Gareth entered the research lab as quietly as he could. Talyarkinash was working on a screen with her profile towards him, tracing something on the screen with a nail painted green today. It looked like his silhouette on the screen, so she was probably calculating new options.
He cleared his throat as he got closer.
Talyarkinash turned and blinked in surprise. She took three steps across the lab and engulfed him in a hug, as short as she was.
“You did it,” she said. “I saw you on the morning news. It was glorious. You were glorious.”
Gareth untangled himself a little and leaned back enough to smile at her.
“You did it,” he said. “I was able to rescue Morty and Xiomber in that truck, along with another man, by having Baker bounce me to orbit. I could have never done anything like that without your help.”
“Morty? Xiomber” she cried with joy. “You found them?”
“And arrested them,” Gareth said. “They’re in custody downstairs while Baker and Grodray work out what to do with them.”
“What will happen?” she asked, leaning back herself until they only touched where hands contacted ribs.
“There is a precedence,” he grinned slyly. “Ex-criminals willing to turn state’s evidence and work with the Constabulary.”
“Like you?” she teased.
Gareth’s grin turned into a smile. Technically, he was an illegal alien, illegally upgraded. And trying to do good.
“I might know others,” he teased back. “Have you had breakfast? I’ve been using the Star Dragon form for hours and I’m famished. Plus, I want to talk to you about some things. I had a lot of time up in space alone, since the others were trapped in an emergency cocoon. They could wave, but I had nobody to talk to except Baker and Grodray.”
She stepped back and turned to her workstation, hitting a button to save everything and power it down for now.
“I would love to join you for breakfast, Gareth,” she said. “What did you need?”
“On the one hand, I have a few questions about maybe upgrading the Star Dragon,” he replied. “Or maybe creating a second, larger form I could shift into when I needed to go beyond the normal for size and strength.”
“Okay,” she said, moving towards the door and opening it. “That’s actually along the lines of what I have been working on up until now. What was the second part?”
“How will the average person react to seeing me as a dragon?” Gareth asked. “I will become a symbol of fear to the criminals, which was what I intended, but will the rest of the Accord of Souls see me as one of the Chaa returned? Will they think I’m a god?”
“Oh, Gareth,” she leaned close and placed a palm on the chest of his grinder wool blazer. “That’s not something I can help you with. You’ll need a priest, or maybe a philosopher.”
“No,” Gareth corrected her. “What I need is a friend.”