OUTWORLD: Dark Planet

OUTWORLD: Dark Planet Part 8

19th APRIL 7080, PORT DUBROVNIK, SEDALIA STATION

Despite Doreen averring that she wouldn't put her feet down on anything other than planetary crust, she nonetheless put her feet down and stood up as the Mucky Pup settled onto its assigned landing platform at Port Dubrovnik. She bounded upward to look over the seat in front at the scintillating vista in front of the ship. "Quite something, isn't it?" she asked everyone.

"Hey, I'm used to it," Sally replied. "I was born here."

Doreen raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Wow."

Sally shrugged, getting up from her station and stretching tiredly. "When you've lived here for a few years, it gets boring."

Doreen frowned. What did she know, anyway? She'd never lived on a space station, so she took Sally's word for it. For now, though, she was in awe of the place.

Hayes was on the comm. "Attention all crewmembers and personnel. Wakey-wakey! We have arrived at Sedalia Station. We're here for a few hours, so feel free to go out and get a coffee."

"That's not a bad idea," Doreen said. "After all that happened at Ilarik, a little caffeine wouldn't go amiss."

Sedalia Station was even brighter and noisier than Doreen had imagined it to be. She walked with Rodolfo from the Mucky Pup's equipment lift out onto the landing platform and was immediately surrounded by a swirl of chatter, PA announcements and lights from adverts and station systems. Said platform happened to be located at the base of Sedalia Station's northwest tower, and the sight gave Doreen a surge of acrophobia. Back on Racale, the largest building rarely exceeded five storeys.

She looked down onto the sprawl of buildings near the pad. She'd barely noticed a sign with the word "COFFEE" on it when two figures resolved from the garish lights and started towards her.

Rodolfo came up behind her, stopping when he saw the oncoming people. "They look pretty official," he commented.

The two, a female Red Panda and a male Akita, smiled as they approached, their faces at odds with their light grey body armour, logo-bearing baseball caps and short-muzzled pistols that they had tucked into thigh holsters. "Good afternoon," the Panda said. "Agents Hillman and Landers, Sedalia Station Security Service."

"Just letting you know that we're here if you have a problem," Landers said brightly. He whisked out a small appliance not dissimilar to Doreen's scanner, and waved it about in front of Doreen and Rodolfo. A green light gave him a reading that he seemed happy with, and he retracted the device. "You're clean," he proclaimed.

"Can't have lice or anything like that scuttling around," Hillman said.

"We know the protocol," Rodolfo assured them. "We use anti-lice shampoo."

"FurFlash?" Hillman asked, whiskers twitching.

"With water mint," Rodolfo said.

Hillman smiled. "Welcome to Port Dubrovnik."

"The office is on Oleander Boulevard," Landers informed them. "Y'know, if you need help at any point. How long are you staying?"

"The captain'll give you more information, but as far as I understood it, it's only a few hours," Rodolfo said.

"We'll check in with him," Hillman said. Motioning to Landers, the both of them started toward the Mucky Pup.

"You doing alright?" Rodolfo asked Doreen once the troopers were out of earshot. "You looked a bit dizzy when we debarked."

"I'm fine," Doreen assured him. The memories still jumped out at her from time to time, but she was at least stable enough to walk about. "This place is just a bit... big."

"I know what you mean," Rodolfo chortled. "Poor Sally, having to grow up here. I couldn't stomach it."

"Well, let's go find some coffee," Doreen said brightly.

That task proved to be somewhat daunting. After negotiating the landing area concourse, Doreen and Rodolfo emerged into a thoroughfare whose level of occupation wouldn't be justified by the word 'congested'. Buildings – or rather, habitation blocks stacked on top of each other and surrounded by catwalks – featured various signs advertising various services and various products in various languages, and Doreen searched furiously for the elusive 'COFFEE' sign she had espied from the platform. It was like looking for a needle in a field. Not to mention the pop music played over speakers at a deafening volume that didn't add to the experience.

"There it is," Doreen said, pointing to the Caffe TuGeaux outlet on the ground level of the nearest row of shops. She jerked a thumb at the hordes of shoppers, spacers and assorted habitués barring their way. "You first, Team Leader."

Rodolfo gave her a sour look and began to clear a path with a litany of "Excuse me, sorry. Excuse me, sorry..."

While not as utterly packed as the street, the coffee shop was still full of civilians, spacers and security personnel getting an eye-opener. In a booth near the back of the establishment, Doreen sighed with pleasure as she sipped at a coffee that didn't taste of preservation, and licked her lips. "Good thing there's a TuGeaux on every space station," she said.

"I'll drink to that," Rodolfo grinned, raising his latte.

"Think we should order some muffins?"

"I know we should," Rodolfo said loftily. "Chocolate?"

"Not keen," Doreen said.

"Right, right," Rodolfo muttered, perusing a menu. "Cranberry and vanilla, then."

"Make it so."

Rodolfo was about to signal the wait staff when two arrivals plonked themselves into Doreen and Rodolfo's booth. "Ah, Hachi and – Fleur," he said brightly.

The medic blushed brightly. "I like coffee," she squeaked.

Hachi snorted. "Two station guards frisked us, and she screamed when they pointed the scanner at her."

"I was nervous, okay?" Fleur retorted weakly. "I thought it was a weapon." She ruffled her fur and shifted restlessly in her seat. "Do they do muffins here?"

"Oh-ho, do they ever," Rodolfo laughed, passing her the menu in his paw.

"Yeah, so Oliver's back at the ship doing some morning tinkering," Hachi announced. "Says he'll be out when he feels like it."

"What about your lot, Fleur?" Rodolfo asked.

Fleur looked over the menu. "Well, Captain Hayes is staying on the ship to oversee refuelling and repairs, which Aaron and your engineer are helping out with, and I think Sally's on her way out here."

"I got the feeling she knows her way around," Rodolfo said with a smile.

"How are you feeling, Doreen?" Fleur asked, looking to the subject of her question.

Doreen smiled at the question. "I'll be okay. I hope." She decided not to mention Fleur's tearful departure from the conference room; from what she'd observed, the Newfoundland was in worse shape than she.

"She knows to listen to the Team Leader when he tells her not to wander off," Rodolfo interjected pointedly. He inclined his muzzle toward Doreen. "Doesn't she?"

Doreen answered with a wink and a waggle of her ears. "Sure she does, boss man." She took another swig of her coffee, looking through the windows of the coffee shop at the milling crowds outside, and felt herself beginning to relax.

Hopefully it was all over.