Part 22
"So, care to elaborate on this plan of yours?" Norman asked Fox.
"Well." Fox began. "Since Cerinians can travel anywhere in HSF space and Cornerians can't, we could dress up like Cerinians and board a ship bound for Thorin. Jack tells me only certain ships can go there so I thought you could book us passage on one."
"That's true, not just any ship can go to Thorin. I can get you on a ship going there, but you're going to need a better cover than a couple of Cerinian sightseers and you're going to need more than an outfit to look the part."
"Why's that?" Fox asked. "We're virtually the same species. Other than being blue, Krystal looks identical to a Cornerian."
"The color's the problem." Norman held up his datapad, which displayed a picture of several Cerinians standing together. "Cerinians have some pretty exotic coloring, you don't."
"So, what do we do?"
"We paint you." Norman replied.
"What?"
"I've got a way to alter your color, don't worry about that. The other problem is Fara's ears, they're not right for a Cerinian and will have to be altered."
"Alter my ears?" Fara said.
"It would be temporary, we're just going to trim them down and alter the curve a bit. We can put them back the way they were as soon as you return. It's painless and because we use lasers and cellular growth accelerators, you won't have much downtime, if any."
"So you can put me back just as I was?"
"Yes." Norman told Fara. "Just as soon as you get back."
Fara thought a moment, then looked at Fox standing beside her.
"Alright, let's get started." She said.
"Excellent, I just need to clear some time in hull repair." Norman typed away on his datapad. "A single fighter bay for an hour or so should do it. Miyu?"
"Yeah?"
"I need you to go collect two packages for me from the requisitions department on deck 30, they should be ready in half an hour."
"Right." Miyu replied before taking a seat on a nearby crate..
"Miyu, it takes at least that long to get to deck 30."
"Oh, sorry Norm. I'm going now."
"Thank you." Norman said, shaking his head then turning to Fox and Fara. "Now, you both know where the medical bay is, right?"
"Yes." Fox and Fara replied in unison.
"Good, Fara you need to go there and see Dr. Browning, he'll take care of the modifications to your ears. It shouldn't take more than an hour or two. When you're done, meet us in hangar 3, it's on this level, three doors down and directly across the hall."
"I'll meet you there as soon as I'm done." Fara said before walking away.
"Fox." Norman said. "We've got some time to kill. Any questions about what we're doing?"
"What's this planet like? You seemed surprised when I asked about it."
"Thorin?" Norman thought a moment. "It's a paradise. Lush green forests as far as you can see, crystal clear water, and air so clean and pure just breathing it makes you feel years younger. The planet has almost no axial tilt so the temperature stays consistent year round and there's rarely any violent weather, the worst you'll get is the occasional flash of lightning and rumble of thunder."
"Doesn't sound bad." Fox said. "I take it you've been there?
"Yes, and I can tell you it is every bit a beautiful as you can imagine." Norman replied with a smile. "But, there's a catch."
"A catch?"
"Yeah, the planet's ecosystem is falling apart, due in no small part to a horribly evolved predator thats wiped out almost all of the ground-dwelling animal life and put a pretty good dent in the bird and insect population too. We call them bore worms, they're a rare type of carnivorous parasite roughly the size of my little finger and live in the first meter or so of soil. They attach themselves to any soft flesh that comes in contact with the soil and eat their way inside your body where they feed and reproduce."
"That's...horrible." Fox said with a shiver.
"They're fast too, they can be through your clothing and under your skin in a matter of seconds. If you fall, you'll be swarmed by them and since they are so fast, you'll never be able to pull them all off, a few will always get inside."
"So it's fatal if they get inside?"
"Can be, it really depends on where they go once they're inside. If they stay near the surface in an arm or leg, you can get them removed without too much trouble. Most often they will burrow deep into your muscle tissue to lay their eggs and cause massive internal damage and bleeding, not to mention pain. Add several of them inside you at once and dying at that point is mercy. We've got some special boots that will keep them off your feet and legs and there's a repellent that keeps them off if you do manage to fall down."
"I'm still thinking about something eating its way into my body."
"Try not to think about it, they aren't much an issue if you're prepared. We'll get you the equipment you need to keep you safe."
"By the way who's paying for all this?" Fox asked.
"This is a recovery operation, all parties involved render services for no charge or at a greatly reduced rate. It's part of the contract they sign when they agree to work on one of these stations. We take care of their basic needs, food, shelter, air and in return they provide us services whenever we need them. The HSF is good to its people and its people are good to it for the most part."
