A nebula is a majestic luminescent part of the vast and limitless space of the galaxy, mainly composed of hydrogen and cosmic dust. Vindril had read such notion back when he had been hired to help a navigator during one of his many trips across the galaxy, but he never had the chance to actually see one with his own eyes. So that's why, the moment the Silver Death jumped out of hyper speed, he stared with wide eyes out the cockpit view. The colourful and luminescent view that greeted him, closely remembering the pictures he had found on the Star Net all those years ago, left him almost breathless. Now that was a spectacle he wasn't going to forget any time soon. Shades of blue, red, purple, and perhaps even some green, were perfectly balancing each other, creating a cloud shape that looked so…ethereal and mesmerizing at the same time. Ahhh. that's why he had endured all that crap. There was nothing like exploring the galaxy. Nothing. But he also had to admit that money was also a pretty strong motivation too. Seeing those numbers, or counting down those round shaped coins, always felt…pretty good. Not like exploring; but still…
Despite his desire to explore all the star systems that lay within the Ishtar Nebula, he had to remain focused on the task at hand, which, on a scale of importance, had far greater precedence than appeasing his curious mind. In order to obtain all the resources they desperately needed, some cunning was obviously required. The one item that had to be paid for at all costs was fuel; the fully armed robotic guards that were placed on every single station in the galaxy were a constant reminder to never act against the companies that provided that liquid fortune that allowed all galactic travel. Not that it couldn't be stolen. Vindril had read of some successful heists against those companies; so he knew for certain that it was indeed possible. Just…in order to do so, it required such firepower and coordination that most people would never attempt such a thing. And considering that Vindril and the crew were trying to keep a low profile, stealing fuel on a busy planet like Girunne wasn't the brightest of ideas.
Fortunately, his resources weren't completely depleted. Yet. A couple thousand coins were still available on his account, ready to be squandered for the right reasons. Fuel, it seemed, was taken care off. Barely. Even if the cost of refuelling the most basic starship rotated around the few ten thousand, fuel wasn't exactly the kind of item that was sold cheaply. Not at all. Misfortune would have it that the two giant tanks that supplied chemical lifeblood to the ship's powerful engines were a real investment to be filled up to the brim. Sure, once full, they would allow the Silver Death, and any person that travelled on her steel bridges, to travel for quite some time before needing another refill. Still, it wasn't exactly affordable. Vindril wasn't sure, but a full refill was going to cost him around the hundred thousand…if not more. Ouch…
He sighed. Of course he was going to do it anyway. Better fill those tanks now than have them run out in a moment of need. Would that leave him with just a meagre pile of coins, or just a little more than that? Yes. Was he still going to do it? The answer was the same. It was still better than the alternative.
"If you open your eyes any more than that, they'll fall out." remarked Sorin, who was seated at the pilot's chair, holding the cloche tightly. By the smirk that was uplifting his lips, he found the sight to be very entertaining. "I take it it's your first time seeing a nebula up close?"
"…Is it that obvious?"
"Take a look at yourself, if you don't believe me."
"I guess…"
"Anyway, since you're acting like a fool, you might want to take a look at that screen, the one right on my left. There's a bunch of stuff written about the star system we're going to visit. Might as well learn a few things, if you're to captain any of this, no?"
Vindril furrowed his brows. "If that's the case-" he asked. "Why am I the only who needs to read it? Why aren't you reading it, for example?"
"…I cannot believe you can act so stupid at times." Sorin said, turning his gaze in front of him. "First, in case you've haven't noticed, I'm the one piloting the ship. That means, I have to remain focused. Even if there're all sort of failsafe on this ship, I like being in control. I'm the one in command of it, not the other way around. Secondly, I don't need to. I've already done what could be done, and seen what could be seen."
"…Are you going to elaborate on any of that or-"
"Not a chance." he said firmly. "It's not like we're that close to begin with. Maybe in the future, who knows…"
Vindril shook his head. It was clear by now that Sorin had a rich past on his shoulders; whatever that past was also tightly connected to his…peculiar way of being, he couldn't say. But it sure made him a peculiar man to be around, that was for sure.
Ignoring the peculiarities of the pilot he had recruited, Vindril turned his head and looked inside the small screen that had been pointed out prior. It was a small screen, no bigger than his head, were the four planets of the star system they were traveling to were displayed. Girunne was the third planet from the star, which Vindril new knew was referred to as Nitrax, which also named the star system. Curiosity got the better of him, so he pressed his finger on the star's hologram. The view shifted, zooming in so much that Nitrax was now the only thing displayed on the small screen. By lowering his gaze, he began to silently read all the information that had just popped up.
Nitrax.
Type: Red Dwarf
Radius: 3.54*107 Km
Mass: 7.95*1042 Kg
Surface temperature: 3521 K
Core Temperature: 17*106 K
Well, those were a lot of information. All interesting, of course; but utterly useless to him right now. What the hell was he supposed to do with any of that? Sell them to someone? If his computer was showing such things, then they were available to the general population since time immemorial.
