Enid was grimacing as she watched Rubina eat a live rabbit-like creature. She poured a synth-o in her draconic mouth. It had been six hours since they had entered FTL and Rubina hadn’t said more than two words to Enid up to this point she just kept staring at her. Enid drank another bottle of synth-o and put it on the table. She almost jumped when Rubina spoke.

“So, the only sustenance you require is blood?”

Enid nodded and looked at the row of empty bottles.

“They bottle blood on your world?”

“Uh, ya, there are enough vampires, it makes sense, they’re easier to drink from then blood bags.”

“What a remarkable thing. So you’re clinically dead?”

“Yes. The blood keeps me alive.”

“My people would have no defenses against someone like that. If I were like you I would be untouchable, the unravellers will only affect living things, and inorganic matter, you are a loophole.”

Enid grumbled.

“They still erased my favorite travel mug.”

“Favorite travel mug?”

“You put beverages in them, they’re spill proof. My sister gave it to me a long time ago when she had little money, and she used that little money to buy me a gift.”

“Ah, so your family structures also include siblings.”

Enid nodded.

“You have caused a lot of damage, we are a prideful people, the Emperor and Generals above all. This will not easily be forgotten.”

“Well, the evidence we left points to a long dead race, and quite frankly, my fiancée is obsessed with wiping your people out to the last woman and child.”

“She sounds as prideful and vile as the emperor and his ancestors.”

“Careful there, Countess, that is my future wife you speak of.”

“So you’re true form is male?”

“No, I’m a woman.”

“Ah, you openly admit this sort of relationship?”

“My people have long since overcome…such biases.”

“How do you mate then? Is female/female a viable breeding pair?”

“Not naturally, but with our current science genetic material can be extracted from one and implanted in the other as if it were the male seed.”

“Oh, I see, so it is a viable breeding pair for you. Well then it makes absolute sense, I have not taken a mate, the males of my race are arrogant and bothersome. I seek a partner, they seek my titles and holdings.”

“I dare say, you have none now, as you are officially dead.”

“Yes, why did you do that in that fashion? Surely they would know I perished on with this ship.”

“Well, on my world we have a term, martyr. It describes someone’s memory being more powerful than someone’s life. So I figured by broadcasting that you were tortured and killed…you’re allies, followers, and people who agree with you may hear that you died for your beliefs, and become more fanatical.”

“That is a very interesting perspective.”

“You can kill a person, but you cannot kill their memory. Knowing they had you queued up to be erased from existence, now your memory will live on forever. You are now invincible, at least as far as the Silwrath leadership is concerned. If they condemn you, they acknowledge your existence. If they try to suppress your memory, more people will want to remember.”

“You are a very interesting being. I wish I had known you when I first started my rebellion. Have you seen this work?”

“Many times. In a couple of cases too well.”

“Oh, I would be interested to know more.”

“I’m sorry, don’t want to talk about it, caused myself enough trouble with it as is. I’m sure if you decide to return to my home system you’ll figure out who I am.”

“Oh, so you are the memory that your leadership could not kill!”

“Something like that. So, Rubina, why rebel? You sound like you’re pretty powerful within your people?”

“Because they are forcing telepaths to work for the Emperor now, enforce his will, even among our people, sniffing out any whiff of resentment, or sedition. I could not stand for it. We have destroyed so many species in our quest to survive and now he turns on us? I knew it was only a matter of time after the fall of the Mithillains.”

“So you were fine with your people committing genocide on a Galactic scale?”

“No, it never sat right with me, or my family, several noble families agree. What use are dead worlds all life wiped from their surface? What marvels have we lost in their brutal conquest of this galaxy? And what enemies have we created along the way? Take yourself for example. You’re immune to unravelling and you single handedly conquered the Emperor’s flagship and you tell me there are thousands of beings like you? And your fiancée is obsessed with eradicating us? What hope do we have?”

“If I’m being honest, you have no hope at all. Her plan is to use our technology to travel into the past and stop you from wiping out the other species in the universe by turning your origin world to glass.”

“You can do that?”

“I am fully capable of doing that.”

Enid saw the tone of Rubina’s scales get lighter and her wings and tail start to swish.

“You…are gods.”

“What do you mean? It is what you lot do.”

“No! We can only send devices back, we cannot travel without dying.”

