With rear propulsion dead, he had to jump ten miles out from the station and coordinate the remaining thrusters to float him into port. He lay back and closed his eyes, relaxing after barely escaping with his life.

  “Warning! Incoming vessel.”

  Jett’s eyes shot open as he scanned for the giant maw coming to eat him. Then he spotted a glowing light approaching his ship, visible even from miles away in space.

  “Corvette Coalminer, this is Dragon Rider Albert Day. You are to turn off all engines and provide a manifest of all cargo.”

  Jett turned on his comm, “This is Corvette Coalmine, my thrusters are dead. I am drifting to the station. Providing a scan of my cargo now.”

  Jett turned off the comms. “Angie, do a quick scan and provide the dragon rider a list of everything in the cargo container.”

  After a few seconds, there was a ping, “Manifest has been sent.”

  Jett looked out beside him as he saw the giant glowing brown dragon the size of his ship with a man in a tier four suit on its back. The dragon's left eye met his, and he gulped. The space dragon had teeth and claws that could shred the thicket part of his hull like paper, speed to outclass most fighters, but if the dragon really wanted to destroy his ship, it would just unleash plasma fire, melting the entire Corvette into a ball of molten slag.

  Jett had seen many vids of dragons crashing into ships and unleashing plasma fire that melted straight to a ship's engine core, turning battleships into scrap metal in seconds.

  “Corvette Coalmine, there is an unidentified object on your ship, and I want to let you know, my dragon doesn’t like it.” The dragon punctuated Albert’s words by showing its teeth.

  “This is Corvette Coalmine, my sensors are only basic. I plan to have it scanned once I get to the station. I have it wrapped in multiple layers of cable and foam-crete. It is firmly secured, and I have no intention of breaking it open until after the scan.”

  “Understood. I am issuing a quarantine. You are to halt all propulsion and prepare for a deep scan.”

  “Is this really necessary? I’m already planning to rent a scanner. I’m happy to share the results.”

  “You will halt all propulsion. Failure to comply will result in a five-thousand-credit fine, and bringing an unknown organic material onto the space station will result in a thirty-thousand-credit fine plus any damages incurred. I strongly suggest you comply.”

  Jett sighed, “Complying.”

  “Angie, halt momentum and stabilize.”

  Jett waited as a small ship zipped over to him, initiated a scan, and left. Thirty minutes later, he received a ping from the station that he could park in one of the secured landing bays.

  His ship resumed its slow glide to the station until a taxi pulled him in. Jett cringed as he thought about the extra fees for a taxi and a secured bay. Once he touched down, he started making inquiries about a scanner and buyers for his salvaged parts.

  More than a few buyers were concerned when they heard he was in a secured landing zone.

  “Jett, I would be happy to take your parts, but with it coming from a secured landing zone…” A deep male voice came across the comm.

  “Andrew, don’t start getting cold feet on me now. The parts are fine. It’s just the weird rock they are worried about, and it's under layers of foam-crete.”

  “I will take everything off your hands for forty thousand credits.”

  “Forty-five and we both know its worth seventy.”

  “Yeah, but you’ll never get seventy. Forty-two and only because I like ya.”

  “Come on, Andrew. The parts are good. I’m already factoring in the secured landing bay and shaving an extra five thousand credits off. Meet me at Forty-four.”

  “Forty-three and only because we are friends, and I feel sorry for ya. I saw the shape of your ship. Bad luck that.”

  “Fine.” Jett turned off the comms before he said something he would regret. Andrew was a good guy. Andrew helped him plenty of times when he was starting out as a salvager, but Andrew wasn’t about to let friendship get in the way of profit.

  Next, he ordered an enhanced scan. The station scan wouldn’t be shared with him, not in any meaningful timeframe. Fortunately, the secured landing zones were equipped with scanners. A giant arm with a pad facing the ship did a three-sixty scan before retracting into the ceiling.

  The scan came back ‘Dragon Egg’. Jett’s eyes went wide. Dragon eggs were worth a small fortune. If he sold it, it would give him millions of credits. Enough to buy a frigate with drones so he would never need to set foot on an abandoned ship again. With that much money, he could skip salvaging altogether and just outright retire! He had hit the jackpot.

  Finding a buyer would take time, but he wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  Now that his looted goods were spoken for, he went into the back and started cleaning up his bay. A few of the items got thrown around, but no major damage was done. As he was cleaning, he heard a crack. He sighed internally as he wondered what else on his ship was about to break.

  He scanned the ship and heard another crack. He locked onto the giant ball of foam-crete, and his eyes bulged. If whatever xeno horror was in there could break through foam-crete, he didn’t stand a chance. He stayed completely still, hoping the creature wouldn’t see him when it got out. Each crack made his pulse race faster, and he pressed himself to the side of the bay, trying to make himself as small as possible.

  Finally, the foam broke apart, metal cables capable of towing ships being shredded, and a black form with glowing red orbs emerged. It flexed its jaws and ground its claws into the metal floor.

  The creature’s eyes scanned the bay until it locked onto him. It bounded over, mouth wide, and clamped down on his arm. The metal of his exosuit groaned and screeched, bending under the force of the bite. The sharp teeth easily pierced his skin. Jett cried out, and the creature pulled back.

  Something within the creature connected to him, and he understood it.

  He could feel its desire to consume and destroy. Through the strange, alien connection, one thought dominated as its red eyes bore into him.

  ‘Mama,’ he heard the voice in his head. Jett gripped his bleeding arm, sucking air through his teeth.

