FSE

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formerly SoFurry search engine

During the Second Great Expansion, habitable systems left behind by the long-forgotten empire were being rediscovered at a rapid pace. Most of these had life on at least one world, or a few large moons of a close-orbiting gas giant. Some even had a primitive civilization the Commonwealth had to decide what to do with. All were reptilian of some kind, the signature of the imperial colonizers of millennia past, and many were still clearly dragons, or draconic-derived at least. But none had maintained technology above pre-industrial feudalism when encountered by the Commonwealth.

But in the binary system of Merak, a somewhat diminutive race was discovered to have not only maintained their original colony, but had developed simple solar sails to spread into their main asteroid belt, and even claimed a foothold among the smaller moons of the failed star at the system's edge. Their colonies sported a wide array of defenses, from primitive deflectors to missile and laser weapons, and yet they were seemingly open and welcoming. The colony ship sent to make the first close inspection of the system had hardly registered all the energy signatures of the system's habitations when a message in the old imperial codes was beamed to them, directing them to the system's primary world, a blue and green place teeming with life the locals called Raddan.

The specific coordinates indicated a large valley surrounded by mountains, a fertile place ideal for establishing a colony. From their orbital scans, the Commonwealth ship could see that those same mountains offered a view of the planet's largest city, albeit from a safe distance. It took the science crew a few hours to determine that the life in the valley was all imported from other imperial worlds; nothing would be a hazard to the colonists or crew. And for three weeks, they were simply left to establish themselves in peace. Just enough time for a small village to spring up, and some farms to put seeds into the dark soil.

Her claws trailed over the keyboard of the ship she was currently residing in, her feet swinging to the beat of some band that had been fashionable decades ago. She was a sucker for old music, especially as a Dragon. She herself was rather young, having just recently completed the political school of the Commonwealth with top marks.

She hummed to the sound of a guitar as she wrote down her weekly report a day ahead of schedule. She was precise and always followed the rules; after all, decades upon decades of research had formed them to be the best there is for first contact.

She was just an intern really well, something akin to that. The official term was "Associate First Contact Ambassador trainee observer... pff." She licked her muzzle as a lock of her fiery red hair fell over her blazing green eyes. Her teal-coloured scales were gleaming in the light of the setting sun. The village well, more like the base had been created with most long-term amidites, some farms, some handy workers and of course the...

She had really struck gold when she was chosen for this mission. Everyone would love to make a first contact or at least observe. She was planned to be with the real ambassador as some kind of busy dragon. She would write down, observe, shut up and try to be a shadow, but it would always be in her lifelog that she already had experience and was there on a first contact mission. Gosh, it was so exciting. A shiver ran down her spine.

She was naked inside her room inside the spaceship that was the townhall. She had one of the few fully technical rooms with a shower, a kitchen and everything else a full flat, so to say while eighty percent of the staff was basically new on this planet and had to build everything anew, of course with the help of tools. The locals had a first visit well, a second visit soon and she was to be with the ambassador and she was burning for it. "This is gonna be a lot of fun."

An electronic chime sounded from the door, followed shortly by the voice of Captain Ellison. Up until the forthcoming thawing of Administrator Eliza Dagget and her staff, due to occur once the colony was properly established, the Captain would remain the top authority figure for the colonists.

"Alica, the delegates are assembling at the main gangway. Our outer sensor ring has picked up a convoy of locals on their way to our periphery, and it was decided that it would be prudent to meet them on the fringes. Be prepared to depart in five."

She jumped up from her place, excitement blazing in her eyes. Her wings even made soft little wiggles and her tail swished gently.

“YES, Captain.” She chuckled before turning around, tripping over the clothing on the floor and crashing into her bed. A following “AHHH” was cut off by a soft thump as she crashed flailingly into the side of it. It was immediately followed by a groan of pain as she sprawled onto the ground like a comic figure. Alica was known to be quite the airhead sometimes.

“F..fuck, that hurts, oww..”

She turned around, stretching her wings, hoping that the captain did not hear the commotion, but that was probably just wishful thinking. She hurriedly stood up before rushing to the drawer and getting new clothing.

Exactly four minutes later, her glimmering scales were combined with a soft orange-colored dress accentuating her figure. Some would maybe even call her a hot office secretary, at least in some shows. She had a pair of glasses on her snout; they were needed for farsight since she had, contrary to most members of her race, bad eyes. She could get it fixed easily, but she loved how the glasses looked on her snout, and until she was a fully fledged, recognized political figure, her salary was pretty small and treatment for her eyes was really expensive.

Several members of the first contact team were already assembled, including the Captain and another human, Ambassador Thompson. The remaining members were each a unique species, to showcase the diversity of the many peoples populating the Commonwealth. This was a bit of an exaggeration, as many of the races were derived from human hybridization with species native to their homeworld, or had been genetically engineered by one of the Terran races. Perhaps the most exotic member of the team was a Siren, a name given by popular convention, as the species' own name for themselves was utterly unpronounceable. This one, a female named Sirit, was essentially a bottlenose dolphin from Old Earth with magenta and lavender skin, save for a swath of pale green on her belly, that floated in the corridor as if submerged in water, thanks to her species having telekinetic abilities. She was also able to read minds and project thoughts, which made her an ideal translator.

~Alica, you made it!~ The Siren nudged her friend's neck with her beak. ~It's so exciting, we're finally getting to meet the natives! I do hope they're as curious about us as we are about them. The first rediscovered system to have preserved Imperial technology!~

Alicia smiled softly, her nervousness floating away in her friend's mental talk. ~Sirit! You feel more excited than I am.~ She chuckled as they stayed behind the high-ranking personnel. She was pureblood; she could, if she wanted to, over a couple of hours transform into a feral version of her bloodline, but it was painful, extremely energy-intensive and something she had rarely done in her life. The Dragon race or at least thirteen percent of them could transform. The only exceptions were the Crystal dragons and most of the half-breeds. The Crystal dragons were a far-away mystery even for the most ancient dragon races and heralded like high royalties, while half-breeds mostly got the genetic compliments from the mother and there were far fewer female dragons willing to intermingle than the other way around, especially considering their rigid and stiff traditions that most dragons cherished as one of the original races in the Commonwealth.

She jumped when she heard a sound and straightened up. Her friend would be one of the key personnel with her powers; she was just again lucky to be her friend actually. She straightened her dress, making sure she was presentable but not too attracting. She needed to watch out and make sure to not make a bad impression. She looked around and saw several armed guards that were there if things went south. Their weapons were all non-lethal and only for protection. She winked at one of the cute leopards in the military coat; he blushed and waved back. She knew him; he was cute and was hitting on her. She didn't mind that much but it would take a bit to actually make her receptive.

As the last of the assembly arrived, the Ambassador cleared his throat. "All right, everyone, remember what we've practiced. We want to make friends out there today, not enemies. We know next to nothing about this culture, so we proceed with every available precaution. Honor guards, remember that you are here mostly for show, and even in disaster you are strictly to defend us, not to retaliate. Sirit will do the hard work of translating for us, but remember to look at the one speaking, not our translator. I will do most of the talking for the Commonwealth, but if anyone has an insight, do not hesitate to share it with me. This may be the most important first contact in a century, but if everyone stays calm and collected, I think we'll make an excellent first impression."

The Captain made a small gesture, and the main gangway yawned open, letting the yellow light of midafternoon spill into the ship. The assembly took to a collection of small solar-powered vehicles that had been arranged for them just off the ship's bow, and in a matter of moments they were off, moving out across the gently rolling terrain on an intercept course with the incoming band of locals. Sirit swam through the air above the convoy.

The air was sweet with the scent of wild grasses and a dozen species of tiny flowers. Out away from the ionized air that perpetually surrounded the ship, even the scent of the dark earth under their wheels became more appealing. As they spotted the native group's transport in the distance, Alicia saw something small and furtive dash away in between pockets of larger tufts of grass. There was even a soft, gentle cacophony of singing insects, bachelors by the millions courting any potential mate close enough to hear.

She had known that the planet was, despite the high technological standard which usually led to pollution and the destruction of the ozone layer, an absolutely beautiful place full of life. Usually this level of technological finesse was the start of a series of chain reactions ending in the destruction of the civilisation, but these natives had somehow integrated the old tech with their planet, not only creating clean energy way before the quantum age but also actively cleaning the atmosphere. It was quite the impressive achievement. She was sitting in one of the backseats, her eyes gazing over the wide meadow, enjoying the breeze and the smell of nature unlike anything she had been able to do before.

The convoy stopped their vehicles near the crest of a hill, just inside the colony's outer sensor ring. This gave them just enough time to arrange themselves into their practiced positions before their visitors arrived. Trundling up the gentle rise of the far side of the hill was a single conveyance, a vehicle almost beastlike in its construction, that outwardly had the look of burnished copper cladding over a massive, five-legged terrestrial trilobite, with only the obvious windows making it clear that it was a vehicle at all. The metallic crawler was as large as a house, and it hissed with released gas pressure when it finally came to a stop. A dull whirr emanated from it as its legs folded underneath itself, settling the body to the ground, and the foremost of its plates split, retracting up and to either side, permitting the native inhabitants of the system to emerge.

Five figures stepped forth, bedecked in voluminous robes of blue and grey, armed with extensive instrumentation of obvious scientific nature that served each of the party differently one used to enhance one's vision like a set of nested monocles, another sporting mechanical arms to sweep the area with several sets of hand scanners at once, each visually distinct and marked with similar symbols as appeared in embroidery on the robes of the one that bore them. The creatures were somewhat diminutive, the tallest among them only half the height of the Commonwealth's Ambassador. They were some manner of reptilian, as was expected from a former imperial system, with what could be seen of their scaled skin ranging in color from red to orange and brown. Their hands bore four digits in total with short claws which looked to be deliberately blunted, and only the one in the center, clearly in a position of leadership, sported horns that reached through the fabric of its robes.

The creatures' actions put their honor guard on edge, but the Captain silently urged them to keep calm, and their guns down.

Her heart throbbed upon spotting the one with the horns. She was an absolute sucker for lizardfolk, especially if they somewhat resembled dragons. He looked so adorable, and they were all only half her size!

Gosh, did she hope that they were on the more cuddly side of things; she would die to actually hug one of these so badly. She had positioned herself in the back so as not to disturb the first real politically willing contact. She was just a footnote after all, and her form was pretty well hidden. She had learned to blend in just as well.

Her hair was softly waving in the wind, and her jet black horns gave off a soft shine. Her wings fluttered before settling onto her back. Her tail softly coiled around her leg while she observed the little ones from the back. She wondered how this would work out, how this would proceed.

She knew that there had been really bad incidents with broken customs, but with such an advanced and intelligent race, it should be nigh impossible to screw up. After all, everyone could see the benefits of a union, especially for the ~What were they called? Kobolds?~

Sirit whistled quietly as she replied. ~Kobold, Cobalt, something like that. Of course, their word for themselves may have changed since the collapse of the empire.~

The horned creature spoke in a sonorous tone, making wide gestures with its hands. Its words sounded odd to Alicia, almost familiar but not quite discernible, perhaps derived from the same root language as her own, but now having drifted just past the point of being understood. Sirit was thankfully able to read the being's thoughts and relay its intent. ~I bid you, strangers of many worlds, to be welcome. Long have we awaited the return of the star-dwellers, but we did not expect so many beings to be counted among them. We have tended our world as instructed, reclaimed the lost sky-mines, and charted the paths of every stone in the heavens great enough to endanger this treasured place. All have been sent deep into the far-sky. We will risk no hurt to the promised world-jewel. Though you are not the Great Ones of old, we honor your wisdom, and ask only that you care for this place as we do.~

The Ambassador smiled and bowed respectfully. "I thank you for such a gracious welcome. We"

The visitors all reacted with shock, two of them grasping at their heads while the others waved their hands around in warding gestures. "Wug-wulla! Wug-wulla!"

Sirit's voice sounded pained, as if she would be wincing if her face were capable of such an expression. ~I am sorry, Ambassador, it seems I cannot translate. They seem to be very defensive about it. The words they use roughly mean mind-witch. It seems reading others' thoughts is a severe offense to them. Should I withdraw?~

While she attempted to explain, the kobolds seemed to become increasingly agitated, fiddling with their devices, withdrawing more from among their robes and working their controls to ends no one was quite sure of. This sense of tension spread into the Commonwealth's delegation, and soon nearly everyone was muttering and fidgeting nervously.

She had lost herself a bit in the sound of the language; it was as if she could nearly understand it. Some of the words were even recognisable. She had understood some of them since they were so similar, but almost no one besides the dragons spoke draconic actually it was forbidden. It was one of the stupid prideful things dragons did. She could speak draconic pretty well and she was sure this was some kind of subservient language to it. She jerked when she heard the term; it was a feeling of negativity and anger. She had no idea why but even though it was not really her place she said in clear and plain draconic, "Please, calm down little ones. Can you perhaps understand me? She is not a threat but a friend so we can understand each other better." She had absolutely no idea why the urge to talk had overtaken her. She could get fired no, worse, expelled with a bad reputation mark!

The visitors' heads snapped up as Alicia spoke, and just as quickly they huddled close together, muttering amongst each other. One of them swung a huge book clad in metal from off of their back, and poured over it frantically. The leader eventually tapped urgently at one of the pages. The one with the extra arms stepped forward and spoke haltingly, overemphasizing to correct for a lack of familiarity with the ancient imperial dialect. "Drakka? Speak you? Speak old words?"

The horned one stepped forward also, hands waving to part the crowd in front of Alicia, who did so at the Ambassador's reassuring nod. "Flying fish head-speak what you say, too. Head-speak long forbidden. Bad magic. Stop-make her."

The Ambassador nodded to Sirit's translation, which was similar in essence to Alicia's understanding of their broken use of the old dialect. "We'd better refrain from upsetting them further. Go ahead and move back, just to make it clear we're complying with their wishes." He turned to look at Alicia directly. "Can you make out what they say? To any reasonable degree, that is."

Alicia's eyes widened and she instantly blushed and lowered her head in a soft bow. "Please excuse me Ambassador. I... I have acted rashly. Yes I... I could understand the words somewhat. It's a subservient language of my mother's tongue. As you maybe know it is forbidden for non-dragons to even learn it, even Sirit has problems reading the meanings out of my mind because of..." She stopped herself, realising she was overexplaining. "I can understand them. He asked me if I speak the old language. He also asks to stop Sirit from reading their minds. They see it as bad magic and it should be stopped immediately..."

He sighed heavily and shrugged. "Well then, I suppose we have little option left to us. You are now our only reliable means of translation that does not risk offending our hosts. As such, I hereby appoint you as Envoy to the native species on behalf of the Commonwealth. If it is acceptable to them, you are to remain with their delegation while you work to produce a more permanent solution, either providing us with a translation of their modern language, teaching them the foundations of Interstellar Basic, or some other means of fluid translation. You may bring whatever members of our staff or guard they will allow you to help facilitate this mission, and we will of course remain in contact."

As he said this, he waved to one of the technical attachés, retrieving a handheld communicator and extending it in her direction.

She stared absolutely flabbergasted at the guy holding out the communicator, frozen and extremely self-conscious all of a sudden. "I.. I.." She looked at the ambassador and took a deep breath. "I will... try my best Ambassador. It would be best if you or anyone you assign would come. I am... way above my paygrade or education here, at least in experience, and I could use a guiding hand that... knows what they are doing..." She looked at the kobolds and gave them a curtsy before talking. "I am sorry that we have offended you. You speak my language really well for someone without fire. We did not mean to offend you in any way." She also translated what the ambassador had said. "If that is agreeable with you."

The kobolds moved in close, the rest of the Commonwealth delegation making some room as they circled around her, oohing and ahhing at her clothes and wings and tail. The horned one stayed at her front and extended both hands to her. "You come with us? Teach us star-people words?" The others nodded excitedly, grinning like fools as they began reaching out and stroking at her legs and tail, muttering to themselves too quietly to be heard. Their leader stayed as he was, smiling up at her warmly. "We take you, show you city, you speak to Matriarch. You safe, hoard-guest, yes. Bring four. Sacred number, five."

