To Seralyth’s ill fortune, matters weren't so simple that she might merely turn her steps about, wander back to the institute, and take up again the well-worn pattern of her days as though nothing of note had occurred. For all that there was little, or indeed no true intent within the Imperial Fleet to chastise her for the bounds she had overstepped, she was nevertheless kept within the garrison walls for a handful of days, counted carefully and allowed to pass at her own measured pace.

  This, so one might hear it said in low official tones, was done to preserve the upright face of the branch and the dignity it was expected to wear before the wider world. Influential though the Imperial Family was, it wouldn't serve them well to allow an incident involving a princess to be brushed aside as one might sweep dust beneath a rug, unseen and unremarked, and so at the very least a show had to be made that some manner of inquiry had taken place, even if that inquiry amounted to little more than the telling and retelling of the same chain of events.

  Thus it came to pass that Seralyth found herself held fast within a bureaucratic waiting place that felt distant and yet oddly familiar, a limbo of papers, pauses, and polite restraint that neither advanced nor resolved her circumstances.

  It was only when Saeryn’s presence pressed sharply against her awareness through the bond, brimming with impatience taken to its furthest edge, that Seralyth was at last made aware that permission had been granted and that she was finally free to depart.

  ???

  There was no glad homecoming, nor any gentle sense of return, when Seralyth made her presence known once more within the halls of the institute. Instead, and this must be said plainly, she was met by an air drawn tight with urgency, as if the very walls were holding their breath. The familiar chatter between peers and cadets, the eager murmur of researchers ever hungry for discovery, and the steady, honest diligence of the technicians had all been pressed down and reshaped into a single prevailing temper, one of readiness and swift mobilisation, like a base roused before dawn by an unwelcome siren.

  The princess herself wasn't greatly troubled by this altered temper. She had been a solitary figure before this, both by the strange turns of her circumstances and by the simple fact that she was still, by all accounts, regarded as a newcomer within the institution. For all the change that seemed to have swept through the place, only a handful of months had passed since the Bonding Ceremony, that solemn and fateful rite which had set her life upon an altogether different road.

  There was, at least, one piece of welcome news to be counted. Her official designation had been amended to that of 'Operator', a title granted in recognition of the truth that she was more than capable of synchronizing with Saeryn in the art and hazard of combat.

  Indeed, there had been earnest discussion among certain authorities to pass her over that rank entirely and raise her at once to that of 'Vanguard', for the deed she had accomplished, namely the defeat of the Nemesis scouts in close quarters, was no small matter and not unworthy of such standing. Yet this proposal was set aside for a time, partly because the Imperial Fleet wished no undue attention drawn to her circumstances, and partly because it would have sat ill with tradition and sense alike for a vanguard to be bonded to a hatchling still so young.

  And as for Saeryn itself, its growth and proper development were matters of the gravest importance to every party concerned, weighed and discussed with care and no little concern.

  Thus matters had come about as they now stood.

  Set upon an observation station high above the feeding grounds, Seralyth and several other cadets watched as the dragons were given their weekly allotment of biomass. It was a sight to give pause even to the most seasoned observer, to behold so many great creatures, vast of size and ancient of aspect, consume in a short while the compacted heaps of biological matter laid before them.

  More remarkable still was the portion set aside for Saeryn, for where others were given modest mounds, its share rose instead like a small hill, heaped and waiting.

  'Are you sure you can eat this much?'

  The princess asked the question with quiet concern through the resonance they shared. She was no learned researcher of dracology, far from such a calling, yet even so she could see plainly that this was no ordinary measure of sustenance.

  Saeryn, however, didn't at first grasp the reason for her worry. On the contrary, it asked for more besides, insisting that it wouldn't be content until it had overburned itself upon what could scarcely be named food at all. Seralyth was left to reason that this hunger must stem from the great expenditure of energy the young dragon had endured not long before.

  'Alright, alright. I'm asking for more.'

  She drew out her personal pad and set about the task. Ordinarily such a request wouldn't have been so readily granted, but since she had been named a 'strategic asset' by the Imperium, certain allowances had been made in her favor.

  If only it didn't sit so much like nepotism in the eyes of others. Still, the true details of her incursion had been sealed away for the present, known only to a careful few.

  "Hey. The lone princess is back. Where have you been?"

  "Lyessa."

  "The one and only."

  Seralyth glanced over her shoulder and gave a brief nod of acknowledgement to the athletic woman behind her. It seemed that even beneath the weight of tension that lay upon the institute, Lyessa hadn't changed, neither in spirit nor in outward bearing.

  "I was caught in the assault. They kept me for a while to give testimony."

  It wasn't a lie, though it wasn't the whole of the truth either. Even so, it was enough to halt Lyessa mid-word, her eyes widening as understanding dawned.

  "Oh, wow. We weren't even allowed to board our dragons, much less fight."

  "That's for the best. Those weren't simple enemies."

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  "Uhum. You sound like the instructor now."

  "Do I? Shall I tell you to run a lap through the facility, then?"

  Lyessa laughed and raised her hands in mock surrender. "Spare this cadet, please."

  Seralyth rolled her eyes, a faint snort of amusement escaping her, and turned her gaze back to the feeding grounds. Saeryn appeared well satisfied now, its little mountain of sustenance having been restored.

  Lyessa followed her look and gave a quiet snicker at the sight.

  "Your dragon really loves biomass."

  "As far as I know, they don't have a true sense of taste."

  "Hmm. True," Lyessa said with a nod. "But I suppose the comfort of a full belly still counts for something."

  'Is it?'

