Chapter 19 - Unloading

The odd events on their arrival had been put aside once the girls had departed and the security checks had been completed. That hadn’t taken long.
With that out of the way, the observers were asked to check the seals on the load. With everything in order, Marr and Dukk had escorted the robotic containers off the rig. They had taken them to a load clearance zone in the central part of the hanger.
They weren’t waiting long when a vehicle drove into the temporary storage area. It came across to them and stopped. A man and a woman got out. They walked over to Marr and Dukk.
“Dinatha?” asked the woman.
“Yep, that is us,” Dukk replied.
“You are the captain? Dukk, right?”
“Yep, and this is my co-pilot, Marr.”
“Good to meet you. Suzzona is my name. This is Rezcliff.”
“Hi, Suzzona. Hi, Rezcliff,” Dukk replied.
“So, this is our beef?”
“Soon to be. I just need your mark on the dockets.”
“Flick them to me and I’ll look them over, while my colleague checks the seals on the containers.”

Dukk interacted with his wrist wrap and flicked the dockets across to Suzzona.
“You made good time. I wasn’t expecting you until this evening or even tomorrow,” she said as she interacted with the documents floating in the air between her hands.
“We aim to please”, Dukk replied cheerfully as he looked at Suzzona properly. She looked a few years older than him. She wore the grey two piece outfit of housekeeping staff. She was of average height and well proportioned. She looked fit and strong. Her fair complexion was similar to his own. She had short brown hair and her brown eyes spoke of strong awareness of the reality of things.
Suzzona looked up and smiled. “You planning to stay long?”
“The usual day or so. Any suggestions on how we might best use our time?”
“What are you into? Food, drink, action?” she asked as she returned to looking at the dockets.
“Bit of everything.”
“Well, in the evenings, it is worth spending a few hours at The Captain’s Table in the staff village. Best steak outside the resort. You should check it out. Definitely good for food, drink and a bit of action. Ask for me, when you arrive. I’ll see that you get favourable service.”
“Sounds like a great suggestion, Suzzona. Thank you,” Dukk replied.
Suzzona looked up from the dockets and smiled.
“Seals are good,” said the man as he returned from inspecting the containers.
“And these dockets are all in order. Here is your counter signed copy,” Suzzona said as she flicked the dockets through the air towards Dukk.
Dukk caught the virtual dockets and opened them up in the air before him.
“That looks to be in order. Here you go,” he said as he handed over the wireless leads for the robotic containers.
Suzzona reached over and accepted the devices. “Thank you, Captain. See you this evening?”
“Count on it,” Dukk said as he turned to Marr. “Let’s go.”

Marr and Dukk headed out of the storage area. As they left they could hear Suzzona giving Rezcliff instructions. “Take these two to the secure area and we will get them on the postal drop schedule. I’ll take the third container to the unloading bay.”
“Postal drop? Is that Haulier speak?” Marr said quietly to Dukk.
“I guess. It wouldn’t surprise me that some of the load will be shipped to other systems. This is a big resort, but there is a lot of beef in a single container.”

Marr and Dukk made their way out of the storage area and headed back into the hanger.
“Lining up some action for later?” Marr asked as they walked. Her voice trembled slightly.
Dukk sensed the tremble and looked over.
“Me, no,” he answered defensively and looked ahead. “Besides, there is too much going on at the moment to accommodate that sort of distraction. Just making friends. The staff village can be hit and miss when it comes to food. Everything that doesn’t need rehydration, is sourced under the table. If you want a decent meal, and a good night out for that matter, you need to know who to talk to. Someone working in the supply chain would have connections.”
“The best produce goes to the resort?”
“Exactly. And even if we had sufficient credits, we wouldn't be welcomed in the resort. It is just like the inner circle of the citadel.”
“So the segregation exists out here too?”
“Even more so. However, here, it isn't hidden behind ideology.”
“Oh.”

“So, we have a few hours before our watch starts. Do you want to get out in the snow?”
“Absolutely. I found the ski suits as you suggested and washed one,” Marr answered enthusiastically.
“Great. Let’s hire a cart so we don’t spend all our time walking up and down the hanger.”
Dukk led Marr over to a series of garage doors near the centre of the hanger. He interacted with a panel and one of the doors opened. Within was a six seater vehicle.
“I have coded the cart to the rig, so any of us can start it. Jump in. Do you want to drive?”
“Definitely,” Marr answered as she climbed behind the controls.
Dukk climbed into the passenger seat beside her.

“Hey team, the load has been handed over,” Dukk said into the crew channel as they made their way back towards the rig.
“Great, Dukk,” Annee answered. “What does our turn around plan look like? I am putting together the passenger notice. Bognath wants to return with us. So, I’ve got two rooms to fill.”
“I got a message from Wallace’s local contact. Our return load won’t be ready until four p.m. tomorrow. I’d suggest we aim for a six p.m. departure. I’ll firm things up and put together the flight plan, during this evening’s watch.”
“Perfect. I’ll put half four as the boarding time.”
“That works. Now, time for some fun on the mountain slopes.”
“Mentor and I were thinking along the same lines.”
“Cool. We’ve got a cart. We are on our way back to the rig. Will you get the ski equipment out?”
“Already done that. Great minds think alike.”
“Indeed,” laughed Dukk.

(to be continued...)

[Rule of Twelve, Double Take, Chapter 19 - Unloading (Passage 1 of 5)]

All Rights Reserved. Copyright © 2022 BJ Allen