Chapter 10 - Rylgarr

The slip stream evaporated around us as Nea'Kemna's hyper drives shut down. The next thing I did was go to my quarters, leaving mum and Commander Me'rass on the ship. I passed Lucas on the way.
''We're here.'' I said.
Lucas' eyes widened, a sudden look of alertness flooding his entire body.
''I'm gonna go contact the Onnotian. You go and give my mum a few hours rest so we're all ready for whatever he has in store for us.''
Lucas nodded and dissapeared, using his teleporting skill to get to the bridge. I rounded the corner and stepped into the lift, heading up to the deck where I slept. Piled up in the far corner of my room was some of Ann's stuff, the stuff she couldn't fit in her own ship, because the vessel was too damned small. And I wasn't about to leave it in the docking bay with our ships, so I brought it up here, with me, until she could choose her own quarters, assuming that she liked the ship and wanted to stay aboard. I pulled up my chair at the table, flipping open the lid of the desktop communicator and typed in the code I'd been given. A77-889-B3. It was an on-ship code. A short, light blue Onnotian appeared on the other end. Not the one I was looking for. But he soon realised that.
''I'll put you through to Captain Son'arh.'' He said and the screen went blue, displaying the ship's insignia in the center of the screen.
I waited a few minutes, growing more and more impatient. Then the Onnotian, Son'arh, appeared on-screen.

''Took your sweet time, didn't you Draggy?'' He said snydely.
I growled. I hated being called that. The last person who had called me that had ended up having to have his nose operated on because I hit him so hard.
''We encountered a few problems along the way.'' I growled.
''So I see. Having to ask an old Kenemian war bird to ferry you here. Kinda pitiful, really...''
''Actually, the bird's ours. We bought it the other day. And I wouldn't mind testing out her weaponry on a moving target. But that can wait 'till later. I want Ann back.''
''You got the ship?''
I nodded.
''All ready to go. Fully fuelled and ready for launch.''
He eyed me suspiciously.
''I would like to see this ship.''
''Fine. That can be done. Give me a moment.''
I wired into the docking bay security and zoomed in on my mum's Stalker that was clamped firmly in it's lift lock. Son'arh made a noise in his throat, possibly one of mixed dissapointment and triumph. It was hard to tell.
''What about Ann?''
''Fine.'' He snorted.
An image flickered onto the corner of my screen. She was sat in a cramped cell, knees pulled up to her chest, face buried in her knees.
''She's still breathing, don't worry.'' He said. ''I'll be on the orbital station. Dock there and we can make the exchange.'' The channel went blank. I growled.

''What's going on, Shade?'' Lucas' voice came over the ship's com.
''We need to dock at the orbital station. We'll do the swap there.''
I heard my mum swear in the back ground. Apparently Lucas had lost the fight to get her to go and rest up. No surprises there then. I pulled myself upright and walked out of my room, heading in the direction of the docking bay. The self destruct sequence on the Stalker needed re-setting, otherwise it'd take out a large chunk of the station with it. I was expecting the swap to be made ship to ship in a neutral zone, an area of space that hadn't been claimed yet, not on the station. Oh well. Not the first thing that's gone wrong this week. Heavy snow, losing my fuel, nearly breaking my back, losing Ann, getting caught up by a small fleet of pirates and having to rescue a stranded space liner. I can honestly say I've had better weeks. I felt the ship shudder gently. We were gaining speed. Four hours away from the orbital station. That would give me plenty of time to re-set the timer on the fighter.


-Three minutes until docking procedure- The ship's computer said.
Standing on the Observation Deck gave me a brilliant view of the orbital station. It looked kinda like a tree, each of its branches a docking arm. The Observation Deck stretched halfway down the ship. It was the same on the other side of the ship, both long and narrow rooms placed near the top of the ship. I watched as various ships departed and docked from the station. I was more interested in the large dome at the top of the station. It held various buildings. That was the area where I was supposedly meeting up with Son'arh. My gut tightened. This has to be the first time in my life since meeting Ann that I was truly frightened for her. She didn't look too good when I saw her over the com. It's amazing what a few days of kidnap can do to someone. Not the most pleasant thought ever, but I can't help it. That's just how my mind works. I watched as a small tug shuttle came toward us. I didn't know what was being said over the com, but the small ship soon attached itself to us and pulled us in, toward the station. One of the top branches loomed over us. At least I won't have to walk too far to get to my destination. I just hoped he had Ann with him. I noticed his ship not too far away from where we were docking. I squinted hard, trying to see through the larger windows. Nothing. Not a flicker of movement. But at least I knew he was here. Somewhere. A large tube slid into place and locked down. The fuel line. I doubt we'd need much more of it, since we were fully fuelled before we left Aster-985.
-Docking complete-
Thank the various gods for that. Now I can get on the station.


Me, mum and Lucas stepped onto the station. The air smelt fresh. Which is strange for a very active station. It should smell of mechanical things, not forest fresh. I walked beneath a vent that was pumping out the fresh air and got a nose full of pine scent. I sneezed on my sleeve and Lucas squirmed and groaned when I wiped it on him. Now we're even for the race. We stepped onto a turbo lift and took it up to the top dome where Son'arh was waiting for us at a table outside a small cafe. He was alone. I walked up to him, mum and Lucas trailing behind, keeping their distance.
''Well hello.'' He smiled politely.
''Where is she?''
''Safe. For now. Do you have the ship?'' He asked, fingering the lip of his coffee cup.
''I do, but I'd rather we go and make the trade in a neutral zone.''
He cocked his head.
''And why would this be?''
''Because this ship is supposed to be a well kept secret.'' My mum said sitting down next to me.
''Well, it won't be anymore, so I guess you could just hand it over here. I can have one of the docksmen bring it out and put it onto my own ship.''
''No. We go into a neutral zone, or you get no ship. Choice is yours.'' I growled.
Son'arh leaned back in his metallic chair and rubbed his chin.
''Hmmm... If that's how you want to play it... Fine. We go to Sector Delta-C. We make the change there, then we'll all be on our merry way.'' He smiled. ''I'll see you there, assuming that lump of space junk makes it the rest of the way.''
I caught myself growling and stopped as he got up and calmly walked away. Sector Delta-C was a five hour journey, two in hyper space. Only problem was, I had two more hours left on docking. If I pull out now and go back into space, I'd be losing a lot of money. So we decided to wait and see if we could pick up a new crew member once Lucas pointed out the Job Centre across the walkway from us.

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