Part 23
Fox, Fara, and Jack made their way to the shuttle bay and found the ship that would take them to the Medway. The shuttle was similar in size to the one the group had taken from the Ardennes to Io station, although the passengers on this trip were cheerful and chatting among themselves. Though there were no other Cornerians on the shuttle, no one paid attention to Fox and Fara, who were seated near the rear of the passenger compartment with Jack sitting between them.
"Hey Jack."
"Yeah Fox"
"You said the ship that's taking us to Thorin is a pleasure ship. What's a pleasure ship?"
"Amusement ship would be a more accurate." Jack told Fox. "They help HSF personnel relieve stress without the need to waste resources building a dedicated facility on site. The ships tour anywhere HSF personnel are stationed and offer a variety of activities simulated beaches, dancing, and gambling to recreational drugs and prostitution. Since they travel all over HSF territory they're sometimes used as transport ships for people with special requirements. In our case, we're giving you a tour of HSF space and the amenities are much nicer on board a pleasure ship."
"Oh." Fox said. "How long is this trip going to take? Krystal's in trouble and we need to get there as quickly as possible."
"The ship won't go to Thorin, we'll slip off at a nearby station in Elytra when the Medway docks to resupply and one of our people will take us from there. I'd expect the trip to take at least two days, maybe three."
"Three days?" Fox yelled. One of the passengers across the aisle began glancing over. "Krystal doesn't have three days Jack!"
"Calm down, you're attracting attention." Jack said in a hushed voice. "We're taking a big chance taking you and Fara out of the region, be thankful we were able to get you on a ship at all. A traditional transport wouldn't get you there any faster, given the distance we have to travel, three days is a miracle."
"He's right Fox." Fara looked at Fox from over Jack's shoulder. "Without Norman and Jack's help, we would have never found Krystal, let alone be able to reach her."
"I'm sorry." Fox said. "It's just, I'm worried about Krystal, we need to get there before something terrible happens."
"We'll get there." Jack told Fox. "But for this to work, everyone needs to play their part until we get to Elytra. That means acting like we're having a good time and not in a hurry to get somewhere."
"Alright." Fox said as he held his head down. "I'll try to keep calm."
The remaining hour of the trip to the Medway was uneventful with Fox, Fara, and Jack remaining largely silent until the shuttle reached the Medway. Fara looked out the window at the ship, unlike the utilitarian gray and brown ships she'd seen before, the Medway was brightly lit from end to end with lights of all colors and the ship's hull was decorated with multi colored lines that ran the length of the ship. Dozens of smaller shuttles and personal craft circled the ship, which was roughly the length of the Prospect but nearly triple the height. When their shuttle had finally docked with the Medway, the trio were among the last to exit and were greeted by a slender man in a dark colored suit who approached Jack and introduced himself.
"I'm Jordan Everitt." The man said. "I'm the manager of activities here on Medway. I take it you're the Cerinians?"
"That's correct Mr. Everitt." Jack reached out and shook hands with the manager. "I'm Jack Roberts and these two are Fox and Fara. They're special guests of Admiral Miller."
"I see." Mr. Everitt said as he bowed to Fox and Fara. "It's an honor to have you on board my ship."
"Thank you." Fara said with a smile. "It's beautiful. I've never seen anything like it."
"We are the highest rated pleasure ship in the fleet two years running." Mr. Everitt replied. "You'll have a great time here, I'm sure of it. I have a ton of work to do so I must take my leave. When you get settled in your cabin feel free to take in some of the sights. We've got a little bit of everything here and the shops on B deck are open for the duration of the voyage, your first purchase is compliments of the ship and crew."
"Thank you, Mr. Everitt." Jack said as the manager turned and rushed off to a nearby doorway, entered a code on the keypad beside it, and disappeared.
"One, Three, Three, Five, Seven, Six." Jack said. "Someone should have shown him how to block line of sight while entering a pass code."
"Did you really need to watch him like that?" Fox asked.
"You never know Fox. He was general manager of the ship, I imagine his pass code can get me anywhere I might want to go."
"If you say so." Fox replied. Their conversation was interrupted by a woman in a colorful dress who approached and introduced herself.
"Hello there." She said. "My name's Janet and I've been assigned to be your guide and advisor while you're on board. If you need anything at all or have any questions just ask."
"How long will it take us to get to Elytra?" Fox asked.
"Oh, I'm not really sure." Janet replied. "We're scheduled to resupply there in a few days but there really isn't a hard timetable for the systems we visit. Why do you ask?"
"Could you take us to our room?" Jack interrupted. "These two have had a long trip and we'll have plenty of time for questions after we get settled." Janet paused a moment then gestured for the trio to follow her, Fara walked right behind with Fox and Jack walking side by side behind her. She heard Jack telling Fox to stay quiet until they were in their room.
