Tessa’s POV:

  The massive wall glowed with the brilliant oranges and yellows of a sunrise. But it was just a screen. The Morning Song was not present. I yawned and rustled my wings, trying to look bored. The air was also cool in here, so I snuggled up against Soranto’s neck.

  “There is nothing. It is pretty, but it does not make me want to fly the Morning Song.”

  Soranto sighed and told Drae, “Well, I didn’t think it would work, but it was worth a shot.”

  “We should be able to return tomorrow. She seems fine so far.”

  “The notes said that the fire lizards usually managed about a week without that sunrise dance before they became lethargic. She won’t be allowed back in outer space once we return, so I want to see if something else can trigger it. It isn’t as if we have anything else to do today.”

  “What do you have in mind?”

  “Let’s go visit the fighter pilots and see if any of them are bored. There is a planet about fifteen minutes away that is nearly the same distance from its star as the one back home. I’d like to take a shuttle to the sunrise side and see if it has any effect on her behavior.”

  I listened intently to their conversation. Several dragonets back home were rather keen to find out if the Morning Song could be sung away from Earth. Was it the rising sun on any planet? Certain types of stars? Or just Earth? The answer to this question would determine if the dragonets could ever leave the planet we called home for more than a few days.

  “As long as we have a suitable fighter escort,” Drae replied, “I can’t see anyone objecting if we stay that close.”

  “The fighter ships already have the new scanners installed, so it isn’t as if any remaining Votaks can sneak up on us.”

  It didn’t take Soranto long to somehow talk a dozen fighter pilots into accompanying us on a short flight. The volunteers might have been bored, or perhaps, they were interested in seeing if they could assist a bond animal. Either way, we soon had permission to go to the nearby planet.

  I peered out the window during our flight and wondered if this experiment would have a different result than the big wall screen. I peered out the window and tried to look relaxed as excitement and uncertainty bubbled up inside me. The light from the star ahead grew brighter as we approached the planet. I could see several of the accompanying fighters as they flew around us, constantly shifting positions.

  “Where do you want to go?” Drae inquired as he piloted the shuttle.

  “Land on the surface, if possible. Pick a place where the star is just about to rise. This planet is smaller and has a faster rotation rate than what Tessa is accustomed to, so the sunrise might happen too quickly for this to work. We can always hover at a higher altitude and try again, if need be.”

  The shuttle slowed as it neared the grey soil and touched down without stirring up too much dust. The window showed a dull view of rocks, craters, and dust. It was not a place I would want to live, even if this planet had a proper atmosphere.

  Suddenly, I tilted my head and stilled as I listened to something not audible to Kymari ears. It was there. The faintest hints of the Morning Song were building. Was a song of hope even possible on a dead planet like this?

  I slowly sat down as my eyes locked onto the rapidly brightening horizon. Soranto and Drae remained sitting in their seats as they watched me. Soranto recognized my pose and pulled out a small video recorder.

  The Song’s call was building quickly, matching the rate the star was rising. My wings partially unfolded, preparing for the dance to come. The tempo was a rapid one—it was going to be hard to match such a rhythm in flight.

  The cue to fly sent me launching myself into the air. The area inside the shuttle was confining, but no worse than being inside a house. It would have to work.

  My wing muscles strained to twirl around the tight corners that the dance called for. Joy shimmered in the back of my mind, but the hope that came flooding in with this song was staggering. I spun through the air. The planet was nothing but rock battered by asteroid impacts—it had nothing left to lose. That left it with nothing but hope and the phenomenal potential of what it could become.

  My song lacked the piercing notes and focused on swiftly changing warmer tones—expressing the heat that the star provided. It had light and heat. The asteroids had brought water. It was only a step away from realizing its potential for life.

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  I whirled around a circular area as hope radiated through my voice. The speed I was using during the short sunrise somehow accented that this planet would not see its potential shine tomorrow, nor the day after. Time. Everything took time.

  One day though. It would get there. If a friendly race gave a helping hand and assisted with some terraforming, it would flourish much faster. Only once it began to emerge into its potential, could it give back to those who had helped it. Then, it could give far more than it had received and help many more.

  This planet had nothing for the Morning Song to focus on as I sang of the new day—except for hope.

  With a final intricate swirl, my wings pulled me into a hover as the Song came to a sudden stop. I was breathing hard, but the very air practically rang with the hope this dusty, remote planet had.

  Hovering for a while longer, I watched the slightly orange star rapidly rise above the horizon. I turned my wings and sideslipped over to Soranto’s shoulder.