“Well, then perhaps you should come home with me and convince my fiancée that your people are worth saving. If it were up to me, and its not, I would say what is done is done and let it go so long as you left us alone, but I suppose there is the fact you did…or at least your people committed several genocides so we…humans aren’t very appreciative of that sort of thing. There is also the small tiny fact that she could break reality by doing what she is planning, so that’s problematic.”

“Break reality?”

“Long story.”

Enid looked her empty bottle of Synth-o and pulled out another.

“A very long story. That I cannot share. Suffice it to say fucking with time is really bad. I’m surprised stuff hasn’t started imploding yet.”

Enid took a long pull from her bottle of blood.

“Gods how do you deal with these wings your whole life?”

“I would assume much the same you deal with that tuft of red fur on your head in your other form.”

“Hair doesn’t get stuck in doorways… most of the time.”

“Enid, tell me plainly and honestly, do you think your people will give me shelter?”

“Yes. You will claim refugee status because you’re being persecuted and you will be allowed to live with us. Of course you will find no mates, but you’ll never be erased from existence, or at least will not be for at least seventeen thousand years, unless you lot can travel faster than this monstrosity.”

“Where will you be taking me?”

“Oh, I’m from another galaxy.”

“Truly? Will I not be dead by the time we reach it? You may indeed be immortal, but I am not.”

Enid laughed.

“Do you know what a wormhole is?”

“No I have no…reference for that word.”

Enid took two of her empty bottles and put them a couple feet apart.

“Basically you take to points and space and…”

Enid moved the bottles together.

“Ah yes, the theory of folded space! That has been disproven.”

“Ya…well, my sister figured it out, so the trip to my home galaxy will be over in…ten seconds?”

“We truly have no hope of prevailing against you!”

“Ya well, my fiancée went a bit uber-paranoid, let’s just say her information source was someone who’s race you destroyed and he watched his family get erased from existence, so she considered no weapon, or technology off the table.”

“Such as nano-viruses and antimatter weapons which is what destroyed this ship’s escort, why my fighter didn’t target the biggest ship I do not know.”

Rubina’s eyes went wide again.

“Madness.”

“So, I’m told. But honestly you just cannot generate enough power for wormholes without antimatter, its simple physics…or so my sister told me.”

Enid started dropping her empties into her pack. Each was a worth one credit refund. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle! She evens aid the slogan in her head. Damn those commercials were catchy.

“You’ve mastered folded space, antimatter, and extra-dimensional pockets? Is there nothing your people are incapable of?”

“Setting limits and staying within them?”

Enid chuckled at Rubina’s perplexed look.

“This is not from my people, it is from a long dead civilization that my father ruled.”

“How old are you Empress?”

“In your standard years…I have no idea, my people’s? Hundred generations give or take.”

Enid snapped her fingers

“The Synthlins do you know who they are?”

“Yes, they were removed from our path during the reign of Emperor Draconis Menou, seven thousand cycles ago.”

“I was born about before that.”

Rubina’s scales became pale again her wings closing about her.

“How are you sane?”

“I ask myself that question a lot, get answers sometimes too.”

Enid shook her head.

“Its not important, I’m old as dirt, I’m cranky sometimes, and sometimes I’m not. I have no quarrel with you and if you want to come to my home, I’ll speak on your behalf. I know what it is…to be at odds with ones people.”

“You seem very…normal. The truly ancient of our kind, they have lived for a couple thousand cycles, they are no longer on the same level of existence as the rest of us, its like they have evolved beyond petty emotions, it is those that guide the emperors and generals.”

“There are vampires like that. They behave because they are scared of me.”

“Why do they fear you so if they are your match in age?”

“Because I can kill them with a thought even from here.”

Enid reached out her hand and summoned an ugly looking fruit to it.

“What is this…hideous thing?”

“Butt fruit.”

“As in rear end?”

“Yes, because it looks like, well a butt.”

“I’m assuming it doesn’t taste like one?”

“No, the flavor is bland at best but not foul. They are prized for the parasitic worms that make their home in them. Cleanses the meat from our teeth and improves digestion of teeth and bones of our prey. They also improve our plasma generation.”

Enid put it down and pushed it away.

“You lost me at worms.”

Rubina took the fruit, poked her talon into it and Enid was extremely disgusted to see her suck up a gout of worms that attempted to escape it.

“Yep, there goes my appetite.”

“Surely your people have similar.”

