Nathan looked around briefly. They were parked between two long metal-clad service buildings. The buildings themselves were obviously cheap and easy to construct, with a few doors and windows, and a single roll-up cargo door. Looking forward and aft, he could see they were at least several rows back from either side of the berthing yard. He could see plenty of activity, with people moving about their various ships, and service vehicles cruising between the rows of stalls.
He looked up at the sky. Its subdued amber was almost like the sky on Earth just after the sun had dropped below the horizon. But this world’s sun was still sitting low in her sky. It was small and pale compared to their sun back on Earth, and provided considerably less light than he had expected. Nathan could even look directly at it for several seconds without hurting his eyes. In the opposite direction of the sun, the gas giant around which the moon of Haven orbited filled the bottom half of the sky from the ground upwards. The light reflecting off the gas giant provided a secondary light source, casting fainter shadows in the opposite direction of the ones cast by Haven’s sun. The effect was wholly unnatural, and it gave the entire scene an eerie cast.
Nathan made his way down the ramp, dropping the last step onto the tarmac. His landing felt light, as if he had jumped down only a fraction of the actual distance. The gravity here was only half that of his home world, and a quarter less than the Aurora’s standard gravity. He jumped up and down a few times, finding himself coming considerably farther off the ground than he would have expected under normal circumstances. It was an unusual sensation-both frightening and exhilarating at the same time-which brought a boyish grin to his face.
“You know, Nathan, you are probably the first person from Earth to set foot on another world in over a millennia,” Vladimir told him as he dropped to the tarmac next to him.
“Guess I should’ve said something profound, huh?”
“What the hell is that smell?” Jessica asked as she stepped off the ramp.
“Not exactly profound,” Nathan mumbled, “but accurate.” Vladimir chuckled as he bounced up and down, bounding a few steps away from the ship as he too experimented with the reduced gravity.
“This area is covered with an edible fungus,” Tobin explained. “It is everywhere there is dirt, and it can be rather pungent. It is, however, very flavorful and nutritious. It has in fact made civilization possible on this moon, as it grows with almost no effort and is quite a profitable commodity. Although it is not as appreciated on other worlds as much as those that grow it would’ve hoped.”
“What time of day is it here?” Nathan asked Tobin.
“It is midday.”
“Really? It looks more like sunset.”
“We are late in our light cycle.”
“Light cycle?”
“While Haven is passing between the star and the planet, there are fifty-two days of normal day and night. When we pass behind the planet, there is only darkness for the following fifty-two days.”
“No sun for fifty-two days?” Jessica asked rhetorically. “How depressing.”
“One becomes accustomed to it over time,” Tobin commented nonchalantly.
“Explains the abundance of fungus,” Jessica mumbled.
“So what happens next?” Nathan asked.
“We must go to one of the labor halls. There we can hire a crew to do the harvesting for you. The sooner this is begun, the sooner you will have funds with which to purchase the goods you require.”
“Lead the way,” Nathan invited.
“Transportation should arrive momentarily. So, Ensign,” Tobin said, looking at Jessica, “if you could refrain from shooting them, it would be appreciated. It is a long walk to the main terminal area.”
“I’ll try to control myself,” she promised.
“I must caution you all,” Tobin continued as he raised the hood on his cloak to cover his head, “to use discretion while on Haven. Keep covered up as much as possible when outside to protect yourself from the elements. Although the sun does not appear strong, it does deposit considerable radiation on our little world. The fibers of these cloaks are designed to reflect much of this radiation. And do not attract attention to yourselves. Most of the people here are not residents of this world. Therefore, they are as apprehensive as you are about their own security. It would serve you well to remember this.”
“Are you suggesting that we don’t defend ourselves?” Jessica challenged. She knew that he was not, she just wanted him to understand that she wasn’t about to let anything happen to them.
“Of course not, Ensign. Just think twice before pulling your weapon,” he suggested as he turned to lead them away.
“Thinking twice is usually a good way to get yourself killed,” Enrique commented to Jessica under his breath.
“Yeah, that’s exactly what I was thinking,” she agreed. “Listen, you and Weatherly take the rear. You try to soak up as much intel as you can while you watch our six.”
“Got it,” Enrique acknowledged.
“Sarge, you keep your eyes on Danik.”
“What’re you going to be doing?” Enrique asked.
“I’ll be watching Tobin,” she told them, as their transportation arrived. “I don’t trust that skinny little shit.”
The ride through the spaceport had been brief, having moved along at a good speed. But traveling the short distance from the spaceport to the labor hall had been anything but. The spaceport was the center of all commerce and activity on the small world. During the ride, Tobin had informed them that most of Haven was still undeveloped. The moon had only been colonized a few decades ago to provide support for increased harvesting of the rings. It was because of this that Haven City-the only city on this world-had spread out in all directions from its sole spaceport.
After exiting the main gate, they had only needed to travel less than a kilometer down one of the many roads leading away from the spaceport. From what they had seen, each of these main roads was lined with shops and offices of various interests. There were also all manner of street vendors peddling their modest wares. Nathan guessed that they could probably purchase everything they needed by spending a few days shopping these congested lanes.
After spending considerable time working their way slowly down the boulevard, they arrived at a large, tan building. It was dirty and its exterior was in considerable disrepair. There were many men and a few women lingering about outside. A large sign over the massive double doors identified the purpose of the building in a language that Nathan could not decipher. By the looks of the men milling about, however, he was pretty sure they had arrived at the labor hall.
“It would not be wise for all of us to enter the hall,” Tobin instructed as they dismounted the vehicle. “Perhaps only a few?”
“Jessica?” Nathan asked, seeking her read on the situation.
“The four of us go in,” she suggested, gesturing at Tobin, Jalea, Nathan, and herself. “The others can look around out here.”
“Perhaps four is too many?” Tobin urged. “I was thinking perhaps just you and I-”
“Where the captain goes, I go,” Jessica interrupted. The determined look in her eyes told Tobin that it would be pointless to argue.
“I see. Then perhaps the three of us-”
“Jalea is my interpreter,” Nathan insisted.
Tobin sighed in acquiescence. “Very well, the four of us it is.” He bowed his head slightly and extended his arm toward the main door, inviting them to enter.
“Sounds good,” Nathan agreed. He was definitely out of his comfort zone, and felt better having Jessica-who had proven herself in combat on more than one occasion-deciding how to best keep them safe in this unfamiliar land. He turned to Tobin again. “How long do you think we’ll be in here?”