The N Days: Iron skies (On long hiatus)

N Day 1.6

"Jinx? Come on Jinx, wake up dammit." I held the smelling salts under her nose, anxiously looking around the still empty hangar. If somebody should walk in now, how the hell do I explain a dragon in my arms and a passed out mechanic at my feet? I gently tapped her on the cheek, willing her to come around. Eventually, Jinx stirred, sitting her head back and blinking a few times. It took her a couple moments to come around.

"Oh man, I had the weirdest dream," She said in a haze, looking around her. "You were in it and there was a dragon and man, I need to lay off the peyote for a bit."

"Yeah, not a dream." I replied sheepishly, nodding at the dragon in my arms.

"Holy Jesus!" She hollered, moving in one swift movement up her work bench, grabbing a nearby shifting spanner as a weapon. "What in the high holy fuck is that?" Her blonde pigtails bobbing in agitation as she squirmed backwards on the table.

"I know it's difficult to process Jinx but just stay calm okay?" I tried to sooth her but to no avail. She clearly wasn't having anything of me or the dragon.

"Calm? You want me to stay calm? You bring a frikken dragon into my workshop and you expect me not to freak the fuck out? Where did you get that...thing?" The little purple dragon looked genuinely hurt at that last comment, flaring his nostrils slightly. I could feel him warming up under the material.

"It's okay, she's a friend." I quickly soothed him, calming the little creature down again before looking up at Jinx again. "I was investigating a forest fire, looking for refugees when he climbed into the chopper." I paused for a moment, realizing how monumentally stupid what I was about to say was. "He saved my life back there."

"Come again Chief? You're going to have to rewind that one for me." She eased up a little bit while still keeping a watchful eye on the dragon.

"Ran into an Orc raiding party and the ammo box on the Huey was empty. I was about to get my ticket punched when...well, God there is no easy way to say this but he turned them to ashes, every single damn one of them."

"You're kidding right?" Jinx said suspiciously as the little dragon squirmed out of the material and flied over to the work bench. I shook my head, imitating a massive fire ball. The mechanic sat silently as the dragon inched forward, rubbing his scaly head on her one hand.

"Oh Bennie....Bennie, Bennie, Bennie, you have done some messed up things in your life; remembered the General's daughter in Mogadishu? The one you did a fly by on? Little Jinx had to pull your ass out of the fire on that one, smuggle your ass out in a banana crate but this...well, we are exploring new territory here Benjamin."

"I know but I think it was abandoned by its mother and I couldn't just leave it there could I?"

"I guess not but dude, if the Commander finds out about this..." The dragon had snagged her spanner and was happily chewing on it as she looked at me with concern in her eyes.

"She'll go nuclear for sure." I was already imagining Siriese going off on me with a court martial sure to follow quickly afterwards.

"And use your dick for a Slinky. Okay Kemosabe, what's your plan? I know I'm going to regret asking it but seeing as you've already involved me in this mess, I guess I have no choice in the matter."

"We need to keep him safe here for the time being till I can figure out what to do with him." I replied, slumping back into a leather chair. The truth was I had no idea how to proceed.

"And where do you propose we keep this delightful little fireball...oh no. No, don't you even dare think that for one single second. Hell no." She protested vehemently, arms waving, sending the dragon flying for cover.