Epilogue

Doran and Delilah had tried to bait Joe using a Davy lookalike, and they had caught six of his associates, but he had stayed away. This had reduced his helpers even more, and some had been paid in advance, so his money had to be running low, but he was still out there. They would continue to try, and eventually, there was hope that they would have success.

Draconis, the country, was doing well because Joe had given them a break for a time. Now, he was busy chasing all the leads that Doran had left for him. More than anything in the world, old Joe wanted revenge on Davy.

As for Carler and Viv, they had headed to the new planet that the Emperor had added to the Empire. Viv was concerned because there was mining and agriculture. They had dams to produce energy and solar power, and she knew nothing about any of them. At least she could cook, and she was a pretty good cook because she had learned in the rainforest, where they had to use whatever was available to make the meals they ate each day.

Surprisingly, her father had taught her to hunt, fish, and deal with anything she caught or killed. Who would have thought a biologist would know how to do any of those things? He had to because often they camped out in primitive conditions, and they needed to provide for themselves. At other times, they could hire people to accompany them, and those people would provide for them. They needed the skills because they never knew what the situation would be.

Now, she was in a similar situation and was actually glad of the training she had gotten from both her parents. Her mother had been the one who had cooked whatever her father happened to provide. It wasn't as primitive as she had expected because food was sent in along with other things. The things that mattered the most were getting the minds and the farms going. Those were the things that would provide for the colony.

Several times a week, they searched for minerals or ores they could mine to make money for the colony. They had miners and even a manager in charge of the mine, and they could do the job that needed to be done well. They were humans and thrilled with the new equipment they got to work with. Safety was first, and no one wanted someone to become ill or die because of exposure to something that could be prevented.

It hadn't been a month since they arrived, and the mines were going full out. They had found a local plant with medicinal qualities and brought in scientists to work with it so they could grow it and have another export. There was a predatory animal that suddenly had a population growth. They were now planning to bring hunters in and make money off that while caring for an animal that had gotten out of control.

Carler spoke to the King several times a week, and they were trying to decide what the political setup would be on their planet. Right now, they intended to have one Governor, but eventually, they would have five. Someone would be brought in as each area became populated enough and had enough income to support it.

Her dragon had been right. As long as they could fly, everything would be alright, and when they could fly with their mate, everything was wonderful. Her dragon told her that they were expecting a dragonling. She would tell Carler soon, and their world would be complete.