and looked much more menacing. "Don't you even dare to compare me to them!" he rumbled “It’s simply what you are; don't deny It." shouted Nick, pushing back the glistening fangs almost touching his face. Lyam stumbled on his hind paws, unused to this new stance. He tried to find balance but fell on his back, all paws in the air.

"Lyam who tells you they're not happy like that; that they'd be happy with your life." "Who knows maybe they'd be, but they definitely can’t be enjoying being used like pack animals." Huffed Lyam. "Yeah, that’s not a life I’ll give you that” admitted Nick, “However don't take your case for a generality. Not all your… kind would like to be like you. Though… I wouldn’t be surprised to hear they crave a better life” "You may be right…" sighed Lyam "I'm just disappointed and disgusted… that… all of my kind is… like that… it’s just… slavery… you can twist it around all you want it’s still… slavery in disguise…" he growled, rolling on his belly. "Anyway, let's find something to eat I'm starving.” He added after a long silence.

Ten minutes later they were sitting in the refectory around a small table, facing each other. Nick had brought a large plate filled with delicious looking food he was casually eating; not giving the drake facing him the slightest attention. The sensation of hot coffee flowing down his throat and the succulent breakfast filling his belly were delightful. He had never imagined he would miss food so much. When he finally turned his gaze in Lyam's direction, he found him staring with envy at his full plate, saliva pooling on the table below his agape maw. "If you're hungry go get something to eat instead of staring at me. It makes me feel like you’re gonna eat me." "No offense… but… with what you told me… I don't really want to east this anymore." growled Lyam with a snarl of disgust. "As you wish… if you want to starve to death, it's your choice." Shrugged Nick, taking a bite out of a big croissant.

Lyam at first said nothing but, after some time of staring at the full plate on the other side of the table his last line of resistance broke. "Fuck this." he let out as he vanished from Nick's field of view in a blink of an eye. Nick had just enough time to see this sinuous tail sway widely in the corner of his left eye as Lyam ran off to the food generators. Sometime later the drake came back, chirping happily, tail wagging behind him, followed closely by a small robot carrying a plate so full Nick wondered how it wasn’t overflowing or breaking under the sheer weight of all the food. "Are you really gonna eat all of that?" he gasped in utter shock when he discovered the plate. "Yes, I haven't eaten normally for a week so… I have a few meals to catch up on." he answered with a toothy grin, licking his chops in anticipation. The plate had hardly been placed on the table that he was already jumping on it, devouring its content, food vanishing in his large ravenous maw. Nick felt uncomfortable watching this animal eat before him, the sight of these sharpened fangs cutting through meet and bones alike with a terrifying ease made a fearful chill run down his spine. "I know you're afraid… I can smell it from here." grumbled Lyam between two mouthfuls. "Sorry… it's just that it makes me nervous… you know… all the fangs and claws… it’s kinda creepy." Apologized Nick, turning away. "Chill out… I already told you; I won’t eat you. I don't eat living things anyway, heck I doubt I’d even be able to hunt something." "That's… good to know I guess." "You can say so…" confirmed Lyam, engulfing an entire chicken leg in his salivating maw.

Even with these reassuring words Nick still felt nervous around the dragon. Was it his dangerous looking arsenal of deadliness? Or just the simple fact that he was talking to something that he shouldn't have been. He didn't deny that Lyam was an intelligent and intriguing being unlike any other, but it didn't stop his usual repugnance for cloned beings to kick in every now and then.

He finally found a way to vanish, pretending he wanted to take a shower after all these misadventures that had him sweating hard. Once in his room he flopped on his messy bed, lost in his thought until a faint glimmer attracted his gaze. “Hmmm… what do we have here? … What the…” There on the white bedsheet a small thing stood out, a thin sliver of gold. He carefully grabbed it, examining it under the light. It was slick to the touch, had a radiant gold color attached to it and seemed tough enough to resist the pressure Nick was applying on it. It looked like a scale… a… dragon scale. His breath stopped. Did this little bastard of a dragon sleep in his bed? Anger took a hold of him, he jumped on his feet, holding the small scale in his clenched fist and stormed out of his room. When he reached the cantina, he found it surprisingly empty, all the dishes had been put in the cleaner. The place was as silent as a cemetery. Nick turned around and left the room, grumbling and swearing under his breath and roamed around the ship in search of the missing dragon.

He found him in the place he most likely expected him to be: in the library. He was sitting at a table, watching a holographic book. Nick entered the room rumbling under his breath and kicked a chair out of the way. The metallic sound it made when it fell to the ground was enough to wake Lyam from his reading, the dragon jumping on his chain, squeaking in surprise, staring in terror at Nick. "Damn dude… could warn me when you're there…" "I did…" huffed Nick. "What is bothering you like that?" "This…” shouted Nick; letting go of the thin scale, glaring furiously at the dragon.

Lyam didn't even have to look down to know exactly what it was and where it came from. He lowered his head, knowing that he had done a fault. He could only blame himself for not being careful enough with all the loosened scales he left behind everywhere he went. "You little rat, how dared you to sleep in MY bed!?" "I'm sorry…" he squawked, "I had nowhere else to go… and I needed a place to rest…" he pleaded, adopting a cute expression, begging for forgiveness. "I can't believe that”, sighed Nick, fed up but also a bit bad for blowing out at the dragon like this. "I’m sorry… I’m so sorry Nick… I shouldn't have done that I know…" "Could have cleaned after yourself at least!"

"It's kinda hard… with claws. I would have just torn your bed to shreds." Replied Lyam, trying to make himself as small as possible, “But I know I should have told you before… I didn’t mean to upset you…”.

Nick was barely listening to what he said, walking around the room to calm his nerves.When he came back to where Lyam was sitting it was to find him absorbed in reading. When Nick threw a look to the holographic page, he only saw things that he couldn't understand yet Lyam seemed to do so and kept reading more and more of the book. "What are you reading?" "A book…" muttered Lyam, entirely focused on his book. "That I saw. What kind of book?" "You wouldn't understand." Hushed Lyam, trying to not lose his line. "What does it talk about?" grumbled Nick, pissed off to be taken for an idiot. "Philosophy…" "Not my cup of tea." "I understand why.", chuckled Lyam mockingly. “Why are you reading that? It must be boring." "No… not at all… to be honest it's… fascinating. I'm truly amazed by the capacities of the human brain. Putting out such complex theoretical reasoning…" "Why are you envying us? From what I’ve been told you’re much smarter than whoever wrote that book” "I know… but I'm still learning, my brain is an empty page waiting to be filled." "Comes from one of your books?" "Yep…" "I think it's why they gave you this ALPHA access." "I think so. I'm learning a lot by myself and I'm… kinda… craving for more and more knowledge. I've already learned biology, engineering, architecture, chemistry… I even learned how to use a weapon such as yours. But… the only thing that still resists me is… well… unreal stuff like that… when it requires to only use your mind and well… think of something abstract." Explained Lyam, still absorbed and fascinated by his book. "I get the idea but please stop talking about philosophy and such; you're giving me a headache." "Sorry." Chuckled Lyam as Nick sat down in front of him, the two only separated by the translucent wall of the holographic screen.

They spent the next hours talking, shyly at first, hesitantly, but as time went on, they began to speak with less and less restrains, feeling increasingly comfortable with each other until they were chatting like old friends, touching on all sorts of topics, debating over so many subjects that to list them all would have taken forever. After what felt like an endless time Nick got up from his chair and stretched his limbs, informing Lyam that he would be heading to the gym. He was greatly surprised to hear the little dragon saying that he would come with him. Nick thought he would stay in a corner and read his book like the nerd he thought he was. However once they were in the gym he was once again taken by surprise when he saw Lyam limber up with him, ready for workout. Amused by the dragon he put him through the toughest training he knew, only to be left speechless and awestruck yet again. Lyam overcame everything he threw at him with an amazing ease like it was nothing more than a calm walk in the park, making Nick unimaginably jealous and frustrated, beating him in every domain from speed to agility to strength. Yet despite that he wasn’t bragging or taunting Nick in any way, only enjoying the moment as it was, happy to spend some time with the human.

When the training session came to an end they were both sprawled on the floor, panting harshly, gasping for breath, rivulets of sweat streaming along their body, their muscles on the verge of snapping and their heart racing in their chest. "Damn… that was… one hell of a training." panted Lyam in satisfaction. "You're pretty good at it… more than I imagined to be true." "Thank you… I take that as a compliment." "Anyway… shower time." Announced as he slowly got up. "Great idea… I really need one." However as they moved toward the shower Nick picked up a small detail: Lyam was literally sticking to him. "Where do you think you're going?" "Well… I'm… gonna take a shower… like you." stammered Lyam, totally stunned by the brutal change in Nick's attitude. "That I don't mind… but my question… is… where are you going?" "Well… I thought I was going to take it… with you…" mumbled a confused Lyam. "No flipping way. I'm not showering with you near me." "Why?" "Because I don't want you to stick to my butt all the time." shouted Nick, shoving Lyam back "The shower room is large enough, go somewhere else… but far from me ok." "As you wish…" growled Lyam with disappointment as he disappeared in the showers.

The shower room was divided in three long lines of showers that totally lacked any privacy. Nick went into the middle alley and was delighted to see Lyam go in the right one. He undressed himself and put his dirty, sweat stained clothes in a sealed compartment before turning on the shower. As the hot jets of pressurized water washed all the traces left by this intense training he couldn't stop looking behind him like he expected to see Lyam at every corner, staring at his naked body. This thought send shivers down his spine, but not as awful as he had imagined it.

When he cut the water stream he noticed a strange detail: he heard no other sound; no other functioning shower. Had Lyam already finished? Had he left him alone? He sighed in relief but quickly threw a glance behind his right shoulder just to be sure. At the same instant something fell on his left shoulder. He gasped, jumping aside before doing a 180 degree turn to find himself face to face with Lyam. They both made a cute terrified sound as they walked back in opposite directions. "Sorry… didn't want to scare you off… like that… damn… I scared myself to death to…" he mumbled, trembling on his paws. "Where did you come from? What are you doing here?" shouted Nick, hiding his private parts behind his hands. "Well… I… come from the shower… just finished washing myself and wanted to see if you were ready." "As you can see I'm not." grumbled Nick "Give me some time to dry off and dress up." "That's the main advantage of being a dragon; scales dry off quickly and I don't need all those pesky annoying clothes." Giggled Lyam, showing off his shimmering, clean scales. “Yeah but not everyone is walking around naked and showing themself of like you." Snorted Nick in response. "How’s that a problem? Personally I don't mind showing myself… not like you." Replied Lyam, his eyes homing on Nick’s concealed crotch. "What do you mean?" huffed Nick, sensing the dragon staring at him. "Oh just that… you don't have to hide in front of me…." "Dirty dragon…. Look away!" ordered Nick, warmth creeping over his cheeks. "Why are you so shy? I really enjoy the sight of your naked body; beside I already saw what you ‘re trying to hide behind these hands of yours remember." Purred Lyam, throwing a devious grin and a knowing look at Nick. "Lyam do you really want my hand in the face again?" "Nope." "So LOOK AWAY!"

Lyam huffed loudly but did as he was ordered, turning away but not without one last sneaky glance in the faint hope of catching a last glimpse of the naked man. Nick quickly dressed up; throwing glances over his shoulder to make sure the pervert wasn't staring at him. Every time he found him lost in the contemplation of the bare wall; his tail hanging low to hide his backside, swishing lightly near the tip. When he felt the contact of his clothes against his shivering skin he felt relieved, protected by their thick barrier. The rest of the day was quite… awkward. They spent most of the time avoiding each other; constantly making sure there was as much distance as possible between them if, for any reason they found themselves in the same room, constantly making sure the other wasn’t looking or following them whatever and wherever they went. When dinner time came Nick found himself alone in the cafeteria, eating a juicy plate of chicken and different other things, savoring the peace and quiet of the empty room. "At least I don't have this pesky dragon sticking to me…" he sighed in relief. Lyam was nowhere to be found and he was happy with it. But apparently fate has a really weird sense of humor as Lyam entered, a holographic book floating before him. He stopped reading for a brief second when he noticed Nick, throwing him only a quick glance. "Enjoying your meal?" “As much as you enjoy your books." Replied Nick. Lyam snorted, moving to the table where Nick was sitting. He sat in front of him but didn't cross his eyes. Five minutes went by, five long minutes of silence clocked by the sound of Nick's fork planting in the plate every time he grabbed a fragment of food. Lyam was eying in envy; the delicious fragrance of well-cooked meat assaulted his nostrils. Thick globs of drool were gathering in the corner of his maws, falling on the table below, forming a small slimy puddle on the metallic surface. He couldn't focus on his readings anymore. In five minute he hadn't even changed page, reading the same line again and again. "Oh screw it" he grumbled, leaving the book on the table before running away. Nick raised an eyebrow. Was this creature so angry? "Damn… maybe I really should make sure he doesn't eat me in my sleep." This thought made him shiver. His gaze fell on the open book before him. Out of curiosity he touched the screen. Just reading a line gave him a headache. It was another of his philosophy books. However, as he grumbled his hatred to this abstract mind game he noticed an unusual detail: another book had been loaded in the device and was opened in the background. Nick reached the device with a finger and selected the new book called "The path of forgiveness". From what the device showed he was already at chapter five out of the eight the book contained. Intrigued Nick read a few lines; a smile curling his lips. "Hehe… lusty drake…" he chuckled when he discovered that the book talked about incestuous relationships and sex between two dragons. “Didn't know we had porn book in here… even less on such topics as bestiality" he mumbled to himself.

