"So, uh, after you I guess?" Gwyndion said with a shrug and cock of his head.

Emlyn nodded. "Right, follow me." She then turned and walked over towards the ballroom wall, and into one of the little alcoves carved into the wall. She pushed aside the couch and side table, and opened up a holographic window in the middle of the air. "Gwyndion, if you could pull those curtains," she said, indicating with a tilt of her wing to flowing red curtains along the alcove's entrance that had been pushed aside.

Gwyndion nodded, and drew the curtains closed. By the time he had turned around, Emlyn was scrolling through a list of names on the window. Finally she tapped one, and the window changed into a loading screen.

A moment later, a face appeared on the window— a bored-looking, middle-aged water Naturae arwyn. The face was surrounded by a variety of Windows, like a computer screen. "What is it, Emlyn?" The dragon on the screen questioned.

Gwyndion noticed how Emlyn adjusted her posture, making herself seem taller. "I need an appointment with the captain."

The water Naturae sighed. "Let's see... He has openings in three months... Though there might be a cancellation before then."

Emlyn kept her voice level. "Sigurd, I need an appointment in fifteen minutes."

The dragon apparently named Sigurd frowned. "Emlyn," he argued, "you know that's impossible. The captain is a busy arwyn."

The governess' lip curved just a slight, then quickly disappeared. "Surely just as busy as you are, Sigurd, playing..." She squinted. "A murder mystery RPG? Really, Sigurd, not your style."

Sigurd suddenly reeled back as if he had fallen from his chair. Once he got back up, with a furious click, one of the windows on the screen disappeared in a blink. "I— I just left that open from during my break!" He tried, but his spines flushed, betraying his embarrassment.

Emlyn raised an eye ridge. "On your work computer? Not likely." She then pretended to be interested in scraping something off one of her claws with another. "Sigurd, I'll... Hold off on reporting this infraction if you can get me that appointment."

The water Naturae scowled. "Urghhhhh... Fine. But the soonest I'm sure I can get is thirty minutes."

The governess shrugged. "Fine by me."

Gwyndion could hear clicks as the arwyn furiously typed away. "Is there anything else you need, Emlyn?" Asked the Naturae, sounding very much like he meant the opposite.

Emlyn smiled sweetly at him. "No, I don't think so. Thank you, Sigurd." She raised her talons to close the holographic window, but paused. "By the way, when you accept screen calls, I recommend you turn your computer to monitor rather than screen share. Otherwise it's really easy for everyone else to see just how messy your computer files are."

Sigurd looked positively bristling just as Emlyn tapped the screen and closed the window.

The governess then turned and nodded her head to the curtain. "Ready to go?"

Gwyndion nodded. "Let's go."

When Emlyn had said that the captain's office and bridge was up, he had thought that meant that the bridge would be in some other district in which they would take an elevator up to the roof of the station.

But she quite literally meant, up.

Upon passing through the great golden doors of the ballroom, Emlyn spread her wings and launched into the sky. Gwyndion followed her in a a flurry of flapping wings, trying to keep up as she spiraled her way up towards the very top of the glass dome. Upon nearing the glass boundary, Gwyndion realized that there were portholes in seemingly random locations across the surface of the massive dome. As they glided to a hover near one, Gwyndion glanced around and asked, "So... Is the bridge through here? Is it invisible or something?"

The corners of Emlyn's eyes crinkled in amusement as the corners of her lips rose. "Not quite. The bridge will be here soon." She pointed a talon eastward. "It's over there at the moment, we just have to wait till it docks here."

Gwyndion furrowed his eye ridges in confusion as he turned to see what she was pointing at. He followed the imaginary line to where the artificial sun was slowly crawling across the glass towards them, casting light upon the ten districts below. "That's... The bridge?"

Emlyn nodded. "Yes, it's external to the station in a way, and rotary. It will pause at these portholes following a thirty-two hour day, for an hour at each spot. While its docked you can enter and exit the bridge. If scheduled right, it greatly reduces the commuting time of the bridge crew. Though honestly I think the captain had it designed that way because it's stylish."

By the time she had finished speaking, the artificial sun had reached the porthole they were hovering by, and with a mechanical click, stayed in place. The glass porthole emitted a long, low squeal, then slowly swung open. Through it, the harsh artificial light continued to shine, and 

Gwyndion failed to see exactly how to enter.

