John sat back as the auto pilot managed the take-off. All the lights were turned on and the planet was bathing in artificial light. John calmed down a bit when he saw he was going to make it. No aliens would get him today. He nearly cheered.
For a moment he felt good just to be there in the lit control room looking out in the galaxy. He had left the planet behind in about 2 minutes after the auto pilot had ignited the thrusters. The only thing that interrupted the perfect silence was the soft thudding of the engines.
Empty. He was alone, he was safe. There were only stars ahead for light-years.
"Oh no!" he said.
"Tom! Ernay!"
He couldn't go back to Earth now that they were missing in action. So the aliens had plotted to murder them. He was lucky that he'd gotten out. But they wouldn't think so on Earth. No, like always they would say someone had shot them, and for lack of another scapegoat he'd be blamed.
That wouldn't happen. He'd just keep flying this ship until it ran out of energy. Or he could land it on a human colony planet and disappear in the mass. That might be even better, because God knew these freaking aliens had ships too and with his luck they would find him before humans did. And then he'd be doomed.
Maybe he should just give in and let himself be found. But it wasn't in John's nature to give up so he checked the starmaps and set out a course to the first inhabited planet he could find. 
He checked the timetable and saw getting there would take two weeks. That meant he could use the deep-sleep tanks. The board computer would wake him when he was close enough to start an emergency landing and he would be home free.

*twip*
John blinked his eyes...cold...
*twip*
He sat up and remembered. The aliens, Tom and Ernay, it was almost enough to make him lay back down. But his new life was in reach. He wiped himself dry and put on some clothes he found laying around, black trousers and a blue shirt. 
"Status." he said as he entered the command room.
The computer started to display some basic stats. The planet below him was suited for human inhabitation, it was called Pern and wasn't too commonly visited by Earth ships. Good.
He typed in the commands to proceed with the landing as planned and sat back in his chair, waiting.
He braced himself as he hit the atmosphere. The bouncy ride down was something he had felt a hundred times before, but now it was different.
He looked outside and saw the land getting bigger. Mountains, trees, it all looked pretty from above. Than the impact came. John couldn't land the ship properly, so it just crashed nose first in a soft green meadow. It pushed along for another 20 yards and then it stopped.

"John coughed and waited for his eyes to focus. He had a headache. He tried to raise his hand to his brow, but things were wrong. The gravital pull wasn't right. He brought his hands down and unhooked his seatbelt. He fell down. His head banged against the floor making him see stars and feel like he had just partied 2 weeks straight.
"Are you ok?" a voice from outside shouted.
"Yeah." he tried to shout back, but not much sound got out of his mouth.
Finally a woman looked in and started to help him.
"You gave us quite a scare. Crashing down on us."
"I didn't mean to."
"Of course not!" she said as she helped him out. She looked out in the distance for a second and turned him to face where she was looking.
"Zalaeith will get us back to Abri."
John panicked when he saw the giant silver and purple beast that was with her.
"No."
"Don't worry, She hasn't eaten a human yet." the woman chuckeled.
"My name is Valecaea, what's yours?"
"John."
"ok, John, we'll have the healer take a look at you and then you are free to go, or stay for the hatching."
"Won't I draw a lot of attention to myself?"
"No, we have a non-human candidate standing already, I thought that was what you are here for. Impressing a dragon?"
"Ehh, yes, I'm still a bit shaken from the crash."
he answered as he followed the woman to her dragon. Apparently more strangers impressed these dragons...It seemed a good way to start a new life and get integrated without having to fear the law.

What happens at the hatching?


ABRI WEYR
LANTESSAMA ISLE