Cody, Chapter 6 Cody lay nestled between the luminous stones, their soft glow warm and comforting. Firebelly, the toy dragon that had sprung to life under the Ara's mysterious influence, urged him with a gentle nudge. "Rest now, Cody," the dragon whispered, its voice a blend of chimes and wind through leaves. "The journey is swift in sleep." His eyelids grew heavy, the rocks' pulsing light lulling him into slumber. In his dreams, he soared across an alien sky, stars streaking past like a silver cosmic river. Then, the world of the Ara unfolded before him, a tapestry woven from living gemstones and shimmering energies. "Here," said Firebelly, now a guide in this dreamscape, "is our home world. When your parents came, we knew nothing of humans." Cody watched scenes of his parents' arrival, the wonder in their eyes reflecting off the Ara's crystalline forms without understanding what they were looking at. "Then you, a new life among us." “I know this world, it’s the fourth planet,” Cody exclaimed. “I was born here, but my parents decided it was too hostile for a baby, so we put our base up here on this asteroid.” “Yes, you are an Ara by virtue of birth, and we were thrilled at a new lifeform among us. We angrily followed when your parents took you away. You would have been safe on your birth world with millions of Ara guarding your every step.” “How did you get here?” Cody asked. “Have I not taught you enough quantum physics to understand,” replied Firebelly. Cody glanced to the side at Firebelly flying next to him. “You can teleport?” “A short distance, this asteroid is near enough.” “You were mad at my parents for taking me away?” “We are not human, Cody. We did not at that time understand the concept of parents, or the connection to their offspring. A newborn Ara belongs to all Ara. To us, you may have been a new type of Ara, but you were Ara, and to our mind, your parents were kidnapping one of us.” The dragon's tale continued, revealing how they had observed him, learning the ways of humans through the play of a child with his dragons, and the vast knowledge stored in the ship’s library. Firebelly's tone shifted, a note of urgency threading the calm. "Yet danger looms, young Cody. We now understand that there are humans who seek to plunder our essence, to extinguish our light for greed." Cody felt a weight settle upon his chest, heavier than any asteroid he'd mined. "Help us, Cody, for you know the good of human hearts and the shadowed depths of others." "I'll help," Cody pledged, though doubt furrowed his brow. "But... how do I keep them away?" "Trust in your gifts, your ingenuity," Firebelly assured, its scales glinting with a sage's wisdom. With a start, Cody awoke, Firebelly perched beside him, no longer a dream but flesh and enchanted scale. He rose, brushing stardust from his coveralls, determination etching his youthful features. The toy dragons, once mere objects of play, trailed behind him with newfound purpose, their eyes aglow. "Alright, guys," Cody addressed the dragons as he made his way back to his ship. "We have a whole planet to protect." "Hidey-holes!" squeaked one dragon, its wings fluttering. "Trickery and traps!" buzzed another, its tail swishing excitedly. "Maybe some fake mining signs? Make 'em think there's nothing worth digging for?" Cody mused aloud, his brain already whirring with plans. "Smokescreens!" chirped a third, bouncing on its haunches and belching out a little puff of smoke. "Or a maze! With walls that move!" suggested another, doing a somersault to hide behind a rock. "Those are all good ideas," Cody encouraged them, his mind racing like the engines he so loved to tinker with. "We can use what I know about ships and mining tech. Maybe rig up some alarms, or..." "Spaceships!" interrupted a dragon, its scales twinkling. "To chase them away!" Cody glanced up with a grin. “Do you have any spaceships?” he asked, not expecting the reply. “Bazillions,” replied the dragon nodding amicably. Cody glanced at Firebelly. The small dragon shook his head and gave the dragon that suggested the spaceships one of those looks reserved for someone that just suggested something ridiculously stupid. “Those spaceships haven’t been used for a very long time. I doubt any of them still work.” “How do you have spaceships… umm… you don’t have… fingers?” “I don’t have wings either, yet here I am, flying around,” said Firebelly. “This body is just a plastic