“You wanna give me a hand over here?” Nathan asked Cameron as she entered the bridge. “It’s gettin’ a bit crowded out there.” Cameron made her way over and took a seat at the navigation console next to Nathan.
“Damn,” Cameron exclaimed. She had never before seen the navigation screen with so many ship tracks displayed. “I guess the rings of Haven are a popular place.” Nathan wasn’t really listening, instead choosing to concentrate on flying the ship using the course plots Cameron was already feeding him. There were at least fifty ships in their general area, and despite the great distances between them, they were all moving fast enough that a few seconds hesitation could spell disaster.
“Suggest you maintain a considerable distance above the rings until we reach our harvesting zone,” Ensign Yosef reported from the sensor station. “There are quite a few stray rocks floating just outside the normal plane of the rings. And they’re a bit hard to detect until the last moment.”
“How much longer until synchronous orbit?” Nathan asked.
“Two minutes,” Cameron answered calmly.
“We’ll come in high over our assigned parking spot. Once we sync our orbit, I’ll translate down slowly into the rings.”
“Copy that.” Cameron closely monitored the ship’s rate of deceleration, making sure the flight computer would match their forward velocity to the proper orbital velocity for their assigned altitude. Although they were still traveling at considerable speeds, in relation to the rotational speed of the gas giant below them, it was no more than a diminishing crawl.
“One minute,” she announced.
“I’ve got a ship approaching from astern, slightly to starboard,” Jessica warned. “She’ll have a visual on us in five minutes.”
The last thing they wanted was for other ships passing by to get a good look at them. Although the Aurora had been designed to have a less threatening appearance than the Earth’s Defender-class warships, she still looked more like a warship than a freighter. Though all her weaponry was recessed into her hull and covered up when not in use, anyone with a bit of knowledge about ship design would be able to pick out her weapons emplacements with ease. Even if they didn’t, the battle scars and the huge hole in her bow would be enough to raise suspicion on its own.
“We may have to translate down faster than I’d hoped,” he warned Cameron. “I think it’s best no one gets a close look at us. Not if we can avoid it.”
Cameron said nothing. She knew why he wanted to duck the ship into the rings as soon as possible. The rings were just as dense as Tobin had described, and it was not something that you wanted to fly into too quickly. If someone did get a good look at them, and then reported what they saw to the family that controlled the Haven system, things could become a lot more dangerous than a quick-drift down into the rings.
“Synchronous orbit achieved,” Cameron reported.
“Scan directly below us, Kaylah,” Nathan called out. “And don’t be afraid to alert me if we’re about to hit something big.”
“Yes, sir,” Ensign Yosef responded.
“Translating down.” Nathan fired the docking thrusters, pushing the ship straight down towards the rings. He held the thrust far longer than usual, picking up considerably more speed in his translation than anyone, especially Cameron, could feel even remotely comfortable about.
“Easy, Nathan. Back off a bit.” There was genuine fear in her voice. It was unusual to hear an emotional tone from Cameron, especially during flight operations. Considering how fast they were dropping toward the rings, it was understandable, even if a bit unexpected.
“Come forward two hundred meters, quickly,” Kaylah ordered. Nathan didn’t ask why, the urgency in Kaylah’s usually demure voice was reason enough. Nathan blasted the thrusters again, this time pushing them forward as they continued to translate downward toward into the rings.
“One fifty,” Kaylah reported. “Come slightly starboard now.”
“I see it now,” Cameron reported. The moment Kaylah had barked out her recommendation, Cameron had switched her display over to track only what was nearby. Now she was starting to pick up the small and medium-sized rocks that made up the rings of Haven. “That’s awfully dense, Nathan.”
“How far?”
“Two kilometers. Rotate two degrees to port.”
“Rotating,” Nathan acknowledged as he applied a tiny amount of thrust.
“That’s good.” Cameron watched as the details of the field of rocks below them began to resolve into greater clarity. “Maybe you’d better pitch down and dive in nose first?”
“Our undersides are thicker,” Nathan objected.
“Maybe, but if we come in nose first, we’ve got a much better chance of not colliding with anything. And if we do, it’ll be at a shallow angle instead of ninety. Less likely to cause damage?”
“Pitching down,” he responded without hesitation. He hadn’t realized it at the time, but Cameron had made the suggestion without being argumentative. He had followed her advice on instinct, without thinking twice about it.
During their training, they had been unable to work together effectively as a team. Their operational styles had been in complete conflict. Despite the assertions of Captain Roberts that each of their strengths offset the other’s weaknesses-making them the perfect team-learning to work together without wanting to kill one another had been nearly impossible.
Their conflicting styles aside, the events of the last few days had forced them to put their differences aside out of necessity. They were no longer in training-they were fighting to survive. Despite the fact that circumstances had thrust Nathan into command-a fact that he was sure still bothered Cameron-it seemed they were starting to get along. Captain Roberts would’ve been proud, he thought.
