Rule of Twelve, Double Take - Ch12 (Passage 5/5)
(… continuing)
A little later, Dukk re-entered the cockpit.
“How are you getting on?” he asked Marr as he sat into his seat.
“Still a little wobbly, but I am getting there. Everything sorted?”
“Yep, the two observers settled eventually. They are sleeping off the double hit. The seasoned passengers went back to bed. The rest of the crew are sleeping too.”
“Luna?”
“She is fine. I heard that she even tried to make the odd joke before heading to her cabin.”
“That is good. You, Annee and Bazzer were amazing. How do you do it?”
“Like a said before, fitness and mindfulness practices can help keep on top of it. And the more you do it, the easier it becomes. You’ll be flying by the time we reach Mayfield.”
“What? So, I only have to go through this morning’s experience eleven more times?” Marr answered laughing.
“I am glad you’ve got your sense of humour back. That is key too,” Dukk laughed.
“I see what you mean,” Marr said nodding at the view before them.
Dukk looked out. Patches of purple and red could be seen through the clouds that circulated the planet they now orbited.
“What did you learn?” Dukk asked pointing to the various information pages floating above Marr’s console.
“Teegarden C, or TC, is a young planet, rich in microscopic organisms. The planet life is primitive in Earth terms. The air is thin, the weather patterns unpredictable and it is susceptible to solar flares. This all makes it a relatively hostile environment. However, a small community of approximately twenty thousand has carved out an existence in the remnants of research stations and mining exploration camps. They are basically farmers now. The micro organisms they farm have some uses elsewhere and they trade them for essential supplies.”
“You’ve used your time well. Anything showing up on the system logs?”
“The rig is solid. Although, there is a lot of traffic. I’ve even had visuals on the odd rig.”
“Yes, this system is a key gateway in and out of the Solar System. Let’s see who is about.”
Dukk interacted with his console and put the hailing channel on speaker.
“Good morning hauliers. Dinatha. Local haul. Sailing on. Outlook is cloudy?” he said into the hail channel.
The was silence for a moment. Then a reply came.
“Hello Dinatha, Plinthat. Postal drop. Lifting the nose.”
“Plinthat, familiar territory?” Dukk added to the broadcast.
“Dinatha, you are on the numbers,” came a familiar voice but not the voice from before.
“Howdy people. Rimera II, long hall. Yes, cloudy weather. Dead calm ten. Looking forward to buying a round,” came another reply.
“Any hostiles on the path?” Dukk asked.
“All clear sailing,” came the voice from the Rimera II.
“Good to know. Sitting pretty,” Dukk finished with.
Dukk looked over at Marr, and smiled.
“Ok, I kind of got some of that. Let me see if I am right,” Marr stated.
“Go for it.”
“Two other rigs responded to the hail. The Plinthat and Rimera II. They are orbiting up here too. Rimera II is heading back to Earth. And they have been further afield than we plan to be.”
“Yep. And, what else?”
“Hostiles is raiders or pirates. And Rimera II hasn’t encountered any. And ‘sitting pretty’ means we are slow running and waiting to traverse.”
“Yep, that’s all spot on.”
“I am stuck on ‘postal drop’, ‘Lifting the nose’, the weather exchange and ‘familiar territory’.”
Dukk laughed.
“Firstly ‘familiar territory’ is a former colleague. The second voice on the Plinthat was until recently a crew member on the Dinatha. A weather conversation relates to delays. Cloudy indicates longer than hoped time spent in orbit. ‘Dead calm ten’, means they’ve been waiting for ten hours to traverse. ‘Postal drop’ means the rig is not travelling very far from Earth. Usually only a few traverses. And the ‘lifting the nose’ indicates the rig is planning to land on the planet and it is not passing through.”
“Of course. Clear as day,” Marr replied sarcastically.
Dukk laughed.
“Do you want to take a break, get something to eat and do a walk around on your way back up?”
“Absolutely, I am seriously hungry all of a sudden,” Marr answered.
(to be continued...in the next chapter)
[Rule of Twelve, Double Take, Chapter 12 - Traverse (Passage 5 of 5)]
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