Her tail twitched out of the grabbing claws of these little things. She had to really hold her gleeful huff in; they were so cute. She looked at the ambassador. "They said I can bring four people with me. I would be more confident if you would choose... considering my experience." One of the guards came forward. "Sir, I am trained in hand-to-hand combat and personal defence. I have also served as a personal guard to a high noble for several years. Send me for the safety." The leopard struck his chest with his fist and smiled softly before looking at Alicia. "Envoy, if you would have me." She blushed a bit and nodded before looking at the ambassador. She could not bring her friend with her obviously; they were weary of her way of speaking. Maybe next time.

The Ambassador nodded and gestured to a nearby vixen. "Ariel, your literary studies will be useful in transliterating. I suspect your skill sets will complement one another nicely."

Ariel moved forward, snatching up a small satchel of texts and notebooks she was rarely seen without, though its content seemed to change almost hourly. The Vulpin was the sort to focus on her studies to such an extent that she ignored her appearance, and yet had the natural grace to look charming regardless. "Very well, sir. I expect I will require more research material than I currently have on hand, though."

"I expect so. Let us know what you need, and we'll make sure you get it in short order. This will also give more of our people a chance to see what their city is like, get them used to us coming and going."

"You aren't coming with us, sir?"

He shook his head. "I need to stay with the colony for the time being. I will deal with communicating the situation back to the Commonwealth. You all will be our voice inside their territory. But don't worry, if things go beyond your ability to confidently address the situation, that's what the communicators are for."

He pointed to a second guard of corvid descent, and then a young human male. "Tha'ax, you'll help with guard duty. Joseph, you're responsible for keeping records of everything. You're serving as logistical aide and historian. Make sure you account for everything that happens every day, to the seemingly inconsequential minutiae. Understood?"

Joseph nodded and looked at Alicia, smiling softly. The leopard, his name was Growl, nodded to his companion before Alicia turned around to the ambassador of the kobolds and smiled softly. "We have decided who will accompany me. I hope this is not an inconvenience. I would also like to learn your language as well. Would you guide us then? If I do anything or say anything that is offending please do not hesitate to tell me."

"Hah! No. No no no no no." The lead kobold laughed and shook his head as he took Alicia's hand and began to lead her into their conveyance, as if amused at the very thought that she might, or perhaps even could, offend them. "Come, yes. We speak. We learn. Come."

The other kobolds gently urged her on as well, or perhaps they were still just trying to touch her, but either way it felt like four little paws were lightly pressing her toward the coppery vehicle. The Ambassador's voice carried from behind before she had been pulled away altogether. "Remember, you needn't do so at once, but relate back to us an account of everything you see on a daily basis, anything that might be important."

The interior of the vehicle was full of activity. Kobolds of lesser status rushed about seeing to any number of details as they prepared to depart. Five of whom moved forward and, just as the outer door began to growl its way closed, began to ritualistically disrobe the five who had been addressing the gathering, taking their devices and handing them off to others, then taking their garments piece by piece until they had stripped down nearly as much as the other kobolds around them. The five representatives were left in only broad blue collars that nearly covered their shoulders and chests, and copper chain belts with blue fabric draped down the outside and back of each thigh and over the base of their tails, leaving their bellies exposed. The other kobolds, perhaps as a mark of lesser status, lacked collars, and most had only one leg draped in cloth, though the colors differed. For that matter, the colors of the kobolds themselves differed rather extensively, looking like someone had allowed a swarm of children run wild with a set of watercolor paints and pastels, with roughly half of them also bearing some kind of painted or tattooed markings.

After they had finished with the dignitaries, the horned kobold nodded to Alicia, and the servants turned to her party expectantly, paws out.

Her eyes sparkled and she had a really hard time not huffing loudly; they were extremely adorable and she had a strange urge to own them, as if some deep instinct was calling out to her to claim some not all, but some kobolds made the urge more pronounced.

"You undress? In our culture we usually do not undress; it is considered rude to others. Some might even feel uncomfortable to shed clothing." She made sure that the others got a translation of what was said as they settled beside her. The vehicle was surprisingly roomy and comfortable to be in.

The servants simply remained as they were, clearly trained to await compliance or instruction. The lead kobold looked to Alicia quizzically. "Eh? Unclothed? We no unclothed. Come. Sit." He gestured for the group to follow deeper into the vehicle, where chairs and reclining benches were arranged beside some tables that were supplied with some of the local produce, and a pyramidal pile of small meatballs, some of which had already been enjoyed on the way here. By their confusion, it seemed quite clear that these people either had no sense of indecency tied to exposing oneself, and thus had difficulty understanding such discomfort in others, or else their minimal garments constituted such coverings as they required for modesty.

On the way to the rear of the trundling vehicle, the group noticed that there were some guards present after all, stationed at a pair of narrow stairs that led to an upper deck. These wore no chain belt or draped cloth at all, but instead had armored shoulder pieces and what looked to be a leather belt hung diagonally across their chests, each equipped with a fancy spear and what seemed to be some kind of device, perhaps a weapon, in a holster at the low end of the belt. On seeing this, Tha'ax shrugged and spoke in his growling raspy voice, "When in Rome..." He then proceeded to disrobe, save for his belt on which hung his holstered weapon, and the upper portion of his chest protection, which was the closest he could come to the kind of pauldrons the kobolds wore. He handed the rest of his garb to one of the servants, earning some smiles and a few of the kobold envoys slapping their thighs, perhaps as a sign of approval. The raven simply gave a split-beak grin and shrugged at the looks from his compatriots. "What? They have their scales, I have my plumage. It isn't like anyone is actually indecent." It was true enough; both Tha'ax and the kobolds all seemed to keep their 'equipment' inside their bodies.

Growl looked at Tha'ax and nodded. "You are absolutely correct. I would guess our local human would be bothered as well as the envoy." He undressed himself. The belt strapped just like the guards', his muscular body a sight to behold. Different to the raven, he had a thick sheath and low-hanging massive balls, but they were all packed in short hiding fur. He was used to running around in the buff on his homeplanet; clothing did deliver protection but as the raven said, when in Rome. He gave his clothing to one of the servants and grinned, looking at the blushing human male Joseph, who was fire red and shook his head. "Absolutely not, no." He looked at the envoy pleadingly. She just nodded softly. "The host did not insist on us undressing. I would be comfortable without clothing but I wouldn’t want to excite the guards or our hosts." She had a soft blush on her muzzle, looking up and down both guards before looking back and sitting down softly, thanking the ambassador for his hospitality.

The kobold Ambassador nodded as Ariel took a spot on a reclining bench. He speared a treat with a claw and helped himself before responding. "You peoples, so many. Many skins, many kinds." He waved his hand around as if searching for the right words. "Many ... Many stars, you come?"

Another round of servants brought drinks to serve their guests as the rest of the delegation sat, or stood, as their roles dictated. Both pure water and what looked to be some drinks the natives had concocted, smelling similar to fruit juice, save for one that had a decidedly fermented scent. The horned kobold took a cup of that, much smaller than the other cups. It was a thick greenish fluid, almost the consistency of a milkshake. He was the only one to take the heady beverage, though he did offer it to Alicia with an inquisitive gesture.

One of the servants tended the guards' needs, offering tall ceramic cups of water, before looking each of them up and down with a grin, then teased Growl by rubbing their tail against his leg as they walked away and went back to their duty. It seemed that wasn't the only one giving the disrobed guards an appreciative glance. Even one of the kobold delegates, practically laying down on one of the benches, seemed quite interested in counting the leopard's spots.

Growl chuckled and waved at the kobolds, making sure to be straight and proper. He never forgot his duty though; he seemed nice towards the outside but he was observing everyone of them, giving them numbers according to an internal threat system and categorising their potential hostage level.

Alicia chuckled softly. "Your Draconic is surprisingly good but you use a lot of strange word combinations. It is to be expected since you are missing the fire to pronounce some of the syllables but it is quite remarkable that you are even able to speak it this far. Can you tell me, before I answer, who taught you this language? We have never seen another species able to understand or even use draconic. Even the mind witches as you call them cannot translate it because the language is from the soul and not from the wind." She took the beverage and gave it a soft sniff. "What is this?"

"Ancestors, tell story. Drakka, they make, long gone. Their words hard, our words softer. Same song, different singer. Your words, like Drakka words, but not. Same singer, new song." He nodded to her cup of green brew. "Is geesh. Keep lanith kalla in vessel, keep longer, make powerful. Makes blood hot, makes song loud."

Her nostrils tingled a bit before she took a small sip. The taste was quite pleasant and distinctive, alcoholic. "It tastes nice. Thank you for the explanation." She took another deep sip. "Why did you react like this upon hearing my language? It seems as if you all calmed down immensely and who is this matriarch you were talking about? Hoard Guests is a high honour."

He shrugged, not dismissively, but seemingly for lack of ability to explain what he felt should be obvious. "Matriarch is Matriarch. High mother. First mother." He leaned closer for emphasis before continuing. "Child of Drakka, of course you Hoard Guest. Less is insult. Kobold never insult Drakka. Never." He plucked another morsel from the table before dunking it in his drink, savoring the liquid slowly.

She followed his claws and took another sip. The beverage was quite delightful. "So, Child of Drakka, that is the name of the First Egg. So you are educated even in our religion or at least some version of it. I am not a believer of the first eggs, rituals for fertility, tinctures that kick off the first session of heat again, all things unprovable but, I do respect that you do. I wonder how far the beliefs differ. How long is the drive back to our destination little ones... what can I call you exactly? My Name is Alicia."

The kobold Ambassador blinked repeatedly before answering, seeming a bit confused. It seemed Alicia had begun speaking just a little too fast for him to keep up. "How ... long? 13 krelps walk. Or ... first sunset?" He placed a paw against his chest. "I Raan." He then tapped a claw against one of the symbols on his broad collar, a triangle with an eye in each corner. "Falgor Raan." Just to make sure his intent was clear, he tapped the symbol again, repeating "Falgor" twice more, then placed his whole paw on his chest to repeat "Raan." It would seem "Falgor" is some title, honorific, or other designation, while his actual name is simply Raan.

She blinked and apologised softly. "I am sorry, I will speak slower. You have problems understanding me right? Falgor Raan, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. May the wind be always in your wings." She dipped her head softly and drank the rest of the concoction. She could feel her inner fire burning and she snorted; a soft wad of smoke came out of her nostrils. "This liquid is making me heat up. That is some potent stuff."

Raan stood on his bench to lean over the table and reach out, touching her hand that still held the empty cup. His voice softened and his eyes shone, though perhaps it was from the drink. "You bless. I thank. Please, enjoy." He sat back down, gesturing to the rest of the food, while a servant surreptitiously refilled Alicia's cup, rounding the table to do the same for Raan as he drained the last sip.

Ariel and Joseph were speaking in Basic as they catalogued the foods the group were served, making observations about the different species they hadn't yet encountered and how they had likely been prepared. "How much do you want to bet the ones that are coming and going are gossiping for all their worth as soon as they're out of sight?"

Joseph chuckled softly and shook his head. "I won't bet against that. I've worked in the food industry myself. I know how servers talk."

The Dragoness took one and huffed softly. "No need to thank me. So how long until we arrive?" She looked at the food. "And what can you... recommend for me?" Her tail made a soft twitch as her eyes sparkled softly, showing clear signs of intoxication.

Raan smiled and chuckled softly. "Geesh sing its own song?" He tapped a knuckle to his cheekbone, then gestured to the whole table. "Take. All take."

One of the other dignitaries caught one of the servants by the shoulder and muttered something in their language, to which the servant smiled with a nod, and scurried off, returning presently with a small basin and a jar. Laying a heavy cloth over the reclining bench the other kobold reclined on, the servant proceeded to wash their feet, then apply oil from the jar, which was scented like some kind of mild blossom. The recipient of such attention closed their eyes and relaxed, seemingly content to nap until they arrived, or at least relax through the servant's foot massage.

Raan paid as little attention to this as he did anything else the servants were doing; his attention focused on his casual snacking and his most important guest. "Yes, again, first sundown, we arrive."

Judging by the motion of the landscape visible through the windows, that was not unreasonable. This conveyance wasn't particularly swift, so a good three or more hours before reaching the city was not a particularly bad estimate.

She blushed a bit upon realizing that she had asked twice. She gave Raan a disarming radiant smile before taking something from the bowl with the flesh balls.

Her tongue glided out, long and wet as it coiled around the ball before pulling it inside of her maw. Her eyes closed as she savored the moment, tasting the flesh as the sauce poured out of the meat.

Her tail twitched and her eyes opened with a shine before she swallowed. Her scales around her throat moved softly before her voice reached his ears. "I really enjoy the flavor." Her bright eyes looked at the kobold receiving the massage. A soft puff of smoke came out of her nostrils. "That looks relaxing. Is this some ritualistic massage or just a commodity some can enjoy?" Growl's voice reached from behind. "Can I ask something?"

Alicia twitched in surprise upon realising that she had forgotten about her retinue. She looked back at Growl, her eyes wandering over his body, making her feel strange, lingering on his massive balls and plump sheath a bit longer than was considered agreeable. "I am sorry, I have honestly forgotten that you all cannot understand. It has been so long since I spoke my egg mother's tongue, and the more a dragon speaks it the more they get focused because of the way it integrates with our souls. I need to watch every word I say because I am unable to lie; my words are binding so my focus is on not accidentally hurting myself or doing rash things." Growl looked surprised just like the rest. Of course they didn't know; they weren't dragons but that knowledge was not forbidden. It was just not mentioned that often. "I just wanted to know if we could get a massage as well. That Cobalt looks like he is sent to heaven." Alicia looked at the servant before back to Raan. "The question that was proposed is such: is it possible to also get a massage like this? My Protector is asking." There was no word for Bodyguard in their language and everything else than Protector implied heavy entanglement as a lover or parent.

Raan's ears perked up in surprise, though a pleasant one by the look on his face. And he was not the only one, as several others, both from among the kobold diplomats as well as some of the servants seemed to wear varying degrees of startlement, but always pleased or even excited in nature. "Mmm, yes. Happy to serve. Any, all, your group." He flicked his tail, thumping it against the reclining bench, and multiple servants moved off with greater speed than previously demonstrated. Perhaps because they were declared Hoard Guests, and therefore due special privilege, or maybe they were just that eager to provide for the newcomers.

Turning back to Alicia, he continued. "You ask what is. For relaxing. Oil warms, paws soothe. All was tight is loose. Can be ... what is word ... close? Can be simple." He made a gesture with both paws out, palm down, but it otherwise seemed similar to many cultures' way of saying 'more or less' or 'give or take'.

The servants returned with more basins and oil, and Growl was gently directed to be seated by the one who had touched him before. The others went around and silently offered to each of the rest of the party.

Joseph shook his head but bowed in thanks while Alicia observed the little ones. "Is it considered to be an honor? They seemed really excited." She took something from another plate and gave it a taste. Finding it pleasant enough she devoured a couple. "As you know I am here for official business but I also need to figure out and understand how you came to be able to speak my eggmother's tongue." She smiled dangerously, her sharp teeth gleaming. "It is considered a great..." She cocked her head thinking. "... offense... Yes and it should be impossible. Only Dragons and their bound servants should be able to speak in the tongue of the flame. You are no bound servants."

Raan nodded and made the equivocating gesture again. "Honor? Can be. Is honor to serve Hoard Guest." He paused to pop another morsel into his mouth. "Or Falgor."

He watched her eat with a satisfied smile, almost wistfully, and listened attentively as she spoke once more about her native tongue. "You say offense, but if not use, how we talk? Numbers? Sloooow." He chuckled a little and drank another half of his cup, gaining some visible color to his ears and other places his scales were thin. "Not know much from time of great Drakka. Lost." He gestured as if to emulate the knowledge being blown away by the wind. "But serve Drakka? Not enough. They make kobold. Drakka mother, sire, all kobold, in ancient time."