Thankfully, Emlyn demonstrated. She clutched the rim of the porthole with her talons... And heaved herself up, through the light, until her tail tip disappeared from his view.

Gwyndion blinked in confusion.

"It's a hologram!" The governess called back down to him. "You can go right through it, just close your eyes or look down so that you don't hurt your eyes!"

Gwyndion glanced upwards skeptically. "Okay. Just fly into the sun. Makes perfect sense," he muttered to himself. Gathering his courage, he gripped the porthole with his foretalons, and heaved himself up through the blaring light, squeezing his eyes closed against the light.

And then realized that he severely lacked the upper arm strength to pull himself all the way through.

And so he hung there, awkwardly clinging on to the porthole, feeling the energy sap out of his arms.

"Is there something wrong?" Emlyn called down to him from through the light.

Embarrassment raced through his veins. "Uhhhh, nothing! One moment!" He called back, then dropped from the porthole as the last of his arm muscles gave in. Quickly he spread out his wings and caught himself on the air.

Beating his wings, he caught his breath and took another look at the porthole, assessing it. It wasn't wide enough for him to fly through with his wings beating... But maybe... If I gathered enough momentum...

Deciding on his plan, he arched over and slipped into a dive, hurtling down back towards the ground. Once he felt he had gone far enough, he flared his wings and caught the air, and angled them so that he rocketed upwards. Furiously he beat his wings, and he quickly felt the muscles in them strain, but still he churned the air with them. Finally, as he neared the open porthole once more, he flattened his wings against his sides, closed his eyes and shot right through the artificial light.

And a moment later, his snout smashed into unforgiving metal.

He crumpled to the ground, pain spiking from his nose. "Ugh... Too fast..." He groaned, slowly opening his eyes.

Emlyn peered down at him, eye ridges pressed together in concern. "Are you alright?"

Gwyndion nodded his head in response, inspecting his snout with a talon for injury. "Yeah... I'm fine... Just... Pain..."

The governess cracked a grin and poked his shoulder with a wing. "You idiot. If you had just told me that you couldn't get up, then I could have deployed the ramp."

At that he was fairly certain that his pride hurt more than his nose. "Ah... Noted."

Emlyn offered him a talon. "Come on. We'd better not be late for our meeting."

Gwyndion accepted her talon and pulled himself to his. It was only then that he properly absorbed the room around him.

The ground beneath his talons was black glass, and a large dome of clear glass covered the entire circular bridge. Ahead of him lay an array of control panels and a very, very fancy looking chair right at the center. A multitude of creatures operated the panels, yet the button-lined chair appeared vacant. Behind him a fourth of the circle was cut off by a wall with a black glass door in the middle. That must be the captain's office, he realized.

His suspicions were confirmed as Emlyn led him over to that very door.

Yet after he took a couple steps, he was abruptly cut off by a blue figure.

He then recognized it as Sigurd, the dragon they had spoken to over the holoscreen just a few minutes ago.

The arwyn looked a lot more slimy person, and pierced him with a nasty look. "Who are you? 

Emlyn, I thought it was you who needed to speak to the captain! I pulled strings for you, not this... Who is he, anyway?!"

"My name is Gwyndion," he interjected. "I came here from Outpost forty-two and I need to speak to the captain now."

Emlyn nodded. "Yes, and that's exactly what we're going to do. Come along, Gwyndion..." The governess started towards the door.

Sigurd snarled. "Just be warned. The captain is in a bad mood today because of such an unexpected meeting."

"Duly noted," Emlyn said, ignoring Sigurd and continuing to the door. She paused just outside it and pressed a small black button beside the door with a talon. "Governess Emlyn, here for our appointment," she said into a small recorder in the wall.

A moment later, the black glass doors slid open.

He glanced at Emlyn, who nodded in an indication for him to go inside. He nodded in return, took a deep breath, and stepped inside, the governess following behind him.

Upon stepping into the office, he felt as if he had stepped right out into space. A half circle floor-to-ceiling window provided a panoramic view of the star scape outside. The black floor, ceiling and back walls all reflected said stars, making him almost stumble over his talons in disorientation. It took him a moment to even see the desk placed right before the vast window, and the pale dragon that sat behind it, arms on his reflective desk, talons clasped together.