  “That was interesting,” Drae remarked. “Shall I start heading back?”

  “Yes, please. I’m pretty sure it was a success, but I’ll have to send the video to Taureen. Perhaps Alec as well—he studies their dances a lot. It’ll be hard to compare this to her previous dances since they vary so much.”

  “It was a bit fast, but it felt like the Morning Song. A planet with more life would probably be better. It’s hard to sing about the joy of a new day when there are only rocks.” The lingering aftereffects of the Morning Song echoed behind my words.

  The ground outside the shuttle was already growing distant as Drae took us back to the warship. Gazing out the window, I organized my thoughts and memories to share with Mom and Dad.

  This was going to be a long discussion, but we now had proof that the dragonets could leave Earth as long as we went to a planet with a similar sunrise. It wouldn’t change anything right away, but it was something to keep in mind for the future.

  I finished telling Mom and Dad everything by the time we docked. After a quick bathroom break, Drae and Soranto went into a large room with comfy-looking chairs and tables. Several other Kymari were scattered among the dozens of tables in the room, most of them reading or using a laptop or other device.

  “I have to write up a couple of reports,” Soranto told Drae. “Several people want to know what I saw in the Votak’s base, and I also need to document our experiment with Tessa. This room is big enough to let her fly around while I work on these.”

  They picked a corner table with a couple of laptops and sat down. Soranto set a container of fruit and a bowl of water on the table, then lifted his hand to me. I stepped onto his wrist guard, allowing him to lower me to the dark grey surface.

  “Go on.”

  I hopped onto the table and gave the fruit a cursory sniff before looking around, more curious about my surroundings than the snack at hand. The ceiling was quite high and had numerous painted murals adorning it. There wasn’t anything to perch on along the walls, but there was plenty of open flying room.

  There also happened to be several unsuspecting Kymari who had noted our entrance, but likely weren’t aware I had just been given permission to fly around. I spread my wings and took to the air, rapidly gaining height.

  Keeping close to the walls, I circled the room a couple of times. My flight also succeeded in distracting most of the Kymari in the room. None of them were afraid; rather, they were intrigued, as if I provided a welcome distraction.

  Diving down, I flared my wings and flew just above the floor as I weaved between table legs, choosing ones the Kymari weren’t sitting near. The sheer number of chairs and tables in the room created a very entertaining obstacle course.

  I turned it into a game, seeing if I could use the tables and chairs to prevent those in the room from seeing me as I flew around. It was surprisingly difficult, especially with the amount of space between the tables.

  Eventually, I gave up and slipped under Soranto’s table. He wasn’t wearing most of his armor, although he did have his heavy patrolling boots on. The sturdy footwear was probably supporting his ankle and kept the pain in check.

  The lack of grass, twigs, and rocks made this room boring. I wandered over to his uninjured leg and jumped onto the end of his boot, balancing on top. Then I bounced a few times.

  Soranto leaned over and gazed under the table. “And what are you doing down there?”

  “Being a pest.”

  With a chuckle, he reached down and snagged my harness in his fingers. The leather easily supported my weight as he picked me up and set me on the table. I simply sat there for a few moments, blinking in shock. No one had ever picked me up by my harness before. That had been a new experience.

  I shook myself off hard, letting my scales chime. “That was kind of fun. Like flying without any effort.”

  The smell of fruit was too good to pass up at this moment, so I went to get a snack.

  “She didn’t seem particularly impressed with that,” Drae observed.

  “Well, she didn’t squawk, glare, or complain, so it’s hard to say. I think I caught her off-guard though. She’ll probably make her opinion clearer the next time I do it.”

  Drae’s wrist comm beeped, and he checked it. “Unless something sneaks behind the fighter line, we’re scheduled for a shuttle ride back home tomorrow morning.”

  “Excellent. I’ll let the others know.”

  As I munched on a piece of fruit, I contacted Mom. “Guess what? I’m coming home tomorrow morning!”

  “I can’t wait to see you again,” Mom said, “Ask Soranto to let Taureen know which shuttle he’s on. That way we can track the arrival time and meet you at the port.”

  “I will. How is Adeline doing? Any juicy tidbits for me to share with Soranto later?”

  “She managed to talk Taureen into returning her fusion blaster, although she got home before she realized that he had taken out the power core. Soranto can pick it up the next time he visits. What else haven’t I told you yet…”

  I nibbled on another piece of fruit as she mentioned everything she could remember.