She huffed, smoke puffing out of her nostrils. The smoke was a soft pink mist that flew around Raan's head. The smell was something akin to raw primal herbs, enticing and extremely attracting. "On my home planet only those that are touched by the flame are able to talk in my eggmother's tongue. It means that your whole race was born from someone able to give the flame to his offspring so either a Dragon or a fire spirit itself. Spirits are myths. So that means you are hailing from one of the really ancient ones. Do you have some kind of name for me?"

The cloud of pink smoke curling around Raan's features was visibly drawn into his flared nostrils, and his ears quivered as he emitted a soft cooing sound. His drink-induced blush brightening. "Name? Know no name for Drakka but Drakka. Drakka have clans, like kobold?" He slid down off his bench and walked around the table, coming to stand beside Alicia on her side of the table.

Meanwhile, the servants had begun applying oil to those who had expressed an interest. Growl was seated on a reclining bench that was a bit too short for his height, meaning he had to sit up rather than recline fully to keep his feet from dangling off the end of the bench. Ariel, being a good deal shorter than him, had no such difficulty, and she seemed to enjoy the warming oils quite a bit, spreading her toes to let the kobold servant tending her work the oil between them. "It tingles a little, but not unpleasantly. I think there's something mixed with the oil that absorbs through the skin. It feels pleasant, like a floating sensation. Perhaps a mild intoxicant?"

Tha'ax straightened, having leaned his hips back against a table as his only concession to relent in his attentiveness as the servant applied oil to the one foot he'd lifted from the floor. "Intoxicant? Are you sure? Should we trust this?"

While they discussed this, the diplomat who had already been having their feet anointed stroked the servant's neck with the tip of their tail, which apparently was taken as some kind of signal. The servant crawled forward on the divan, laying alongside the official's legs, and began warmly nuzzling into their hip and belly, purring softly and idly licking at their scales and stroking the superior kobold's tail. This caused him, as became immediately apparent as his belly slit began to part, to softly stroke the servant's head with his paw, laying back with a sigh and closing his eyes. None of the other kobolds seemed to take any notice, as if the increasingly sexual display were a common sight.

Alicia caught that pretty fast and said, "I want to inform you that while sexual openness is not uncommon in some regards it is seen as prudent and rude in an official area. I do not want to forbid such things since I am just the envoy but it is considered rude, considering we have specimens with us." She made a soft gesture to the Crow and the Human. "That are more closed than others and would feel uncomfortable to be subjected to open sexual displays." Her tongue slipped out of her mouth. She was slightly intoxicated but she was also extremely well trained. She stood her ground and would not lose the mission out of her sight.

Joseph was pointedly not looking in the pair's direction, face once more blushing brightly. Tha'ax had yet to notice, as his position made it a considerable turn of the head to see that far to what was otherwise Growl's side of the room to cover. Raan blinked in confusion and shook his head, then turned to say something in the local language to one of the other officials, who signaled to one of the servants, and a moment later they scurried back with a large tome, delivered it to the other official, who then brought it to Raan. The two of them cracked it open, the paper-like pages made from some dark fiber, the script within composed mostly of various geometric shapes in different chained configurations. It took Alicia some time to realize what it likely was: some kind of dictionary.

Eventually, they found something and tapped at the page excitedly. Raan looked at Alicia and tapped the page again. "Formal is word? Yes?"

While this was taking place, since no one was able to communicate Alicia's concerns to them, the pair that were the subjects of discussion were becoming more involved. The diplomat cooing similarly to the sound Raan had made as the servant took him into his muzzle, his paw rubbing at the servant's groin and encouraging his partner's own organ to slide into open view. Ariel saw what was happening now and blushed, covering her shy smile with a paw.

Alicia blushed as well and nodded. "Yes, official, formal, meaning mating sex or breeding is a private matter and it is considered rude, or seen as rude to be doing that in front of Humans or Crows. They have more closed lifelong relationships and feel pressured or unwelcome."

The second dignitary with Raan looked to his superior, then back at Alicia in clear confusion. "No, not not-welcome. They not punish."

Raan patted his compatriot on the shoulder and said something in the local tongue, then nodded to Alicia. "Hoo-mahn like shy youngling. They no have to." His counterpart hissed something in his ear, a slithering rasp of repeated syllables. Raan actually looked startled as he turned back to Alicia. "Wait, hoo-mahn think ... others seeing mating ... bad?" He was clearly struggling with the very idea that a different culture might have such different social mores, his brow knotted and his gaze having trouble staying fixed on one place. His counterpart, who hadn't been drinking, was quicker to take in this apparently revelatory information, and went to his associate who was on the receiving end of the discussion, taking hold of his arm and saying something to him that he, too, seemed to find deeply confusing. The statement, whatever exactly had been said, was loud enough to be heard by the whole gathering, and several of the kobolds seemed to take it rather poorly. The ones that had been servicing Growl and Tha'ax in particular were notably crestfallen.

Alicia sighed and looked at the clearly more level-headed kobold. "No, they do not think it's bad, it is just something that should be done in private and it makes them feel bad." She looked at her retinue and scratched her head. "I tried to explain to them that open mating and sexual explicitness are rude to some cultures and that it would be unfair to treat the different dignitaries of our group so directly. They seem to have trouble understanding the concept. I have switched to a really low level of draconic speech just now; it kinda hurts a bit speaking like that. Usually only whelplings speak this kind of dialect because they can't pronounce the harder words. Anyways I will try to explain to them more. Just know that they do not mean to offend if they are direct." She looked back at Raan, pointing at the human and the crow. "No, no think bad, just feel bad seeing, making feel bad not normal for them. Mates only seen in between not in more groups." She had a bit of a thought marathon to run to make it actually cohesive for her. She finally understood that they had problems following her High draconic and that they were trained on the wyrmling speech or at least were able to talk in it. This might be harder for her but easier for her to make them understand.

The dignitary on the couch that had been receiving service sat up and gave the servant a kiss on the brow and a pat on the shoulder, said something perhaps as reassurance, then sent them on their way. Raan sighed and shrugged. "I not understand, but will do."

Joseph was still red-faced, having taken out his notebook and set himself to relating this first cultural misunderstanding to the historical record. Ariel shook her head with a chuckle. "Somehow, I suspect that we're going to end up having quite a few stories to tell by the time we're done translating. You all do know we're likely to be deeply entrenched in their society for the next few years, at least, right?"

Alicia smiled softly and gave a thankful nod to the dignitary. "Thank you, will make sure to gift later." Then she looked at her retinue. "Well they seem to have understood it. I must point out that I think these Kobolds are way deeper entrenched in the draconic culture which means clothing is a suggestion or a show of specific status and not an obligation. It's a tool and mostly seen as useless, because why wear cloth when you have scales. I do not expect you to follow these rules and I am sure they will respect that without second thought, especially if they really follow a more draconic traditional way. BUT if we are to be in front of the Queen of a Hoard, and if that Queen is the only Hoard keeper on the planet then wearing clothing could be seen as a deep dishonesty on our part, as if we are to conceal weapons or other items or do not feel the need to respect our host. So I would suggest that Joseph stays with th... I am sorry I have forgotten your name." She looked apologetically at the crow and blushed even more.

"Tha'ax." Coming from his own throat, it truly did sound like the cry of a wild corvid. He nodded respectfully. "Don't worry, I'll keep our record-keeper out of trouble. But so he can do his job properly, I suggest you ask if we can bring a recording device with you during official functions until we get this straightened out."

Joseph nodded in agreement as he finished his notes. "Yes, having multiple media records of important moments is crucial to the record being well preserved in the long term. The more data we have, the more quickly our disparate cultures can come to properly understand one another."

Alicia chuckled softly. "Thank you Tha'ax. Well if Joseph wouldn’t mind undressing and you wouldn't mind doing that as well then there would be no problem. I for one will actually not wear any clothing once we reach our host's home. I am a Dragon and I do not mind showing off my scales. In fact I am actually really proud of them especially since I do have a rather nice mammalian form here that is capable of everything a mammal can do." She looked back at Raan. "Tell me, would matriarch be happy if me is in form of dragon?" They surely would know that she was by now a full blood dragon meaning she would be able to transform even though in here she would not; she would be forced to transform into a dog sized dragon and that was everything but honorable. She would feel humiliated.

While Joseph seemed to mentally glitch at the idea of being publicly undressed, his facial expression freezing in place, Raan set his cup down altogether and moved close enough to touch Alicia accidentally, though he managed not to, if only just. He spoke rapidly, excitedly. "Drakka ... change? Thought we ... is story. Poetry."

Alicia, not caring about the human, grinned widely, feeling emboldened about the excited kobold. "Yes Drakka change, change to be big and strong, breathing fire little one." She puffed another heavy cloud of smoke into his face having slipped back into the more elegant way of speaking her tongue. "My scales will shine and my fire is bright, my wings are strong and my fangs are sharp!" She snorted before gulping down her cup, looking back at the kobolds. "You are a funny folk. I feel strangely comfortable being surrounded by so many of you."

Raan blinked rapidly as he was struck by another cloud of smoke, and he actually giggled, or at least made a sound similar to it, trotting in place in clear excitement. "Oh Drakka Ali'sha! Glory, glory!" He clapped his hands, and a number of others who were drifting toward her at this latest news slapped their thighs in approval. Raan suddenly sobered a bit and seemed a little shy. "We ... we forget, old ways. You teach? Kobold never insult Drakka. Just ... forget."

Alicia felt strange, as if something deep inside of her wanted to claim the kobold as if he was some piece of jewellery that she claimed for her hoard. But she didn't even have a material hoard; she was a modern dragon, one that loved her mammalian form and one that didn't gather items. Keeping a hoard was what old folks did, brooding on piles of gold. She couldn't afford that anyways. She blinked multiple times and didn't even realize she had stroked Raan's head as if he was a pet. She jerked her hand away, blushing furiously. "S... Sorry I have no idea why I did that."

Only after taking her hand away in startlement did Alicia realize Raan had been purring almost like a whelpling. He smiled and shook his head, even leaning towards her as if inviting it. "No sorry. Touching good for kobold."

The exchange was interrupted when one of the servants, this one seemingly of even less status than the other servants, having literally only a thin band of cloth draped across the base of their tail suspended from their chain belt, trotted straight to Alicia's side and boldly took her hand in both their paws. The rash act stiffened the spine of all the guards in the room, regardless of their delegation, but they simply spoke in a hushed voice, struggling with the ancient tongue even more than the delegates. Given their status, it might be unusual for them to know any at all. "Drakka Ali'sha ... Ali'sha change ... other?" The kobold rubbed Alicia's paw softly in a nervous gesture, seeming deeply timid and worried by their actions, but forced to continue. "Egg-sibling ... bad. Bad ... bad ... ah, body-bad. Sick! Long-time. Help?"

Raan patted the timid servant's head, which seemed to calm them greatly. "She mean sibling egg-sick. Born bad. Bones bent wrong. Old stories say Drakka work magic, heal things cannot be healed. We know magic not real." Raan said these things with a sorrowful expression, as if resigned to the hard truth that it was simply impossible, presupposing that asking the outsiders for help was a fool's dream, even if one of them were a dragon.

Alicia was extremely confused and she, on instinct, jerked her claw away as if it felt wrong that someone touched her there. She huffed, feeling bad about it and patted the kobold on his shoulder in reassurance that she was not mad. "What do you mean Raan? Can you explain a bit more?" She had no idea why but the idea of them touching her without her explicit agreement made her feel wrong and tense as if something deep inside her was trying to even lash out and punish the kobold. She was deeply confused about that feeling and knew it was from her feral side, something that would be more in direct control once she would transform.

Although startled at first, the worried kobold leaned into the shoulder pats and seemed not to take offense. Raan tapped his fingertips together in concentration. "Is ... sick bloodline. Sometimes, eggling hatch wrong. She want ask, make well. But no cure for being born."

Alicia had a hard time following the words. She had started to just stroke the servant's shoulder, feeling the scales that were clearly softer than her own give away underneath her claws. It felt strangely empowering to feel the kobolds being so... lesser. She shuddered and shook her head before speaking. "Blood sickness?... hmm I might know what you mean. I can maybe even fix the problem but I would need to see and check... I can’t promise anything."

Ariel had sat up from her bench, observing with some concern how nearly every kobold in the room was slowly moving toward Alicia, muttering among themselves in their local language. "Uh, Envoy? What's going on? Whatever you're talking about, you seem to be getting quite a bit of attention..."

Raan looked more startled than ever. "Cure bad blood? How? Not possible!"

She jerked up upon hearing Ariel talk. Her eyes had become slits, feral and dangerous, more draconic than the soft eyes she had all the times before. She calmed down; her fire in her chest resting now again and the impulse to impress and protect vanished as fast as it came. She huffed deeply, pulled her claw away from the kobold that had nearly fallen to his knees with wobbly legs because of the attention. "I..." She looked confused. "I might have swallowed too much alcohol. I am feeling a bit feral, excuse me. We were talking about some curse. It is a highly guarded problem in the Dragon society so I am not able to talk about it. It seems this folk has problems similar to our ancestors but nowadays these problems basically only exist in history books so... I might be able to help them. That is all I said."

Ariel flicked her ear in puzzlement. "Curse? What do you mean?"

The kobolds, meanwhile, continued crowding around, the lot of them seeming to wait with bated breath for what might happen next, or what Alicia might say.

She waved her claw at Ariel. "I am sorry but that is Clan business. Outsiders are not allowed to know about it." She looked at the kobolds around her, feeling somewhat empowered by their stares. "Well, it is a secret and no one outside can know about it. It is punishable by death if someone leaks the information, including everyone who has heard about it. It is a really strongly kept secret." She looked at her retinue and sighed before talking to the kobolds. "Everyone take a deep breath. I can not promise anything. We will see, we will see. You might be more surprised than you think you will be. Dragons have more than just one secret and the fact that the flame is accepting you enough so you can speak our eggmother's tongue is enough for me to trust you. Just, let me see what the Matriarch says."

With that, conversation mostly stalled, with each person finding something to occupy themselves with while the kobolds slowly went back to their prior activity, even if most of them kept casting the occasional glance at Alicia. Raan stayed close to her, which seemed to have become a matter of preference, even if it had originally been about station.

The rest of the trip was fairly mundane, though the kobolds did continue to serve drinks, and the scenery out the windows was quite a lovely vista. But as the golden hour approached, and the setting sun provided a dramatic angle to the light shining down on the world, the kobold city nearest the Commonwealth's landing site finally came into view.

The place seemed like a jeweler had set their mind to every structure. Green spaces filled the interstices where most species keep roadways. Vehicles relying on maglev and ion thrusters drifted slowly from one megalithic dome to the next, with smaller, private vehicles and personal hover packs dominating the rest of the aerial traffic. On the ground, other scuttling vehicles smaller than the group's current conveyance milled about, flowing into and out of smaller protrusions into the green spaces where the underground system of tunnels opened to the outside surface.

One of these yawned open just in front of the party's vehicle, mostly concealed by the green growth on top of it, only to swallow them once they had fully entered the underground. Running lights along the vehicle's coppery carapace illuminated the tunnel walls, which were patterned like scales, as if they were traveling down an inside-out snake. Soon, after having passed multiple forks in the tunnels, they passed by a large security gate with numerous guards outside, all armed with rifles and bearing symbolic armor that nevertheless seemed more defensive than what their escort wore. The gate thundered closed behind them, and they came to a halt, slowly lowering to the ground once more.

All at once, the kobolds prepared to depart. Raan waved the Envoy's party to stand and come with them, even as the servants helped him and his peers to don their robes once more, this time without their myriad tools. They also returned their visitors' garments, though Tha'ax, on seeing the kobold guards remained as they were, elected to simply carry his clothing under one arm, expressing his desire to help give a good impression by trying to fit in with what limited means they had.

The kobolds led them out into the tunnels beneath one of the largest domes. Natural light channeled down into the tunnels by use of mirrors illuminated the halls almost as if they were already at the surface level. It soon became apparent that these tunnels were not just a matter of conveyance, but were effectively the streets and alleyways of a metropolis. Kobolds passed them singly or in groups, most of them entirely nude, others bearing distinctive garments or accessories to denote their trade or function, or to serve some productive purpose, and nearly every single one stopped dead in their tracks to stare as they passed.

