Affinity

Eleanor

It had been a warm, rainy day in Tarzar, and even after the rains stopped a layer of clouds moved slow and heavy over the city, filling the air with the salt scent of the ocean ten kilometers to the west.

It was approaching noon, as the sun peaked in the sky when Dianna approached Eleanor. Eleanor had been tending to a dragon whose foot had been caught under a rock and almost crushed completely. Struggling had only worsened the damage, until she had come along and soothed the beast.

"Eleanor, a word?"

Dianna's voice betrayed her nervousness before the helices floating around her did. They were a muted green, shades lighter than Dianna's eyes, and they shuffled around her in confused patterns.

Eleanor set down her tools and cleaned her hands against the overall she wore. "What happened? Did Lenishkov threaten you or something?"

Dianna raised an eyebrow at Eleanor referring to the General in the casual way she had. "He left. But General Kylian will be arriving in a few moments, and I want you to be there."

It was Eleanor's turn to show surprise as her eyes widened. "Me? I'm just a random dragon doctor, I'd look out of place," she protested.

"He will need a report on the dragons that are left and how many are stable enough to be prepped for new riders. You'll be the one to provide that information."

"You don't need me to–"

Dianna pulled Eleanor aside and lowered her voice. "I don't trust him."

"That still doesn't explain why you need me there," Eleanor whispered back.

"General Lenishkov, impulsive as he may be, has decades of experience in dealing with difficult situations." Dianna lowered her voice even more, glancing around to make sure none of Eleanor's helpers were listening. "He believes what happened to Tarzar was an inside job."

Eleanor looked for any sign of deception in the other woman's face and found none. Furthermore, the helices swirling around her remained steady and did not betray any hidden emotions.

"Look," Dianna continued, "General Kylian named me Consul of Kentauri. General Lenishkov thinks it was all a plan to keep me close so I can't investigate further into the Tarzar incident. That way he has me here playing politics instead of focusing on my work."

Eleanor had to agree with that logic at the very least. Dianna was an expert analyst from what she'd heard, and if Kylian truly had something to do with what happened to Tarzar, keeping the best option at finding out what really happened occupied with other business was a good idea.

"So what do you want me to do?" Eleanor finally asked.

*****

The camp was shaken by a loud boom that echoed through the nearby mountain peaks, sending waves of snow rolling down the rocky ridges. The clouds overhead lit up briefly in a bluish-white flash and half a minute later, a silver spacecraft emerged from the clouds, slowly descending on jets of fire. It hovered at two hundred meters and smoothly shifted sideways, coming to rest without a sound in a prepared landing area. Powerful water jets washed over the landing pad and lower hull, sending plumes of steam into the misty rain. When the water shut off, only the soft patter of rain and occasional creaks from the cooling vessel could be heard across the paved spaceport. A walkway extended out from the body of the spacecraft, twenty meters above the ground. Five figures emerged onto the elevated platform.

"Welcome to Tarzar, Sir," Dianna greeted General Kylian. He nodded and leaned on the railing, taking in deep breaths of the crisp, rain-kissed air. Droplets of rain beaded on his shoulders and eyebrows.