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The Voyages of the Mara

Chapter 1:

DENVER XII

---

As the ship exited warp drive, the rushing stars and planets around the Mara's Hope finally slowed, and his window was instead filled with the sight of a massive, metal structure, floating all by its lonesome in space with nothing else nearby. The structure looked like a great free-floating spire with a wide-open round center and several large sub-stations orbiting around its mass, both covered in thousands of lights, small gun turrets and, as the ship came closer, seemed to only grow larger until soon, Felix could not even see around the station, and his radar indicated he was still five kilometers away from it!

The whole thing had to be at least a hundred kilometers in horizontal diameter, and all of its orbiting sub-stations were about one-tenth its size. These sub-stations were the actual docking areas of the station, evident by the numerous ships flying in and out of the docking bays at each one, and from those stations, transport shuttles would take them to the main hub or other sub-stations if they so chose. The Denver XII station itself was known as a Metropolis-Type Space Station, one of the hundreds of thousands produced by the S.C.R.C -literally Space Colony Realization Corporation. Only nine of these Metropolis stations existed in the Red Nebulan Confederacy space, but the Denver XII was rated one of the highest.

When his own bewilderment at the sight of the station passed, having never seen the place before in his life, Felix collected his thoughts and tapped the intercom by his left hand. "Hey guys... you might want to come to the front," he said.

As he waited, the ship was hailed on open frequency, which he heard over the communication console next to him. "Attention, unknown aircraft; this is the Denver XII control tower. Respond immediately."

Felix promptly jumped from his chair over to the communication panel, flicking the switch for the transmitter. "This is Felix Kaufmann; I am the captain of this vessel, the Mara's Hope, over," he replied. "I request permission to dock at the Denver XII station."

"Mr. Kaufmann; you are currently flying an unregistered ship," the hailer at the control tower stated. "State your cargo and the nature of your business on Denver XII, over."

"Repairs for my ship, and my cargo is one thousand pounds of salt; I'm seeking to find a business partner interested in buying the salt, over," replied Felix.

"Due to your ship being unregistered we would, for security purposes, like to send a crew to check your cargo and see your crew; if you refuse, then we must ask you to turn your ship back and depart, over."

Felix thought about it for only a second; they had come this far already and couldn't just turn tail and run now, so he gave the obvious response. "I accept."

"Standby," the control tower stated before going silent.

As Felix waited for their decision, the rest of his crew arrived on the bridge. Zack sprinted up to the window, standing by the console and pressing his face against it to see as much of the outside as possible. "We actually made it...I can barely contain myself; we freakin' made it!" The rabbit exclaimed, his whole body trembling with excitement.

"Hey, don't fog up the window little buddy," remarked Gustav, laughing heartily as he patted the rabbit on the shoulder, standing over Zack so he too could look out the window. "Some of us want to see as well."

Amber stepped up alongside Felix, staring out to the station as she asked Felix, "are they going to let us on board?"

"I'm still waiting for their decision," replied Felix. "They need to send a security team on board to check our cargo though; I already agreed to that."

"What do they need to check for?" Jessica asked.

"Contraband, probably," replied Felix. "Our ship's unregistered so they don't know if we're with any pirate factions out there or maybe carrying illegal items."

"Maybe we should get the ship registered while we're here?" Gustav suggested.

"Too expensive," replied Amber, shaking her head. "A registration tag costs three thousand credits; we buy that and there goes the money for getting food for Mara."

"Unfortunately, she's right," replied Felix. "We'll have to register the ship some other day, when we have more money to our names."

As he spoke, there was a call coming through the communication console again, which Amber answered this time. "Attention Mara's Hope, docking request accepted; activating beacon to your designated docking bay," the control tower stated. "Welcome to Denver XII; Control out."

On the navigational screen, Felix saw a blip appear, coming from one of the sub-stations off the port side, which he turned the ship towards, steering it towards the anti-gravity structure. Felix had to fly a little away from the station to get the right angle for approach in order to enter the docking bay the beacon was coming from, or risk scraping it against the side of the station, damage he'd likely be charged for.

As they approached the station they could see a more than fifty docking bays all over it, each one of matching sizes and more than large enough for the Mara's Hope. Each one of the bays was protected by a bright orange energy shield, which were made not only to keep the breathable air inside the station as well as protect it from laser fire, they were also designed to fry the circuits of any unwanted ship that tried to enter the station; when the shields were green, the defenses were offline and ships could safely pass through, and the bay that Felix was steering towards had such a shield colour at the moment.

"We going to fit in there?" Gustav asked.

"Easily," replied Felix. "Now, everybody, with me luck. In case you don't know it, this is the first time I've ever docked with a station before. Hope I don't scratch the ship."

~~~~~

"Yo, Slash, check this out."

The large anthro timber wolf turned when one of his gang members called to him; the mobster was standing over by the station window eyeing something out in space. Slash approached and stood next to the gangster, trying to follow his gaze. "What do you see, Vic?" He asked.

"See that ship docking at Sub-Station Six there?" Vic asked, pointing towards whatever it was he was looking at.

Finally Slash as able to follow where his crewman was pointing, and saw the ship in question; a Galaxy Glider Model 102 Light Freighter. It looked in rough shape, likely was there at the station for maintenance, but it still flew quite well by the looks of it. "Say..." the wolf said, intrigued. "Good eye there, Vic. That could be our ticket out of here, for us and all of our boys here at the station."

"If we can get the rest of them out," reminded Vic.

"Oh we'll get them out," said Slash. "And that Model 102 out there is perfect for us to go pick up our merchandise and head back home; we can be blasting off before the Enforcement could even scramble their ships."

"My thoughts exactly," agreed Vic.

"We can only hope it's staying long enough for us to get them out," stated Slash, feeling mildly concerned that the ship could take off before he and his boys could reach it.

"I could find out," returned Vic, flashing a toothy green with his wolf teeth that complimented his white fur quite well. "Just lemme get to a terminal and I'll see how long that ship's grounded in no time."

"Do it," replied Slash. "We can work out the rest of the plan from there."

~~~~~

Finally, Felix successfully lowered the ship down to the floor after the landing gear was extended, and touched down somewhat roughly but without causing any damage to the hull or the gear itself. With that he disengaged the repulsion system, and the ships' full weight was brought down on the landing gear, which groaned ominously but stood strong and successfully supported the freighter.

When the ship powered down, Felix leaned back in his seat and let out a long sigh. "Phew... we made it," he said.

"I told you guys we'd make it!" Zack exclaimed, and jumping around the room whooping with excitement.

Jessica looked at Felix with a smile across her delicate features. "Good job Felix," she said.

"Hey, I can't take all the credit," returned the dolphin. "Remember, sir hopper there," he jerked his thumb towards Zack, "helped me get this old tub flying in the first place."

"Still, your good piloting skills didn't hurt either," remarked Gustav, giving Felix a hearty slap on the shoulder, which made the smaller dolphin wince from the Orca's strength.

"Ow."

"Come on, let's get the cargo unloaded and see about getting this tub fixed up," Amber urged the others. "We have any hover-dolly's on board?"

"Unfortunately, no," replied Felix. "And we can't unload them anyway until Security does its check of them. Until then, leave 'em be, and we'll use this time to find a buyer for them, then we'll start unloading."

"Great... more delays," scoffed Amber.

"Amber, relax," stated Jessica. "We should be using this time to explore Denver XII; we could be coming here a lot in the future."

"Did you guys already forget what we came here for?" The shark-morph demanded with a scowl. "We're here to get food and medicine for the Mara Colony and get this hunk of junk in proper flying condition; we don't have time to go sight-seeing."

"We haven't forgotten, girl," returned Gustav, keeping his voice even and diplomatic so as not to anger the shark further. "But the ship's repairs will take a few days at least, so there's really no need for us to rush."

"Gustav's right, Amber," agreed Felix. "And so is Jessica; we could be here a while and be coming back fairly often. It pays to know your way around a place like this, especially when you might need stuff from here."

Amber's scowl remained but she said nothing more to argue the point and stormed off down the hall, finding something to occupy herself.

"What is her problem?" Zack asked, having finally stopped jumping around. "Why does she have to be such a buzzkill when we should be gleeful about where we are?"

"She's anxious to help the colony," replied Jessica. "So anxious she thinks that the longer we stay up here the more at risk they are. That's partially true but we really can't rush these things." The doe shook her head to emphasize her point. "To do so would only make this trip wasted."

"Haste makes waste as they say," agreed Felix. "Anyway, come on; we better go meet the Security." He stood up from his chair, finally getting the chance to stretch his legs after sitting in it for a while, and walked out, accompanied by Jessica.

Gustav patted Zack's shoulder reassuringly. "Don't let it get to you, little man," he said. "Amber's sour but she means well."

"I just wish she didn't try to make the rest of us feel sour with her," replied Zack.

"Come on, buddy; that's not fair," stated Gustav. "She is who she is, and we're all glad to have her on board. Sure she's not the most cheerful gal but we're all a lot safer with her around." He began to walk off the bridge with Zack. "I'm sure once the colony is in better condition, she'll be much happier."

"Yeah, maybe you're right," returned Zack. "Maybe a little of my charm would help cheer her up!" He flashed a big, buck-toothed grin.

Gustav laughed at the rabbit's face. "Your charm? Zack, she's ten years older than you."

"Never stopped me from making other cranky women very happy," replied the rabbit.

"_Those_cranky women didn't used to shoot Gelks and twist mens' arms for a living," reminded the Orca.

"...Good point."

As the two walked out to the cargo bay, Amber, who was in her room cleaning her sidearm, heard their conversation. She scoffed at them, but subtly she also believed maybe they were right; maybe she was acting too sour all the time, but even though they hadn't been on this ship for long she was already starting to feel like she was the only responsible one among them; Zack was always so hyperactive and on the go when he should've been watching the engines, Gustav was just a big teddy bear really; not a bad bone in his entire body, Jessica was a good medic, but she was only staying until after they picked up the medicine for the colony -if they could afford it. And Felix...