The tunnels, mostly some kind of pale concrete, albeit painted or otherwise colored in many places by those artistically inclined, slowly changed from homes and shops of any kind jammed in close together with little or no planning, or so it seemed, into an elegant causeway, with plant life and decoration taking full display as they spiraled upward back into the light of the surface. The dome's interior was mostly open, but in this particular one, a large palatial estate had been erected, and the party's hosts motioned them on, through the broad central gateway. The pillars on either side were carved into the likeness of giant kobolds, each bearing what could only be a planet over their heads this world on the left, and the next planet closer to the sun on the right.

It was a lot for Alicia to take in. She felt so strange, so extremely at home. It was as if she had come back to something. It was something in the air certainly; her nostrils tingled softly. The smell of scaled beings but this one smelled like an unclaimed giant hoard ready for the taking. Her fire, usually quiet and soothing, burned deep inside of her making her feel restless and somewhat strange. Something was definitely wrong but she couldn't put her claw on it.

She looked around and felt this strange urge to settle as if she had homesickness but in reverse. "Raan, before we meet the matriarch could we get a room where we could change clothing? I would like to remove my dress and maybe we have some clothing for my retinue that would give them a good first impression?"

Raan considered the request seriously before calling over one of the servants and giving them instructions. "Drakka Ali'sha, yours follow this one. He take you. Sleeping place. We tell Matriarch. Have-get clothes for see Matriarch. Before second sunset."

As the assemblage passed inside the main palatial structure, no sooner were they out of the sun than the diplomats were once more removing their heavy robes. A servant stationed at the door came forward with a dish of some sweet smelling clear gel which each of the five applied to their paws and noses while servants tended the lower half of their tails. Raan gestured to the dish in offering to Alicia, explaining it was "For sun."

The two groups parted then, with the diplomats talking among themselves excitedly as they went down the central corridor, which might as well have been a plaza, while Alicia and her companions being led to a side corridor, and into a series of rooms that were dedicated to various visiting groups' needs. While the rooms they were shown to had several smaller chambers that branched out from the central room, the only space for sleeping was the central chamber, the middle of which was a literal nest comprised of cushions and various kinds of fabrics and furs and even leathers. It would easily be large enough for Alicia to share with her whole party even if she were in her feral shape. Growl and Tha'ax nodded to each other, and as they had decided on the way over, Growl simply threw himself down on the cushions to get what rest he could before they were to meet the Matriarch. Being that there were only two of them, they had decided to sleep on opposite sides of the clock, each being on duty about for ten hours, which was half of the local day, by Commonwealth timekeeping.

Alicia looked around and again, she felt strangely at home, more so than she had ever felt in her clan's territory. It was frightening. She jerked her tail through the air. She had not taken the gel-like substance; she wanted to feel the sun burn on her scales. She cherished the fire; she could bathe in it and was fine. She was after all a pureblood.

She looked at Growl and chuckled before her eyes wandered to the fox and the human. "Well, it seems we have a lot of things that are tightly entwined with my culture and that I can sadly not disclose. I am deeply sorry. I would suggest that you Joseph maybe, try to not feel ashamed? I can understand that is hard but it seems it would be prudent to not follow the example. I will now undress and hope you do not take any offense." She blushed a bit even though underneath dragons being naked was a sign of honour and might. Underneath different folk it still felt... wrong. She pulled off the garments and revealed her more than stunning body. Her cleft was perfectly formed, her breasts tight and perky while her hips were egg-bearing wide and extremely alluring. Her scales seemed extremely soft and her slit was a soft erotic line in between her legs.

There was something about this place. Almost like a resonance, as if the very ground the city was built upon hummed subtly, vibrating Alicia's body on even the smallest levels. Disrobing felt like a declaration, a statement of pride and power. She felt notably more clear-headed, as if she had been able to rest her eyes on the way over, and as time went on it seemed the air smelled cleaner, her vision grew subtly sharper. It might all have been in her head, as none of it was particularly significant, and yet...

Ariel had said something while Alicia had been distracted, but she repeated herself when she saw she had the dragoness's attention. "Unfortunately, I'm not sure any of us are clear on what form of dress, or undress as the case may be, is appropriate to our relative station. They clearly seem to adorn themselves based on some kind of caste or class system. It may be that a visiting clan would cover themselves more to be distinct, or with their casual view of intimacy, perhaps as 'off-limits'?"

Tha'ax chimed in with a soft croak. "With as much interest as they showed in some of us, I doubt the last would be the case. I'm fine imitating their guards' way of doing things for now, but when we meet the Matriarch, if they don't bring us something for the occasion, we'll just need to make it clear that we're still figuring out things like this."

Ariel nodded. "Indeed, which is why getting a decent translation worked out is so important. Especially since it looks like the kobold tongue needs to be translated twice to be understood by those of us who typically speak Basic."

Joseph cleared his throat, trying not to look like he was averting his gaze with... some success. "Not only that, but while we try to respect their culture, I do hope they would be willing to try and respect ours. Myself, for example. I respect other customs sometimes include a different style of dress. Or... lack thereof... But my spiritual tradition demands I not reveal myself except to my wife."

Alicia chuckled softly. She was young and hotheaded but she knew what was important. "No nothing can get lost in translation. Speaking my tongue means they cannot lie or tell falsehoods. Also I can not only understand their words but their meanings behind them and they never meant us any harm. They see sexual attraction as something worth chasing and every one of them was extremely disappointed when I have forbidden them to pursue sexual contact with any of you. But they did say that they will bring us traditional clothing, so as long as it is not too revealing everyone could try it on."

Another two hours passed, during which time Ariel and Joseph tested the communicators to inform the colony of what had transpired on the way, if perhaps slightly abbreviated. Then rooms were designated for various purposes, the two choosing to set up their work stations in the same room, owing to the fact that Ariel's transliteration efforts and Joseph's records were going to be deeply intertwined.

What little supplies and equipment had been brought was unpacked and put away well before a crystalline chime sounded above the nest chamber's main entry. Tha'ax went to investigate, then stood aside as the door opened fully. "Our hosts seem to have some kind of delivery."

One of the kobolds' secondary liaisons led a small troop of others into the room, driving three hovering carts laden with different items into the nest chamber, parking them along the walls. Alicia was beckoned over to inspect them excitedly, and it was soon revealed that the carts were carrying different kinds of cloth, in several different colors and weights and materials. Some of which had already been fashioned into garments, others left unaltered. The kobold in charge handed Alicia what looked to be plasticized duplicates of pages from a very, very old book, bound by a single metal ring through a hole in the corner. Each page depicted a different style of garment, clearly drawn by hand, with the same geometric writing she had seen earlier, and in each case it was not a kobold sketched in place to show how it fit to the body, but a dragon. Some of the garments were even shown with a feral variation. Some were as revealing as anything the kobolds wore, others were almost as modest as Joseph's normal attire, assuming the fabric wasn't so sheer as to be translucent, but most were in between.

"Ancient book. Very rare. Matriarch say what is safe to copy is copied. For you. All you, see. Try." As he spoke the other kobolds took a box from the last cart and opened it to show the fittings and accessories.

Her eyes scanned over the pictures and she let out a soft huff. Some of these pictures looked like they were made with royalties in mind. She felt heat flushing her face as she imagined herself looking like one of the noble scales. Her eyes gleamed as she looked at the kobolds and then the garments. "And what about my followers? Can they wear whatever they want or is it better to dress up before meeting the matriarch." She was actually looking forward to trying out some of these. The text in the book was high draconic and some of the feral garments were supposedly transformable?

It wasn't entirely clear if the kobold properly understood, but they gestured enthusiastically to the piles of fabrics and nodded energetically. "Yes, come, all. See, try. Eating soon. See Matriarch before."

Ariel looked at the ring-bound pages Alicia had already leafed through. "Ooh, there's more on the back." Two pages later, she tapped at the image and smiled. "Now that looks interesting." The garment was most easily described as a hybrid of medieval fantasy mixed with middle-eastern harem. A veil that became a sort of half-cape hung from the wearer's horns, covering the open back and sides while sleeves and hip-high stockings linked to rings on the middle finger and toe met with metallic bands at throat and hips to stay in place, adding structural support to the front panel that swept down the belly and served as a loincloth. "I wonder if I could get some version of this."

Tha'ax woke Growl and pulled him over for a look, and they decided on something that was clearly much more masculine, perhaps even serving as inspiration for the kobolds' modern guard's garb, with pronounced shoulder pieces attached to a divided cape which nearly reached the floor, and a complementary band of cloth draped over the chest for decoration. Joseph, meanwhile, simply asked if something akin to the dignitaries' traveling robes would be acceptable.

Alicia talked with the kobolds about Joseph and explained as simply as possible what the problem was. They seemed to understand and showed them a book that had more hiding clothing. One of them seemed to be really close to what the ancient humans wore somewhat of a toga she believed it was called. "Here, you should be able to dress in that. It will show our goodwill and I think the depiction is rather cute. What do you think?" She was still absolutely naked and held out the picture to Joseph, smiling softly.

Joseph accepted the page with a grateful nod. He was still blushing and bashful about his companions being mostly, or entirely nude around him, but if he were having intemperate thoughts about them, he was doing a good job of keeping them to himself. "Yes, this will do. Provided it doesn't get too cold at night. Seems a bit... extravagant, with how all these are seemingly made with jewels and precious metals. Or are they just made to look that way?"

Joseph's answer came from an accidental confirmation, as the kobolds began making the items the others had identified for themselves, retrieving their preferred fabrics and beginning to attach fasteners and other decorations, strips of metallic fabric to highlight seams and reinforce edges. A handheld tool was used to scan their bodies to assess the needed measurements, for which Ariel was obliged to strip to her undergarments, as her normal clothing was not close enough to the skin, but the entire process was remarkably swift. It seemed these particular kobolds were experts at their craft, and between cutting tools that swept through the fabrics with a simple gesture, and others that recombined the fabric in the desired shapes as if they were simply ironing the edges and melting them together, Ariel's new garb was completed in about a minute. Tha'ax had needed a bit more time, but that was because they had needed to bind the cloth overlay and cape to the shoulder pieces, which needed to be fabricated. The kobolds did not have a matter replicator, by the looks of things, but they did possess a small crablike drone that served as a mobile high-speed fabricator, essentially printing the item right in front of them using a mix of metal and powdered ceramic. The result would function as actual armor, but was light enough to be worn all day.

The scales on her tail twinkled in the light of the room as she observed the machinery. "How interesting, it is as if we could see a strange version of our own timeline but mixed." She looked at Ariel and nodded; she looked absolutely gorgeous before finally taking a stern glance at the kobold that was seemingly controlling all this clothing madness. "Okay, I have decided I will make it as easy as can be. Just give me the most traditional piece of clothing you have. I give you full power over the choice of my attire as long as it is fitting for your culture and the circumstance."

The diplomat bowed and spoke rapidly to the others, their eyes widening and earning their peculiar form of applause. The booklets of patterns were left with the visitors, if they desired more, but this final piece took as long to make as all the others combined. It was quite clear that each of the kobolds wanted their part in the task to be unimpeachably perfect. Similar to Ariel's choice, the garment had sleeves and stockings that were anchored to rings on one end and jewelry on the other. A veil made to hang from the horns was draped over her muzzle, situated so that a small tug would pull it down and out of the way at need. Suspended from the bejeweled silvery necklace was a length of cloth that held her breasts in place and tapered sharply to the belt, where a loincloth hung down not quite to the knees, and also ran back between the thighs to a second belt on the tail, which sported its own sleeve. Most striking of all was that the shimmering metallic cloth was so thin as to be translucent, quite useless in terms of modesty, and in many respects only serving to emphasize Alicia's features. After it was assembled, she could recall seeing a few telltale features that were common among items that had been marked in the text as supposedly transformable. Looking closely at the necklace and belt, the fixtures on each that were made to draw the eye were not mere decoration, but included some kind of strange clockwork, barely visible around their edges.

Her eyes shone softly as she turned around in front of the mirror. The cloth was scandalously sexual; she absolutely loved it. She could feel it the rings and jewellery were made from extremely valuable metals, rare and soft. She had always been a dragon that loved gold; she was absolutely a cliché. Her hoard was quite large but this piece here felt better than most of her favorites. "I absolutely love it." She had a soft blush on her muzzle because of her reaction; she was slightly aroused but luckily none of the others were able to smell it.

A sigh left her muzzle before she looked back at the lead kobold who was looking at her expectantly, as much as all the others. "I am extremely pleased. This is more than satisfying. I thank you and your group for this piece." She made a slight bow to show her extreme gratitude and then smiled softly.

Her reaction made the kobolds blush, and they clapped their paws to their thighs approvingly with vigor. Two of them even hugged and shared a kiss over it. The diplomat in charge of the group waved the others away, and they quickly departed with the remaining supplies. "Come now, time see Matriarch. Then much eating."

The party was drawn forth from their quarters with much beckoning. Joseph ensuring he had a way to keep notes on his person as well as a means of recording images, audio, and holovid. This was a historic moment, and their superiors would want to see every aspect of it. Placing everything in a small satchel as they walked the opulent corridors, he had a small, nervous laugh. "I do hope they don't mind all this. I only wish communication between us was a little easier. I suspect there will likely be at least a few unfortunate misunderstandings by the time the night is out."

Alicia was nervous as well, extremely so, but the presence of the kobolds and this whole planet was extremely soothing to her. "Do not worry, I can understand them extremely well and I feel extremely fine. I am nervous of course but for whatever reason everything feels extremely familiar and... beckoning. It is hard to explain of course." Her tail made a soft twitch as she observed the surroundings before talking to her guide. "Please advise, should we address the Matriarch in any way? Or anything else that is important?" Not knowing that she as a dragon, was the one the kobolds were more nervous about on how to address and please. She still had not realised that they all just wanted to please her; that would include the matriarch.

The diplomat shrugged and once more emphasized the mildly irritating limitations of the kobolds' command of the draconic high tongue. "Matriarch is Matriarch. Important things important." It was enough that Alicia was glad she was the only one who could understand, or Tha'ax would surely be grinding his beak blunt by now.

The party was led down the main corridor and through a grand doorway that was easily ten meters tall into what could easily be described as a throne room. A path led around the edges of the chamber, which was egg-shaped and lined with almost Grecian style pillars of white stone marked by some kind of purple marbling. The walls and floor all crafted from an orange amber looking stone with enormous crystals and polished to the point the stone all but glowed. A short set of steps led down from the encircling path into a circular recession in the wide end of the chamber, where a modified form of the imperial crest was set into the stone, the recession filled with gold. At the far end of the chamber, where the ovoid shape tapered to a rounded point, a large padded bench with a reclining surface on both ends was placed, made from more white stone with richly crimson upholstery, and twin consoles of some kind made from the same coppery metal the group had seen elsewhere. The far wall relinquished the pillared pattern where the outer wall of the palace actually intersected with and distended the glass of the dome, making the whole of the egg shape's point onto a large window through which the sweeping vistas of the landscape were free to view, with only a few small domes visible on the fringes.

Within the chamber, an honor guard of a half-dozen kobolds with some kind of lance modified with technology stood at attention while Raan stood beside the bench, speaking to the first kobold the group had seen that bore wings. Her horns subtly spiraled, and her scales a warm orange polished to a metallic gleam and a cream-pale belly, garbed in bejeweled navy silks. Two swaths across her thighs like the diplomats and a third draped over just her tail, another low across her chest and weighted down with glittering decoration, a pair draping each shoulder, and a fine veil as well, with a single gem seemingly glued to her brow between her horns. Even with all this, she was still more than half naked, with no thought to covering her front below the waist. Her wings were small, much too small to be functional, and pierced to add more decoration to her person, with glittering rings adorning each of the first "fingers" on either wing.

The subtlest lift of her nose in the party's direction cued Raan to their arrival, and he turned to face them excitedly. "Honored guests, know you, our Matriarch." A few words followed that were undoubtedly some kind of title or honorific in the native tongue that either didn't translate, or Raan simply didn't know in the High Tongue, or else it was considered improper to say them in a formal invocation in some other language. He bowed low both to the Commonwealth delegation and to the Matriarch, then stepped back.