“One kilometer,” Cameron updated. Nathan finished pitching the nose of the Aurora downward. They were now diving nose first toward the rings below.
“How far is that ship?” Nathan asked Jessica.
“Visual in one minute,” she reported.
“Will he be above or below our altitude when he reaches visual range?”
“Huh? Uh, just about even, I think.” Jessica hadn’t expected that question, and it had caught her slightly unprepared.
“How long until we penetrate the rings?” Nathan asked Cameron.
“About ninety seconds,” she told him.
“No pressure,” he muttered.
The ship continued to dive toward the rings as the unknown vessel grew closer. At this point, it was a matter of timing. They needed to get to the rings and become hidden amongst the debris before the unknown vessel got a good look at them. Nathan wanted to kick in the main drive and race into the rings, but he knew that such a move would not only be incredibly dangerous, but would also appear quite suspicious to the unknown vessel as well as anyone else that happened to be watching. Thus he was forced to run this particular race at a snail’s pace, compared to their usual maneuvering velocities.
“One minute,” Cameron updated. “Five hundred meters.”
“Unknown vessel will reach visual range in thirty seconds,” Jessica reported.
“How are we looking, Kaylah?” Nathan asked, not taking his eyes off his console.
“With this narrow profile, you should be clear into the rings, sir.”
“Guess you were right,” Nathan mumbled. Cameron said nothing, only casting a quick glance followed by the slightest of smirks.
“Twenty seconds to visual range,” Jessica reported.
“Cam,” Nathan suddenly asked, “is it okay to roll on our way in?”
“Uh, yeah, I think so. Why?”
Nathan applied a slight bit of roll thrust. “I’m gonna show them our belly as they pass,” he explained, pleased with himself.
The Aurora began to roll as the unknown vessel reached visual range and passed by her. All the other ship ever saw was the Aurora’s nondescript underside as she rolled over, diving into the rings.
“Penetrating rings,” Cameron reported. “You can begin braking now, Nathan.”
“Just a few more seconds.” Although the rings were dense, they were only a kilometer thick. The last thing Nathan wanted to do was fly right through and come out the other side in front of who knew how many other ships. Finally, at the latest possible moment, he fired the braking thrusters and brought them up to full power, rapidly decreasing the ship’s forward momentum until she finally came to a stop deep within the dense rings of Haven.
The entire bridge sighed collectively as Cameron reported, “Confirming all stop.” Her fingers danced across her console, entering commands and calling up information. Finally she added, “We are now in synchronous orbit within the rings, on station at the assigned coordinates.”
Nathan turned and rose from the helmsman’s seat. “Jessica, I believe we have a flight to catch.” He then turned to Cameron, “You have the ship, Commander.”
“Aye, sir,” Cameron answered as she watched him go. Cameron caught Jessica’s eye on her way out, just in time to catch a half-hearted salute and a wink.
Tobin’s ship was already fired up, her engines idling in the hangar bay as Nathan and Jessica approached. Vladimir, Ensign Mendez, and Sergeant Weatherly were all standing near the ship, waiting until it was time to board. Each were wearing unmarked coveralls that were long overdue for the laundry, keeping in line with Tobin’s suggestion to not appear too clean.
“Well, aren’t we a motley looking group? Where’s your guide?” Nathan asked Vladimir as he approached.
“Inside, with Tobin and Jalea,” he said.
“Which one did you end up bringing?”
“Danik. Allet had no desire to go Haven. I do not think he likes the place very much.”
“That’s encouraging,” Nathan said. Just then, Tobin descended down the boarding ramp of his ship, dropping the last half-meter onto the deck.
“Is everyone here?” Tobin asked.
“Yeah, how do we look?” Nathan asked.
“Like any other freighter crew, I suspect. However, I will provide you with some cloaks to wear before we arrive. It is very common attire where we are going, as it offers an additional degree of protection against the environment on Haven. Other than all of your hair being a bit shorter than most, you should not attract undue attention.”
“And I thought my hair needed a trim,” Enrique joked as he followed Tobin up into the ship.
One by one, they climbed up into the long, compact ship, with Nathan being the last one aboard. The interior was cramped, with three seats along each side of the back cabin, all facing inward. There was a hatch on the back bulkhead that led to a small cargo hold, and another hatch at the front end that led to the cockpit.
Nathan took his seat by the cargo hatch on the opposite side of the cabin, next to Jalea. The seats themselves were rather firm, and not very comfortable, obviously not designed for a long journey. They also had some type of restraint system built into them, the belts appearing to have seen better days. Looking forward into the cockpit, Nathan could see that Tobin was not bothering to put on his restraints, so Nathan assumed that none of them would need theirs either. The fact that Jalea also did not feel the need to restrain herself only served to support his decision.
The sound of the idling engines became louder as the exterior hatch swung up and closed, sealing with a hiss of compressed air. Once closed, the whine of the engines was greatly reduced, however, the vibrations inside the ship told of the increasing strain on her engines as the small ship began rolling, making a u-turn to port and heading into the transfer airlock.
