The Artucian were amazed at the blue glowing vortex that engulfed the ship. All three of them stared all googly eyed at the sight of it, at a total loss for words. They stood rooted to the spot, until Natalya waved her hand in front of their faces, startling them. The three of them blinked many times over before any of them responded.
"Um... Natalya, was it?" Tahral asked.
"Yes, it is. The first time seeing hyperspace is always amazing," she snickered.
"Hyperspace? You mean where the ship enters a state of movement to where we are in an alternate dimension, where we can cross vast distances in the blink of an eye?" he wondered.
"Exactly so. Been studying up, have you?" she asked.
"Taal'ani has been teaching me things about the galaxy," he admitted bashfully.
"Oh, I'll bet she has," Nats giggled as she gestured for them to follow her. Tahral blushed, his skin going from a sky blue to more of a true blue. The Artucian almost had to wrench themselves away, but they moved along just as the Darkstrider came out of hyperspace.
"Are we where we need to be already?" Luminia asked.
"Nah. We just hit a waypoint before we make another jump. Hyperspace lanes are like roads. Once you get to the end of one, you pick out another one to get where you're going," Priya told them as she walked up behind them.
Sure enough, the ship lurched again, and they entered hyperspace once more, Inari making the calculations before firing the hyperdrive. The ship was on its way through a much longer leg now, so Inari could leave the pilot's seat and join the rest of the crew. Alex had just called a meeting of the entire crew to discuss what they would be up to. Inari was the last to arrive at the conference area and waited on Alex to start.
"Before we get started, I would like to know where we are going," he asked, glancing over to Inari.
"Our destination is Seerahn station. It's a neutral trading port is off the beaten path for travelers and merchants. It's a place where we can find buyers for some of the more lucrative items we have in the hold," Inari replied.
"Such as?" Alex queried.
"Materials we need for the Perseus and information. Because it is a neutral trading port, any of the main spacefaring races will have enclaves there. Each enclave connects to the main extranet, so making calls, looking up information, seeking people out, is easy to do. I figure it's a good place to get the basics of what we need, attracting no undue attention," Inari finished.
"Very good. How long will it take us to get there?" Alex asked.
"Well, right now we are headed for the Phalarn Hyperspace Waypoint, which is a hub for at least a dozen different routes. It will take us six hours to get there, plus an additional eleven hours to get to the station. So around seventeen hours," she answered.
"All right then. Gives us plenty of time to rest. Anyways, I called everyone here because there is an important matter that I wanted to discuss with everyone," Alex stated.
"Which is?" Priya asked.
"Keeping mine and Kasumi's real identities secret. I'm not sure how complete the records of our time were, but the fact is that there might be records of who we are out there. I don't want who we really are to come out until we're ready to let the galaxy know that we survived, along with the Perseus," Alex explained.
"Why would that be something you would want to conceal?" Luminia wondered.
"Because, who they are and what they know of the Perseus, is valuable. So valuable, that there are people out in the galaxy who wouldn't hesitate to kill for this knowledge," Inari told her.
"Are people truly that callous?" Tahral wondered in disbelief.
"Many are and some even more so. So, we have to keep the truth of who they are secret. At least for now," Korsa said to him. He nodded, seeing the logic of such a decision, but still perplexed that people could be so evil.
"So, people like Vahltiem are more common out there?" Aesha asked.
"Yes, and no. It all depends on where you are and the people you're dealing with. The galaxy can be an unforgiving place for those who are not prepared for it," Natalya replied, her own experiences still haunting her to this day.
"So, by the sounds of it, you two will need new ID's, proper papers and a completely forged life, so to speak," Taal'ani said, putting the pieces together.
"That's the best way of putting it. You know anyone who could help with that?" Alex wondered.
"As a matter of fact, I do. I will call him way before we get to Seerahn station. Should give him enough time to get there," Taal'ani responded.
"Excellent. What about these three? Won't they need ID's or anything like that?" Alex wondered.
