A stream of cargo transporters approached Grants World Secondary Transport Center, commonly known as Grantsville Space Port Number Two. As they passed, the bored gate guards sat and watched. The gate had automatically opened and the guards were there to visually check for anyone silly enough to try and catch a ride in. They weren’t concerned with what cargo was inside the carrier.

If someone was seen on the sides or top, the guard would use their override codes, the transporter would be directed to a secure parking area and the hitch hiker arrested, placed in a holding cell and the patrol informed. An established procedure.

But Jenna of Christos was on the inside of one of the transporters.

Once past the perimeter, the carriers were automatically redirected to the proper landing pad of whatever space craft the cargo was destined for. As the carrier stopped, Jenna looked out and saw that she was at the pad occupied by Tapir Bull. Now came the hard part. Looking around as far as she could see, Jenna carefully opened the door to the manual revision box. Dropping to the ground as she shut the door but keeping to the shadow of the transporter, she continued to scan the area. The space port was well lit and each craft was parked well away from each other. No one wanted to be close by when a star ship landed or departed. In that event if someone was too close, they would be lucky if there was anything left to bury.

Just what I needed. Jenna thought as she considered the open space that she would have to cover. Might as well act as if I owned the ship. Taking a deep breath she strolled boldly and openly towards the Tapir Bull. Approaching the port side of the modestly sized cargo ship she froze when the closest hatch slid open and stairs extended. Uncertain as to her next move, Jenna did not move for a fraction. Cargo handlers will soon be here, she thought. Do I take the chance? I have to decide.

“Better make up your mind, Pilot, you look kinda conspicuous out there!” The voice was tinged with amusement.

Well, if it is a patrol trick they have me anyway! Jenna thought, then spoke. “OK, I’m coming.” Drawing in a deep breath, she walked to the stairs.

*********

Inside, Dirk Crucrus, the Security Head turned to Simon Bush, the ship’s Captain and Owner. “Not a good idea.” He muttered. A solid man of medium height, he was a veteran of the legion and a dangerous man with hands, feet or any weapon.

“You’re just upset because you lost the bet.” Simon Bush laughed. A tall, good looking man with dark, rather long and well-groomed hair, he had a ready smile. “Go and greet our guest,” Simon gave a wave, “Now be polite,” He admonished the disgruntled man, getting a cold look in reply. The captain turned to the two other officers present. Navigator Ressi Blue was a thin and wiry woman from the fourth cluster of galaxies while Engineer Langford Dinaan was a muscular woman from the heavy gravity world of Tresta in the seventh cluster.

“Thoughts?” he asked.

The two woman both shrugged and shook their heads. Ressi Blue muttered “I hope that she knows what she is doing.” Langford Dinaan commented that she better not blow up the engines, then added, “Do you really think that this is a good idea? She could be a patrol plant or worse, the legion. There are a lot of woman from Christos in the legion remember.”

“We have skirted the law but never broken it. There are better candidates sitting on both spaceports aprons then us.” Simon answered. “Anyway you heard Dirk, he was there and saw it all.” The tall man stood. “Since our old pilot had her unfortunate accident, we are in desperate need.”

Unfortunate accident! Really! The engineer thought. That stupid woman, she killed herself and almost us! Enroute but still in hyperspace, the deceased pilot had offered to help Langford in carrying out an inspection of the in system drive. She had touched the wrong lead and all that had been left of her to send to her family was a pile of ashes. Luckily the craft stayed in hyperspace until arrival and Simon was able to land the Tapir Bull, although clumsily. The crew had endured a lot of good natured joshing from the crews of other star craft but now they were getting rather tired of it.

But it had been impossible to get another pilot locally.

Also in the back of the officer’s minds was the agreed rendezvous to accept an agreed shipment. One that would not appear on any manifest. So they had to take what they could now as a pilot.

And Jenna was available.

*********

Climbing up the steps, Jenna entered the Tapir Bull. Glancing left and right she saw an unsmiling man clearly waiting for her. “You know where the bridge is?” Came with a raised eyebrow.