"I've got to tell you." Janet said to Fara. "I love your coloring. You're so pretty."
"Thank you." Fara said nervously. Janet led them to an elevator that took them to one of the upper decks of the ship. Fara looked around as she walked down the well decorated hallway, it was carpeted and decorated from ceiling to floor, she found herself forgetting she was on a spaceship and forgetting why she was here. When they reached the room, Janet gave them each a small datapad with the room number on the back side.
"To open the door, just place the back of the datapad on this panel here and you're in. It's bound to your palm print so no one can get into your room, even if they have your datapad." She said to the others. "The datapad has information on all the activities we have on board, but if you want a more personal touch, just call me and I'll take you wherever you'd like to go."
"Thank you, Ms. Janet." Jack said. Fox and Fara stepped into the room while Jack talked with Janet for a few minutes before entering. The room was larger than the ones on the Prospect and contained an extra area which held a small table, two reclining chairs, and a sofa.
"Hey, Jack." Fara yelled from deeper in the room. "We've got a problem." Jack rushed to meet Fara and Fox, who were standing in the bedroom.
"What's wrong?"
"There's only two beds." Fox said. "Didn't they know there were three of us?"
"It's fine. Most of these cabins are set up for two pairs of guests." Jack said as he opened the nearby cabinet and pulled out a spare pillow and blanket. He tossed the blanket onto the sofa and propped the pillow up on the armrest. "I prefer to be where I can see the door."
"Are you sure?" Fara asked.
"I'll be fine. I have something I need to do." Jack replied. "You two should take some time and explore the ship. This isn't something you get to see every day."
"I do want a change of clothes." Fara said. "What about you Fox?"
"I'm going to stay here for a bit, if that's alright with you."
"Okay." Fara said with a smile. "But you're going to miss all the fun."
After Fara and Jack left the room Fox laid down in one of the beds and wrapped himself in the sheets. He had been trying to clear his head for several days but was unable to shake the images of Krystal that flooded his mind. He had seen her starving, lonely, and injured but the worst was the image of her lifeless body laying on the floor of some old ruin, covered in dirt, eyes staring blankly into the distance. That image repeated over and over in his mind, he'd struggle to stay focused during the day and fight to get to sleep at night every time that horrible image crept into his mind. This time, it didn't bother him, he knew she was fine and he was going to find her and bring her back. Suddenly, Krystal's body looked up at him and began calling his name. Fox slowly slipped out of his dream to Fara rocking him gently and saying his name.
"Fox. Fox." She said.
"Krystal? What are you doing here?"
"It's me Fox. It's Fara."
"Fara?" Fox said. "What happened to Krystal?"
"She was never here. You were tossing around, that must have been some dream you were having."
"I saw Krystal, she was lying on the ground. I think she was hurt or worse." Fox began to look at his surroundings, then back to Fara. "What happened to your disguise?"
"I decided to embrace human culture." Fara replied with a smile. "Custom made just for me, what do you think?" Fara held her arms out and spun around giving Fox a clear view of her new outfit, a white colored jacket with short sleeves and golden trim around the edges. It was made from a material that looked polished and rigid but upon touching it felt light and pliable. Fara had it buttoned halfway up revealing her top of her Cerinian outfit beneath. She had replaced her sandals loincloth with a pair of snug fitting dark red trousers and black boots like those worn by the HSF crews.
"Looks good Fara." Fox said after admiring her. "Maybe I should look into a change of clothes."
"Have you seen Jack?" Fara asked. "I haven't seen him since we opened the room."
"I've been asleep since you two left. I thought you went off together."
"No, he was gone by the time I got out into the hall." Fara said shaking her head. "I'm sure he'll turn up later, we've all got to come back here to sleep right? Let's get you a change of clothes, you've got to see some of the things they have on this ship."
Fara led Fox out the door and into the elevator at the the end of the hall, she didn't say a word as she selected a floor and stepped back into one corner before looking at Fox with a big smile. Fox noticed a change in Fara since they boarded, she carried herself with a confidence he hadn't seen before.
"Looks like you're having a good time." He said to Fara.
"Yeah, I guess I am. It's hard to describe, but I can be myself this way." Fara paused a moment. "That doesn't bother you does it?"
"No. I like the new you." Fox said as he held out his hand, Fara looked at it for a moment before placing her palm against his.
"This is the real me Fox." Fara said as she and Fox stepped out of the elevator and into the Medway's retail deck. "As strange as it sounds I feel I can be myself when I'm posing as someone else. I spent so much time trying to get you to join the CDF we never really got to know one another. I tried to play the cool confident fleet pilot because I wanted to show you how professional we were and how you'd fit in with us. Now that I think about it, the whole thing was silly."
