"Yeah our Kestras!" Roach smiled again. He was amused by everyone's hatred for their cargo, although he was sure that if he had gotten cargo duty he would hate it too. Fortunately, being the pilot gives you the perfect excuse for avoiding the Kestras.
"Speaking of Kestras...has anyone seen Marcus?" Roach announced suddenly. "Wasn't he supposed to cover the cargo duty today?. I could have sworn I saw him wa- oh hey, Jamie!" Roach turned to greet the doctor who had just climbed down to the lower deck.
A gurgling, whiny sound came over the intercom, "That everyone was my stomach, can somebody please bring me a sandwich down here? I can't leave while the core is charging."
"That's why your here?! I god dam baby sitter?! Do they not think I can handle running a ship without somebody here to hold my hand?! Christ!" Mike turned to the admiral, "The crew has been instructed to not harm any of the members of the crew sir. There will be severe punishment if any harm is done."
Mike asked the admiral to follow him, and began heading toward the control room.
"i'll go feed the hungry guy" issaria said as she made a sandwich and walked to the core room
"here you go extra and next time just ask don't ruin the food with stomach noises over the intercom"
"Well," thought Walter, "He didn't get the Captain job due to tact, that's for sure." Walter followed Mike and The Admiral towards wherever they were going. Walter had been given a job to do, and didn't care if the Captain disliked him; that was to be expected. "Most people dislike me anyway, given my line of work" Walter thought. Besides, after facing down armed bands of rebels, Walter was neither intimidated nor impressed by bluster.
Spicymeatball a.k.a Marcus, will be away for the rest of today so he contacted me and we scripted this via PM. He will resume posting tomorrow (Wednesday). At the time of the writing everyone else (except for Extra) was in the dining hall.
Captain's quarters, the Sakkara:
Alexis was mulling over some charts that he had laid sprawled across his desk when he heard a knock on the door. "Come in" he answered. The door opened and in walked Marcus.
"Security chief?" Alexis asked raising an eyebrow. "What can I do you for?"
"Sir, permission to speak off the record?" Marcus began
"I've told you many times, be as informal as you can. All this 'official lingo' makes me feel uncomfortable" Alexis gestured to a chair before his desk. "Come sit, lay down your burdens" he said with a smile
"Captain, I-!" Marcus rubbed his face. "I have concerns about this 'meeting' that is to occur between us and the UPD cruiser the Thantos, as security officer, I feel that I must stress the concerns I am having with letting you or this ship near the UPD. For all purposes, this may not be a routine inspection. It very well could be a trap"
"Indeed, seven years of being a Freelancer and never has a UPD ship requested a meeting before an inspection. It's always a short radio transmission to cut the engines and to prepare to receive a boarding party" Alexis frowned. "I don't like it either but what choice do we have?. Fight?, surely not. A freighter, not even the Sakkara can survive an aggressive encounter with a UPD cruiser and there is little point in running considering our job takes us to and fro UPD sectors" Alexis leaned forward from his chair "Like it or not, this meeting is going to happen"
"Understand then Captain, that I wish to accompany you. Should you be asked to board the Thantos"
Alexis smiled. "I was expecting that from you Marcus. Bring Sally along as well, if it is a trap, then we'll give them an end worth remembering"
Marcus smiled in return. "Very good then!. If you have no further orders, I shall go and prepare for the meeting" Marcus nodded to Alexis and turned to leave
"Marcus, one other thing." Alexis began suddenly stopping the security chief. "Tell Issaria that you will take over her shift for Kestra duty" a smile appeared on the captain's lips
"Oh that is cold!" Marcus paused to shake his head disapprovingly.
"Serves you right for finishing the hot water!. Dismissed!" Alexis turned to his papers with a bigger smile.
Marcus left the room and proceeded to the lower deck dining area where the others had gathered.
"Hey Issaria, I just wanted to say that I will be, uh, taking over the Kestra duties till we get to Omega I". Marcus turned to Roach, "Do you have any idea how long thats going to be?" he asked as he picked up a sandwich. "You know what no, don't tell me. It's just going to make me sick" he grumbled as he made his way past the various other compartments. Finally he made it to the large doors that were marked Cargo Hold L01.
Gods, give me strength!, he muttered under his breath as he pressed the button to open the doors.
__________________________________
On board the Thantos:
"Relax Captain, they are just doing their job too!" the Admiral let out a sigh. "I was interrogated by them too, those specialists. No idea why or for what, but they'll keep out of your way, if you have nothing to hide." he turned to face Walter. "Son, I am sure that what you are doing here has nothing to do with what you just said, and I am quite sure, that if I was to confirm your story with Fleet HQ, they will mysteriously agree with me. So I'll stop wasting everyone's time and get to the point. A situation has cropped up with UPD high command. A situation so grave, that even I am not being told what it is. All I have are facts and a mission...and part of that mission entails getting to the Sakkara".
"Now" he turned to Captain Mike, "You are in charge of this vessel, so I suggest you get us there ASAP. Don't stop for anything".
"As for you" he turned to specialist Walter. "Well, you are not under my authority. So I can't really tell you what to do, but if you are anything like me, a man trying to figure out whats happening then, perhaps you should be present when I am ready to make my meeting. You might be useful to Fleet Command more than Specialist Command" he nodded to both men before walking off. "Don't disturb me, till the Sakkara is withing visual range. Disobey that order, and I won't care who you are, you will find yourself out the airlock"
"Yes sir, I will do that." Mike walked over to the intercom and radioed the cockpit, "I want a lock on the Sakkura, follow the ship all the way to Omega 1."
As I sat with the others, eating the heavenly sandwich between my jaws, I wondered about the upcoming inspection. "Anything special about this inspection or is it just a standard UPD waste of time?" I asked to the others in the dining hall.