Nathan could see out the window built into the hatch on the opposite wall, watching as the frame of the airlock moved past them. Through the front windows of the cockpit, he could see the outer airlock door. It would take only a few minutes for the airlock to purge itself of pressure, and then the outer door would open and the transfer airlock would become one with the vacuum of space.
Again the small ship began to roll. Nathan watched out the side window as the ship moved out of the transfer airlock and out into the outer bay, eventually coming completely out into the open only a few meters from the aft edge of the flight deck. As they came out from under the canopy and into the open, the light reflecting off the reddish-brown and orange gas giant outside washed into the cabin, bathing them all in its eerie glow.
The little ship fired its thrusters, quickly climbing away from the Aurora and slightly to her starboard. The sound of her landing gear as it retracted up into the ship was unusually loud, as was the clunk that was heard when the gear locked into place. As they accelerated away, Nathan could see the numerous chunks that had been carved out of the Aurora’s outer hull by the many hits she had sustained during her recent battles with both the Jung and the Takarans. The sight of the damage to her exterior made Nathan ill, and he found himself thankful that they hadn’t flown over the port side of the ship where there was a huge hull breach in her bow.
Chunks of rock and ice of varying sizes and shapes drifted past them as they made their way down and out of the rings. Within only a few minutes of leaving the Aurora, the small ship had cleared the rings and was headed for the large moon called Haven. As they followed along the underside of the immense field of debris, Nathan and the others could see different ships conducting their own harvesting operations. They were of different shapes and sizes, ranging from ships not much bigger than the one they were on to some larger than their own Defender-class warships back in Sol.
Nathan could feel his pulse quicken, his heart beating in his throat as he gazed out the windows of the small ship. He had left the familiarity of his own ship to hitch a ride in this tiny, alien spacecraft. He was a thousand light years from home, seeing things that the people of his world could only dream about. Nathan looked over at Vladimir. He too was staring out the window in disbelief, along with everyone else in the cabin.
“This is unbelievable,” Nathan mumbled.
“There are so many different ships!” Vladimir exclaimed.
“Yeah, and all of them better armed,” Jessica added. “You two might want to keep it under control a bit,” she mumbled, looking toward the cockpit to see if Tobin had overheard them. “No point lettin’ on what ‘newbs’ we are out here.” Jessica shot a look at Nathan and Vladimir, reinforcing her warning. For a moment, Nathan felt incredibly naive. Vladimir simply shrugged it off and continued gazing out the window.
“Hey, you notice that none of the big ships come anywhere near Haven?” Sergeant Weatherly observed as they approached the large brown and blue moon. “Only the little ones.”
“Most of the big ones are cargo ships,” Nathan explained. “They probably don’t have the power to change orbits frequently. Especially when they’re fully loaded. It makes piloting them a bit trickier. You have to be very efficient, conserve every bit of momentum and fuel. Look at their main engines. They’re mostly just small engines with considerable fuel storage behind them, designed to do long, low-level burns.”
“Is that why the Aurora’s got such a big ass?” Enrique joked.
“Yeah, actually. And her ass is all engine, too. She can really get up and move in a hurry.”
“Enrique likes big asses that can move,” Jessica smiled, nudging her spec-op partner.
“Is that right?” Nathan said.
“Yeah, that’s why I never hit on you,” Enrique jabbed back. “You don’t have an ass!”
“Not a big one, that’s for sure,” she corrected.
Nathan smiled, thinking of that night a few weeks ago, back on Earth. The memory of her reflection in the mirrored wall tile as she had pulled her dress back on brought a slight smile to his face.
“We will begin our descent momentarily,” Tobin called back from the cockpit. “It will get a little rough as we hit the atmosphere. The inertial dampeners on this little ship are not terribly effective, I’m afraid.”
“Thanks for the warning,” Nathan called back. “I’m sure we’ll be fine.”
Most of the shuttle rides that Nathan had taken to and from the orbit of Earth during his academy days had been in the older shuttles that had no inertial dampeners. The first few rides had been frightening. He had never quite gotten used to them, but he had learned to tolerate them. The worst part had always been the plasma wakes. The white-orange fire streaking past the windows as the shuttles plowed through the thickening atmosphere was the scary part. It always seemed as if the fire would burst through the cabin at any moment and consume them all.
The ship rolled slightly, giving them a better view as they made their way around the moon. Haven was about half the size of Earth, and from orbit, it appeared different in many respects. Most notable was its color. It was mostly brown with some patches of gray and green. The surface was mostly dry land, broken up occasionally by a few large bodies of water that paled in comparison to the oceans on Earth. There appeared to be a few mountain ranges, some small oddly colored forests, and a lot of open plains. There were even snow-covered poles. But most of the surface appeared to be barren of life. And what plant life there was appeared odd from orbit, paler somehow. Many of the plains appeared to be covered with a tan-colored substance. The color reminded him of sandy beaches back on Earth. But there were no large bodies of water near the big tan splotches that Nathan could see.