“I think I can manage.” Jenna wondered how she should play this. Confused? Angry? Gleeful? Stoic? Or should I remain just plain expressionless, I guess I will just wait and see. Dirk lead her down a short corridor and up a steep stairway. Another short corridor and they were on the bridge.

In one swift look, Jenna took the four in, two expressionless women, a tall good looking blue eyed man with a smile on his face and the glowering man who brought her to the bridge. All the faces were familiar to her from the files she had accessed. They stood staring at each other for a fraction.

“Ok, where do we go from here?” Jenna asked.

“Where do you think we should go?” Simon smiled.

“As I see it, you have two choices.” Jenna replied levelly. “You can call the patrol and claim any reward that may already be on my head. Or you can take me on as your pilot.”

“So you think we need a new pilot.” Langford Dinaan asked, her arms folded.

Jenna jerked her right thumb at Dirk Crucrus. “Your security chief has been hanging around the school for the last two days and most of the star craft that came at the same time as you have left with their cargoes. Your landing was a joke and a bad one at that.” She replied. “Do you want me to draw a picture?”

Dirk reached out and grabbed Jennas shoulder. With a smooth move, Jenna threw him to the floor and dropped beside him with a knee resting across Dirks throat, her right hand in her hip pocket caressing her folding knife. Staring straight into the startled man’s eyes she hissed, “Never touch me!”

A clatter at the bridges door, announced the arrival of the Cargo Master, Junt Rainius. The stocky man stood there and raised an eyebrow, a quizzical expression on his face, “Getting a new security boss as well as a pilot I see,” he remarked.

Jenna rose slowly, her right hand still in the hip pocket. Dirk rose with her, the glowering look transferred to Rainius.

“What do you want Junt?” Simon asked quietly.

“I need to know, do we load or do I reschedule again?”

The officers all looked at each other and Jenna held her breath, pulling her hand out of her pocket at the same time.

After the exchange of glances, Simon nodded. “You want the job?” went to Jenna. “You’ll need a new name and face.” He added.

“Got it. If I could be signed into your database?”

“Ressi Blue our navigator will enter you then I can confirm your access.”

“I have a new identity ready.” At the raised eyebrows and questioning looks, Jenna added, “I had time on the way here.”

Dirk grunted, “We’ll have to keep her out of the way until she is needed.”

“Indeed, if the cargo handlers see her and recognise her, there could be problems.” Ressi Blue agreed.

“There is a problem with that. If I am to be the pilot, there are things I need to do, updates for the ships systems. I need to bring systems online and test them. I need simply to get used to the layout of the drive controls and the computer system needs to be fully integrated with me.”

Pursing his lips, Simon turned to Junt Rainius and asked, “How long will loading take?”

“Under a period,” Junt nodded, leaning up against the door jamb, “we have lost some of what we were supposed to take to other carriers.”

“Good, get it going as quick as you can.” He turned to Jenna. “How long do you need to get set up?”

“Getting entered into the system, about a quarter period. After that I would like a full period, maybe two, depending on what has been done to your flight systems.” She turned to Langford Dinaan. “What make and mark are your engines and what interface do you have?”

“Ort series two, with Marfor seven interface.”

“The Ort is good, but the Marfor?” Jenna frowned, “What updates? Are you fully updated?”

“It’s series seven. Should be fine.” Langford Dinaans voice held an edge. No engineer liked being questioned on their engines!

“The seven series has three updates. Have they been installed?”

Dinaan nodded. From her body language the engineer wasn’t enjoying the conversation too much, but she relaxed and even smiled a bit as Jenna turned and put Ressi Blue through a similar cross examination regarding the navigation system. Finally satisfied, Jenna said, “Ok, take me to the main computer hub.”

After Ressi and Jenna left, Simon laughed. “Satisfied?” He asked.

Dirk grunted. “She seems competent.”

Junt also laughed. “I was wondering if she was going to ask me how I loaded the cargo.”

Simon grinned. “Bring all the documents for me to stamp and get the manifest entered. I want to be ready to leave by the end of period four, five at the latest.”