Vindril looked up, as a reflection on the pristine cockpit attracted his attention. There he saw it. Right in front of his eyes, with his colourful appearance that wouldn't have disfigured in any artistic representation of the many artists of the galaxy, there were Girunne and its lengthy and lush fields. No matter what, that didn't seem like a planet where war had been waged on. He paused. Could the information that had been provided to him about it be wrong. No. No. That simply couldn't be it.
As the planet quickly became bigger, and bigger, and bigger, Sorin slowly decreased the output of those powerful engines by adjusting their power levels. "Girunne." said Sorin, his gaze plastered on the planet's colourful surface. "It's been a while…"
After a quick glance, Vindril looked around. His brows arched upward. Something was clearly amiss. "…Where's the orbital station? I can't seem find it."
"My sensors tell me that the station is currently orbiting on the other side of the planet." suddenly stated Seren. Soon after her projection appeared inside the beautiful case Yurian and his crew had crafted. "Though…that also is going to be a problem that will take some careful consideration to resolve. Nothing that will pose a serious challenge for organics like you all, of course."
"What do you mean? What kind of problem?"
Seren took a virtual step forward. "Every ship that soars the galaxy has a certain number; a sort of Id, if you will. Problem is, the Silver Death still has the factory one. I'm sure my brethren I.V. will undoubtedly pick that up, alarming everyone. They cannot be reasons with. You can see that it will only cause us trouble if that scenario will come to pass."
"…Ohh…."
"A little warped answer, but you seem to have grasped the problem. Now, I could mask it out, at least long enough to allow us to dock; but one of you has to enter the arrive and departure server and change it up. I could do it, but the power needed would surely make all of this completely useless."
"I'll do it." said Ar, making Vindril jump up from the surprise. Since when were they behind him? "Just point me in the right direction."
"Then I'll come wit-"
"No. There's no need. And I'll have to take care of a few things while we're on the station. I'll meet you back at the dock once we're done."
Vindril sighed, looking a little bit dejected. "Alright. I guess I'll just board a shuttle to the planetary surface with…whoever wants to come then."
//////
Girunne was renewed all around the galaxy as a shining jewel of what correct legislation and focus on development could create. Leaving aside all the nonsense about the ever-changing political situation, that just didn't seem to reach a balance point no matter how hard some locals tried, the laws that had been implemented many, many centuries before, had allowed Girunne to evolve into a sort of utopia for some entrepreneurs. Plants grew up strong, and the land beneath was lush and fertile, ready to accommodate into its own welcoming embrace every little plant that needed some loving. Of course that was just what was on the surface. The threat of another war loomed constantly over the planet, ready to throw that little angle of paradise into a sea of flame and devastation. But that was not all there was to it. Many other companies, that were exactly related to its lush ground had also set up shop in it.
That's why Vindril was searched thoroughly at the customs, like he was some kind of hardcore criminal wanted around the galaxy. Sorin, Luzir, and Ar were also subjected to the same treatment; though he noticed that Ar was somehow searched with less emphasis somehow. How in the hel-
A metallic voice that resounded everywhere informed all the present inside the station that soon a couple of shuttles were going to depart; one was headed for Gryol, a city where most of the food processing was daily carried out. The second, the one Vindril and company were interested in, was headed for the capital, Vernist. Vindril immediately looked around, trying to locate a way to secure his passage on that shuttle. He had to reach the planet's surface. He just had to.
Without wasting even a single second, Vindril began to search around, trying to locate the place where boarding tickets were sold. It proved to be a rather vexing and way more complicated thing than he had initially thought. The sea of people that was travelling all around the station, marching in a well-marked rhythm that was almost as hypnotic as it was chaotic, was so compacted and dense that it was difficult to discern anything in that mess. It was only thanks to the illuminated signposts hanging above him that Vindril was able to point himself in the right direction. Thank God he didn't need to wonder aimlessly. He just didn't feel like coming in contact with that many strangers.
Strangers that stared at him like he was some sort of tourist attraction. Vindril frowned. Why the hell were the looking at him like that? It wasn't like he was some kind of rare item to be bought and displayed in some richly decorated case. He was just a regular human, with a regular face and a- Ah!
By glancing down to his boots, he quickly understood the why of those stares. A thick layer of dust, sand, and whatever the hell Keelo Prime had so kindly gifted to his footwear, was sticking to the leather like some sort of second skin. Not a serious problem. Just a quick wash and the boots were soon to turn back to their original and shiny appearance. A shame he had forgotten to clean them when he had washed his clothes. But till then, he had to walk around looking like he had jumped right into a gigantic sand pit. He cursed. Damn it all.