"Oh." Fox said. "What about the Raanerians?"
"Jack's the one you should be asking, I never had contact with them."
"Hey Fox, Hey Norm." A familiar voice interrupted their conversation, it was Miyu. "Here's your packages."
"I'll hang on to these until after we get you and Fara colored. Fara should be out soon, let's go over to hull repair."
Norman, Miyu, and Fox walked to the hangar Norman had reserved and went inside where Norman immediately went into a small room at the back of the hangar and began using the console there to prepare the hangar's equipment. Fox watched as several machines that were stored in the corner came to life and began moving around the hangar.
"Now." Norman began. "What we're going to do is coat you in hull paint. It's not really a paint but more like a dye that seeps into whatever it comes in contact with. It doesn't add weight like a traditional paint would and won't separate when the surface it's on shifts or flexes."
"Hey Norm." Miyu interrupted. "Fara's back." Fara walked in right behind Miyu, her ears had been shortened dramatically and now resembled Fox's. The doctors had given Fara a full head of hair to cover her headpiece, it was trimmed to cover her forehead in the front and stretched to her shoulders in the back and completely concealed the device.
"Well." Fara said with a smile. "What do you think?" Fox stood there and looked at her speechelss.
"I think it will work." Norman replied. "How was the procedure?"
"I don't remember much, they put me under and when I woke up, I looked like this. So what's next?"
"I've finished setting up the equipment, all you two need to do is pick a color from the picture here and we'll get started. Keep in mind that the color you pick will be slightly darker because of the base color of your fur." Norman held up a datapad with the pictures of several Cerinians, all were various shades of blue and wearing white sleeveless robes. They were standing shoulder to shoulder arranged lightest to darkest from left to right.
"I'll go with the one in the middle, he's close to Krystal's color." Fox told Norman.
"The darker one, second from the end I guess. It doesn't really matter." Fara said.
"You sure?" Norman asked. "You're going to be stuck with this color for a couple of weeks."
"Yeah, I'm sure. Let's just get his over with." Fara said, staring Fox.
"Thank you Fara, for doing this." Fox put his arms around her, pulled her in close, and held tightly. "I want you to know if the worst has happened, I still..."
"No." Fara pushed herself free from Fox's embrace. "I'm not going to be plan B. If we're going to do this, let's get started."
"Alright." Norman pointed out into the hangar as he spoke. "I need the two of you to disrobe and stand in the middle of then hangar there, at least two meters apart, arms straight out and palms perpendicular to the ground. You'll need to spread your legs slightly so the machine can get all the way around."
"Disrobe?" Fara asked.
"Yeah, the machine doesn't color through clothing. I'm going to warn you, the paint's a bit chilly." Norman said.
"I am not taking my clothes off and standing in the open."
"I can't make you do it. But you've come this far and it will only be for a few minutes. Besides, you don't have anything I haven't seen on the shipnet."
"Really, Norman?" Fara said in disbelief.
"Just being honest. No one's going to see anything, I'll be waiting right here with Miyu. The process is automated and when it's over your clothes will be right there."
"Alright." Fara said with a sigh. "Let's get this over with." Fox and Fara walked into the hangar and Norman shut the door behind them. After a brief look around Fox began to disrobe then glanced over at Fara, who was doing the same.
"No peaking Fox." Fara said with a slight smile. Fox looked away and walked to the middle of the hangar when he had finished undressing. Fox and Fara stood back to back in the hangar with a couple of meters between them, just as Norman had asked. The machines Fox had watched before began moving toward them while several rows of green lasers along the walls and ceiling created a grid pattern across his body.
"Just close your eyes and relax, this will only take a few minutes. Just try and hold still." Norman's voice sounded over the intercom. Seconds later Fox felt the rush of icy cold air covering his body, it was all he could do to hold still. The sound of the paint machine was deafening and Fox was having a difficult time staying focused and calm. After a few moments the noise stopped.
"All done." Norman said over the intercom. "Just sit tight for a few more minutes while the coloring soaks in. You can open your eyes now." Fox looked around the hangar, at least as much of the hangar as he could see without moving his body.
"My arms are getting tired." Fox said to Fara.
"Mine too. I hope we're dry soon."
"If the coloring isn't tacky you can get dressed and meet me in the hangar office." Norman said over the intercom. Fox patted his chest and arms, his fur was a bit stiff, but otherwise dry and completely blue down to his skin. Fox turned around to see Fara already getting dressed and he wasted no time doing the same. Fox and Fara went to meet Norman in the hangar office where he, Miyu, and Jack were waiting for them.