“That’s not what Jenna said she wanted.” Dirk objected.

“Sounds like you like her.” Junt chuckled.

“Any girl who throws me around like that gets my respect.” Dirk turned to Simon. “Need me now boss?”  At Simons head shake Dirk turned back to the cargo master. “I’ll put a guard on the hatch here, only you get in.”

With a nod and “I’ll get the loading going.” Junt left followed by Dirk.

“I’ll better get the engines warmed up, run some tests.” Dinaan said with a chuckle. “This new pilot is a touch above most of the other pilots we’ve seen.” Then shaking a finger, “But she’s still not touching my engines.”

“Great, you do that.” Simon chuckled in reply.

As the engineer disappeared, so did Simons smile, his usually friendly blue eyes, now rather cool. Standing still for a brief fraction, he suddenly turned and sat at the captains’ consol.

“Control, Tapir Bull.” Simon started the conversation.

“Control copies, Tapir Bull. What would you like?”

“Tapir Bull is loading cargo. Request departure oh four hundred.”

“Guess you got a new pilot there, Tapir Bull.” Simon squirmed at the chuckle in the voice. “Departure oh four hundred, confirmed. Anything else?”

“Nothing Control, thanks, Tapir Bull out.”

“Tapir Bull, Control Out.” Simon Bush sat back, thinking, alone for a time. A sound alerted him that this time had come to an end. Never a break, he thought as Jenna and Ressi reappeared.

“Just finished talking to ground control, Departure set for oh four hundred.” Simon informed the two,” He pointed, “Take your seat pilot, and do your thing.”

“Do you have your destination?” Jenna asked, the frown that appeared on hearing the departure time remaining.

“Don’t worry about that. I’ll give it to you when we are in space.”

“Both ground and space control will want a destination, its protocol,” Jenna objected. Simon grunted, he should have thought of that. He flipped through some star charts, looking for a close and uninhabited system.

“Ok, star system Draco 3.”

“What? That system is a known pirate meeting place.” “You wanna go where?”

Both Jenna and Ressi spoke at the same time.

Simon opened his mouth but Ressi spoke faster.

“Let Jenna and me select a suitable star.” She suggested.

The two women huddled for a fraction while Simon fumed, before turning around.

“How about 29 Xbar? It is uninhabited and close to where we want to go.”

After a slight pause, Simon didn’t want to appear too easy, no captain of a ship ever did, but he gave a short nod. “Lock it in,” he confirmed. He noted Jennas frown and understood. Why would they go to an empty system first? Would be the question in her mind. Well if it becomes a problem he would just have to deal with it. He knew that that thought would be in her mind as well.

Sitting back in the command chair, Simon Bush watched his new pilot settle into her station. He noted how she quickly brought up system after system, checked them and closed them down or placed them into their proper sequence. Hiding a smile as Jenna barked out requests for confirmation and insisted on verbal confirmations from both Ressi and himself, he thought that the bridge was going to have a different atmosphere for a while at least.

Simon’s contemplation was interrupted by Junt Rainius arriving with the manifest and other documents including health declarations and a statement of charges and payments for him to check. These last Simon went over more carefully than any of the others. When he was finished, it took a bit longer as he was interrupted several times by Jenna, he handed them back to Junt, who had been an interested bystander.

As the cargo master took the documents Simon sourly grunted and poked him, jolting Junt back to reality, “Okay Junt, shows over, go get the locals paid off and button the ship up.” Simon was clearly ready to leave. “Tell Dirk to get the security detail in and secure the hatch. We go at oh four hundred.”

“Got it boss,” Junt strode out the bridge access hatch. A fraction later he commed the bridge and confirmed that the cargo was secure and all hatches secured. Jenna acknowledged.

With point oh five to go on the local clock, Dirk arrived and took his place on the bridge. Turning to Simon he nodded. That brought a reaction from Jenna.

“Everything in order at your station?” She snapped. 

“Why shouldn’t it be?” The Weapons Master and Security Chief replied.

Jenna turned and stared. “If you check your board, I have transferred the scanners to you as per standard practice. Now you need to acknowledge and confirm acceptance, both verbally and by comm.”

