My surprise was quickly replaced with weariness. "What kind of job?" I asked.

Those in the room kind of clustered around Bruiser and I while we spoke since the table had been destroyed. "Nothing dangerous, not for you at least." The big man tried to reassure me. "I've got a contract to transport a group of Arahnkan Monks and supplies to a new colony. There are twelve of them and the cargo mainly includes medical and farming supplies."

He rolled his neck and added "Trouble is, the V'Tori moved into the system very recently. They're mining Hydrogen Three from the two gas giants in the system for starship fuel. And, they have lined the heliopause of the system with a sensor grid. A fleet of warships is on standby and they challenge anything entering the system." He shrugged, "they don't care about the Arahnka colony but won't let anyone in to deliver supplies."

"Steiner here has a Blockade Runner, and it's one of the fastest ships this side of the Milky Way. V’Tori are no pushovers though so we made a very, unique, arrangement with a rogue faction of the Fajani to get our hands on a shield generator so he would have a better shot at making the delivery and getting out. But, if you can jump into the middle of the system you could bypass the sensor net entirely."

I rubbed my chin while considering his words. I could see the predicament. He was right too, if i jumped into the system, I could make the delivery and jump out without ever alerting the V’Tori of my presence. It was also dangerous for me though. If they had a ship watching the planet and or I was spotted some other way I'd have a fleet of warships breathing down my neck and I didn't have the speed that Steiner did. It takes about ten minutes to spin up the drive to jump and we can't be moving while that is happening.

My thoughts were interrupted when Steiner protested. "Bruiser, this is my job. I've already got my hold outfitted to carry their livestock." The man said in a nasally voice.

"Relax, '' Bruiser said to the man. "You're still getting one of the shield generators, and I know that's what you're really complaining about."

My eyes settled on Shade without realizing it and I saw her roll her eyes at Steiner. Closing my eyes I took a deep breath and turned to Bruiser. "I'll do it but I don't need the shield generator."

Bruiser's eyes lit up like a kid on Christmas morning. "Excellent,'' he said. "Job pays a hundred and fifty thousand credits."

My eyes bugged out. My sister's house on Earth was worth about a hundred thousand credits. This was a lot of money. Steiner scoffed and walked out of the room. "He mentioned livestock?"

"Yes, they have two Earth oxen and four cheitteries. Those are small animals from one of the Delmue worlds, kind of a cross between a goat and sheep. Don't worry though, the animals are fairly placid, shouldn't be much trouble for you." Then he turned to the older man, "Would you please take Jon down to meet the monks and get a look at the supplies he'll be moving."

The General nodded and motioned for me to follow him. As we left the room I looked back over my shoulder and Aaron was in deep discussion with his brother. It was a few minutes later before I realized I hadn't seen Shade in the room, or her departure from it. I knew I should just forget the pretty raven haired girl but I couldn't. The same way I was never able to forget about going to space. Something called to me, and now I had an idea of what it might have been. There was something there, but I needed to find a way to force her from my thoughts.

Ford was quiet as we walked. The corridors were a dull gray metal and utterly lifeless so I kept my eyes on the man's back. His posture was relaxed for a good portion of the walk, until we rounded a corner, when he stiffened. Next to a bank of elevators, Steiner was leaning against the wall. When we locked eyes I knew he'd been waiting for me. When the two of us stopped, Steiner pushed off the wall and walked towards us. "Steiner?" Ford asked in a warning tone.

"Stay out of this Ford." Steiner snapped at him without breaking eye contact with me. Then he caught me by surprise by grabbing me by the arm holes in my armor and lifting me clear off the ground before pushing me against the wall and holding me there. It would have been more impressive if the moon was at more than half Earth's gravity but the fact he was doing this astonished me enough to keep me silent.

He began talking rapidly. "Listen here boy, you think you can come in here and take my place? Huh? You take a job right out from under me and think Bruiser is just going to bring you into the circle?" He paused for a breath and I'd had enough of this already. "And I've seen the way you look at Shade, she's mine. I‐"

I placed the muzzle of the Fajani weapon under his chin and he shut up immediately. "Put me down." I said in as much of a commanding voice as I could muster. He obeyed and once my feet were back on the floor I pushed him away. But kept the gun pointed at him. "Let's get one thing straight, I have no intentions of taking your place. I am doing this job and then I'm gone. I don't know you and I don't want to. Just stay out of my way and I will be out of your hair soon. As for Shade; I feel like I might recognize her, but that's it. I have no intentions of taking her or even talking to her. So leave me alone and get the fuck out of here." I said before I motioned down the hall with the gun. Steiner gave me a look filled with hatred and looked like he wanted to say something but just walked away.