"For them, not so much. At least, not now at any rate. The station we are heading to is an independent station, so the laws about new species having to register aren't enforced there," Inari said.
"Ah! Well, that helps! I'm sure those crates of items to sell will fetch us a decent price?" Alex asked.
"More than a decent price, I'd say! With enough of those liquor bottles, we could make a mint and be sitting pretty for the rest of our lives!" Priya bubbled, excited at the prospect of actual spending cash, as opposed to just scraping by.
"So, Talon, this friend of yours, he charges a decent rate?" Kasumi asked.
"His rates are among the highest in fact. He does amazing work, but because of the quality level, it costs," Taal'ani informed them.
"Well, you get what you pay for. As long as he's not one of those weaselly types, who'll try to stiff us," Kas said.
"Bataar isn't like that. He's got a long ass client list and he wouldn't have said clients, if he wasn't good at what he did. He goes over everything, backstory, homeworld, biometrics, the whole shebang," Taal'ani told her, a little annoyed at Kas' lack of confidence in her friend.
"Just making sure of it, that's all. I haven't met your friend and we've known each other for all of what four weeks? Can't blame me for a being a little skeptical," Kas replied, sounding apologetic.
"I'll let that one pass for now, but just so you know, I don't call people 'friend' lightly. They have to earn my trust if I'm going to consider them as friends," Talon responded. "But I agree that you get what you pay for."
"Good to know. If everyone is good on this plan then, I think a tour of this fine vessel is warranted. Wouldn't you agree, Captain?" Alex asked, addressing Inari.
"Yes! I think a tour is in order, so no one gets lost!" Inari snickered.
With that, both Alex and Inari led everyone around the ship, showing off the various rooms aboard and where they were located. They were on the second deck where the cockpit, mess, galley, bridge and hydroponics was situated. The crew stepped into the elevator and went up to the first deck where the lounge and cabins were located. The cabins were roomy, and everyone selected which ones they wanted.
After that, they headed to the third deck where the sick bay, engineering, workout/sparring area and drone control nodes and pods were located. Part of the cargo hold was on the third deck, to allow for larger cargo storage. Once completed, they headed to the fourth deck where the new armory and rest of the cargo hold was situated.
"You didn't hold back in equipping us, sir!" Priya commented, taking in the full scope of the ship.
"With what the Darkstrider was, it gave you the basics of what you needed to get by in the galaxy. I wanted to upgrade it so things would be much easier in that regard," Alex replied warmly.
"All of this... it makes getting things done much easier!" Natalya replied with googly eyed amazement. "Hang on, where is the access point to the Banshee?"
"That is on the first deck where it needs to be. Right next to elevator is a small stairwell, that runs up and down the ship. On the first deck, is a ladder, that heads straight up to the docked fighter," Alex explained.
"Odd. I didn't see any doors to the stairwell," Natalya replied.
"It's hidden Nats. It will only open in a combat situation, so we can get up or down as we need to," Priya told her.
"Oh! OK, that makes sense. Who has access to the fighter?" Natalya continued.
"That would be me, Pree, Talon and Kasumi, as we're all pilots," Inari responded, filling her in.
"Gotcha!" Nats said, finishing up her line of questioning.
"Now that the grand tour is done, everyone head off to do what you wish for the next few hours. We have a while before we get to Seerahn station, so rest up and relax while you can," Inari told them. Hearing that, everyone dispersed, eager to settle into this ship that would be their home for the next little while.
******************************
"Excuse me... Korsa?" Aesha called out to the retreating Khontaran woman.
"Yes?"
"I would like your help in doing some training," the Artucian woman asked.
"Training? As in fighting and with weapons?" Korsa wondered.
"Yes. Seeing you fight, has shown me just how badly undertrained I am. If I am to become a proper warrior for my people, I need to be trained by someone who knows what they are doing," Aesha stated.
"Very well. I will train you, but I want to hear no complaints from you about my methods or how hard I will be on you. Training with a Khontaran as your teacher will be... difficult," Korsa told her.