He put back the device in its original setting right on time. A second after Lyam came back. Nick kept under silence what he had just seen; that perverted glimpse of the super intelligent drake’s private life. Even the smartest minds needed their relief… as gross as it might have been.

Two hours later Nick decided to go to bed, exhausted by this long day, so tired in fact that it took him time to realize Lyam was following him. "Where are you going?" "Huh… oh… I thought it was… bed time." "If you want to stay awake it's up to you, but I'm gonna go get some sleep." "I won't mind a small nap either." yowled Lyam, exposing his fangs. When Nick arrived to his room's door Lyam was still on his heels. He unlocked the door, stepping in, throwing a quick glance behind him to see Lyam enter after him. "Where do you think you're going?" he growled, rapidly turning in Lyam's direction, making him jump back in surprise. "Well… I… I was going to bed…" squeaked Lyam. "Do you really think I'm gonna allow you in my bed again?" "Well… I… I thought you wouldn't mind and…" "You’re joking right …” interrupted Nick, “There’s no way I’m sleeping with you in the same bed." "But… but… I have nowhere else to go." "Not my problem I don't want you here." "But… but… where am I gonna sleep?" tried to argue Lyam, afraid and worried. "I don't know I'm sure your bright mind will find you a comfy place to lay your fat ass."

Lyam let out a pleading whimper, staring deeply with watering eyes in Nicks two cold blue orbs. "Out!" shouted Nick. Lyam flinched "I said get out of here!" Lyam obeyed, sobbing silently, lowering everything he could to the ground, small tears wetting his cheeks. Once he was out of the room Lyam tried his luck again, showing Nick the cutest, most pleading look he was capable of. Nick wasn't insensible to Lyam's begging but didn't allow his mind time to change and slammed the door shut before engaging the locks. The silence in the room felt delightful to his ears. He went to his personal bathroom, brushed his teeth, undressed himself and put his dirty clothes into the automated washing system. When he came back to his room he heard muffed knocking and scratching sounds, like Lyam was clawing at the thick door. "Funny…" he chuckled "but useless. I won't open! You can scratch the door all you want I won't open to you!" he yelled, loud enough that in normal circumstances the whole habitation block would have heard him. Soon after it went silent again, leaving him in the relaxing quiet of his room. He slipped in his bed, covering himself with the warm bedsheets and resting his head on the pillow, switching off the light, plunging the room in total obscurity.

However, seconds ticked by, then minutes by the dozens and yet he couldn't find sleep. Something was bothering him; something weighted his heart, regrets crippled his mind, his mind still racing with thoughts and questions, all directed to the clone probably waiting on the other side of his door, alone, in the cold and creepy corridor.

"Oh god damn it…" he finally let out, leaving the warmth of his bed, the colder air of his room making his skin chill. He hesitated for some time, going from one wall to the opposite, pondering what he should do. "Should I let him in? Oh god no… not gonna sleep with this… monster near me! But… he is so cute… couldn't even harm a fly… besides… can’t hurt to give it a try…" He took a decision and opened the door wide. "Ok Lyam… you can come in if you want." He reluctantly let out, cursing and mentally beating himself for speaking those words. Yet nothing moved; no reaction came. The corridor was silent and dark, no light illuminated it. "Lyam… are you there?"

Once again no answer came. Worried he stepped outside and directly bumped in something lying in the middle of the corridor. He toppled over; falling past the obstacle he collided with. He grumbled against the thing until he noticed two amber spheres with wide dark pupils glaring at him with a blazing anger. "Sorry Lyam… didn't see you…" he apologized with a smile he wanted warm. Only a deep throaty rumble answered him. "I know you're angry… but… I apologize. You can sleep in my room if you want." Lyam didn't move, only keeping his eyes homed on the man before him, like he was probing his very soul to see if this was indeed the truth.

Nick quickly got up and went back inside followed soon after by a deeply rumbling Lyam. He directly headed toward the bed. "Hey I said you could sleep inside my room… not in my bed." "Where?" he hissed angrily, glaring back at Nick. "On the floor… like a good little doggy." answered Nick, gently petting the dragon's snout. It was too much to take for Lyam. He brutally turned back, slamming his snout hardly in Nick's chest, causing all his air to flee from his lungs as he fell on his back. Before he could catch his breath a heavy weight fell on him, claws latched to his arms and legs as Lyam used all the force he could to pin this human down. His eyes were throwing lightning to Nick's face, saliva streamed on the human naked chest as a low rumble vibrated in his throat. Before Nick could open his mouth a loud roar hit him right in the face; hot air blasting over him, carrying the putrid scent of what the dragon had just eaten combined with his natural fragrance. His ears went deaf; his brain went blank as he trembled in fear, adrenaline pumping in his veins, his heart beating madly in his chest. Had he triggered the dragon's wrath? Probably. Would he regret it? Surely. Would Lyam hurt him? That was still to be seen. "God… think I've lost an eardrum." grunted Nick, grimacing in pain. "Shut up." hissed Lyam, slamming himself on the human exposed body, pressing all the weight of his muscular body against his weaker human, his moist groin mashing against the human underwear "I warned you to not push me… I fucking warned you Nick but it seems it wasn’t enough to get through your thick skull so let me say it one last time and you’d better listen. I am not your little obedient dog Nick so quit trying to order me around like those in the cargo hold! Am I clear?" he roared again, his claws digging in skin so easily. "Am… I clear…?” he repeated, his teeth mere inches away from Nick’s face, his claws tightening their grip around the man’s body, slicing a bit deeper in his skin. "Ok ok… fine… I'm sorry… I didn't mean that." "Of course you did… bastard…" "Lyam… I admit I have… mistreated you all day long. Please accept my apologies and share my bed for the night." Nick's words were quick, like he wanted to get rid of them as quickly as possible. At first he thought it had no effect on Lyam as he remained immobile, growling and scrutinizing him but the dragon, after what seemed like a long pondering let go of him. "You're lucky I'm more sleepy than angry otherwise I would have made you suck my cock as a punishment. Or maybe I'd have you clean my hole." "*gasp* gross. You wouldn't dare to do that, would you?" gasped Nick terrified by Lyam’s words. "You don't know what I'm capable of." With that said Lyam jumped on the bed where he curled into a ball. Nick got around the dragon and entered by the other side. Thankfully Lyam had left enough room for him. "Good night." he nervously tried. "Good night." hissed Lyam, keeping his glowing eyes glued to him.

Even with dread seeping in his body he quickly fell asleep.

 

He was awoken the next morning or what felt the closest to it according to his body by a strange grinding motion against the bedsheet. Curious he looked the other way to be met with the sight of a golden and black snout, slightly open maw, a tongue lolling on the side; half lidded eyes and a strange rapid panting breath. Past the initial shock of waking up so close to the dragon Nick couldn’t help but wonder what was Lyam doing?

He lowered his gaze, looking, marveling at the yellow chest and belly until he froze, his eyes catching a glimpse of red. "What the…" His eyes widened as he realized what it was and in an instant understood what was happening. He turned to the other side to avoid staring at the red tip, his cheeks turning a deep crimson red. "Lyam." he called. His words fell on deaf ears. "Lyam!" he yelled louder. This time Lyam made a muffed squeaking noise, his eyes fluttering open while the grinding stopped. "Can you tell me what you're doing here?" "Grinding…" he mumbled "Is there something wrong about that?" "Yes… don't you get it stupid lizard. Why are you… grinding your filthy cock against my bed?" "Well… I'm relieving some tension." casually answered Lyam. It didn’t seem to bother him at all to be in a position that would have made any human blush and hide themselves. "Can't you do it somewhere else?" "Well… I thought about pawing off but… I found it more exciting to just rub it." Replied Lyam, a broad devious grin growing on his lips. "You'd better stop that if you don't want to eat your own cock for breakfast." roared Nick, grabbing a knife hidden below his pillow before pointing it at Lyam’s protruding maleness with a mad look on his face. Lyam retreated back, skidding along the bedside and falling heavily on the floor. "Crap… I forgot this thing was there." he grumbled as he rolled on his back, putting his throbbing malehood on display. "Don't you ever do that again! You heard me you horny lizard!?" "But… how am I gonna…" stammered Lyam, gesturing toward his pulsing shaft. "Use your paws, your tail, or your mouth I don't know. Just don't stain my bed with your lust." "Come on don't you want a bit of dragon cream? I assure you it taste good and is very… filling." Purred the dragon teasingly, widening his stance to offer the human the best view of his maleness. "Lyam… I still have a knife in hand… and your dick is quite an easy target… hmmm… could even do some knife throwing training with it." "Ok… just… give me a sec." he whispered, curling into an awkward position, half of his body bent forward to allow his snout to face his cock. Thankfully he showed him his back, hiding most of the action. An instant later however loud, wet suckling sound filled the silence, mixing with muffed moans and groans coming from the dragon. He looked away but the sounds were still there. He wished he was deaf to not hear all the disgusting noises Lyam was making. "Damn… can't this beast be discreet for once? Why does he have to be so lewd all the time?" But, as much as he could pretend to be annoyed by the dragon's relentless suckling he couldn't deny that it was in some way arousing him, his own penis hardening in his tight underwear, equally arousing and disturbing pictures unexpectedly crossing his mind. He grunted, hating himself for feeling excited at that exact moment but, when he wanted to reach down to stroke his growing member a climactic roar shook the entire room, freezing him in his action. He abruptly shifted position, pulling his hand far away from his boxer only to discover Lyam, with the red tip buried in his mouth, the rest of the shaft out in the open air, throbbing eagerly, his cheeks bulging with the flow of seed pouring in his mouth. Nick could easily see that the dragon was uncomfortable with it and had obvious troubles swallowing it. His hips bucked, forcing more throbbing flesh inside his already full maw, white pearly seed oozing out from the corner of his lips. He huffed as he tried again to swallow the probably humongous load spraying in his mouth but was clearly overwhelmed by the amount he was being fed with, seed overflowing around his rigid length. He finally let go of his spewing member, white creamy seed splattering on his chin, chest and belly while his length throbbed and twitched wildly,. He was gasping, choking on all the cum he tried to swallow, with poor results. He turned his snout to the side, coughing and spitting more of a sticky mix of seed and saliva as more of his own semen continued to erupt from his tip, drawing white streaks all across his face. "Are you ok down there?" "Too… much…” he panted in response. “Oh… the little dragon can't even swallow his own seed… how cute." Mocked Nick, trying to hide the embarrassing fact that he had found the whole scene disturbingly hot. "Shut up… or I'm gonna make you eat it all." Growled Lyam, finding this prospect quite appealing. "Just try…" "Don't push me. Damn… I… I never came that hard." moaned Lyam as he got on his paws. Nick had no choice but to stare at his swaying backside as his hips bucked forward, his plump balls jumping in their sack, lightened of the burden of his seed; his crimson red shaft spewing creamy ribbons of seed on the floor. Moaning he lifted a hind paw, looking at the growing pool of seed below him. "You're gonna make me pay for that right?" he asked, eyes still glazed with lust, though a hint of apprehension was clearly visible in them. "No… just clean it…" sighed Nick. “It's weird… why aren't you mad at me?" let out Lyam as his orgasm came to a slow end, utterly confused by the human’s reaction.

"I'm ok with that Lyam. You have your urge… as weird and disgusting they might be. As long as you don't spray it in my face or in my bed I have no reason to be mad at you." "Thanks… I'm gonna… clean myself then I'll get rid of that mess." Let out the dragon, relieved. "Fine." acknowledged Nick as he got up. The first thing he noticed was an intoxicatingly strong stench floating in the air, immediately assaulting his nose. It was musky, potent and carried a smell that reminded him of the wild animals in a foreign jungle where he had been sent for a surveillance mission.

He rushed to the air cleaning unit and turned it on to the maximum setting, a deep rumble filling the silent room as the system got to work recycling the air. Nick waited even longer before he moved the hand covering his mouth and nose, risking a long deep inhale. The scent was still there but at least it was bearable, only giving him a slight feeling of lightheadedness. Lyam, after showering himself and cleaning the cum staining the floor, apologized again and again for the mess he had made and for potency of his own musk impregnating the air. Nick could tell him it was fine as much as he wanted Lyam would hear none of it, adamant and willing to make it up to him in any way possible.

The day went by faster than they anticipated, like the previous day's anger and cautions toward each other had vanished, replaced by what could be interpreted as friendship. They spent hours talking, walking through the ship, discussing subjects Nick never imagined he would talk about with something that looked like a stupid, feral creature. Nick even tried to initiate Lyam to the joy of videogames. It was quite entertaining and Lyam proved to be quite good; showing an impressive dexterity that Nick never expected. "Damn… I never thought you'd be good at It." grunted Nick, focused on the holographic screen that took a good half of the restroom’s wall. "Thanks…” replied Lyam, just as tensed, eyes glued to the screen, “I bet you never expected you’d get your ass kicked by me. Hey, I see you!" suddenly exclaimed Lyam, nervously wiggling on the edge of his seat. "Ahah… missed… even my great-grandmother shoots better than you." Shouted Nick in return, thrilled by the videogame. "Don't talk too quickly I've got you in my sight." "Oh fuck… come on jump… no no… JUMP FUCKING IDIOT!!! ARO YOU SO DUMB YOU CAN'T JUMP OVER A FUCKING BARRICADE!" roared Nick, pressing every button on the controller in panic, his character appearing blocked by a sandbag barricade.  "BOOM… headshot!!!" "GOD DAMN IT!!!" "I never miss my shot." Proudly chuckled Lyam. "Says the guy that missed me when I was in front of him." Snickered Nick; patting Lyam’s head. However, when Nick changed game, tables turned. It was like Lyam's skills had melted away and he was taking beating after beating until, boiling with rage, he broke the controller, snapping it clean in half. "Whoops… I think I've done something bad." He squeaked, staring at the destroyed, sparking controller. "Oh, it's nothing. They'll create a new one when they awake, you’re not the first one to smash one of these." Casually replied Nick, handing a new one.

