Dragonlore

Posted on Thu Sep 10th, 2026 @ 9:59pm by Lieutenant Commander Deanna Celes & Lieutenant Commander Callie Raven-Grayson & Lieutenant Kate Kono & Lieutenant James Phoenix & Chief Petty Officer Aaron Geiger

1,863 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Here There Be Dragons
Location: Draco IV

The dragon's lair was not at all what Deanna had expected. It was a cave, but beyond that it was quite cozy. Well, it was cozy considering they were currently in the lair of a dragon on an alien world, and the dragon didn't look as it had when they first encountered it, currently looking human. Things were interesting at the moment. Deanna was in charge, and with Jon back up on the ship, she was the only one with the tactical experience for this situation. Callie wanted it, Phoenix was trained just not experienced, Kate was still young, and the others were junior officers. Aaron had plenty of experience, just likely nothing that might help at this moment.

She needed to press Drake, get some answers. She looked to Callie and sent her a telepathic message, We need answers. I'm going to press Drake.

Callie looked towards Deanna giving her a nod of acknowledgment.

Aaron began to make a mental catalog of everything in the cave, silently moving his hand to his tricorder within it's case on his tool belt. With a few discreet commands, Aaron initiated a continuous scan, recording, and upload of everything nearby. Given that it was an Engineering oriented tricorder perhaps it wouldn't have everything the Sciences would like, but it should pick up on enough.

Phoenix kept a close eye on the group, but especially Drake. He didn't necessarily distrust him however something still wasn't sitting right with him. He moved closer, but stopped when he saw that Deanna looked like she was about to question Drake. While he couldn't be 100 percent sure of this since he wasn't a telepath like she was, he knew his context clues could come in handy. When he stopped he kept an eye on the interaction.

Kate’s eyes snapped open to the flicker of molten embers down in the dragon’s lair cave system. The air smelled of sulfur and old stone, and water dripped from jagged stalactites overhead. She stretched her arms above her head, fingertips grazing ancient, rune-carved walls. Across the cavern floor, Irwin and the other officers had gone deathly silent; tension crackled between them like static electricity. Kate figured it was way more entertaining to ignore whatever spat flew earlier than to stir the pot. The Chief hadn’t said anything about it, so she wouldn’t even ask. She finished stretching, flexed her toes against the inside of her Starfleet issued boots, and decided to have a little fun with her grand entrance.

“I’m sure you guys had a total blast while I was in nap mode,” she chirped, yawning with zero chill. Her voice twanged teenage exuberance… half amused, half bored. Beneath that bubbly front, she still worried about Jon and his condition. Every fiber of her being wanted to tap her combadge for an update, but she wouldn’t; she wasn’t the team leader.

She glanced at Deanna, deep in hushed negotiation with that fruity-looking human that was actually a dragon. Irwin tossed a shiny gold coin he’d found on the floor against the cold rock wall.

“Yeah, mate… bucketloads of fun,” Irwin drawled in a thick Australian accent, the coin pinging off stone.

Kate leaned closer. “Hey HEY hey, don’t litter in someone’s home.”

“It was already there!” Irwin hissed under his breath, voice sharp. “Worthless gold, anyway.”

“If you walked into my quarters and saw a box of Starfleet Skittles on the floor, would you fling it back down? Or would you chuck it in the trash?” Kate asked, eyebrows raised like she was delivering a holo-lecture. She popped up, snatched the coin from the wall where he had chucked it, and gently slid it back into Irwin’s palm. “Trash goes away from the host, Stevie.”

Irwin rolled his eyes so hard she almost heard it. “Who says gold’s trash here?”

Kate plopped back onto the stone slab beside him. “If it had any real value, it wouldn’t be lying around like a used tampons.”

“Fair point…” He tucked the coin into his uniform pocket. “I’ll heave it into a bin if I spot one. But I don’t see any signs reading trash or basura.”

Kate shook her head, voice tinged with mock horror. “Have you even passed basic First Contact etiquette at the Academy?”

“Did you?” Irwin shot back.

“Obviously,” she said while scratching her short spikey hair. “Common sense, dude. Useless gold on someone’s floor equals bin trash.”

Irwin nodded, conceding. “Got it. I’ll be a model guest. So, how was your sleep?”

“For a rock-bed, not terrible,” she replied, pulling her knees up and giggling. “But next time I’m booking the dragon’s loft suite with real pillows.”

They shared a light laugh as the cavern’s glow danced around them, tension melting into the cool damp air.

Kate’s laughter cut off mid-giggle as a thought hit her like a phaser set to stun.

“Oooh actually…” she blurted, already diving her hand into Irwin’s pocket. Before he could flinch, she’d snatched the coin and sent it skittering back across the stone floor with a flick of her wrist.

