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Aboard the Severance: In Transit to Spaceport Beta-09

Traveling alone at hyperspeed had an acute way of bringing the bigger picture into perspective. It was a treasured time for reflection and mental re-alignment while trapped in an almost impossible to understand trick of physics that left passengers disconnected from the outside universe. The stallion captain's breaths were slow but full, just audible to his own perked ears among the mild hum of the hyperdrive. Aries sat at the helm of his home, a long-range stealth cruiser. His chin sat upon gloved fist, looking straight ahead without seeing a single thing in front of him.

"Lord Aries, am I interrupting?" a directionless, artificial voice barked dutifully in a manner that suggested there was no question being asked. Reality snapped back into focus, and a variety of sensors and data on the holo-screen before him quickly came into view. The floating screens' ethereal blue glow recast the color of the stallion's earthly russet brown coat, cold umber eyes, and black carbon-weave suit to a ghostly hue.

He did not respond immediately, instead closing his eyes and letting out an irritated sigh. "I am no lord, yes, and you are impressively resilient to having your personality restrained." He responded sharply before releasing the tension in his shoulders. His eyes darted around the screen, looking at various readings and information.

"We will be there in 30 minutes. What could not wait until we reached the spaceport?" The stallion's voice filled the bridge, in which he was seemingly the only occupant.

"Too much alone time is not good for you. It makes you stuffy, and we are about to have a full ship." The directionless artificial voice chimed back before the AI took the form of a small white, anthropomorphic, gender-less rabbit on the holo-screen before him.

The stallion lightly clicked his tongue, "I suppose you are right, Navir, but you'd best keep your jokes in check while we have company. We don't need any extra trouble with this job. It is strange enough as is." The AI nodded and stopped speaking for the moment but did not leave the screen.

It was not long before they dropped out of hyperspeed, a sudden jolt ran throughout the ship as time and space burst back into form. The blinking lights of spaceport Beta-09 came into view just off in the distance. It was a common port used by those headed into non-central space, a port on the edge of safety for most. That included Aries, although that edge was on the opposite side for the dark captain.

"Navir, handle the approach and docking," he commanded the AI as he stood , turned from the helm, and marched towards the dark metallic door of the bridge. The AI did not respond, carrying out Aries' commands.

Several concerning thoughts ran back through the captain's mind as he walked the ship's cold, narrow main hall, heavy hooves clomping across the metallic floor.

Why would a university put up so much credit, on the void market no less, to smuggle a small crew of researchers to an outer-rim planet owned by Ambient Robotics? This planet is only a couple of standard cycles out from being TerraRAS Corp property, but there have been no recorded appraisal teams sent there. The rough scan map of the planet suggests only a few hospitable biomes for this team to search on foot. Something here reeks of a get-rich-quick scheme, but SURI should hardly be interested in such a thing; they are not short on credit.

The stallion's pointed ears twitched and rotated slightly, taking in the growing sounds of the spaceport ahead as the ship entered the docking bay.

"Well... no looking back now," he stated aloud to no one in particular.

Spaceport Beta-09

"Navir, we will keep this visit as short as possible. Acquire preregistration to undock so we can get back into open space as soon as the ship is fueled." The stallion ordered calmly, posted like a statue at the ancillary ramp door. In a breath, the external hydraulic ramp released a hiss as it and the door before him began to open.

Aries lightly winced as bright starlight and the spaceport's musty air crept into the ship's narrow, dim hall. As his eyes adjusted, a sense of déjà vu washed over him. Visions of the past ran through his mind, memories of chaos, the bewildering unknown, and finally, uncharted solitude. He closed his eyes and subtly shook his head before refocusing on the spaceport and metal ramp before him.

As he made his way down the ramp, the blinding starlight enlivened the rich earthy browns of the fur on his face and highlighted the healthy sheen of the straight, white mane that cascaded down the left side of his head. While he was of average height for a horse, his form lacked their typical wide frame, giving him a more proportional build. The stallion was neatly groomed with a youthful handsomeness that seemed unlikely to fade with age. The white of his mane was a harsh contrast against his long black, carbon-weave overcoat and matching combat suit that covered the remainder of his toned body.

Once his hooves were firmly upon the port's solid, dusty surface, Aries' dark narrowed eyes and ever perked ears scanned the surrounding area instinctively. He rapidly noted the class, type, and allegiance of nearby ships, along with the number of port workers and exits near his ship's docking bay. The constant robotic gathering of information came so naturally to him that he often didn't even realize it was happening.

As the stallion's gaze crossed the docking bay's main walkway, the sight of three unique figures walking in his direction, broke his habitual procedure. Much to his surprise, the client's research team was already making their way down to the docked cruiser. The pleasant surprise caused the corners of his lips to curl into the smallest of grins. "Good, we really can keep this short."

As the group of ragtag-looking academics drew nearer, he began sizing them up as a matter of course. Starting with the one in front. Alligator, Lago born, indeterminate sex, late-twenties?, physically strong, gait suggests combat experience, combat risk: moderate-high. Then the middle, female lynx, unknown origin, early twenties, wild spirited, sexually desirable, combat risk: low-moderate. And finally, male koala, Kefi born, early to late thirties?, overcompensating, intoxicated, sexually frustrated, combat risk: low.

A sudden buzz entered his earpiece. "The koala, Dr. Collins, is the lead researcher and forensics specialist. The alligator, Dr. Creek, is the zoologist. And the lynx, Dr. Ceniza, is the biologist and geologist." Navir robotically stated as it reviewed the external camera feed.

"Yes, Navir, I read the job file. I'm just putting names and species to faces since no head shots were provided. I'll have them on the ship shortly. Are we refueled and ready to depart," Aries asked with two gloved fingers on his earpiece.

"Yes, my lord," Navir dutifully barked back before cutting the comms.

Idly watching the group as they made the long walk to the landing pad was oddly enlightening; the three of them certainly appeared to be unreserved in public. The chaotic energy of the group was palpable, even from a distance, and Aries was suddenly reminded why he hated jobs that included willing passengers.

The alligator looked at his ship wearing a mildly displeased expression, while the koala could not keep himself from eyeing the admittedly pleasing view of the curvaceous, young lynx in front of him with an unsteadiness to his step.

As for the lynx, her gaze had been locked in his direction as soon as he was in view. She appeared to be going through an amusing array of facial expressions as the trio drew closer. And as soon as she opened her mouth, it became evident that she was the one he would need to watch out for.