Well, she really couldn't call Felix irresponsible, since he had stayed at his post dutifully ever since they'd left Trident IV, and was going to make sure the ship was fixed. Like her he wanted what was best for the Mara Colony, and would -hell, already had put his life on the line to do just that by flying this rickety ship. If there was anyone on board she could trust to be responsible it was probably him.

~~~~~

Felix and Jessica left via the boarding ramp of the ship, descending down to the hangers metal floor. As they did, a tall human approached them, accompanied by two others -a fox anthro and a second human- all dressed in body armour with 'Security' painted onto the chestplate in small letters and in larger letters on the back; the reflective plate they wore was meant to deflect lasers and absorb projectile weapons, the former of which they themselves carried in holsters on their hips; beam pistols, namely.

"Welcome to Denver XII, sir and ma'am," the human at the lead stated. "I am Officer Lang; I'm here to inspect your cargo."

"No problem," replied Felix. "Cargo bay doors should be opening any moment now." He gestured alongside the expanding port-side of the ship. Almost as if on cue, the hiss of the air-tight locks releasing and the rasp of grinding metal filled their ears as the doors slowly slid open, revealing the cargo bay inside and twenty aluminum crates placed by the door, which barely filled one-third of the overall cargo space the Mara's Hope had.

Gustav stood at the door, waving in greeting to the security officer, and Zack was over by the door controls, although was starting to make his way over to the bay doors. Officer Lang peered into the ship, examining the crates from outside before he glanced at Felix. "May I go on board?"

"Be my guest," replied Felix. "Gustav, help him up, would you?"

"Come aboard, officer," replied the Orca, offering a hand to the security officer, who graciously accepted, and elicited a 'whoa' as he was effortlessly lifted up to the cargo bay doors by the Orca.

"You guys don't have a ramp?" The fox officer asked Felix.

"It doesn't work yet," replied the dolphin. "Partially why we're here; the ship needs a little TLC, along with us trying to find a buyer for some of this salt."

"I'll send for a couple of engineers to come have a look," the human officer offered.

"We'd appreciate that, thank you," said Felix. "My crewmate, Zachary, can give them all the details they need regarding the ship and its components."

"I'll pass it along."

"Hey Gustav," Felix called, turning his gaze up to the Orca. "Once they're done, think you'd be up for coming with us to explore the station?"

"Sure thing, Felix," returned the Orca. "Are we bringing some of the salt with us?"

"Just a bag of it for now, so that if we find a buyer he or she can at least sample it," replied Felix.

"What about Amber?" Jessica asked.

"We need someone to stay with the ship," replied Felix. "If it's going to be anybody, best that it be our most combat-oriented person, just in case anyone tries to steal it."

A familiar rabbit suddenly popped up between the two, making them both jump. "Hey, the security guys are here, aren't they? They can watch the ship."

"Our job is to protect this sub-station from criminals and interlopers, young man," the vulpine officer pointed out. "We're not here to protect the ships themselves; the safety of your vehicle is your own responsibility."

"What? And we pay taxes to these guys?" Zachary asked.

"Zack, only residents of this station pay taxes," corrected Jessica. "We're colonists."

"Oh. Uh... oopsie?"

The human officer looked at Felix. "Your friend isn't exactly well-informed, is he?"

"He's... young, is all," replied Felix. "Don't worry; he won't be a problem; I promise."

The officer nodded, and then looked up as the Security Officer Lang hopped out of the ship, rejoining his two co-workers. "The cargo all checks out; nothing but salt aboard this space vehicle. Inform control tower and Supervision that the vehicle is cleared to stay." While the other two carried out the instructions, Lang turned to Felix. "Once more, welcome to Denver XII; enjoy your stay, but cause no trouble."

"We won't be any bother at all, sir; you have my word," promised Felix.

With that, the three security officers decided their business concluded, and proceeded to leave the hangar. Once they were gone, Felix turned to Zachary. "Alright, Zack; you're to stay with the ship for now, and let Amber know I'd like her to remain with it too while the Engineers work on it," explained Felix. "Jessica, Gustav and I are going to the main station to look for a buyer for the salt; don't let them start any work without getting a price quote from them first and telling me the total price."

"If you're on the main station how am I supposed to contact you?" Zack asked.

"Unfortunately you won't be able to, so I'll check back in a few hours," replied Felix. "A ship this size should take about two hours for a thorough inspection, so I'll come back around then."

Zachary let his eyes drift to the upper-left corner of their sockets while he considered the estimate, and nodded to Felix. "Yeah, that sounds about right... okay. But do I really have to be left here with the cranky lady?"

"I need Jessica along so she can help me make a list of the medicines the clinic needs, and I need Gustav to help me find all the supplies we need," replied Felix. "And I have to go along in order to make the business deal with any buyer we find, so that just leaves you and Amber. Don't worry; you'll be plenty busy while we're gone and I'm sure she'll find something to do as well."

"Okay, okay, you made your point," Zack surrendered. "But next time, I'm goin' out to explore the station, right?"

"Yes, Zack," returned Felix, chuckling. While Zack's eagerness was understandable, he had to know that not everyone was getting what they wanted today; there was far too much to do and barely enough time for it all. Even though the colony was in no immediate danger, Felix just felt better knowing he didn't have to make them wait so long.

Hmm... now I know how Amber feels, he thought, remembering her near-outburst on the bridge. Difference being, I have patience... she just doesn't seem to.

He shook his head to clear it, and with their business in the hangar concluded, Felix led Jessica and Gustav out, heading towards a door at the far end of the docking bay that would take them to a shuttle, and the shuttle to the main station.

~~~~~

"By the stars this place is huge!" Gustav exclaimed.

After exiting the shuttle, the three friends came into what appeared to be a corridor, but one large enough for the entire Mara Colony island to fit into. Illuminated by large solar-lamps hanging from the ceiling; this was almost a half kilometer high and the inhabitants were not only provided sufficient lighting, but also vitamin D to help ensure a healthy space community. Down below the lights were long walkways, filled with people walking to work or to go shopping, and between these walkways was a humongous passage where hover-bikes and repulsor-cars travelled at high speeds from one end of the station to the other.

Walking up to the massive transport tube, Felix and co. peered inside, and saw down below open ports that went under the walkways, where the cars or bikes could park while their drivers went shopping in nearby stores. After exiting their vehicles, the drivers could ride an elevator up to the walkways and make their way on foot -after paying for the parking, of course. For those who could not afford their own vehicles, there was even a tram that ran below the main traffic in its own passage, like a subway system in old cities.

"There's so much in here," said Jessica, her breath taken away by the sheer size of the interior. "Where do we even start looking?"

"We should probably ask directions," said Felix. "Going wandering around in a place like this is sure to get us lost."

"Where are we going first?" Gustav inquired.

Felix rubbed his chin in thought for a moment. "Well, the sooner we unload the salt the sooner we can make a budget for supplies; let's find an information desk and see if they can tell us who might be interested."

"Got it," said Gustav, before he glanced around and picked out the nearest person who was not occupied with a phone call or such. The first person he saw was a middle-aged avian who was walking past. "Excuse me sir," he asked politely, catching the birds' attention. "Sorry for troubling you, but I'm new aboard this station. I was just wondering, can you possibly direct me to an information desk?"

The avian glanced around the corridor for a second before he pointed back the way he came from originally -down the left walkway. "Should be one that way; just follow the catwalk until you come to an intersection, and go left. The desk will be straight ahead from there."

"Thank you sir; have a good day."

"You as well; enjoy your stay on Denver XII," the avian returned, and went on his way.

Jessica smiled. "Nice to see the people here are friendly."

"Well, it helps Gustav is just one of those types of guys people warm up to," Felix pointed out; despite his enormous size and imposing figure, Gustav was a very laid-back man, and he could talk with such an even and inviting tone people seemed to trust him the moment he spoke. The orca certainly had the gift of speech going for him, thought the dolphin. Truth-fully, in all the years Felix had known Gustav, he'd never even seen the man scowl, let alone speak harshly to anyone, even when they deserved it.

Jessica nodded in agreement. "Well, we have our directions; let's go," she urged.

"Right," the two cetacean men replied, and so the three were off.

Following the directions given to them by the avian, the three made their way to the aforementioned intersection, and made a left down a narrow corridor -at least narrow compared to where they'd been before; a boat could still fit down this passage. Wondering why they had to make the halls so large, Jessica was the first to notice a handful of avians fly over them, the elevated roof allowing them t pass over them without risking flying into anybody.

Thinking of it, Jessica looked around the area, and it was only then she noticed that majority of people in the station were avians; hundreds of different species, from hawks to owls, from common sparrows to rare golden eagles. "Felix," she said. "Have you noticed how many avians there are here?" She asked.

"I did," replied the dolphin. "Denver XII was once called Grand Eyrie, long before the Confederacy existed, or so my mom told me. The station was built by the avian-dominant planet of the same name, almost three hundred years ago."

"This place is that old?" Gustav asked.

"Like I said, just repeating what my mom tells me, but according to her history books, yes," replied Felix. "Avians design their stations to allow flight-born species to travel with their wings, just as Cetaceans like Gustav and I often design stations with waterways, and humans with numerous vehicle-travel pathways, like that huge tunnel we saw stretching through the station."

He glanced back over his shoulder in the direction of the aforementioned vehicle tunnel. "Clearly the Avians built this place with other species in mind -either that or when other species started moving here, they renovated it to allow all others to live comfortably. I wouldn't be surprised if there are waterways around somewhere for aquatic species."

"Do species alone really differentiate from one another that much?" Jessica asked, not understanding the logic behind the station's construction.

"You recall that the majority of Trident IV's population, even before it was abandoned, were marine-morphs like Gustav, Amber and I?" Felix pointed out.

Jessica shrugged. "I can't say I ever noticed."

"Didn't notice?" The two males echoed in disbelief.