toy for me to inhabit. I can make it look and act real, but it is not alive; I am. We can manipulate almost any inanimate object.” “Oh, okay, I guess that makes sense, but if you have spaceships, that can change everything.” Firebelly settled onto his shoulders. “Cody, we once explored this and many other galaxies, searching for life. We found some animal life, but none sentient like us. One of the last worlds we explored was your Earth, but after that, we returned home. Those spacecraft have been in storage for a very long time, they probably don’t even work anymore. And even if they do, they have no weapons, we did not know what war was before humans.” “You’ve been to Earth?” Cody’s voice rose with excitement. “Humans did not exist yet when we were there, only very large reptiles.” Cody’s mouth dropped open. “You saw the dinosaurs? That was like 265 million years ago. How old are you?” “I watched the first sun appear in the sky, and I will watch the last sun disappear as darkness descends on the universe, but in all that time, you are the only sentient being we have ever encountered. That is why you were such an incredible and rare gift to us.” Cody shifted uncomfortably. He wished his parents would say things like that, it made him feel special, and not just a maintenance boy. He returned to the spaceship, his council of toy dragons laying out blueprints for defense, their collective imagination as boundless as the universe outside. Cody hunched over the laser turret's open panel, his brow furrowed in concentration. Wires and circuits sprawled before him like the innards of a metallic beast. He prodded at them with a screwdriver, his hands steady despite the high stakes. "Zap-zap needs more juice," murmured one dragon, its tiny claws pattering against the metal turret. "Maybe tweak the photon alignment?" suggested another, peering over Cody's shoulder with curiosity glinting in its beady eyes. "Trying that," Cody muttered, adjusting a dial minutely. The turret hummed, but remained stubbornly non-lethal. "Buzzkill," a third dragon sighed, flopping onto its back in mock despair. The comm unit crackled to life, slicing through the silence of the cramped workspace. "Cody, it's Damien." The voice was tinny and laced with urgency. "Listen, Fleet wiped your dad's slate clean. Bad move, kid. You should have kept your mouth shut and just dealt with me." "Bad? How?" Cody's hand paused mid-tweak, his heart thudding. "Your friends in high places know you found something big. Valuable. And now others are coming, others who can take on Fleet if need be." Damien's voice held a weight that made the air feel thick. "Others?" Cody echoed, fear twining with resolve. "Big bad wolves," a dragon whispered dramatically from the shadows, its scales reflecting the blinking lights of the control console. “Who’s there with you?” Damien asked, hearing the voices. Cody cut the connection, his mind already racing with countermeasures. He returned to the turret, his movements more frantic now. "Must protect, must fight," chanted the dragons in a low murmur that filled the room with an oddly comforting buzz. Days passed, a blur of soldering irons and strategy sessions with his squadron of toy dragons. Then, the shadow of a massive mining ship loomed over the asteroid, blotting out the twinkling stars for a moment. "Company!" screeched a dragon, wings flapping in alarm. "Shush, they have scanners that can hear through the hull," Cody hissed, creeping to the viewport to assess the intruder. "We know you’re in there, kid, one chance, sell us your claim, or we take it," came the gruff ultimatum over the comm, the representative's voice cold as comet ice. "Never," Cody responded, the word tasting like iron on his tongue. "This is my claim." "Kid, don't be a hero. We'll take what we want." The threat hung in the vacuum between them, an invisible yet palpable force. "Try it," Cody shot back, fists clenched. The dragons rallied around him, their tiny faces set in fierce snarls that would've been amusing under any other circumstances. "Alright then, have it your way." The line went dead, leaving a ringing silence. "Stand strong," a dragon breathed, nuzzling Cody's hand with its snout. "Stand strong," Cody repeated, strength borrowed from his tiny guardians as he prepared for the siege to come. The air crackled with tension, thick enough to choke on. Cody's fingers danced across the control panel, his