Solar Divide

[Nelle Kozera]

Solar Divide, 2734

Solar Divide…for the inhabitants of the systems on the Galaxies edge and much of the Outer Rim of the Manavara Galaxy, the station was well known. For those that inhabit the systems near the station. It’s a vital lifeline. Begin the largest station on the edge; it doubles as a major supplier of arms and produce for the region. The twenty eight kilometer long station was once a small mining outpost that was intended to mine the valuable array of metals for one of the puppet corporations of the Sky Dragon Innovations. As a result the symbols of the corporation are everywhere, though the divided star, the symbol of the station can be found on the goods made on the station. One piece of information that is mandatory for all those passing the station. Don’t mess with Sleipnir, the ruler/queen/est. of the station aside from that simple rule the people are free to do what they will on the station. Solar Divide has no formal law enforcement of any kind, be prepared to pay for your actions in blood if you cannot defend yourself.

---

Red October, also known as the ship that Sleipnir used to conduct business with her clients entered through the largest of the iris like shutter doors that comprised the main dry dock entrance on the station. Sleipnir never left the station herself, many theories exist for this though none of them have ever been confirmed or deigned. The ship moved slowly past the insides of the station to its dock in the center of the station. As the grey hulled vessel passed by the inner area of the station the small frigate sized vessel got more than a few looks from on lookers and new people to the station. The name Red October was painted in large white letters on the hull. For the few people that knew what went on, on that vessel from time to time would begin to speculate on what its cargo was. As it passed the residential area of the station, then past the massive enclosed hydroponics bays which produced nearly ninety five percent of the stations food which was not only sold on the station to the ninety thousand residents but to the surrounding systems. The workers of the factories on the stations take a look at the ship as it passes by.

A few dock workers look up as the small frigate turns towards the dock was set aside for the small vessel. The main docking port was used mainly for the larger cargo vessels that came into to stock up on supplies to be sold to the surrounding system for shipments ordered by the independent governments that surrounded the station. The docks themselves where well maintained for an independently run installation, with mechanic workshops lining the docks, along with cargo trams. Over head one could see small pipes lining entire area, these small pipes where the cooling and heating system for the docks and much of the station. These small pipes would merge into a much larger pipe when was water was to be transferred across the station.

Large Docking clamps grabbed onto the Red October when it landed to keep it in place, this area was designated directly for this vessel, but it was also the area that serviced the much smaller ships that passed through the docks of the Solar Divide, and such it had parts for nearly any non-organic vessel that could pass through the docks, assuming the owners of the vessel could pay for the parts that is. For the moment though the docks where nearly empty save for the Red October a rare sight indeed, it almost looked wrong…

(OMG ITS HERE! )

[Brome Teks]

A small raccoon sits near the airlock of his ship as it approaches the station. He looks around at his surroundings. Sized for someone much bigger than him. He wasn't normally this way. An unforeseen consequence of an product he had devised wound up reversing his progression of age, leaving him about the physical age of a two year old before they could halt it.

He didn't like the role of a toddler, but he couldn't help himself from filling it to a degree. The robotic aide in his backpack was an animatronic wallaby plushie that had been given to him as a gift. Fully capable of both all the common robotic aide functions while looking adorable in the process.

His ship approaches the station. "Captain, keep the ship up and tight while I'm ashore. I'd rather keep this side trip to a minimum..." He sits in the airlock as his ship awaits docking approval.

[redtail]

1900 GMT
On approach to station Solar Divide, Outer Rim
No matter how many times a creature born on the ground went outside of the glow of the nearest star, it was always somewhat unnatural.
The Oort was a region inhospitable to just about any form of life. Not even close to familiar for any planetary form, and far too dangerous and active for any of the enigmatic deep-space organisms that surveyors and salvage-dogs often spoke of.
Though he’d been working in the Oort regions and deep-space much of his adult life, Phelan was no exception. The only light was the glow off of his instrument panels and the red holographic projection visible only from the inside of the eyepiece he wore. All of the Viking’s interior lights were off, save for the trip lamps in the cargo bay and the emergency decompression indicator shining “safe” over all of the bulkhead doors and the loading ramp. The ship’s running lights blinked away, red and green lamps pulsing at different frequencies.
Approach…
The Viking, Phelan’s positively ancient military-spec dropship, was hauling a load of salvaged navigational equipment and engine scraps. Half a load, anyway.
A recent run-in had cost him sixteen solid-state optical computer cores scavenged out of derelict capital ships… Offered kind of because there wasn’t much other choice.
He’d had worse… Jettisoning a year’s wages to save his hide in a pirate ambush, and then getting jumped and having to fight his way out still, for one.
The feathers on the back of his neck stood on end when he thought back to the event. He shook himself once, easing back into the ship’s command couch with a sigh.
His nerves were shot, his talons trembling on the control stick and throttle.
The creature cooed softly to himself, drawing a deep breath and easing up on the ion impulse engines and letting the craft drift on inertia. He was already moving at a good speed… Nearly 0.2C.
The ship’s unnatural-sounding vocoder crackled in his headset.
“Beginning IFF transmission. Approach target marked, projected vector plotted. Reference display please. Continue.”
“Aye, Nikki, continue, end. Nikki, begin pressurizing pulsejet engines., calibrate for microgravity. End.”
“Input accepted. Proceed as marked. Continue.”

The ready-status indicator blinked in the corner of the holographic HUD, displaying a three-dimentional projection of the ship’s route marked with velocity indicators.

“Nikki, hail Solar Divide on all open frequencies and spectra. End.”
“Microwave communication established. Frequency--”
“Nikki, don’t worry about that.”
“Input not recognized.”
“For the love of--… Awk… Comm’s open. Solar divide! This is NE-9013K1, tag ‘Viking’ on initial approach. Taurus-class hauler, requesting berth and vector.”
“Roger, November-Echo Nine Zero One Three Kilo One, receiving IFF packet. Transmitted flight log is a bit discrepant, please clarify. I show you’re en route from the Megan system of Tau Ceti. Does a ship as old as yours even have jump capability?”
“Aye, affirmative. Transmitting telemetry logs. Nikki, transmit navigational data current channel, end. Solar divide, unless things have changed in the last four days, the area I passed through has not been quarantined or politically monitored. I’m no’ going to stand for the third degree, aye? Would ‘ye kindly give me an approach? I’m going to have to limp to Nickel Cove because I’ve been blacklisted from Marlowe’s Rock outpost, if you don’t let me in. I’ve already lost a good part of ’me haul. I‘m in bad shape.”
“Roger, November-Echo Nine Zero One Three Kilo One, proceed current speed, adjust incline zero, one, five from ecliptic, negative zero, zero, six from azimuth. Reduce speed to two-percent C at distance of six thousand kilometers. Clearance granted for bay fourteen, dock six. Full amenities.
“Rog-o, requesting artificial gravity deactivation. I’ve not gotthe ability to maneuver in complex fields without damaging ‘me ship.”
“Roger, November-Echo Nine Zero One Three Kilo One, anything else?”
“Negative, thank you. Out.”
“Solar Divide traffic control out.”