“No, we usually avoid ingesting parasites, they tend to… never mind. Just never mind. I am going to use that as an excuse to start cleaning up some of the fallen and put them in stasis. So they can be disposed of respectfully.”

“You care about such things?”

“They were just doing their jobs, which happened to be cross purpose to my goals, that is no reason to disrespect their remains.”

Enid started moving the bodies. Rubina didn’t seem to want to leave her be and while she didn’t help, she didn’t hinder Enid’s grim task. The ruby scaled Silwrath asked so many questions Enid felt like she might be speaking to a six-year-old.

“No for the last time we do not hatch from eggs!”

“Then how are you protected while developing?”

“In the mother’s womb.”

“So rather then being fertilized and laid, your fetus’s act like a parasite.”

“Yes. But I can walk around all I want and don’t have to sit on them to keep them warm.”

“Oh, we haven’t done that for many cycles. We have professionals for that, or if one is poor, devices.”

It took her three days to gather all the dead into either stasis or a room where she could set the temperature well below freezing. The entire time the conversation had been variations of the above. It seemed like the Silwrath had no concept of mammalian reproduction and it apparently fascinated Rubina. Enid had left the lockdown in place in the section where she released the nano-virus. She didn’t try to recover any bodies from there. She was loath to poke that bear so to speak. On day five Enid was slouching in the command chair silently cursing the giant leathery purple wings, and spiked tail for the million time when she heard the door open. Since Rubina was the only other living on the ship she knew it was her. She was growing fond of the woman once she’d gotten past the rough edges and the fact that she kept asking about human mating practice of course.

“So how do females of your species…mate together?”

Enid grimaced it was going to be another one of those conversations.

“We can’t mate together, we just make each other…feel good.”

“So you have couplings simply to feel good?”

“Doesn’t everybody?”

“No, the male makes his deposit and his work is done until the eggs hatch. There is no pleasure.”

“Seriously? That’s it?”

“Yes.”

“I feel sorry for you. Sex for sex’s sake is great.”

“I still do not understand how it is pleasurable. Is it pleasurable with a male? Do the spikes not hurt as he fertilizes you?

“No, there are no spikes. The pain comes when we give birth.”

“No spikes? How does he force you to take his seed without you moving?”

“There is no forcing…well there shouldn’t be any, it is usually consensual…gah Rubina, I appreciate your curiosity, but could we talk about something other than sex?”

“I apologize, it has always been a concern of mine, I understand the physical aspects of it from books but having not experienced it.”

“Well our methods of copulating are obviously very different, you’re a telepath just read my mind I’ll think about it. Just don’t make me talk about it anymore please.”

Enid offered her hand. Rubina took it. Enid remembered a particularly…enjoyable afternoon with Hazel and Rolf. Rubina’s wings were twitching for several minutes after she released Enid’s hand. Enid started to understand she got everything including the sensations. She shrugged hopefully the dragon woman would shut up about it now as it was driving her nuts because it made her miss Amee. She glanced backwards at Rubina, feeling slightly concerned as her scales seemed darker and she was unsteady on her feet finally she collapsed her tail keeping her propped up.

“How…do you get anything done? That felt so intoxicating.”

“Sometimes it’s hard. Is your curiosity satisfied?”

“Yes…I see why you were so frustrated with my questions, there is so much wrapped in such relations for you.”

“Thank you.”

“No thank you.”

Enid breathed a slow sigh of relief and thanked whoever was listening for the fact there was only one more day left. Content her companion would not bother her for a while she pulled out one of her stockpile of manga that her friend who she’d named her youngest after had sent her way back when. Enid was undisturbed for a good hour before Rubina who’s nosiness was only surprised by her curiosity noticed she was reading a book in yet a different language.

“That seems to be an interesting art form.”

Enid did her best not to show how annoyed she was at the interruption.

“Yes its called manga.”

“And the writing is different than the last.”

“Yes, it is called kanji.”

“You know many languages then?”

“Yes, I learned this one while I was in high school.”

“Ah so you do have formal education, is this high school a form of battle school? You seem to be of the warrior caste.”

“No, it is general education in life skills, languages, mathematics and science that all of our children go through.”

“So every child in your society is educated, no matter the caste or social class?”

“Yes, we believe anyone can be anything, provided they put their mind to it, so all children are educated in the same way.”

