1 year took place aboard the ship.

We approached the sun and the dragons were brought out of cryogenics and the solar sails were unfurled. As energy was flowing in, they were fed by chlorophyll transfusion. 1 month before arriving and during this period we were all happy to be alive and with our companions.

The commander ordered us all to undergo training with the endless rules and their new life.

As promised we will not separate families but choices and duties will have to be established.

First, there will be a quarantine period in space in an orbital module and then the Earth Council will decide our fate.

It has been decided that we will remain together Auberone, me, Fuchur, Falkor and Aqua. Falkor and Aqua will have to go to school like Fuchur, who has passed his exams and will be enrolled in the military academy like me and Auberone.

Basically we work for World!. I think we'll be together but separated and our encounters will be rewards or punishments...

Ignar and his two stooges will be trained as foremen for Weyland and the others put into reserves. The sea dragons will go to a marina.

They see in them their ancestors surviving the genocide of the cowboys and the Inca descendants saw the return of the winged serpent Quetzalcoatl , the Chinese insisted on welcoming the air dragons, furry and snake-like.

The English and the French the return of the dragons of darkness and green as the tarasques and the oceanians the dragons of the seas.

Everyone was excited about our coming. But the status was still to determine.

We were property of the state, wards of the state itself. We were promised later, when our impact on the world was judged, to take citizenship tests. For now we are Aliens, with fewer rights than illegal immigrants, with just the right to animal welfare and protection of endangered species.

Then we arrived in sight of land and everyone was excited and anxious. But that was normal.

Some of the water dragons mainly started crying and one of the toxic dragons, a young scorpion dragon Zmei, had an anxiety attack! He was scary on the outside, but he was as sweet as Fuchur on the inside. The staff asked me to calm him down and I got close to him. His sting was stuck in a Teflon sheath and he wondered why and I showed him that I too had a locked sheath for my sting and that we didn't need it anymore to hunt because we shouldn't hunt anymore, at least not for the time being.

I hugged him and stroked him to reassure him, and then he exploded:

" MAMAAAANNN! I want my mommynn, daddyaaaaaaaaa!"

He was alone in the world, his parents captured and killed by dragon hunters, he had joined a tribe but hadn't had time to get to know them.

Look, Zmei, we're probably gonna be separated, but remember, I can never replace your mom, but know that at least one person here loves you.

Come on, it's okay, they don't eat dragons, but you promise to be nice, Look, I'll introduce you to Fuchur, you're a little younger than him, and you'll have to make some human friends. It's really important. You promise me.

"Yes, Auntie!"!!!!!

I've become an AUNTIE now...

I'll tell you a secret, ok? You can keep a secret, even under torture, even if someone kills one of your close friends.

"Yes, I will.

"You have horns and your horns are for something other than mana. They are antennas that allow us to communicate with each other! I'll go back to my room, and you go back to yours. You're going to apologize to the staff. Remember, we're less than slaves BUT, we have time for ourselves.

Even if we have to suffer for 10, 20, 100 years, they'll die of old age and we'll still be here.

Now, you will think of me and love me in your head, it's easier, and you try to speak draconically without opening your mouth and "push" the word, towards the horns. Chances are we can talk to each other over very, very long distances. We must never let humans know that. That's our freedom asset. Even if they are our saviours and we owe them a debt of gratitude, they can always turn against us, let's not disappoint them, and secrets must be kept secret.

We each went to our dormitories and tried.

"Tantante? Are you here? "

"Yes, I'm here."

"Hooray, it's working! Can the others hear?"

"No, you have to have feelings to broadcast!"

"So if I talk to someone and they talk back, do they have feelings for me?"

"That's right!"

"Say, can you sleep well? I can't sleep!"

"Get some rest. Tomorrow will be a hard day."

"I'm not sleepy, Auntie!"

"Hey, stop it, I'm Vermi, not an old woman! I'm only 15! I'm a kid like you! I haven't even laid my first egg!"

"Hahaha, Vermi, you make me laugh! Well, good night! Good night!"

"Good night and cheer up, Zmei."

The sight of the earth excited the dragons and I was impressed by the construction of gigantic structures with orbital elevators. No wonder they could build such big ships!

