I-189-Lia: Captree Main Orbital, Starside Commercial Dock

Spanial’s airlock door closes behind her with a soft hiss.

Juggling her luggage, Lia makes her way down the boarding tube to the dock area.

A freighter, Spanial has docked at what is predominantly a cargo-handling area – cold air, exposed beams and logistics equipment greet her; the dock is busy.

Not far from the boarding tube, Devore Glover stands looking alert but relaxed, decidedly out of place in a white jacket, black dress shirt and pleated pants.  Beside him, squeezed into a grey tailored suit, is a huge box of a man who could well have been carved out of planetary bedrock.    

Glover makes a theatrical gesture, blonde locks swinging, points down the docks to another berth, “Mer, your transport awaits.”

The edifice beside him extends a slab-like hand, a voice like a gravel-crusher intones gently, “Vuist.  Take your bags, Mer?”