heart hammering in his chest as he slammed the button to deploy the collision armor. The ship shuddered as the sleek metal plates slid over its hull with a symphony of clanks and whirs. "Safe, safe, safe," the dragons whispered, their scales shimmering with the same protective energy that now encased the ship. A blast of red light seared through the darkness of space, slamming against the armored sides of Cody's ship. It held. A cheer erupted from the toy dragons, their tiny wings beating triumphantly. But Cody's triumph was short-lived. "Fire back!" Firebelly commanded. "Fight, fight, fight," the dragons echoed, their eyes ablaze with reflected laser light. Cody's hands were slick with sweat as he toggled the switch for the turret. Nothing happened. He flipped it again. Still nothing. Panic clawed up his throat. They were sitting ducks. "Fix, fix, fix," chanted the dragons, but there was no time. The mining vessel loomed closer, an ominous shadow against the stars. Then, out of nowhere, beams of laser fire streaked across the void, striking the mining ship with precise fury. Cody squinted through the viewport, disbelief etching his young face as he watched another ship slide into view, its guns blazing. It was like watching knights jousting in the depths of space, the noble defender challenging the aggressor. "Help, help, help," the dragons murmured, their tone a mix of awe and gratitude. But the battle was far from over. Another ship, larger than the first two, burst onto the scene, unleashing a torrent of fire that spoke of ancient grudges and unyielding power struggles. Lasers crisscrossed, weaving a deadly tapestry against the backdrop of the cosmos. "Watch, watch, watch," Cody whispered, the dragons clinging close as he pressed his nose against the cold glass of the viewport. Days melted into each other, the sky outside becoming a canvas of chaos as ships spilled in, each bearing the mark of the big Mining Corps. They clashed and roared, their battles a cacophony of destruction that drowned out all else. And amidst it all, Cody's ship sat silent, unnoticed. "Quiet, quiet, quiet," the dragons hummed, their voices a lullaby against the din of war. Cody stayed still, a statue in his own ship, watching the giants fight their battles. As long as they turned their weapons on each other, they forgot about him, about the living rocks, about everything but their own greed. "Wait, wait, wait," the dragons intoned, their bodies curled around each other for comfort. "Wait," Cody agreed, because that was all they could do. Watch and wait. Cody's eyes darted across the chaos outside, tracking blasts and dodging debris. Then, a shuttle, small and battered, danced through the storm of laser fire—a shuttle he knew as well as his own heartbeat. It was them. His parents. "Open up, open up," Cody urged, fingers flying over the controls. The landing bay yawned wide, a mouth ready to swallow the shuttle whole. It slipped inside, a fish seeking refuge in the shadow of a reef. "Pack up, we're leaving!" his mother's voice cut through the lingering hum of engines like a laser beam. Cody's feet were rooted, his heart pounded. "No, we can't go!" But they didn't listen; they never really did. They moved with hurried purpose, prepping for departure. "Please!" Cody's voice cracked, but it was like talking to the stars—distant and cold. He felt the tug of desperation, a knot tightening in his chest. "You don't understand." Turning to the dragons, the dragons now still as if only toys, he pleaded, "Show them. Show them why we must stay." With a flutter and whistle, the toy dragons came to life. They swooped into the control room, wings slicing the air. His parents staggered back from the console, their faces masks of shock. They had never seen anything like this—how could they? "There's more," Cody pressed on, using their surprise to wedge in his truth. "Aliens, real ones! Under us, living in the rocks, and down on the planet." He pointed down at the floor. "Help, you must help," the dragons sang, circling above. "Mom, Dad, they need us," Cody's words tumbled out, each one heavy with the weight of worlds. "If we leave, the miners will come. They'll destroy everything." "Everything, everything," echoed the dragons, their flight a dance between pleading and play. "Please," Cody whispered, locking eyes with his parents. He stood there, a boy circled by the flying dragons. "We have to help them."