Ships Interface Ch 018

The boatswain's whistle sounded on the public address system throughout the Nestia's decks to alert the passengers and crew of an imminent message. "Attention everyone," Inta's pleasant voice echoed throughout. "We will be arriving in the Khosrow system in one hour. All teams have been requested to confirm their readiness for action. Thank you," she signed off.

The ship suddenly became a hive of activity. Time-passing games were abandoned, cups of coffee were forgotten, and napping team members were roused to help begin final preparations.

On deck seven, in the Linyphiidae team leader's private room, Emily slowly stirred from a wonderful dream of being tied down and used roughly, smothered by a large pair of warm breasts. She woke to find her reality wasn't too different; she lay in a hammock of fine silk, pulled tight against the woman she had unexpectedly fallen in love with. Her head rested on one gray-skinned breast while the other pressed down from above, comfortably snug, nestled deep in warm cleavage. She felt safe and protected in Rhenna's embrace; she held Emily possessively with her humanoid arms and several arachnid legs.

Rhenna reached down and brushed the hair from Emily's face. "Time to wake up, darling. That was the announcement that we'll be arriving at Khosrow shortly," Rhenna said lovingly.

"I don't think I want to," Emily said sleepily. " staying right here sounds much more appealing." Emily's hands wandered across Rhenna's skin, sliding back and forth across the boundary between soft gray skin and smooth ebony exoskeleton. She marveled at the sensations beneath her fingers and delighted at the shivers she elicited from Rhenna when she caressed the imperceptively fine hairs covering her chitinous half.

After waking from their Broodmark consummation in the med bay and finishing their preparations with Inta's help, the wonderful silver girl escorted them back to Rhenna's quarters. After a quick kiss for each of them, Inta left them to their own devices, instructing them to let her know if they should need anything.

They spent several hours exploring each other's bodies and many variety of ways to bring each other pleasure. Exhausted for a second time, they fell asleep blissfully in each other's arms.

Emily gave Rhenna a playful pout. "You're right, I suppose," she said, maneuvering herself out of the hammock and onto her feet. "I'm going to need to head back to my quarters, put myself together and go check in with Devens."

Rhenna hopped out of the hammock behind her. "I'll need to check in with my team as well. There won't be much to do until we have a better understanding of the situation on the ground and the team leaders come up with a game plan, but we need to be ready, none the less," she said as she pulled a fresh tunic on and began brushing out the tangled evidence of 'just fucked' hair.

It only took Emily a few moments to dress; then she stretched up to kiss Rhenna, who leaned down to meet her halfway.

"I love you," Emily said, her eyes full of emotion.

"Love you too, Darling," Rhenna replied, her eyes moistening at a sudden rush of joy and contentment washed over her. Emily turned back once in the open doorway, blew Rhenna a kiss, and then practically skipped down the corridor toward the lifts. Rhenna watched her go and felt the slight ache of watching a part of her leave, however briefly.

****

"Decelerating to sub-luminal speed now," June called aloud. The full Nestia crew was on the bridge as they entered Khosrow space; June and Will were in their usual spots at navigation and tactical, Ben sat at his preferred station in the back, Thea next to him; Be'tule was the Grove's representative on the Bridge today, his large frame occupying most of the bench built with the Toparian physique in mind. He leaned into Artona with an arm around her as she took up the remaining space on the bench. Diana sat at a darkened station at the back on the opposite side of the room from Ben and Thea, Inta at her side. She idly fidgeted with her cane in her left hand while Inta sat on her right, holding her hand.

They received a hail as they cruised at half-luminal speed into the system. The image of a tall, slender woman in a sharp black and silver uniform appeared on the screen. She wore a black beret on her hairless head and a welcoming smile on her blue face. "Greetings, Nestia. This is Captain Lethri Pherlune of the Cantroni frigate Vespera. We were appraised of your imminent arrival and were instructed to greet you when you got here."

"Hello, I am Captain June Harding. Thank you for your welcome," June responded. "You're a ways out from Cantroni space, aren't you Captain?"

"Aye, we are," Pherlune answered. "We were on a scouting mission in a nearby system when the tragedy struck. The AAN, fearing pirates and others who would exploit the tragedy, asked for security services when they issued their general request for aid. We were the only naval ship nearby, so we were sent to patrol Khosrow space."

