We walked down a wide access hall cluttered with repair modules. The hall ended in a door that led to the hangar’s entrance. Security was very tight and we all needed to be scanned before being allowed in.
We walked through the door into a wide, cavernous space that was buzzing with activity. A half-dozen short-range orbiters stood parked by the bay doors, but one was clearly the focus of all the preparation. It was surrounded by flight prep workers, buzzing around like bees in a hive, adjusting power couplings, loading in equipment crates, and scanning every square centimeter of the hull.
“That’s the Spiridion Arrow,” Lim said. “Our newest addition to the fleet.”
I recognized it as a Barnes PV-3200 Barracuda-class survey vessel. Top of the line. Very expensive. Which made me think of what Wallace had told me about the company’s finances. How were they able to afford this?
“The briefing room is this way,” Lim said. We walked towards the back of the hangar, through another security cordon, and into an office that had been converted into a conference room, where a dozen or more people all seemed to be speaking at once. I saw Wallace, Yates, Sainecourt and some other members of Sainecourt’s team. Towards the back of the room sat four bored-looking individuals that I had never seen before. They were a motley group, for sure. Three males, and one female. One of the males was a Plargond—a stocky nonhuman who stood less than a meter tall and had bulbous features and gray skin. These four were most likely my fellow crew members.
Wallace caught a glimpse of me and beckoned me into the room. “Attention everyone!” he shouted. “Let’s have some quiet. Captain Beck is here, so we’d like to get started in a second.”
Most folks on the team turned to acknowledge me with a respectful smile or a nod, but the four crew members just glared. I decided to take the bull by the horns and strode over to the head of the table.
“How about some introductions?” I asked Wallace.
“Absolutely. Mr. Sainecourt, what’s your ETA?”
“Less than a minute.”
“Splendid.” He clapped for attention. “Everyone, this is Jannigan Beck. He’ll be captaining the Spiridion Arrow—as far as the Shima are concerned. But, in reality, he’s more of an observer.”
“Don’t you mean a waste of space?”
The genius behind that quip was a balding man with a bushy brown beard. Based on his somewhat prominent nose and his swarthy complexion, I’d bet he’d never set foot in a cosme parlor. In fact, from the looks of them, I’d bet none of them had.
Wallace pointed at the guy and told me that he was Hap Galish, the pilot.
“Seriously,” Galish said. “I thought this mission was a big deal. Why did we have to lose Khaor and Ymirandora?”
“We’ll get into that in a second,” Wallace said. He continued with the introductions, gesturing to the Plargond. “Providing security is Xooth.”
“Hattah-hattah-hattah!” Xooth said.
I wasn’t sure if he was speaking his native language or just screwing with me.
“Our engineer is the esteemed Mr. Obarral.”
“It’s just Obarral. Like Madonna. Or Anasia.” He was a heavyset human, but from what I could see, he was completely hairless. Yet he had intelligent-looking eyes and a hint of a smile on his face. “I am your servant, sir.” He bowed formally.
“You know Virgil Yates. Our resident expert on the Ambit.”
He smiled at me.
Wallace continued. “Finally, we have Ana-Zhi Agrada. Normally she captains the Arrow, but during this mission she’ll be acting as your first mate.”
The woman looked like she’d be a good person to have on your side in a bar fight. She was tall and solid-looking, and probably weighed more than I did. I’d guess that she was twice my age, although maybe a life of hard living had aged her prematurely. Ana-Zhi Agrada looked me up and down, but didn’t even deign to insult me.
“Who are we missing?” I had counted six crew members including myself. We were allowed a crew of seven.
“We’ve agreed to allow the Shima to place one of their staff on the crew. She’s a human named Chiraine Portelle. They plucked her out of Marlington University. Probably knows more about the Yueldian culture than anyone else alive.”
“Another waste of space,” Galish said. “We don’t need a cultural anthropologist. We need someone who can work with Xooth to keep Yates from croaking while he runs the Raker. Like Ymirandora.”
“Dr. Porter is a data scientist first and foremost. Studying nonhuman cultures is her hobby.”
“I don’t care if this chick’s hobby is blowing Lumandrians. I’d rather work with someone I know.”
Wallace said “If Dr. Portelle doesn’t show up before launch in t-minus three hours, we’ll bring Ymirandora in. She hasn’t left Tor-Betree and she’s standing by.”
“If I know Dora, she’s most likely soaking in a neddi moss bath right now,” Obarral said. “Jealous.”
“Well, then,” Ana-Zhi said. “Makes me wonder. If the Shima’s girl doesn’t show, do we have to take junior?”
“What do you mean?” Wallace asked.
“I know that was part of the deal and all, but how would they know if he was on board or not? It’s not like we’ll be beaming reports back from dark space.”
Wallace shook his head. “Everything about this mission will be recorded and documented for the Shima’s review.” He pointed towards me. “Which means once we step outside the doors of this room, he’s not Jannigan Beck. He’s Sean Beck.”
“No offense, sonny boy,” Ana-Zhi said. “You might look like your papa, but you ain’t him. Not even close.”
“You’re right,” I said, feeling a flush of anger. “And I’m glad about that. But, listen. You do your job. And I’ll do mine—”
“Sitting on your ass,” Galish murmured.
“Steer clear of me, and we’ll do just fine,” I said, locking eyes with Ana-Zhi Agrada.
She didn’t say anything at first, but then her thin lips formed a half smile. “Aye