They went over many other games, even trying to play with motion sensing outfits or other gears where Lyam could really show off his agility and strength and pull off great moves that took Nick by surprise. By the end of the day, they were exhausted; covered in sweat but satisfied like they had just enjoyed the best day of their life as they made their way to the shower.

 

The next day Nick was pulled out of his dreams by the sound of heavy breathing and the sensation of something rubbing up against him. In a half-awake state, he glanced back, a silent gasp remaining stuck in his throat, his eyes bursting wide open as he found Lyam bucking his hips in the tight coils formed by his thick tail wrapped around his hard cock; the dragon panting and groaning as he thrusted in that makeshift hole; clear globes of pre traveling down his throbbing maleness as he edged closer to his climax. This time however, as shocked as he was Nick realized he was unable to take his eyes off the pulsing shaft, watching as it slid in and out in the tight grasp of the tail, pre coating the thick length, more oozing out with each throb and squeeze of Lyam’s powerful tail. He was abruptly brought back to reality when he realized Lyam was getting very close, growling, moaning louder and louder, thrusting harder and faster until he tipped over the edge, fresh cum gushing out of his stiff member, splashing his golden belly with pearlescent white; the might of his orgasm literally throwing Nick out of sleep, and of the bed. "Damn… are you gonna do this all day?" he grumbled, getting up from the cold floor, massaging his back under Lyam’s surprised but clouded eyes "Maybe….” He groaned, continuing to stroke his cock with his tail, cum bursting from his tip and pooling on his belly. “I'm… kinda pent up… so… perhaps… but… I… it depends on my mood." He added, still pawing off, ignoring Nick’s presence, or maybe knowing it but not caring. It even looked like he was trying to entice him, adopting a slower pose and an inviting pose, making sure his rock-hard shaft was on full display. “Suit yourself.” Let out Nick, peeling his eyes away from Lyam’s groin after a few seconds of unconscious staring, feeling his own member stir to life thanks to the dragon’s teasing, “I’m gona go take a shower” he quickly added before rapidly locking himself up in the bathroom. Once alone he took a deep, relieved breath, noticing the prominent bulge tenting his underwear. Pulling them down he found himself staring at his own penis, standing at full mast, pulsing eagerly. He shook his head, trying to clear his mind and erase the thought of the horny dragon next door as he stepped into the shower, hoping the warm waters would help appease his own desires. And indeed, after a time his member finally went flaccid, allowing him to leave the bathroom without fear of being aroused by the clone still probably pawing off on his bed. The instant he opened the door it was to be met face to face with Lyam waiting for him to come out to take a shower, the two quickly and quietly trading places, Lyam closing the door behind him, leaving Nick alone in his own room in which floated the same mind-clouding and intoxicating scent.

this day was quite similar to the previous one except that they had decided to watch a movie in the ship's cinema. It wasn't huge, made to accommodate a hundred spectators at best but it still was a great place. "If someone was awake, they would find us ridiculous" thought Nick as they argued over the choice of the movie.

"I'm not gonna watch a smut or any of your boring movies. I’m here to enjoy myself; not to get a headache or even more awkward moments with you!" "And I'm not gonna watch one of your dumb, uninteresting action movies." Growled Lyam in response. "Well… we're gonna stay stuck in here forever if we don't choose.” grumbled Nick. It took time, and a long, heated debate to pick a movie that pleased them both but at long last they settled on one. They sat in silence in the dark room, watching the movie without a word. Overall, it was nice, the movie wasn't as bad as Nick imagined it would be; some scenes were even kind of interesting.

At some point he began noticing muffed whimpers or moans coming from behind him, exactly one row away, precisely where Lyam was seated. The scene in the movie depicted the two characters lovingly kissing in the night; under the pouring rain; their faces basked in the pale light of a streetlamp in one of their only moments of stress relief of the whole scenario and the scene was getting even hotter as they entered into a nearby house; still kissing; holding each other by the waist. The moans increased, becoming too loud to be ignored, making it impossible to listen to the movie. A snarl twisted his lips as he looked behind his shoulder. Lyam was sprawled in his seat, his belly and gender exposed, one paw helplessly rubbing his slit, smearing the wetness oozing from it all over his crotch. His eyes were glued to the screen, his tongue hanging limply out on the side of his salivating maw. “Seriously…” huffed Nick as he stared back in disbelief at the jerking off dragon; annoyed by the loud moans and lewd noises he made as he rubbed himself; a claw even slipping in his slit; forcing more clear fluids to ooze out. “Are you gonna do this the entire time dude?” he grumbled; squeezing the empty popcorn basket he had “borrowed” at the entrance. No answer came; the black and yellow creature too aroused; too focused on his pervert pleasuring to hear him. "Hey Lyam, I'm talking to you!" he shouted, snapping his fingers repeatedly near the dragon's sensitive ear. Lyam tensed and huffed, disappointed to be interrupted in his fun. "What do you want?" "Are you gonna masturbate all time?" "No… only during the hot scenes… why?" "Because it's getting really annoying to hear you moaning all the time, you’re so noisy I can’t hear anything else." "Fine… I'll do it in your bed.", growled Lyam, going back to his slow and sensual caresses over his slit, planting his gaze in Nick’s own, daring the human to stop him. Nick grimaced from the thought of the dragon taking care of his business in his bed; staining his blankets with that spicy white stuff he called his seed. Giving up he turned his attention back to the movie, trying his hardest to ignore the pesky dragon playing with himself right behind him.

Later, as the movie neared its end, Lyam’s paw briefly touched Nick's shoulder, causing him to tense and freeze. "Nick…" called the dragon with an unsure voice. "Yes Lyam." "I… I know you're gonna find it weird, but I have a question I really need to ask you." "Then go ahead." "Could you look at me please…" Nick frowned, suspicious "What do you have in mind?" "Nothing… I just want you to look at me." "Smells fishy…" grumbled Nick "you never do something without a good reason." "Well… to be totally honest with you I want you to tell me something… something very important to me. But… promise me to not freak out when I'll tell you what it is. Ok?" "Fine… so what is making you so worried?" Sighed Nick: taking a sip of some soda he had "bought" well before the movie had started. He turned his gaze toward Lyam, his eyes bulging out when he discovered what Lyam wanted him to see, all that he had drank he spat it on the floor, coughing in sheer shock. Lyam was splayed out in his seat; his entire body exposed, displaying his belly and many other parts of his anatomy to the disturbed and puzzled the human. He wasn’t even trying to hide everything, instead making sure that not an inch of his frame remained hidden. "How do you find me?" "I knew I shouldn't have listened to you…" grumbled Nick, shaking his head in disbelief, "What is that weird question for?" "Nothing… I just want to know how I look… from the point of view of a human. Physically I mean.” Stammered Lyam, twitching in his seat, looking unusually nervous and uncomfortable, “So… what do I look like? Please… be honest with me." "Well… it's hard to tell…" mumbled Nick, scratching the back of his head, taken aback by the question.

His eyes lingered wandered on the black and gold scales, going from Lyam’s inquisitive snout, trailing down along his long sinuous neck, to his broad chest, to the rest of his slender body, all the way down to his displayed crotch. His puffy slit had parted open, giving way to a red tip drizzling slick pre all over his scales. His balls were resting in their large sack, plump and full of his essence. A bit lower, at the intersection of his body and his tail stood his tailhole, the puckered opening wearing the same reddish color, quivering like it was waiting, or rather expecting something. It was hard to deny the dragon had something pretty, something attractive, something that caught his eyes but on which he couldn't put a word. His pristine scales sure looked gorgeous, shining and shimmering under the light, the mix of color increasing this effect.

His eyes were like two giant pools where he felt like drowning every time he gazed for too long inside them. They looked intelligent, curious, enquiring. His body was nice to look at; a thin, slender form with enough muscles to look impressive but not too much. It was like… perfect… for an animal at least. His private parts were definitely impressive, the package he had hidden under that thick tail big enough to make all human jealous and his endowment, still hidden for now, was sure to match the plumpness of his balls and the thick tangy musk emanating from this particular part of his anatomy; strong enough to make all heads spin after one breath in that pheromone addled scent. "Do you want… to see it?" asked Lyam like he had been reading his thoughts all along. "No no no… don't…” gasped Nick, blushing hard, “I… I think I have enough to give an opinion." "If you say so. So…what do you say?" "It's really hard to tell dude… but… if I had to use three words to describe you it would be… let me see… handsome… cute… and kind." "Thanks…” purred Lyam, tail swishing happily from the compliment, a slight red hue tinting his cheeks, “and… if you had to do the same… but… negatively?" "Well… that's easier.” Chuckled Nick, “Without hesitation I'd say… horny… sticky and… aggressive." "I disagree with the last one. I'm not aggressive… unless you piss me off…which you seem to be pretty good at.” growled Lyam, frowning and tensing slightly. “You see… you admit it…" "Fuck you…” hissed the dragon, lips pulled back, revealing his sharp teeth, “But… thanks anyway."

The movie ended in an awkward silence, the two not daring to speak after the rather embarrassing moment they had just shared. After their usual meal they went to bed early, Lyam flopping on the bed next to Nick, snuggly rubbing against him. "I can't believe it's already over…" he sighed, sounding saddened, disappointed even. “Huh? What do you mean?” enquired Nick, gently fondling Lyam’s soft scales. “Well… tomorrow… all the crew is gonna awake." "Yes… I thought you'd be happy with that." "I am… don't get me wrong." answered Lyam, raising his long neck above Nick "But I kinda liked all these moments we spent together. We won't be able to see each other a lot.” "Yep… it's… sad…" admitted Nick, more concerned than he wanted to admit. "Don't you think we should… make this last night… memorable." Suggested Lyam. "What do you have in mind exactly?” interrogated Nick, raising a quizzical eyebrow. “Would you like to… mate with me…" offered Lyam in a quick, unsure tone, as if he wanted to get it out of his chest as quickly as possible. Nick frowned again; he had seen that coming from miles away, he thought he was prepared yet when the words came out, they had the effect of an electrical shock. He tried to put on a serious face but deep inside he really thought about it, he knew Lyam was serious and he was sure he wouldn't harm him… not voluntarily at least. He had been with males since his first time but never with a feral, even less with animals or cloned beasts. However, Lyam looked full of surprises and seemed to have a lot to offer and appeared willing and eager to do what he just said with him. An inner battle was slowly taking place in Nick's brain, one part screaming at him to accept, to go in that snuggly embrace, to give this cute creature a chance and spend a night with him. Who knows maybe he would love it and if not, it would just be another unpleasant experience and it would never happen again. The other part was spitting its disgust right in his face, telling him it was wrong, repugnant, unnatural, that even if Lyam was consenting it was a disgusting act. He was left there stranded between two clashing opinions, unable to take a decision, even his body not knowing what to choose, a part feeling repulsed by the thought of intimate contact with the dragon where the other was itching, yearning for it. After pondering for a long time that felt infinite, he took his decision.

He sighed. "Sorry Lyam… I'm not in bestiality stuff…" "Oh… Ok…” muttered Lyam, disappointment clearly audible in his voice, “but.. just to clarify any confusion… when I said… mating you I didn’t mean… being on top of you… I meant something like… offering myself to you.” Continued Lyam, uncertainty, struggling to find the right words and make himself understood. Nick's heart skipped a beat upon hearing the words, fueling the part of him that wanted to give in and accept the offer, yet also fueling the part that was against it. Lyam was persistent he couldn't deny it but the idea of even having this dragon servicing him, raising his tail and bending for him still sounded exciting, but so very wrong in his head. "I said no Lyam… sorry…” he apologized, his voice full of regrets, turning around to signify the end of the discussion. "Come on… at least… let me suck your dick… I always dreamed of tasting human cum…" pleaded Lyam, trying everything he knew in the hope of making Nick change his mind. Nick's fingers clenched the pillow he was lying on, knowing far too well Lyam wouldn't let go that easily. He buried his face in the thick pillow. "As you wish…" huffed Lyam; obviously frustrated "My offer still stands. If you change your mind; I’ll be there… waiting." Offered Lyam putting his last sliver of hope in this sentence. Nick said nothing, instead switching off the light, plunging the room into a deep, heavy darkness.

That night he had trouble sleeping, turning Lyam's proposition upside down in his mind, pondering if he had made the right choice. Doubt slipped in his brain, adding to the growing pile of regrets, questions and doubts pouring in his head as he stared at the ceiling. More than once during the hours he spent hesitating, he thought about waking him up; smack his cock right in his face and let the dragon do whatever pleased him with it, or give a try to the clone’s tight-looking hole. But in the end he didn’t move a muscle, simply rubbing the dragon's chin as he purred in his sleep, the low relaxing sounds he made managing to slowly appease and relax him. When he did fall asleep several hours had already gone by. His eyes closed as he drifted into slumber, savoring the sweet warmth of the snoring dragon lying by his side.