Ford opened the elevator and the two of us entered. "That, was unwise. You have made an enemy today." He paused, "and I'm afraid I'll need to take that weapon from you." I handed it over without a word. He took it gingerly and signed. He continued speaking and I could hear honest regret in his voice. "Steiner is a dangerous man. You will need to watch your back after embarrassing him like that. He is very emotional and holds a grudge; with no shame in finishing such things in any way he can."

The general was most likely right, he'd known the man for years after all. "I can take care of myself, but thank you for the advice." The elevator door opened and the smell of animal feces blasted me in the face.

Ford's face twisted in disgust and he said, "I apologize for the smell. They have been here many weeks and it accumulates. Please, this way."

I followed the general across an open metal deck to a series of round cloth huts and a corral made up of crates and metal beams. As we approached, two Arahnka left one of the huts and came to meet us. The leader had black feathers with yellow striations and stood very tall. The second was smaller with black feathers and violet striations. She had a noticeably more feminin form and from my knowledge of Arahnkan physiology I knew the two were related, but whether they were siblings or father/daughter was still a mystery. It's hard to tell Arahnkan age.

The two were dressed in simple yellow and brown togas and little else. As they walked their wings bobbed up and down in a U shape. When the four of us stopped about 5-feet apart both clasped their hands together at their chests and inclined their bodies forward in a bow. The leader said, "Greetings General Ford" in a raspy voice. "Do you finally bring news?" Though his tone was respectful his voice was laced with frustration.

"Father, be nice" the woman admonished.

"Crizah'domn, I hope you and your family are well." Ford replied diplomatically. "I do indeed at long last bring good news. Crizah'domn, this is Captain Jonathan Kaine, he will be transporting you to your new home." The Arahnka turned to me with a shrewd calculating look, after looking me over I could see the wisdom of age shine through.

He gave me a short bow and said, "my daughter, Grhensilva" with a small wave to his companion. He then turned back to Ford, "and what of Captain Steiner?"

"Captain Kaine has a different type of ship, it uses a different type of travel and Bruiser feels it will be a much safer journey for you. Captain Steiner's ship might be able to outrun the V'Tori: but, Captain Kaine's ship will likely evade detection altogether."

Watching Ford I reminded myself that he is a military General. If his wartime skills even matched his diplomatic skills, it would make him a very dangerous man. And I have a feeling that this was just the tip of the iceberg. Distracted by my thoughts I realized too late a question was being asked of me. "I'm sorry, can you repeat that?"

Crizah'domn had murth in his eyes as Ford asked, "when do you think you will be ready to load them and depart?"

I looked around at the crates, animals, huts and onlookers. "If this is all you have, you can start loading now and we can depart once you are situated and ready."

"Excellent" the old bird said "We will begin making preparations now."

"I do have one request." I said before he could walk away. "Once we reach your new home, I'm going to need you to clean my hold. I mean no offense, but the smell in here is not one I am particularly fond of and would prefer it didn't become a fixture of my ship." I finished with a firm look at the corralled animals.

He leaned his head back and barked an immense laugh that echoed across the large room. Patting my shoulder he chuckled to himself as he said "fear not Captain. We have no intention of leaving such valuable fertilizer behind." And with that he turned around and strode away. Grhensilva was smiling as she gave a small bow to Ford and myself before following her father.

Back in the elevator Ford looked me over and said, "he likes you, he doesn't like anyone." When I raised an eyebrow he continued. "He and his family are part of a larger congregation. They lived on Earth with Buddhist monks in the mountains above China or something like that. After a generation or two, the whole lot of them decided they wanted a world of their own."

"You know how Arahnka experiment with human religions and philosophy. Well, this group has taken what they learned and tweaked it to fit their needs and desires." Ford shook his head. "They sold all of the material possessions they had left to book transport and the V'Tori moved in right before we got the last group down to the planet."

"Bruiser will never forfeit on a contract so Aaron has been scrambling to get a shield for Steiner's ship and the whole damn time that old man has been a cranky bastard about the delay." We exited the elevators and turned towards the starport, I recognised where I was and knew how to get back from here.

"Probably just likes me because my arrival means they finally get to go to their new home." I stopped and turned to Ford with a smile. "I will head back to my ship and prepare for them. Can you send me all the navigational information on the system? The closer to the planet I can drop out the better."

He nodded, "I will send it to you within the hour."

"I appreciate everything General Ford, until we meet again." I said before shaking hands with the man and leaving him to return to my ship.