The Matriarch smiled behind her veil, wings fluttering softly before she caught herself and grew still again. When she spoke, her tone and clarity shocked even Alicia, for while her dialect was archaic, her diction and fluency in the High Tongue was unquestionable. "At last, the great Drakka return. Even if there is only one of you, this is a momentous day." She looked slightly to the side, at one of the consoles. "Overmind, give us music for a formal occasion." Music began to play seemingly from all sides. "Come, and be welcome."

She was more than a little surprised not only by the appearance and the form of the kobold but by the way she talked and addressed her. "I am not a great Drakka, I have not earned this title in my roost yet but thank you for the honorification." She made a soft bow and continued. "I will translate for my followers; they are unable to speak the language of the fire and it is important that they are on track with our conversation." She looked back at her retinue and gave a soft smile. "The Matriarch speaks my language extremely well and is able to communicate with me flawlessly. I shall inform you periodically if there is anything I need input on or if I need any advice." She then looked back at the Matriarch. "I am more than surprised over your fluent use of the fire's language. I can understand you extremely well and your appearance is also extremely... cute if I can say that. You remind me of one of my sisters when she was small and had problems transforming."

"Raan tells me some of your words were difficult to understand. It seems there has been some drift in the language over centuries. Drakka, as we know it, is not a rank, but our word for all of dragonkind, and each of its children. It was commanded so by our makers in ancient days, and so it remains. Please, you and your companions, come close. I would not have you shouting across the chamber." Getting up from her seat, the Matriarch walked forward part of the distance. Raan trotting close behind.

Between Ariel and Joseph, the holovid recorder was set up and running, and he then clipped the audio recorder to his note pad and began jotting things down at a furious pace. Tha'ax and Growl had simply taken up positions on either side of the door and stood presentably.

Alicia signed to her followers and motioned them towards some comfortable looking cushions while she thought deeply about the kobold Queen. "Please tell me your name Matriarch. I am Alice Dakoven from the Dakoven tribe. Am I allowed to ask some questions?"

"Of course, Alice. You come and honor my dome with your presence and pay me compliments before I have had any opportunity to earn them. Of course you may ask whatever you wish. Though, Raan told me you asked to be called Ali'sha. Is this shorter form restricted to those of sufficient station? As for myself, I am Kai'lenn. Though my tribe now know me as their Matriarch, and rarely speak to me by name, I would be honored to be addressed so. And please, if you or your people require anything during your stay, you have merely to ask. It is our great pleasure to provide."

She kept translating softly so as not to interrupt the Queen. "Kai'lenn, that is a wonderful name and no you can also call me Alicia or Alice or Ali. I have a couple of names from friends; it is some kind of joke in our circle." Her smile was radiant and full of sharp teeth transmitting the visage of a predator. "So why are we regarded like this, or why are you reacting towards me so strongly? I have noticed that everything that has to do with me seems to make everyone extremely nervous and excited."

Kai's brow crinkled slightly in puzzlement. "Do you not" She paused, smiling once more and nodding in realization. "Ahh, I see the youth in you now. Allow me to explain." She raised a hand, first digit extended. "Overmind, display global view from 'Songs of the Ancients', please. Still image."

In the vault overhead, a holographic projection appeared, translucent, almost reminiscent of a tactical display. The kobolds' planet was depicted with great fidelity, but it was different, with only three marked communities of any significance. "In ancient times, when the Drakka lived here in number, they were still too few to accomplish what they wished upon this world. They had the numbers on other worlds, circling other stars, but many needs drew them elsewhere. Another solution was required to achieve their goals here."

"Overmind, advance to the next age, please." The still hologram shifted, showing three communities becoming one, but dozens of smaller settlements now dotted the globe. "The Drakka took the life of this world, shaped by its natural forces, that was most like to their own, and held them to their bosom, and shared their sacred song of fire, raising their adopted children from mere beasts to willful servants. Our ancestors served the Drakka in every conceivable respect, and did so gladly, for they were our mothers' mother, and our sires' sire. And in this way, we spread across this world and achieved much in the name of their great empire. And yet, even as our people grew, their own dwindled, despite all we tried to do to aid them. If we ever learned why, that verse was lost long ago. And one day, with the promise to return in strength to reclaim the system for their own, those who remained gathered in a great ship that had not left the ground since their first landing, and they returned to their empire in the stars."

"But they never came back..." She turned a soft smile back on Alicia and bowed slightly. "Until now."

Alicia watched the display with an open maw. She had never in her life seen such an old tale. The ship design was so old that she doesn't even remember anything about it even in the historical aspect and she was a ship nerd. She looked down at Kai'lenn, her eyes blazing softly. "Is this why I feel.. so.. possessive? Are you.. part of a dragon's Hoard?" Her claws twitched. It was absolutely unheard of that Dragons created life. They could create shiny metals, even some plants but never once did she hear about a dragon capable of creating anything akin to life. It was impossible especially seeing how they behaved, how they worked. This was the domain of gods. There was no dragon with that power... unless... "Do you have a picture of the Dragon that created you?" She had a hunch. What if... no it was impossible.

"We suspect we once were. Each dragon of age for such responsibility in the colony would have overseen a particular community of kobolds. From what we have been able to piece together from the study of what relics we have from the dawn times, we know they were more advanced than us, in almost every respect. Even our Overmind is limited compared to what we think they could do then. Is that not correct, Overmind?"

A warm voice, carefully modulated to lack any emotional content or gendered inflection, responded from everywhere. "Correct, Matriarch. Given Hoard Guest Alicia's reaction to your presence, it is likely she is descended from the same tribe that created the kobold people, or if there was more than one tribe present, then one from among them. After all, the recovered data implies kobolds are biologically designed to trigger protective instincts similar to dragon hatchlings."

Kai gestured vaguely to the two terminals beside her bench. "You see? Overmind agrees. But while we have lost the means to manipulate life the way they did, and much else besides, we have gained other capacities. We do what we can with what we have. And now we mine the asteroids for materials, study the outer giants' moons, and even prepare to experiment with gathering power from the sun. What was once a curse on our people may soon provide us all the energy we would ever need, and burning fuels for power would be a thing of the past."

"Overmind, please show an overview of the local star system." The hologram changed again, this time showing a model of the system, not to scale of course, with markings for hundreds of asteroid mines, scientific stations, transport vessels, cargo tugs, and right near the local star in a dangerously tight orbit, a research outpost that was otherwise unlabeled.

Her slitted eyes shone brightly as she watched the hologram. It was primitive but more than good enough to see what needed to be seen. She took it all in and sighed. "You should not trust this easily. We could come with malicious intent and yet you show me everything." She hadn't even noticed that she had sat down beside the matriarch and started to softly scratch her head while studying the hologram. Something that did not miss the attention of her retinue who was more tense than before but since they could not understand what was happening all they saw was Alicia suddenly stroking the Queen of an entire race's head as if she was a pet while being distracted by a hologram.

The Matriarch had been subtly leaning into the dragoness's scratching claws and purring softly enough it was only noticed by its absence when she spoke. "I do not understand. You are a Drakka that comes from the stars. All of this is already yours." She gestured broadly up at the map of the star system, and all the myriad markers across its breadth, likely including many millions, if not billions of kobolds. "Tell me, what part of the Empire is this Commonwealth you spoke of? Is it more like a district within a larger community, or is it more like a trade consortium?"

Alicia nearly choked when she heard what the kobold said and looked down at her incredibly confused, also jerking her claw away. "S.. Sorry! And what do you mean with it is all mine? The commonwealth is an alliance of every planet in this galaxy, so it is quite large."

Kai turned and tilted her head in puzzlement. "Of course, yours. You are the first Drakka to return, which must mean you are the one chosen to reclaim this place for the Empire. You speak of alliances, but this is something done between people, for mutual gain against a rival. Not something whole worlds can do. Unless the Empire is breaking into factions? But, if every world in the galaxy is a part of the alliance, how can there be rivals to ally against? These new words you use are very strange."

It was all a lot for Alicia and it felt like her head was stuffed with cotton as she looked back towards her retinue. "I.. I feel strange. I believe she just told me that... That I was sent by the forefathers to claim power. It is apparently my birthright..."

Ariel shared a chuckle with Joseph. "Clearly there's more to communication than sharing a language. I think our host needs a quick history lesson about what we know happened between their last contact and now."

Joseph nodded in agreement. "Indeed. We can't let this concept of some manifestation of an ancient destiny take root. It might be convenient, but it wouldn't be the least bit moral."

Alicia had started softly stroking the Matriarch's head again. She just couldn't resist; it felt nice and she seemed to enjoy it. "What do you mean Lesson? What information did I miss?"

Ariel giggled and waved her hand in front of Alicia's face, seeing she was looking disoriented. "I think you're getting your wires crossed with all this translating, hun. Not you, her. Fill her in on what these guys have missed these past however many centuries."

Barely had she blushed this hard in her whole life. She felt like a whelpling that was unable to split his mind from one thing to another. "I.. am sorry I might be a bit overwhelmed. Speaking like this is taxing because..." She hesitated and sighed. "Because a dragon no matter how thin the bloodline is unable to lie or tell falsehoods in the tongue of the fire, or our Soul starts to burn and it hurts like hell." She looked down at the matriarch and pulled her claw away again hastily. "Oh I am really sorry, it seems I am quite fond of stroking your head. I hope you don’t mind. Do you want to hear about the history of the commonwealth and what we are currently?"

Kai shook her head and lightly patted her thigh. "There is no need for apologies. It is, in fact, considered a mark of dislike, or social stigma, to actively refrain from touching someone, especially one of lower status. A clan that is free with their affection grows. A clan that withholds it withers. I only do not reciprocate because I am unsure of the protocol for modern Drakka, especially with what Raan told me of your exchange onboard the crawler. But that aside, I would very much like to learn whatever you see fit to teach. There is so much we have lost, so much we have never had a chance to learn."

The Young Dragoness gave a soft chuckle at her description. "Well, modern Drakka as you call them are actually just as open with their sexuality. It is claimed or be claimed on our home planets. The strong survive and can take what they want, but on the outside we are more reserved. I WISH that other cultures would be as open as we are but we go with the times and the power. No other race besides yours and the Drakkar have the fire. There are some that can work with some kind of telepathy, the mind witch as you have called it but that's basically it. I am pretty bad with the fire myself. I can spit it and I can transform but I am nowhere near the point in which I could perform miracles."

Kai reached out and placed her paw on Alicia's elbow, suddenly stiff in posture, her expression and tone of grave concern. "You should know, there is a reason we distrust those who can read the thoughts of others. There was once a tribe of kobolds, their name stripped from history, that had developed the ability, learned to manipulate others. They tried to abandon our ancient obligations to the Drakka, seize control of our society, and start trying to forge a dominion of kobolds, looking to start taking nearby stars for themselves. It took a generation to put their threat to an end, and three more to eliminate the trait from our numbers to ensure such would never happen again. I have corrected Raan's thinking, that since we do not know these strange beings you travel with, we cannot know if they are perhaps conditioned not to misuse their abilities. But I can not in good conscience accept your lessons of history without sharing one in return. One which you may need in the future."

Alicia looked down at the kobold and smiled softly, scratching the matriarch's head softly as she soothingly said, "You do not need to worry. There are rules and regulations in place for such beings. We have a couple of creatures in our alliance that can speak telepathically. All of them following the laws. There was never a problem and you can learn to resist it. Almost all dragons can fully resist every and all telepathic manipulation and it is a mandatory class for every young whelpling inside of the commonwealth." She looked back up at the projector and then sighed. "There is so much I could tell you but I am honestly quite exhausted and I am starving. All the talking and thinking was really exhausting. Mind you I am also a bit overwhelmed by a lot of these revelations. I see it as my duty to teach or at least explain but I am not qualified to do that, yet I am the only one able to talk with you. One can not lie in the tongue of the fire."

"I understand. This great change that has come upon us both must be quite difficult to adjust to. I will assign some of our Falgor, what you might call lord-scholars in this tongue, to assist yours in translating one another's languages. In the meantime, I think it would be best for us all if you and I continue to meet like this. You can teach me of what has transpired in the worlds beyond, and I can tell you more of what has happened here while the Drakka were gone. And then, we can decide what is to become of us."

Kai clapped her hands together, and a number of servants, the first the party had seen with any kind of piercing three gold earrings on their left ears quickly filed into the room. A few sharp words sent them scurrying back out again, and she nodded in satisfaction. "I have requested that a meal fit for welcoming our Hoard Guests be brought, and we will be dining here."

Alicia sighed deeply. She had been lying if she said everything was fine. She had been extremely busy and nervous. "So, I heard you have problems with genetic defects? Could you explain that to me little one." She got back to softly stroking the Matriarch's head as if she would stroke a pet, soft and gentle.

Kai purred softly and let her eyes drift semi-closed, leaning into Alicia's paw. Her voice softened by her clear relaxed reaction. "We have had issues, as a people, with some anomalies, yes. Individuals that hatch strangely, or fail to hatch at all, others whose imperfections are hidden, like a bad liver. We try to weed out the bloodlines that produce them, but with limited success at best. They seem to skip generations before appearing again. We know the Drakka of old could fix such problems, but what it is they would do, or how it works, are among the knowledge that is now lost."

As she spoke, the servants began to return, literally carrying pieces of a large, horseshoe-shaped table, which they fitted together like a jigsaw puzzle. Chairs, which were essentially braced cushions placed directly on the floor so that the diners' legs extended into the depression in the floor, were positioned equidistantly around the table.

She watched the kobolds work dutifully. "The way a lot of things are handled in your culture seems to align with how we would handle it, even though you speak with fire I had doubts but after observing you for a while and everything else, how can there be any doubts in my heart left..." She stood up and sat down at one of the free places, looking at the Matriarch and patting her knees to indicate if she would like to sit on her lap while they eat. She had grown strangely fond of this kobold with her little cute wings.

Kai visibly brightened, her wings trembling a bit, though she had enough poise not to grin from ear to ear. She went to Alicia readily and settled in her lap, leaning back into her larger frame and purring softly. As the others found their seats and other figures of importance filed in with a leisurely air the servants began to bring in the evening meal, with a dozen different dishes or more arranged in a smaller arc inside of the table's larger arc. Kai introduced each of the kobolds who joined them, which included three guild heads, four law-keepers, a young lordling who had yet to choose either a mate or a profession, and the other lord-scholars that had made the journey with Raan. She explained to them each in turn, as she later told Alicia, about the Commonwealth's diplomats' preferences, but encouraged everyone to engage in discourse during the meal, and she would be pleased to translate. For their part, the other kobolds were all shocked at her appearance, some so tongue-tied that they could barely stutter a greeting, but most having enough presence of mind to say at least a few words, almost always about Alicia's striking beauty and imposing size. More than half of the males sported at least partial erections before they found their seats, and nearly half of the females seemed just as interested themselves. Exactly when it was that Alicia began to notice the subtle distinctions between sexes was unclear, but it was quite automatic now, even if she couldn't yet put into words what told her which was which.

Kai asked the Overmind for music and scenery, and the hologram above changed to a shimmering view of a nearby nebula as seen through rippling curtains of geo-magnetic light often called auroras. The music was a soothing mix of soft horns and mellow drums, with flowing water used like an instrument in the background. The dishes were served to each diner's request, with tong-like forks that had a built in straw for utensils, with crisps in place of spoons.

She herself hadn't even noticed how naturally she seemed to integrate more and more. Her tail was softly roaming around behind her while she had somewhat possessively pushed the Matriarch into her chest. She was now leaned against her, her cute little head between Alicia's breasts as she kinda cuddled with the leader of the kobolds. Her eyes were observing everything and she felt as if something inside of her had awoken, some feral side that was hidden. Her colleagues were looking at her with some degree of tension and worry. She herself was relaxed and happy cuddling with her kobold in her lap while sampling the smells around her and especially the food. She had introduced the kobolds to the others of course especially the scholars that would help with translation. It should not take long to get a translation for the kobolds that they could understand. Since there are a couple of low level draconian languages for exactly that purpose.