 

The next morning loud mewling sounds woke him up. His heavy eyelids slowly opened like they were trying to lift a mountain off the ground. His hazy eyes only sent him the blurry image of a black and golden form. Where were all these annoying sounds coming from? Who dared to wake him up? Was Lyam pleasuring himself again? As his vision stabilized, more precise forms began drawing before his eyes. A gasp stuck in his throat as his body tensed, his jaws dropping in surprise. Next to him Lyam was on his back, his jaws wide open, tongue lolling out, moaning and panting to the ceiling. One of his paws had moved down and wrapped around his hard member, squeezing and stroking it at a steady pace, forcing more of a clear liquid to ooze and dribble down the shaft, coating his own scales in a shiny layer of musky pre. For the first time in his life he was impressed, shocked even. The sight he was met with had him stare in disbelief, being offered the best view possible of Lyam’s endowment at full mast, so close he could observe and analyze every detail. He didn't know a creature this size could have a tool that big. The hard cock held in Lyam’s paw, jutting from between his hind legs was simply huge. One monstrous beauty made to breed, to impregnate, to ensure that no droplet of seed would be wasted, but; above all, to give pleasure. The thing was a deep red contrasting with Lyam's scale pattern, gifted with a thick bulbous knot at its base, rows of flared ridges on the underside leading to a pointed tip from which leaked a constant stream of clear precum. He couldn’t help but marvel and drool at the throbbing shaft, almost mesmerized by it as it pulsed and squirted more of this pre, the scent emanating from it starting to overwhelm his senses. Nick's attention was drawn away again by louder grunts coming from the dragon. Lyam seemed to be in bliss, his ragged panting breath, his fogged, gleeful eyes, his loud cries of pleasure, were as many sign of his enjoyment and impending release. But… what could be the source of such pleasure? It couldn't be his slow stroking motion or the gentle squeezes he gave to his throbbing flesh. "Or maybe this bastard his damn sensitive down there." whispered Nick, truly impressed to say the least "Or maybe… maybe he is really pent up…. No… no… that can't be it. Damn even after six years of abstinence I'm not as horny.” He thoughts, his eyes glued to the turgid erection being caressed and massaged by the skillful touch of the dragon’s paw. “Stupid… he is a dragon after all, don't know how fast he can produce it." Nick's curious gaze wandered over the dragon's tensing frame, trying to identify the source of the dragon’s immense pleasure until he discovered something he would have never imagined, even in his wildest fantasies. Right before his eyes lied Lyam's taillhole, stretched by a large black and gold appendage that was nothing less than his own tail. A good half of it was buried in his rear passage, rapidly thrusting in and out, in and out, pushing more of the thickening appendage inside each time. It must have felt so painful to take this dry thing inside but Lyam kept proving Nick wrong by moaning even louder everytime he jammed his tail deep inside him. "How can this bastard enjoy having his own tail up his butt?… argh… gross…" he wondered, half amazed and half shocked by what he was seeing, still unable, or unwilling to look away, the whole display of pure lust slowly but surely stirring his flaccid member to life, his growing length pushing up against the tight prison of his underwear. He found his earlier disgust and disdain slowly fading away, overpowered by a growing sense of lust, a hand already reaching down to grope his own bulge, his eyes fixates solely on the dragon’s private parts, his mind filling up with a stream of desire-inducing images and thoughts about the male taking care of himself right beside him, urging him to join, to take part in it, to land a helping hand, or even to replace that rough tail spreading him wide.

Sadly, or thankfully, Lyam cut him right in his thought line before his own burning desire got the best of him, the dragon’s body tensing, a deep rumble building in his throat as his cock bloated with seed threatening to burst. One last harder, deeper, faster push of his thick tail inside his quivering hole was enough to send him in a lust frenzy, his back arching; his cock slamming in his tight grip, his knot pressed against his clawed toes. A loud roar of orgasmic delight burst from his gaping maw, making the whole ship shake and aware of the climaxing dragon. A tide of seed erupted from his throbbing flesh, Lyam furiously stroking his cock, moaning like a female, aiming his own maleness at his chest, watching the seed splatter on his scales, staining them with a gooey whiteness, some gushing so hard it landed on his snout and was quickly licked away by his agile tongue. It kept coming out forcefully, spurt after spurt, pooling on his belly and chest. Nick lost count after the tenth spurt, his cock letting out rope after rope of fertile cum that only added to the mess covering his scales. After a long delightful moment Lyam's orgasm faded away, leaving him panting and purring in satisfaction, his whole frame shuddering in the aftermath of the powerful wave of pleasure that washed over him. He swiftly dislodged his tail from his stretched hole, earning another pleasurable surge in the process, his cock squirting out the last droplets of essence it still held as his cum-covered paw let go of his half-hard rod. He laid down, eyes half closed, savoring the last strings of pleasure, basking in the afterglow. Slowly his eyes fell on the pool of his own spilled essence. "Oh… why don't I have someone to give it to… instead of wasting all this precious… hmmm… tasty… essence." he panted, gathering a good amount on his claws before licking them clean. "I wish I had someone to breed right now… or rather… to breed me." He moaned desperately, teasing his used and very sensitive hole with his tailtip, causing him to tremble and his pucker to clench on empty air. With a heavy sigh he turned his snout to rest it on the pillow, his nostrils bumping in something hard. "What the… argh" he gasped, going wide-eyed as he realized what he had just hit. The two stared at each other in complete silence for a split second before they separated, getting up as far as they could from the other. Nick was sweating hard, terrified. Lyam wasn't in a better state, trembling, his heart racing, his breath quick and irregular. "Did… did… did you see?" gasped Lyam, trying to hide his retreating shaft. "Yes… and I heard to…" mumbled Nick, looking at the bed separating them to avoid meeting the enquiring gaze of the dragon. "Sorry… for that. I… I didn't mean you when I said I wanted to breed someone… " stammered Lyam, hs black snout changing color, turning a deep red "Don't worry… I understood that. But… can we… avoid talking about it again? Like… never." Offered Nick to cut to the embarrassing moment. "I'm fine with that." They barely dared to look at each other, both marked by the recent events, not exchanging a single word as they went out of the room.

A few hours later the first crew members woke up; joining them in the cafeteria to grab something to eat after their long slumber, all of them surprised to see the two of them already up. After a short talk they all got to work preparing the ship for the upcoming arrival of the rest of the crew. In five hours all the members of the maintenance team, the security team, the commandment and all other vital crewmember were awoken, all of them greatly intrigued and surprised to see Lyam already awake. They bombarded him of question, Lyam explaining and repeating the same story again and again until a man decided to check one of the control console to confirm Lyam's sayings. And in fact it was true as Nick knew it. At the second the technician asked for a complete check-up of Lyam's room a dozen or so alarms went on. "Holy crap! You and you… come with me!" he shouted, making signs to two other guys. In the end ten men rushed to Lyam's room; followed by a curious, disorganized; colorful crowd, leaving Nick alone in the refectory. When Nick came by a few hours later after a quick round in the compartment the maintenance team had blocked an entire section of the corridor and was cleaning the green liquid staining the floor. "Still leaking?" shouted Nick. "You have no idea… have already two guys sent to the nurse drowned by the flood." "Damn…"  "It's a fucking aquarium in there. Everything is fucked up. We'll have to seal the room. Best part is… even after cutting the alimentation circuit it's still pouring everywhere. We haven't found the breach yet." "Damn… well then good luck with that!" "Thanks… we'll need it." grumbled the man, grumpily sweeping the floor. This unexpected and far more serious problem meant that Nick had to live with Lyam for two more days before he would  hopefully be moved to another room. These two days were awkward for both of them but enjoyable in some ways; both knowing that it would soon be over; that these instants of freedom on the ship were coming to an end; that they’d soon have to return to their daily life onboard the mighty vessel. They loved to be together, a deep friendship had developed between the two, forged by these few days of forced company. Even though they were sometime uncomfortable around each other, especially when alone, mostly due to Lyam’s almost constant horniness, they loved and treasured every second spent together. It helped Nick forget about the boring daily routine and made Lyam feel less alone. There were a few taboo subjects between them of course; words that would bring deep embarrassing blanks in their talk as their eyes would wander away. None of them ever dared to address the subject of mating; making no mention of that offer Lyam made in the intimacy of their shared room.

But good things must come to an end and Lyam was eventually moved away. He later learned that they took one of the unused restrooms to set up a new room for him and had even moved in a Cryopod. They barely saw each other for the next weeks, crossing path in the corridors but never saying much more than "Hi!". Lyam had been busy working in the labs to unknown projects but when the rest of the scientists woke up from the stasis they were pleased to see all their labs already ready for them. Nick's days were much more boring; simply patrolling through the ship, training, and chatting with the other guys quickly became the same daily routine he hated so much. Not even the many drills and combat simulations they ran were able to break the mind-numbing repetitive cycle of his days. Moreover he knew he wasn’t the only one in that situation, everyone looking for anything to keep themselves busy, some focusing entirely on their job, other hunting for the smallest distraction. Some crewmates found as a source of distraction to trick others using the huge clones working in the ship's cargo bay or reactor area, teasing and arousing one until he spilled his disgusting rubber-like seed; often on someone's head. Everyone was pissed or freaked out but even the multiples warning spread throughout the ship couldn’t prevent worse jokes to be done. And yet, despite their best efforts the jokers were still running, at large, hiding among the crew. Nick was sadly one of those finding himself on the receiving end of this trick. He was walking around the cargo hold for his third patrol of the day, whistling happily when something gooey, sticky and disgusting rained down on him. He tried to protect himself or hide but in this massive hall, cover was rare. He tried to make a run for the nearby door but the stream followed him. When it ended he was soaked from head to toe in this filthy thick black goo that clung like glue to him. Laughter suddenly burst from above, coming from one of the walkways shrouded in darkness. “You bastards! When I'll catch you you're gonna regret this!" he roared in pure anger as he tried to get the sticky substance off of his face.

The clone used for this trick, however, was faster than he was. He witnessed the two jokers being sent flying over the railing, screaming in terror as they fell down, landing heavily in a container. "That must hurt." grimaced Nick. The beast jumped from the upper floor, landing nicely near him, using some of the crates piles to slow his fall. It stood there, observing him for a brief second with what mostly resembled an apologetic expression before starting to lick him clean. The sensation of this broad rubbery tongue felt odd on his skin, the slick appendage dragging along his body to wipe away the seed, making him shiver in an unexpected way. "Please… accept my apologies" mumbled the creature with a deep voice, struggling with every word it formed. "It's okay… it's not your fault.” He let out, giving the massive snout a gentle pat, his attention turning toward the container where the two culprits had fallen. “I think these two got what they deserved." "Do you… want me… to… bring them… to you…?" "No… leave them here they're well where they are." The creature snorted, nodded mechanically then left, going back to its monotonous duties, leaving Nick alone in the cargo hold. After reporting what had happened and indicating where the jokers were he let in turn, carrying on with his own duties. Days after day they closed the gap with the Centaurus system until today, they had finally entered, leaving the hyperspace. Here began the unknown, their ultimate goal of exploration.

 

And now he was standing there, looking at the infinite space, listening to Lyam's constant blabbering. He was so absorbed in both his thought and his contemplation that he had totally forgotten what Lyam just told him. He was still giving him all the details about the planet, as if he had devoured the reports about it, Nick only understanding fragments of it all. He abruptly stopped, his words turning into feeble whines. Nick looked back to see the small dragon tensing on his couch, grimacing in pain; a paw massaging his head. Nick shook his head in disbelief, not convinced the slightest. Lyam still tried to pretend but they both knew that the source of his predicament wasn't his head; the strong scent waffling at Nick's nose was here to prove him right. "Stop that Lyam" he grumbled, "we both know that it's not your head that it's bothering you." "Well… it's more complicated than you thing." huffed Lyam with a grimace of pain "My head is aching too… but… you're right it's not the main problem." he winced, slowly widening his stance, exposing his hard cock into the light. It seemed even bigger than before, large veins bulging on its surface as the thick meat throbbed and twitched, pre dribbling at a near constant rate from his tip. "Damn Lyam take care of that" growled Nick, immediately turning his back to the horny dragon, not in any mood to deal with his lust. "I'm trying!" whined Lyam, getting onto his paws with another weak moan, his member swaying widely beneath him, "but it keeps coming back." "What do you mean?" "I've been like that… all day…. I… I tried to go to work but I couldn't focus on anything with that thing out so… I took my day off and…" explained Lyam, glancing between his legs at his needy maleness. "Masturbate… like you always do." Suggested Nick,."I've been doing that all day already! Aren’t you listening?" yelled Lyam, obviously frustrated and suffering from his needs. "I've been cumming… again and again… since this morning… but… it's like… it's like my balls never get dry." "That's weird…” commented Nick, sincerely intrigued and a bit concerned by this information, “Did you try to see a doctor?" "No… I… I'm too… ashamed to walk around the ship with that… out…” sighed Lyam, gesturing at his leaking cock, “Besides, they wouldn't understand. I think it comes from my programming. They've done… all sorts of weird things to me. It feels like I’m trapped… in some sort of… heat loop…"

"That's definitely bad…" confirmed Nick, “Do you want to…” Lyam didn't leave him time to finish his sentence. Before Nick could understand what was happening to him he had already jumped on him, his forepaws gripping his shoulders as they fell together. Nick's back roughly hit the grounds, the shock reverberating through his bones as his brain went blank for a mere second from the violence of the attack and impact.. When he came to back to his senses it was to discover himself pinned down, held in place  by strong clawed paws, Lyam's snout a mere inch away from his face, hot air billowing over his sensitive skin as low growls rolled out between his parted jaws. A moment later Lyam's hard throbbing flesh slammed against his thick armor, bouncing on the thick plates, smearing lines of his dragon's pre across the slick but resilient material while he began grinding against it. "Please… do something about It." he begged, panting harshly, "Please… I beg of you… help me…" "Get off me!" roared Nick, trying his hardest to shove the dragon away, pushing with all his might against the dragon. Lyam didn't flinch nor comply, instead tightening his grip around him, securing him between his paws; his claws cutting through an armor that was supposedly able to withstand heavy caliber projectiles with such ease it made him wonder if his armor was really as tough as advertized.

