Story - Destination Earth

The Primal Storm, a cargo spacecraft, was flying swiftly through hyperspace towards its destination, Earth. On board was a mixed crew of four.

The first, acting captain and pilot Coriset, was feeling bored with the routine flight, and was looking forward to having fun once they landed. There would be plenty of time between unloading and loading their cargo.

The second, navigator Zuyawen, was not bored at all. For her, just being in space was an exciting experience. She had never been to Earth, and was eagerly looking forward to seeing this new and unknown planet.

The third, life-support technician Kronti, preferred to be on solid ground rather than in space, but still went along willingly for this trip. She was needed to install some new spare parts while they docked on Earth.

The fourth, engineer Quthal, was not pleased at all to be included on this mission. He disliked space flight, and only joined the ship because he was needed to watch over the engines, and do routine maintenance.

The peace on the ship was interrupted by sudden turbulence. The Primal Storm was jolted violently for a moment, and then everything was calm again.

Coriset turned on the announcement system and ordered, "All crew report to the pilot's cabin now!"

Zuyawen, seated next to him, was doing a computer analysis. "We're in real-space now, that turbulence must have knocked us out of hyperspace," she said.

Kronti, hearing the announcement, picked herself off the floor and headed towards the cabin at a steady pace, wondering what had happened.

Quthal mentally cursed his bad luck, being on this ship. Something bad must have happened, he thought as he walked towards the cabin.

When they were all gathered together, Zuyawen, concerned, asked the other two, "Are you hurt? That turbulence was terrible!"

"I'm fine, thank you," Kronti assured her. Quthal merely shook his head.

"Turbulence doesn't just happen in hyperspace! Any malfunction in your systems?" Coriset demanded angrily.

Kronti sighed and replied calmly, "No sir. The life support system's fine, that shock didn't affect it."

Quthal frowned and answered coldly, "The engines are working well. They didn't cause the problem."

"I programmed the trip correctly, navigation wasn't the problem. And the computer's finished analyzing the situation," Zuyawen reported brightly. The analysis appeared on the main screen for all to see.

PROBLEM: HYPERSPACE DIMENSIONAL FLUCTUATION

SOURCE: EARTH

CURRENT LOCATION: EARTH, EARLY 21ST CENTURY

"That's a short summary of the situation. We encountered an instability located on Earth, were pulled into real-space, and here we are," she explained.

"We're 1000 years too early. Well, I'd love to land and explore, but we need to go. Just enter hyperspace and go forward in time. Plot our course, Zuya," Coriset said.

Zuyawen coughed nervously and answered, "The dimensional fluctuation's still present on Earth. While it's there, we're stuck in real-space."

"Why not land and investigate? Perhaps we can shut it down and proceed?" Kronti suggested softly.

"It's going to be even more exciting, exploring historical Earth! Even I haven't visited that time before!" Coriset agreed.

Zuyawen grinned happily, announcing, "Right, to Earth, then!"

"Be careful, don't let the residents see the Primal Storm. Earth hasn't made contact with other worlds yet," Kronti cautioned.

"Don't worry! With a great pilot like me, nobody will see us land!" Coriset boasted.

Quthal sighed in resignation, but said nothing. I've a bad feeling about this. But it's true, there's no other choice. And I'd hate to be orbiting in space a long time. I hope no more problems crop up, but I think this is just the beginning, he thought.

- - - - -

The Primal Storm landed on Earth at night, in an open field. None of the spacecraft's exterior lights were lit.

"Nobody saw us, thanks to my piloting skills," Coriset claimed. "It's really difficult to land at night, with no lights on, but I managed it!"

"I can't believe we're on Earth, and in the past, too! My dream to travel to other worlds is finally coming true," Zuyawen cried happily. "Let's go!"

"Wait, let's check the outside to see if it's safe first," Kronti interrupted them. She activated the exterior sensors and cameras. "Air's breathable, and there doesn't seem to be anyone outside. It's safe."