Kai accepted Alicia's adjustment easily, purring louder and letting herself be moved about with no resistance, like a housecat. Now too far from the table to serve herself, a pair of servants immediately moved to either side of the snuggling couple and helped to feed the Matriarch, offering samples of this and that to Alicia as well if she wanted to let them tend to her in the same manner. Kai was now seated with her full back against Alicia's belly, horns fitting between her breasts as if they were made to fit there, legs splayed to keep her stable such that each leg was essentially wrapped around one of Alicia's thighs with her tail laying between them. While the table covered her hips from view by the rest of the diplomatic team, Alicia's nose told her about Kai's changing scent without even needing a downward glance to see how this was affecting the little ruler. And yet, she did not make any move or speak any word to intentionally instigate anything physical, which surely must have been a significant act of restraint given what she'd said previously about how their people treat physical intimacy.

Thankfully, at least for the moment, it seemed most of the kobolds were primarily interested in their meals, rather than needing translation, though the reason for this being their having noticed Kai's distracted state or simply being hungry was hard to say.

Alicia felt absolutely amazing. She was being fed, she could softly stroke Kai's scales, her claws wandering over the Matriarch's belly in slow circles. Her own tail having wrapped possessively around Kai's.

At one point she even took some of the food and started to feed Kai herself, feeling proud that the kobold was eating out of her claws.

Growl looked at this display, unable to see the tail or one of Alicia's claws as she was currently feeding the Patriarch with her left claw while her right claw was below the table, moving rhythmically. It seemed she was petting the kobold. He looked at the others. "What do you think about this behavior? It seems extremely odd. I am not happy about being unable to understand or even learn the language, and I somehow feel that our Ambassador is somehow being manipulated. I know Alicia from the flight to this planet. She is usually shy and restrained but she is behaving more and more strangely."

Ariel shrugged at Growl's uncertainty. "She certainly seems a lot more relaxed than she's been lately. Maybe this place just reminds her of home. I mean, the locals are bending over backwards to give us a warm welcome."

Joseph nodded in agreement, swallowing the mouthful of a rich purple fruit. "Indeed, it's hard to imagine what the kobolds would hope to gain in trying to manipulate someone by offering to literally give away the keys to the castle and everything in it. If I didn't know better, I'd say they were almost trying to offer up their entire population for voluntary enslavement. I do hope Alicia manages to talk them out of that mindset. Not even the dragon worlds in the Coalition permit owning other sentients anymore."

In the meantime, Kai only seemed to relax more deeply, melting against Alicia's belly, nuzzling appreciatively first at one breast then the other, her little paw stroking the back of Alicia's arm, her tail squirming a bit in the dragon's grip as if trying to stroke it but too constrained to move much. She gestured with her other hand at a tray of the purplish fruit, which was immediately picked up and brought close for her to select from. "You simply must try the Gruujh fruit, it is my favorite, and I suspect you'd enjoy it as well. It warms the body and makes for pleasant tingles, but only when it is fresh, like this. Fermented, it becomes far more flavorful, and intoxicating, but loses that special tingle."

Alicia kept her claw on Kai's belly, purring herself a bit, tilting her head at the fruit. The shine of the simulated aurora atop them reflected dimly in the glossy skin of the fruit. "Would you want to feed me little one? I would hate to move my claws away from you, otherwise I would of course not mind letting you stand up and sit down beside me..." She nuzzled into Kai's head and gnawed at her sensitive scales there, growling softly. "Hmmm, you smell really.. niceeee..." She rumbled a little bit dreamily.

Growl kept observing Alicia and sighed. "I mean, there are races that are naturally subservient to others, living in symbiosis. Imagine if we have literally found the missing link to the dragons." He chuckled, looking into the round. "Man I really love this food. They could get crazy rich with this.."

Ariel bobbed her head, taking another piece of fruit. "No kidding, this stuff is delicious. The meat, the fruits, and I think this is some kind of cheese? This purple one puts chills down my back, though. Might be something more chemically active in it."

Joseph shook his head. "I didn't feel anything. Must affect different species in different ways."

Kai responded to Alicia's gnawing with a warm lick along the underside of her muzzle, holding up a particularly plump purple fruit slice that looked almost glazed in its own juices. "You're so warm, and your paws are so gentle..." She cooed softly, nuzzling again, her little head slipping under the translucent garment, and she boldly licked at Alicia's breast, feeding her more of the savory-sweet fruit while the paw stroking her arm ever so slowly maneuvered the dragoness's circular caresses lower, where her belly was noticeably warmer.

Alicia took a deep bite of the fruit out of the Matriarch's claw and softly licked the juices of the fruit off her claws. She growled softly as she intentionally glided lower and lower, feeling the heat rising. Her own breath was growling softly possessively. The juice making her feel hot and extremely sensual. She could almost touch the heat when a soft cough and a voice cut through her increasingly growing veil. She hadn't even noticed that her claws had started to softly glow, at least the one that was traveling downward. Just a little longer and she would have left a mark, but it all stopped. Alicia jerked awake. "Ambassador, are you fine? You seem tired?" She blinked hastily, pulling back her claw, feeling extremely dizzy as if she had interrupted something, something extremely important. She didn't know yet but she had nearly claimed the Matriarch as her subject. Alas it got interrupted. She blinked a bit longer and then shook her head. "I.. am not sure sorry." She looked down at Kai, blushing. "S..sorry it seems I had been drifting away.."

"You don't need to apologize, I enjoyed that very much." She seemed almost sleepy with how relaxed she remained, holding up another piece of fruit lazily. Now that Alicia was looking down at her directly, she could see that indeed she had been enjoying the gentle petting. Her belly clearly flushed and her cloaca glistening and moist, traces of that moisture lingering on two of the dragon's fingertips. "Here, please, let your worries go. You are our guests, and your arrival is cause for celebration."

Alicia blushed, looking at her claws and then at the kobold's eyes. She felt that something strange was in the air. She felt heat and a strange energy inside of her and in her surroundings. Her whole body was in fact heated up; the matriarch could probably feel it with how close she was to the Dragoness that had nearly claimed her body as her property.

She purred as she ate another piece, feeling a little more drunk than sober while Growl sighed. "It seems the rumours are true. Dragons are extremely open with their sexuality inside of their own folks. I wonder if all of this is what I could expect on a Dragon's homeworld even though no other species is allowed on any of these planets for various reasons. I wonder if anything will happen if we do not interrupt whatever is happening... there. What do you think Tha'ax."

Tha'ax shrugged his wings. "I think we're here to protect the entourage. So long as they're in no danger, questioning whatever the Envoy does or doesn't do is above my paygrade. And unless she starts showing signs of an allergic reaction, I'd be hard pressed to call a piece of fruit a weapon."

Kai sighed in contentment as Alicia took the fruit, and she snuggled back into place against the dragon's belly, once more nuzzling and licking tenderly at the larger female's scales. If anything, the charged feel to the air around them felt even more comforting than the closeness and touch had already been.

As the pair toyed with the idea of resuming their play, Joseph and Ariel seemed oblivious, busily talking between themselves about the food, the utensils, speculating about how it was prepared, and the nature of the "cheese" given the seeming lack of any lactating creatures among the native creatures they'd identified so far.

It had not taken a lot for Alicia to fall back into that trance. The fruit was stoking her fire in ways she could not explain even if she tried. She ate another piece but this time she engulfed the whole claw of the little kobold with her maw, holding her there, licking her fingers and hand. Her own claw ran possessively over Kai's belly with possessive confidence.

She let Kai's claw go and growled softly into her ear. "Lick my breasts little one." It was not a request; it was a command, clear and direct with no room for interpretation.

Kai giggled. Alicia's tongue on her fingers tickling and making her shiver, but not as much as when the dragon's paw returned to her belly. She sighed and did as she was told, licking sensually at Alicia's breasts, one then the other and back, in long and slow stripes, reaching out as far as she can with her tongue to get the tip curled around Alicia's nipple. The moment felt a lot like sex, but different in ways she couldn't name. Even more intimate, if that was possible. But she loved it, relished it, wanted to sink even deeper into that feeling.

Alicia huffed. A soft deeply orange colored flame played around Kai's head, not singeing the hair or hurting her. It was incredibly warm and soothing. "Good, girrrrrrl...." She rolled the r as she lowered her claw, dunking three of them softly into the widely spread kobold's cloaca.

Kai gasped softly, opening her eyes as her cloaca opened. Three dragon-sized fingers making her stretch more than a male kobold's organ. She shuddered and let out a whimpering moan, arching up into the penetrating touch, going back to warmly licking Alicia's breasts, bracing herself with both paws on the dragon's sides, stroking firmly up and down as she rolled her hips in response to the movement of the digits inside her. A thin vapor began seeping from her nostrils, and her womb burned in a deep pleasure very different from heat, but just as powerful.

Alicia chuckled softly. Her claws gentle and extremely soft as if afraid to hurt the little kobold. She moved her other claw up and cupped Kai's breast, pressing her against her own body and enjoying the feeling of the little kobold's heat and especially the smell. She huffed again this time against Kai's head while her claw was so deep inside her. The other one scratching her stomach possessively.

Kai's breasts were tiny, the nipple hidden inside a small slit between belly scales, but they popped right out at the slightest touch, firming and thickening as she gave herself over to being Alicia's plaything. Her sex gripped eagerly in time with her thrusting hips. Her little paw trying hard to press more of Alicia's paw into her cleft, already squelching and squirting in nearly orgasmic pleasure. She was short of breath, grunting softly and making the cutest breathy moans. The smoke flowing from her nostrils turning the same soft pinkish orange Alicia exhaled, and low on her belly a soft glow began to shine, as the burning warmth deep in her womb rose right through muscle and scale to the surface.

The Dragoness was pretty much gone at this moment, following extremely old instincts. Her claw that was toying with the Matriarch's breasts wandered down. Her claws drawing a soft glow out of the Matriarch's womb as she moved them instinctively between her navel and her twitching cloaca, which by now had four of her five claws deeply buried inside. She growled as she bit Kai in the typical holding bite dragons did with their whelplings.

Her claw started to glow as a fine and complex pattern was burned into the Matriarch's scales, irreplaceable or removable for life, as Alicia unbeknownst claimed the first kobold in ten thousand years.

Stiffening and shuddering helplessly, Kai let out an enormous sigh as the bond took hold. Her sex pulsing strongly as she spurted in orgasm, feeling the touch of the ancient fire seep down from Alicia's fingers, into her womb, and then out into every fiber of her being. Her breath was a small flood of steaming hot smoke, the same pinkish orange. Her eyes rolled up into her head and her wings sagged as her whole body relaxed completely.

Even the most oblivious person in the room couldn't help but figure out exactly what had been going on, not including the more mystical aspects, and Joseph couldn't help but blush bright red at the sight of it. He tapped Ariel on the shoulder to get her attention, but had to resort to a light shake to bring her eyes back around to him. "Good God, just ... what the hell do I do here? Is it rude to look? Is it more rude not to look? I... This isn't something we do in public."

Ariel glanced around the room as, one by one, the other kobolds all began slapping their thighs in their strange applause, some of them even barking out high-pitched yips or hopping on their toes. "Honestly, Joseph, I really don't think they'll care either way."

Something had significantly changed. She could feel it; she could certainly feel it. Something deep in her mind had activated and connected ONE. It was a feeling of pure bliss, a reward for getting something. She had gotten one... one kobold as her property. This was different. Some primordial part of her Dragon heritage had awoken, giving her an extremely possessive nature. She could feel it so clearly now. This kobold was her property now, her subject. She would listen to every and all commands, would worship her, yesssssssssssssssss.....

She rumbled softly. Her long tongue glided out of her maw over Kai's head, leaving a wet streak. The symbol on her womb was softly glowing and it would keep glowing for as long as Alicia desired it or every time the kobold was following a direct undefiable command of hers. ~I could order her to do whatever I want...~ The voice in her head was strangely her own but feral, extremely feral. ~Moreeeee... I need more servants, more of them. They make me strongerrrrrrr.~ She shuddered deeply. "Kai..." Her voice was deeper, more everything than before female, dominant, possessive and absolute. "Kai my little kobold..." She growled. "Kneel, and kiss my feet. Show me your.. devotion hrrrrr." Even though she had spoken in the language of fire, every single being that was present felt it in their souls, could understand her. The words she had spoken were commanding, full of might and power. No one needed to be able to speak in the tongue of flame to understand it because it was spoken directly with the soul of a True Matriarch, a true ruler of beings, a mortal to many, a godly figure to every claimed kobold, and a shining star to every unclaimed kobold. While the command was directed solely to Kai, everyone felt the sudden impulse to follow it and Growl even had taken a couple of steps and half-kneeling before he realised what he had done and snapped out. Willpower was an extremely mighty thing in the song of fire and Alicia was young. Her inner dragon was never trained to use words of power, the true meaning of the flame, the reason why only other dragons were allowed on draconic worlds because of the hidden power of the true tongue. This true power was now openly shown to these mortals, and especially the kobolds were extremely susceptible to it to an extremely scary degree.

Kai shivered and moaned as the words of power rippled through her body, riding the coattails of her bonding and driving one last orgasmic shudder from her cleft. She lifted her gaze to Alicia's eyes, the same soft glow from her marking alight in her pupils, tinting the world in the soft color of Alicia's magic, the ancient dragon magic of the high tongue, and she felt the song of fire kindle deep in her heart, finally understood why only the Matriarch and prospective heirs were ever taught to speak it. She could have tried to resist, owing to the awakened dragon blood that marked her as Matriarch, but why? She wanted this anyway. Wanted to make her Queen happy, to kiss and nuzzle absolutely everywhere until she was commanded to stop or Alicia had passed out from the pleasure. This was a suitable beginning.

She sighed as Alicia's fingers slipped from her cleft, making her hungry sex wink as it tried, and failed, to close its gaping maw. Letting herself slide down her Queen's lap until she had become a puddle of kobold at her feet, Kai then tenderly picked up one of the clawed foot paws from the floor, and began kissing it. Slowly, tenderly, sensually, caressing the underside with both paws.

The other kobolds in the room stared in awe, and many rose from their seats or came forward from where they stood to approach. Unlike Growl, they did not shake off the impulse of Alicia's command, though only Kai was in such a position to allow them to do exactly as she had commanded. Those of higher rank knelt at her sides, reaching out reverently to touch her, caressing her scales along her arms and legs and tail. The two servants who had been tending her and Kai during the meal stepped toward the back and caressed her wings with incredible care, rising in status in that moment by sheer happenstance. The other servants instead moved to perform similar acts for Kai, showing devotion to Alicia through her first chosen vassal.

Only the kobold guards still stood at attention, though all of them appeared deeply aroused, and looked proud of it. Their duty was to protect the others, and such duty was even more important in such moments as this, though they had never seen anything this intense before.

Of all the assembled sentients, only Joseph appeared to not have heard Alicia, or at least hadn't seemed affected. Ariel was flapping her veil, clearly having been affected differently than the kobolds, though she was eyeing the reverent crowd of scales hungrily. Tha'ax had stood up and moved to Alicia's side and somewhat behind, not to fall at her feet in worship, but seemingly in a similar response to the kobold guards. His sense of duty turned up to the maximum, his hand hovering over the weapon at his belt, ready to strike at the slightest sign of any threat. Though he, too, suffered the same physical response to such excitement, as his thin, pointed avian cock slithered out of his cloaca and trembled in the cool air, the tip hovering around his knees. His feathers ruffled to make himself look larger and more imposing.

It was a feeling of absolute bliss, her body trembling as all these claws began to caress her so reverently, like a goddess born to arise from the ashes as she looked down upon the has-been Matriarch. She had lost that status having gained something even more prestigious, the mark of a True dragon, a longer life, the power of the song of fire and even more important a dragon to worship and be rewarded with absolute bliss by a simple word of her mistress, her matriarch. Alicia lifted her claw as it slowly grew. She needed to be free of this small vessel, needed to be in her full form. A soft visible pulse travelled through the air as if something had been breached in reality as Alicia was engulfed by a translucent flame. Everyone got pushed back, everyone except Kai who had a claw in her hand that was slowly growing larger and larger, massive, mighty, powerful. Muscles trained to rend beings asunder pulsing below her tiny claws as Alicia grew bigger and bigger. Her arms transforming into mighty claws as a shadow was softly enveloping the previous kobold Matriarch.