He could see a few active volcanoes, complete with large lava flows. On first impression, it seemed an odd mixture of both the hospitable and the hellish.
The moon grew considerably larger in the windows, until it was alarmingly close. “Shouldn’t we have rolled back over by now?” Nathan commented. He was the only pilot among them. Therefore, he was answered with blank stares.
A moment later, something began humming loudly from the compartment behind them. A few seconds after that, a strange bluish glow seemed to envelope the ship.
“Some kind of shielding?” Vladimir guessed.
The ship began to vibrate and bounce slightly as the bluish-white field surrounding the ship began to change color, taking on a more amber hue. Within a minute, the bouncing had become more violent and the field surrounding them was glowing a bright yellow-orange that had become so intense that it all but blocked their view of the world below.
“I think it’s a heat shield,” Nathan told them.
“Is that even possible?” Vladimir asked.
“I guess so. That would explain why we didn’t need to pitch over.”
It seemed impossible to Nathan. Every space-faring vessel he had ever seen had a heat protective layer along its underside. Even the Aurora’s underside was reinforced and heat-shielded in order to allow for limited atmospheric flight as well as for aero-braking maneuvers. But such materials usually added to the mass of a ship as well as to the complexity and expense of her production. If these people did have an energy-based shield to protect them against the extreme friction of atmospheric entry, it would be a highly useful technology to bring back to Earth. The applications would be endless.
His contemplations of how such a technology could be used were interrupted by the increasingly violent shaking of the little ship. Despite the shield that prevented the heat of entry from reaching them, it apparently did little to reduce the turbulence. It seemed even worse than he remembered from his last re-entry to Earth. One of the things he had always liked about space was that there was no turbulence. Nathan hated turbulence, which was surprising considering that a large part of his training at the academy had been spent learning to fly every type of aircraft known to the people of his world. That turbulence, however, had not bothered him since he had been the pilot. Right now, as a passenger, he was feeling it in the pit of his stomach.
He scanned the faces of his team. Moments ago they had been joking with one another. Now, they all had rather serious looks on their faces as they too wondered if the ship was going to hold together.
A few minutes later, it ended nearly as quickly as it had begun. The energy shield faded back to amber, and then to bluish-white, until it finally faded away completely, with the hum of what must have been the shield generators going silent immediately thereafter.
Sometime during the entry, Tobin had rolled the ship back over, and now they were properly oriented in relation to the world below. They were a few thousand meters above what appeared to be a small inland sea, heading toward a distant shore stretched out before them. The ship continued to gradually descend as it approached the shoreline. Minutes later they were over land, down to only a few hundred meters and still descending. They could see various farms and ranches below, broken up by the occasional cluster of buildings. They were headed towards a large city of some sort.
The tan splotches that had resembled beaches from orbit now appeared to be some large flat plant that in some cases covered hundreds of square-meters of land. Nathan couldn’t tell if it was all one plant or many plants grown together. He also noticed people cutting the flat plant up into smaller pieces and tossing them onto the back of large, flat vehicles.
The farms quickly disappeared, giving way to more urban concerns. They continued their descent until they were only a hundred meters off the ground, on their final approach to the spaceport. Nathan could hear Tobin talking in an official tone to someone over his headset, and he assumed it was some type of air-traffic controller. After all, the sky over the spaceport was full of ships coming and going, and someone had to be telling them all what to do.
From above, the space port appeared to be a hodge-podge of parking stalls, hangars, and service buildings, all connected by various runways, taxiways, landing pads, and service roadways. There was a complex at roughly the center of the airfield, with numerous auxiliary buildings clustered around what appeared to be the main terminal building. Similar in overall design and function to the numerous spaceports of Earth, this one appeared to have started small and expanded over time. Dissimilar to the ones on Earth, this facility was right in the center of the city, as if the city had grown up around it. Nathan could see homes and businesses with their backs right up against the spaceport, and he wondered how anyone could function so near all the commotion and noise that the facility must have generated.
Finally, the ship slowed, pivoted right, and began its final descent to their assigned landing point, her engines screaming as they strained to keep the small ship aloft. Nathan could hear the sound of the landing gear as it extended from the ship. A moment later the ship bounced gently onto a landing pad made of a large, extremely robust grate that was elevated a couple meters above the ground to allow for the thrust wash of their engines. The moment they touched down, the ship’s engines immediately spun down to a low whine.
The ship rolled off the landing pad onto the tarmac, winding its way between rows of parking stalls. Most were open stalls, with nothing more than service buildings separating them on either side, while others had roofs over them. On approach, he had seen rows of hangars, but the area they were in did not appear to have any such buildings.
Nathan peered out the window as they rolled past dozens of spacecraft, many of which didn’t look like they could make it to orbit. Some of the spacecraft were being made ready for departure, others were being serviced, while a few appeared to have been out of commission for some time. There were even a few that had temporary fences locked around them, presumably to prevent access to them for whatever reason. In light of what Tobin had said about the family that controlled Haven, Nathan wondered if the owners of the locked-down spacecraft had failed to pay tribute and lost access to their vessels as a result.
