Hold Fast — Company on the Starboard Side

Posted on Sun Oct 25th, 2026 @ 8:15pm by Captain Emily Janeway

391 words; about a 2 minute read

Mission: Do as I say, not as I...
Location: Location: {Long Range Shuttle #3 en route to the USS Norwich}
Timeline: Current

ON:
{Long Range Shuttle #3 en route to the USS Norwich}
Grallator: ::doesn’t move his hands off the controls, eyes flicking between the nav display and the thing filling the viewport:: “Copy. No sudden moves. It’s matching our velocity. Perfectly.”
Janeway: ::stays leaned forward, one hand resting on the edge of the console without touching anything yet, gaze locked on the nearest eye:: “Then it’s not just flying by. It’s choosing to stay. Grallator, kill the running lights. Drop us to the lowest power signature that still keeps life support and the thrusters hot. Slow. No thruster puffs.”
::The shuttle’s exterior lights die one by one. The dragon’s head doesn’t flinch. One massive eye remains fixed on them, the violet-cyan scales shifting like oil on water as the creature drifts half a ship-length off their starboard side. No claws. No open maw. Just that steady, cold attention.::
Grallator: ::voice tight:: “Power’s down. We’re still on course for the Albion’s outer beacon, but at this crawl it’ll take us another twenty-two minutes to reach their patrol radius. If it decides it wants a closer look—”
Janeway: “Then we find out how fast this shuttle can spin and how thick the hull really is. Until then we give it nothing to chase. Status on the distress buoy?”
Grallator: “Armed. One burst and Albion knows we’re in trouble. Also paints a big bright target on us if that thing reacts to energy spikes.”
Janeway: ::exhales once through her nose, still not looking away:: “Hold the buoy. We broadcast only if it starts testing the glass. For now… we wait it out and we keep moving. Barely. If it’s curious, let it get bored. If it’s hungry, I want every second of warning we can buy before it commits.”
::The dragon’s head tilts a fraction. The single visible eye narrows. The shuttle continues its long, quiet drift toward the distant Albion beacon, the creature holding station beside them like it has all the time in the galaxy.::
OFF:
Captain Emily Jones Janeway
Marine Commanding Officer (Temporary Detached Duty – USS Norwich)
USS Albion NCC-3020

Charles, I don’t know if you want me to continue the story about the space dragon to see where leads into the next mission? Let me know.

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