"I don't see people for species," she said. "I see them for personality, actions and traits, but not for their race. To me, we all may look different, but when you go below the skin, we all have the same organs; our digestive systems may differ but we all eat the same food. Some of us can breath underwater while others can fly through the air; sure we are all unique in our own way, but we're all people of the same Galaxy. That is how I see those around me."

As the doe kept walking, Gustav and Felix stared after her, honestly impressed. She was either unaware or, simply didn't care, that differing conditions between planets caused colonized worlds to become heavily race-oriented depending on their conditions. Trident IV was one such planet; being almost 90% ocean it was the perfect home for marine species, while Grand Eyrie -the aforementioned, avian-dominant planet, was known to have been highly mountainous and had strong thermals that made flight easier for its inhabitants, making it a favorite home for many avian species, especially eagles. With species-oriented worlds came species-oriented designs, Denver XII a prime example.

Yet, Jessica was completely indiscriminate. Now Felix remembered why she was so well-respected at the Mara Colony -because she treated everyone the same, as colleagues, neighbors and friends, not as different races. The dolphin suddenly heard Gustav chuckling a little, and turned to the orca, eyeing him quizzically. "Did she say something funny?"

"I just find it ironic," he said. "A lot of people claim forest-loving species are xenophobic, yet here was Jessica telling us she looks past species, seeing the people and not the race. She became a doctor as a trade, but I bet, given the opportunity, she'd also make a hell of a diplomat."

Felix found himself agreeing with the orca, and shared a smile with him before they continued following the doe. "She could very well be," he agreed. "Of course, being more open about other species also means she can be a great doctor to any one of any race too. We may all have the same organs but our internal workings aren't all alike, and organ placement differs too."

"True too," admitted the Orca, nodding in agreement. "I think one day she's going to make a fantastic doctor."

"Most definitely."

~~~~~

After a short walk, the trio finally came to the information desk of the station, only to find it was an automated service desk, meaning anyone looking for something would have to type their inquiry on a terminal, but such a thing would never give an answer to what they really needed. Instead, they asked around with the locals who might be interested in trading for their salt; eventually, Gustav received an answer from a well-informed avian who said he didn't know many, but the local grocer's or restaurant owners would be their best bet. He even said that one such grocer, a man by the name of Erwin, was new on the market and would likely not have made many contracts with larger providers yet.

As private entrepreneurs, that sounded like an opportunity to Felix and his friends.

Receiving directions from the avian, the three boarded the tram-lines to the other end of the station, where Erwin's Grocery was located. It cost them a small sum of their money but hopefully not enough to make a difference to their budget for the ship or supplies. After exiting the tram, they received additional directions from another local resident, and soon found themselves standing before the small grocery store.

The automated glass door slid open as they approached, and they entered the store. A quick look around showed the three that the store did not have very much stock yet; most of the shelves were bare, except for generic necessities, and there were not many name-brand items inside. To Felix that was actually a good sign; it would be a bold move, chancing a partnership with a store that was not yet prospering, but if the business improved then it could turn a tidy profit for the Mara Colony.

"Let's find this Erwin guy," urged Felix.

"Someone mention my name?"

The three peered ahead, and saw a raccoon-morph appear from behind one of the shelves; a short-looking man wearing green clothes under a white apron; 'Erwins' was stitched into the front of the apron. He looked to be about the same age as Gustav; in his early thirties at the latest, and was currently carrying an armload of items.

"Welcome to my store; can I help you find anything?" He asked.

"We came to talk to you, sir," replied Felix. "It's come to our attention that you're just starting out with your new business."

"Are you here to make a donation?" He asked, eyeing the three suspiciously.

"Actually, I'm here to offer a partnership," the dolphin replied.

Now the raccoon's curiosity seemed piqued; he set down the boxes he was carrying and beckoned the three forward. "Let's talk up front," he bade them, and led the way to the other end of the store, past all of the shelves, until they came to a door.

Placed next to the door was a wall terminal; Erwin punched something on the keypad, and a low hiss informed the group that the main entrance of the store had just closed, and a green illumination projected onto the glass read 'Back in 15 minutes'. "Alright, that should give us long enough to talk," said Erwin, turning to them. "So, partnership, you said? Might I know the name of my potential partner?"

"Felix, sir," replied the dolphin. "Felix Kaufmann."

"And what is your trade?"

"A rather basic but useful item," replied Felix, turning to Gustav and nodding to him. At the cue, the Orca approached Erwin and passed him the sample bag containing the sea salt they had brought with them.

Erwin took the bag and peered inside. "What's this; sugar?" He asked, dipping a finger and thumb inside to lift out a pinch of the contents.

"Actually it's...!" Felix began, but the raccoon placed the speck onto his tongue, and tasted it. His face contorted a little, more surprise than disgust once he realized what he had just tasted. "Sea salt."

"Strong sea salt," replied Erwin. "Hmm... definitely a good quality, and sea salt is purely natural; very good for your body." He looked at the three. "Have any of you cooked with it before?"

"I have," replied Gustav. "Everything from white fish to steamed vegetables."

"And Felix and I have both tasted his cooking," chimed in Jessica. "It is very delicious."

"A small pinch of the salt can really add and bring out flavour in any dish," added Felix.

Erwin nodded his approval of the item, and then another thought seemed to come to his mind. "Where did you get this from?" He asked.

"We produce it ourselves, using Salt Water Separators," replied Felix. "As for where it comes from, it's from Trident IV."

"Where's that?" Erwin asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Large ocean planet in the White Star sector, about twelve-hours travel from here via warp drive," replied Felix.

"And you make this salt yourselves, do you?" Erwin asked. "Well, as we're both starting businessmen..." He set down the bag of salt and put a hand to his chin, considering. "Perhaps we can make a deal; as you know, my store just opened. Most of what you saw on the shelves -little as there is- is delivered goods from several providers, but they're all ones everyone knows. However, it just so happens, I have not yet made any deals with a salt-trading company. It's actually very hard to get salt out here."

"Why's that?" Felix asked.

"I don't know, really; I just know that it is very hard to find any at a good price," replied Erwin. "The cheapest brand I know is Fanley salt; a bag of the stuff at Starway Grocery is three credits per pound, and the smallest bag they have is a seven pound one. A friend of mine there tells me that they barely make a profit on it even at the price they offer."

"That's pretty steep," said Gustav.

"I agree. So, if I can advertise salt at a fair price, it'll help sales dramatically," said Erwin. "How much did you bring with you?"

"One thousand pounds," replied Felix.

"That's a good start," said Erwin. "If it's a hit, do you think you can provide more?"

"We have a fair number of Separators back home, but the best we could probably give you is three thousand pounds per month."

The raccoon hummed a little as he pondered the offer. "For a store the size of mine... that would probably be enough to start." He put his hands together. "Alright then, my good sir... let's talk business."

~~~~~

"Hot DAMN Felix!" Jessica exclaimed. "You actually managed to talk him into giving you seventy-percent?"

"That I did," replied Felix. "The deal we worked out is, for the first few deliveries, he'll pay us a percentage of the monthly sales until business increases. Running under the assumption that he sells all of the salt we deliver every month," Felix began calculating the numbers in his head, speaking them aloud as he came up with the amounts, "at a sale of two credits per pound, two-thirds of what that Fanley stuff he told us about sells for, there's a maximum profit of forty-two hundred credits for us, before deductions."

Jessica's smile faded. "Hmm... that's a pretty good profit for salt but, the maintenance on our ship alone could reach or even exceed that."

"Our ship?" Felix asked, tilting his head curiously. "I thought you were only along for this one trip?"

"Oh oops," the doe flushed with embarrassment and covered her mouth. "Y-yes, I meant your ship... sorry Felix."

"It's okay," replied Felix, chuckling. "A couple of times already I've counted you as being part of the crew. If the thought ever crosses your mind..." He paused, suddenly realizing that he was forgetting something, and looked around. "Hey, speaking of crew, we have one missing; where's Gustav?"

"He said something about a holo-board he saw outside the store," replied Jessica. "I think it was a job listings board; he went to check it out."

"Job listings?" Felix repeated. "Now what could he want with that; is he thinking of moving here?" Jessica only shrugged in response, not having an answer to give the dolphin. "Well, let's just see about this," said Felix as he led the way out of the store.

The two spotted Gustav easily enough; the board he went to look at was just off to the right of the stores' entrance. The 'board' was more like a large, holographic screen, with numerous job listings listed on holographic pages all across its width; thousands of company advertisements and help-wanted signs, and even a few odd-jobs in freight, catering, custodial and even mercenary fields; every field a working man or woman could want.

Felix and Jessica walked up to Gustav, who was staring at the listings for freighting. Felix followed his gaze to the list as well, noticing several different jobs in independent freight; private shipping for small companies or just those looking to move their belongings to other locations; a few of them even showed the size of the cargo these potential employers wanted moved, several of which were even small enough for the Mara's Hope.

"Gustav," said Felix. "What's on your mind; why are you looking at these?"

"Just having a thought or two," replied the Orca. "Even if we've found ourselves a business partner, we should stay open to other options in case it doesn't pan out."

"Always one to plan ahead," remarked Felix. "But we're only one ship, buddy."

"Well, one ship that may have a lot of free time," Jessica chimed in.

"Free time?" Felix echoed.

"What she means is, the Mara's Hope isn't going to be all that busy just delivering salt to Erwin's once a month," explained Gustav. "And, we know sales are hit-or-miss; they're not always going to be consistent, right?"

Suddenly, it dawned on the dolphin. "Oh..." he said. "Like Jessica was saying to me in the store; just trading with Erwin isn't going to be enough for upkeep on both the Hope and the Colony." His gaze fell. "I admit... I guess I got so excited about the business deal working out in our favour that skipped my mind." He turned to the board again. "So you're thinking, between our deliveries to Erwin, we could take some odd-jobs?"

"It'll keep us busy, definitely," replied Gustav. "And, generate more credits for us to give to the colony."

Felix put a hand to his chin, considering the possibilities doing odd-jobs in freighting could provide them, and weighing it with several other factors. "Well, we can definitely consider it, but it'll have to be brought up to my mother as well," he said. "Remember, we're the hope of the colony; we have to make sure we can always be there for them.