Extra was bobbing and swaying to some xeno-rock he had playing while looking at the warp core display when Issaria walked in, "Thanks for the sandwich, sorry about the intercom thing, I've been so busy getting the ship ready I forgot to eat all day, but still I can't leave while charging the core or else we might get a warp-space anomaly, and we don't want that."
Marcus re-emerged from the cargo hold. He was looking discernibly more ruffled than usual. "Not one word" he muttered as he walked passed the Engineering bay and spotted Extra and Issaria. The foul odor of Kestras followed him about. Marcus paused to press a button on the intercom. "Captain, the Cargo Hold is clean again" he grumbled slowly.
Disposing of his cleaning tools in the supply closet, Marcus moved back into dining room. "Hey guys!" he said to Roach and Jamie as the latter just posed a question.
"Personally, I think somethings up with the UPD. Whatever happens, I think we should be prepared" he said as he stabbed an apple with a knife.
Roach was about to answer when he was interrupted by a series of beeps that emanated from the cockpit. "Woops, that's me!" he exclaimed putting down his sandwich in a hurry. He paused to turn and smile at his fellow cremates. "We are at journeys end, mes amis!. We can finally haul those Kestra's outta here" he turned and bolted to the cockpit, settling back in his seat in once graceful jump. He deactivated the autopilot and resumed manual control of the ship. Pressing a button on a side panel he spoke through the intercom.
"Captain, Lady, Gentleman, Kestras" he began with a smile. "I welcome you to Sector 2 of the Core Planetary Region. If you look out the forward cockpit window you will see the beautiful blue planet of Omega I and her three moons. If you are elsewhere on the ship, then too bad." he paused to adjust a few levers.
"Captain, do we prepare for atmospheric flight to the surface of Omega I or do we hold in standard orbit around the planet?" he quizzed over the intercom again.
"Mr. Roach!, we don't have the time or luxury for atmospheric entry into the planet. As much as I want to take a few days off, we have pressing issues at hand. I have sent word to the governor of Limos, Capital of Omega I and he will send a shuttle and transfer our cargo off us once we dock with Omega space station. So, set standard orbit and prepare for docking with Omega space station"
Alexis then addressed the whole crew.
"All hands, attention!. We are now docking with the Omega space station, the automation on board will take care of the cargo for us, so once you have all finished your current activities, report to the upper deck lounge. Its an urgent crew meeting!."
"guess you can power down the core now extra "issaria said after hearing the captain. She then went to her room to grab her m16 and continued on to the upper deck.
"Thy will be done, my Captain" Roach replied. He powered up the engines and pushed a lever to the full ahead position. The engine drone grew louder as he increased the ships speed to the legal limit in the sector.
Omega I, drew closer and closer through the cockpit window. The ship was approaching the planet from its lit side, Roach could make out little white specks of clouds that dotted the planet's atmosphere and the sapphire blue waters that covered most of its surface. Sunlight streamed through the glass windows, lighting up the cockpit suddenly.
This is Omega spaceport to unidentified vessel approaching Omega I, please identify yourself and your intentions, a voice suddenly cackled from the speakers
"Omega speaceport, this is Freelance freighter Sakkara, we are transporting 3674 units of Kestras from the Outer Rim planet, Kojiki-Sado. We have our transport papers in order, we have clearance from the governor of Limos to deliver said cargo to Omega space station. How do we proceed?" Roach spoke in.
Freighter Sakkara, you are cleared to enter Omega Space. Proceed to the station situated 0.5 AU from your current position. Your docking papers are in order. Enjoy your stay. Omega spaceport out
"Thanks Omega Spaceport" Roach closed the comm-channel before adding in silently, "Wish we were actually heading to the surface"
He guided the craft following the directions transmitted by the spaceport. Soon, the Sakkara was crossing into the dark side of the planet. The cockpit plunged into darkness again. In the distance, Roach could see a series of flashing lights, he looked at his scanners for conformation. It was the space station.
Welcome Sakkara, proceed to docking station 105. Our transport crew will prepare the necessary equipment for your cargo, a new voice came through. Roach acknowledged the message and brought the engine power to idle. The space station now consumed his entire view, the massive structure of metal and other material sprawled across his field of vision, the hazard and running lights were mesmerizing to watch. A series of pulsating lights indicated to Roach, the entrance to Docking station 105. He checked their approach speed and angle. Satisfied, he fired three short bursts from the reverse thrusters, the Sakkara came to a complete stop.
The ship jolted slightly as docking clamps attached itself to the hull, this was a security feature for both the station and the ship, least either move violently and collide with the other.
The last docking clamp attached itself to the hull. "Transfer of cargo, is commencing now. Thank you, crew of the Sakkara".
Roach radioed the Captain. "Chief, we are docked with Omega Space Station!. The Kestra's are being offloaded as we speak" he said before climbing out of his seat. He checked his instrumentation one last time before powering down the Navigational Computer. This done, he made his way to the upperdeck lounge for the crew meeting.
Marcus gripped the edges of the table as the ship rocked slightly during docking. He let out a long sigh of relief when Roach announced that the docking procedure was over and that their cargo was being offloaded.
"About time!" he grinned at Jamie. "Our transport is done, we'll have our money soon. Once this inspection or whatever is done, we'll be home free again" he was about to continue when the captains order for a crew meeting interrupted him.
"I'll put the core on stand-by for now and let Captain decide if he wants a full power down." Extra typed a couple of key strokes into the control panel, gathered his gear, and walked to the upper deck.
"That sounds fine with me." Walter answered. "It would be good to see your security protocols, as per my mission." Walter checked to make sure that he had his weapons, it didn't pay to take chances when dealing with potentially dangerous enemies.
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