Another sigh.
“Gds help me…”

2130 GMT
Solar Divide docking bay 14 direct approach
The giant iris doors opened, permitting the relatively tiny dropship in. Phelan rolled the craft, adjusting it to the artificial horizon that his computer gave him to work with and activating all of his outboard running lights and search lamps for identification. The pad requested had no gravity, just as Phelan had asked for. The place was startlingly empty, for whatever reason. Granted, yes, the place was on the ass end of nowhere, but it was sufficiently far from anywhere else important that if anything, that made the station that much more important. More importantly, it was as far as his remaining fuel supplies would get him away from the Megan system and the nightmare that had just transpired.
The eerie radio signals still rung in his mind, his ear still throbbing from his makeshift treatment.
That monster can’t possibly have followed me. It can’t know where I am because it’s not smart enough. It’s… It’s just not possible. No… I’m safe here, that thng was probably programmed to say those kinds of things… I know it… They do that sort of thingm, don’t they…?
Frankly, I don’t even know what in the name of the Gods that thing was… It knew what I was even through my ship’s hull. Identified me by my self-perception rather than my physical dimensions. Kept calling me ‘feathered one’.
No’even a third of me body’s covered in feathers.
But it knew somehow that I considered meself to be more avian… It was inside ‘me head… I know it.

But it’s gone now… I’m safe. I’m safe here, because this place is the biggest piece of rock for parsecs around. Right-o…
The Viking touched down on its designated landing pad under gentle thrust from the pulsejet engines in his outboard nacelles. The ship’s landing skids compressed under its ponderous mass, springing back up in the absence of gravity. The pad grabbed his ship and locked it down, and he cut power to his engines.
I have to be safe here…
The hybrid leaned forward in his seat, breathing deeply and wringing his talons over his face. After a moment, he unlatched his harness and pulled away from the pilot’s couch, frustrated with his loincloth’s inability to stay modest in microgravity.
Before long, gravity re-engaged, causing him to lose balance.

His own ship lacked any form of artificial gravity, which made things difficult at times. It was something he’d learned to do without, though.

If I’d kept those computers from the supercarrier, I’d be able to keep myself fed and fueled for three years. Easily three-hundred and twenty thousand for the entire haul, assuming I could find some bloke who actually knew what they were, around here.
The gryphon smoothed out the short, thick fur on his bare thigh, adjusting his tool-belt to sit more comfortably over his loincloth.
I look like a damnable savage. Maybe I’ll get a warm bath, a night or two in a real bed, a good meal, something strong to drink…
The creature sighed to himself, settling down in one of the crew couches in the aft of the cockpit as the vertigo from the sudden gravity subsided. He pulled the intimidating-looking Ageria RAGE-12 shotgun from its mount beside the fire extinguisher in his cockput and strapped it to the side of his day-pack before throwing the entire thing up on his back and climbing down into the cargo bay. He exited through one of the ship’s sliding bulkheads, walking in a sort of low, lurching step that almost made it look like he wasn’t familiar with walking on two legs.

His ears swiveled back and forth at every sound in the bay, frustratingly mindful of his surroundings. He longed for a moment to simply “turn off”.

[Arratra]

2200 ST (station time)
A ship suddenly popped into existence in a flash of blue light, a variation of Cherenkov radiation that occurred when ships of its type reverted to realspace from "the Slipstream", a slight variation on hyperspace that was used by the modified ships used by the faction this ship was from.
"Reversion confirmed," the Helm AI said to the ship's two occupants. Both were military personnel, but this military was somewhat more lax on personal restrictions than the norm.
"Thank you," the male said, laying a hand on his mate's shoulder for a moment, before turning back to the view outside.
"Unidentified ship, this is Solar Divide Control. You just appeared on our radar... Why are you dead centre in the jump-in zone?"
Even the helm AI seemed startled; the eyes of the avatar onscreen widened and his eyebrows shot upwards.
"Control, this is the Star Dragon. Uh, sorry, control," Gometh, the AI, said in an embarrassed tone, "We recently upgraded our FTL. Did we take out the transponder?"
"Negative," came the response, "But if you had reverted ten metres to your left, you would have. Plotting you a course to the dock."

The engines of the ship heated, then the ship started forwards, weaving gracefully through the debris. The Star was about the same size as a personal yacht, and was officially classed as a two-person corvette. She was well-made, and controlled largely by an Alpha-class AI... of course, the flesh-and-blood pilots could take control at any time, and quite literally destroy an AI if it got crazy. Not that that had ever happened aboard one of these ships.

The corvette slipped into the station through one of the iris doors, and docked, not far from any of the other ships currently in dock.
Jax waited as the docking tube connected to the airlock and pressurised, then turned to his mate.
"I need you to stay here," he said, gently taking her shoulders in his gloved hands, "I wish you could come with me, but..."
"Protocol demands that one of us stays with the ship," Maya said quietly, brushing a stray lock of hair out of her mate's face, "And you're the better equipped to handle this station."
Jax gave her a quick kiss, then moved through the docking tube to the station proper. A press of his hand against a biometric plate read the military documentation in his omnitool and opened the door for him. At the sight of the heavily-armed dragon, several gangs left off what they were doing, and quickly left the area.
"Tch."

[Cobalt3924]

(OOC: My turn.)