“So you do not…follow a rigid caste system?”

“Well we do, its complicated and I am not the best person to explain it.”

“Well then what caste do you belong too, or are you simply a royal?”

“I am among the elite of our society which currently values money and influence over anything else.”

“So you have many holdings and have sway over many planets, of course you do, you are an Empress.”

“Uh…no, Its not about holdings and land, its about people. I am the absolute ruler of the vampires. My word is law. Its complicated. As for the rest, it is not about what you own, it is about what you…can buy? I am really not the person to talk to about this.”

Enid opened her book again and closed it when Rubina spoke yet again.

“If you hold so much power, why are you here?”

“Because I am the only one who can go as fast as my fighter can and not die horribly, and also understand all spoken languages. Specifically, here, here? My fiancée asked me, and I love her so I said yes.”

Enid went to open her book again and heard the rustle of ruby scaled wings. She gave up and put her book in her pack and looked at Rubina.

“I am annoying you.”

“Yes, generally when someone is reading it is considered rude to interrupt them. It is hard enough to read the books with these damn dragon hands.”

“I had more questions about vampires.”

Enid’s wings twitched she reached into her pack, shifted to her human shape and pulled out an original copy of Dracula.

“How about I read you a book about a vampire?”

“Oh, that sounds like an excellent idea, this way I learn about vampires as I wish to, and you can read.”

Enid nodded and sat down cross legged, back leaning up against one of the many bridge consoles. The now much larger Rubina took up a position across from her. Her silver eyes watching Enid intently. Thus they sat for the next several hours. Rubina engrossed by the story, which was absolute bullshit as real vampires went but, it hit the highlights. By the end of it the ruby scaled Countess was practically on Enid’s lap. She had her wing wrapped around Enid and was snoring away on Enid’s shoulder. The only time Enid had received any semblance of peace was when the Silwrath was sleeping. She was slowly coming to understand as Silwrath went, Rubina was quite youthful, as much as she tried to pretend otherwise. Enid shifted to Nutina’s form and gently laid Rubina down. She took up a position at the captain’s post and glanced at her holo-phone display. A few hours and she would be free of her guest. She was glad to know her but frankly she needed a break.

The battleship finally shifted into real space having reached its coordinates. She tapped her wrist.

“Apollo…you there?”

It took a few minutes but she finally got a response.

“Yes, are you on the battleship, were you not able to defeat them? You sound strange.”

“Ya, I had to…disguise myself. I umm stole the battleship.”

“How did you mange that Aunt Enid?”

“Umm, a lot of luck. Anything on scanners?”

“No just the battleship. Theon and I were prepared to ambush it we assumed you had failed and were lost.”

“No, but tell me you have the beacon and comm unit ready to be deployed?”

“I do. I used the antimatter from the transport with the assistance of Theon to ensure it could be powered.”

“Then please, get things going, I want to get home and out of this skin.”

“How does one get out of their skin, Aunt Enid?”

“Never mind, please just get them deployed.”

Enid saw Rubina’s wings starting to move out of the corner of her eye and looked down at her.

“Waking up just in time sleepy head.”

Enid was in a better mood now, she’d had a few hours of quiet, her ordeal was nearly at an end and if everything went to plan, she’d be sleeping beside Amee tonight. She heard Maria’s voice on her holo-phone and her heart would have skipped a beat, had it been beating.

“Enid, so glad to hear from you. How are things going sis?”

“Uh, good, so sis, umm how big of a wormhole can you make, ballpark, just ship class for scale.”

“Umm, right now max is one of our supercarriers.”

“So like something on the scale of one of the battleships, that would fit?”

“Barely. Why? What did you do?”

“I came across some…workable salvage.”

“Enid?”

“I acquired a Silwrath battleship, the…Emperor’s flag ship.”

“Of course you did, because you’re Enid Aurelius and you never half ass anything.”

“Its not like that.”

“Oh, not like that time you took control of a USSR nuclear sub with a full compliment of Nuclear Weapons and cause the Defcon score to jump a whole point.”

“The situation was completely different this time, I was only coming aboard to blow it up.”

“How many Silwrath ships did you blow up?”

“Only three, and Amee totally authorized them all.”

“You…Amee is right you are one big bundle of paperwork. Apollo send me a scan through we’ll see if we can accommodate Enid’s new ship.”