"Where's Khosrow's navy? Why aren't they providing security?" Will asked, confused.

"Khosrow has no navy," said a deep, resonating voice just off-screen. Captain Pherlune looked to her right and waved the unseen person over into the field of view.

Lumbering into view was an enormous man, all rippling muscles, covered in thick, rough hair. He towered over the Cantroni, at least eight feet tall and as wide as two Urarcs, side by side. The hair on his head was braided into one thick rope running down his back, and his thick beard was braided into two smaller but similarly braided strands.

Two foot-long ivory tusks poked out from his beard, the blunt ends capped in ornately filigreed steel. Two piercing blue eyes, full of intelligence, stared out over a long, thick nose hanging loosely over his mouth, hidden under a thick beard. He wore a light vest covered in pockets, leaving his broad shoulders and massive arms bare. A heavy steel prosthesis with three iron fingers and a thumb replaced his left forearm, which must have been lost in some industrial accident.

"This is Jynthal Quoros, the second in command on the Netherlands," Captain Pherlune said, introducing the man dwarfing her. "He came out on a shuttle to help guide you."

"You may call me Jyn," he said in a slow rumbling tone. "Currently, there's no traffic control for approaching craft; it would be easier to guide you if I came aboard, but, if you wish, you can follow my shuttle down to the planet."

"The hangar bay is a little tight right now, but I think we can manage," Inta told the crew.

"Then it's settled," June said definitively. "Come on over, and someone will escort you to the bridge. Thank you, Captain Pherlune, for your help."

"I wish there was more that we could do," Pherlune replied, "but we're a light frigate with a small crew; there isn't much we can do for the people down there other than what we're doing now."

"And we thank you for that," June offered appreciatively. "The last thing the people of Khosrow need to deal with is raiders on top of everything else."

Pherlune nodded in acknowledgment. "If you find that there is something that we can help with, please do not hesitate to send word. We will do whatever we can to help. Good luck." The captain gave a small wave and then signaled to her comms officer to close the channel. The screen on the Nestia bridge reverted to the image of the smaller ship a short distance away.

A few minutes later, a shuttle disengaged from an airlock on the frigate's port side and slowly wheeled away, heading for the Nestia.

Standing at the far end of the last open space of the hangar, Inta raised the atmospheric force barrier and then opened the hangar doors as Jyn's shuttle lined up on approach. Over the comms, Inta called out to the approaching shuttle. "Please bring the shuttle within one hundred meters, hold your position and shut down your engines. I'll bring you in from there," Inta directed.

"Understood, Nesta," Jyn rumbled in reply.

As soon as the shuttle powered down its engines, Inta engaged the tractor beam, pulling the shuttle in and depositing it softly on the deck. While the hangar doors were melting closed, the small two-seat shuttle door hissed as it opened. Their guest, an enormous man, practically a wall of muscle, pried himself out through the door. Once he stood upright, he bent backward, stretching out.

Welcome to the Nestia," Inta said cheerfully, craning her neck to look up to him. "My name is Inta."

"Jyn," he grunted, monosyllabic. Inta decided he wasn't much of a talker and that his talents lay elsewhere. Determined to have a conversation, she persisted.

"If you'll follow me," Inta said, leading him to the lift. "I haven't met anyone like you before," Inta continued, "if you don't mind me asking, what species are you?"

Though a man of few words, the corner of his eyes crinkled with the beginnings of a smile at his host's insistence. "Mammuthus. My people come from Tarabolsk; I left when I was very young."

Inta's smile was infectious as he began opening up to her. "Left home to see the wide galaxy?" she asked as they stepped into the lift. There was barely enough room for them, Jyn's massive form taking up most of the space. Inta couldn't help but lean into him slightly, her head close to his chest. His slow, steady heartbeat was unusually loud in her ears.

"No, I left to find work. Tarabolsk is a poor backwater world; I would have ended up working the Tenten fields as a farm hand like my father and his father," He paused, momentarily lost in memory, but only a moment. "I was an impetuous youth. Farming didn't suit me."