2200 ST:

Aquis watched the ships arrive through her window on the outside of the station. She’d been on the station already for a good 7 or 8 months working on the stations defences, but because of her Water breathing abilities: she’d also been repairing the water cooling system for a little extra cash.
“Wow. Today’s popular for the new arrivals. I wonder if- WHOA!” She exclaimed as a new ship appeared almost suicidally close to the Hyperjump Transponder.
“That one’s got a death wish!” She giggled to herself. Suddenly, her rooms communicator lit up.
<Aquis? Are you there?>
“As always. What is it Command?” She asked, turning to her desk.
<We’ve detected a fracture in the cooling system. No leaks yet, but we’d rather make sure it doesn’t turn hazardous. Reckon you can fix it?>
“Yeah of course. Where is the damage?”
<Section L-294 Subpipe array 74-A.>
Aquis looked through her map of the facility.
“That’s the Landing bay!”
<Yes it is. We’re sorry, but it needs to be repaired.>
Aquis Sighed and strapped on her Welding gear; which consisted of an underwater welding torch, some bricks of old fashioned thermite and a thermal lance. She hated working in the Landing Bays. It always stank of Oil and Rust, and the water was heated which never helped.
“Alright, I’ll do it. But I want a good pay for this.”
Without another word, she opened the hatch in her room that led straight to the cooling pipes and dived into the water; swimming through them to the other part of the complex…

[WolfyWetFurr]

Kaythe rolled her shoulders as her small ship pulled into dock, wincing as it was anchored down. Her alien troop carrier made mobile home was the ship of choice for this visit. It did not bare the S.D.I markings, nor was information on it easily accessible given the terms of her privacy agreement with the company. The work done it it was her own. Parts bought out of her pay check. It had become a sort of pet project during down times. "Pet project..." she thought aloud as she adjusted the corset that supported her breasts, "Maybe I should have an actual pet." she concluded, thinking of the times like this that left her away from Dresden. The one she had bonded to after meeting him.

The dragon did not replace her old partner, but having him to care for sure helped her cope with life, allowing her to have peace with in. Her left ear flicked, the two ivory studs that adorned it no longer felt. They were becoming a part of her, only noticing them upon removal.

Her ship was that of various shades of black and green with dull hints of silver where paint was chipped. Its docking hatch hissed open after the bridged clamped on, allowing the karn to step out of her vessel. After sealing the hatch once more, Kaythe headed into the port.

[Buzzwolf]

"Tetra?" a large badger made his way through the narrow hallway through the small shop, wiping his large paws on his apron "Tetra? are you in here?" he tapped on wall next to her open door and the lights flickering on on their own. A glance into the small room she'd been given those few months back now, would reveal random tools and trinkets she'd collected littered the shelves around the room. the room was somewhat bare of photos aside from a single, small, holo-image of her long dead parents, and the many starcharts and planetary images scattered around the room. "Tetra?" he asked once more, glancing around the small room before sighing and tapping the panel just inside the door, shutting the lights off as the door slid shut. It'd been a couple months since she'd arrived on the station from one of the longer range shipping vessels. The pilots had turned out to have been convicts smuggling contraband between space ports. She'd only managed to escape the law because one of the enforcers had been doing undercover work on the docks when she'd gotten on the ship, confirming her alibi, but stranding her on Solar Divide.

as he padded further down the hall, metal on metal could be heard. He tapped the panel and the door slid clear "Tetra? have you---Gah! Fang!" The badger had suddenly found himself face to face with a very imposing claw that drew back quickly at being yelled at. Fang, as it was called, was a discarded automaton designed for protecting vessels 'assets'. It was discarded after it was deemed cheaper to replace than attempt to repair, thankfully, the previous owners had been completely clueless on any kind of tech and the repair had turned out to be a simple fix. he rubbed his paws together in his nervous 'tell' as he spoke "Must you let him do that Tetra?" The 'Alien'-dog like robot seemed to grin as a giggle was heard from under an old T-36 Vapor cycle hovering a couple feet above the floor in the middle of the garage

"Aw, Fang's just playin with ya Mel...ain't cha Boy?" The robotic canine nodded enthusiastically before giving Mel a very toothy grin "see?" By now she'd slid partly from under the Vapor, her long green-dyed hair falling back over her head since she was lying on her back to work on the underside of the Vapor "All bark and no bite" which was true, she'd disabled most of his offensive weapons systems to make him more 'likable' including replacing the blade that had previously been the end of his tail, with a claw type mechanism, which it loved to use to mess with Mel

"Still creeps the hell outta me..." he shook his head as the robot cocked it's head to the side in an 'innocent' look "How long 'ave ya been in here this time Tetra?" he glanced at the boxes of empty soda cans

Her eyes followed his gaze "Oh...just a couple days...maybe four...Hang me that socket tray would you?" she waved for a tray sitting on one of th counters

"You do this every time new parts come in for that old thing" he slid the tray to her and she promptly vanished back under the Vapor as he kneeled down next to the old bike "I'm almost afraid to tell you about the comm I just got" the ratcheting sound stopped

"Oh? I'm listening?" a playful tone had crept into her voice

The old Badger grinned "I'll make you a deal, if you agree to get some rest before you start again, I'll tell you what I heard"

"Hmmmm...You drive a hard bargain ya ol' furbag...alright" She dropped the ratchet to the floor and slid out from under so she could see him "Ya got yerself a deal...what'd you hear?"

"I heard a couple ships just dropped in...long range vessels too by the sound of it...didn't you order a specialty part a couple weeks ago?"

Her face absolutely lit up with the news "My Twelve point Flux capacitor! it's supposed to be arriving sometime this week! EEEeeee!! Yes!!!" She slid back under the Vapor, sliding all the way across and jumping to her feet on the other side of the vehicle "Mel, I could hug you right now!"

"I'd rather you wait till you get cleaned up a bit before you did that" he motioned to the grease and engine grit on her shirt and fur with a meandering claw

She looked down at her grease stained shirt and sighed as she rubbed the back of her head "Yeah, I suppose I probably should, shouldn't I" she grabbed the small bottle of cleaning gel and started rubbing it into her facial and paw fur, removing the grease and grit after a few moments of rubbing and then removing it with a towel "Need anything while we're out Mel?" She asked as she threw on her jacket over top her grease stained shirt

"Nah, I've got it covered here...wait...you're taking Fang with you?" he looked somewhat stunned at the realization

"Sure, why not? he's pretty much harmless at this point, if you discount his teeth of course" They both grinned at Mel who fidgeted uneasily "Besides, it's not like it's the first time I've taken him out in public. See ya Mel!" she called over her shoulder to him as she dashed out the door, calling the robotic companion with her. Mel just shook his head and headed back inside the living area

"Kids these days..." he sighed

[Gusto-Pastel]

A small vessel drops out of hyperspace, shaking a little as it readjusts to Newtonian Mechanics. The thing was barely bigger than a fighter, and may have been one at some point, but modified to have a small hold, capable of carrying personal belongings, and a basic Felix-Cartwright hyperdrive. (OOC: Lol, at this point I made my brane... er, brain hurt by trying to understand String Theory ) The pilot, a tawny lion, shaking his shaggy mane around as he regains his balance, clad in a heavy jacket and equally heavy pants, woozily grabs the headset from the dash and collects himself before speaking into it.
"This is Ta... hang on..." He flips the thing around so he's talking into the microphone as opposed to the headphone this time. "This is Private Vessel Tango One Niner, requesting permission to dock?" He calmly asks. After a few seconds of no reply, he tries again. "This is Private Vessel Tango One Niner, requesting permission to dock, repeat, Tango One NIner requesting permission to dock," He waits for a full minute, his ship drifting slowly closer, still no response. He drops the headset in frustration and bangs on the control panel, the lights flickering and fading. "Agh, don't tell me the jump screwed the electrics again..." He crawls back through the cabin to the makeshift hold and starts shifting through the stuff contained within, looking for the master electronics box.