"Wow Fara." Miyu said. "I can barely tell it's you."
"Thanks." Fara said, looking into a mirror Norman had given her. "I can't believe the difference."
"Hey Norm, can you shoot me next?" Miyu asked. "I want to be green."
"I don't think that's a good idea." Norman replied with a smile. "You're strange enough as it is."
"That's a good look for you Fara." Fox said. The smile quickly faded from Fara's face.
"Only until we find Krystal, then things go back to normal."
"There's one more change we need to make." Jack said before handing a box to Fox and Fara. "You need to dress the part." Fox opened his box and removed the contents. Inside was a white, knee length tunic with intricate gold trim along the edges of the fabric, a pair of simple sandals, and a few other gold colored trinkets. At the bottom of the box was a picture detailing how everything was to be worn. Fara opened her box, shook her head, then promptly closed the lid.
"No." She said flatly. "Absolutely not."
"What's wrong?" Fox asked.
"I'm not wearing this, there's got to be something else."
"That's the common clothing of a Cerinian female." Norman said. "It's what all of the females we rescued from their homeworld were wearing. Fox's outfit is the same way, all the males were dressed in the same clothing he has."
"I am not traveling halfway across the galaxy in my underwear." Fara said.
"It's not halfway across the galaxy." Jack told Fara. "The trip won't take long and as soon as we get there you can change into whatever you want. We'll have to take a civilian transport ship for part of the trip and you'll need to look like you've just stepped off the Cerinian homeworld to fool the transit authority."
"What if she bought something different on the way?" Fox asked.
"She could do that too." Jack replied. "What do you think Fara?" Fara looked into the box again before slowly closing the lid with a sigh.
"Everyone out, I'm going to need a few minutes to put all this on." The group left the small room at the back of the hangar and walked outside while Fara got dressed. Fox took the opportunity to quickly change clothes in the hangar before joining up with the others to wait for Fara. After a few minutes, Fara emerged from the hangar and stood just outside the doorway with her arms crossed over her chest and shivering. Her outfit consisted of a pair of sandals identical to the ones Fox was wearing, two gold cuffs covered the lower part of her calves and were each engraved with an intricate pattern of swirling lines. A simple piece of white cloth with gold trim around the edges hung down from her waist and reached to her knees, a similar piece covered her backside. Both were fastened at the corners with circular clips and left her hips and legs exposed. Her top was of the same white fabric and covered her chest and right shoulder, but left her midsection exposed, two gold bracers on each wrist and a circlet on top of her head completed the outfit.
"I never realized how cold these stations are." Fara said.
"Well you're not exactly dressed for space travel." Jack told her.
"Shut up Jack."
"So here's your cover." Norman interrupted. "You're a Cerinian couple looking to relocate somewhere in HSF territory. You've been assigned a guide to help you, that's you Jack."
"Do we have to be a couple?" Fara asked. Fox turned his head and glared at Fara, but didn't say a word. "I mean, we've got to come back the same way right?"
"Yes, you'll return via civilian transport." Norman said. "The most important thing to remember is to be comfortable in your role. Everything you say and do must be natural, or it will arouse suspicion."
"Then how are you going to cover three Cerinians on the return trip?"
"Hmm." Norman thought a moment before typing on his datapad. "You're a Cerinian expeditionary group on a trip around HSF territory. Is that better? The entry just says group so no one will question the number of people, is that better?"
"I think that will work better." Fara replied.
"So what else do we need to know?" Fox asked.
"Like I said, you're a Cerinian expeditionary group exploring HSF territory, Jack's your guide. You're being taken on a tour as a token of goodwill toward your people, you'll be traveling on the pleasure ship Medway from Io station to the Elytra system. Once you're on the orbital platform in Elytra, you'll disembark while the ship is resupplied and be free to roam around the station for a bit. Someone will approach you about 20 minutes after you've left the ship, it is very important you stay together, we have a very narrow window to contact you and get you on a shuttle to Thorin before the Medway's crew notices you're gone."
"Seems simple enough." Fox said. "When do we leave?"
"The shuttle is ready when you are." Norman told Fox. "It will take you a couple of systems over where you'll board the Medway."
"Are you ready?" Fox turned and asked Fara and Jack, who nodded in reply. "Then let's go."
"Hey Fara." Miyu yelled. "When you get back can I borrow that outfit? I want to get into some trouble on the lower decks if you know what I mean."
"It's all yours." Fara replied with a laugh.