After dropping off some of the crew at Balisair, it was time for the crew to set course for Lirath. The situation greeting them wasn't the most promising.

The cracked surface of the moon called Lirath was one of its most unmistakeable features. One of the three moons of the planet Kehoe, it had been terraformed and served as a settlement for a ( Read more... )

The plan was...well, it wasn't simple, but it sort of was ( Read more... )

At some time during the night, while some were still sleeping, and some were awake and wandering around the hotel common rooms--a massive explosion rocked the hotel the group was staying in ( Read more... )

The Maingate Hotel was pretty extravagant, and an entire section of it had been eked out for the crew's use during their stay. They had several suites, three communal areas, a conference room, their own kitchen with a chef on call if they required her ( Read more... )

The trip down was uneventful. The view was gorgeous when the viewing window shields were raised again when they were through the atmosphere, especially as they passed down to Megalopolis, the simply-named giant city that was this world's capital. To the Earthlings there, the continents of this world would look vastly familiar, but that didn't mean ( Read more... )

Querl had sent a message to all of the persons assigned to the exploratory team to meet him in Special Weapons. When they arrived they would find him giving a few last minute tweaks to a palm sized device. He waited until they were all assembled ( Read more... )

The Oyster Bar had been an iconic piece of both Grand Central Terminal and Manhattan - Rhiow had lost count of the number of times she'd slipped into the kitchen to beg quietly for a piece of tuna, or some of the shellfish the bar was named for ( Read more... )

Those left outside the city would find their experience to be far less exciting, but at least it was still relaxing for the most part.

The accommodations they were given were relatively spartan but well maintained, and the locals seemed nice enough. The food was good, and they were treated fairly well despite refusing to undergo the rituals.

But ( Read more... )

Those who had decided not to undergo the rituals were given the option of staying near the observation deck, or in the small settlement near the edge of the trees ( Read more... )

Once those who decided to go along on the mission were gathered on the Obs Deck and had time to go over the mission briefing, the detachment procedures began.

As with the missions before, the doors to the Obs Deck closed before it detached itself from Stacy, tethered by a massive umbilical cord. Those who had been on missions before would find the ( Read more... )