Accounting for Drakes. Stand Alone Tales, #21

Her great-grandfather has raised Abil on Blue Station since she was ten. She was found on an unpopulated world and had been there since she was two. Her survival was a mystery that only her guardian had solved. Her affinity for calculation put her in administration as soon as she was old enough, and as long as she remembered to act human, she got along fine. Being raised by a non-verbal drake had been challenging, but language and social skills hadn't been on the agenda.
Going into a scenario for a guest in distress introduces her to a rude drake who has to about face when the station master introduces him to some facts. Meeting him has caused an energy surge, and Abil heads for an airlock to take flight for the first time. As she becomes a space-faring drake, everything changes, and the stars become her home. The rude emperor is going to have to wait.