[Nelle Kozera]

Through a small port window on the private craft, a small tug vessel could be seen. Its magnetic grapple latched onto the side of the craft securing it in place to the hull of the vessel before the tug began to pulling the vessel into one of the small docking irises. It wasn't the first ship to lose a necessary system near the station and wasn’t going to the last ether. A small group of pilots made their living towing ships into dock on Solar divide this way, of course this service was not free, much to the dismay of many penniless pilots that had their ships impounded until they could pay off their debts. Those that could not pay before the deadline set by the pilots that saved them had their ships auctioned off to cover the payment, though this was rare as work was plentiful on Solar Divide. The Small private vessel jolted as a pair of docking clamps roughly grabbed onto the ship lowering it to the artificial gravity of a docking plate. Outside the ship a small group of armed mercenaries that worked for the dock master assembled in case the owner of the vessel was hostile…

---

“You are Scheduled to dock on grav plate forty five (Insert name of bome’s vessel here).” Came a voice over the radio. Plate forty five was directly across from the frigate Red October. The white, red and grey hull of the frigate currently dominated the bay with its three hundred forty meter length. As it took up the largest of the docking plates in this sector, plate forty six.

---

On board the Red October it was quite, the crew of the vessel where silent for the moment, no one spoke as they watched the ships that belonged to other people land all around them. It was an odd sight. In truth they were waiting for something, watching through the external surveillance systems of the frigate. It was then that they saw what they were looking for. On one of the many cargo elevators a black unmarked crate was coming down with a few seemingly harmless dock workers around it. Once the cargo elevator came to a stop, it was apparent that the unmarked crate was empty and on a trolley as it made its way to the Red October’s cargo bay.

In the cargo bay of the frigate an annoyed looking collie was sitting on another unmarked crate. It was apparent she was the owner of the Red October. “I was promised that the loading crews would be here before I landed.” She growled in a low tone at the group of dock workers, they seemed a little scared of the female canine sitting atop of the crate. “The deck gang and I apologize, we where not made aware of your arrival until after you had landed if we…” He cut of as the collie pegged a cargo manifest at the leader of the deck gang who dodged it with ease; the feline behind him was not so lucky and took the data pad directly in the muzzle. The feline cursed as his nose began bleeding. “Walk it off…” Was all she said, before she jumped down two meters to the deck below her. “This damn thing had better be off my ship by the time I come back here or it’s more than just his noise that is going to be bleeding…” She said walking down the ramp that leads into the cargo bay of the ship. The feline that was bleeding glared at the collie as she walked out of the ship.

The Red October:

[redtail]

2145
Solar Divide docking bay
On Board Viking
　
Phelan stood at the door on the side of his ship, underneath the massive port-side airfoil. He took a deep breath of the air… Almost disappointed with the results. It wasn’t much fresher or cleaner than it had been inside the Viking. It was a good bit cooler, though. The creature shivered once, fur standing on end.
He glanced around, spotting absolutely nobody he recognized. Not unusual.
More to the point, everyone he could see seemed to be wearing…
…well, a lot more clothing than he was.
He flushed a bit under his facial plumage, grimacing a bit in embarrassment at being the only person presumably on the whole station in his state of dress, then climbed back up inside his ship and closed the bulkhead behind him. He sighed softly to himself, looking out through the view-port across from his position at the dingy lamps installed all over the bay.

After a moment, he shucked off his gear, then his toolbelt and pistol holster… Then his loincloth.

Trodding silently across his ship in the buff, he opened up a storage locker and pulled out a dingy flame-retardant jumpsuit and pulled it on up to the waist, zipping it up, closing the Velcro closures up to mid-waist level, then tying the sleeves around his waist. He rolled up the cuffs at the bottom to free up his digitigrade feet for motion, then donned his tool belt and holster again, careful to leave the titanium-nitride plated steel band around his left ankle covered.
Hopefully, he wouldn’t have to deal with any bounty-hunters coming out of Marlowe’s Rock. It was close, but they mostly kept to themselves. Not that he minded that they stayed where they were…
Phelan shook his head once, his eyepiece losing its focus momentarily. He tapped the “input” stud on the computer strapped to his left bicep, watching as his eyepiece projected for him a manifest of his ship’s cargo. He began sifting through the virtual images by hand, checking through the inventory he had physically present on the floor of the dropship for discrepancies.

“See wot’ we’ve got… Damn shame about those computers…”

2200
Solar Divide Docking Bay
On Board [I}Viking[/I]
It didn’t take long to run through an inventory check. Not with two thirds of his haul gone after a run-in with a terrifying rogue bio-weapon.
The creature’s computer eyepiece displayed a simple overlay of his relative position inside a 3-dimensional wire frame map of the Solar Divide, according to its last known floor plan update. That was some fifteen years ago… Before that, maybe sixty. Gods only knew if it was any good anymore, but it helped more than having nothing.
Finally wearing some firm of clothing, Phelan climbed out of the ship and walked off of the platform, disoriented again when the gravity shifted just a bit off of the variable-output docking pads. It was something he never thought he’d get used to.
The station itself was enormous, but it always managed to feel just about as claustrophobic in most places as the Viking did.
That didn’t mean it wasn’t a whole lot more comfortable, though.

The first and foremost thing on his mind was food. Most likely either beef or fish, as fresh and as close to raw as he could find it. The second was a toss-up between a soft bed and a strong smoke, and somewhere down the list was a stiff drink. If he could find all three before getting spooked by someone who looked like a body-trafficker from Marlowe’s Rock, he figured he’d be in good shape. The reserves of his credits were more than enough to cover fuel and a meal, but he’d have to sell off some of his haul to make enough to cover his next stop.
Phelan wandered into the body of the station, intent on food. The telltale scent of either beef or salmon was specifically what he was looking for, but he would settle for pork. Nothing processed or synthesized. Frozen was okay, but fresh was infinitely preferrable.