  “Mama?” He said aloud. The monster tilted its head.

  Then the creature’s jaws spread wide, showing its sharp black teeth.

  The jaws closed, and he heard the same voice say, ‘Sleepy.’

  Then black form curled up into a ball before dropping off into sleep.

  “Hey! Don’t bite me and try to act cute!”

  An hour later, he was in a med bay as a woman in a white coat examined the sleek black dragonling lying on the table in front of her. Jett’s arm was wrapped in bandages, but pronounced black veins were pulsing angrily.

  “The dragon’s scales are reflective, so it's hard to get a full read, but everything is coming back positive.”

  “Thanks, Dr. Morgan. What about my arm?”

  “It will be fine. Its part of the ‘pact bite’. It’s a medical mystery, but people would pay a lot of creds to be in your position.”

  “I don’t get it. What is it?”

  “It's theorized it’s a survival mechanism. Dragonlings have a serum on their teeth at birth. They have the instinct to bite hardwired in them, so the first thing they bite gets the serum. That way, if the dragonling's mother dies, they can form a bond with the nearest predator who will be more likely to protect them.”

  “So I got some kind of dragon DNA in me.”

  She smirked, “It's what makes dragon riders so special and one of the few medical marvels that we can’t reproduce, no matter how many times we study it.”

  “So… am I going to get brain-controlled or turn scaley?”

  She laughed, “No, it doesn’t turn you into a dragon, but it will make you tougher, stronger, and give you the mythical dragon well. A smaller version of what dragons use.”

  While Jett was thinking over what she said, Dr. Martin asked, “Do you have any plans for what you will do with the dragonling?”

  Jett laughs, scratching the back of his head. “Well, I was going to sell the egg, but now…”

  It was too late. The dragonling had bonded to him. He could sever the bond. He didn’t know how, but he knew it could be done. Unfortunately, once severed, a new bond would not be formed.

  “Medicorp will buy him. I have been authorized to offer one billion credits for the purchase.”

  Jett froze at the figure. He had expected to only get a couple million credits for the dragon egg, but even with it already bonded, he was being offered a billion credits! The giddy excitement faded as he realized why he was being offered so much.

  The sundrives that allowed space ships to travel at or faster than light speed were modeled after a special organ the sun dragons possessed. What many people liked to forget was how many dragonlings were killed in the pursuit of that technology. He thought about the little black dragon in front of him and couldn’t bear the thought of what the ethically flexible scientists the dragonling would be handed to would do in the pursuit of knowledge.

  Seeing his pensive look, Dr. Morgan continued.

  “Mr. Knight, I don’t think you understand what is being offered. You already have the physique of a dragon rider. Whatever benefit you were going to get from the bond, you already possess. Not only would you receive more credits than you could ever make in your salvaging career, but this would open doors for technological advancements.

  “Void dragons are a rare and elusive species, but unlike sun dragons, who can travel faster than light, void dragons can teleport. It's mostly theorical but essentially, it is speculated that void dragons can bend space to travel across great distances in seconds.

  “Imagine, no more risky shipping routes being intercepted by leviathans or whatever else hides in the dark space between solar systems. No more news segments on lists of missing people because a deep-space transit disappeared. It would revolutionize transportation and save thousands of lives.”

  Each word made the guilt in Jett’s stomach grow. If he had sold the egg, it likely would have ended up with Medicorp, which would have dissected the little void dragon to see how it ticked.

  “The answer is no.”

  Dr. Morgan’s lips thinned. “I cannot force you, but you are making a mistake. You have a real chance to do good here. Not to mention, with your extended life span, you could live very comfortably with a billion credits.”

  A growl emanated throughout the room, and Dr. Morgan turned pale as the voidling stared at her, teeth bared. Jeff calmed his feelings, realizing the baby had picked up on his emotion. He reached out, petting the growling baby that could shear through the foam-crete like paper. The little dragon calmed, lying back down and purring.

  Jeff looked at the black creature. He couldn’t just keep thinking of it as ‘dragonling’ or ‘baby’. He needed a name. Something that conveyed its nature.

  “Come on, Layla, let’s go.”

  Layla perked up and followed him out of the room, its claws leaving faint indents in the floor as it walked. Jett and his dragon walked back to the ship, where he waited until Andrew’s men came by to grab his haul. Once that was done, he made a call to the shipwright. Forty minutes later, an old man with gray hair and overalls walked into the bay.

  Jett went out to meet him, “Thanks for coming out, Mr. Wright. What do you think about my ship?”

  “I think you should scrap it for the insurance money. I saw the specs. The sun drive will go for a hundred thousand credits, the metal for another ten, and the AI core for ten.”

  “What about the cryo bed? The pilot cabin is in pristine condition. Can they use the parts there?”

  “Mmm, maybe as spare parts for another ship. If you sell it to a scrap yard, you might be able to squeeze another twenty thousand creds. Ain’t worth keeping, the install will cost you as much as the bed itself.”

  Jeff groaned. He had insurance for up to a hundred thousand credits. He was really hoping it would be worth more than that.

  “You know, there is something that would really help.”

  “Oh yeah?” Jeff Perked up.

  “If your dragon stopped eating it.” Andrew pointed to the back of his ship, where Layla was hanging in the air, jaws locked around a piece of the frayed steel hull. Seeing eyes on her, she chomped down and wiggled, ripping a strip of metal free, and scurried around the ship to hide from view with her prize.

  “Layla, drop it!”