A soft growl came from Alicia's new form as she plucked Kai from her feet and sat her down in front of the now mighty Dragon. A soft red shimmer could be seen in her eyes, the power of her will pressing down upon Kai's soul demanding worship at every moment, promising bliss and fulfilment. "You are, mine."

It was a statement not a question and yet Alicia was waiting for Kai to speak up. Kai's firemark was shimmering visibly for everyone and on a deep level they just knew that this meant that Kai was taken by a higher being. What that means was in equal parts scary and extremely fascinating. Alicia hadn't spoken much but every single word had been laced with her willpower and the young kobold lord nearly fainted as his heart made a leap upon hearing the declaration and feeling as if he was Alicia's instead of the addressed Queen. After all Alicia had never learned to control her willpower. It had never been planned to have her be able to use it at all in her life.

The young lord wasn't the only one who reacted viscerally to Alicia's extended will. There are consequences to claiming a clan Matriarch, consequences that had not been seen for many generations, but still held strong in the blood of the kobolds. Acting as an extension of Alicia's will, and being full of desire to give of herself, to give all her people and all they hold to this being that, in her mind, embodied the ancient glory of the Drakka that had once ruled the system, that had created her species in the first place, her desire echoed down through her clan, each and every one. Though they would not bear the mark until claimed outright, Alicia's influence shone in their eyes, radiating from Kai in a wave as they all knelt, even the guards this time. Not only adoration as the words compelled, but in pride. Kai looked up on her ruler from her place upon the table. Alicia having grown into the huge, fierce countenance of her feral form, the complex machinery in her garments whirring busily as her clothing shifted and stretched to accommodate the larger frame.

Kai spoke with a voice that at once trembled subtly yet carried practiced authority, at once in submission and command. "Hail, Drakka Ali'sha, Flame of the Commonwealth. I, Kai'lenn, speak for the Icefall Clan. By your will, we, and all we hold, are yours. Our bodies, our lives, our eggs are yours. Our holdings, our ships, our knowledge are yours. Gaze upon the world anew, and know all you look upon belongs to you, for I and my heirs belong to you, now and forevermore."

A deep satisfied rumble went through the air. Alicia was giving off a pressure that everyone could feel, a real dragon not a copy or a machine, the amalgamation of flesh, fire and willpower formed into the embodiment of pure might. Rarely could one see a Dragon in his feral form and usually no mortal being outside of the dragon race could ever even speak of the honor of having seen a feral dragon that holds the Song of fire in her or his heart. Not only the tongue of the flame but the song, a song that bended reality and could change life itself. Of course there were rumours, especially about the legendary Crystal dragons who were the embodiment of the song of fire, although they called it something else.

Her claw lifted the Matriarch's head a bit higher before tilting it. Bending down she opened her maw and simply kissed the now tiny kobold. Her tongue gliding into Kai's maw and then throat as the dragon kept purring deeply, totally oblivious to her retinue.

Growl looked upon the kobolds with a strange expression. His body feeling hot, his own cock was fully out and throbbing. His heart beating in his chest. Alicia's words had been extremely strong and he was currently beside Tha'ax. "I feel.. strange something is not right. Do you understand what is happening?" He saw how the kobolds acted and he somehow thought that he would never be able to explain anything at all to his superior.

Kai closed her eyes and purred deeply and loudly, accepting the incredibly deep kiss without hesitation. Her throat bulged with the dragon's tongue, but even the thick length of flesh pushing down into her chest couldn't stop her purring. She began openly using her tail to pleasure herself, keeping her paws free to caress her mistress's muzzle. The mark on her belly shone, and even with her eyelids closed, a glow could be seen emanating from Kai's eyes.

The other kobolds crowded close to Alicia, standing or kneeling as instinct took them, stroking her scales with their paws, licking at her, embracing whichever limb was close to hand, cooing and crooning and yipping softly. They also touched one another, some in simple affection, others in open eroticism, and the young noble even had the audacity to try to nuzzle his way under Alicia's tail, rubbing his erection against her hind leg while stroking her hip and rump. It was a moment of communal bonding in the most primal sense, and Alicia was the central focus of it all.

Joseph very much wanted to excuse himself, feeling many conflicting emotions at once, deeply unsettled by everything that was happening. He had his duty to record these events as they occurred, however, so he stayed, if only to ensure that record was preserved. Ariel was more deeply affected than anyone else in the mission, though differently from the kobolds. She was having trouble focusing, her inside seeming to do backflips. It was like being in heat, while also suffering a bad flu, which was to say all her hormones were spiking and plummeting suddenly and randomly, keeping her extremely disoriented.

Tha'ax shook his head at Growl's question, swallowing hard before he could answer. "I've no idea. Alicia's never done anything like this before. But ... she's still not in danger. If anything, it seems to me the kobolds are the ones in trouble." His legs shook from watching the extreme kiss, sweating bullets as it tripped his strong oral fetish.

Her tail slithered around the young noble who had the audacity to actually touch her there without permission. As a punishment she pushed the head of the young kobold directly into her tight slit, smashing his face against her slick entrance while the dragoness relished in the feeling of absolute control. Her wings opened wide and closed again before she slowly lifted her head, leaving her tongue exposed. Even though her head lifted up her tongue remained deeply inside the little one's body before she slowly pulled out. Saliva was dripping down Alicia's maw onto Kai's face before her throat grew smaller and the rest of the clearly split and massive tongue glided out, taking with it a smoky purple vapor. "I have taken your fire, as you have submitted your fire shall be mine to wield and now I lend it back to you my possession." It was all instinctual to some degree as Alicia plucked the sluggish kobold up, turned her around and pushed her massive tongue followed by a trail of purple smoke and slickening saliva deep into the kobold's cloaca further and further with the only goal in mind to deposit her gift. Kai's fire interlinked with hers no, Alicia's new fire stronger than Kai's ever was back into the kobold and complete the ceremony.

The young noble meeped in surprise, only to find his entire field of vision filled with Alicia's scaled slit. His body trembling in her tail's grip and his member jumping and oozing in excitement as he busily lapped at her cleft, his paws caressing to either side as his muzzle slowly sank into her. Tha'ax shuddered and struggled to stand watching Alicia's long tongue buried deep in Kai's chest, and Kai sighed in deep contentment when it finally came free. The Matriarch shuddered in spiritual ecstasy as her fire was stolen away, the empty feeling left behind like that of having laid a large clutch of eggs, and feeling just as right. She offered no resistance as Alicia turned her around like a plaything in her paw, but she squealed ecstatically and shuddered hard when that thick forked tongue plunged into her cleft. The plume of smoke and forked tines of her tongue both spearing directly into her womb. Alicia's oral muscle coiling back upon itself again and again, making the tiny kobold's belly stretch and swell. The mark on her scales burning brighter and brighter as the returning flame rooted itself into her body, binding Kai's body, and her fertility, to her mistress.

Tha'ax gulped hard, his eyes fixed so hard on the oral action that he hadn't noticed one of the kobolds having turned away from Alicia and crawling in his direction. Raan looked almost hypnotized, staring up at the avian with a thousand-mile stare and a soft smile. His eyes shining brightly with the flicker of the flame being poured into his Matriarch, the color shifting to match the rich purple smoke. Raan's touch on the corvid's knees snapped his attention down, and he barely had time to take in what he was seeing before the lord-scholar simply opened his throat and leaned forward, the raven's cock sinking into his muzzle all the way to the feathers. A subtle flash of light appeared in Tha'ax's eyes for just a second before he moaned and grasped Raan's horns, totally losing himself in the moment.

Growl thought about warning his comrade but seeing the lust and need hidden in the corvid's eye let him hesitate. It seemed as if that was the right decision. He shuddered as he saw that his own cock throbbing. He had a massive thing for small subs and big doms and what Alicia was doing with the kobolds was more than stroking that fantasy. His own barbed cock was twitching and leaking softly into his fur as he watched his partner throat fucking the smaller kobold.

Alicia purred deeply, smashing the youngling into her slit, marinating the kobold with her musk while she tongue fucked the Matriarch. She had punched directly into her womb, depositing her fire and essence into her. She remained inside, bulging the little kobold's womb outwards as she more than enjoyed the strong flavor spiked with sweet and addicting tones of wildflowers and smoke.

Tail draped over Alicia's nose and crying out passionately, Kai's orgasm splashed directly into the dragoness's mouth. Her sex spasming wildly as more and more fiery essence, along with the dragon's long coiling tongue, pooled inside her womb, stretching her middle more and more until she looked fit to lay, and still she begged her mistress for more. The assemblage of kobolds were almost feverish. Even the guards had discarded their armor and joined in, rubbing against one another and Alicia, playing with paws and tails and muzzles, even coupling outright. The male trapped in Alicia's tail now had nearly his entire head pressed inside her slit, and he boldly clapped his paws together and reached them both high over his head, stretching both arms deep down inside her, and felt around for her deep sensitive places. In doing so, he inadvertently made himself easier to press into Alicia's larger frame, and his neck and shoulders promptly disappeared into her cleft, leaving her stretched wide, her rump almost aimed directly at her leopard defender.

Tha'ax, meanwhile, was making low, urgent noises such as only a corvid could make, thrusting eagerly into Raan's welcoming throat. The light of Alicia's fire bright in the kobold's eyes. He somehow felt like he was wrapped up in warmth, as if all of him was sliding down the kobold's throat, as if eggs awaited quickening at the end of the fleshy tube, as if his feet no longer touched the ground and he was floating on air.

The rest of the party was soon invited, though Alicia wasn't aware she was actually driving the kobolds' actions with her hidden desires, in different ways. Growl found himself confronted by a cute pinkish female, who had entirely disrobed, and was hugging his thigh, looking from his eyes to his erection with a hungry gaze. Eyes shining with Alicia's fire, and licking her lips.

Ariel was lost in a kind of spiritual motion sickness until a pair of kobolds crawled to her, holding her and stroking her fur calmingly. She sighed softly as she was slowly pulled from her seat and laid out on the floor, a kobold to either side, cuddling her, comforting her. The discomfort in her features slowly melted away, and soon she was left shivering and mewling, wriggling in need as moisture stained her fur. The kobolds carefully removed her garments just enough to do what was needed, and they began to nurse, one to each breast. Panting and moaning softly, a subtle flash of light shone in her eyes for just a second, a thin wisp of smoke rising from her muzzle.

Only Joseph was left alone. And now he was very much alone, all the others lost in whatever sex-crazed ritual this dinner had become. He wondered if every meal here eventually went down this route. He struggled to remember that this was their culture, as had already been made clear, and he shouldn't be judgmental. But it was difficult when his emotions warred with one another like this. His body very much aroused, even if he didn't find any nonhuman body in particular very attractive, and also feeling like everyone here was being manipulated somehow. As if some third faction were trying to ruin this first encounter. Or perhaps the kobolds were simply enacting a biological imperative set into them by the dragons of the imperium, so long ago, and the manipulation by a third party was simply the ancient past coming back to haunt them in the here and now. Both were equally unsettling.

The eyes of the big feral dragoness at the head of the table closed in pure bliss. A visible shudder went through her body followed by an audible loud splash. Her tail constricted and nearly choked out the kobold it was holding as the dragoness came. Her nostrils flaring and her eyes blazing. Her own vent clenched strongly, pulling on the little lord's head before he was pulled out and simply discarded onto the ground like a used object. A soft growl came out of her maw as she slowly pulled out of her chosen's cloaca, taking with it the rest of the matriarch's free will, her fertility. Now she was in power and had the might to choose when her chosen could get pregnant and when not. It came with a price, a price she felt blooming as a flickering flame that was slowly spreading deep inside of her own egg chamber. The price of commanding fertility was something that could only be paid with something equal. Her eyes flared up and she dropped Kai in surprise. The ritual complete and binding now. Kai would live and die with Alicia and they would never part again in their life unless Alicia commanded the kobold to do something away from her. First just the blooming spreading wisp of something big soon transformed into a raging strong storm spreading through the dragon's body.

A soft shimmering light came from a scale on Alicia's throat. Fire, purple in its nature, was flickering around one single scale as a symbol slowly formed. The symbol was only visible for a short moment before it vanished for most eyes except the ones that were touched by the flame itself. It was Kai's name distilled down into one single symbol, a symbol of willpower that embodied her whole essence. She panted as she lifted a claw to the symbol and touched the scale, getting an immediate reaction from the little matriarch as the kobold who had been dropped onto the floor suddenly shook and moaned out loud and came all over the ground. Her womb tattoo shining brightly. Alicia herself gasped as her own vent twitched, feeling some of her vassal's feelings as some kind of echo. Her egg chamber burned stronger and stronger as something deep inside of her changed. ~Breeeeeeeed~ Another deep shudder went through her body and she couldn't resist as she moaned out loud "Ahhh...fuck.." The word was laced with absolute power and desire, enticing everyone to literally do what was said in the most carnal way possible.

Growl had had a hard time resisting, having realized that he was the last one beside Joseph that could somewhat still think at least a bit. His whole body was sweaty by this point in time and his cock was raging hard. Thick lust was dripping from the tip of his cock directly onto the female kobold's head. He wanted to push her away; he needed to at least try to protect when Alicia suddenly moaned out loud. The moan alone made him cum. It was so full of her willpower that it washed through his body like a tidal wave. He mewled cutely as cum arced through the air, showering the kobold with his essence before Alicia's words followed "Ahhh...fuck.." His eyes glazed and the only thing he could think about was one thing. He looked down at the kobold who had the same burning fire in her eyes as he had, both under the influence of Alicia's direct will, before he grabbed her and pushed her down. He wasted nearly no time and simply started fucking the cute little bold with strong powerful strokes. His cock having had no problem finding the moist and more than capable cloaca as he sank deep into her body, moaning out in pure rapture. He had still been cumming and he was still cumming but that didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered was fucking this receptive hole directly in front of him.

The young lord, laying discarded on the floor, trembled and moaned with purple fire in his eyes and smoke coming from his nose and mouth. His seed spurting in perfect synch with the clenching and shuddering of Alicia's sex, the dragoness having almost bonded a second kobold in her passions. When her command swept across the room, he rose to his feet once more, still spurting freely as her body continued to tremble under the force of her enhanced fertility, and he stumbled to resume what he had been at before, determined to either please his queen with his eggs, or with his whole self. Kai, on the other hand, could only grunt and moan as carnal pleasure tore through her ceaselessly, leaving her shuddering and orgasming helplessly as a pair of males climbed up onto the table with her to follow Alicia's command. Similar groupings fell to the floor and wrestled passionately, some struggling out of their garments and others not bothering. Their sum total nearly twice as many males as females, demanding some creative positioning.

As for those who were already entangled with the other guests, the female under Growl's ceaseless rutting squeaked and yapped blissfully, clinging to him and climaxing as fast and as hard as he did. Her body responding to his barbs with her cervix dipping down so far that his entire shaft head was swallowed up by it, his seed pouring directly into her egg chamber. Raan swallowed greedily as Tha'ax let out a low groaning croak, bending over and tucking his tail feathers between his legs as they fanned open wide. The avian trying in vain to put eggs in the male's stomach. Ariel found herself with one suitor taking her loincloth off as he knelt between her thighs, the other gently guiding her muzzle toward their cloaca, and though her warring responses had left her exhausted, she still accepted their advances with what hunger and enthusiasm she could muster, grasping them by the hips with paws and her encircling legs.

Alicia gasped sharply as she felt the thick shaft of the Lord push into her vent. She was surprisingly, almost impossibly tight even for a kobold as if her body had been made to savor every inch of being mated. Her eyes widened, her maw opening wide in a deep, shuddering moan as her inner walls clenched greedily around him.

She could barely react, reduced to helpless whimpers of need. Her eyes grew hazy, her womb burning with liquid fire. “M… moreeeee…” The word rolled through the room like a siren's call, pushing everyone to their absolute limit.