"Captain Uthyr," Emlyn greeted, taking up a position beside him. "This is Gwyndion from Nova Anfeidreidd. He says that he has urgent news for you."

The captain furrowed his white eye ridges, sharp as if carved from ice. Yet his pale blue eyes burned with a sudden curiosity, and Gwyndion noticed the muscles tense beneath the captain's frosty armor. He seemed like a frost Prinuae, but even so he was strangely deprived of color— the only variation to him was in black streaks that ran along his scales and made up his horns and talons. "From Nova Anfeidreidd, you say?" Uthyr said, his voice smooth. He beckoned with a motion of his wing for them to sit. "Please, make yourself comfortable. Tell me what word you bring."

Gwyndion shuffled on his talons, the captain's frosty demeanor making him feel anything but comfortable, but he stepped forward and sat down before the desk. His hearts thudded louder than normal in his chest, and he had to take yet another deep breath before he found his words. "Captain, sir. I am from Nova Anfeidreidd, but I bear news from my most recent assignment, Outpost forty-two."

The captain's curiosity was gone in a flash. His almost cordial expression slipped into a near frown. "Then what is it?"

Something about the way the lean Prinuae spoke sent shivers down his spine. "Ah— I realize that what I am about to say may sound strange, but please bear with me—"

The captain's attention snapped to Emlyn. "Emlyn, tell me again who this is?"

Emlyn dipped her head but met his gaze. "Just listen to him, Uthyr."

Uthyr's lips slowly creeped back into a slight smile. "Very well." He turned to Gwyndion. "What do you have to tell me? Keep it short. I have work to do."

Gwyndion gulped. "It— well, to keep it brief— ah, um, well, in short—" Emlyn nudged his tail with hers, and she sent him a look that very clearly meant spit it out. "Outpost forty-two has exploded, sir."

The captain registered this, then blinked. "Exploded?" 

 Gwyndion nodded. "Yes sir. I was working the night shift, and we were observing a passing comet. Nothing out of the ordinary, until it... It just exploded like a supernova. Then there were these massive multi-winged dragons that invaded the station before it was overtaken by the explosion. I just barely managed to escape, and I have no idea if anyone else from the outpost survived." He shifted his wings. "Sir."

Uthyr watched him for a moment, and gave another slow blink. "Is that so?"

He gave another hesitant nod. "Yes, sir."

The captain leaned back, exhaling a long, slow breath. "Well, thank you for coming to me with this. I assure you it will be dealt with promptly." He casually drummed the desk with the ebony claws of one talon, while the other slipped back underneath his desk. "I am sure that this has been a very traumatic experience for you. You must be tired, in need of rest." Emlyn shifted beside him a slight, narrowing her eyes. "We would be happy to provide you with a place to stay for the time."

At that moment, the door behind him opened.

Through it entered a pair of Volcanics, one ash the other fire, both wearing the black half-cloaks of security. The ash type slowly started towards him. "We are here to escort you to your room. Please, come along."

Despite knowing it was futile, Gwyndion shuffled backwards, rapidly shaking his head. "No, please, I swear I'm not insane— this is real, and Cepheus Prime could be in danger—"

The security guards rushed him, the fire volcanic grabbed him by a horn and forced his head to the ground. He didn't try to resist as he collapsed to the floor— he had no strength to fight against trained security, but that wouldn't stop him from protesting. "Please, you must listen to me! Cepheus— Agh!" He was cut off by a sudden sharp pain in the side of his neck.

Emlyn watched all of this in concern. "Uthyr, this isn't necessary. He seemed perfectly stable to me and I wouldn't have brought you..."

Gwyndion knew that the governess continued to speak, as did the captain and the security guards. Their words all started to become a jumble, and the pain in his neck had evolved into a gentle throbbing. It hurt, but was strangely soothing... Eventually the world around him seemed to join in the pulsing, and the forces of gravity suddenly seemed a lot stronger than they were before. There was a sensation of cool glass on his cheek, which reminded him of the slab of metal that had crashed into him not that long ago...

It really did seem crazy... And hilarious... Monsters with four wings and six eyes and purple tongues... But the captain will take care of it... It's all good... He's a good captain... Good cababits...

As his vision few darkened, he had the vague sense that he was laughing.

Trust the cababits...

~~~~~

Well, that was a turn of events! What do you all think of the captain? Please comment these thoughts and remember to vote if you liked!