"This is Hauler AO1-M-3v, requesting for permission to dock at landing dock." The pilot of Hauler AO1-M-3v spoke into the speakers of his ship. He waited for a few more seconds before receiving a reply from the control tower.
Howzer, the pilot of the aged hauler sighed as he received the route that was planned for him. It wound around the entire landing base, before coming to one of the landing pads that was on the outer area of the base.
He carefully maneuvered the bulky ship, twisting it along the path that was plotted for him. Under his control, the movements of the bulky hauler managed to look as graceful as that of a swam. A small vibration shook the hauler as it encountered some turbulence. He reached for the communication device that he had dropped to the side after conversing with the control tower, switching to another channel; one that was on the hauler itself.
A few minutes later, the worst of the shaking stopped, but occasional rumbles still shook the ship. Howzer brushed it off as nothing as he flicked a few switches on the console, while unconsciously mumbling what he was doing out loud. "Turning off main engines. Increasing power to minor engines... Turning on gravity stabilizers. Running through interior diagnostics. H,,, everything seems to be doing well." He nodded and turned back to the view screen before him that showed the rapid clouds of Montreya passing them by. The minutes passed by quickly as the hauler descended from the atmosphere. Soon enough, the sigh of the expansive landing Nendi Research Institute became clear for him to see. From above, the massive institute that spanned several miles looked like a small city. In a sense, it was. Tens of thousands of people lived there, and on the outer parts of the institute. These people either worked for the institute, or were the family of those that did. Howzer himself owned a small condo in the residential area in the institute. More time passed as Howzer regulated his speed and angle and speed of descent. The moment the hauler touched down, he picked up the comm once again. The amount of newbies that had suddenly been posted to the Transportation Department was quite large this time. Usually, most of them would be posted on ground, so they could handle the chores that needed handling down on the planet, but this time, not only had all the vacancies been filled up, but they had to post about thirty percent of the new intakes in the space station above the planet. Shrugging, Howzer flipped off the main control switches. He opened a sealed off panel to reveal a glass panel that had the shape of an open palm. Howzer placed his palm against the panel, feeling a brief warmth wash over his hand, before withdrawing it. The panel swung open, revealing the silver key that was slotted into the keyhole under the panel. This was the Main Control Key, the master key that controlled about 90% of the haulers main systems. He turned the key, before pulling it out and walking out of the bridge of the ship. Walking through the well lit hallway, Howzer ran his hands along the silver walls by him. He smiled fondly as he thought of the numerous years he had spent flying this same ship. He named her Big Bertha in his mind, but still referred to her as Hauler AO1-M-3v when speaking to those who weren't close to him. When he finally got to the back of the ship, he saw the automated bots offloading the crates of cargo smoothly under the control of the crew. "Hey, Howzer. How do you get this bot to work? I don't know what to press to get it to start up!" One crew member called out to him from where he was leaning on the wall. The bot that he was talking about stood at three meters tall, wish bulky arms and legs. It was about half a meter taller than the other bots, but Howzer had no doubt it weighed twice as much. "Here," Howzer took the remote from the man. "You just flick this, hold this, and then... done." He handed the remote back to the man as the bot came online. "Thanks." He nodded and then stepped back as the bot stomped forward, its heavy footsteps sending tremors through the deck of the hauler. The crew continued to offload the cargo, the work moving much faster now that a heavy duty bot had joined the action. Within an hour, all the cargo was unloaded, and the crew members were starting to disembark. "I hope you guys didn't forget anything on board! I won't be coming over here to help you get it out when she hauler gets locked down!" Howzer gave one final call to his crewmates as they started turning to leave. "Nah, I've got all my stuff. Might want to ask Heather, though. She's always forgetful." One lady replied. "I didn't forget anything this time, Zee! Lock it up!" Heather replied, using the nickname she had thought up for Howzer. "Alright then. Have a nice break." Howzer gave them all a wave before locking up the ship proper. "Take care, Howzer. I'll see you on Friday." The man from earlier, Dennis, waved at Howzer before taking his own leave. Howzer was the last to leave as usual, walking into the darkness of night.