"Let go of me!" he screamed in panic, trying desperately to squirm out of the horny beast's grasp. Lyam only growled menacingly in his ear, tightening his grip even more, his sharp now slicing the thick fabric of his clothes with the same terrifying ease. "Lyam… you little horny rat…. Listen… if you're not thinking too much with your cock listen to me. If you don't let go of me now I'm gonna make sure you can't even moan again!" he shouted, his threats falling on deaf ears. This time Lyam's jaws snapped near his face; a warning fierce enough to silence Nick and stop him from wiggling so much. Mere moments later Nick watched in horror, powerless as Lyam’s parted maw bent lower and lower, closing the narrow gap separating them, glistening fangs getting too close for comfort. Yet instead of the dragon’s teeth tearing his flesh apart he felt Lyam's snout slide harmlessly along his cheek, rubbing up and nuzzling affectionately against his cheek, his tongue swiftly slipping out of his maw, licking the human's neck, dragging sensually along his chin, causing him to shudder uncontrollably. His grip loosened a bit, allowing Nick a bit of relief although the human opted to remain perfectly still, waiting anxiously for what was to come. "Please… do something about it," Squawked Lyam, "I can't hold it back any longer. Please… I beg of you! Do something about this… crave… before it gets too strong… before I do something bad to you… something I'll regret." Nick felt the pressing urge in Lyam's voice as it turned in an animalistic unrecognizable growl, the amber eyes of the dragon slowly but surely filling with raw, untamed lust and desire. Nick knew he had no choice; the dragon was too needy to care about him, too far gone to stop now. He was almost certain Lyam wouldn't be able to hold back the instincts driving him much longer, his clouded, lustful eyes already undressing him, his claws preparing to tear apart the meager barrier of his clothes, his tongue already dashing over his lips in expectation. The thought of the dragon forcing itself upon him to get what he wanted, raping him with his huge cock, using him willingly or not for his own pleasure made him tremble from head to toe in the purest form of fear. He knew full well that in his current state Lyam wouldn’t give a damn about consent and take what he craved anyway, that resisting would only make the situation even worse. With no other option and no way to get out from under the horny drake Nick took a long deep breath. "Ok then… roll on your back…" he let out, giving up, ready to do whatever it took to get the pesky, lusty male off of him. "You'd better start… working on it first… maybe it would make me… more… obedient." Needily hissed Lyam in response, thrusting his shaft against Nick’s belly; his claws curling and uncurling impatiently; racking the ground with a bone-chilling sound.

Nick grumbled an answer and slowly, carefully raised a hand toward the throbbing shaft resting on his belly, throbbing, radiating an intense heat and leaking copious amount of slick pre on his clothes. His fingers brushed the thick flesh, feeling it tense and twitch under his touch, drawing a needy moan from Lyam's throat. "Come on… don't be… shy… I'm not gonna bite… if you… do… as I say… and… please… me…" he huffed, panting rapidly, low dominant growls escaping his throat. Nick's hand soon enveloped Lyam's throbbing appendage, feeling it pulse and flex between his fingers; unbearable warmth seeping under his skin. Speaking of which, it was weird to have something that warm, external testicles and so many other features that made no sense on a reptilian body. His biology classes were getting old but he recalled clearly that reptiles had inner balls and cold blood. "I know what you're thinking…" hissed Lyam, as if reading his thoughts, slowly rocking his hips back and forth, sliding his ridged length in Nick’s hand, "And to answer your question, I'm a warm-blooded reptile… kinda exciting huh?" he added with a low chuckled, looking down at the human with a devious smirk. "You bet your ass it is…" whispered Nick, slowly caressing, exploring every inch of this gorgeous cock, his fingers tracing along the entire length, from the pointed tip, along the sensitive ridges, down to the fully engorged knot, discovering every detail of it, helping to spread the natural lube of his pre over his sensitive flesh, causing the dragon to shudder and coo in bliss above him. As much as he could tell himself it wasn’t right he had to admit that the sensation felt pleasant, the draconic shaft resting on his palm tickling his curiosity and eagerness in all the right ways. “I’d love to talk more about biology but now is not the time,” growled the overly horny, “Come on… make me… cum already!" Nick obeyed and began stroking the cock, the already pre soaked member making it even easier for him, his fingers caressing the sensitive ridges and bumping against the knot, causing Lyam’s hips to buck forward uncontrollably. Lyam was all growls and moans, letting Nick work his hands on his quivering flesh, peaking down to watch the human explore and pleasure his maleness. The dragon's member felt wonderful, much more than he would have thought even in his wildest fantasies, throbbing rhythmically with Lyam's heartbeat, reacting to the slightest caress of the soft human hands against its sensitive surface, squirting pre all over Nick's chest armor but none of them gave a fuck about it. Lyam was enraptured by the sensation of this agile human hand gliding over his sensitive shaft, making his whole body tremble as little jolts of pleasure surged from his groin. Nick was amazed by how the cock responded to all the little touches he gave it, twitching whenever he rubbed behind a ridge, spurting more pre when he gave it a gentle squeeze. His other hand, having remained largely unused so far slowly came closer, daring to touch the knot. He was greatly pleased to hear Lyam groan and thrust in his grip in return. The first time was rough and unexpected, the sensation of the thick inflated knot slapping against his finger making Nick shake in time with the dragon's rough humps. Overtime however he was able to handle them much better, continuing to stroke the member as his other hand toyed with the knot, guiding the dragon’s tool in the tight tunnel formed by his hand, feeling warm pre steaming down the length and onto him.

The hand teasing the knot slowly moved away from the swollen shaft, going on a bit of an exploration, caressing the wet and gaping slit, going even further until it firmly held Lyam's ball sack in his grasp, cupping and massaging his heavy nuts. "Oh… oh yes… just like that…. Damn… by the stars your hands feel so much better than my paws. Oh… please… don't stop." Moaned the dragon in delight, his thrusts gaining speed as he rammed himself into Nick’s grasp.

Lyam had his snout buried in Nick's neck cooing and growling deeply, giving a few gentle licks along his soft skin, his tongue revealing to be quite agile and sensual as it slithered along his neck while his fangs affectionately nibbled his skin, eliciting low, whimpered moans from Nick who was flinching under the unexpected affection. He was impressed to say the least, astonished by the surprisingly loving and caring behavior of the lust-driven creature, finding time to tease and pleasure him despite his boiling urges. "How can he do that… without hurting me?" Sadly he lacked time to investigate; Lyam's thrusts picked speed, becoming wilder, faster, and harsher; deep growls escaping his mouth as he slammed his cock in the tight vice-like grip squeezing his flesh. "Oh… oh yes… just like that… I'm… so… close…" he groaned, panting, going faster and harder with each thrust, feeling Nick’s hand squeeze and massage his shaft in all the right ways. "I'm gonna… cum!" he let out, eyes screwed shut, his breathing becoming short and ragged, increasingly loud growls coming out of his gaping maw, pre spurting from his tip, soaking Nick’s hands in his juices as he came closer to release. Nick closed his eyes, feeling the cock bloat with the seed welling inside, his hands still rapidly stroking and caressing the over stimulated shaft, feeling it jump and pulse with renewed force. A split second later seed erupted from the twitching cock in one powerful geyser, splattering on his armor, seeping through the cracks Lyam’s talons had left and spreading on his skin. With a mischievous grin he aimed the spurting organ up, letting all the stream of warm sticky seed cover the dragon's belly, turning it a nice shade of white, Lyam appearing to not mind the slightest. "Oh yes… more… MORE!" howled Lyam, pounding away at the human's soft hand, "milk my cock… milk me dry!" he roared in climactic bliss, clenching his jaws tighter, his claws leaving deep marks in Nick's skin as they began tearing his clothes apart. The sheer might of the orgasm was incredible, even a bit terrifying, thick ropes of cum were falling on both of them, covering them both in the dragon’s essence, marking them with his strong spicy scent.

Lyam growled in displeasure as the stream of cum weakened. "No… more!" he squeaked in despair, trying to coax more pleasure by grinding his half-hard cock against Nick’s soaked hands, "I need more… I… want more." he roared in frustration, but his orgasm was still quickly fading away despite his best efforts. Lyan's grip loosened as he moaned in need, still trying with all his might to cum just a bit more, giving Nick an unexpected occasion, the human easily pushing the busy and needy dragon away. Lyam squeaked in surprise as he abruptly lost his balanced, forced to roll on his back. Nick quickly got up, not wanting to give the horny dragon a second to collect himself, and threw himself a quick look. His armor was in shambles, some plates were damaged beyond repair; his clothes weren’t in any better shape, shredded and torn apart; deep cut were covering his arms and legs, blood pearling near the edges of the lashes inflicted by the dragon. What hadn’t been ruined was coated in white sticky cum. Trying to wipe it only caused more damage, the semen sticking to whatever it touched. "Gross…" he grumbled, using one of Lyam's bedsheets in an attempt to take some away. “Wait… where are you going?" gasped Lyam, confused. “Far from you, you filthy beast!” shouted Nick, quickly walking toward the door. "Wait! Don't… don't leave me like this!" begged Lyam pleadingly squeaking. Nick did the mistake of throwing the drake a glance, instantly freezing when his eyes fell upon the dragon. Lyam was splayed on his back with, jutting from between his hind legs, his cock, as hard and aching for attention as ever, as if what he had just done with it had been for nothing. “How can you stay hard after that?” he let out, paralyzed by what he was seeing. “I’ve told you I've been doing it all day but… it keeps going back… eager for more." Huffed Lyam, looking down at his shaft with a mix of desperation and frustration with, deep down below, a hint of desire. "Go see a doctor…" spat Nick walking toward the door with a renewed determination to get the hell out, “I’m not touching that thing again.” “Where do you think you're going?" hissed Lyam behind him. “Out and as far as possible from you.” “Good luck with that,” snickered the dragon, “I've locked the door." He was right; a red light was glowing on the console, indicating that the locks had been engaged, requiring a key to cancel this action. "And I guess you have the key." “Yup…” answered Lyam with a wide devious smirk, visibly enjoying to have the man trapped, exactly where he wanted him, “So come back there you have some unfinished work to take care of.” "You're gonna pay for that Lyam you know that." "Later maybe… first… undress yourself." Ordered the horny drake. "Why?" "I just don't want to stain these clothes more with my scent. Cun can be washed from skin and clothes… but the smell sticks to them for far longer than you can imagine.” Calmly explained Lyam, his lust-addled gaze wandering around Nick’s cum-covered armor, proud of the mess he had made, “Beside… I'm too lazy right now to tear them of myself so… undress for me." Nick grumbled under his breath, throwing the awaiting dragon a deathly glare but nevertheless complied, knowing full well that resisting or opposing him would only make the dragon more ruthless to the point of no return and he didn’t want to be on the receiving end of his lustful wrath. He was out of options and Lyam knew it, having perfectly planned his actions to satisfy his own needs. Coming back to the center of the room, placing himself in front of the dragon he removed his ruined armor and tossed it away, soon joined by his shirt. Although he was very nervous about undressing for the horny lizard in front of him he had to admit it felt good to get out of those cum-drenched rags. Then, after taking off his shoes, he pulled his pants down kicking them to the side as he removed his socks, leaving him almost naked, shivering in the cold air of the room, pondering if he should take the last step. "Completely…" growled Lyam, clearly enjoying himself, playing with his cock, jerking it before Nick's eyes like he was trying to tease him. Gulping down in apprehension he slowly pulled his underwear down, offering himself completely to the dragon that wasn’t loosing a single second of it, feasting his eyes on the naked, muscular body standing before him. "Perfect, now… crouch before me… yes… just like that…. Now… get to work s…” “Dare to call me like that and I'm gonna make you eat your nuts.” warned Nick with a menacing expression that seemed enough to get the point across. He sighed, crouching before the black and gold dragon as he had been instructed, forced to stare at the dragon's nether region, at these two hefty balls and this so hard, throbbing cock, the strong natural fragrance blasting at his nose. After a few seconds of silence with the two of them staring at each other expectantly, the dragon's paw left the pre-soaked appendage, letting it throb and sway in the open air, pre oozing from the tip. "Now… please me until I've given my last drop of seed.” He commanded, already shuddering in anticipation and excitement. “You owe me a big one you know Lyam." he muttered between gritted teeth, his hand reaching out and wrapping around the sizeable member, giving it a gentle squeeze. "I know… I'll repay you for that…" he whined, "Just… take care of it… and… I'll find something… to reward you." he panted, his back already arching in pleasure.