They take them up to earth and place the pieces in orbit as if nothing had happened. No more rockets! And space is within everyone's reach. I, for one, saw the possibility of climbing and flying through space easily.

Ah there's going to be a change, we're going to leave the ship for the quarantine cargo ship.

We were stressed and the humans released in the area, medicated vapors of relaxants and anxiolytics. A bit like calming the bees, but here it was for the dragons so they wouldn't have panic attacks.

Each one was called by name to join his container after a meal and a refreshment, drugged of course. The dragons witnessed the landing of animals and dinosaurs that were dispatched to modern zoos. They were no longer called zoos but refuges or revalidation and addiction centres for the return to the wild. Or more simply animal care centers.

We heard the addresses and fortunately they weren't for us. I took note of the addresses for us and the system hadn't changed in 200 years. Whew.

The room containers were locked and they were crane hauled to an airlock and they left one by one to the cargo ship. I was waiting for my turn.

I was the last one.

My turn didn't come.

Then the lights went out and the machinery stopped.

I was all alone.

No one else!

No more staff. ?

My container was open. I went out and the lights came back on and my container left with the crane.

Strange.

I decided to take human form and I walked to the airlock and the containers were already unloaded to different cargo ships and these cargo ships went to different destinations.

I tried to contact Auberone but no answer but I felt that she was sleeping.

Fuchur too but Zmei was still awake, he was holding his breath, as he was a scorpion dragon, he knew the scent of subtle poisons and drugs and he was not made to do it twice.

"Vermi, I'm scared," he cried. "Vermi, I'm scared!"

"Pretend to be asleep and let it happen! They'll increase the dose or hurt you if you resist. You can see through my eyes and I can see through yours. I must not betray myself, they are watching me and testing my loyalty for now but you are not alone! If we train hard, I might even be able to cast spells through you! I'm here no matter how far away Zmei!"

"Thank you, Vermi. Ah, they're coming. I think they're going to do an inspection. Oh, they've put a necklace on me! -Personal Assistant implanted, cortex link established!"

"Rest assured, I think it's for the quarantine, don't revolt. If they wanted us dead we'd have been dead a year ago."

"Thanks, you're a good girl, Vermi."

"I'll be in touch, OK? I'll let you know if I hear anything."

The ship was deserted and the surveillance ai's were completely ignoring me. That's odd.

I headed to the kitchen to see if the food or the replicator was working and, yes, it was.

There was some kind of 3D printer with lots of things to make and even collectibles like old computers.

I asked to make myself a PC computer with a Linux version and search the archives and I found a viral infector.

I had some knowledge of Hack but the new AI didn't spot the danger of old systems that could graft on anything. And those old tools that I had knowledge of could be associated with the monster charm and spell spells.

Basically hacking a major AI and unlocking access. But that was for later.

I walked around the ship and knocked on the commander's door. Nothing

Then I ask the ship's A.I. if there's anyone else on board. No answer. The IA ignored me.

My intuition told me I was being watched. But how? Chips, probably.

I inspected the ship from top to bottom, but nothing. The officers' quarters were locked.

I started screaming for help!

There was no answer! My missing container, I started to panic. Maybe they were afraid of me? It's normal.

I looked for a way to communicate and I started surfing on the 3D printouts and I built a kind of mobile phone, a personal assistant like mine but with a communication module. But the communications were locked, you needed a network code.

It was scary.

Then it was pitch black. "Economy Mode"

So I tried the airlock. It was locked.

"Zwei, are you all right?"

"Yes, they place collars and inject tracking chips under the skin."

"Don't worry, one spark and all that filth goes up in smoke, you're safe."

It's my turn!"

"Ouch."

"Kid!"

"Vermi, are you okay?"

"It's dark and I'm afraid they're turning the air down for economy. They forgot me on purpose I think and I don't know whether to break the rules or not, I don't know anything about Perry, I'm scared of that guy."

I walked down the corridor and went to the art room. I was looking for a clue or a note.

Note, music, piano! Yes, that's the piano! It loves Debussy!"

I sat down at the piano and began to play Debussy, his favorite piece, and then I heard a click.

And I saw a circular staircase open to another room below. Instead of a white statue.