All this while, Quthal was musing to himself, That's ridiculous. How long can we stay unnoticed? Besides, we landed very near the dimensional disturbance, close to human settlements. We're bound to be discovered, if we haven't been seen already.

Aloud, he said, "We should do this as quickly as possible, before we're discovered."

"Stop worrying, we'll be fine. Don't nag so much," Coriset replied impatiently.

"Yes, just relax and enjoy the scenery," Zuyawen added.

"We'll be careful not to be discovered," Kronti reassured him.

"You sound like you're going off alone. I'm definitely not letting you go unsupervised. I'm coming along too," Quthal announced sternly. The others exchanged glances, surprised.

- - - - -

They had exited the ship and were walking towards the source of the disturbance when they heard voices and saw two dim shapes heading towards the ship.

"What's that, Sherra?"

"I don't know, Delith."

"Damn! We can't be discovered so soon!" Coriset cursed, slamming his fist on the palm of his other hand. He was enraged at the whole situation, at everything that had happened, and at the fact that he could do nothing.

Kronti was trying to slow her racing heart and think of their next course of action. The only thing to do is to run for the ship and take off before they see it. But it's too far, and it'll take too long to prepare the ship to take off, she thought despairingly.

So the worst has happened, and we've been discovered. I've been dreading this. But if needed, I'm prepared to knock those two unconscious, to prevent the ship from being discovered and to buy us time to leave, Quthal pondered, grim and determined. He was ready to do what needed to be done, though he hated using force.

Zuyawen was doing her best to stay optimistic in the face of imminent disaster. Maybe we can persuade them to keep this a secret. Or perhaps we'll be the ones to make first contact with Terrans and introduce them to other worlds, she mused.

The two humans had found them. They were identical twins, one was gold-haired with eyes that matched her hair. The other platinum blond, and had strange eyes that seemed to change colour. The golden blond woman said, "I think they'd make good candidates, Sherra."

"Would you all consider bonding dragons?" asked the other woman, Sherra.

Stunned at the change of subject, they all fell silent. Sherra explained, "Since you're not human, you must be from off-world. We're also from off-world. We came to Earth through that portal." She pointed towards a nearby hill.

"It's your fault we're stranded here!" Coriset scolded her angrily. "Shut it down now so we can leave! That thing's interfering with our spacecraft."

"I'm sorry, we can't. It'll only close after the dragon clutch hatches," Sherra apologized. "Would you consider becoming candidates for this clutch?"

"I know a bit about Pern's dragonriders. Where are your dragons? Don't bonded pairs travel together?" Zuyawen spoke up suddenly.

"So you know about dragonriders? We're both dragons actually, from Cy Dragonstake on Dracania, not Pern. We turned into humans once we reached Earth. I'm Sherra, she's Delith," Sherra explained.

"I'd love to bond a dragon!" Zuyawen said enthusiastically. "I've heard it's a wonderful experience. Imagine having a partner who really knows your mind."

"Well, I'm not going to refuse trying something new, and this sounds exciting. Just my style," Coriset said. "I'm game for anything fun."

"We've got nothing to do anyway, so we might as well try. What you're saying sounds reasonable," Kronti said cautiously. "But I need to know more."

"All this sounds really strange to me, but we all have to stay together. So I guess I'll come too," Quthal said. "Someone needs to watch the rest of you."

"So it's a 'yes'? Great! Just bring your spacecraft and follow us through the portal," Sherra instructed. "Delith and I will wait there for you."

The dragon-humans returned to the portal while the four new candidates returned to the Primal Storm. After what seemed like ages, they finally took off. When they reached the portal, Sherra and Delith signalled them to follow, then jumped into the darkness. The spacecraft followed, emerging at Cy Dragonstake, escorted by the two dragons.

- - - - -

Coriset bonded male lesser fire Nidoro

Zuyawen bonded female lesser air Talah

Kronti bonded female lesser water Aliro

Quthal bonded male lesser earth Ungol