Sinderman usually assigned his V.I.P.'s to Solomon for 'good training', Solomon didn't mind, it always gave a nice change to his ever-repeating tedious jobs on base or on ship. Solomon longed to be aboard his beautiful Evergreen, With the thought of The Evergreen in his mind he thought to himself in a hopeful voice 'I'll show her The Evergreen's bridge... that will definitely entice her adventurous side!' Solomon had made her a copy of the creatures she is to study on their assignment on Merriden IV. Some, almost like the bugs of earth in appearance and harmfulness, cockroaches, mice, some small spiders, crickets, however, then there are creatures that even froze Sinderman's blood. One creature worthy of special note, the Gryph have named It a 'Banshee', the Banshee stood eight foot tall, measured roughly one and a half meters wide at the shoulders, it's head long and thin, double the size of the average human skull. It's hair was thick and black seemingly like a mane, a wide mouth filled with hundreds of razor sharp needle like teeth, a small slit in the centre of its face that worked as a nose but also had a note next to the diagram stating 'can sometimes excrete a gas that can cause severe and violent convulsions, however, this is a rare occurrence, take extreme caution as this creature was first discovered and documented less than one year ago.' The Banshee's pale skin, almost blue grey in colour, clung extremely close to its skeleton, making all its rib's, contoured and visible, it's eyes black with a light electric blue iris. The description message continued; 'The Banshee's favoured method of lone attack is to hide and wait for unsuspecting prey to unwittingly venture near it, then it would sink its razor sharp five-inch needle clawed fingers into the skin of the victim, usually in the vital areas that the prey would use to flee, such as legs and arms. Once the victim is paralysed, the Banshee will then bite into the prey's throat and extract the prey's internal organs with its teeth, and then proceed to devour its prey whole. It is not unheard of for a Banshee to work in a horde if enough gathered together and seek victims with a more direct approach or in a populated area'. Solomon shuddered as the Banshee's eyes sought him through the picture. Eager to release his mind from the Banshee's glare, Solomon set off down the base corridor towards the elevator to meet with Sandra. They spent the next few hours familiarising Sandra with military procedures, who she answers to, who is at the top, who she can't boss around (pretty much everybody)
The Docking Yard shone dark orange from the dull light peering over the distant hills as the sun set. Metal, wood, and poly-carbon crates cast long shadows. The room itself was large enough to fit the entire ship personnel of some thirty thousand people, in the middle, a tall and very wide pillar stood high and mighty, midnight blue and proud. This was the entrance to The Evergreen. The pillar rose thirty feet before spreading out to the rest of the massive colonial ship and fifteen feet wide. The Evergreen sat with comfort atop the securing anchors that held her in place and her entrance lift dove down into the dock yard. The Evergreen was Solomon's true home. Sandra simply stood in awe behind the Lieutenant Commander, she had changed her office dress code to a more militaristic appearance, she now bore a solid colour navy blue fatigues and short naval coat. Solomon cleared his throat and Sandra apologised, "Well, this is the End of the boring stuff... no need to show you how to use guns and bombs, as a General's daughter, I assume you already know?" Solomon asked, Sandra gave a simple smile and quick acknowledgement before returning her gaze upon the beautiful ship. "Plus, you will be shown all of that stuff in transit." Solomon said stepping forward, his heavy feet softened by his boots on the hard cold ground. "Well, then... here you are." he presented her with her own copy of the creatures "There is some serious, unforgiving things on that world, and you'll be letting us know what we should shoot at, and what we should run from." his eyes serious, and her eyes bore the shine of excitement.
Sandra eagerly snatched the folder out of Solomon's hands and began turning the pages. As each page turned her eyes became more fixated and her interest grew higher and higher. Solomon stared towards the mechanical crew in dirty olive overalls that had just entered the docking room and began working. No doubt getting the ship ready for its departure in two days' time. A wavering voice spoke from behind him "Sir?" spoke Sandra. "Sir, I know this is a lot to ask for but... w-would my Fiancé be allowed to come, sir? Oh please sir! It's going to be a long mission, and it is a colony ship after all" Solomon froze before spinning on his heel to face her once more. "fiancé?" he asked with a saddening heart. "oh...y-yes, he? Yes, he can, he will however have to go through standard issue training as you will and sign a form that says if he dies, it's not in any way our fault." said Solomon flatly, waving his hand dismissively. Sandra's smile returned as Solomon left. The moment Solomon cleared the docking door, she pulled out her personal tablet and began excitedly and frantically writing a message.
It was soon seven o'clock, the evening meal had already taken place, however Solomon idly sat on his pristine white cot bed thinking of the voyage ahead. Eight thirty soon came, not to Solomon's knowledge until an unusual ring sounded. Solomon blinked at his tablet that lay next to him on the bed. "that's a new noise..." said Solomon to himself as he picked up the tablet. he had received a Personally Marked Message, Solomon had never received a personally marked message before, he had only received orders and meetings.
"Solomon, I could really do with a chat tonight, say 9:00pm? I will be at the Mess Hall, sat at your company's table. I hope you get this message and come; I could do with someone to talk to."
"Sender: Sandra Ken"