Daniel stared at the mangled bodies on the floor. It was not a pretty sight, to say the least. He suppressed the urge to throw up and glared at Valek.

“There was a stunner on the floor!” he protested. Valek met his gaze coolly.

“So there was. And?” Daniel clenched his fists. He didn’t know why, but it just seemed... wrong to kill people like that. Did Valek enjoy killing people? Daniel pushed past her and walked away. It may of been his imagination, but Valek looked like she was about to cry as he did so. He sure as hell didn’t want to look back. He went to the observatory platform and leaned against the railing, staring out the giant glass panels into space, quite literally. Daniel calmed down significantly and realised for anyone watching, his outburst could have looked like jealousy. He did fail in his duty to protect Tyler and his ship, after all. Daniel pounded his fist on the railing in frustration. Everyone hated humans already, and with all the stereotypes, what if Tyler got rid of him? Daniel was panicking slightly. What am I going to do if he does? He realised he was going to have to impress Tyler next time, so he had to train. He had to be swift, strong and efficient. He had to show Tyler he could do his job. Daniel quickly ran to the gym and got started.

September 21, 2053

The Avian

Hearlus System

1300 hours

Daniel dropped down from his pull-ups and started on his push-ups. Things had progressed quite uneventfully. Karen fixed the controls, Jeff healed nicely and sustained no permanent damage. Yaris continued to sprout her usual stream of pet names every time he went for a meal, and Valek’s behaviour just got weirder as time went by. Daniel finished his warm-downs and picked up his pistol. He stepped up to the red line he had put on the floor and steadied the weapon. He took a breath and aimed it at the target 100 metres away from him. He pulled the trigger. Daniel checked the target. He was a few centimetres off a bull’s-eye. Growling in frustration, he went back to his line, readied the gun, then spammed the trigger until the gun clicked empty. Even from that distance he could see the gaping hole in the centre of the target. He grinned.

“Still got it,” he murmured to himself. He heard the door open and spun himself around. Valek wandered in, walking on all fours for some reason. “Yes?” Daniel asked, raising an eyebrow. Valek glanced up at him, then swung herself back onto two legs, unusually graceful for someone with an injury like hers. After stopping at a hospital station a few days ago, it was discovered that she would not heal by natural means, and the surgery was too expensive for them to afford. So it looked as though Valek was stuck with her limp for life. The limp she currently did not have for some reason. She put an extra sway in her hips as she waddled up to him. Daniel narrowed his eyes suspiciously as she approached.

“Hello Daniel,” she whispered, pressing her body against Daniel’s half-naked one. Not feeling comfortable having someone who never wore clothes that close to him, Daniel gently pushed her away and held her at arm’s length.

“Hi,” he replied uncertainly. This was a step more than he was used to. She was acting like an over-affectionate cat. She licked her lips.

“Working out again I see,” she pointed out. Her tail curled around his leg and she rested her head on his arm. “So strong is my human,” she slurred. Daniel took a step away from her, almost tripping over her tail in the process.

“Valek, are you drunk?” he demanded. He was never told there was alcohol on this ship. He had requested it many times; this was probably why Tyler had said no.

“No...” Valek trailed off wistfully. She suddenly perked up a bit. “Let’s get something to eat!” she seemed so delighted by the idea that she dropped back onto all fours and trotted back out the door, most likely to the mess hall. Daniel shook his head. That was... a lot weirder than usual. Daniel headed for the bridge.

Daniel knocked on the door. Tyler opened it from the other side.

“Oh. Hello Daniel. What’s up?” Daniel peered at him accusingly.

“Is there something wrong with Valek that I need to know about? She’s been really needy of late.” Tyler frowned, then sighed.

“Oh,” he said simply. “Come, you may want to take a seat for this.” Daniel followed him inside. He sat on one of the chairs that were situated around the room, and Tyler took a seat across from him. Tyler breathed deeply.

“How much do you know about dragons?” Daniel considered this.

“Nothing really. Valek’s the only one I’ve met, and if she’s a normal dragon then I know this much: they’re really weird.” Tyler bit his lip.

“Ah,” he responded. Daniel was starting to get worried.

“I’m... I’m not going to like this, am I?” Daniel inquired. Tyler shook his head.

“Probably not.” Daniel leaned back in his chair and massaged his temples.

“Okay. Let’s hear it then.” Tyler thought for a moment, trying to find a place to begin.

“Dragons are... that is to say, they have... different ways of...” Tyler face palmed. “Let me start again. Dragons have this period of time that lasts a few months that we call the ‘heat’. It’s when they are ready to, ah, to breed, and yet do not have a, er, a mate to do it with...” Daniel groaned.

“Oh no.” He could already guess what was coming.

“Dragons – the females – need to find a mate in order to suppress this ‘heat’. Because th-the heat is extremely uncomfortable for them. When they believe they have found the mate they desire, they will seek them out. Now, dragons can usually avoid the heat if they are, um, uninterested in everyone available to them. But if they have... feelings for someone, the heat will force them to try and get their attention. To-to seal the deal – that is to seal their equivalent of a marriage – they must mate –”

“Have sex,” Daniel clarified.

“Yes, they must have sex. Then they are mates, and the heat will not come back as long as they remain mates.” Daniel held his head in his hand.

“So you’re saying... that Valek has a crush on me, and if I don’t have sex with her, she’s gonna go crazy?”

“Well... no, she’ll probably, uh, try to, ahem, try to rape you first,” Tyler said quietly, avoiding eye contact the whole while.

“What?!” Daniel cried, leaping from his seat. Tyler winced.

“She-she can’t help it. She’s not herself,” he protested. Daniel sat back down and stared at nothing, trying to sort things out in his head. There was only one certainty he could come up with; he was going to have trouble sleeping at night.