Nick found weird how Lyam was getting out of his lust-addled state for brief moments before plummeting back in. Was he even truly dealing with some kind of heat or was he just using it as an excuse to have him worship his cock? Was it just an elaborate plot to spend the night with him as he had offered that night in his room? Nick didn't know and he was having a hard time finding the correct answer to that riddle. As he thought about it he had started jerking Lyam off, rapidly stroking up and down his quivering length with one hand while the other went down to his heavy sack, cupping and groping his heavy orbs, Lyam gasping and moaning under his touch, bucking his hips in the soft confine of his hand as his tail swished along the floor, paws randomly kicking from the sheer pleasure that was coursing through him. Lyam seemed so eager, so excited, so needy, yet going through such a pain at the same time as if even for him it was getting too much to bear, his cock so stiff in Nick’s grasp that he feared hurting him if he went to hard on it. “Pour guy… suffering while enjoying himself… what a burden…"

Between his tightly clenched fingers he could feel Lyan's meaty shaft spasm and swell, the knot at the base rapidly engorging, warning him of the impending load that was abot to spill out, even his balls pulsing in his sack, ready to unload another round of fertile essence, leaving him only mere seconds to brace himself. Cum rushed to the tip, bursting out like lava from a pent-up volcano, covering the dragon's belly in a warm blanket as the dragon arched his back, crying out in pure pleasure, eyes rolling back from the intensity of his climax. As the climax neared its end Nick let go of the cock, expecting it to soften and retreat back into its slit but to his own dismay it instead sprang back to life almost immediately. "Damn… what the hell is in your balls to make you produce that much seed?” gasped Nick, shocked, witnessing the full extent of the dragon’s predicament. "I don't know but… I feel so horny…” groaned Lyam, panting and growling in raw need, “Again… again!" "How long will I have to do that?" sighed Nick, eyes rolling in disbelief. "For as long as it takes to quell my craves." "At this rate it's gonna take a week!" complained Nick. "Just… use something more… stimulating than a hand…" suggested Lyam, fighting the growing wave of desire threatening to overwhelm him. “Like what?” “Your tongue… your mouth… I don't know…. Just do it…!" Nick only cursed under his breath, deciding to ignore the horny male’s suggestion as he leaned over the dragon's rump, his thick tail going right between his legs, swishing hieratically. Nick's hands grabbed the needy pole of flesh; rapidly stroking it up and down at a rapid pace to make sure the dragon would quickly hit another orgasm, using all the knowledge he had gotten from his previous time to help him to coax the dragon’s seed. His grip was firm over the slick, now slippery, maleness but Lyam would always buck hard enough to make it slip away from his fingers, all the pre leaking from his penis making it harder and harder to hold each time. "God damn it, can't you stop squirming like this?!" "grah… ha…arw… I need to cum… so… badly…" desperately groaned Lyam, his fogged eyes looking down at Nick, pleading for help. "Then stop wiggling so much and let me work! Huffed Nick attempting to grab Lyam’s cock only for it to slip away again. “Your hands… are not enough… use your mouth… please." Begged Lyam in a needy whimper. "No fucking way! I'm not gonna take it in my mouth, whatever you put me through I won't suck that!" exclaimed the human, disgusted by the idea. "Please……" insistently pleaded Lyam, in a heart wrenching distress. “I don't believe this…. You're gonna own me a lot of favors Lyam." "I know… just… just… do it… I'll find something… to reward you… I swear I'll find something." “Whatever…”

Nick observed the twitching organ bobbing before his eyes, the same inner battle from a few days ago raging again in his brain, a part of him grossed out by the mere thought of letting the thing touch his lips while the other was more curious, intrigued, eager to try it out, after all, it couldn’t be that bad. "I can't believe I'm doing this." He let out after a long hesitation. "Yes… me too…. It's totally new for me… I've never done that before." Admitted Lyam, sounding very shy and uncomfortable all of a sudden."Done what?" "Well… everything that we did… that we’re doing now… I've never been touched by someone else…” explained Lyam, a light reddish hue covering his cheeks, “You could say I’m… a virgin… and… I'm… glad… I suppose… that it falls on someone… I trust for… my first time…" he let slip, not daring to look Nick straight in the eyes as he spoke, his forepaws nervously taping on his chest. "Yeah and I keep regretting having entered the room." Snorted Nick in response. However, despite his harsh response a side of him was feeling honored to be the naughty dragon’s first time, taking great pride in knowing the fact he was the one Lyam trusted with this. All of a sudden the dragon looked less like a wild, lust and instinct-driven beast, but more like a young man discovering himself, struggling with emotions and feelings he didn’t understand. This realization had the unexpected side effect to make his groin tingle as he prepared himself.

"Well… let's get to it then. I think you won't leave me another choice anyway." "Nope… so… I guess… you should… get to it.” Retorted Lyam, a toothy grin of anticipation plastered across his face, “I assure you it tastes wonderful… if you enjoy drinking cum that is.” Nick didn't answer to Lyam's provocation and slowly lowered his face, homing in on the red shaft waiting for him. As he expected the scent became more and more potent, turning intoxicating at such a close distance, assaulting and overwhelming his senses, even stronger that when Lyam was living with him. He grimaced from the musky fragrance waffling at his nose, giving him a feeling of lightheadedness that pushed his inhibitions to the side while, slowly he grabbed a hold of the slickened cock in his palm, letting it’s warmth envelope him, feeling its excited throbs as it craved for a warm and tight place to be buried in. "Let's give it a try then." he whispered in apprehension, securing the shaft in his hand, pointing it toward hm. His jaws opened slightly, breathing in the sharp tangy musk, his own hot air washing over the needy pole, causing it to twitch and pulse harder, eliciting low excited growls from Lyam. "Stop… teasing and get… sucking…" moaned Lyam, tail slamming in the ground. Nick hesitated as his lips almost touching it, doubt suddenly overtaking him, fear that he wouldn’t be able to take it, to handle it and who it was attached to. The heat just like the smell radiating from the thick meat was unbearable; it felt like being near a heater, a very appetizing one at that.

Finally, as his doubts were melted away by the arousing scent, his lips kissed the wet tip, causing him to gasp again. The flavor surely matched the scent, strong, potent, spicy, flooding his body with a surprising hunger for more. Salty pre gushed in his mouth at the instant his lips enclosed around the restlessly throbbing length, causing him to gag a little from the unexpected gift from the dragon the viscous liquid sloshing around before trickling down his throat, his stomach churning happily as it welcomed the unknown fluids. Unfortunately he had no time to savor it, more pre already flowing in his mouth faster than he could swallow it, bulging his cheeks as he tried to cope with the constant stream, most oozing out around his lips. He wanted to pull out, unable to take more, but clawed paws instantly latched on the back of his head, holding him still, forcing him down on the shaft, pushing several inches of thick ridged flesh inside his mouth. He threw an assassin glare to the dragon but Lyam was too aroused to even notice it, head thrown back, jaws gaping as low growls filled the silence. Nick took a deep breath, attempting to relax, trying to adjust to the large girth of the shaft stuffing his mouth until he felt confident enough, pushing against Lyam’s hindquarters, the dragon seemingly understanding what he wanted and removing his paws, allowing Nick room to breathe and play.

He started suckling the thick twitching rod, his tongue bathing the hot, moist organ in saliva, slithering along the sensitive ridges lining the underside of Lyam’s cock as pre spewed in the back of his mouth. At first Lyam held almost still; watching through lust-glazed eyes as the human took care of him, bobbing his head up and down his dick, licking and sucking on his so sensitive length, but soon the need grew too great to resist. He started giving small thrusts; grinding his cock against the human tongue; pushing only a few more inches inside the warm, welcoming mouth. Nick grunted and huffed, struggling a bit, it had been ages since he had blown off a male, and none were as hung as Lyam. Compared to them the dragon was simply huge, much thicker, eager and had one hell of a fat knot to go with his already impressive maleness. "I hope he won't try to force it into my mouth… he's gonna break my jaws if he tries…" he told himself, the thought causing a chill of horror to run down his spine.

Lyam quickly grew even hornier from the sensation of this steamy mouth swallowing inch after inch of his cock, each loud swallowing sound only urging him to feed him with more of his natural lube. "Definitely… better…" he rumbled, panting for breath, trembling from head to toe from the pleasure coursing in his veins. The human's mouth felt so amazing around his member he couldn't stop himself from thrusting deeper inside it, giving the protesting human all he had despite their huff and grunts of discomfort. Yet, even in this state he didn't want Nick to be injured, trying with all his might to remain calm and not succumb to the bliss flooding his system. But the combined sensation of a foreign tongue dragging along his ridges, the lips embracing his shaft and the mouth suckling his needy flesh made it even more difficult, sending sharp surges of raw pleasure up his already lust-filled brain. He could barely control his body so keeping the pressure in his loins from spilling everywhere was way out of his reach. He began trusting harder, earning muffed sounds of protest from the human; his knot noisily slapping against those soft lips each time he buried himself in the warm, wet oral cavity; purred in delight, his paws slowly traveling down the soft naked body, daring to explore it for the first time, discovering the softness of his smooth skin, sensing the tension in the human's body, making little circling motions around the stiff muscles, trying to help them relax.  Nick was shivering under the unexpected affection, doing all he could to not be overwhelmed by the dragon, guiding their turgid shaft smoothly in his mouth, the tip poking at the back of his throat while the ridges slipped in and out with wet popping sounds. In the meantime however he was still on edge, apprehending, afraid by the huge knot being rammed against his lips, fearing the moment where it would be forcefully jammed between his jaws. "Relax… I'm not… not gonna knot you…" moaned Lyam in a kind attempt at reassuring him. Nick relaxed but only slightly, preparing for the dragon's peak as he continued to lick and suck on the large pulsing rod, guzzling down all the pre that streamed out of it. He was almost sure Lyam would orgasm soon… but when? Would he be warned? Would he know it was coming in some way? It was hard to tell with this furiously throbbing and twitching organ popping in and out of him. This cock was so different, so alien, from everything he had previously experienced that he was trouble figuring out how close the dragon was. The only thing he was certain of was that the thrusts and throbs picked speed, even more pre gushing out of the pulsing cock, overflowing from his mouth and dripping down his chin.

He kept on with his ministration, matching the rhythm of Lyam's hips, teasing and massaging the ridges with his tongue until the drake’s paws came back to his head, holding him in position as he… pulled out. "What are you preparing this time?" he whispered in his head, gasping for breath as the member pointing at him kept pumping out more of the slick pre, coating his face in the warmth and musk of the salty fluids as his eyes peaking up to meet the dragon’s lustful and elated expression, his eyes hazy with wild need, his whole body quaking in a mix of anticipation and pleasure. The answer quickly came catching him totally off guard as Lyam’s hips suddenly bucked forward, shoving his cock deeper than ever in his mouth, the bloated tip making its way in his throat as the swollen knot roughly smacked his lips. He gagged and gulped around the thick shaft, trying his best to adjust to the unexpected intrusion, pre now cascading straight down straight into his stomach without him needing to swallow it. But unfortunately he had no time to get used to the feeling of the large rod stuffing his throat as it throbbed violently, swelling in his mouth, the scent getting even stronger than before, his guts telling him that it was coming, and coming hard. He closed his eyes, grabbing onto the dragon’s hindlegs to steady himself as a torrent of burning hot, creamy seed was shot deep in his throat, painting the walls with his sticky essence, the cock convulsing in his tight passage as more cum filled his stomach, the dragon roaring it’s pleasure to the ceiling, his tail repeatedly smashing into the floor in orgasmic bliss. The first mighty spurt had barely finished that already a second one, just as strong, flooded his throat with the product of his lust, filling his belly. Lyam unexpectedly pulled back, freeing Nick’s throat from his cock, letting the next spurts pool in his mouth, feeding his seed to the human, watching as pearlescent white began collecting at the corner of his lips and streaming down his chin. Nick chocked, unable to possibly swallow it all, overwhelmed by the sheer volume the dragon was cumming. Though, despite his struggles to cope with it he was enjoying his first taste of the fertile dragon seed quite a bit, finding himself eagerly swallowing all he could. It was thick, gooey, sticky like glue, had a much stronger and salty flavor than he expected but overall it was enjoyable. Nevertheless, despite his best efforts there was no way he could take it all, more cum always spurting out of the engorged cock, adding to the pool forming in his mouth and bulging his cheeks, leaking on the side of his mouth, streaming down on the dragon’s golden belly. Lyam kept gradually pulling out until the tip slipped out of Nick's mouth, still spurting hard, cum flowing out of the human maw, causing the dragon to giggle amusingly as he watched the rest of his load splatter on Nick's face, each strong jet coating it in a nice layer of his white sperm, the human sometime moving his mouth close to get a sip of the dragon’s hot cum.

"Could have warned me…?" grumbled Nick once the orgasm died down, coughing the leftover cum as he tried to wipe the sticky seed off his face. "Thought it would be better to… make you the surprise." Chuckled the devious drake, proud of himself, satisfied with the mess he had made. "Great surprise, you almost chocked me…” spat Nick, trying to get rid of the pungent taste of dragon cum in his mouth, "Anyway… feeling better?" "Yes… but… not… spent yet." Replied, pointing a claw at his still hard cock "Are you kidding me?! I'm not doing that again!" exclaimed Nick as he sprang back to his feet, taking a step away from the dragon, staring in dismay at the throbbing shaft still proudly standing between his hindlegs as if all his efforts had been for nothing, “Even less with you trying to choke me to death like that!”. Lyam didn't answer, not moving a muscle either. "Hey I'm talking to you!" Lyam was perfectly immobile, his breath ragged and irregular, his hazy eyes glued to something, nostrils flared, taking in something he couldn't even smell. Nick felt uncomfortable; chilling from both the cold and the dragon’s insistent lustful gaze homed at something halfway up the human body, taking another step back, without noticing a small detail that the dragon had clearly spotted.