Gustav and Jessica both nodded, satisfied with Felix's answer. "So... what next, then?" Jessica asked.

"Now, we head back to the ship," replied Felix. "It's been just about two hours, so by the time we get back the ship inspection should be done. Hopefully Zack got a good quote on the price."

~~~~~

Zack retrieved the list of parts from the hangar engineers and began to read it over as he walked back aboard the ship. He read over the list of components first, then came down to additional expenses such as labour, taxes and other nonsense he didn't really understand that well, before finally coming to the total cost. "Ouch... Felix is not going to be happy."

"About what?"

Zack looked over his shoulder, spotting Amber stepping out of her room and walking up to him. "Well, look who decided to join the party," the rabbit remarked, grimacing at her.

"Look," began Amber. "First and foremost I'm sorry about my behavior on the bridge earlier. I know; I need to be more patient; my dad keeps telling me that. But I really want to help the colony, and soon; they need us, and I don't want to let them down."

Zack looked her in the eye, allowing her words to sink for a moment before he adopted that big grin of his. "Hey, we all want to help the colony, Amber," he said. "And believe me, I get not wanting to just sit around here; I wanna go see the rest of the sector ASAP, and see what my baby here," he tapped his foot on the floor, "can really do."

"Right," returned the shark. "So... how does the quote look?"

"Brutal," replied Zach, not even hesitating with the answer. "Technically the ship isn't even safe-level; they can't legally let us fly out of here until it gets that TLC Felix talked about." He looked at the datapad in his hand again. "And the quote is sixty-four thousand credits."

Amber's jaw dropped; the shock of hearing the price was apparent on her face, along with the aggravation of its price almost depleting their entire budget. She held her hand out for the datapad. "Can I see that for a moment?" She asked. Zachary passed her the pad, and she carefully looked it over, her eyes rolling from side to side as she read. "Shit... does the ship really need this much work?"

"Sadly, yes," replied Zack. "I more or less expected it but, you know me; trying to stay on the bright side."

"And is this really the cheapest price they can offer?"

"Actually, no," replied Zack, earning a hopeful look from the shark. "You see, the way these guys work is, they give quotes based on if we ask for medium to high-quality ship comp-onents; that's how they get you, and how they make the good money. I know the components they're showing us on that datapad; sure, they're better quality, but if we buy them it'll clean us out. But if I give them a list of more specific parts, I may be able to bring the price down."

"By how much?" Amber asked.

Zack shrugged. "Two-thousand, maybe three; I don't know for sure but hey, every bit helps right?"

"And... what's the downside if we use the lower quality parts?" Amber asked.

"The obvious," replied the rabbit. "They'll need routine maintenance more often and will wear out quicker. Don't let that worry you though," he winked at her. "If there's one thing this rabbit knows, it's how to keep things running well past their time."

Amber tried to hold back a smile, turning it into only a grimace; she couldn't help but be impressed by the rabbit's optimism and confidence. Even with so much to do and so many counting on them he did his job, diligently at that, and was never afraid of doing anything wrong -and for good reason, considering so far, he _hadn't._Maybe leaving the ship's well-being in his hands was a good idea after all.

She had been wrong about him; he wasn't the carefree child she thought he was, though he certainly did well at appearing to be just that. "I suppose all we can do for now is see what Felix says, then."

"Right," agreed Zack. "Where is that guy anyway? They should've been back by now."

"I'll go watch for them," replied Amber. "In the meantime, you should see about getting that list with the cheaper parts."

"Good idea," replied Zack. "I'll get right to it."

With that, Amber handed the datapad in her hand back to the rabbit, and the two headed their own way. Amber walked over to the airlock, passing through to the boarding ramp and descending down below to the hangar floor, surveying the room with her eyes for any sign of Felix, but so far there was no sign of them. She started to wonder what could be taking them so long.

But then, as if to answer her thoughts, she saw three figures enter the hangar through the entrance at the far end leading towards the shuttle bay. As they come closer to the ship, Amber was able to confirm to herself that it was Felix and the others. She approached them as they neared the ship, crossing her arms. "Well, you're a little later than you said you would be," she said.

Felix chuckled at her. "I said two hours or more," he reminded. "We weren't just out sight-seeing you know."

"Of course," replied the shark. "Well, do you have some good news?"

"As a matter of fact, I do," replied Felix. "The Mara's Hope is now the official salt provider to Erwin's Grocery here on Denver XII, and we earn sixty-five percent of the overall profits. Our part is delivering the salt on the first of every month, before the store opens."

Amber beamed at the news. "Well, we did it then!" She exclaimed.

"Almost," corrected Felix. "Did we get a quote on the ships' repairs?" Felix asked.

"We did," confirmed Amber, "and it wasn't pretty. Zack is currently trying to find a way to bring it down."

"How much was it?" Gustav asked.

"Sixty-four thousand credits," replied Amber. The jaws of the other three dropped at that number. "Yeah, that was my reaction too."

"Hit me in the head with a meteor, why don't you?" Gustav asked, running a hand down his face.

"If we have to pay that much, there'll barely be enough left for the food we need to bring back, let alone the medicine the clinic needs," added Jessica.

"You mentioned Zack thinks he can bring the price down; how?" Felix asked. Amber went on to explain Zack's plan, of ordering lower-quality components for the ship; she also pointed out this meant the ship would need routine maintenance much sooner than they would with the medium grade parts. "Damn... if we have to keep maintaining the ship, we'll never get the colonists back their money. But if we don't come back with enough supplies, the colony will suffer."

"What do you think we should do, Felix?" Gustav asked.

The dolphin rubbed his chin for a moment, trying to come up with a solution. "I need a few moments with this," he said. "This is not something I can just decide on a whim." He looked at Gustav and Jessica. "See if you can find any blank datapads on the ship, and head back to one of those holo-boards; bring me a list of all the freight and shipping jobs they offer that don't exceed the ships' maximum capacity."

"I brought some blank pads with us; you can take one out of my room," offered Amber. "They should be on my desk."

"Thanks, Amber," returned Gustav, before he and Jessica began to make their way to the boarding ramp.

Felix looked at Amber. "If you don't mind, can you find Zack and ask him to come see me in my quarters when he's done?"

"Sure," replied the shark. "I'll make sure the others give you some space too."

"Thanks," said Felix, gratefully, before the both of the wandered back aboard the Mara's Hope, to contemplate their next course of action.

~~~~~

"Vic, have you found anything yet?" Slash demanded, getting impatient.

"Hold your solar flares; I'm working on it," Vic returned as he continued to type away at the terminal. "Hacking through Station Security's firewalls isn't something you can rush; try and you'll be detected." He typed at the holographic keypad for another moment before he spoke again. "I'm almost through."

"I hope so; we don't know how long that ship's staying. It takes off without us and we miss our chance to get out of here before the S.S. find us."

"Please; on a station this size those weekend Enforcement dogs will never find us," said Vic. "Oh, no offense."

"Watch it, cat," growled Slash.

Finally, Vic managed to get through the last wall. "I'm in," he said. "Now, onto the docking bays in Sub-Station seven," he muttered as he continued typing. "And... here. The ship is called the 'Mara's Hope' -what kind of lousy name is that?"

"Who cares? When is it leaving?"

"It's not, not for a while anyway," replied Vic. "According to the log the ship checked in for maintenance and repairs; estimated time until departure is seventy one hours. The ship was also carrying salt and..."

"I don't care what was on board!" Slash barked, silencing the cat. "We'll be dropping all of it when we take that ship. Now that we know how long we have, start contacting the others at the Station Holding Area and tell them we're springing our boys in seventy-two hours; just before then, we'll go take that ship, fly around to the holding area's hangar, and pick up our boys. Then, we make our getaway."

"You sure the guys at the holding area can keep the hangars' security field down?" Vic asked. "I don't think I need to remind you what happens to ships that try to fly through those things."