Several minutes later, the ship turned sharply and rolled in between two long service buildings. Nathan could see a couple of men in dirty coveralls peering out the window of one of the buildings, watching them as they rolled to a stop and shut down their engines. Moments later, Tobin removed his headset and began to climb out of his seat. “Welcome to Haven,” he announced as he left the cockpit.
Tobin pushed past them as he made his way to the rear of the cabin. He punched in a code on the keypad next to the door on the back bulkhead, and it slid open to reveal a small corridor that led to another hatch farther back, with storage racks on either side. Nathan and the others watched as Tobin reached for a group of light-brown cloaks hung on the wall.
“Whoa!” Jessica yelled, as she jumped from her seat, drawing her sidearm and taking aim at Tobin. “Hands where I can see them!” she added, her weapon now fully trained on Tobin. Enrique was only a step behind her, his weapon also drawn, with Sergeant Weatherly right behind him.
“What the hell?” Nathan exclaimed. It appeared that every member of his team, including Vladimir, had their weapons drawn. Nathan seemed to be the only one of them that did not. “Something I should know, guys?”
“Step back!” Jessica ordered. “Hands high!” Tobin, with his hands held in plain sight, stepped back from the cloaks, turning to face Jessica as he slowly raised his open hands.
“I was only reaching for the cloaks,” Tobin insisted in his most charming and innocent tone. “I assure you.”
Jessica peeked over her shoulder to verify that the rest of her team were prepared to back her up. She stepped forward, grabbing Tobin by the collar and spinning him around before shoving him up against the wall. Enrique shifted to his left, getting a better angle from which to keep his weapon trained on Tobin without Jessica being in his line of fire.
“What is it?” Nathan inquired, standing to try and get a better view.
Jessica turned around, pushing the cloaks to one side to reveal a gun rack containing dozens of hand guns, assault rifles, grenades, and what looked like shoulder-fired rocket launchers. “I thought you said you weren’t armed?” Jessica challenged Tobin.
“I said I wasn’t armed, when we first met in your hangar bay,” Tobin defended. “I did not claim that I owned no weapons.”
“Uh huh,” Jessica mumbled as she inspected his hidden arsenal. “Do a lot of hunting, I suppose?”
“Nathan,” Jalea protested. “If your security personnel are going to react so violently at the slightest possible threat, we are all in for a very difficult time here on Haven. I assure you, most of Haven’s residents are far less tolerant of such behavior.”
“I apologize,” Nathan responded. “But in the interests of all our safety, you might want to tell us now if there are any other weapons you might have hidden on board?”
Jessica gestured to the others to stand down, as she too holstered her weapon. Tobin turned to face Nathan, his hand slowly coming back down to his sides as he spoke. “This is my entire stock,” he promised. “They are only for defensive purposes.”
“Defensive purposes?” Jessica questioned. “Against what? A battalion?” Jessica handed him the pile of cloaks he had originally been after, gesturing for him to exit the compartment before her.
“You would be surprised at how much defensive armament can be required on Haven,” Jalea said.
Tobin began handing out cloaks to each of them. “I would suggest that you wear these cloaks at all times during your visit. They are common here, and will serve to protect you from the environment. They will also help you to hide your weapons from view, as well as to help you to blend in amongst the crowds.”
Nathan accepted the last cloak as Tobin stepped past him. The cloak was made of a thick yet light-weight fabric that had obviously not been washed in sometime and smelled rather unpleasant.
Tobin cracked open the hatch, which swung downward toward the tarmac. Small steps extruded from the hatch itself as it neared the deck, stopping about fifty centimeters from the dull gray surface outside.
The cabin quickly filled with the heavy, humid air of Haven. An unusual smell, a mixture of mechanical fluids and a pungent, musky odor immediately hit Nathan. The aroma was almost overpowering at first but soon subsided. After nearly a month living in the scrubbed, temperature-controlled air of their ship, the natural atmosphere, no matter how aromatic, was a welcome change.
Tobin was the first one out, moving gingerly down the boarding ramp and dropping the last step down. Being nearest the hatch, Nathan was next to exit the ship. He stepped out onto the ramp, standing tall in the open air. The sky was a pale, unnatural-looking amber. He realized why their entry into the atmosphere had been so turbulent, as he could feel the increased air pressure of this moon. It was somewhat warm, and quite humid, as if it would begin to rain at any moment.
Nathan looked around briefly. They were parked between two long metal-clad service buildings. The buildings themselves were obviously cheap and easy to construct, with a few doors and windows, and a single roll-up cargo door. Looking forward and aft, he could see they were at least several rows back from either side of the berthing yard. He could see plenty of activity, with people moving about their various ships, and service vehicles cruising between the rows of stalls.