Everything Inta had observed about Jyn to this point indicated that he was slow and deliberate, which she suspected was how he dealt with everything. If he was an impetuous Mammuthus, then the rest of his people must be glacial in their dealings.

The lift door opened onto the command deck, and they stepped out, Jyn nearly filling the hallway. As they stepped onto the bridge, he had to dip his head to get through the doorway.

"Everyone, this is Jyn," Inta said, introducing their guest. The crew pivoted in their seats to greet him and paused, eyes wide at the enormity of his presence.

After a beat, Will got up from his seat and extended a hand. "Nice to meet you, Jyn. I'm Will." Will's hand disappeared in Jyn's fist; Will guessed that he could have crushed rocks bare-handed, judging by the rough calluses and thick, meaty fingers, but the handshake was firm and cordial.

"Let me introduce everyone. At Navigation is June, Ben's at the science station, and that's Thea next to him," he said, gesturing to each in turn. They waved in greeting. "Over there is Artona and Be'tule, and of course you've met Inta."

Be'tule tried not to stare, but he rarely met someone larger than he was. Artona eyed him suspiciously, evaluating how much of a threat he might be and likely calculating how she would need to take him down if necessary.

Inta stood beside Jyn, put a tiny silver hand on his massive forearm, and shot Artona a quick wink. The Urarc relaxed visibly. Inta had already decided that she liked him, and Artona had absolute trust in Inta's judgment of people. "Please come sit over here, Jyn; I have a seat just for you." A wide, low seat raised itself from the floor as she spoke, fitting Jyn's dimensions.

"Thanks," he said with a raised eyebrow, watching the chair form before his eyes. He settled into it gingerly, half expecting to crush it with his weight. When it did not collapse, he leaned back slightly, making himself comfortable.

"When you get to Khosrow, enter into an equatorial orbit. The Netherlands is currently located five hundred clicks north of the equator, roughly halfway between the mountains and the East Coast. Once you're close enough, you should pick up our guidance beacon," he said slowly in a low rumble.

"Alright folks, time's a wasting. Let's get going," June declared, engaging the Nestia's drive, beginning their final approach to Khosrow.

Will set the view screen to look forward, displaying a pale blue dot that swiftly grew larger.

As they approached the planet, it grew in apparent size on the forward monitor, expanding into a primarily blue sphere dotted sparsely with land masses that could be seen beneath scattered puffy white clouds.

High in Khosrow's orbit were three small moons, leftovers from the planet's primeval accretion disk that hadn't been pulled fully into the planet's mass nor managed to gather together in orbit; they were grouped close enough that at night on the planet, one could look up and see the three make their way across the night sky together.

Too small for practical outposts, the moons of Khosrow remained barren and unpopulated, only providing the planet below with relatively minor tidal action.

A blinking indicator on the navigational control caught June's attention. "We're picking up a whole bunch of Nav transponders from ships in orbit, about a hundred or so," she said, looking back to Jyn hopefully. "Did someone get here ahead of us?"

Jyn shook his head. "Those would be the automated freighters," he explained. "Only high value ore shipments, like Tantalarium, get escorted, crewed transports. Everything else is loaded onto automated freighters. Some bean counter in the corporate office did the math and determined that only the high value stuff was worth the expense of protecting."

"And eventually, the shipping companies grew tired of paying the ransom for crews captured by pirates," Will interjected, "and went with the automated freighters. Dumb move, if you ask me. Now they lose even more because attacking them are low risk, creating even more incentive to go after them. Completely short sighted on the part of the shipping company."

"You sound like you have experience," Jyn observed.

"June and I used to do short haul runs like this for Peirault. Pirates think twice when they know there are people on board who'll fight back. Peirault's not like that, but some shipping companies are run by idiots who've never set foot on a freighter."

Jyn nodded in agreement, then narrowed his eyes, questioning. "Used to? You don't work for them anymore?"

"Not full time. We run as independent contractors now. That allows us the flexibility to do what we want while still being able to pay the bills," Will answered.

"Like go on humanitarian missions," Jyn rumbled approvingly.

"Exactly." June confirmed. She looked back at the sensor readout and frowned. "So what's up with the freighters? Are the going to be reassigned or just hang out in orbit?"