Dirk stared back, both surprised and annoyed. “Never done that before.” He retorted.

“Clearly a lot of things haven’t been done before on this ship. They will be done now,” The acid dripped from Jenna’s voice, “so please confirm so I can get on with the countdown.”

“Confirmed.” Dirk touched the appropriate icon. Sitting back, he watched Jenna as she concentrated on her instrument panel.

A fraction later, “Pilot ready, Captain.” Without turning around Jenna touched an icon on the screen in front of her.

“Captain concurs.” Dirk watched the icon blink and disappear. He glanced over at the captain. Simon was just sitting there, calm and relaxed. Turning to Ressi, he saw that the navigator had the same relaxed air.

Jenna next opened a comm link to the engine room. “Engineer, we will be leaving in a fraction, any concerns your end?”

“We are ready, no concerns for thrusters or hyper drive.” Dinaan confirmed. Jenna touched another glowing icon which blinked and disappeared. “Movement warning, thruster’s announcement on.” Jenna then engaged her comm.

“Opening comm to ground control.” All the bridge crew tensed, this was the critical event. “Control, Tapir Bull, loading complete, ready to depart, destination 29 Xbar.”

After an agonizing pause, “Tapir Bull, control. You are clear to depart, Course 050 to node yellow 10,000 high, then 270 to point genis, 75,000. Contact space control there. No conflicting at this time, you are the first off the pad.”

“Thank you Control, thrusters now engaged, Tapir Bull out.”

“Tapir Bull, Control notes. Good travels, Control out.”

With consummate skill, Jenna brought the thrusters on line and the small cargo ship rose smoothly straight up pivoting to the approved bearing. “Ok, we are on our way, twenty five percent thrusters.” The secondary transportation center sank to nothingness behind them and all too soon they were at yellow node, changing directions to point genis. Approaching point genis, Jenna contacted space control.

“Space control, Tapir Bull departing, destination 29 Xbar, heading 089 up, 331 plane.”

“Tapir Bull, Space Control, copies, no inbounds, you are clear to depart, good trip.”

“Space control, Tapir Bull copies, thanks out.”

“Tapir Bull, Space Control out.”

“Turning to new course, thrusters at fifty percent, going to one hundred percent.” Simon acknowledged and silence fell on the bridge. All too soon, Jenna opened her comm.

“Engine room?”

“Engine room here,” Langford replied.

“Pilot here, almost at hyper threshold. Ready to go to main engines.”

“You are clear for main engines. Out.”

“Pilot out.”

Langford Dinaan turned to the second engineer. “That girl seems to know what she is doing.”

Len of Rennis, the second engineer laughed. “And she won’t like being called a girl from what I hear.” The main engines, necessary to make the jump to hyperspace suddenly came on line. “Here we go.” Len muttered.

*********

A few blocks distant from the scene of the fight, a young looking woman walked towards an all-night café. It was midnight, the knife had been disposed of and she had carried out her instructions. The slim, lightly tanned woman, her dark hair covered by a scarf, entered the café, walking over to a booth where two other women were sitting. None of the three women were wearing anything different or out of the ordinary to any other person in the café. Sitting, she looked across the worn table at the pair.

“It’s done, the lake has it now.”

“In deep?” The woman with tied back red hair asked.

“I went out to the middle and deepest part.” The newcomer said. A frown furrowed her forehead. “I don’t understand any of this.” She admitted.

The third, rather pixyish woman shrugged. “He never explained any of this to me either. I think that He just wants it this way, to be asked back.”

“Or summoned back?” The redhead wondered as she pushed a cup over to the newcomer. “Here, we got you a drink. It’ll warm you up.” She gave a soft laugh. None of the other patrons looked up.

The newcomer looked dubiously at the cup. “It’s pretty warm out there.” She replied.

“Drink up anyway,” The third woman said with a quiet smile. She shrugged again. “After this we have nothing to do but wait. The next move is in Dana’s hands now and that won’t be for a while.”

All three reached for their cups and drank.