“This…” growled Lyam after a long moment of silence, pointing a claw in Nick's direction, his eyes glowing with animalistic desire, “I want it…” “Want what?” gasped Nick, not understanding what caught the dragon’s eye. “Your cock…” huffed Lyam, licking his lips in anticipation. Nick gasped and instantly looked down. Between his legs his cock had hardened, now standing at full mast, bobbing in the air before him, a bead of pre collecting at the tip, probably stirred to life by all the lewd moment he had been going through and by the alluring musk of the dragon. Instinctively he tried to cover it and turn away but Lyam was still watching it as if he could see through the cover of the human hands, drooling in want. “I want it…” he repeated in a needy whimper, “It's what I need…" "What do you mean?" mumbled Nick, blushing, the sensation of the wanting gaze on his body making him both very embarrassed and equally excited. Lyam only growled in held back frustration, adopting an even more submissive stance, spreading his legs wider, stretching his tail along the floor as much as possible, exposing his clenching tailhole to the human, making his intentions more than clear. "Put it inside me…" he moaned, begging Nick with a pleading face as his forepaws reached down, spreading his rear, stretching his pucker open. “Are you crazy! I'm not goona do that!” yelped Nick, the more clone-hating part of his mind taking back control, washing away the slight horniness that had begun to creep up over him, “That’s enough I'm out of here whether you want it or not!" he added, spinning around and beginning to rummage through the room in search of the key to his freedom even though, down below his own member was still very hard and throbbing, aroused by the dragon’s offer. "Please Nick… don't leave now… I feel… so… close…" begged Lyam, moaning in need. "So close to what? To piss me off again! You'd better give me this god damn key before I loose my patience!" "No… please… I'm almost… done…" pleaded Lyam in a high pitched tone, staring puppy-eyed at the still naked human. "Yeah and I'm almost mad at you…" growled Nick, checking every inch of the room but found nothing. “Please… put it inside me…" screamed Lyam, immediately hiding his face in shame after finishing his sentence. "Hold on… what did you say?" gasped Nick, stopping dead in his tracks, unsure if he had heard correctly. "Fuck me… breed me… mate me! Call it whatever you want but please take me!" Roared Lyam , kicking in sheer need. "Are you sure about this?" mumbled Nick in shock. The dragon's request sounded awkward, so… weird… so… odd to him but also so sincere, as if he truly wanted it; a part of him, namely his penis, already jumping and pulsing excitedly. Nick had been with other males countless time before and fucking one caused him no hint of shame nor discomfort whatsoever, but… this time… it was different, this time it was an animal asking him, begging him to be taken… it was simply disgusting yet also so appealing, parts of him wanting nothing to do with it while other were curious to feel how this feral dragon rump would feel around his dick. He didn’t know what to do, should he refuse and try to get out or should he… accept the offer and give it a try? Beside the poor guy seemed so eager for him. "Can't be that bad after all…" he whispered, trying to convince himself as he took an uncertain step toward the awaiting dragon. “Do you really want it Lyam?" he asked from a safe distance, not trying to hide his hard member, noticing Lyam’s eyes immediately focusing on it. "Yes!" shouted the dragon, vigorously nodding his head, "mate with me please! I beg of you… fill me with your cock… and cum!" groaned the lustful dragon, willingly offering his rear. “If I do that do you promise to let me go afterward?” “Yes… you… you can leave… after.” Grumbled Lyam, accepting the offer after a short pondering silence.  "Then… you'd better be ready because I'm not gonna go easy on you!" warned Nick, a mischievous smirk plastered across his lips as he got closer. "I don't care… fuck me as hard as you want… just… get rid of this crave… it hurts… so much.” Moaned Lyam, eyes fixated on Nick’s turgid cock. “Fine… just… give me some time to lube it up… I guess…" muttered Nick, eyes going back and forth between his dick and Lyam’s tailhole before looking around the room in the hope of finding anything he could use as a lubricant of some sort. "No… No need for lube… just… stick it in… before I do it myself." Hissed Lyam, claws curling impatiently. "Ok… just let me get into position." "Hurry!" howled Lyam, slamming his tail into the ground. Nick slowly got closer to the dragon, crouching low and straddling the dragon’s large swishing tail before leaning over the dragon, scales and skin meeting for the first time, rubbing softly against one another as he got into position, causing him to shudder as he felt the warmth radiating from them seep into his body. The drake's hard cock was soon pressed against the man's belly, smearing aqueous precum all over his pinkish skin, Lyam slowly rocking his body, grinding his sensitive ridged length against the smooth human’s hide while Nick's tip poked around at Lyam's backside in search of his mark. After missing the spot several time, his penis only gliding on the slick scales, Nick grabbed his stiff shaft and, lining it up, cautiously prodded at Lyam's entrance, feeling it clench and quiver impatiently against his tip. “Go ahead…” cooed Lyam, trembling and panting in anticipation. Nick took a deep breath and pushed his cock forward, both of them gasping in union when his tip pierced the dragon's tight pucker, forcing the muscular passage to stretch around him. Lyam whined, was it pain or pleasure Nick couldn’t tell he just assumed he was enjoying it judging by how his muscles clenched around him, pulling hard on his shaft, trying to swallow him in deeper. "Damn… you're tight… down there…" huffed Nick, not expecting such a tight constricting grip from the dragon. "I've… never… experienced… with a real… thing…” moaned Lyam, overwhelmed by the pleasure brought by the penetration, “oh yes… it feels so good… thrust… thrust inside me… make me cum!" he shouted, abandoning himself to the pleasure that overpowered his senses. Nick happily obliged, slowly pushing his member deeper into the tight tunnel, feeling it spread to accommodate his girth, the muscular inner walls enveloping and squeezing his length in the most pleasurable way imaginable. Lyam was in heaven, loving the sensation of the cock lodged deep in his rear, his paws wrapping around Nick, pulling him even closer so he could enjoy the full extent of the human shaft, his claws caressing and scratching his back. Nick on his end was panting, his senses overwhelmed by the sheer pleasure this beast managed to unleash in him, fighting the sudden urge to fuck the tight hole senseless. Every spasm; every single twitch of the tight tunnel made him tremble in pleasure, his cock was being massaged from all sides by the undulating walls trying to coax all the seed he had. After a time staying still he slowly pulled out until only the tip remained inside, enjoying the feeling of the hole trying to keep him in. He held like this for a time, only pushing the tip of his shaft inside, teasing the dragon, giving him a taste of his own medicine, watching Lyam mewl in need, staring down at him in desperation, begging to be taken like a female. Nick was happy to comply, shoving his penis back in as hard and deep as he could, Lyam’s passage clenching even harder around him in response, eliciting a high-pitched moan from him. Nick began thrusting rapidly in the clamping anus, stuffing the dragon’s hole full of his cock, pre dribbling in the tight passage, making it easier to slide in, pleasure filling his veins as he went wild on the dragon. Even in his wildest dream he couldn't have foreseen he would find himself dominating a dragon, fucking him roughly and loving it much more than he thought he would. His repulsion and hatred of clone was far gone now, his reluctance to have sex with a feral creature swept under the rug, swept away by the pleasure he felt surging from his dick. The wet sound of their hips smacking with every thrust filled the air, adding to the symphony of growls and moans the two let out. Lyam was tight but eager to take the human all the way in, his hungry hole pulling him deeper each time he stabbed it, the muscles wrapping his cock in a vice-like grip, not wanting to let go of him, drawing every drop of clear pre out of him. Pre shot from both their cock, Nick’s coating the dragon’s insides in a nice layer of lubricant while Lyam’s own was spraying all over Nick’s belly and chest, drenching his skin in the dragon’s musky fluids. Nick grabbed a hold of the dragon's bobbing dick, jerking it off rapidly, his hand stroking from the tip all the way to the knot, earning loud moans from the dragon. Soon he found his pace humping the dragon roughly while his hand played with the leaky shaft in time, the two working in tandem to bring the horny male closer to the edge. Lyam gave himself up completely, relinquishing control to the human, his body rocked forward by every thrust, his foggy eyes looking in the distance, drowning in delight. With each forceful hump Nick buried himself a bit deeper in the tight tailhole, until his balls were slapping noisily against the dragon’s rump, making Lyam groan, pleased that the human finally hilted inside him, feeling the entirety of his length snuggly nestled deep within him. Through the shroud of pleasure clouding his senses he noticed his belly scales feeling increasingly warm, prompting him to look down, discovering every inch of his belly drenched with all the pre he was producing, Nick’s ministration not helping the slightest in that matter. His balls and cock throbbed even more, ready to spill again, the human pressing all the right buttons to push him over the edge with his cock and hands yet he hadn't felt Nick's seed in his hungry passage yet and, above his own release it was something he desperately craved for. His neck craned down, getting close to the human, moaning right in Nick's face, loudly slurping his cheek and nuzzling him affectionately, so hungry for seed that his body was doing senseless things beyond his control, not that he minded. Nick grunted, teeth gritted as his face was slobbered by the affectionate tongue, he could feel his orgasm approaching, so close, Lyam's muscles relentlessly milking him, trying to make him cum, bringing him to new heights of pleasure. He slammed in the eager drake's hole even faster, harder, spreading him wide with his cock, encouraged by his constant moaning and clenching of his hole, feeling the need to cum grow inside him. The dragonhood he held onto was convulsing, swelling like a pent-up volcano of lust ready to erupt, a clear indication of how close the dragon was. "Oh… oh… yes… harder… faster… deeper… yes… just… just like that!" cried out Lyam, eyes closed, basking in a mind-shattering ocean of pleasure, urging Nick to take him to the edge of orgasm. He couldn't take it anymore, his whole frame quaking under his burning lust surging toward his cock. Finally… he was so close… he could feel it… ready to spill….

"Oh… oh… I'm… cumming!" he roared, bucking his hips weakly one last time in Nick's hand, his body became stiff, seed rushing to his engorged shaft, threatening to escape. Then, it all came out in a powerful wave of the purest pleasure, Lyam howling to the ceiling as seed forcefully gushed out in the open; freezing in midair for a split second before raining down everywhere on and around him; forming long jagged white streaks on his scales. The dragon’s climax was so mighty, so powerful that Nick had to let go of Lyam’s throbbing dick; it’s throbs so violent, its motion too unpredictable for him to hold it without risking to hurt its owner, watching as cum burst from the tip, making a mess of the dragon. A split second later his own dick was squished by strong muscular walls; massaged from all sides at once, Lyam’s tailhole clamping down on him in rhythm with his throbbing cock. He grunted holding as tightly as he could on Lyam’s hindlegs; feeling seed well up in his loins; ready to erupt in the demanding hole. He doubled down on the scaly rump, ready to give him all he had, waning to cum as well until he was suddenly snapped out of his frenzy by something warm hit his lower belly with an incredible force, like a geyser, splattering something everywhere on his chest. It was like someone was… peeing on him. He looked down but; instead of the dark yellow liquid he expected he discovered a large torrent of seed continuously gushing out of Lyam's tip, soaking them both in the dragon’s sticky pearlescent essence. It felt just like the dragon was peeing but it was much more pleasant with the hot cum, the strong musk of the dragon impregnating skin and scales alike. After this short interruption Nick resumed thrusting in the quivering hole; getting closer and closer to the edge yet, before finishing in the dragon’s craving rear he wanted to do something first.

Curious he bowed his head down just above the stream of cum, opening his mouth, aching for another taste of the dragon’s sperm. In an instant it was filled by warm dragon essence, the powerful stream forcefully hitting the back of his throat, causing him to choke and cough on the sheer volume of sticky cum invading his mouth. Nevertheless he gulped down everything he could, even though most was just leaking out, his lips wrapping around the tip, drinking from the endless source. The taste was just as potent as before, the thick, gooey substance still carrying its salty flavor but feeling different from last time, sweeter and somewhat fresher, as if this new load of seed had just been churned out by the dragon’s large balls. This realization made him shudder as his head began bobbing up and down in time with his thrusting, taking the very first inches of the thick member, guzzling down as much as he could while the rest flowed down the throbbing length, adding to the mess below. The taste and the intoxicating scent of the dragon were slowly getting to him, clouding his mind, making him feel lightheaded and incredibly horny, fueling his own burning lust as he went even harder on the male below him. His gaze slowly went up, observing the still climaxing dragon. Lyam was sprawled across the floor, goofily smiling, panting and cooing in delight, his lust-addled brain not registering much of what was happening around him, too busy savoring his peak which gave an idea to the human. With a devious smirk Nick pulled away, aimed the spewing cock at its owner's face and watched with delight as the seed sprayed over Lyam's face. Lyam gasped, squeaking in surprise, trying to squirm out of the geyser coating every scale in white goo; unfortunately his limp body only allowed him to weakly claw and kick at bare air and at the unstoppable rush of his own cum. Meanwhile Nick hadn’t stopped pounding Lyam's tight hole for a single second; his thrusts quick; deep and rough, viciously stimulating the overly sensitive flesh, angling his cock just right to jab right at Lyam’s most sensitive spot, the dragon’s inner muscles clamping so hard it was almost painful, trying to tip him over the edge. "I'm… cumming… again…" squawked Lyam, his tail slamming in Nick's backside, giving him a surprise slap on the left cheek. Nick wanted to reply, to voice his confusion at what the dragon had just said, but to his own shock he felt the cock swell even more, on the verge of splitting in half right as the dragon’s peak was ending. He let go just in time to see the member pulse with renewed vigor, the stream strengthening even more, an even greater amount of cum spilling over Lyan's chest, a torrent of cum now erupting from his tip. The dragon cried out in a mix of pain and pleasure; his muscles constricting around Nick's member even harder, putting the human very close to the edge. He moaned, pleasure surging from his over stimulated penis as he thrust with all his might in the tight passage, going as deep as he could until, seed finally erupting from his own dick; his pleasure skyrocketing as he hit his own climax, burying himself fully in the warm and tight hole. He leaned over the dragon's soaked belly, collapsing on top of him as seed spurted rapidly from his throbbing penis, coating Lyam's walls in sticky whiteness, more and more coming out as if he had been holding back for weeks, giving the dragon everything to the last drop. Lyam, upon feeling the sudden influx of warmth coming from his rear was overwhelmed by another wave of pleasure and joy, abandoning himself  entirely to the pleasure of the intense and intimate moment, fully satisfied now that he had felt Nick’s cum inside him. Nick didn't care that Lyam's seed was covering them both; he just stayed there; enjoying the afterglow as they kept cumming again and again, spurt after spurt, until his balls began running dry, squirting his last droplets of seed deep inside the dragon’s rear. Tears were flowing down from the dragon’s eyes as he roared in joy and relief at the same time, pulling the human in a tight affectionate and grateful embrace, savoring each second of this moment, wishing it would last forever.

