Within fifteen minutes of landing, Rutledge and Tindal came aboard the JU-224 for a quick, yet emotional, reunion with Tobias and Sherri. Riyad had smiled appropriately, yet refrained from the hugs and backslapping. Once the assault team was all together, Lieutenant Tobias assumed command.
Kaylor and Jym would coordinate the recharging of the two Exitors, while Riyad and Sherri would shadow the crews, gaining information about their employer, the dispatch procedures and where equipment was stored. The three SEALs would prepare the weapons and gear for the assault, while also getting a lay of the land.
Sherri and Riyad went with Kaylor and Jym to make arrangements for the recharge of the Exitors. The gravity of Zinnol was about standard for the Expansion, somewhere around three-quarters that of Earth’s. Since the gravity aboard the JU-224 had been set at a compromise level for both alien and Human, all four of them experienced some relief in the lighter gravity.
The dusty atmosphere was difficult to breath in the open, so they all quickly entered one of the many rusty tram cars that snaked their way throughout the area. Once the doors shut, the air was more breathable, yet the smell nearly knocked them over. There was a crush of aliens of all kinds in the car, many sweaty and dirty, having apparently just left their work shift for the journey to their homes.
A couple of creatures with extremely long necks and two sets of eyes each, made some grunting sounds in their direction, scanning Riyad and Sherri up and down.
“That is an incredibly foul smell you’re giving off,” one of the creatures said to Sherri. “Move away from me before you make me sick.”
Sherri looked the creature straight in his eyes. She had simply washed with a deodorant soap earlier, but obviously it was strong enough to be noticed in the cramped quarters. She was immediately upset, insulted that a creature as filthy and disgusting as this one would be offended by her. But before she could fully react, Riyad had pushed his way between her and the four-eyed being.
Both of them were about the same size, and the alien appeared to be quite muscular. Maybe this will the one, Riyad thought, with a trace of hope.
“Leave this one alone. She is my mate, and you have now offended me.”
The top set of eyes blinked rapidly, while the lower pair stared at Riyad. “Move out of my space, you grub-lover,” the creature said, no fear in his voice. “You smell new here, so you may not know who I am.”
Sherri took hold of Riyad’s arm. “Let’s not start anything. We have a job to do.”
Riyad continued to stare at the alien. “I know. I won’t cause too much of a ruckus.” And then Riyad placed a hand on the alien’s shoulder. “Yes, my friend, we are new here, and we just want to get along. But if anyone is going to move along, it will be you.” And with that, Riyad began to squeeze, enlisting an immediate groan of agony from the four-eyed creature. He buckled to the side, all this eyes now blinking rapidly.
His companion moved closer to Riyad, which was a mistake. The Human jabbed the thumb on his free hand into the being’s stomach, sending him to the floor of the tram car, writhing in pain. And then Riyad released the first alien’s shoulder, allowing the injured creature to fall to his knees, rubbing the spot that Riyad had been holding.
Everyone in the tram began to move away from Sherri and Riyad, as a tense silence feel across the crowd. Riyad looked around, a wild steady look in his eyes. Like in every community, there were the bullies, the blowhards. On Zinnol — or at least in this tram car — the two beings kneeling before Riyad were them. However, from the looks on the faces of the others in car, they had just been replaced by the dark haired creature with the hair growing from his face.
“That was smooth; nothing like keeping a low profile,” Sherri whispered to Riyad.
“Just defending your honor, my lady. And by the way, you do smell fabulous this evening.” Riyad could hear the gasp throughout the tram car when Riyad flashed a wide, toothy grin at Sherri.
In the meantime, Kaylor and Jym had slinked further back into the crowd, wanting to detach themselves as much as possible from the two Humans. Sherri caught Kaylor’s weary eye and sent him a wink. Kaylor had seen this kind of behavior from the Humans too many times before….
The tram dropped several of the car’s occupants off at the main surface recharge center on the northeast side of the spaceport. Once out of the car, a number of the aliens scurried away quickly, while still sending furtive glances back at the two Humans. Kaylor and Jym still kept their distance as they entered the building.
Inside the large boxy structure were several counters lining the outer walls, separated by partitions and each sporting their own signage. The whole room looked like the car rental section of a large international airport back on Earth. Riyad and Sherri couldn’t read any of the signs, but as they neared each counter, they heard a translation in their ears.
Kaylor moved up to one of the counters. “We need a recharge for two ships,” he said to the attendant behind the counter. The creature was very fat — round actually — with an equally round head placed atop the ball that was its body. It had no neck; instead the head simply rotated on top of its body. The being studied a monitor screen on the counter.
“Type of vessels and location?” it said in a surprisingly deep-toned voice.
“Exitors, both of them, located in spaces 234 and 235 in section four,” Kaylor replied.
The attendant entered some data into its terminal. “What series are the Exitors?”
“Series Five-A.”
After a few more key strokes, the round alien looked at Kaylor. “That will be nine hundred thirty credits for each. Recharge can begin at Day8 tomorrow. Make sure access will be granted.”
Kaylor counted out the credits he had brought, “There will be crew aboard to allow access. In addition, where are the orbital recharging terminals?”
“Next building over.”
After a few moments more, Kaylor was handed a datachip carrying the details of the transaction and the four of them left the building. They entered the next one over and found that the orbital ordering procedure was a little more complicated. Kaylor asked an attendant in one of the rooms how ship assignments were handed out. The answer, he was told, depended on the size and make of the ship. The being behind the counter was taken aback slightly when Kaylor mentioned a Class-3 Juirean. Most Juireans, it turned out, normally traveled in convoys with their own energy support ships. As it turned out, there were only a couple of contractors on the planet that could handle Class-3’s; her company did not.
After receiving the names of the contractors that did handle Juirean-size ships, the small group proceeded to the third floor in the building. Up here the rooms were larger and better appointed. There were four large sections, each hosted by a reception station.
Again, Kaylor did all the talking.
“We are the advance team for a Juirean Class-3 which will be arriving in four days,” he said to the shocked being behind the polished stone desk. “I was told your company can handle the recharge.”
“Yes, we handle Class-3’s,” said the female creature. “However, there are security considerations when working on a Juirean.”
“I realize that,” Kaylor lied. “Do you have the proper clearances?”
“Yes, but only two of our ships are equipped for such a job, and one is on station already. You did say four days until arrival? If that is the case, then we should have either ship available.”
“How will they be dispatched?”
The attendant was surprised by the question. “No particular procedure,” the creature said slowly. “Whichever crew is in rotation, that would be the normal process.”