Chicken?
Definitely not, not unless someone had found a way to deep-fry the stuff in an atmosphere-controlled environment.
The scent of fresh, raw fish caught his nose. Very faint, but definitely there. He spent at least ten minutes wandering through the markets after the scent looking for the vendor, stopping in front of the bulkhead into a permanent structure on that particular level of the station, a rather pleasant-looking restaurant.
He hesitated outside a moment, shrugging his pack off and pulling his jumpsuit on all of the way to look a bit more presentable, then donned the pack again and slipped inside. Maybe they had a bar, if he was lucky.

[Shade Leshyr]

Goliath was wandering throughout the station, attempting to avoid any meetings with the law. Oh, it was easy enough to fool them into thinking a master had sent him on an errand, but it also took time away from searching for a crew. He stopped suddenly as his sensors picked up docked and docking vehicles.

A trading vessel's signature stood out to him and he decided to see if this one had any upgrades the shipping manifests wouldn't miss too terribly. Still on the lookout for the authorities, Goliath paced himself to make it look like he was on a simple errand and in no hurry.

Arriving, Goliath noted the vessel and approached it carefully, also noting the security. The synthetic's head ruffled a little as he talked to himself, "This is potentially problematic."

[Brome Teks]

Ozzy's pilot radios back, "Confirmed, Solar Divide. On approach now."

The 280 meter vessel glides towards her designated landing spot. The vessel, the Gödel, was commissioned by Corona Science Corporation, a small independent research company with investments in a great number of different sciences. The full schematic of the ship was publicly available, it wasn't anything too special. The only distinguishing factor of it was the fact that it lacked any biological systems integrated into the ship, and the top of the line biological quarantine system. Both of these features were reflections of the purpose of the ship. It was a mobile laboratory for biochemical applications. In the event of catastrophe, the ship wouldn't be susceptible to leaking out any biological compounds or bodies (Viruses, bacteria, etc.) or being infected by them itself. In the event of a complete catastrophe that killed the entire crew, the ship's AI was programmed to beam all data back to CSC and then hurl itself into the nearest black hole.

The fine quarantine system was quite obvious to Ozzy as he stepped into the decontamination chamber of the airlock. Lasers, MRIs, and other various scanners probed every cell of his body for contamination. Once they declared him clean, Ozzy stepped into the airlock proper and waited for the ship to come to a halt.

The Gödel came to a halt on plate 45 and attached a passenger walkway to the spaceport. Ozzy steps out of the airlock and toddles through the walkway. He looks around as he enters the station, wondering if he was going to be detained by customs before being allowed to enter. Most stations and planets he'd been at usually insisted on a scan themselves, given the nature of the research that took place aboard the Gödel.

(The Gödel looks like this ship.)

[Nelle Kozera]

(Little something i wanted to make clear, there is no strict posting order, just make sure that everyone has posted before you post again. That is all.)

[Cobalt3924]

Aquis made her way through the network of Pipes to the Landing bay. Just before she entered the 74-A Subsection; the water temperature rose dramatically.
“Aarrggghhh… This sucks…” she groaned, swimming into the pipes and heading for the crack. After about 20 more minutes of swimming, she arrived at the crack. It was only a tiny split, but was leaking a small amount of water onto a bay below leading to an Airlock.
“Well, I guess it’s not as bad as that puncture in the Hydroponics area a few weeks ago…” she muttered to herself as she pulled out the torch and a small brick of thermite and started sealing the crack. At least this time it was easy for her to see, as the opposite side of the pipe was Diamond Reinforced glass; letting in the light and allowing anyone below to see her at work. Not that she minded much anyway: she just wanted to get it done so she could get a proper clean in the bath in her room.

[WolfyWetFurr]

Kaythe had collected a large amount of information on her personal data devise that remained ever present in her left for arm. Sending transitions while with in range of the station that had any thing to do with SDI was a bad idea. Sleipnir had no love for Dresden or any that have anything to do with him. The Karn did not need to know the specifics.

The karnation took a moment to think back: "Alright boy..." she said aloud as she looked about her ship, "Time to sleep." she concluded as she began the shut down of all the ships major functions, making it grow quiet and still. Stand by lights lit the small cock pit with soft blues that reflected off parts of her clothing as she turned out of her seat to head out.

She did this often, looking back at her ship and going through her past actions to make sure all things were as they should be. With her mental check list completed, she tossed her head to the side and flicked here ears towards the Red October. Her keen eyes observed a small object being flung along with some following chatter. As the exchange concluded she made her way towards the small collection of dock gang, "Hey boy's, time enough for a question?" she called out as her long strides brought her closer to them, "I just need some directions."

[Buzzwolf]

As she ran down the walkway, dodging and weaving among the other species that lived on the station, almost running headlong into a collie as she passed one of the exit ramps, with a muttered 'sorry!' she kept running. along the flight corridor to her right, a ship was being pulled in by a tug, a personal craft by the looks of it "That's gonna suck for them" she'd seen more than one ship get auctioned off in her short time here because they couldn't pay the fee that went with the towing cost. She jogged to a stop in front of the large set of screens telling what ship was where, and when it'd arrived(Much like an airport, only more of a slot by slot design). "Wow, they've got a ship on Pad 46, that one doesn't get filled very often does it boy" Fang had to be careful not to hit anyone as he wagged his tail with the three point claw attached to it "Aright, here's what we're gonna do, you take every platform and check the manifest, I'll take the opposites, 'k?" the synthoid canine gave a quick nod and dashed off a head of her. Fang could simply plug into the port systems and run a quick scan of the ships manifest with the node set up in his tails claw, Tetra had to merely skim over the manifest with her cybernetic eye and it'd find what she wanted quick enough.

Fang passed right by the first platform, and Tetra made it to the first a couple moments after him. the Part she was looking for would be under general access, so she didn't have to have Fang attempt any hacking, she would never tell the synth that it's hacking still needed some work, it's programming for that kinda work as well out of date, and she didn't have time yet to take care of it. one of these days though. She slid to a stop and jammed on the activate button, skimming the list as it jumped out in front of her. nothing. She jammed on the button again and was off before she had even stopped sliding. She took off at a jog for the next one, skipping the next and heading for the third, only to skid to a stop a few feet past the second terminal as she realized Fang had deterred from his objective. no, instead of checking the manifests, he was hounding what appeared to be a soldier of some sort. there didn't seem to be any emblems on it's armor though "Fang! Come on! Leave 'em alone ya silly Synth!" she'd tried to keep a light tone to make the stranger think it was just a harmless domestic pet that just happened to be curious. Fang didn't budge. "Fang!" it's tail merely twitched slightly. What the hell is up with that dog?! she thought as she jogged over to the two. as she approached, she realized it wasn't actual 'armor' that the man was wearing, it was a part of his body. Most of the mans body seemed modified in this way. a cyborg that heavily modded in a place like this? something was off about it, but she put a smile back on and jogged up next to them, crouching next to Fang who was still as a statue, watching the soldier "Fang? what the hell's gotten into you?" she glanced up at the now supposed cyborg. her breath caught she saw the pair of blue lenses studying her. it was a synth. a Full synth, not a automation synth like Fang was. it was a full blown synth. she wondered how anyone else in the station had missed this till now, it's behavioral patterns made it clear what it was, it was curious about what was happening, far from being a mindless drone. a light smile spread across her lips when she realized it seemed to be lacking any sort of weaponry. "Stand down Fang" a growl emanated from the hound, but it gave and sat back on it's haunches, it's tail flipping back and forth impatiently.