“What in the bloody hell was that for?” Irwin growled, his Aussie accent thickening with annoyance.

“My bad, my bad,” Kate said, holding up both hands. “Grandma’s stories just rebooted in my brain. Dragons are, like, totally into useless shiny stuff. That coin might’ve been part of the decor. You don’t just tidy up a dragon’s aesthetic.”

“Right,” Irwin shot back, folding his arms. “And I s’pose you’ve got a stash of glitter packets and synth-skittles hidden under your bunk, yeah?”

Kate narrowed her eyes, a smirk playing on her lips. “Who said you could scan my quarters, space-cowboy?”

Callie couldn’t help but smile at the banter going on, though she was wondering how Jon was getting on aboard ship.

Deanna tried to focus attention on speaking with the dragon. "Drake, you don't have to hide your horde from us. I understand it is valuable to you, but in all likelihood, it won't be interested in it. Most humanoids lost their desire for precious metals and gems over the last few centuries."

Drake was quiet, obviously mulling it over. Deanna had already proven they were aware of it, so perhaps it was worth trusting these people. "Very well" he said begrudgingly. He flicked his hand and the back of the cave shimmered and a trove of gold coins and jewels that would make Scrooge McDuck envious appeared.

Deanna looked at the sea of gold and nodded approvingly, "I have to admit, that is far more impressive than what I expected." She looked back at Drake, "Gold coins...do you make these yourself?"

"Long ago, when we still travelled beyond on home, we would encounter other races, primitive in nature. Some of us would take things out of malice, greed, or for the simple pleasure it gave, while others were gifted it as tribute" Drake answered.

"Tribute? Tribute for what?" Kuzma asked, interested in learning more.

"My race has generally two types, in generic terms, those of us who are good and those of us who are bad. The bad one's are perhaps more well known since they interact with others far more frequently. But at times, when necessary, those of us that are good will strike down the evil ones, such as I did with the red and green earlier. The primitive people we protected when we did such things we thank us with tribute" Drake replied. "I could've turned it away, but..."

"We all have our failings" Deanna completed the thought. "Drake, do you know of all the races your species have encountered?"

"Yes. We all know of any species that is encountered by any one of us. Not instantly, but something close to it. The information comes to us in what we call the dreaming" Drake replied.

"What is the dreaming?" Kuzma inquired once more.

"I suppose it is something similar that perhaps you do. We sleep, just as you do. When we sleep, we have heightened senses, and also a heightened mental state. We dream, but it is not the way you dream. It is the passing of information across all distances to one another. Not everything of course, just pertinent information" Drake answered.

"Sounds like a telepathic collective consciousness, similar to the Borg hive mind" Deanna mumbled aloud.

"Hive mind? Borg?" Drake questioned.

"An evil race of cybernetic beings bent on universal conquest in the name of perfection. They assimilate anyone they feel will add to their perfection, instantly gaining all knowledge that person might have. The information is spread throughout the group the way a queen bee might give orders to the rest of the hive."

"Interesting. We have never encountered this species before. The red would try to work with them, perhaps even the blue" Drake replied.

"An assimilated dragon. That is a frightening thought" Kuzma said in a sobering voice.

"Tell me about it" Phoenix added. He had been fortunate enough not to deal with the Borg, but he had heard all of the stories and read all of the reports that were available to him with his current clearance level, especially the Washington's encounter with the deadly cybernetic beings a few months before he first joined the crew. The thought of an assimilated dragon really was terrifying. He decided not to let the though fester. According to the most recent tactical and intelligence reports that he was privy to, albeit not many, he knew there had been zero Borg activity in the region. But that didn't mean that the Washington should be carefree either. He made sure to make a mental note and keep his eyes and ears peeled, especially in the future.

“The Borg have no interest in working with anyone, if they deem you worthy they assimilate you, if not then they kill you.” Callie added as she joined the conversation. “There’s no negotiation, just assimilated or not. As for your dreaming it as Deanna already stated, it sounds like telepathic sharing. On our world Betazed our people share their minds and thoughts, but we can’t do that whilst aboard our ship as there are many non-telepaths there and it’s considered an invasion of privacy to enter a mind without permission.”

Deanna remained quiet about Callie's last point. While she was right, she was only an empath, with limited telepathic abilities. Deanna was different, special, even for a Betazoid. And she had both training and orders to consider. But all of that paled at the moment. She still had questions for Drake. "Your people are remarkable, but you seem to be dancing around something. Just as it was regarding your horde, I promise you, whatever you are concerned about, we won't judge you."

Drake mulled over her words. His experience with his own told him one thing, but his knowledge of these people showed them to be honorable and trustworthy. Perhaps it was the right things to do, tell them everything.


TBC

 

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