He looked up at the sky. Its subdued amber was almost like the sky on Earth just after the sun had dropped below the horizon. But this world’s sun was still sitting low in her sky. It was small and pale compared to their sun back on Earth, and provided considerably less light than he had expected. Nathan could even look directly at it for several seconds without hurting his eyes. In the opposite direction of the sun, the gas giant around which the moon of Haven orbited filled the bottom half of the sky from the ground upwards. The light reflecting off the gas giant provided a secondary light source, casting fainter shadows in the opposite direction of the ones cast by Haven’s sun. The effect was wholly unnatural, and it gave the entire scene an eerie cast.
Nathan made his way down the ramp, dropping the last step onto the tarmac. His landing felt light, as if he had jumped down only a fraction of the actual distance. The gravity here was only half that of his home world, and a quarter less than the Aurora’s standard gravity. He jumped up and down a few times, finding himself coming considerably farther off the ground than he would have expected under normal circumstances. It was an unusual sensation-both frightening and exhilarating at the same time-which brought a boyish grin to his face.
“You know, Nathan, you are probably the first person from Earth to set foot on another world in over a millennia,” Vladimir told him as he dropped to the tarmac next to him.
“Guess I should’ve said something profound, huh?”
“What the hell is that smell?” Jessica asked as she stepped off the ramp.
“Not exactly profound,” Nathan mumbled, “but accurate.” Vladimir chuckled as he bounced up and down, bounding a few steps away from the ship as he too experimented with the reduced gravity.
“This area is covered with an edible fungus,” Tobin explained. “It is everywhere there is dirt, and it can be rather pungent. It is, however, very flavorful and nutritious. It has in fact made civilization possible on this moon, as it grows with almost no effort and is quite a profitable commodity. Although it is not as appreciated on other worlds as much as those that grow it would’ve hoped.”
“What time of day is it here?” Nathan asked Tobin.
“It is midday.”
“Really? It looks more like sunset.”
“We are late in our light cycle.”
“Light cycle?”
“While Haven is passing between the star and the planet, there are fifty-two days of normal day and night. When we pass behind the planet, there is only darkness for the following fifty-two days.”
“No sun for fifty-two days?” Jessica asked rhetorically. “How depressing.”
“One becomes accustomed to it over time,” Tobin commented nonchalantly.
“Explains the abundance of fungus,” Jessica mumbled.
“So what happens next?” Nathan asked.
“We must go to one of the labor halls. There we can hire a crew to do the harvesting for you. The sooner this is begun, the sooner you will have funds with which to purchase the goods you require.”
“Lead the way,” Nathan invited.
“Transportation should arrive momentarily. So, Ensign,” Tobin said, looking at Jessica, “if you could refrain from shooting them, it would be appreciated. It is a long walk to the main terminal area.”
“I’ll try to control myself,” she promised.
“I must caution you all,” Tobin continued as he raised the hood on his cloak to cover his head, “to use discretion while on Haven. Keep covered up as much as possible when outside to protect yourself from the elements. Although the sun does not appear strong, it does deposit considerable radiation on our little world. The fibers of these cloaks are designed to reflect much of this radiation. And do not attract attention to yourselves. Most of the people here are not residents of this world. Therefore, they are as apprehensive as you are about their own security. It would serve you well to remember this.”
“Are you suggesting that we don’t defend ourselves?” Jessica challenged. She knew that he was not, she just wanted him to understand that she wasn’t about to let anything happen to them.
“Of course not, Ensign. Just think twice before pulling your weapon,” he suggested as he turned to lead them away.
“Thinking twice is usually a good way to get yourself killed,” Enrique commented to Jessica under his breath.
“Yeah, that’s exactly what I was thinking,” she agreed. “Listen, you and Weatherly take the rear. You try to soak up as much intel as you can while you watch our six.”
“Got it,” Enrique acknowledged.
“Sarge, you keep your eyes on Danik.”
“What’re you going to be doing?” Enrique asked.
“I’ll be watching Tobin,” she told them, as their transportation arrived. “I don’t trust that skinny little shit.”
The ride through the spaceport had been brief, having moved along at a good speed. But traveling the short distance from the spaceport to the labor hall had been anything but. The spaceport was the center of all commerce and activity on the small world. During the ride, Tobin had informed them that most of Haven was still undeveloped. The moon had only been colonized a few decades ago to provide support for increased harvesting of the rings. It was because of this that Haven City-the only city on this world-had spread out in all directions from its sole spaceport.
After exiting the main gate, they had only needed to travel less than a kilometer down one of the many roads leading away from the spaceport. From what they had seen, each of these main roads was lined with shops and offices of various interests. There were also all manner of street vendors peddling their modest wares. Nathan guessed that they could probably purchase everything they needed by spending a few days shopping these congested lanes.
After spending considerable time working their way slowly down the boulevard, they arrived at a large, tan building. It was dirty and its exterior was in considerable disrepair. There were many men and a few women lingering about outside. A large sign over the massive double doors identified the purpose of the building in a language that Nathan could not decipher. By the looks of the men milling about, however, he was pretty sure they had arrived at the labor hall.