"You'll have to forgive Fang there, he can be a bit...overprotective at times" she circled the synth as she spoke, eying the mechanics of the creature before her "We don't get synths around her, not ones like you anyway" by now she had one of his arms in her hands and was flexing it at the elbow "Interesting...Oh! Forgive me, names Tetra Von Tre!" she said quickly releasing the synths arm and stepping back "Master Mechanic! and...err, Barkeep of the Shining Nebula" She rubbed the back of her head, almost wishing she'd kept that bit of information to herself "What brings you out to our little corner of the galaxy?" for the moment she'd all but forgotten about her part that she'd ordered in favor of a possible new 'toy'

---

"Ah! Welcome my Avian Friend!" the Badger called out to the Avian as he pushed his way through the employee door behind the bar "Welcome to the Shining Nebula! What can I get for you today?" Along the right side of the modest sized restaurant would be a bar, and on the left would be a number of booths and tables. adorning the walls were various nicknacks and little things to liven up the place. some classic sounding 'rock' type music could be heard in a vain attempt to drown out some of the noise from the traffic outside the restaurant

[Shade Leshyr]

Goliath knew his cover had been blown. His only hope was to somehow elude the organic that seemed to find him so interresting. The law was bad enough, but a mechanic was trouble. Goliath stared at the unit "Fang." He couldn't hope to intimidate her with him there. A quick scan revealed that the unit had no weaponry besides its teeth, but it was more than enough edge.

His second instinct was to look for somewhere to run, but between the crate he'd used to hide and the two before him, he was trapped. Giving up, Goliath spoke, his voice clearly automated with a hint of masculinaty, "This platform responds to Goliath. This platform is requesting confirmation of continued existence. Decommision is not preferred. "

[Arratra]

Jax strode straight to a private-access terminal, and tapped in a code. There wasn't much of a reason for him to be here, really, except that no one this side of the Terrigen Veil would dare ship parts, or any other goods for that matter, to the star systems beyond the gigantic nebula. It was said to be bad luck. Very bad luck.
Of course, this was just myth; any Draconic Expanse citizen could tell you this. But the Veil itself was filled with free-floating space-mines, and was reportedly the home of any number of pirate organisations.

And to top it off, there was the Draconian Legions, a pair of mysterious organisations that popped up from time to time, rarely for long, fighting fiercely against a group of synths. Which were seen just as rarely, if not more so, as Draconian scout vessels would occasionally pop up in a system before disappearing again on FTL.

"Scanner, scanner, scanner..." Jax muttered irritably, running through the manifest. After a moment, he growled; it was a half-satisfied, half-furious sound that made it clear that he was glad he had the part, but not at how well the service had been handled.
"Z12 Scanner Array," he said clearly to the terminal, "Prepayed. Access code: Terrigen seven six five nine."
"Processing..." the terminal replied, "Confirmed. One moment please."
A moment later, the part was in Jax's hands, as was the hardsuit-visor system that had been purchased along with it.
"Thank you," the terminal said, "Is that all you were expecting to be shipped in today or beforehand?"
"ZD5 shield arrays," Jax said, "Access code: Terrigen niner niner five."
"Processing... Package will be delivered to your vessel by the end of this business day, or all shipping fees will be waived," the terminal said cheerfully, "If installation is not completed within five business days, all costs will be refunded. If the product does not perform to standard, you may request a replacement, or your money back. Guarantee includes under-performance during pirate attacks, resulting in loss of ship or loss of life. Under such circumstances, the company will pay full reparation and replace the destroyed ship, if possible. Also, should any of the packages be damaged, the shipping company will purchase a replacement and ship it at their own cost."
"Yes, thank you," Jax said irritably, storing the visor-system in his pack and carrying the sensor array towards the corvette, which was sitting quietly on the pad, somehow managing to look menacing despite its sleek lines and small size.
The corvette lowered a small cargo lift, which Jax placed the array on, before turning and walking away. He just so happened to be passing the synths and the girl as they were speaking, and his eyes narrowed as he looked at Goliath. He did not stop, however, and walked right under where Aquiz was working. His eyes tracked restlessly around the bay as he stepped into the customs area.

[Gusto-Pastel]

(ffffff sorry about the delay D: )
The lion was thrown to the floor as the grapples latched on to the ship, also knocking many of the contents of the hold around. The artificial gravity on board started to flicker and wane as the ship detected the second field nearby, causing stuff to float around a little before slowly falling to the wall, and then back to the floor as the ship comes to a rest on the docking plate. He shakes himself off and pokes his head back up into the cockpit, flattening his ears and waving timidly, mouthing the word "hi" when he sees the imposing looking mercs outside.

[redtail]

(((Gentlemen, I've been sent word by Reaper that his internet connection has been down all day. He's planning to post as soon as his service is restored, which should be tomorrow morning.)))

[Nelle Kozera]

The collie had given a small glare to the fox that had nearly run into her on the fox’s blitz across the docking pads. She was going to comment on watching where she was going but the fox was already gone. “When you ladies are finished with that cargo, button up the ship tight I’m going to be on the Divide for awhile.” The deck chief nodded as they unloaded the package that was onboard the vessel. It was mixed in with packages and chaff to make it seems unimportant. The package itself black and purple in color, the national colors of the Dark Core Empire, where they where smuggling illegal Dark Core tech? Maybe it was just a something that came from the Dark Core. The Truth at the moment was unknown. The collie took a glancing look at the Karn as she neared her ship before moving down the docks. She had a long day ahead of her and standing around wasn’t going to do her much good.
_

“That depends where to miss.” One of the dock workers said looking at her for a moment. He was a Doberman but had gone back to work before she could answer his question though it seemed that he would answer questions still if she had them which it was apparent that she did.
_

A red tinted scanner had gone over the loins head when he exited, it was also apparent that he wasn't hostile. “Alright, you where brought in by one of the tugs. You have been charged with a fee of two thousand credits and you have five standard days to pay up. (Standard day is 30 hours)” He was handed a data pad by one of the mercenary members and a divided star clamped onto the side of the small ship with the words Solar Divide, written on it in large black text. The Data pad informed the lion that his ship would be impounded at the end of the marked time if the debt had not been paid.

