"You can't even handle a utensil!" Strawberry screamed at Dawynda. "Teddy is short, but he can behave like one of us."
I did not want to see a shouting match ensue between these two, or any of the others that were coming quickly to see what was happening. All were surprised to see the beast in our galley, but some were also humored. I was among that group.
"Must all your food be eaten by utensil?" Dawynda asked a more logical question than anyone was prepared for.
"No, it doesn't," Cinnamon said as she stepped past me to confront Strawberry. These were my two top girls when it came to command. "I'll eat with Dawynda."
"Well, that is because, because," Strawberry hesitated to finish the sentence. Whatever she had in mind wasn't nice and out of respect for me she didn't want to stir things up any more than they already were. "Captain, please make a ruling against dragons eating here. This is a clean place for food consumption. It is no place for shit covered dragon asses."
"I have learned to wipe my ass," Dawynda defended herself. I was extremely impressed how well she was holding her temper. It earned her more points in this debate than anything that she had to say. Being considered a legitimate crew member meant much more to her than I realized. The dragon then suggested that she display the cleanliness of her exit hole, which I emphatically discouraged.
"I have a suggestion," Cinnamon said, alternating her gaze from me to Strawberry. "Gako and Dawynda are permitted to eat here on a trial basis, but only at set times that Strawberry and Vanilla agree upon. If we have any sanitation problems, or any other kind of issues, we'll end the test."
"You can't be serious!" the furious redhead replied.
"I'll have to develop a sanitation protocol," Vanilla announced from the hallway where she was overhearing the argument. "The room must be cleared of contamination before it can be used by others. Sorry, Cinnamon, but you cannot eat with your friends during the test. If a high standard can be maintained, I'll loosen that restriction."
Dawynda looked smug, sitting there as if she was pretending like she was a harmless host for a children's television show. Everyone else was speechless.
"The doctor clears them before they enter the galley," I announced in a king's ruling fashion. "Cinnamon will teach them how to use the processors. The room will be cleared again when they leave. This test project will last for a maximum of three days, and they only get only meal per day. Our dinner tonight will not be interfered with since we have important matters for key members of the crew to discuss."
All were in agreement, or at least not willing to speak up against it, except Strawberry. She was clearly disappointed in my ruling. She stepped close and told me that my pet dragon project was getting out of hand. Then she darted back to her room.
I looked at Dawynda sitting there. She was such a troublemaker in her own way. She shook her head and waved at me, mimicking human behavior. I couldn't help but laugh. I had the feeling that eventually the dragons would be accepted much like Teddy had been. It was just a slower process and required more patience on everyone's part.
Gako and his wife roaming through the halls of our ship, sitting at our dining table, these were things that I never imagined would happen when they agreed to come onboard. But I can clearly see that these beasts can be reasonably well behaved given the opportunity.
Everyone cleared the room except Cinnamon who gestured for Dawynda to join her at the processors. The dragon fumbled with the controls, not accustomed to the dexterity required to operate human designed equipment. But she stuck with it calmly, apologizing to her favorite human repeatedly. When she finally managed to complete an order and receive the desired dish, I walked away shaking my head as she roared in delight.
If these wild animals could be tamed enough to act like us here on the ship, what was next? Take them onto the stations with us? Was the galaxy ready for that?
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT:
"Tau Ceti and Vega are the best choices for profit," Strawberry informed us. Cinnamon and Honeysuckle joined us in the control room for the discussion. The dinner meeting that I had planned had to be relocated due to the sour mood that the galley caused my first officer. "We would do very well to sell our food there. Your two crates of glass toys would hopefully bring a profit, too."
"Lightning sculptures," I corrected her.
"Unfortunately," she said with obvious attitude. "We need to avoid major stations where our ship will be recognized as the Arketa Koreta, because we are bandits now and transporting a ship full of alien creatures that will draw the interest of governments and scientific entities alike."
"We could sell at one of the smaller stations at Vega," Cinnamon suggested timidly. She was hesitant to speak up since it was her stand for the dragons that caused the redhead so much exaggerated anguish. However, Vega was her home. After being lost for so long I was sure that just flying around in that star system would bring her some comfort.
"There is still risk involved with that, spicy girl," Strawberry rebutted. The pet name wasn't used kindly. "These system traffic control stations all communicate with each other in the well populated star systems. Vega is probably the last place that we should go. Tau Ceti wouldn't be much better."
"What do you recommend then?" I asked impatiently.