Growl groaned deeply and thrust harder into the little pink kobold, cumming hard once more. The pleasure nearly blacked him out. Huffing, he pinned her down even more firmly and began to move his hips with powerful strokes. His barbed shaft ripping free of her womb and cervix only to slam back in. Grunting with effort, he lowered his maw and kissed her passionately, eyes closed, every muscle in his body screaming with exertion.

He came again and again. His kind were known for their stamina and multiple releases, but this was far beyond anything normal too fast, too intense. He breathed in the soft pink smoke that had begun to fill the air, thick and maddeningly potent.

Alicia moaned and huffed in front of the mating pair. Her nostrils releasing more of the enchanting haze with every huff that made his shaft throb with this unbearable need.

Unable to hold back any longer, he rolled to the side, effortlessly lifting the small pink kobold with him. She ended up fully seated on his massive, twitching shaft, her womb already flooded and visibly swollen with his cum.

The young lord, standing on his mistress's ankles and hanging on to the base of her tail as if for dear life, arched his back and yowled almost like a cat as her command poured over and through him, making him hilt into her and climax violently. In seconds, still pumping out seed, he was back at thrusting wildly. Smoke now escaping the mouth and nose of every kobold in the room, but the dragon's consort started emitting sparks as well. His eyes so bright they looked like he was going to be rendered blind as his scales began to form a shining mark low on his belly.

The collective rutting grew increasingly frenzied, practically every male present determined to fill someone with eggs, the females responding with both the potent scent of fertility and the rapid climax of their kind, left orgasming helplessly again and again under the combined physical and psychic onslaught.

While the others were affected by the powerful draconic pheromones in the air, they were less affected by the mental influence of the heated dragoness in their midst. Even so, all but poor Joseph were left in the throes of passionate bliss, rutting for all they were worth. Alicia could feel, as if from the far corner of her mind, that the echoes of all this were rippling out across the entire clan, and while it was subject to the same dilution of potency that light and sound were, every kobold in the palace were now either entangled with a partner or hurriedly seeking one, and the entire city under the dome would experience this as if the air were filled with a mild aphrodisiac. Their Matriarch acting like an antenna, broadcasting the impulse far and wide.

It would be remembered as the Holy Day of Fertility in the future. The population exploding once a year because every single kobold got pregnant that night even though they had been unable to conceive for so long or had problems with conceiving. Every egg that was produced on this fateful day was strong, healthy, and healed of any ailment that was plaguing the race as a whole.

Alicia was cumming herself, again and again. She was sucking the fire out of the Lord's cock, removing any spark of power he might have, forcing him to surrender his soul to her core and become her second chosen kobold. He had been lucky to be at the right spot at the right time. He got it back in the same way as the matriarch, just reversed, as the combination of the now even stronger fire pushed back through his still-thrusting shaft and settled deep inside of his balls, marking them and enlarging them strongly, making him produce massive amounts of cum as per her will. She WANTED to be impregnated with a dozen eggs, maybe more.

The mighty Dragoness's body was shaking as she growled and huffed, looking at Kai's writhing form that was currently spread between three guards, having filled her cloaca with two cocks and her throat with another. She growled frustrated, her eyes lidded as she looked around. Her eyes shortly made contact with Joseph, and this time he was unable to stay cool. Her gaze alone made him hard as steel and even forced him to leak before she snorted and looked away, hungrily gazing for someone worthy, instinctively avoiding angering whatever was protecting Joseph more than custody would allow. After all, he had come willingly into her hall, so he had no right to refuse her willpower. She looked around and huffed as she saw Tha'ax. Their eyes met and she growled. She opened her dripping maw wide, presenting her hungry depth. Some things were not needed to be spoken out loud.

Tha'ax would remember that night as if it was a dream. He was demisexual by nature, not caring for male or female forms, only his oral fixation mattered. And here was a huge maw, hungry for him, demanding even. He struggled to pull free of Raan, but once he did, the kobold was unperturbed, and simply moved to join Growl in filling his pink lady with as many eggs as possible. Tha'ax stumbled forward, resting the clawed fingers of his wings on Alicia's nose, her smoke filling his lungs, and he let his long avian shaft lay along her tongue with a moan of utter surrender, essentially sitting in her mouth, already cumming hard, splashing his seed against the back of her maw.

Ariel was moaning fiercely now into the cleft of her smaller lover, but the drive to breed told her this female needed to be filled, so she let her go, and gently pushed her toward the kobold pile entangled with Kai, so that she could be filled too. She then arched her back, climax ripping through her as her male partner unleashed yet another load into her burning womb, making her cry out and claw at the stone floor. Her fur bristled, then seemed to begin to smolder, the foxfire of her people, buried deep in her bloodline a thousand years gone, finally being pulled forcibly to the surface by the dragon magic soaking her to the bone. As the kobold's sperm met the three ova Alicia's magic and the purple fruit had wrenched out of her ovaries, her hair and tail burst into waxy orange flame, and she screamed in ecstasy.

Joseph, trembling under the oppressive weight of the sheer psychic power thrumming in the air, had backed up nearly to the door where the recording devices still stood on their stands. As he checked them to make sure they had been recording all of this properly, he couldn't help muttering to himself. "Damn, this is insane. There's no way any of this doesn't end up classified and locked away so tight that nobody will ever see it again..."

Alicia rumbled deeply, her eyes burning with desire as she closed her maw around the lower half of the avian's body. Her eyes pierced his as she rumbled, his legs dangling left and right out of her maw as her teeth had secured him tightly inside of her. Her tongue was burrowing directly into his backdoor, stretching it extremely wide, stimulating him even more as she swallowed in rapture, demanding him to cum even more, filling him with her will, choking him with her own need to possess as her will tried to find fire that was missing.

Suddenly something was pulling on her mind as she basically raped one orgasm out of the other from the poor corvid that was half down Alicia's maw, being molested by her tongue and sucked dry by her hungry throat, twitching and nearly fainting. She moved her head with Tha'ax still inside, her eyes fixating on another source of magic, something powerful and worth collecting as she huffed, growling and simply dropping the now probably twitching and half conscious corvid onto the ground in a massive heap of saliva. "Cater to him my little ones." Her will pressed down on all the male and female kobolds that were still only entangled with other kobolds, not giving the corvid any rest but subjecting him to a pile of sexual escapades with her servants. "Ariel... come to me... mrrr." She huffed as her next word ended in a deep moan as her vent twitched hard, crashing down around the little Lord's cock that was squeezed tight as another symbol burned itself beside the one that Kai had left.

Tha'ax fell limply to the floor, panting in exhaustion, only to croak out another groan of bliss as his cloaca was practically attacked by three hungry kobold muzzles, one bobbing rapidly, another slathering his base with their tongue, the third half-buried in his vent. Meanwhile, the lordling that had burned a new mark into Alicia's scales let out an enormous sigh and simply fell and lay limp on the floor, spent to the point of unconsciousness. This having been his first breeding, and still unused to such rigor, let alone magically augmented fervor.

The call to Ariel made her eyes flash again, but still the light did not linger. Nevertheless, she let the male between her thighs go, and pulled herself up onto shaky legs. Her fire burned the same orange as her fur, floating in the air as if it were underwater. She did not walk across the intervening space, but floated as if weightless, before standing just before Alicia, paws resting on her nose much like Tha'ax had done. Alicia could sense her power by the scent of its burning, making Ariel swift and agile and preternaturally stealthy, with limited ability to defy gravity. It also was made to bend the wants and wills of others, but not to bind and hoard, rather to ensnare, deceive, and savor as a plaything. The energy was alien, incompatible, and yet complimentary. It could not be stolen and bound, but it could be used in concert.

The Dragoness took in a deep breath. Ariel's fire flickered nearly out of existence from Alicia's current state of mind. Her nostrils flaring before she growled softly, her tongue gliding over Ariel's cum-drenched slit, slithering upwards before brushing over her hard nipples, around her throat and over her face. "You smell fertile." She closed her eyes huffing. Cum dripped out of her vent. Her womb wasn’t even half full even though the little Lord had cum so much that he nearly killed himself. Of course Alicia would have never let that happen.

She lifted her claw and closed it around the fox lady, holding her steady. The magical fire that had imbued the fox was almost snuffed out by Alicia's presence, clearly unable to withstand the disparity in might. On one side was a mystical fox that had the fire of illusion and the magic of deceive and on the other side was a Dragon empowered by two whole souls and the auxiliary of a whole race of kobolds. The fox was like a candle in front of an inferno.

She growled softly before pushing her tongue deeply into Ariel's tight slit, stretching her wonderfully wide. Everything else was forgotten, but her feeling of emptiness was transmitted to everyone else inside of the room.

That emptiness drove the kobolds to mate even more fiercely, save one, for while Raan had put a kit or two in Growl's partner, he had been saving himself the entire time he had been a toy for Tha'ax's pleasure, and now he felt that echo like a siren's song, climbing up where the younger lord had been and making his presence known with fire and fervor. Alicia could sense the traces of dragon in him. His seed pouring from him already was a hotter flame than her first mate's, and offered just as freely.

Ariel gasped and sighed, curling her legs up to hug Alicia's muzzle. Her cleft kissing the dragon's lips firmly as her body pulled at her forked tongue. She tasted fertile, but Alicia could sense the tiny sparks trembling in her belly already, three embers trying to find some kindling to grow into new flames. Ariel herself was blind to such small energies, of course, only knowing sharing pleasure like this was something she had secretly wanted of Alicia for a long time, and she was more than happy to join the chorus of those who offered her their bliss.

It was... too much. Her eyes grew hazy as another visible fiery shock traveled through her body but instead of an explosion of willpower she herself grew in size. The might of Raan burning in her eyes as she took it with the greed that only a Dragon could, sucking his fire deeply into her soul, strengthening her evermore. Her tongue swelled as she grew with a rapid pace. Her tongue already long and extremely agile now spiked with barbs and scale-like texture that could rend flesh apart if she intended to do so, well or agitate poor little Ariel's tight vixen tunnel. The next symbol burned into her scale just shy of being as mighty as the matriarch's. The power of transformation washed over her body and linked deeply into her very soul as she took everything from Raan and gave an eternal shackle back, willingly given and willingly received as he shackled himself to his new goddess.

Raan panted hard as he felt the bond forming. The power taken from him and sent back again made his organ swell and lengthen, forming draconic ridges as his heritage bloomed. Little stubby spikes sprouting from his back that was as much as a male could ever grow as his blood tried to give him wings. The brand on his belly burned, but only made him growl fiercely, and he gripped Alicia's tail in his jaws as he tried to fill her womb even more.

Ariel moaned and squirmed, bucking her hips as the texture on Alicia's tongue rubbed at all her sensitive places and tickled at her clit, making her cum violently as her sex struggled to hold the swelling tongue as the dragoness grew even larger.

A lingering wall of smoke touched by a pinch of erotic pink and illuminated through the ever-shifting aurora above them coiled lazily around all of them. Alicia's loud and long moans reverberated through the fox and out into the open. Her eyes absolutely drunk, her tight little kobold-like cunt forced to stretch so extremely wide that she even was forced to widen her stance as her womb was burning. She gasped for air just sucking in Ariel even more, drinking from her lust not only physically but literally sucking her emotions dry as well as her energy. Unable to bond or take her fire her instincts had latched onto the core of her power and started to drain it dry, making the little vixen cum ceaselessly until she would pass out tired and absolutely deadly exhausted.

Alicia's smell was all-encompassing. Her womb so hot that everyone else would probably burn up inside of her snatch as she rocked back, a hazy white cloud of pleasure in her eyes as the kobold left clearly visible bite marks.

Ariel arched backward, her moans turning to wails and then screams as she was made to orgasm harder and harder. The flames in her fur creeping over her entire body. Both the guards had passed out from exhaustion already, and while Raan and Kai were both breeding as hungrily as ever, some of the other kobolds were also succumbing to their limits.

Joseph had taken a fold of his robe and covered his nose and mouth. The smoky fog in the room burning his lungs and eyes as the light from above shone down in psychedelic patterns. He had no choice but to click off the recorders and retreat from the room altogether. Moving quickly through the hallways, dodging the occasional couple or smaller pile of kobolds intent on breeding, he went back to the chambers the party had been given, and attached the recorders to their comm units, preparing to transmit as he raised the Ambassador. "Sir, something happened, you're going to want to be alone for this. Let me know when you're ready to receive transmission with full security."

A deep sigh came from the other side of the com unit as he stood up and cut the connection, sitting down at his desk and dialing in with his crypto device creating a two-way tunnel towards Joseph's own crypto device. They could only connect so often before the device used up all the ore-infused encryptions. "What is so important that this couldn't be sent by the ambassador." Since the contact had not been with emergency codes it shouldn't be an emergency.

Her legs were trembling as the might of three souls had integrated with her own, forcing her into absolute overdrive with her fertility and overdrafting her willpower to the maximum. When the vixen stopped providing her with energy she simply collapsed, twitching and cumming hard, whimpering even as she was fucked so so deeply, feeling that massive cock churning through her womb already swollen visibly with massive amounts of kobold cum. Ariel in her maw, Alice's tongue plunged deeply into her womb as she was unable to pull out of the still weakly clenching vixen.

Rather than responding, Joseph simply started playback on the recorders. Their synchronized data fit to reconstruct as still images, audio only, or as a fully holographic reconstruction of the room. Their data flowed through the connection rapidly, and the entire file set was received well before the recordings got to the point when they sat down to dinner. Joseph simply sat and waited for the scene to play out in full.

Joseph hadn't missed all that much. Raan finally relented, having just enough wherewithal left to step down from his perch rather than drop limply to the floor. Ariel's flames faded and vanished until she was back to normal, gasping softly in her sleep now and then as the thick tongue deep in her womb tickled her just so. The rest of the kobolds were reduced to mewling and licking idly, none of them fit to do more than cuddle whomever was close to hand as gallons of seed quickened hundreds of wombs across the city that night. Even beyond, the echo of Alicia's ascent was felt by the most sensitive, and other Matriarchs leading other clans were informed by the Overmind of what had transpired.

A Brood Queen of the Drakka had finally returned to claim her due.

A prolonged silence followed the transmission of the full file before the voice on the other side of the encrypted line sighed. "Joseph, I hereby command you to delete any and all local footage and destroy every and all equipment that had any contact with the files. You are under no circumstances to ever talk, hint, or think about anything you have witnessed there. You are to not ask any questions or try to understand what you have seen if you value the life of your family and everyone that is a descendant of yours or comes from your line. Hell, even your planet might be in danger if they think you will spread anything. You together with everyone else will remain there for the foreseeable future and await our contact when I... had time to contact an ambassador of the Dragon council... Until then I forbid any and all tries to communicate back to base in any way. You are, from this moment on, considered KIA. Have you understood?"

Joseph's blood ran cold in his veins. This was beyond classified, beyond normal security measures. There had only been one day during his training for diplomatic work where they had mentioned such extreme measures. He was being cut off from all support, and was to assume that the only way he would be in contact was surreptitiously, with both himself and whomever was chosen to be his handler subject to being disavowed if they were caught. In the meantime, until he was somehow cued in to how and where to establish contact, he would record everything. Keep his documentation secret even from his fellows. He was essentially being drafted as a spy.

This was supposed to be exciting. A fun excursion to see the native people and work his linguistic magic to uncover the links between their way of thinking and the Commonwealth. This was rapidly becoming an entirely new kind of excitement, one that terrified him, because it meant having to look at his own friends like threats. One wrong step could see him imprisoned, if these creatures even bothered with such things. They knew so little still; he had no idea what might get him in trouble and what wouldn't. At least for the foreseeable future he had the excuse of recording things to assist in his translation efforts, and historical documentation. He would have to sabotage his own translation work to slow it down, so he wouldn't need to switch to more clandestine means of recording events quite as soon.

He pressed the transmitter and spoke with a calm stillness he didn't feel. "Acknowledged. Going dark. I will await further instruction."

He turned off the comm unit. He had been ordered to destroy their comms, but that would look suspicious. He would need some kind of excuse why they couldn't use them. In the meantime, he switched them to local broadcast only, so they could still keep in touch with one another if they were separated.

Joseph leaned back in his seat, staring at the ceiling, wondering how he was going to stay alive.