[redtail]

Solar Divide
Shining Nebula
Phelan stepped into the restaurant, looking up instantly at the badger behind the counter and his immediate display of hospitality. He smiled, more than welcoming the gesture and returning the warmest greeting he knew how.
“ ‘Allo, then! Much welcomed, indeed, thank you. I’m, ah… Well, I’m obviously coming out of deep-space. Two weeks on board a Taurus-class logistics dropship. What you, my friend, can get me, is ‘ye strongest, tallest drink and ‘ye freshest, reddest meat. If all wot ’ye got’s a hamburger, that’ll do, but I‘d immensely prefer steak. That‘s kind, ‘ye are, much thanks.”

There was an almost irritatingly thick Cockney accent permeating the creature’s speech. Somehow it took every last bit of sophistication right out of the English accent and replaced it with an almost Chaucerian sense of bawdiness. The creature seemed exceptionally friendly.

The gryphon cheerfully settled into one of the stools at the bar counter, bellying-up to the bar with almost unwarranted amiability.

It was becoming entirely too obvious that he’d spent far too much time alone in deep space.
“Name’s Phelan, connoisseur of foine garbage from the far corners of the Milky Way. Got a wee bit of load to sell this time in, but ‘me luck weren’t so tip-top, no… Ended up, ah… gettin’ chased out of the Megan system in Tau Ceti by a rogue bio-weapon, and it wouldn’t ‘ave been prudent not to toss some of ‘me choicier parts the way of the gentleman who saved ‘me arse and ‘me ship. A Mister Dee Cartwright, gentleman whom I ‘fot were dead decades ago. ‘Ye know ‘im?”
THe creature paused just a moment, almost indicating as though he were asking a question instead of posing a rhetorical statement. He began to banter on, not even drunk yet.
“ I were parked in the hangar of a derelict carrier in DSE space, I‘ve got maybe four or six of the fanciest optical shipboard computers ‘ye ever seen, mayhaps even powerful enough to run an AI… Right, an’ so wot th’sudden, I’ve got this bloody massive GSA bio-vessel driftin’ right past the openin’ in th’ hull. Right, an’ so I’ve got the bugger on radio right away, letting them know damned good an’well that I’m not tryin’ to ambush nobody, and the bastard sends out p’haps half a dozen probes. I’m ‘finkin maybe ‘ey’s a pirate, an’ so I start to ping ‘im for a target, ‘coz I’m scared out of me bloody mind. Anyway, the probes start cutting into th’back wall, an’ all the sudden, ‘me comms just explode. Me eardrum ruptures. Managed to clean ‘er up best that I could, but it still looked awful. Little bit of blood around there still, couldn’t get ‘er all.”

The creature continues to drone on, prompting a number of the rest of the bar’s occupants to roll their eyes.
The creature’s demeanor rapidly starts to shift from obnoxious and bubbly to slightly depressed and anxious. He’s definitely spent too much time in deep space.
“So this dead ship’s hangar door slams shut, and I’m stuck inside, right? Absolutely terrifying. I’ve got ‘me hull armor charged and ‘me nose gun cycling like mad, ready to fire. Sommot starts comin’ out of the door that the probes went ‘frough, an’ the radio starts talkin’ about how the ship wants to eat me and ‘me own ship. Right? Wicked scary stuff. Mister Cartwright put a nice wee hole in the side of the carrier and I got ‘me arse out faster than I realized was possible. Dropped in, said ‘allo, gave ‘im the computers and data storage I’d pulled off of the ship… An’… An’ yes, I guess this all sounds like a colossal pile of rubbish. Right, ‘coz this sort of thing never actually ‘appens to anyone.”
He sighs, his sudden mood swing leaving him looking not only incredibly obnoxious, but slightly unstable as well. He remains silent a moment longer, head and ears lowered a bit.
“You’ll have to excuse me, sir. I’m not drunk yet. I could use a bit. It’s been a long two weeks.”
He smiles again, apparently a bit calmed down.
“I’d like to know… DO you know of anyone who sells tobacco on this station? I’ve been wanting badly for a bowl, an’ ‘me air scrubbers can’t ‘andle the smoke, so I can’t smoke on ‘me ship. Also… I’ve need for a good room and bed for a night or two, do ‘ye know of a good hotel?

[Gusto-Pastel]

His expression went from one of cautious relief to flat irritation in a matter of moments. Muttering some curses under his breath as he retreated back into his ship with the data pad, he emerged a few minutes later with a few boxes, one tucked under his arm, the others floating of their own accord, tied to his belt to keep them following him, and a threatening looking sledgehammer strapped to his back. Without delay he set off towards a data point.

Before setting off for Solar Divide, Esakare was arranging to have a workshop set up for him upon arrival, however his last few messages to his contact had gone without response. He tapped away at a few buttons on the touch screen, swinging his tail around to keep the boxes behind him in motion, to discourage thieves, or at least make their task an order of magnitude more difficult. "Nothing in the classifieds... nothing in the arrivals... dagh..." he mutters, as his manual searches turn up nothing. "Figures he'd try and keep a low profile..." He thinks for a moment before trying an "All persons" search. "Search for... Rodergo Sekera..." he punches into the machine.

[Brome Teks]

Ozzy notices motion in a pipe above him. He glances up briefly, but then looks back down as he focuses back on his task at hand.

"Okay... Find the cargo vessel with my delivery, return it to ship, possibly hire a couple test subjects..."

He sighs. Hopefully people would be willing to allow themselves to be submitted for a basic test of a recent product they had designed. The pay incentive was good, enough for a person to buy a small ship of their own. The risks, minimal, as far as the subject would be concerned.

"∑π, begin a search for cargo vessel IXIM-12 Жρфњλ. And while you're at it, put up the advertisement we made earlier for the subject tests," He radios back to his ship.