As he slowly made his way through the crowd, zigzagging his way through every single person that stood in his way, he noticed something. While most of them looked like him, with some few peculiarities that clearly denoted that they weren't exactly human, others were so different that he pondered what species they belonged to. Right ahead of him there was a man (or perhaps it was a woman? He couldn't tell.) that clearly resembled a lizard. His body was covered in scales so translucent that they were shining like minuscule stars under the artificial light that was coming from the lights hanged above; his hands had some of the sharpest nails Vindril had ever seen; and his eyes were closely shaped like the ones of the reptiles. But that person wasn't the only species that stood out. No, no. There were many, many more.
A woman that looked for the most part human, but was covered in feathers; a man that was so covered in fur that his facial features were a complete mystery to anyone. A man that kinda looked like some strange mix between a man and karyan dragon, a shark like creature that was native to the distant world of Morian. The list could go on and on. In that moment he realized for the very first time how wide and wonderful the galaxy was. Sure, it wasn't the first time he had visited a planetary station. The money he had raised in order to buy his ship had also come from some business transactions he had done on it. But in the past he had nor the time, nor the desire to look at all the strangers that were traveling all around the galaxy. Money, and survival of course, had been his top priorities.
But now, even if he still had to hurry, he could spare a moment. He was his own boss. For surely he could afford a couple of moments for himself.
Or so he though.
"…The galaxy is a wide place." stated a man behind him, startling him. His hand immediately raced to his gun, gripping the handle in a secure grip.
He only let go of it when he realized it was Luzir. That damned giant, aside from talking rarely, had the maddening gift of managing to sneak up on him. A damned good skill, given his size.
"Damn it, Luzir!" he said, trying to placate his heartbeat, which had obviously skyrocketed. "Would it kill you to announce yourself before approaching me?! Daaamn…"
The giant man maintained his neutral appearance. "Apologies…"
"Well, no matter. Just…keep it in mind, will you? I almost shot you."
The man smirked. Like, actually smirked. It was such a big thing that even Vindril was left doubting what he was seeing. "…Useless. I would have stopped you. You're…inexperienced."
"Huh. We'll see about that, big guy."
"…We should find Sully…"
"Why?" asked Vindril, furrowing his brows. "Is there a problem?"
"Sort of…"
"Sort of? What the hell does that even mean?"
Luzir sighed, scanning the entire crowd. "…Sully…has a tendency of stealing…as he demonstrated on the ship. This crowd is the perfect target for his little hands."
Shit. A commotion was the last thing they needed right now. And if that little halwerian was as inclined to get his little fingers into other people's possessions as Luzir stated, than that wasn't out the realm of the possibility. One wrong move, and all hell would break lose. Still, Vindril had a task to accomplish before any of that. "Alright. We'll look for him, big guy. But I must purchase our tickets to get on the shuttle to the planet's surface. I don't want to stay here a moment longer than necessary."
"…"
"What?"
"…I don't think that's wise."
"I do admit it's not the best course of action, but I cannot risk losing it." he admitted. Still, it was a fact that Sully had to be located at the soonest opportunity. What to do…
"I'll tell you what…" Vindril said. "You go and find that troublemaker. I'll go and buy the tickets. I'll send yours through the Starnet as soon as I'm done. Give me your info."
"…Alright."
Having accomplished a sort of middle ground that could potentially make everyone happy, Vindril turned around and ventured towards the small crowd outside the ticket office. A small crowd of people were all ordinately waiting, some interacting with the robot terminal that was on the left, some with the seller. By how disinterested and annoyed that man looked and acted, the robotic terminal looked like the better option. He swiftly positioned himself behind the last person in the line and waited.
After a couple of minutes, the people in front had almost disappeared. Only a few handfuls were still waiting for their turns, some already preparing the necessary funds to pay for the tickets. When the last person in front of him finally finished their business, Vindril approached the terminal. A robot, shaped like some kind of strange vending machine, was patiently waiting for a new input, staring at him through the pair of lenses mounted over the display it had in its middle.
"Three tickets for the surface. One-way."
The robot silently sat to work, creating three digital tickets that were later going to be sent through the Starnet secure channels. The grand sum of 390 coins was displayed on cubical numbers for everyone to see. "390 Star Coins. Please, be sure to enter correct address. The tickets are non-refundable. You're responsible for any mistake on your part."
"Yeah, yeah. I get it."
Vindril opened up his projector and, after double checking to avoid any mistakes on his part, he filled in every single field that was required.
"Thank you for your purchase." stated the robot. "Your tickets will become available to your use after a couple minutes. Goodbye."
Vindril smiled. At least that was taken care of. He hoped the same could be said about Luzir and Sully. He sighed. No point in searching them now, when he couldn't even see the gigantic man's figure no matter how hard he tried to. Without looking back, he began to walk towards the shuttle, sending them their tickets. He figured that he would meet them there eventually…right?