"They'll keep it down," assured Slash. "Now, we have work to do. In three days we're out of this hunk of metal, and I don't want it screwed up."

~~~~~

After some much-needed thought and discussing the repairs with Zachary, Felix decided to stay within a budget of sixty-two thousand credits; the most important components of the ship were the engines, navigational systems and the warp drive; without those being at their best, the ship wouldn't be able to travel for long. Ordering those components in high quality would keep the ship running for months before it would need maintenance again, and after a little study on the subject, Zack found that all of the other components were much cheaper to maintain, so they took the lower-grade components for the ship's armour, ion shielding, weapons, and so on. They didn't plan on being in any fights anytime soon, as the Mara's Hope was not exactly a combat vessel, so the ship didn't need to be battle-ready.

Hopefully...

With those corrections, the ship's repair budget dropped down to just under sixty-thousand credits; a much-needed relief to the crew. With that, they had enough money to rent some hover-dollies; Felix and Amber delivered the salt to Erwin's Grocery, while Gustav, Jessica and Zachary went to buy supplies for the colony. There was even enough left over for them to find the medicine Jessica required, or at least most of it, but just enough to keep the Mara Colony clinic in operating condition for a little longer.

By the time they were finished, though, they barely had enough money left to buy some water for the ship, but as for where to get it, they didn't know. So, they returned to Sub-Station 7 and sought out the engineer to ask him.

Although, they were quite surprised to learn that water on Denver XII was, in fact, free of charge. "The station is only a single lightyear away from the planet Midgard-VI; that planet is composed almost entirely of ice, and a mining corporation supplies the station with thousands of gallons of water every week," the engineer explained to them. "So refills for ships are complimentary; I already took the liberty of refilling yours."

"Well, thank you, sir!" Felix said gratefully, barely able to contain his glee at the free water; as aquatic species, Felix, Amber and Gustav especially needed more water than land-based species like Jessica and Zachary did, so having the ship at maximum capacity was welcome news.

With their business on Denver XII completed, it was time for them to go home. They had only been away three days, but it had felt like so much longer since they had seen the open oceans of Trident VI, and the aluminum structures of the Mara Colony. Everyone was looking forward to going home and seeing their friends and family again.

They made their way back to their ship, and looked upon the repaired vessel proudly. The hull had been freshly polished and some expert patchwork had been done, blending in perfectly with the rest of the ship. The cargo-bay ramp was functional, and the landing gear had been replaced with all new parts.

As they walked towards the ship, though, Amber paused. "Felix," she said.

The dolphin glanced back, and noticed the suspicious look on her face. "What's the matter, Amber?" He asked.

"The boarding ramp was up when we left before," she stated, pointing ahead to the airlock.

Felix and the others followed where she was pointing. Surely enough, they saw the access ramp to the ship was lowered, even though Felix had made sure to raise it so nobody could trespass aboard while they were gone. As if on cue to their suspicions, the cargo doors of the ship elicited a hiss and began to slide open, revealing a strange feline anthro they didn't recognize inside.

"Hey, you!" Gustav shouted.

The cat looked up alarm, seeing the crew in the hangar as they began to run towards their ship. Immediately the cat ran back across the cargo bay to try and close the doors again, but the Mara's Hope crew reached it first.

"Gustav; give me a boost!" Felix barked.

The Orca sprinted ahead to the door of the cargo bay before turning his back to the ship and cupping his hands. Just before making the jump, Felix picked something out of his pocket and tossed it back to Amber, who caught it expertly, and sprang into the air, one foot landing in Gustav's cupped palms before the powerful orca tossed him up, and the dolphin went through the bay doors just before they slammed shut, front-flipping, tucking in and rolling before he sprang back to his feet, ready for action.

The cat looked over in horror, seeing the dolphin standing in the cargo bay and glaring at him with a death stare. "Get off my ship," he ordered the cat.

In response, the cat put his back to the wall and began to slide along it. "Sorry, chum, but I'm afraid this ain't your ship now," he said. "And your friends won't be coming aboard to help you either."

"Don't be so sure of that," stated Felix, before he ran forward; he could tell the cat was trying to reach the door to run away from him, and promptly intercepted him. The dolphin leapt into a flying side-kick and struck the wall right by the cat's head as he was about to make a dash for the door, causing him to instinctively dash back from the dolphin. After recovering from his missed kick, Felix faced the cat again, his tail slapping against the floor angrily while he stared down his opponent.

"I've always considered myself more a lover than a fighter," the cat remarked, putting up his hands as if to surrender.

"Then you tried to hijack the wrong ship, furrball," Felix spat before he leapt at the cat again, repeating his earlier flying kick and scoring a blow right to the cat's collar, launching him off of his feet and down to the floor with a yelp of pain from the intruder. "This ship's too important to my crew and I, and I'll die before anyone takes it."

The cat gasped for breath as he sat up again, before he looked at Felix with a smug grin. "Which is just what might happen, pal."

The door behind Felix hissed and slid open; the dolphin spun around in time to see a large wolf entering the room, and hurriedly leapt away before he could be attacked by the lupine anthro. "Spring-loaded for a swimmer, ain't ya?" The wolf asked.

"What the hell do you guys want with my ship?" Felix demanded.

"None of your damn business," the wolf returned.

"Clobber him, Slash!" The cat called.

Just before the wolf -Slash apparently- could make his move towards Felix, a pair of big, black arms grappled him from behind, trapping his own arms to his body as the powerful limbs bear-hugged him and nearly forced all of the breath out of his lungs. Immediately, he struggled, and pulled his attacker -Gustav- with him; the two of them stumbled all about the cargo bay, fighting for control.

Eventually, the wolf managed to throw himself against the wall, slamming Gustav into it and managing to force the orca to loosen his grip enough to slip free, turn around and deliver a punishing left hook to Gustav's face, which sent him reeling. Of course, Slash had turned his back on Felix, and just as the wolf turned around to face the dolphin, Felix was already flying at him in yet another flying kick, which struck Slash square in the nose and sent him falling head-first into the wall, the surprise attack knocking him clean out.

With the wolf down, Felix addressed his crewmate. "Gustav; you okay?" He asked.

"I'm fine," returned the Orca, nodding to Felix. "Who are these guys, though?"

"Let's ask him," replied Felix, glancing over at the cat, who had not moved since the fighting began, although now the terrified look on his face showed he wished he had.

Before either of them could approach, though, the door that the wolf had come through slid open, and Jessica dashed in, quickly spotting Felix and Gustav. "Guys, the ship's under attack; there's a whole gang of men coming towards us! Amber's trying to hold them off but there's too many of them!"

"Where the hell is security?!" Felix demanded, running for the door. "Jess, Gustav, watch these two!" He commanded as he ran out the door, and made an immediate left to the airlock.

On the boarding ramp, he saw Amber down below, crouched low and shooting with her sidearm towards several humanoid figures coming their way; four in total, all armed with laser weapons just like hers, only two of them actually had rifles. She was forced to retreat back up the boarding ramp, and looked at Felix. "Raise the ramp!" She barked.

Felix nodded, and immediately went for the control panel on the wall by the door, flicking the switch to raise the ramp. Immediately, the ramp began to come up, but not before a laser shot whizzed through and struck Amber in the side; she yelped and went down, dropping her sidearm and holding her hip where the laser had struck, hissing at the pain that shot through her body from the laser burn.

"Amber!" Felix cried, stepping over to her and kneeling down next to her. "Are you okay?" He asked.

"I'm okay; it just grazed," she replied. "Hurts worse than it actually is."

"Better have Jessica take a look at it," said the dolphin. "Hey... wait, where's Zack?"

"Right here." Felix and Amber turned towards the door, and saw the rabbit standing there, carrying a weapon in his hand; the item he held was a short, compact energy firearm with a frame shaped almost like a seed, and the barrel was short and narrow, not like a rifle. The handle was like a pistol-grip, and it had no stock on the back of it... this wasn't a rifle.

"Zack, that's the shotgun," Amber stated. "But that's alright; seems I didn't need it."

"You got them all?" Zack asked.

"No; we shut the door," replied Felix. "They can't..."

An electronic sound that could only be the discharge of an energy weapon, and Zack's eyes suddenly shot wide open and he went reeling to the floor, screaming in pain and grabbing at his back, where Felix saw a wide laser-burn forming across his shoulder blades! "Zack!" He cried out, running over to his friend's side.

"Ho-ho shit, shit, shit that hurts!" Zack screamed as he writhed about on the floor, even as Felix tried to keep him still. "What is it; what happened?!"

"Someone shot you," replied Felix. "But..." He looked out to the corridor, and there stood the wolf he had knocked out in the cargo bay, standing at the other end of the corridor with Amber's laser rifle in his hand, the barrel still red-hot with a recent discharge.

Gustav appeared at the cargo bay door, and froze when he saw the armed wolf, but didn't fail to notice Felix in the airlock. "Sorry Felix; he suddenly sprang up while I wasn't looking and blind-sided me," the orca said.

"Shut up you!" The wolf barked. "Now unless you want me to put a hole in all your heads you're going to do exactly what I say!"

"Hey, now, there's no need to get violent, sir," Gustav said, keeping his hands where Slash could see them.

"I told you to be quiet!" The wolf reminded. "Listen, don't speak!"

Felix knew the situation was going to get out of control very quickly; they had a madman on board with a charged laser weapon and an itchy trigger finger. If he didn't do something fast, someone was going to get hurt -even killed. Zack needed medical attention and Amber was already injured.

"How do I use this?" Felix whispered to Amber as he slowly reached for the shotgun that Zack had dropped; Amber wasn't in sight of the door, so Slash wouldn't be able to shoot at her even if he heard her speaking.

"Safety is on the back-left side; it's a little blue toggle switch. Flick it, it'll turn red, and you're ready to fire," said Amber; her voice caught Slash's attention, and he began to creep towards the airlock, yelling at Gustav to back up as he walked past. "Make sure you know what's behind him; at this close range that blast will blow right through him."

Felix looked past Slash as he promptly hid the shotgun behind himself, and mouthed the words 'stay back' to the orca. Understanding, Gustav ducked back into the cargo hold even as Slash entered, glaring over at Amber and noticing the pistol she still held. Just as he turned to aim his rifle at her, she raised her gun first and shot at him, nailing him square in the shoulder and making him reel from the pain. Felix brought his weapon around in front of him and aimed at Slash, flicking off the safety with his thumb and pulling the trigger.

The flash of light from the shotgun hid the sight of the scatter-laser fired from the gun when it made impact but the seven burn holes all over Slash's chest told the story of the weapons' impact. The wolf was dead before he even hit the floor.

Felix felt a sudden wave of guilt fall over him as he stared at the corpse of the wolf, seeing the damage he had done; the action he had just commited. He had killed a person... it wasn't his first time taking a life; he had killed Gelks on Trident IV in self-defence, and fish or wildlife for food, but this... this didn't feel the same way. It was like he had just crossed a line he might never be able to return to again, and that somehow, even though he had done it to protect his friends... it still felt wrong.

He had just killed the wolf... he suddenly found himself wondering if Slash had any family. Would they forgive him for killing him; would they understand that he had done it to protect his crew? Or would they hunt him down across the galaxy for revenge, feeling nothing but anger and hatred towards him? The dolphin started to feel sick as all these thoughts raced through his mind, and he found himself wishing this had only been a dream and that he could wake up any moment now, to find out he hadn't done this...

But he would not wake up, because the ache in his shoulder from holding the shotgun improperly before discharge was real. He had done it; he had taken a life, and there was no taking back what he had done...

"Felix!"

The sound of Amber's voice shouting at him snapped him out of his trance, and he dropped the shotgun to the floor before turning to Amber, who was moving over to the downed Zachary. Immediately forgetting about Slash and reminded his friend needed him, Felix returned to his friends' side; the rabbit was still curled up in pain, and the laser burn had reached its full sear, leaving a shallow trench of blackened flesh between Zack's shoulder-blades where the beam had hit him.

"We have to get him help," said Felix.

"No good; we can't get out," stated Gustav. "After the wolf knocked me out that cat bailed out the cargo bay door; there's a firefight out there between Security and the other gangsters Amber was fighting. We go out there and we could be caught in crossfire."

"I can help him!" Jessica called. Gustav stepped aside, allowing the doe to poke her head into the room. "I can help Zack."

"Are you sure?" Felix asked.

"I've helped the doctor treat laser-burns before; I know how to make them stop searing the skin and some of the supplies I picked up were for just doing that," replied Jessica. "I know which box they're in too and can grab them in seconds."

Felix knew it was Zack's best chance at this point; modern-day laser weapons didn't stop burning after they struck their targets, they also left a burning energy residue that ate its way into the victims' flesh. If left untreated it could cause nerve damage and even death if it went deep enough. "It's our best shot," he agreed. "Gustav, help me get Zack into the medical bay. Amber, go with Jessica and help her gather the supplies."