[Buzzwolf]

"Say what?" she was caught a little off guard by THAT kind of question. was he wanted for something? did this mean he was running from the law or just an owner? this would not sit well with Fang for sure. "now what would I want to go and do that for? You're Faaaaaar too interesting to deactivate!" she said in her overly perky voice as she tried to hide some of her concern. didn't work. Fang growled as he forced himself between Tetra and Goliath, ready to fight the creature to protect her. she sighed, there never was getting anything past that dog. "Look, Fang's just a little worried that you might be a convict or something, what exactly brings you to Solar Divide anyway? we're not exactly the center of commerce, the only reason someone like you'd come out here would be to hide from someone I can only assume" she looked down at the dog synth as he continued to growl "Oh knock it off Fang, you're making a scene. he doesn't even have any weapons on him!" it took a little more prodding before the synth scooted to the side and sat back on it's haunches, but even then it's gaze never left the bipedal Synth "What am I going to do with you Fang..." she glanced around with a nervous smile, hoping they hadn't made -too- much of a scene with Fangs display of protection. Fabulous she thought Two of the only synths in eyesight, and I get caught in the middle... "Look, Goliath, this may not be the best place to talk, Mel's got a little restaurant we can probably talk a little more 'privately' in" she suddenly remembered her package she'd come to retrieve as a man walked by carrying a large package of his own "...riiiiight after I pick up my capacitor, if you don't mind"

---

Mel laughed a little to himself as he brought the Avians order out, space-goers always had good stories to tell, and admittedly, that was the only way he ever got to see space anymore after retiring a number of years back "Sounds Like you've been quite the busy bird, if you don't mind my saying that" he set the plate with the steak on the counter for the Avian as he continued "I'm sure there's a shop around here that sells a good tobacco, haven't smoked any myself in ages, bad lungs y'know?" customers don't like it when yer hackin lung chuncks up on their food he thought to himself as he put a tall glass under one of the taps "We're not exactly sure what this 'ere one's called, no one's been able to quite pronounce the label quite right, some outer Rim drink, but I'll be damned if it ain't got a nice kick to it!" teh tap clicked off automatically and the badger set the drink in front of the Avian "There's always the Two Rings inn, but I wouldn't exactly say dropping my name as having pointed you there would be a good idea," he shrugged "We haven't exactly been on the best of terms lately, but I'd still suggest asking her if that's what you're looking for"

[Arratra]

Jax stopped, a hand resting on his pistol. His fingers curled around the weapon's grip.

"Hrr," he muttered, continuing on his way. Customs didn't bother to stop him as he walked through the security point into the station, flashing military credentials in their direction when one inexperienced officer stepped forwards with his mouth open. That caused him to shut his mouth with a snap.

He stepped into the same bar a few minutes later, and the entire place went suddenly quiet, all of the patrons looking at the dragon, a fair few with fear in their eyes. Others were just sneering, while a few were looking at him with evident interest. Most of them were females, of course.

((Just to clarify, this is the same bar as were Mel is.))

[WolfyWetFurr]

"Well what is closest to here? I'm looken for food, drink, and multi species vets." she stated as she rolled her head on her shoulders, the pass of her eyes taking in the size and make of the darkly colored cargo, "Along with anything in between." she concluded. Her posture adjusted some, leaning back on the supports that extended from her ankles, feeling them resist and push back against her weight before shifting her weight forward some more, feeling light on her paws as she eyed the doberman. The only other than on Kaythe's mind at this time was finding a travel buddy to work with while on the station that could keep her company with out getting in her way.

[ character picture now available: http://www.scififur.net/forum/album....&pictureid=329 ]

[Cobalt3924]

Aquis coughed and spluttered in the water as she fixed the crack. Before long, it was sealed again.
“Pah… Finally.” He groaned: more than happy to get out of the pipe and get back to the cool, clean water. As she swam back, she noticed Ozzy walking past, and smiled.
“Finally… He’s here.” She smiled and tapped on the glass. After waving a little hello, she turned and swam back to her room: hell-bent on having a long, hot, soapy shower to scrub her fur clean before going to meet her old and young friend.

[Shade Leshyr]

Goliath's visual sensors unfocused and refocused, the synthetic version of blinking as he pinged a nearby communication relay and searched for all records of the organic before him, "Name: Tetra Von Tre, verrified. Occpation: Barkeeper of Shining Nebula, verrified. Employer: Mel, badger, owner of Shining Nebula. Establishing chain of command... complete."

His sensors focused on Tetra, "This platform acknowladges user Tetra as Commander unit," hoping to prove his worth, he created several backdoor subroutines to search the nearby ships, "Scanning... requesting verrification: order number, 33456149023, shipment to Tetra Von Tre, item number FC325561922, twelve point Flux Capcitor, currently being scanned and tagged?"

[Nelle Kozera]

“Well there is a full medical suite down near the hydroponics core. Best go see the doctor about any of that stuff; she’ll point you in the right direction. Shining nebula is a good place to get food and anything in between there, they can point you better than I can from here.” He said as the docking boys finished up their loading of the special cargo in the unmarked container. “I’m sorry ma’am but we have to go do some work elsewhere feel free to as the people over in the Dock House for more info.” He said as he and the dock workers jumped on the cargo tram as it headed back towards to the cargo elevator. The contents of the unmarked crates and the Dark Core package are still unknown.

---

The collie walked into Shining Nebula pushing the Dragon in front of her out of her way quite harshly, she was unfazed by his demeanor and the message he seemed to be sending the rest of the bar and her body language said she really could care less about him but he was in her way. She was on her way towards to an avian creature sitting the bar; once she had sat next to him she took out a cigarette and lit it with an electric lighter before taking a small drag on the cig before she began speaking “Ah yes Phelan, name is Carra Sheppard and I have been asked to see if you had grabbed some optical computers from an old derelict in the Tal-Ceti shipyards. My contact knows that you where there last, and my boss would be very interested in purchasing these items from you.” She spoke as the cigarette sat between her lips, “Mel, I’m hoping you have some fine fish in, i'm in need of some.” Carra came to the Shining nebula regularly though most people knew she could be a complete bitch to nearly everyone she seemed to stay civil and at least somewhat respectful of those that did business with her, mostly. That respect and civility did not extend to military types, and most people knew it.

---

“Search complete, Rodergo Sekera, detained by Sleipnir. Reasons, unknown. Please request farther assistance from Solar Divide official Sleipnir.” The Gamma level intelligence that ran the search queries was the lowest level of computer intelligence available. Having limited personally simulation software and was far from self aware. It was apparent that the Lion was going to need to contact that owner and manager of Solar Divide personally.

---

Goliath’s scan would have reviled that the package in question was in the cargo hold of the Red October and that she must contact a Carra Sheppard in order to retrieve said package. As the docking pad 46 was off limits to unauthorized personnel, plus that docking pad in particular was one of the few with an automated defense systems.