- Joined
- Jan 4, 2015
A battle weary brow furrowed, as the piercing brown eyes under it scanned the area before them. A myriad of flashing lights, followed by a dazzling array of miniature flat screens displayed a multitude of data, all for the purposes of a safe landing. He felt the heavy docking feet of the Quarter Zero make contact with the landing pad, as he let out the breath he didn't realize he was holding. A subtle shift in the reality around him, a sort of vertigo, told him that the ship's inertial dampeners had taken themselves offline. "Rodger that..." The pilot issued in a deep, gruff voice. "...We have touchdown. This is Zarr, closing up shop."
He fell back into his seat, and rubbed his handsome, stubble covered face with his hands. Ever since that incident on Avalon IV, landings had always made him a little nervous. Balthazar reassured himself that this was little more than a milk run. He had brought eighty tons of "Phloem Starch" to be traded, as a raw protein for making food stuffs. The stuff was bland by itself, but served as a nutritious base for flavor additives, and could be made to taste like damn near anything one could imagine.
A rather boring cargo, but legal, and valuable none the less. The miners here on Cabana would likely appreciate it. A safe run, for a considerable amount of pay. He unhooked himself from his flight harness, and snatched up the knapsack from the empty seat next to his. He donned an ammo bandolier, followed by his diffraction style blaster cannon. A conservative weapon for an uncertain area, but one that wouldn't raise too many eyebrows on a frequently traveled trading hub such as this. Cabana gas had been mined from the older, but highly reliable orbital processing station for many decades. He adjusted the straps on his sidearm, and knapsack, as he traversed the hallway to his loading ramp. Several small creatures, resembling small penguins with four arms, swarmed all over his cargo bay, checking the containers against their holographic manifests.
In about an hour, his ship would be unloaded. He trusted the Cabana, as their entire race had a well deserved reputation for honest trade, as it was almost a religion to the little flightless bird like creatures. His plan was to pick up a load of C-Gas, to be taken elsewhere in the galaxy, and sold for a profit...
The station itself was immense, shaped in the form of a colossal, slowly rotating ring about five miles in diameter. The even more immense gas giant, known as Caban, churned and broiled a considerable one thousand miles away below. Despite this, its disc took up almost one half of the available field of view. Its blue surface having the appearance of liquid cobalt partially mixed with creamy milk. A continuous jet of dark blue raw C-Gas flowed from the surface of the planet, and up through the center ring of the station, where it was siphoned off to be processed. An efficient operation, and relaxing to behold.
Ahead of schedule, and with nowhere to really be, the former smuggler decided to make his way to one of the many Cantina's that lined the inner surface of the station. Perhaps an opportunity for profit might arise, but first, the only thing on his mind was a good stiff drink. He found one such establishment only a few hundred yards away, dimly lit, and filled with many races from many different worlds. various scents and armos teased his nose, many of which were quite appetizing. Sticks of sizzling meat taunted him from across the bar. Not caring of its questionable origin, Balthazar ordered three of them, and a tall mug of chilled ale.
He then retreated to one of the corner booths, and relaxed, allowing his vision to wander to one of the many windows, as he looked outside to see a gas transfer craft slowly move into position, to grasp one of the countless blue stained gas tanks for transport. The music here was slow, soft, and relaxing. If he wasn't careful, he might just decide to nap right here. A few moments later, one of the penguin like creatures with the four arms skittered across his table, delivering his order....
He fell back into his seat, and rubbed his handsome, stubble covered face with his hands. Ever since that incident on Avalon IV, landings had always made him a little nervous. Balthazar reassured himself that this was little more than a milk run. He had brought eighty tons of "Phloem Starch" to be traded, as a raw protein for making food stuffs. The stuff was bland by itself, but served as a nutritious base for flavor additives, and could be made to taste like damn near anything one could imagine.
A rather boring cargo, but legal, and valuable none the less. The miners here on Cabana would likely appreciate it. A safe run, for a considerable amount of pay. He unhooked himself from his flight harness, and snatched up the knapsack from the empty seat next to his. He donned an ammo bandolier, followed by his diffraction style blaster cannon. A conservative weapon for an uncertain area, but one that wouldn't raise too many eyebrows on a frequently traveled trading hub such as this. Cabana gas had been mined from the older, but highly reliable orbital processing station for many decades. He adjusted the straps on his sidearm, and knapsack, as he traversed the hallway to his loading ramp. Several small creatures, resembling small penguins with four arms, swarmed all over his cargo bay, checking the containers against their holographic manifests.
In about an hour, his ship would be unloaded. He trusted the Cabana, as their entire race had a well deserved reputation for honest trade, as it was almost a religion to the little flightless bird like creatures. His plan was to pick up a load of C-Gas, to be taken elsewhere in the galaxy, and sold for a profit...
The station itself was immense, shaped in the form of a colossal, slowly rotating ring about five miles in diameter. The even more immense gas giant, known as Caban, churned and broiled a considerable one thousand miles away below. Despite this, its disc took up almost one half of the available field of view. Its blue surface having the appearance of liquid cobalt partially mixed with creamy milk. A continuous jet of dark blue raw C-Gas flowed from the surface of the planet, and up through the center ring of the station, where it was siphoned off to be processed. An efficient operation, and relaxing to behold.
Ahead of schedule, and with nowhere to really be, the former smuggler decided to make his way to one of the many Cantina's that lined the inner surface of the station. Perhaps an opportunity for profit might arise, but first, the only thing on his mind was a good stiff drink. He found one such establishment only a few hundred yards away, dimly lit, and filled with many races from many different worlds. various scents and armos teased his nose, many of which were quite appetizing. Sticks of sizzling meat taunted him from across the bar. Not caring of its questionable origin, Balthazar ordered three of them, and a tall mug of chilled ale.
He then retreated to one of the corner booths, and relaxed, allowing his vision to wander to one of the many windows, as he looked outside to see a gas transfer craft slowly move into position, to grasp one of the countless blue stained gas tanks for transport. The music here was slow, soft, and relaxing. If he wasn't careful, he might just decide to nap right here. A few moments later, one of the penguin like creatures with the four arms skittered across his table, delivering his order....