A Meeting At Prandamar
"He said it'd be around here," Dhermesh muttered to himself. "Where is it?" Dhermesh pushed his hair back, staring out of the forward viewport.
As if summoned, a glint caught his eye off to the right. "There!"
"Vassi, sweep that beacon and broadcast the encryption key Kadhar gave us," he said, instructing his ship's AI.
"Yes captain," it responded, in an androgynous tone.
Captain. Not something he ever thought he would be called. Not something he'd ever get used to, either. He was a scientist. Not a very well known one, but a scientist nonetheless; and if this meeting pays off, his fame might increase from scientific journalling to household name.
A chime started, fading Dhermesh's daydream out. Vassi's voice came through the speaker systems "New coodinates received, accompanying callsign 'Prandamar'. Begin voyage to new location, captain?" "Confirmed, Vassi. Take us to Prandamar," replied Dhermesh, more confidently than he felt. There were rumours about Prandamar that made it seem unsafe, not least that it was nicknamed pirate haven of the Eastern fringes. No use worrying about it now he'd spent the better part of two weeks flying out here. It did help that who he was to meet wasn't exactly a stranger.
Three hours, a nap, shower, and coffee later, a ship-wide hail came in. A transmission from a nearby station calling for idents and reasons for heading in their direction. This must be it, Prandamar awaits. Dhermesh prompted the responses with codes given to him by his contact, receiving a docking code in reply. Activating docking protocols, the ship pulled around a large asteroid to uncover a shining view of bright lights and sunlit glass in the shape of a torus.
Docking clamps in place, access ramp lowered, Dhermesh stepped down the stairs onto the platform, a bulky figure stood waiting for him. The figure turned to him with a large grin planted across his face and said "Long time no see, little fella! You ready for an adventure?" "Good to see you, Kadhar," said Dharmesh through a smile and a laugh. "Let's do this thing."
A chime started, fading Dhermesh's daydream out. Vassi's voice came through the speaker systems "New coodinates received, accompanying callsign 'Prandamar'. Begin voyage to new location, captain?" "Confirmed, Vassi. Take us to Prandamar," replied Dhermesh, more confidently than he felt. There were rumours about Prandamar that made it seem unsafe, not least that it was nicknamed pirate haven of the Eastern fringes. No use worrying about it now he'd spent the better part of two weeks flying out here. It did help that who he was to meet wasn't exactly a stranger.
Three hours, a nap, shower, and coffee later, a ship-wide hail came in. A transmission from a nearby station calling for idents and reasons for heading in their direction. This must be it, Prandamar awaits. Dhermesh prompted the responses with codes given to him by his contact, receiving a docking code in reply. Activating docking protocols, the ship pulled around a large asteroid to uncover a shining view of bright lights and sunlit glass in the shape of a torus.
Docking clamps in place, access ramp lowered, Dhermesh stepped down the stairs onto the platform, a bulky figure stood waiting for him. The figure turned to him with a large grin planted across his face and said "Long time no see, little fella! You ready for an adventure?" "Good to see you, Kadhar," said Dharmesh through a smile and a laugh. "Let's do this thing."
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