~~~~~

Medical Gels; the best tools for treating injuries in the known galaxy Created almost a hundred and twenty years ago by a leading medical science corporation in the White Star Sector, the gel had been made public six years after its perfect-ion, and had become the most popular medical item in the known galaxy; everything from a first-aid kit to a fully equipped hospital kept a stock of the substance, and many lives had been saved by its miraculous healing abilities.

The first of the two gels was RC-Gel, short for Residue Coolant Gel, designed specifically to treat the after-effects of wounds caused by energy weapons. Identifiable from its ReGel counterpart by its blue colour, this item was key to preventing plasma residue from causing permanent damage.

Jessica spread the gel over the burn on Zacks' back, cooling the plasma residue left by the laser burn. Once the residue was cooled, the burn stopped spreading, and the gel also gave the victim a soothing coolness to help nullify the burning pain from the wound. It wasn't a perfect relief, as they would still feel some pain, but the gel also helped moisten the flesh and soften the charred skin, making the next procedure much easier.

Felix was impressed with Jessica; the sight of the wound on Zack's back made Felix cringe, but the doe barely seemed bothered by it; she worked without any hesitation or sign of disgust, and was completely calm throughout the procedure; an admirable trait for a doctor to have, as calm under pressure could mean the difference between life and death for a patient.

The next application was of ReGel, or 'Regeneration Gel' identified by a white colour and designed to heal various types of external injuries -it could even clear a flowering bruise. It lacked the cooling properties of the RC-Gel, else it would be used right away to prevent any scarring on the victim. Unfortunately, medical science hadn't developed a way to combine the two gels yet; they cancelled out one another's properties for some unknown reason, so they had to be used separately, but still did their job. Once the RC-Gel had dried and done its part, the ReGel could be applied.

"There; I give him these at ample times over the next three days and he'll be all healed. There'll be a scar though," said Jessica as she wiped her hands of the gel, and turned to Amber. "Now, your turn."

"I only suffered a graze, Jessica; it won't do any permanent damage," assured Amber.

"If there's any residue still hot on that wound, it'll keep eating through even if you can't feel it now," said Jessica as she picked up the dish full of RC-Gel and approached Amber. "Now hold still while I apply this."

"Really, Jessica I don't..."

"Doctor's orders, Amber," Felix interjected. "Just let her do it."

The shark huffed in annoyance, and lifted the side of her shirt a little so Jessica could find where Amber had been shot. Jessica looked at Felix and cleared her throat, and the dolphin, taking the hint, left the room, shutting the door to the medical bay behind him.

"How's Zack?" The dolphin turned towards the voice, and saw Gustav coming up to him.

"He's fine," replied Felix. "Jessica says he'll be okay, long as he doesn't sleep on his back for a day and lets the gel do its work. He's going to have to stay down for a bit."

"Oh hell he is going to hate that," remarked the orca. "Nothing drives that kid more ballistic than being cooped up for more than a few minutes."

Felix chuckled. "Yeah, I know," he agreed. "How're things outside?"

"Quiet," replied Gustav. "I think the firefight has finished; Security tried calling us a moment ago but, I don't know how to work the communication terminal."

Felix chuckled. "I'll be sure to show you soon," he promised. "In the meantime, we better go meet with Security so they know we're okay."

Gustav nodded in agreement, and walked with Felix towards the airlock.

After lowering the boarding ramp, Felix stood by the entrance, peering down into the hangar for a moment, expecting to hear Security or the gangsters yell to him at any moment, but for a moment, it was silence. "Hello?" He called. "Anyone out there?"

"This is Station Security; identify yourselves," someone replied to the dolphin's call.

"Felix Kaufmann; I'm the helmsman of this ship," he called back.

"Come down the ramp and keep your hands where we can see them."

Felix glanced at Gustav briefly, motioning for the orca to wait, and descended down the boarding ramp with his hands raised. He saw six Security officers standing nearby, weapons ready but none of them aimed towards him. Nearby were several bodies of slain humanoids; the gangsters had lost the firefight, and now Security was, by routine, making sure there were none of them left aboard the Mara's Hope.

"You are the owner of this starship?" One of the officers asked.

"Technically my colony owns it, but I'm its pilot," replied Felix.

"How many do you have on board?" The officer pressed further.

"Five, sir, including myself," replied Felix.

"Have them all come outside so we can search the ship," the officer commanded.

"I can't do that, sir; two of my crew were wounded when a gangster got on board and attacked us," replied Felix. "My medic is currently tending to them but my cook is up the ramp there."

The officers cast brief glances at one another, before they turned back to the dolphin again. "You say one of the gangsters was on board; what is his status?"

"Deceased, sir; we fought him in self-defence and he was killed in the conflict. He left us no choice."

"Where is he?"

"Right in the airlock," replied Felix, cocking his head back towards the ship. "We haven't moved him since the fight. Another gangster who was on board referred to him as 'Slash'."

That name seemed to stir a reaction from the officers. "Did you say Slash?" The leader asked.

"Yes sir," replied Felix.

"With your permission we'd like to come on board to examine the body."

Felix stepped aside and gestured towards the ship. "Be my guests," he replied, before calling up the ramp. "Gustav; Security's coming aboard to get Slash."

"Should I come down?" Gustav called back.

Felix turned to the Security leader for an answer, who nodded in reply, before he called back up the ramp. "Yeah, come on down; give 'em room to work."

Gustav complied, promptly coming down the ramp and going to stand next to Felix while three Security officers walked past and scaled the ramp to find Slash's body. While they did that, another of the officers approached Felix. "Can you verify this ship is your property?" He asked.

"No; it's not registered," replied Felix. "However, an officer named Lang greeted my team and I when we first arrived; he can vouch for us, and the chief Engineer probably can too; he and his team performed repairs on the ship."

"We'll check with them," the officer promised. "If all goes well you'll be clear to leave in a couple of hours."

A second later, one of the other officers who had gone aboard came back down the ramp again. "We've confirmed the body up there is Slash of the Nebulan Pirates," the officer reported. "Call it in."

"Right away." The officer speaking to Felix complied, and reached for his communicator.

"Nebulan Pirates?" Felix repeated. "Who are they?"

"New around here, are you?" The officer captain asked. "The Pirates, or so they call themselves, are really just a bunch of scavengers. They steal parts out of wrecks from battlezones, and sell them on the black market for profit. Salvaging military equipment and not turning it in to proper authorities is again Confederate Law, and punishable by fifteen years in prison. As it happens we recently caught Slash doing some scavenging near Midgard VI after it was attacked by an enemy faction, and some of his crew were brought here. He must've been here to spring them."

"Why was he after our ship then?" Felix asked.

"Probably to use as a getaway vehicle; we brought him here too but he escaped custody before we made it to the holding cells. He probably wanted to spring the rest of his crew and make an escape using your ship."

"I can vouch for that," one of the officers spoke up suddenly, who had one finger placed to the earpiece receiver in his helmet that allowed them to monitor security reports on the station from any location. "Reports just came in from the cells that several inmates broke out and ran to the cell hangar, but they were caught there and surrendered to the guards at the holding celles. The have been returned to their cells since. Prison forces also captured five more Nebulan Pirates, who led the break-out."

"Guess when they found no ride waiting they knew they were screwed," the lead officer stated, before he turned back to Felix once more. "Son, whether you know it or not, you actually prevented a breakout by stopping this man, not to mention executed one of the most dangerous people in the entire sector. This man has cost the Confederacy hundreds of lives and tens of thousands of credits. I think I speak for all of the Confederacy when I say, thank you, and well done."

"I didn't even know he was a wanted person; thought he was just somebody stealing my ship," returned Felix, flushing with some embarrassment.

"Well, regardless, there was a reward for his capture or elimination; ten-thousand credits," the officer returned.

Felix and Gustav both gaped. "R-really?!" They asked in disbelief.

"Yes," replied the Officer. "And Station Security is authorized to present it, if you can wait a little while. I have to inform my superiors and they'll pass it on to the other stations from there; it'll take me hour or so to get everything sorted out, if you're willing to wait."

"I'll talk it over with my crew but, for ten-thousand credits, I think they'll be willing," replied Felix.

"Excellent," said the officer. "We'll handle the cleanup here. Thank you again for stopping Slash; we'll never forget it."