After ages… or just a few minutes, the stream of Lyam’s cum weakened, turning into a weak dribble of seed pooling on the dragon's lower belly. “Thanks…” whispered Lyam, sighing in relief and gratitude as Nick pulled his flaccid cock out of his gaping hole, his tongue affectionately lapping at the man’s cheek. Fatigue slowly took a hold of him, his heavy eyes closing themselves, he was utterly spent and exhausted and happy about it. "The key… is under my pillow… and… if you want to… *yowl* clean yourself… there is a shower… over… there" muttered Lyam, leaning back, his eyes slowly closing as he weakly pointed in the general direction of the bathroom with a heavy claw. "Thanks…" mumbled Nick, slowly getting up, feeling just as exhausted and spent as the dragon. Like a zombie he walked to the bathroom, entering the shower without even noticing it. He leaned against the wall to not fall, fighting the exhaustion that was taking a hold of him as hot water washed away the seed. After multiple thorough cleanings to ensure that not a drop of seed was left on his body, and also to get rid of Lyam’s strong, pungent scent,   he turned the water to freezing cold, grimacing as his muscles tensed, his whole body shaking from the abrupt temperature change. It wasn’t the most pleasant experience but at least it did a great job of waking him up from his sleepy state. When he came back in the room Lyam was already deeply sleeping on the uncomfortable ground, his scales drenched in cum, his flaccid draconic member exposed in plain view; his muscles too weak to pull it back inside his slit, his used, gaping hole on full display, oozing with Nick’s own essence. Nick dressed himself up as quietly as possible, praying that nobody would notice the sorry state of his clothes and gears; locating the key under the pillow, precisely where Lyam said it would be, and ran out, leaving the sleeping dragon alone in his messy, musky room as he ran to his own, praying to not stumble upon anyone upon the way.

For the next two days he avoided Lyam as much as possible, trying to forget what had happened between the two of them, suppressing the memories and feelings this moment had left in him. However it proved much more difficult that he thought, this time with the dragon like carved in his brain, memories still so vivid, like written and painted with indelible ink in his mind. Even while asleep these memories would rush back at him, perverting his dreams, bringing him back to the horny dragon waiting, wanting to be bred by him, adopting another attractive and teasing pose each time, or finding a new way to entice him. Not a second of his life was free from the lustful thought of Lyam’s form; even his wildest fantasies while he jerked off weren’t safe from the dragon’s presence.  At times he could even swear hearing him moan. Actually, now that he thought about it he hadn’t even met Lyam for this period of time and everyone else seemed to not know anything about his whereabouts. The only time he walked near his new room it was to find it sealed off by quarantine panels and warning symbols; one soldier even guarding the entrance; not any soldier at that, not a guy from his section but one of the Alpha team security member usually assigned to the protection the high ranked personnel. When Nick enquired about the state of the room and its occupant he was met with a stern silence; the soldier’s lips remaining perfectly sealed; his eyes not even drifting toward Nick. He had left with more questions than answers; bothered and worried that something might have happened.

 

Then came the fateful day where the general proudly announced that they were in range of the planet. Nick would remember these words for the rest of his life "Attention please!" he first shouted like always "I'm glad to announce you that we're finally at our first destination. It's a major breakthrough in spatial exploration. The rout is still full of unknown dangers, but we will overcome them, for the glory of tee consortium" "For the consortium!” they all shouted in reply. "Now… our true task begins. All crew members assigned to exploration teams must be prepared in two hours and must present themselves to the landing craft launch bay. Make sure all your things are packed and your weapons loaded… you'll need them all." Nick looked at his mission order. He was assigned to the Gama team that would be the first team to land there and secure an area for next dropships. "The first team will be dropped in a forested area." informed the general "Your first task will be to clear a safe landing zone and protect it until reinforcements arrive. Be careful though, we do not know what may lay in this alien world so be on your guards." "Easy…" grumbled Nick.

After the mission briefing, he walked back to his room; put what he needed in his backpack, put on his brand-new armored suit and grabbed his riffle before slowly walking out. Once outside he took one last good look at his room; he wouldn't see it again before a while. Despite everything the journey had been a rather pleasant one but he left it without regrets. Here started the adventure, the discoveries, the dangers… what he signed up for.

Suddenly, as he walked in the corridor a loud sound like an explosion filled the silence, followed by the sound of twisting and snapping metal. The ship shook violently, everything trembling around him, the whole corridor rocking from side to side in the aftermath of the explosion, the very structure wincing and whining. Nick grabbed a metal bar to not fall. "What's going on…" he whispered, his hair dressing on top of his head. Another bang echoed in the distance. "I don't like this…". The ship jolted forward again. He fell flat on the ground. Before his eyes all light switched off, replaced by yellow-colored alarms. "Warning… ship's integrity compromised…" "Oh no… not now…" he gasped, feeling fear and panic creep over him. However, despite the terror that gripped his heart his training immediately kicked into action. As part of the security team he had to go there and assist as best as he could. Yet barely had he gotten up again that the alarm came on again with it’s cold and disembodied voice, “WARNING§ WARNING! Depressurization detected in block H8, all personnel must vacate the area immediately!". He had just registered this information that already more alarms and announcements were echoing through the empty corridor; declaring multiple failures and problems. There were fires, structural failures, hull breaches, electrical failures spreading from what he assumed was the starting point of this cascade of problems, block H8. Without hesitation he lunged himself forward, rushing toward the end of the corridor, mentally plotting a course to where he needed to go when suddenly ”WARNING! lockdown initiated; please remain clear of the door's while they close." It had barely finished that already all security doors slammed shut, hermetically sealing the compartment. "Shit…" he grumbled, skidding to a stop before the impenetrable bulkhead door, the nearby console reading “LOCKDOWN INITIATED NO ACCESS ALLOWED”. He ran back to his room. Thankfully his command console was still functioning.

He started it… the ship trembling again as another deflagration ripped through the ship’s bowels. He immediately requested for a diagnostic. What the system answered him made him shiver in shock and horror, his face going perfectly white as his jaw dropped on a silent gasp. He was receiving reports from everywhere signaling fires or smoke in several compartments, a general lockdown, oxygen leaks in lower levels, energy tank leaks, structural issues in the reactore core area. Even worse, an entire compartment, the one where it all started from, block H8 was completely unresponsive; missing, vanished, gone, as if it had never existed. And it wasn’t even the worse part yet… on top of it all there was an energy overload in the reactor chamber. He tried to override the security lockdown and use the security procedures to maintain the reactor in check before it blew up; but the system rejected his request, covering his screen with one fearful message "Impossible to process your request… the systems are unresponsive. Please contact maintenance units for repairs." "Oh no… no… it's not good…"

He changed approach, using the external sensors to detect what caused such problems. He noticed an important amount of plasma residues near the part where the system indicated holes in the hull. He tried to calculate where it came from. The system traced a long green line between the ship and the planet, the green line going past the ship, like whatever had struck it had just gone straight through without any kind of resistance. The anti-projectile defenses couldn’t intercept it, shields failed to block it, the hull couldn’t withstand it and even the multiple bulkheads and armor plates were unable to prevent the catastrophe, leaving him to wonder, what the hell had just hit them? Was it a rogue space object of unknown origin, or… had they been fired upon?

Not wasting a second he triangulated the object’s origin. At first, he only got an image of a massive, endless forest, more precisely an impenetrable green canopy. Then the system zoomed in, however only showing more and more forest. "It doesn't make sense…" His attention was brought back to the ship's many reports, the core's temperature was rapidly rising, more energy leaking throughout the ship. He looked again at the images he was receiving from the planet; this time the leaf green foliage seemed to tremble; like brustled by the wind. "What the…" before his very eyes the forest vanished in one spot, revealing several beacons forming a circle around a large hole on top of a metal cylinder. It was like the thing was literally looking at him. "Oh no… they're preparing for another shot…" He grimaced, afraid. This time the ship wouldn't survive. He had to do something; warn the captain; trigger the repulsive shields before all their energy was drained; or try to maneuver out of the line of fire… or… or start the evacuation procedure before everyone was turned to dust floating in deep space.

 "Hey Nick… what the fuck is going on!" shouted a familiar voice. Nick looked toward his room's entrance to see Lyam standing in the doorway with a worried look on his face. "What are you doing here?!" he exclaimed, surprised. "I was walking by when I got stuck here. All the compartment seems to be closed… and I found no one… beside you…" "Well… look by yourself…" grumbled Nick as he jumped from a chair he had sat on. "Oh my… what… caused… such a mess?" gasped Lyam upon glancing at the console’s screen. "Canon fire; we're attacked." "But… who?", mumbled the dragon in total confusion. "Them!" shouted Nick, pointing an accusing finger at the planet. "Oh no…" whined Lyam, "What shall we do?" "Escape! They're preparing another shot. We must escape this old piece of crap before it blows up." "But… the ship is locked down." "Precisely… but the compartment can withstand the explosion and has its own reactors. It’s an evacuation capsule of sorts if you wish. It can make us safely land on the planet… or wherever it wants as long as it's far from this hell. We just need to stay calm, and to equip ourselves with oxygen bottles and a spacesuit which I thankfully have." "And me… do you have some for me?" "Nope… sorry… but I'm sure you'll survive that. You're way tougher than me." "If… if you say so…" mumbled Lyam, uncertain, visibly mortified by the prospect of the ship exploding. Meanwhile Nick dressed up; making sure everything was in order and sat against the wall.

"Are you sure… we can't do anything about it?", stammered Lyam, standing in the middle of the room, paralyzed by fear, his eyes glued to the console. "Nope… we're stuck here."  Nick threw his console a quick look; the sensors indicated that the next shot was ready to be fired right at them. "Let's hope this old shell can handle this."

He gritted his teeth, praying all the gods he knew, bracing himself for the impending impact. The ship was shaking in all direction, metal twisting and exploding mixing to the loud alarm noise. "WARNING! ship integrity critical; please evacuate! WARNING core damaged at ninety percent, critical mass reached. EVACUATE! EVACUATE! EVACUATE!" Nick closed his eyes, not wanting to see death as it would probably come. A heavy weight came crashing down on him, pinning him to the ground. He gasped, his eyes opening in surprise just to plunge in two amber orbs full of tears and fear. "*GASP* Lyam what are you doing?" he shouted as Lyam ripped his oxygen mask from his face. "I love you…" whispered Lyam, his claws grabbing Nick's face before pulling him in a deep loving kiss. Nick could do nothing beside hug the dragon close to him as he forced his forked tongue in Nick's mouth. Their tongue wrestled together at first, fighting for dominance before going in a passionate and intense danse as Lyam pressed his body against Nick's own in a surprisingly intimate and loving embrace, crying his fear in silence. Nick gently rubbed the dragon's snout, comforting him as best as he could but he had to admit he was as terrified as Lyam. In the corner of his vision he saw from the planet’s green and blue surface something surge; a green beam rushing in their direction; carrying with him the promise of death. Was it truly the end? Would it stop before it had actually started? His tears mixed with Lyam's own, as their kiss broke for a split second just to come back even stronger and passionate. Their tongue coiled together with the energy of despair, sharing a last second of affection as everything around them vanished in a blinding light. Nick's grip on the dragon tightened, his eyes closing again as the beam swallowed them. In an instant everything was obliterated around them, metal twisting and shattering; wires snapping in a sparkling rain; heat rising as flames erupted from the hallways as the ship was disintegrated with, in between the explosions, the alarms ringing endlessly and repeating their evacuation order forever and ever until, like the rest, they too were silenced.

Everything exploded, lighting up the space for a brief second as the ship separated in large fiery section that exploded and broke up in turn. Fiery debris fell toward the planet, sucked up by its atmosphere. There was nothing left beside torn apart metal and blazing pieces raining on the planet's surface or melting when they tried to enter.

 

--------------------At around the same time------------------------------------

 

Somewhere deep beneath the planet’s surface at the same exact moment.

"Target destroyed sir" said a masculine voice, its eyes looking at the screen in front of him.

"Nice job Sargent Dereck… it makes one less threat for our kind." "Told you I never miss my shots" "Now I understand why. Well… I suppose I should go write this report." "Yes… do that… I'll stay here and make some target practice on debris." "As you wish"

The second person left the dark room, leaving the first alone to stare at the twisted; burned; ripped fragments falling from the sky on his planet. "That's sad we always have to go to such extends. I would have loved to see these creatures…" sighed the person who pressed the trigger as he continued scanning for larger debris that could cause damage if they landed in populated area, watching the fiery rain unfold before his very eyes.