"The latter, most likely," Jyn said, scratching his chin thoughtfully. "It'd cost the company too much to send them away empty. These were queueing to be loaded, but now there's nothing to load; there's no one left to do it but the Netherlands' processing facility, but we've basically shutdown all operations and have been focusing on rescueing those we can from the mainland. I would expect that these will end up staying in orbit for a good, long while."

June shrugged her shoulders at the waste of it all, then returned her focus on the task at hand. She slowed their speed as they entered the atmosphere, punching through a thin layer of cloud cover until the unbroken expanse of the ocean opened below them. Following Jyn's directions, June shifted course, heading Northward.

After a few minutes, they began picking up the faint ping of the beacon signal. "Huh, you're picking the beacon up a quite a bit further out than I'd thought you would," Jyn commented. "You're going to want to follow that down, and when you get to the Rig, there will be several landing platforms surrounding the main facility. You're a little larger than the freighters we usually load up, so we've cleared the largest pad for you."

June piloted the Nestia on the Northern heading for several more minutes, then slowed their approach as the silhouette of the derrick appeared on the horizon. Calling it a derrick didn't do justice to the scale of the floating facility. The floating refining facility was a small, self-contained city covering roughly twenty hectares, with several multi-story buildings packed tightly together, all at different heights. It looked like they were added as operations expanded. Each building had several large smokestacks, now dormant, designed for whisking heat and fumes away from the heavy industrial processes occurring inside. All the buildings were sealed and secured from the harsh ocean environment outside.

Surrounding the main facility was an array of floating landing platforms, all labeled with large yellow lettering painted onto the deck. They were connected to the main facility via wide gangways and were robust enough to support heavy machinery. Several of the smaller landing pads looked badly damaged, with dozens of surface plates missing and gangways twisted to the point of being unusable.

"We took some damage as the tsunami rolled past underneath us," Jyn explained as they made their final approach, "a few of the platforms took the brunt of it, though it took a few days to clean up the mess inside from being tossed around." Sadness leaked into Jyn's usually stoic expression, "all told, we faired much better than the folks on the mainland."

June slowed the Nestia almost to a hover, circling the facility slowly. "Put down on A1, over there," Jyn said, pointing to the largest landing platform on the northern side of the facility.

Swinging the Nestia around, June extended the landing legs and touched down softly, dead center on the platform, before shutting down the gravity drive and running through the shutdown sequence, ramping down the power core to a low power idle.

"Softest landing I've seen with ship this size," Jyn commented, clearly impressed.

"Wait till you see what she can really do," June said, unable to contain her enthusiasm.

"I'm sure she's spectacular," Jyn said appreciatively, "but my instructions were to bring the team leaders to the Chief for mission planning as soon as we arrived," he said in a flat no-nonsense tone.

"Of course," Will chimed in. "Inta, can you ask the team leaders to send everyone they'll need in the strategy meeting down to the cargo bay?"

"Can do!" she chirped.

Jyn stood from his seat, ready to go. "Once we're all assembled, I'll take you all to the main conference room to meet the Chief and discuss our options."

"Sounds like a plan," June said. "Let's go."

As everyone began filing into the corridor, heading towards the door, Inta spoke up loud enough so everyone could hear her. "Why don't we use one of the forward lifts; the aft lifts are busy bringing the other teams down to the hangar level." Everyone nodded and followed Inta as she led the way, stopping at a doorway that looked like every other they had just passed.

It opened on what looked to be an empty shaft with no car to step into, though odd handrails started at the open doorway and bent inward and down until it made contact with the side of the shaft wall just below the doorway.

"Inta?" Will said her name questioningly. "Is there something wrong with the lift?"

"Nope, just testing out a new idea I had while talking with one of our quests." Then she stepped out into the open space of the lift shaft, her body pivoting at the point of contact with her feet until she was standing on the side of the shaft. She looked back at them as if they were in a hole in the floor from her perspective. "I've modified this whole shaft so that wherever you stand, the gravimetric plating will hold you there, just as if you were walking on the floor."

She looked down at them and smirked. "I just realized that standing here, you can all look up my dress," she said with a giggle. And once having said it out loud, almost instinctively, all eyes were drawn to the fact.