"It was our pleasure, sir," returned Felix.

~~~~~

The Mara's Hope departed soon after the reward was delivered to the crew. They left Denver XII with bright smiles on their faces, the satisfaction of their deed outweighed only by the eagerness to return home to Trident IV and their families.

Felix had never felt the ship flying better either; it was no longer shaking or rattling even as it left the space stations' artificial gravity field and out into open space. The planetary and space engines worked perfectly now; the ship was even faster than before, and handled like a dream. Furthermore, the communication and navigational systems had not only been repaired, but upgraded; communications had longer range and clearer reception, and the navigations was activated by voice-command and by simply naming a planet, the computer would find it and lock onto it.

Felix tapped the intercom. "Everyone strap in," he said. "I'm about to hit the Warp Drive speed; jumping in twenty seconds."

Once Felix was certain the others were secure, he activated the warp drive, and the ship rushed forward until it was going faster than light. Once the ship was going warp speed, the ship felt as though it had gone still even though it was moving at a speed that rendered it invisible to the naked eye, and now Felix could get up and walk about the interior.

He switched on the auto-pilot, unbuckled his seat belt and stood up from the chair, turning around and walking out of the bridge and into the corridor. The first stop he wanted to make was to the medical bay to check on Zack, so he walked around the gun turret access, and proceeded towards the door to the medi-bay, which slid open on his approach and allowed him entry.

Much to his surprise, he saw Zack sitting up from the bed, and Jessica dressing his injury, wrapping bandages over it. "Now, just make sure you come back each day for the next two days so I can apply more ReGel," she instructed. "That way, the wound will be gone before the end of the week."

"I'll always come back to you, doc," Zack remarked, winking at Jessica, who slapped him on the back in response. "Ow! Hey, isn't that patient abuse?"

"Not if he deserves it," Felix answered for Jessica as he stepped into the room. "Good to see you're okay, Zack; you had me worried."

"I'll be okay as long as Jessica doesn't hit me again," returned the rabbit.

"Don't give me a reason to," the doe returned before she finished dressing Zack's wound before she left his side. "You should be good to go for now. Just take it easy and try not to do any heavy-lifting."

"Lifting? Me? That's Gustav's job," replied Zack.

"I'm impressed, Jessica; you're really good at this," said Felix.

"Yeah, the doctor back at Mara tells me that too," returned Jessica. "I'm really hoping to finish my training soon but, despite his praise of me I really don't have much experience; most of the doctor's patients are people from Gelk attacks and he doesn't think I can handle them on my own." She sighed unhappily. "Usually all I get is the paperwork or an extra set of hands; I get those are important but, come on; I'm training to be a doctor, not a nurse."

Felix smiled. "Well... if you want a more full-time position that can get you some more experience, you can always stay aboard the Hope."

Jessica's ears flicked up and she raised her head with interest, looking at Felix with a mix of astonishment and eagerness. "Wait... you're offering me a job?"

"Having an on-board medic is a smart precaution -I think I've said that already but it bears repeating," the dolphin explained. "We saw for ourselves today, even on just regular shipping jobs some of us are bound to get hurt once or twice. I want to make sure my crew can always stay in good health, and I think having a doctor on board..."

"Assistant Doctor," Jessica corrected.

"Assistant Doctor on board will benefit not only the crew, but the colony as well, because it helps to make sure we'll all come back," the dolphin continued. "So, what do you say? Are you interested?"

Jessica smiled warmly at Felix. "Very interested. I'll have to talk it over with Doctor Hanson and my family, but I think I'll take the job."

"Excellent," said Felix. "Once the colony is in a more productive state, we might even all start getting paycheques." The three of them chuckled.

"Welcome aboard, Jessica," said Zack.

"Thanks," the doe returned.

Felix nodded to the two. "Alright; I'll go check in with Amber and Gustav next," he said. "Talk to you guys later, alright?"

"Seeya, Felix," replied Zack.

With that, the dolphin left the medical bay, waiting until the door closed behind him before he made a left down the corridor that led to the rear of the ship. In this part of the vessel, the hallway became narrower, and ended at three doors. One was the rear door into the cargo bay, one led to the engine room and the last entered an extra room that currently didn't have any sort of function; it was completely empty, but passing through that room led to the escape pod bay, so it was good to know where it was.

Felix made a right into the cargo bay, expecting to find Gustav and Amber in there, but aside from the crates of supplies for the colony, the bay was empty. He retreated back into the corridor and walked up the hall back the way he came, stopping at a door on the right just before the medical bay; this led into the dining/lounge area and access to the kitchen. He stepped through, and went from feeling a cold, iron floor beneath his boots to a shabby brown carpet.

Sadly, even though the ship was repaired its furniture and decorations were still leaving a lot to be desired. The carpet Felix walked on was torn in places and dirty; he could see marks from a manual vacuum cleaner all over the carpet, showing someone had tried to make the place presentable at least, but without much success. The place still looked in bad shape -especially the furniture. The couches were ragged and torn all over their frames and the dining room table and bar counters were losing paint and did not look safe.

Amber was sitting in one of the couches with Gustav, the two of them talking, although their conversation ended when they both saw Felix. "Oh, hey Felix," Amber called.

"How you guys doing?" Felix asked.

"Pretty good; we were just talking about some of the jobs that you had me look over back at the station," replied Gustav.

"I was telling Gustav that, given the reward we got for taking down Slash, we should consider being bounty hunters," said Amber. "We can clean up the scum of the galaxy and get paid doing it -way better than any Colonial Militia or Security outfit will pay I guarantee you; a win-win situation if you ask me."

"I disagree," replied Gustav. "We shouldn't cruise around the galaxy picking fights; our ship isn't meant for combat or transporting criminals securely. We're a freight ship, we should do freighting jobs; much cleaner work and much less likely to get any of us in trouble, espec-ially if we make any mistakes chasing down bounties."

"What mistakes could we make? Every bounty listed usually has a photo of the culprit for us to use," Amber argued her case. "Long as we follow that, there are no mistakes we can make."

"And what about misidentification? It happens, you know," Gustav argued back; despite retaining his calm demeanour through the conversation, Felix could tell he was getting frustra-ted with Amber. "If we somehow hit the wrong person, we become the criminals."

"If we work freight jobs it'll take us forever to make enough money to help the colony prosper," Amber retorted. "Bounties are quicker money and pay much better, not to mention the satisfaction from them."

"Satisfaction? You claim you want to help the colony yet you're talking about satisfying your like of taking down criminals?" Gustav retorted.

"Hey, don't think you can judge me; I'm a Militia person at heart and I liked what I used to do; keeping people safe is a part of who I am. I just can't work with idiots like that sexist bastard, Zambrano!"

"And what about what everyone else on this ship wants?" Gustav asked further. "Not everyone here is as ready to put their lives in danger as you are; there are young people on this ship, one who's basically still a child, and they want to see their lives through."

"You say that like being a bounty hunter would be a death sentence."

"We mess with the wrong people, it could be!"

"As if running into pirates would be any safer?"

"Space is infinite; the odds are..."

"ENOUGH!" Felix roared, immediately silencing both of them. Felix was not someone known for raising his voice to anybody, but his very sudden outburst had caught both of them off -guard; his aggravation at their behavior had reached a boiling point with his patience.

"Felix?" Amber asked, still shocked at how he had yelled at them.

"Let's get one thing straight here, both of you," he began. "We're all crew members on this ship, but I am the captain of this vessel and the final decision of what jobs we do is mine to make, not either of yours."

The two remained silent and kept listening, allowing him to continue.

"Now, both of you have valid points for your ideas; bounty hunting is quicker and pays better, freighting is safer but takes longer," he went on. "But we have to consider the Colony too; making wealth fast but putting our lives on the line constantly puts the entire Colony in danger as well. For example, we catch a bounty and cash in; what if his pals track us back to Trident IV looking for revenge? They'll destroy the whole colony to get back at us, and the very people we're trying to help will get killed."

He turned to Amber. "Gustav's right about one other thing, Amber; this ship is not meant for combat and the only trained fighter on board is you. That shot I took on Slash, the wolf I killed; that's the first time I ever killed another humanoid, and honestly I'm disgusted with myself for it. I felt no satisfaction killing Slash even though he was putting us in danger, and I won't feel any satisfaction killing other criminals. I sincerely doubt Zack or Jessica would either, and our families back at Mara would be ashamed of us, taking lives just for money."

The shark and orca both fell silent after that, taking in everything Felix had said and understanding the reasoning behind it. Amber was the next one to ask. "So... freighting, then?"

"Freighting," replied Felix. "Much more honest work and much safer; we guarantee our safety, the colony's future and some money for both sides."

"Okay... freighting it is then," said Amber, looking at Gustav. "I'm... sorry if I came across as a... cold-hearted bitch there."

"Not the term I'd have used, but yes, you were," he agreed, chuckling. "But, I'm not one to hold a grudge; never have been, never will be. So, no hard feelings," he offered a hand.

"Agreed," said Amber, shaking hands with the orca.

~~~~~

For the first time ever since the ship had taken flight, Felix finally got to take a shower in the hygiene pod. His body had been starting to dry out over the last day from water depriva-tion; drinking water could this at bay for a few days, but before long, as a cetacean, his body required hydration. The shower felt wonderful as the water ran over his body, soaking into his skin and rejuvenating his form, making his body seem smoother and softer to the eye.

Once satisfied, he stepped out of the shower and grabbed a towel from the dispenser, drying off excess water from his body before he looked for his clothes, which he had run through the washing cycle while he was showering. Unlike the shower, the washing machines actually didn't use water; that was old technology. Now, for the purpose of conservation of a precious resource, a genius inventor had created sub-atomic cleaning technology, using pulse waves to wash clothes, and a fabric-refreshing spray to give them their clean smell was applied after they were clean.

Felix pulled them out of the machine, and slipped them back on, giving them a smell to make sure the refresher was working; he could smell sweet, salt water on his clothes, his favorite scent- and nodded in approval.

A beeping sound coming from the wall caught his attention, which he recognized as the five-minute warning alarm they were coming up to their destination. He adjusted his vest, and stepped out into the corridor, making his way over to the bridge and taking his place in the pilots' chair, where he switched off the autopilot and held the tiller while waiting for the ship to come out of warp speed.

He tapped the intercom. "Attention all hands; we're about to come out of warp speed," he announced. "Get yourselves strapped in."

With that announcement, he double-checked his own seat belt, and turned his gaze forward as the ship started to slow down, dropping speed rapidly until it was at a leisurely pace, and the sight of a gigantic blue planet filled the dolphin's view.

Trident IV.

