Nick relented to the call of the music. The thrum of the bass and the beat of the drum animated his legs - slow, slow, quickquick - but the guitar and the singer's voice, rich and sweet like audible dessert, willed his body to move.

Eyes on the dance floor, movement to his left, from the bar, caught his attention. Dark hair, soft, round face, slender but athletic body - the avatar of a goddess approached, danced towards him. Every step, every motion followed the music. Nick's mouth got very dry.

He rounded the corner and shadows enveloped him. Nick's eyes slowly adjusted to the gloom. Thick curtains hung haphazardly everywhere, obscuring the true size of the room. The young man cocked his head, soft unrecognizable music and a susurrus, that could have been distant voices or a breeze rustling the curtains, reached his ears.

"Sir?" Nick started. He swore the dark jacketed man, tall and thin as a rake, had not been at his shoulder a second ago.

"Shall I lead you to the party, sir?" The impeccably dressed butler questioned.

"OH, my god!" The words shot into his ear like an ice pick. Nick took a sip from his glass to hide his grimace, but his composure and fake smile quickly returned. His eyes roved the restaurant. The wall paintings were the traditional, artistic, not meant to be appealing when you looked at them closely, brand of mass produced wall art.

"Really?!" The ice pick stabbed again. Unbidden his gaze snapped back to the blond and bubbly Vanessa, his date for the evening. She continued to wildly gesture as she spoke with her friend on the cell phone, for the second time that evening. Nick would get even with his friend for the blind date - he contemplated the possibilities as he impatiently waited for the appetizers.

"T minus five, four, three, two, one..." Nick saw the rocket plume and the distant hilltop disappeared in a roiling white cloud. Then the sound, a deep growl, hit him. He had thought he was prepared, but he still started.

Nick hobbled into the bathroom and grabbed a tissue. He blew his nose, filling the flimsy paper easily, but it didn't stop the sneeze sensation. The tingle shot from his nose to his brain and then seemed to fire all the way down his spine. Nick exploded in a full body sneeze, once, twice. He whimpered and dabbed the sodden tissue to his nose.

"Salud!" the little imp said from the counter top. Sitting with its legs dangling over the Formica, it aimlessly kicked its hoofed feet as it shook its head. "You really should take care if yourself better, Nick. Your health is important to me."

"My right eye!" the man replied and dropped the tissue on the diminutive demon for good measure. "This is your fault!"

The dragon reared back, its primal scream shook the very stones. Its long, scaly tale snaked out and smashed down to the wizard's immediate. Wind ruffled the man's robes, but Aurin never flinched. He uncrossed his arms and slowly shook his head. "Smashing me like a bug, however immediately satisfying, won't get you what you ultimately want."

Ten seconds until the concussion wave hit the ship. Space did not have air to compress, but the Theyadrin's were not using conventional explosives. The _Stardream_ had hit the singularity missile, but the shot was not clean and the AI had self destructed - the Dissolvers played for keeps. The wave of compressed spacetime rushed towards the frigate.

"Brace for impact," Captain Theotokis warned his crew.