Chapter 4
When they finally reached the ege of the Halian planetary shield, the Honey's comm received a call from Port Control. 'Yellowbird, please state your cargo and purpose in visiting Halian.' Omad replied 'Our sublight engine has been severely damaged and we need to land and carry out repairs. We're traders – we're carrying a cargo of Merim silk, Grade 3.' Omad had an ingratiating smile on his face as he said this which he hoped carried over the com in his voice. The voice echoing in the Honey's cockpit, instead of the friendliness Omad might have expected after this innocuous account, assumed a suspicious tone. 'What occasioned the damge to your ship?'
Sumatra widened her eyes at Omad in worry. In their line of work, suspicion was closely allied to danger and they couldn't put up much of a fight in their condition. He mouthed 'It's ok,' at her and smiled reassuringly. He ad-libbed 'We were caught in crossifre at our last port of call when the port authority were attempting to prevent another ship from leaving. A stray shot knocked out our shield and we were hit a couple of times by asteroids on our exit vector. To be honest with you (at this Sumatra raised her eyebrows) the whole bucket wasn't in the best condition anyway, and this just finished her off. It's gonna be a long, expensive repair job.' Omad finished on this, hoping that the prospect of revenue to the planet would improve the official's attitude.
There was a long pause. Omad glanced at his co-pilot: she still looked worried although she was trying not to show him. Sumatra was still something of a mystery to him, although they had been a team for several years now. She was that rare thing: a female Devish away from her home planet, and more, making her living from illegal activities. From all Omad knew about Devaronians, this was completely against their society. It was normal for female Devaronians to stay on Devaron, running the planetary economy and raising children, while the feckless males with their incurable wanderlust roamed the galaxy. Sumatra held her own in the smuggling community, and in their time together she had never shown herself to be any weaker than him, but Omad sometimes wondered whether she ever felt a biological 'pull' to be back on her own planet in the life normal to a female Devaronian. She was older than him; he knew that, although not by how much, and occasionally she betrayed a maternal side that Omad suspected she tried to keep hidden. At this moment she looked less a hardened smuggler and more a Devaronian female who was a long way, literally and metaphorically, from the life she would normally lead.
The comm crackled into life again: 'Freighter Honey, you are cleared to land in Halian City, Docking Bay 21. That bay's beacon has been activated and keyed to your comm. Welcome to Halian.' Omad let out a breath he hadn't noticed he'd been holding and turned to grin at Sumatra. 'We made it!' She still looked pale and didn't join his exultation. His tone concerned, he asked her what was wrong. 'Nothing, kid!' was the snapped answer, but a moment later she dropped the act and confided: 'I just have a really bad feeling about this planet.'
He tried to reassure her. 'Hey, Sumatra, I've got you all freaked out by asking you what was funny about that Encycolpaedia entry; you know, I'm sure that was just my imagination. It seems fine. And I wouldn't worry about the port guy – we've dealt with worse, haven't we? She sighed and leaned back in her chair. 'Yeah, you're probably right. I guess I'm just a little tired. And I could do with getting this properly treated.' She held up her injured left arm. Omad smiled (in what he hoped was a comforting way; he wasn't used to this empathetic thing) and said: 'We have had a rather exciting time of it recently. This place should be a good chance to have a rest.' A small light flashing on the console reminded him of the data feed they were getting from bay 21's beacon. 'Are you ok to bring us in or do you want me to do it?' he asked solicitously. Tha answer he got was a derogatory snort as she rerouted all the controls through her side of the console. 'You better go check all your toys are hidden before we the docking authority come for their tea-party,' she drawled, the sudden vulnerability just as suddenly gone. He rolled his eyes at her back and went to make sure their cargo was properly stowed before they arrived on Halian.
A/N: Sorry it took me so long to update, and sorry this one's so short. I've been away from home several times over the last 3 weeks. I do have a long plot all worked out and I've left my job now so hopefully I'll have more time to update. Please tell me what you think of this chapter. Thanks,
Purple