Carinae Sector: 01 - Traders' Scourge - Part 2 - Maveen Offer Read Free

the approach path, and navigational lasers from the smaller ships relayed information back to the Illuria. The Trader ship turned slowly without banking at the low altitude and began the final approach to the landing site. Once the ship had no forward motion, the pilot lowered the two main landing skids and went to lower the two smaller landing posts when the captain spoke again.
    ‘Pilot, we will just use the forward landing post as most of the weight will be on the rock shelf with the main skids. Also I don’t want any part of the main ship in contact with the island except for the landing ramp.’
    The specified landing skids deployed, the Illuria slowly came down vertically. The huge thrusters blasting columns of steam and sand away from the ship as it neared the sea. Now his view was obscured by steam and debris, but the pilot calmly held the ship level until contact was registered on the landing skids. Slowly the ship’s thrusters’ power was reduced and the ship settled down onto the landing skids. Once the Illuria was fully down and no lateral motion was detected in the landing, the pilot quickly shut down the thrusters and the ship gave a small shiver, but remained in place.
    Captain Narindestat turned to the pilot.
    ‘Well done, you are within two meters and we did not drift once, I am really impressed.’
    Other members of the bridge crew gave polite nods of thanks to the pilot as the captain advised of his next orders.
    ‘I want a full report, especially damage, of all ships. I want sneak ships one and seven patrolling over our location, sneak ship eight can make a patrol further out to the west. All deployed sneak ships are to have their auto defences set to live as I am sick of being shot at by the humans. ’
     
                                                                ***
     
    Steve checked the life jackets yet again under the suited alien and fought back tiredness, as he now took of his swim fins and secured the fins to the harness. The runabout from the Aurora Discovery had finally reached his location. The skipper had the presence of mind to slow down, well before the boat reached the strange sight of a helicopter hovering over a combined five hundred kilogram mass of human and a suited alien.
    Steve could see that the six metre solid plate runabout was crewed with Rick, the stocky engineer, and two of his burliest deckhands, and quickly they got the boat alongside. First one crewmember passed a heavy rope underneath the shoulders of the space suit and tied it off, as another deckhand helped Steve over the side of the runabout. Steve quickly took off his goggles and went to the side of the runabout to ensure that the alien was secure. The calm valve noises from the top of the space suit remained unchanged, and the alien cautiously regarded the new humans that had appeared.
    Steve kept his voice calm as he spoke.
    ‘Now no unnecessary noise, as we don’t want to spook this large fellow, and remember he is injured and possibly ill.’
    The engineer verified that the alien was tied off, and spoke briefly to Mark in the helicopter to lower more cable, before he unhooked the rescue cable from the rescue harness. The helicopter, now freed of the burden to support human and alien in the water, promptly flew off to land on the Aurora Discovery. Dan placed a last call to Steve as they left for the approaching ship.
    ‘Steve I got some good videos and photos of the alien and that strange rig. I will see you back on the ship.’
    Steve acknowledged Dan and turned his attention back to what the burly engineer was doing.
    ‘Rick, how do you propose to lift him aboard the runabout?’
    Rick grinned and picked up a two metre by one metre sheet of very thick high density polyethylene sheeting with a hole and a heavy rope in one end.
    ‘Steve, this sheet is off one of the aquaculture tanks. We will drop the sheet between him and the runabout, tie him