Enid glanced at Rubina and tapped her claws on the console. She didn’t love the wings, the tail, the man hands, but she did appreciate the nice click the talons made when you tapped them. Rubina looked at her screen.

“Is there trouble?”

“No, my sister is just, second guessing everything I do, as usual.”

“I see. Did they grant me asylum?”

“I haven’t quite gotten there yet.”

Maria’s voice came back through.

“I’ll need half an hour to extend the Project: Stargate aperture, are you secure in that location?”

“Yes, umm, could you, uh patch us through to Amee?”

“Of course sis, you probably miss her.”

“Yes, that is exactly it. Thank you, Maria.”

Amee’s scantly clad form and half sleep eyes greeted Enid.

“Hey hon.”

“Enid, you’re safe! Apollo said he wasn’t sure you were going to make it.”

“Yes, I mad-”

“Why do you look like a Silwrath? And what ship are you on?”

“Long story? Uh, so, I found another asylum seeker, and I assured her you would be happy to grant her sanctuary, so uh, say yes please hon?”

“Umm, is it another Synthlin?”

“No, her name is Countess Rubina, she is a person with some scales, who, disagrees with certain policies…”

“A silwrath? They can’t be trusted!”

“Amee, Amee, please just hear me out. She was wanted for umm about three hundred charges, umm most of which involved fighting against the Silwrath government. And she helped me capture the Silwrath flag ship….in exchange I promised her sanctuary with us. If not for her I wouldn’t be coming home at all…”

She saw Amee’s face soften.

“Fine, but if she does anything out of sorts its on you.”

“Thanks babe. Be home soon, without the scales.”

The channel closed and Enid looked at Rubina.

“So, that was my fiancée and she said she would grant you sanctuary.”

“I do not understand the words, but she was not in agreement with you at first.”

“Ya well, like I said, she learned everything she knows about the Silwrath from an unreliable source.”

*****

Enid sat at the helm of the massive ship and gently eased it through the worm hole. She heard scrapes as some of the guns clipped the Project: Stargate aperture. She whistled softly as she cleared the gateway and moved the ship into one of the dry docks, clipping that as well. She only managed to scratch the paint but considering the controls were in a foreign language and that she had never helmed a capital ship, it wasn’t the worst that could have happened. Inside Pluto station the eyes of many WTO military leaders watched as the first Alien spaceship they had ever seen gently docked with one of the many dry docks that filled the shipyard.

The wait had been more like fifteen hours on the other side of the gate because Maria had miscalculated so by the time Enid walked off the transport with Rubina in tow she was greeted by Hazel, Mitena and Miko. She hugged the first two tightly then spun Miko and the nearly two-year-old giggled pointing at Rubina.

“Dragon momma!”

“Yes, just like you said.”

Enid hugged Miko and showed her face with kisses. There were armed guards that came into the bay and were marching towards Rubina. Enid noticed and passed Miko to Hazel and stepped between the guards and Rubina.

“She is a refugee and a guest. You will treat her as such.”

Her eyes met the leader of the squad and he wavered on his feet before nodding and motioning for Rubina to follow. Enid nodded to Rubina who followed them.

“Please ma’am, come with us.”

Enid took Miko back from Hazel and followed the crowd. She’d be needed for translation. She sighed. She watched Rubina get led off to a debriefing room and she decided she needed to get washed up before she did anything else. She was bouncing Miko when she walked into the main common area of the massive space station. She was greeted by row after row of WTO military personal and brass all clapping and cheering as she walked through. There were many salutes and pats on the back. Miko for her part was waving to everyone with a cheerful smile. Enid didn’t slow down to enjoy the praise, she started move a little quicker being completely uncomfortable with the recognition. When she got off and was heading towards Maria’s room with Hazel and Mitena in tow she was greeted by a slow clapping Maria.

“Hail to the conquering hero. First successful contact with an alien species, first alien fighter kills, first alien fleet victory, and you captured an alien flag ship. You are catching up.”

Enid made a face.

“Please cut the sarcasm and let me have a shower…please.”

“Sure thing sis, here let me take Miko.”

Miko wrapped her arms around her Aunt Maria’s neck.

“Momma hero.”

“Yes, your mom is a hero.”

Enid didn’t hang around she walked into Maria’s quarters and was started removing her clothes, leaving a trail right up to the shower door. She closed her eyes and let the hot water splash against her.