Before the sun rose, Rylan arrived at Rover with his arms full of packages, he set them on the counter and tossed Aura a thick cut of rare steak.

  “As promised “ he said.

  She narrowed her eyes, giving it the briefest sniff before picking it and dashing off to the corner with her back to them.

  Rylan chuckled, “I never thought I’d see a dragon in my lifetime and now I’ve seen three in one week.” He shook his head then looked at Lionel. “It is pretty spectacular but I don’t envy the road ahead of you.” His voice was heavy with concern.

  “We’ll be alright.” For some reason, Lionel wished Aura were right beside him to rest his hand against her scales.

  She lifted her head from her steak.

  “Eat the steak.” He smiled, feeling comforted by her acknowledgement.

  “I’ll drop the other supplies in the kitchen.” He called over his shoulder as he left the main deck, “It’s just a couple of long-life foods that were growing dust.”

  Lionel knew arguing against Rylan was a pointless endeavour so he focused on Aura instead.

  “Ready to get to work?”

  She licked her lips and sniffed toward the kitchen, but his question drew her attention.

  “I will run surveillance on the Silent Drifter, returning to Rover before my camouflage fades.” She sat upright, her claws tucked carefully against the floor, “I need to memorise the movements of the prey humans who hold our treasure and report back to you.” She repeated, almost verbatim with a few choice changes.

  Lionel couldn’t help but roll his eyes. Rylan had only gained her agreement by appealing to her nature - stealing from humans was far beneath her, but growing a hoard was a worthy endeavour for any dragon.

  “And under no circumstances,” Rylan said, reappearing and dusting his hands off, “are you to intervene or attack.”

  Lionel nodded, he couldn’t risk Aura being discovered. Aura lowered her voice to a disgruntled grumble that even Lionel couldn’t translate and then raced across towards the airlock to soar, invisible, among the stars. She wouldn’t have far to fly now that Rover had relocated close to the main deck.

  “Meet us at the third dock in two hours - sharp.”

  “She’ll do a great job.” Lionel paused, he wasn’t sure if he was trying to reassure Rylan or himself. “I wanted to ask you - why the Silent Drifter?”

  Of all the ships to target, the Silent Drifter was formidable. Its crew were notorious for flying to the most dangerous, high-risk locations. The main crew always returned but the same couldn’t always be said for the rest.

  “They have amazing gear,” Rylan smirked, popping a hard candy into his mouth and biting down on it with a loud crunch.

  “Cut the crap Rylan. Don’t forget I know you.”

  Rylan leant against the counter ledge. “Captain Wilhem's is due for a comeuppance.” Rylan took a steadying breath using the time to think. Lionel waited watching the indecision flash across his friend's face, whatever his thoughts once Rylan made up his mind, and he stuck to it. Rylan nodded and continued his story.

  “Last month Seraphine and Jacob were aboard his ship; it should have been a regular scavenge except Wilhelm took the crew to the Waterfall. That would be dangerous enough but he wouldn’t have earned more than a slap on the wrist. But his crew forced Jacob to lower over the falls in the hopes of retrieving a moon stone.” Rylan’s hands clenched into fists. “And when it became obvious that it was a fool’s errand Wilhem prepared to cut the cables and abandon him. If it wasn’t for Seraphine launching herself from the ship and rescuing him, Jacob and maybe even Seraphine would have died on Silent Drifter.”

  Lionel’s face scrunched. Moon stones were precious but to risk any life like that went against all the scavenger code. “Wilhelm should have his captain's rights stripped.”

  “The authorities won’t do that. But the Ghosts will take care of it.”

  Everyone knew the stories of the Ghosts. A faction operating within The Dump to level the playing field. Any misfortune that befell a crew usually ignited the whispers but when the Ghosts strike most scavengers agreed it was justified: case in point when a captain abandoned orphans to die.

  “So you’re thinking it will happen anyway so why not benefit from it?”

  It still didn’t ring quite true to Lionel.

  Rylan gave him a pointed stare, lips drawn to a thin line. as if Lionel was missing out on an obvious joke.

  “Holy Crap! You’re a ghost!” How hadn’t he put this together before now - that was how Rylan always knew everything in advance and perhaps why he had such authority over the orphans on the docks.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  Rylan inspected his nails, “I merely check that no one is taking advantage of us. Before we arrived orphans used to be pressured into the most dangerous jobs - we were considered expendable and apparently some captains still think that way.”

  “How long have you been a ghost?”

  “About two years now but I’m one of many.”

  Aura blasted back into the room, spinning eagerly in a circle.

  “The humans didn’t notice me.” She interrupted them, “They had drones and detections that were too weak to sense my overwhelming strength.” Her chest puffed up as she rose to her full height. “Most humans are foolish to rely only on their robots.”

  Lionel pursed his lips together to keep from laughing.

  “And they leave their treasures almost unguarded.” She sounded truly horrified. “It sits in a shielded box. They deserve to lose it. We will protect it better.”

  Lionel heard that dragons guarded their hoard ferociously, some even storing it within volcanoes. He gulped wondering where he would find one of those in his future.

  “What about the number of humans onboard or the patterns they move?”

  She thought for a moment. “I did not take notice of that. They are all weak.”

  Lionel conveyed most of the information to Rylan.

  He nodded. “I have other plans to finalise. Send me further updates through our interface.”

