"How are we going to close the door and get undocked?" Ernay asked.
"We make the ship believe there truly is an emergency situation." Tom said as he smashed the control panel and shortcircuited some wires.
Tom dragged Ernay along and closed the hatch right before they undocked.
"Another trick you learned?"
Tom nodded. "I really should thank my training buddy for teaching me."
"Thank him from me too."
"First we've got to get home."
Ernay placed herself at the front and watched as they came closer to the first life pod. She hoped Rzk and Trri weren't doing something stupid in there. 

Rei!!! Zrnak Gerv!"
"Gerv? Nak ne."
"Hoz! Karr!"

Interplanetary Translator:
Captain! They have escaped!
Escaped? Can't be.
Really! Look!

"They've spotted us!" Tom yelled.
"But how?"
"A guard, the panel I trashed? I had hoped they wouldn't keep a close watch at all those meters and goggles."
"What are they doing?" Ernay asked, still hoping they'd get away.
"Aiming their canons."
There went her hope.
"Can we do something?"
"Activate the shield and pray."
Again Tom typed and let out a sigh of relief as he noticed the passwords were still the same. Apparently the aliens hadn't tampered much with the technical side of the ship.
The sudden beam of light hit them right in the back. The shields held for a minute or two, but then they couldn't keep up with the firepower and disappeared.
"We're taking damage!" Tom yelled.
The ship started smoking and they were losing power fast. 
"I'm going to land us on the planet!" he yelled
"Won't they follow us?"
"I hope not, I hope they think we're dead." 
"What about Rzk and Trri?"
Tom looked back at his wife and shook his head.
"They'll go after them for sure. I don't think we saved them for long."
Ernay turned away to hide her tears. The two boys didn't deserve to die. She had to cling to the hope that they would get through somehow, that they would escape. She wished the bad aliens came after her and Tom first. 
They crashed through the atmosphere and into a sunny day on an Earth-like planet. At least they'd be able to live here, Ernay thought. Further down they went, racing past forests and oceans as they followed the rotation of the planet. 
"It looks like we're going to come down around that mountain." Tom said.
"That's going to hurt" Ernay said as she crouched between the seats.
The crash was hard and painful, but neither of the humans felt much of it. They were unconscious after the first blows and were oblivious of the people and dragons that gathered around the ship. 

Ernay awoke first. The bed she was laying in felt like her own bed home. She snuggled in a little deeper, trying to doze back and sleep a couple of hours more when a voice carried her back to the situation.
"Can you tell me your name?"
"Who are you?" she asked.
"My name is Verineya. You crashed down near our Cavern."
Everything came back and Ernay tried to sit up.
"Easy." Verineya said and helped her up.
"What's your name?"
"Ernay."
"And the other?"
"Tom."
"Did any more ships crash?" she asked.
"Not to my knowledge."
So they hadn't made it. Tears came in Ernays eyes again as she thought about Rzk and Trri.

"Tom..." Ernay whispered softly in his ear.
"Another minute." he said.
"No, now, we crashed remember?"
Tom was a lot quicker in getting back as she had been. Of course, he had slept a few hours more. 
"We're at a place called Calyeni Caverns. A place where dragons live apparently. There's to be a hatching and we've been asked to attend."
"A hatching?"
"Of dragons. They say it is a powerful experience to see it."
"I can use something strong and happy." Tom said, "It is happy, right?"
"Yeah."

What happens at the hatching?
Ernay - Tom

CALYENI CAVERNS
LANTESSAMA ISLE