“It would not be wise for all of us to enter the hall,” Tobin instructed as they dismounted the vehicle. “Perhaps only a few?”
“Jessica?” Nathan asked, seeking her read on the situation.
“The four of us go in,” she suggested, gesturing at Tobin, Jalea, Nathan, and herself. “The others can look around out here.”
“Perhaps four is too many?” Tobin urged. “I was thinking perhaps just you and I-”
“Where the captain goes, I go,” Jessica interrupted. The determined look in her eyes told Tobin that it would be pointless to argue.
“I see. Then perhaps the three of us-”
“Jalea is my interpreter,” Nathan insisted.
Tobin sighed in acquiescence. “Very well, the four of us it is.” He bowed his head slightly and extended his arm toward the main door, inviting them to enter.
“Sounds good,” Nathan agreed. He was definitely out of his comfort zone, and felt better having Jessica-who had proven herself in combat on more than one occasion-deciding how to best keep them safe in this unfamiliar land. He turned to Tobin again. “How long do you think we’ll be in here?”
“It depends on how many bidders are still looking for work today,” he explained. “This late in the day, however, I expect our choices to be few.”
“Don’t you love how he answers a question without actually answering it?” Jessica muttered to Nathan under her breath, raising a slight smile on his face. It was something he had already noticed about the man during their first meeting.
“Okay,” Jessica spoke up, turning to face Enrique and the others. “We’re going inside this big ugly building here. Should be a hoot. You four take a look around out here. But stay close, and keep your ears on. I have no idea how long we’ll be, or how quickly we’ll be looking to move out when we’re done. So stay flexed and ready.”
“You got it, Jess,” Enrique answered. Vladimir and Danik had already headed away toward the nearest shop that appeared to deal in some type of technology. Enrique turned to follow, gesturing for Sergeant Weatherly to join him.
“Lead the way,” Nathan told Tobin.
Tobin turned and headed up the steps to the building, with Jalea, Nathan, and Jessica following. He entered the hall, removing his hood on the way in, and bowed to the gruff-looking man behind the front counter. After a brief exchange with the clerk, Tobin gestured for them to follow him deeper into the hall. “I informed the clerk that we were looking to hire a harvesting crew. He informed me that there are a few crews still available, so the bidding should be quick.”
They followed Tobin into the main hall. The room was large and open, with high-beamed ceilings. There were large heavy wooden tables and benches lined up throughout the room. It looked as if it could accommodate hundreds of workers when filled to capacity. At the moment, there were only a half-dozen teams remaining, each represented by at least two leaders.
The clerk delivered a small electronic tablet to a man sitting behind a large desk on a raised platform at one corner of the room. Nathan assumed it was a data device similar to the ones they used on the Aurora. He watched as the man read the small pad, preparing to perform his part of the hiring ritual. About the room, the various team leaders noticed their entrance, as well as the arrival of the clerk. Nathan realized these events had alerted them to the presence of a new employment opportunity, and each of them appeared to be preparing themselves to bid.
The large man behind the desk gestured for Tobin to approach, exchanging words with him. A moment later, the man spoke through the loudspeaker. “The Volonese cargo ship Volander wishes to hire a harvesting crew,” the man announced. “Expected quota is three hundred kilotons. Completion time is two days. Payment desired is ten percent minus fees and expenses.” The man paused, giving the team leaders a chance to crunch their numbers and prepare their bids. After a minute, he continued. “The bidding is open.”
“Twenty-five! Plus fees and expenses!” the first team leader called out. Tobin’s face crinkled, his brow furrowed in disgust at the first offer.
“Twenty-two, plus!” the second team countered. Tobin’s expression failed to change.
“Twenty, plus!” the third team chimed in turn. Nathan was struck at the order in which they were bidding, wondering how it had been decided.
“Eighteen, plus!” the fourth team announced. Still Tobin’s expression remained unchanged. There was a moment of silence as everyone waited for the fifth and final team to announce their bid. But the fifth team leader simply waived his hand, indicating a pass on his turn to bid. He appeared either uninterested or unwilling to commit to a bid so early in the process.
“Sixteen, plus!” the first team re-bid.
“Fifteen, plus!”
“Thirteen, plus!”
Again, the bidding got to the fifth team, and again they waived their turn. The turn then went to back to the first team, who paused, and then indicated that they were no longer interested in the job, the bid having gone below what they were prepared to work for. In a show of solidarity, the other teams also indicated they were done bidding. Tobin shook his head and returned to the side of the room to rejoin Nathan and the others.
“What happened?” Nathan asked, confused. “I thought we needed to hire a crew?”
“Patience, Captain,” Tobin smiled as he strolled past them and headed towards the exit. “The negotiations have not yet concluded.”
Nathan turned to follow Tobin, still unsure of what was going on. He looked at Jalea, who remained stone-faced as usual as she walked away.
Moments later, they found themselves outside the labor hall, walking down the steps.