  Lionel and Aura spent the next hour running reconnaissance and reporting to Rylan. Two crew members remained on deck and another guarded the gangplank, it appeared that the rest of the crew were off the ship. Four drones patrolled the perimeter but barely strayed from their simple square formation. The most advanced technology was invested in anti-surveillance measures but those were no match for Aura.

  Lionel threw her a second steak before he left, jogging to their rendezvous point. The sun was cresting over the fourth moon scattering early morning light. The overhead lights blinked out creating deep pockets of shadows. Lionel ducked behind the fuel storage unit and nodded at Rylan. Crouched beside him was a young girl with purple streaks through her braided hair.

  “This is our vault breaker, you can call her Beatrice.” he pointed to the girl, “and this is our surveillance.”

  She nodded to Lionel, “I’m not sure how you made it past their blocking technology but I call that a good job.”

  “Just like I promised.” Rylan said, “Now we all understand the ship’s defences. Lionel - you’re up.”

  “Me?”

  If Beatrice was confused she knew better than to question Rylan’s plan.

  “You’re going to get us onto that ship. You’ll be off planet soon so there’s no problem if you’re recognised.”

  Lionel’s face scrunched.

  “Relax. Captain Wilhem is hiring, just go and sell your skills.” Rylan grabbed his shoulder, “But don’t give up easily - no matter what I want your feet on that deck.”

  Rylan gave him a brief shove out to the deck pier and it took all Lionel’s energy not to turn around and expose their hiding place.

  Just get on the ship. Lionel thought. How hard can it be?

  He strode up the pier to Wilhem’s ship. Its appearance resembled a retro pirate ship. Its hull was painted black with a few dwindling stars at the aft as if drifting away from civilisation. Oversized blasters dominated the main deck with several manual blasters dotted among the rails. The Silent Drifter was built for attacks. He shrugged his backpack higher and steeled himself to approach.

  “Morning.” He called, waving his hand.

  The guard didn’t bother looking up, instead he remained twirling a dagger around his fingers.

  “What do you want, kid?”

  “I heard Wilhelm’s hiring -

  “Captain Wilhem.” He corrected. “And what’s that to you?”

  “I want to sail with the Silent Drifter.”

  The guard finally looked up. “What would we do with a scrawny fella like you? You barely look big enough to reach the controls.”

  Lionel resisted his instincts to correct his rudeness.

  Sell myself.

  “I’m a hard worker - fast and smart.” He wanted to say he followed orders well but they might see through that lie too quickly. Calling another captain had never agreed with him. It’s why he built Rover in the first place, he didn’t plan to answer to someone else anytime soon. “I’m good with maintenance and navigation but if you only want a cleaner I know how to keep my head down.”

  “How much did you make on the first dragon scavenge? It’s a little early to be scavenging again.”

  Lionel mumbled.

  “Speak up.”

  “I didn’t go on the scavenge.” He almost shouted.

  The guard pushed off the rail, finally storing his dagger in a sheath on his calf. “There’s no room for a coward on the Silent Drifter.”

  Lionel ground his teeth at the dismissal. He could feel his body beginning to shake - he was no coward.

  “Quaking in your boots again?” The guard laughed.

  Don’t give up easily.

  “I can build things too.”

  Lionel wished he didn’t have to stoop this low.

  “We already have an engineer.”

  “Better than that. I design and improve navigation tools.”

  “We don't need any home-made garbage, now get out of here. You’re wasting my time.”

  Another crew member had leant over the rails easing their voice enough to carry. “What’s up Jerry, can’t scare off a little kid anymore?” He guffawed.

  Lionel knew this wasn’t going well. He looked around but with the festival's topside, there was barely anyone around.

  He stepped onto the gangplank.

  The response was instant. The guard stepped out to block his path and shoved him hard in the chest. Lionel stumbled back and they gave each other a surprised look. That push should have left him on his ass. Lionel barely hesitated; he ducked under the man’s outstretched arms and sprinted up the gangplank.

  The second man blocked the entry so he launched to the side, grabbed the rails and vaulted over landing like a cat. He laughed at his increased athleticism. He could move similarly before but this felt smoother and more natural. He sprang up as three crew members descended upon him. Lionel knew his strengths and he wasn’t a warrior, speed wouldn’t help him as they restrained his arms and legs, lifting him like a doll.

  “Get him off my ship.” The deck froze at the captain's voice. Captain Wilhem was a large, sour-faced man. He had Hooded Eyes that held a permanent glare and tattoos that wrapped down his neck and arms and likely the rest of him if anyone was unlucky enough to get that close enough. “And Benson - report to my quarters now!”

  Benson sucked his teeth, he shouldered into Lionel as he passed skulking off with a glare that promised retribution.

  Thankfully the remaining guards were more gentle, they hauled him off and dumped him unceremoniously on the deck.

  Lionel’s head twisted in panic, questions racing through his mind. How far was he meant to take this? He could feel Aura worrying, her nervous energy pounding through him demanding action, lending her strength.

  And then he noticed it. Rylan and Beatrice were no longer concealed behind the storage unit, instead they shimmied their way up the shadow of the ship and while the crew were occupied, used their opportunity to drop silently over the bulwark.

  Lionel went limp letting the men carry him off the Silent Drifter.

  “Don’t let us see you again - we don’t give second chances.”

  At the same moment, Lionel’s interface pinged with a different location.

  Lionel’s lips thinned. Never mind being the surveillance guy, he just realised he was the damn distraction.