Chapter 18

"Coming out of warp in three, two, one..."

"Gah! What the HELL?!?"

Alicia's shout froze Daium, her finger poised over the view screen controls. Maybe if they didn't look, whatever was out there would not, in fact, be there. Maybe if they didn't look, they wouldn't be seen. Wasn't that how the universe worked?

Sadly, no. She pressed down, the walls of the bridge vanishing, replaced by...

The bulk of enormous engine pods ahead of them.

"AAAHHH!!!"

It was a collective cry of horror, impressive despite the looming death before them. The ship jerked, automatic systems trying to find safety for The Bells. Daium reached for the controls, wanting to do SOMETHING, but knowing her reflexes would never be enough. To her left and right, she also saw the gleaming white panels of spacecraft, so close she unconsciously squeezed her shoulders together ... Those panels shifted upwards, as The Bells dropped down. Perched above, Alicia yelled out again.

"Fifty spacecraft! Sixty! What the hell is this place?!"

The blackness of space exploded around them, signaling safety, at least for the moment, as they escaped their entrapment. Looking up past Alicia, Daium saw the bottoms of three craft. The ships were large, easily twice the size of The Bells. Before she could even contemplate the design, the rectangular bridge of one of them seemed to crumple, as if it was being sucked into itself. A moment later the body of the ship blew apart.

"Daium! Warp! Now!"

Anthony's cry cut through any confusion in her mind. Hands flashing over the console, she cut the visual feed, brought up a destination, and hit Enter.

Anthony was the first to speak.

"Well. That was different."

"What the hell was that?!?" Nona's curse, rare for her, seemed to break the ice. The others echoed the sentiment, if more profanely. Unbuckling, Anthony pushed off with his legs towards Alicia. The blonde seemed to still be shaking when he got there, eyes wide as they greeted him. He placed a comforting hand on her bare arm.

"What did you see?"

She took a raged breath, calming herself. As the other slowly joined them, she brought up the recorded readings.

"I swear, it looked like some kind of Star Wars battle. Like we came out in the middle of some invasion. What kind of planet were you sending us to, Daium?!"

Anthony saw Daium catch his eye. Obviously, Alicia knew it had been Anthony's idea, and exactly what the planet was. They had five days to plan and talk things out, after all. Still...

"Yeah, Daium, what's the big idea? You should know better!" He watched her four eyes widen, then narrow. A growl could be heard.

He'd pay, eventually, but it was worth it.

Five hours later, the Bells entered the atmosphere of Te with much less excitement.

From what Alicia and Daium were able to figure out, from the limited data the ship had absorbed, they had stumbled into the middle a punitive raid by the Daoine on their destination. The "pirate" planet had been putting up a spirited defense, to the point where Rinda's view of the tactical situation had the Daoine on the verge of getting their butt kicked.

Not that any of them wanted to go back to check.

Te, once they broke through the clouds, reminded the humans of home. Below them, a large city hugged the coast of a blue ocean. Beyond, green forest, broken up by roads and smaller towns. In the distance, a mountain range rose up on the horizon. The spaceport, like the last one, was on the ocean. A flattened island, possibly artificial, stood a few miles off shore. Half its twenty landing pads were occupied, mostly by smaller ships comparable to The Bells, although two huge vessels loomed over the others. Hannah looked over the peaceful scene, shaking her head.

"And we didn't come here first, because... ?"

Daium sighed.

"They declared a trade embargo against Tanah."

"But we're not Tanah!" Nona looked at the Orang confused. "Why would they treat us like we represented your people?"

"Because that's often easier than giving the benefit of the doubt," Anthony told her. The ship banked, conversation pausing as the sun on the horizon passed across their view. Anthony squinted, holding his hand up to partially block it. The glare was so fleeting the screens didn't even bother adjusting. A moment later the ship slowed to a hover, paused, then slowly settled onto the ground.

"That's three alien planets!" Melinda unbuckled, standing. "Man, we're leaving those astronauts in the dust!"

"Naw, these are all fake landings," Alicia told her. "I mean, look at those shadows out there. Totally unrealistic. I sense conspiracy."

"Agreed," Justin said, coming up behind her with their pistol belts. "I blame the Jews."

"Hey!" Hannah popped her head around from the other side of the tree. "We only control the banks! You want the Freemasons!"

The days of them dividing up on an alien world were over.

The twelve sat together on the train car, watching the city approach through the blurred bridge trestles. While Daium and Rinda had gotten some looks from the Dockmaster, and others, they had passed the two Orang off as employees of "Captain" Anthony. Given the makeup of the crew, this was not so much a fiction as a slight distortion.

Goldie sat with her paws on top of the seat back, looking out in wonder. If she had a tail, she'd be wagging it. It was so ... so wonderful! The sun was almost on the horizon, the buildings of the city partly lit in the dusk. They seemed to sparkle in the twilight, a place of magic and wonder. She knew that, yes, once they were on the streets they'd find just boring reality. But, then again, you never knew...

A hand touched her head. Even without looking, she knew who it was. She could identify everyone's touch. For so long, after Mom and Aunt died, there had only been Danny. Now she was surrounded by people who loved her, who comforted her. At times this fact threatened to overwhelm her, but it was a GOOD problem. Too much love was good!

"Have you ever seen a city before, Honey?" Hannah's hand scratched her head. Goldie gently shook it.

"No ... we were kept deep inside buildings, at home, and our owner didn't let us out much after we were sold. This ... cities are beautiful!"

"They can be," Anthony said from next to her. He was tightening Danny's belt. The boy's new pants had started slipping down, and he had yet to get used to them. All the humans had new clothes, replacements for their one set of work outfits (as well as now having better 'around the ship' wear). The girls wore knee length skirts, varying in color, with loose fitting white blouses. The four males had black pants made from a jeans-like material, and white buttonless shirts. Nona had embroidered an orange Bells Supermarket logo in the right breast of each shirt and blouse, just because. The two Orang respectfully declined the offer of new outfits, not understanding the appeal of "shirts", but had asked Nona to put the Bells logo on their existing skirts. Someday, if the right plant material was found, new suspenders and bras would be woven with the design up in the right location.

Goldie wore nothing, but a leather necklace with a stuffed fabric bell hung from her neck. Turning her head, she looked at the man slowly becoming her Father.

"Some cities aren't beautiful?"

"It's never a case that ALL of something is beautiful," he said, letting go of Danny's belt and reaching up to muss the boy's hair. Danny playfully tried to knock the hand away, missing, a smile on his muzzle. "Even when there is beauty, there's usually also something ugly right around the corner. And, naturally, the opposite is true. Lots of beauty where you'd never expect it."

She nodded, eyes going back to the sparkling buildings, now looming over them as the train reached the shore. She had so much to learn...

The Moun were not exactly a nocturnal people, but like humans, activity did not stop with the setting sun. The lit streets were alive with locals, long snouted furry mammals with eight eyes. They walked on two legs, making it a world humans were well adapted to. Shopping list in hand, Tammy led the way down a wide busy street.

"I'm never going to get used to this," Nona said. Her eyes tried to stay on the back of Tammy, or on the buildings. Melinda looked at her questioningly.