"Home," he whispered. "We made it back."

~~~~~

When the ship made landfall outside of the Mara Colony wall, gingerly touching down on the landing pad by the show, Felix could have sworn that even through the ships' hull, he heard cheering. Making sure the cargo-bay doors were over solid ground when the landing gear touched the metal ground of the pad, Felix shut down the engines, and slowly, the ship unpowered, becoming quiet and steady.

Standing up from his chair he walked out of the bridge, immediately going for the airlock; much as he had loved flying the Mara's Hope, he wanted to get outside and taste the air of his home world again. The airlock opened on his approach, and he hit the switch to lower the boarding ramp, watching as it lowered itself down until he could descend below.

"Hey, wait up!"

Hearing the voice calling out to him, Felix glanced over his shoulder, and saw Zack and Jessica standing at the door, coming into the airlock with eager looks on their faces as well. "We're just as happy to be home as you are, captain," Zack remarked, mock-saluting the dolphin and bringing a chuckle out of him.

Together, the three descended down from the ship, to the roar of applause. Once clear of the ship, they saw the colonists had gathered around to see the repaired ship, and had even brought hover-dollies with them, offering to help unload the supplies from the ship as the cargo bays slid open. Some were even asking when the crew was going on their next voyage and what they planned to do then.

"Felix!"

The dolphin heard a voice he was very familiar with call out his name, and turned to see his mother running up to him, with a better spring in her step than he'd seen in her since she played tag with him as a child, a mixed expression of glee and relief at the safe return of her son. She nearly crushed Felix with her hug as she reached the younger dolphin and embraced him tightly in her arms, causing him to grunt.

"Hi mom," he said, weakly.

"Thank the stars you're back," she said, pulling back after a moment to look him in the eye. "My son, I am so very proud of you; you have brought the colony hope, and a chance to continue. I am so happy I can call myself your mother, Felix."

The younger dolphin chuckled and beamed at his mother. "Thanks mom... but it was a team effort; I didn't do it on my own," he began. "We all played our own roles, even our last minute joiner," he turned to Jessica as he spoke, and when the doe realized that Felix was talking about her, she blushed brightly through her fur.

Brunhilda laughed heartily when she saw the embarrassed doe. "Well, if so, she deserves as much thanks as you and the rest of your crew," the older dolphin said, turning her gaze to the ship. "It looks magnificent; a true symbol of hope for our colony."

"Runs great too," added Felix, nodding in approval. "Carried everything we needed and barely suffered any drag at all even in planetary gravity." He looked at Brunhilda again. "That reminds me, I found a buyer for our salt, and arranged a business deal."

"Later, my son," assured Brunhilda. "There's plenty of time to discuss business, but for now there's still a little work to do, and you and your people have certainly earned themselves a rest." She turned towards the cargo bay, where crates were being unloaded by the stacks onto the hover-dollies, and already the crews were taking them back towards the colony. She glanced back at Felix. "Shall we meet at my office later on? I have to oversee this and make sure the supplies go where they're supposed to."

Felix nodded. "You bet, mom."

~~~~~

With so many hands eager to pitch in, the Mara's Hope was unloaded in less than an hour, and the supplies were taken to their appropriate places at the ration hall and the clinic. Doctor Hanson, the lead physician at the clinic, had apparently not known about Jessica taking off aboard the Hope to retrieve supplies, and had almost filed a missing-person report when he had not been able to find her. The poor doe practically had her ear eaten off by the anthro Alligator, but in the end, his happiness at her safe return outweighed his annoyance, and his anger quickly passed.

Gustav and Amber carried the last few boxes of food supplies to the ration building by hand, and Zachary made sure the ship was locked up and activated the landing pad shield which protected the ship while it was left unattended, electrocuting anything that tried to reach it while it was parked on the pad, so that none of the other colonists could attempt to see it, and no unwanted marine life could attack it.

By this time, Felix was already at the main office with his mother, filling her in on everything that transpired back on Denver XII, from their arrival all the way to the gang that had tried to steal the ship before they could depart, and ending with the Credrive carrying the ten-thousand dollar reward for Slash's elimination.

"Even after all those expenses I can still start paying people back the money they lent us in order to get the ship in functioning condition," said Brunhilda, holding the Credrive tenderly in her hands. "And we have someone to buy our salt; the operators of the separation machines will finally have steady jobs again."

Felix nodded. "Gustav even found us a way to make extra money between our shipments of salt," the dolphin explained. "Freight jobs, private ones, moving cargo from one place to another. Some of them pay pretty well too; it would be a good place to start building up money for the colony again."

Brunhilda leaned back in her seat and tapped her fingers against the arms of her chair as she considered the idea, weighing the advantages with the risks for several moments; a few times her eyes drifted off in the direction of the Mara's Hope, and at the terminal to her left. Eventually, she nodded towards Felix, and spoke again.

"That sounds like a good idea," she stated. "Salt trading isn't going to bring us very much money so taking these extra freight jobs between deliveries may be our best course of action."

"My thoughts exactly," agreed Felix. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay with it."

"Felix, as far as I'm concerned, the ship is yours," stated Brunhilda. "You're the only person in this cluster of pre-fabricated aluminum structures that knows how to fly it. The colony will rely on you, far more than they have ever relied on me."

"Now that's not true," Felix disagreed. "You have been the one holding this place together ever since it was deserted ten years ago; you made the hard choices, ordering population control and for food to be rationed instead of purchased. You had to ask former miners to change jobs to become engineers, mechanics, distributors or militia, forcing them to change their very livelihood for the greater good. None of those decisions could have been easy for you mom, but you had to make them."

Brunhilda sighed, but her nodding showed she acknowledged what her son was saying. "I only hope I can still continue to do right by this colony," she said. "I'll continue to do my part, as I always have." She leaned forward in her chair again, folding her hands on the desk. "Okay, Felix. You should go home now; you look tired."

The younger dolphin nodded in agreement. "Oh, I am," he agreed. "I'm looking forward to sleeping on a bed not full of holes and covered in dust too."

"I'll see if I can do something about that," promised Brunhilda. "But I don't think any of the mattresses we have will fit on the beds in the ship."

Felix waved it off. "That's not really a priority, mom," he assured her.

"You'd be surprised," Brunhilda returned. "A good bed to sleep on could mean the difference between being droopy and fatigued, or awake and alert. I'm sure we can find something to fit on those ship bunks until you get something else."

Felix shrugged. "I guess it couldn't hurt," he admitted. "Alright... see you later, mom."

"Sleep well, son."

With that, Felix stepped out of the Manager's office, and out to the dimly-lit street. Night had fallen over the colony, and the night patrols were the only ones on the streets now, save for a few people going to or coming home from visiting friends. On the subject of friends, as Felix wandered up the sidewalk towards his home, he spotted Gustav walking across the street to the western block, and waved at him to get his attention before approaching.

"Hi, Felix," the Orca greeted, happily.

"Hey big fella; where are you heading?" The dolphin asked.

"To the home of my best customers," replied Gustav, chuckling heartily. "Berenson's; want me to cook them dinner tonight."

"Seriously; you're not even home for a day and people are having you cook food for them again?" Felix asked, chuckling.

Gustav shrugged. "I've got energy to spare. Besides, I kind of missed cooking for them; they're good conversation," he said. "What about you; going to go for a swim?"

"When the water's dark? I'm brave but not stupid," replied Felix, sharing a chuckle with Gustav. "I go out there when I can't see where I'm going and I'm Gelk-food."

"True enough," admitted Gustav. "Well I better get going before I'm late."

Felix nodded back to the orca. "Alright, I won't keep you then," stated the dolphin, until he recalled something. "Oh, wait a second; before you go, I spoke to my mom about the freight jobs. She thinks you have the right idea with it."

"Good to know. On that topic, when do you suppose we'll set off again?"

Felix crossed his arms and turned his gaze to the stars. "I'm not sure, really," he replied. "Sometime soon I suppose; we've got two weeks before a delivery is due at Erwin's, and that's more than enough time to take one or two freight jobs, long as we stick with ones that aren't too far apart from pickup to dropoff. I'll have to study the jobs you looked up and look over a star map to see which ones fit that bill."

"Good idea," returned Gustav as he started on his way once more. "Be sure to let me know what you find; you know where I'll be."

"G'night, Gustav!" Felix called as he resumed the walk back to his home, taking a left at the next fork and following it halfway to the end before stopping at one of the aluminum houses.

Felix's small home was a Bachelor-Sized, pre-fabricated building; like all others in the colony this structure was created by 'Colonial Shelters Inc.', who had a trademarked saying, 'We build you a home you can take with you when you move!' that was placed on almost all of their products, although not in plain sight; usually on the underside. Made of a light metal, anchored to the ground with four-foot long spikes the drove into the soul below it and completely weather-proofed, they made a cozy little hamlet for colonists, and anyone with a large freighter could move them to new locations easily -although the Mara's Hope did not even come close to fitting that.

The outside was fairly plain; smooth, shiny-surfaced and shaped like a cube with smoothed-out edges. On the inside, entrants would find themselves immediately in a tiny living room. Ahead of them, a small kitchenette, with a bathroom in the left corner and an empty, open corner in the right, which was currently occupied by Felix's bed and the dresser where he kept his clothes. In his little living room was a Holovision set a couch with a side table, a little bookshelf and an NSS-Gamebox system he used to play regularly when he was a child but didn't use it so much lately.

The bed was the only destination on his mind though. He walked over to the far right corner, not even bothering to turn the lights on; he had lived in this place since he was sixteen and knew it like the back of his own hand. He found his bed easily, and stripped out of his clothes, bar his underwear, and simply collapsed onto the soft memory-foam mattress of his bed. He squirmed a little until he found his pillow, and laid his head down on it before shutting his eyes.

He felt proud of himself, despite his exhaustion. Proud of him and his team for their accomplishment... they had brought the colony hope, a new future, and best of all, something to live for. Things were going to change for him and his people, and he welcomed it; they had been struggling for much too long, and now they would all finally have a chance. But Felix would not just stop at giving the colony a chance; he would do everything within his power to help it prosper and flourish again.

The Mara Colony would be restored to the wealth and glory it had ten years ago, no matter how long it would take or how hard Felix had to work, he'd bring his colony a home they could be proud of again...