03/12/02

CHAPTER 3

LANDING BAY 04

ON BOARD CARGO SHIPPHOENIX HORIZON
1805 HOURS, 11.02.3475

"This isn't quite as disappointing as I thought," Biaydi speculated to himself, "there may even be possibilities here."

Indeed, if the state of the ship were anything to go by, this was an organized group with established priorities. The exterior was a dark, flat metal, and the ship's outline was mostly smooth and uninterrupted. There was no corrosion visible, and he hadn't seen any major damage awaiting repairs. Some of these ships were apparently held together with saliva and glue, but if this one was it had excellent camouflage.

The name of the vessel seemed somewhat odd though. What had they called it, the Phoenix Horizon? Sounded rather fanciful, but humans were known to enjoy giving strange names to things like that. Biaydi had made note of all distinguishing features of the ship, attempting to determine any hidden weaknesses or strengths that he could put to good use. He had never been above, shall we say, appropriating any particularly useful items that he happened to come across in his travels. All he had managed to garner had been that it was a really odd design. Approximately two hundred meters from bow to tail, it was medium sized for a long distance cargo hauler. If this ship fell into line with his previous experiences with cargo ships, fully three fourths of that space would be holds and storage, with the remaining quarter of the interior being taken up by crew quarters and living areas.

The front two thirds of the ship started with a blunt nose about five meters across, slowly expanding along its length to being roughly twenty meters wide, and consistently ten meters high. This fuselage then abruptly flared into the rear section. The rear part of the ship almost looked stuck on as an afterthought at first, but was soon recognized as the power base of the ship. Where the fuselage was smooth, this section was angular, like a flat topped pyramid attached to the end of the vessel. This engine section expanded from where it joined the fuselage out in all directions to be twenty-five meters by fifteen meters at the extreme rear of the vessel.

Four large engines were visible, and two structures that looked like short wings also extended from the sides of this back portion of the ship. The Phoenix rested on four landing struts; two doubled up at the nose and one on either side of the engine section. Entrance was granted by a ramp about halfway along the main fuselage. Two large cargo bay doors were visible on the lower rear part of the engine compartment, with a smaller one on the front of the same section, just under the joining of the two sections of the ship. The name and registration number of the ship were stenciled near the nose, and a large, idealized picture of a flaming bird in dark reds and oranges wrapped around the forward fuselage.

While he had been out in the Landing Bay, he had observed that the Phoenix stood apart from the other ships, creating a cautionary "empty space" around it. In theory, no one could approach without the crew seeing them first. So, they had at least marginal strategic capabilities. He had met three of the four crew members he had been informed of, with one human still unknown. He didn't suspect any problems, these other three appeared to be controllable.

Biaydi's attention now turned back to the two crew members that had met them beside the ship. They had watched him visually evaluate their ship with apparent interest, and were now escorting him to what they had called their "CNC Room" on orders from Crowell. She had disappeared somewhere in the bowels of the ship after promising to meet them in their destination room, apparently to find some sort of documentation on their travel itinerary or such.

The new human had hair a color humans called blond, so pale it was almost white. Bright blue eyes stood out in stark contrast to his slightly dark skinned face. He was slim, but subtly well muscled. He was attired in tan slacks, a white shirt and a gray jacket. An air of good humor flowed from him, and he looked perpetually amused by something that only he could perceive. He had introduced himself as Gregory Sorren and apparently acted as some sort of second in command.

The Talcion, on the other hand, lived up to its race's reputation as a species that simply exuded "predator." A bipedal species, it was covered with medium length black fur that shaded to a dark silver on its chest. Massive, slitted green eyes took up a large portion of its face, the rest containing a muzzle with short whiskers, a mouth containing prominent fangs, and a large, flat nose. A pair of short, pointed ears were on the upper rear portion of its long, aquiline skull. Slightly shorter than the average human, it also had long fingers and toes that ended in partially retractable silvery-black claws, and a medium length tail. It was dressed only in a sort of harness-vest with various places for attachment and storage of tools and supplies. It hadn't spoken yet, simply brought up the rear of their party as they walked. Apparently from what Sorren had said when he introduced it, the Talcion's name was Zakashi Kobishen, but Biaydi wasn't even sure if it was male or female as of yet.

The corridors of the ship were fairly narrow but well lit, and almost mazelike in their layout. Biaydi wasn't sure he'd be able to find his way out of the ship without a map at this point, they had made many turns and passed through several doorways already. Without warning, Sorren opened a door that was identical to all the others he had seen, and announced, "Here we are."

"How do these people ever know where they are in this stupid ship? More importantly, who designed this thing?" Biaydi thought irritably. The door slid open to reveal a dim, round room containing a table and chairs. As they entered, the lights came up and revealed Crowell already present, leaning against the wall off to one side.

"Ah, welcome," Crowell greeted them, "I hope that we can get down to business now. I assume that you have a schedule you'd like to keep."

"Yes, I've been delayed enough already." Biaydi said stiffly. He had begun to realize that he truly disliked this human. She had a way of instantly taking command of a situation, making him feel like the underling, which was something that he was supposed to do. "I need passage to Icano for my party, and supplies will need to be transported as well."

"And your 'party' would consist of…? I like to know what kind of people I am taking aboard before making any commitments. Also, what sort of supplies?"

"Myself, four other Hyani and a Kilarin will require transport. As to our supplies… they are completely legal, I assure you."

"After being in Enforcer lockup for three weeks after that drug bust, I assume nothing illegal would be left." Sorren interjected.

Biaydi threw a scathing glare in Sorren's direction. "Why bother asking, as it appears you have already done your homework?"

Crowell flicked a bland glance in Sorren's direction. "If you had lied to me, I would have been forced to investigate further. Since you aren't trying to deny the fact, I find you momentarily trustworthy."

"Excellent. After we arrive at Icano, I will make an evaluation as to whether your services will still be required, or if we will be finding new accommodations." He put just enough emphasis on this to imply that it would be in her best interest to impress him, otherwise risk losing her new source of income.

She nodded slightly in response, and quick eye contact showed that she had understood his meaning. He knew that cargo hauling nowadays was a cutthroat business, everyone needed an edge just to stay in operation. That was the purpose of the "side jobs" that almost every crew maintained.

Crowell turned her eyes down and seemed to mull the information she had been given over for a moment, and then looked back up. "We've planned to leave tomorrow at 1400 hours. Will you be ready by then?"

"Very."

"Good. I like to be able to maintain my schedule. If you'll send your man in charge of your supplies over, I can have him coordinate with one of my crew to get your things loaded. Be here at 1300 tomorrow to get settled in before launch. Greg, will you show Biaydi and his associate out?"