  Seralyth tilted her head slightly and sent the question along the bond to Saeryn. The dragon took some time to grasp the idea, turning it over in its thoughts, but when at last it understood, it agreed, if only because a fuller mass allowed it to draw more thermal energy.

  "You are correct."

  "Eh? Did you just ask?"

  "Yes."

  "That is... jeez." Lyessa shook her head, voice so low as a whisper. "I can barely trade words with my dragon outside synchronization."

  "Hm?"

  "No, nothing. I should check in on my companion too. Catch you later."

  Seralyth lifted a hand in a faint wave and didn't linger on the exchange. Her thoughts had already drifted back to Saeryn, and to the ordered sequence of days that awaited them.

  There would be a strict and demanding regimen of growth and development ahead, not only for the bond they shared, but for each of them as individuals. The institute, moved by the weight of the Imperium's interest, had devoted its facilities without reserve to their aid.

  It would be a weary and taxing routine, full of strain, yet she welcomed it all the same.

  For only through such trials would she be made ready to stand and fight in the vanguard of the war that was yet to come.

  ???

  So it came about that the days went by in that fashion, one following another with a steady tread, like beads slipping upon a string, each much like the last and yet carrying its own small weight.

  Seralyth made the halls of the research facility into a second dwelling for herself, and there, under the careful and persistent instruction of Rynna, she set herself to the task of bettering the incantations she had learned, striving to bind several workings together into a single formulae, where once they had stood apart.

  From this endeavor there arose a small incident, though small only in name, for the princess had until that time kept hidden the manner in which she had overcome the frailty of her mortal frame, and how she had drawn upon Saeryn and its draconic strength so that the incantations might be wrought through borrowed might rather than her own alone.

  It was a matter of such consequence that it came very near, and indeed nearly succeeded, in making Rynna address her not by title or station, but by her given name.

  Even so, a breakthrough of this kind had never before been witnessed. The community of researchers, pressed though they were by urgency and looming threat, found themselves stirred into a rare excitement, eager to examine and comprehend what had been achieved. They urged Seralyth to demonstrate the method to them, and pressed her harder still to carry it further, to refine it beyond its present bounds.

  If only such things were so easily done. What Seralyth had accomplished under the strain and terror of battle had come to her as breath comes to the drowning, without pause or careful measure, for when one stands upon the edge between life and death there is no room left for doubt or delay.

  Here, within the ordered walls of the experimentation chamber, she found herself unable to let the incantations flow together into a single, unified working. There was, besides, a want of full understanding. She could look back upon her own actions and, through knowledge, grasp them more clearly, and from that clarity attempt to repeat them with greater force and scale, yet the certainty of battle was absent.

  In this struggle, Rynna proved decisive. The eager researcher clung to Seralyth like a restless spirit bound by ancient vows, hovering always at her side, questioning, prodding, and drawing from the princess every scrap of mental effort she could give.

  Beneath this unrelenting pressure, little by little, Seralyth improved her efficiency, and began not only to refine what she already knew but to contemplate and shape new formulae for future use. At the least of it, she held a quiet confidence that she could call upon「 Axiom Overdrive 」should the need arise.

  Yet the burden of attention didn't fall upon her alone. Saeryn, in truth, had become a chief focus of the institute and of the Imperium itself where matters of development were concerned. The young dragon had displayed nearly every abnormality one might imagine, and this was enough to kindle an interest greater than any that had been shown before.

  To strengthen its abilities, the dragon was subjected to a most austere regimen. Its body was drilled and tested so that it might better endure the harsh conditions of near-vacuum in the reaches beyond the world. Its organs and its systems were examined and pressed toward greater efficiency, for it was deemed wasteful how much energy it expended without purpose when wielding its biochemical weapons.

  Nor did the trials end there. Again and again the dragon was brought forth to have its limits measured, its growth observed, and its peculiar traits recorded. Particular attention was paid to its ability to warp, even though such manifestations were irregular and had arisen without warning.

  By that time it was plain that the Imperium believed, with full conviction, that the young dragon was different in some important respect, and yet, aside from what figures and readings could show, they were still unable to say in what manner that difference truly lay.

  Saeryn did not delight in this scrutiny. It longed for the days when it could play and soar in the exosphere, and share time with its kin. Now it was bound to an endless sequence of duties, one following another without rest between. If only it might have refused them, yet Seralyth’s own stubborn resolve and eagerness for self-improvement left the dragon with no path of escape.

  It could endure even less the sight of its companion labouring so tirelessly to better herself while it remained idle.

  Yet neither Seralyth nor Saeryn stood alone or apart from all else. As they honed themselves, the world, or rather the wider universe, continued to turn its great wheels.

  The Imperial Fleet, acting in the name of the Imperium, was driven into constant motion by the act of aggression that had been suffered. Its reach was extended across the solar system and into the surrounding reaches, held at the highest state of alert, determined that they wouldn't be taken unawares a second time.

  Should any disturbance be sensed in the fabric of the universe, they wouldn't pause or hesitate to intervene.

  Caeloryn, too, was much changed. The small astral body was reshaped and armed, standing as the foremost line of defence to shield their homeworld should events take a darker turn.

  Through dozens of transports each day, the moon was transformed into a grim and formidable stronghold, not only by the dragons stationed there, but by the great segments of orbital artillery set firmly into its stony surface.

  Even so, the greatest change was yet to come, and it came to Aerendyl. Through a chain of unexpected events, turmoil was loosed upon the planet.

  A turmoil that threatened the very legitimacy of Seralyth’s dynasty itself.