"Fara, the CDF wanted me to stay freelance. I could get into places and be involved in things they never could, I helped them by staying out and acting on orders they gave me as a hired pilot."
"I never knew, I thought you didn't want to be part of the CDF."
"I was part of the CDF, just not in writing." Fox and Fara walked along the retail deck, gazing at the mannequins and images of humans dressed in various types of clothing. A single shop caught Fox's attention and he walked over and studied the image outside.
"It's you." Fara said. "It says this is an outfit worn by pilots during the early days of human aviation, before supersonic aircraft and high altitudes required flight suits. They'll put the logo of your choice on the back." Fara looked back to find Fox had already gone inside, she decided to sit down on a nearby and wait. The humans didn't seem to mind her being there, they sometimes glanced over as they walked by but their expressions were more of curiosity than contempt.
"Well, what do you think?" Fox's voice interrupted her thoughts. He was standing almost right beside her wearing a brown colored jacket with a plain white shirt underneath and a pair of blue trousers.
"You look like a walking antique." Fara said with a chuckle. "But it works for you, I will say that." Fox smiled shook his head as he reached for Fara's hand. She eagerly obliged and the two went back to the room where Jack was waiting for them.
"Been shopping I see?" He said as they entered the room.
"Fara's idea." Fox replied. "She..."
"Got tired of walking around looking like a...um..." Fara interrupted.
"A Cerinian stripper?" Jack.
"Yes." Fara said with a smile. "Exactly. Where have you been?"
"Taking in some R&R in one of the simulation rooms. I did a bit of shopping myself, these were hard to find." Jack pointed to a clear glass box sitting on the table, it was roughly the size of a shoe box with a red lid nearly as tall as the box itself. The box appeared to be half full of dirt with a few rocks on top for decoration. The lid was labeled with all manner of warnings and a small hatch that was opened with a switch on the side of the lid next to a small compartment door.
"What is that?" Fox asked.
"Watch." Jack replied with a grin. He opened a panel on the back side of the box and pulled out a small chunk of meat., he placed the small chunk of meat on top of the hatch and flipped the switch on the side. The box let out a shrill alarm before the hatch on top opened and the meat dropped inside, there was a brief pause then a hiss before the meat dropped into the box. The instant the meat touched the surface of the dirt two white worms wriggled from below, tore into the meat with frightening speed, and devoured the chunk before burrowing back underground.
"Bore worms?" Fox asked. "Aren't they a bit dangerous to keep as pets?
"Very dangerous." Jack said. "They're sealed in this pressurized box and can't escape, if they do, they'll decompress and die instantly. I thought I'd show you a bit of what to expect when we get to Thorin."
"Those things are from the planet we're going to?" Fara said, still in shock from what she saw.
"They are just about the only form of wildlife on the surface of the planet, they've killed off everything else."
"Why didn't either of you mention we were going to a planet full of flesh eating worms?" Fara yelled at Fox and Jack. "It really would have impacted my decision to go."
"They aren't an issue if you're prepared, and we will be." Jack tried to calm Fara as he spoke. "If you stay up, keep your boots on, and use the repellent, you'll be fine."
"If you say so. I think I should have been told though."
"Agreed, it must have slipped my mind. I was too concerned with our cover and should have briefed you like I did Fox. I'm sorry, it won't happen again."
"It's not a big deal Jack, don't worry about it." Fara replied. "If Fox knew, he could have told me too."
"It is a big deal, that's how lives are lost."
"It's okay, really." Fara was interrupted by the beeping of her datapad, Fox and Jack noticed theirs were beeping too.
"I have a message." Fox said as he played the recording.
"Greetings patron, on behalf of the captain and crew of the Medway you are invited to take in the awe and majesty of Magnus 4 in the forward observation room, a complimentary 5 course meal will be provided. Say you heard the advertisement on your datapad and get a free dessert. Don't hesitate, secure your table within the next half hour as seating is limited."
"Hungry?" Jack asked. "The food here is some of the best in HSF territory."
"I'll go." Fara said.
"Might as well, it will help us kill some time." Said Fox.
"I'll get us a table." Jack entered their information into his datapad. "Dinner's in about an hour, the menu is on your datapad so you can order your food ahead of time, it will be there when you get to your table. The menu offers a variety of dishes from different species and tailors it to your species. If you see a dish highlighted in red, don't order it, green is safe, and yellow is safe but with side effects."
"Side effects?" Asked Fox.
"Could be upset stomach, could be allergic reaction. It's best to avoid the yellows unless you know how it's going to affect you."
"Oh."
"Let's get going, we can see some more of the ship while we wait." Fara said. Jack and Fox nodded and the trio went about exploring the ship once again.