“What the hell was all that for?” Nathan inquired, hoping for more of an explanation now that they were outside and away from the locals.
“It is all part of the ritual, Captain. Each of us must play our role in the ceremony,” Tobin assured him.
“So, you’re saying that-”
“You don’t look Volonese,” a voice called from behind him.
Nathan turned to see a small man, barely twenty years of age. His hair was shaggy, with most of it tied back in a pony tail. He wore the customary cloak and was preparing to pull the hood up over his head to protect himself against the Haven sun’s unusual radiation.
Nathan recognized the man as having been in the hall earlier, sitting near the leader of the fifth team. “We don’t?” Nathan responded. Tobin flashed Nathan a stern look as a caution against conversing.
“You’re too clean,” the man continued as he came out of the shadow cast by the building. “Volonese almost never shave. And their women are usually fat and ugly,” he added, eyeing Jessica as he spoke.
“We’re going for a new look,” Nathan joked, ignoring Tobin’s warning.
“Is there something we can do for you?” Tobin interjected, hoping to take over the exchange to prevent Nathan from saying something unwise.
“We’ll take the job,” the man announced.
“At eight percent? Minus fees and expenses?”
“I believe your price was ten?”
“Ah, but you seek to circumvent payment to the labor hall, do you not?” Tobin countered.
“As do you,” the little man pointed out. “And I am the only one out here offering to take the job, sans the labor hall’s fee.” It was obvious that the young man was not new at this type of wheeling and dealing. Nathan found the process intriguing.
“My mistake. Ten it was,” Tobin conceded. “And you can meet the terms of delivery? It is a rather fast job, considering the quota.”
“It will not be a problem. We’ve got the best harvester pilot on all of Haven,” the man boasted.
“Forgive me, I do not intend offense. But you seem a bit young for this job.”
“Possibly, but maybe that’s why we’re willing to take the job for the measly rate you’re offering,” the man smiled. He obviously didn’t care if he was being offensive, which made Nathan want to hire him all the more.
Tobin bowed his head in deference, refusing to take offense at the man’s rebut. “Perhaps. Then it is agreed. I assume your crew is ready to begin work immediately?”
“No choice, not if we wanna complete the job in two days.”
“Then have one of your representatives join me at berth four-thirteen for the ride up,” Tobin explained.
“You people aren’t going?” the young man asked, as he circled slowly around them, paying particular attention to Jessica as he passed.
“They have other business to conduct before returning to their ship.”
“Uh huh.” The man smiled as he passed Jessica. “Shame. You definitely ain’t from Volon,” he grinned.
Nathan smiled. He definitely liked this guy.
“Find anything interesting?” Nathan asked his friend as they returned to Tobin’s vehicle.
“Interesting, yes. But not useful,” Vladimir said. “But the day is still young, and Danik tells me there is very large open market where they sell used components for small spacecraft. It is on the other side of the spaceport.”
“Captain,” Tobin called. He had finished making plans with the young man representing the harvesting team and had rejoined them. “I must return to my ship and escort the harvesting crew and their ships back to yours.”
“Their ships?” Nathan inquired, a bit surprised by the inference of multiple spacecraft.
“These teams usually have at least two or three small ships. One harvester that collects material from the rings and delivers it back to your ship, and one or two cargo shuttles to haul equipment and workers, as well as to ferry some of the harvested material back to Haven for resale in order to collect your payment and theirs. I have instructed them to use at least two ships for hauling back to Haven, as I expect you will require significant resources with which to purchase the supplies you desire.”
“Sir,” Jessica interrupted. “I’d recommend we send Ensign Mendez and Sergeant Weatherly back to the ship with them. I’d feel better if Enrique kept an eye on the harvesting operations in my absence.”
“Very well,” Nathan agreed. “Tobin, can you take two of my people back with you?”
“Of course, Captain. I should return to Haven within a few hours at the most. Meanwhile, might I suggest that you spend some time in our street markets. Perhaps try some of our local cuisine. You may find something you wish to purchase for use on your vessel. I’m sure Jalea will serve as an adequate guide in my absence, as this is not her first time on Haven.”
“You don’t mind?” Nathan asked Jalea, not wanting to assume her assistance would be so forthcoming.
“It would be my pleasure, Captain.” Jalea smiled, placing her hand on his forearm to lead him toward the street market.
Vladimir watched as they strolled past him, a smirk on his face. He looked over at Jessica, who bore a suspicious look that somehow made Vladimir’s smirk magically disappear. Sensing the tension, Vladimir decided to follow Nathan and Jalea, along with Danik.
“You two head back to the ship with Tobin,” Jessica ordered Enrique and Sergeant Weatherly. “I need you to handle security on board while I’m down here. Who knows how many of these workers you’re gonna have running around the flight deck. So keep your eyes open, and recruit anyone you need from the crew to help you. Do not let them beyond the flight deck, understood?”
“No problem, Jess,” Enrique answered. “Come on, Sarge, let’s mount up,” he told him as he climbed into the vehicle.