In A Starship's Wake

Chapter 42: There At Last

Joseph leaned against the wall in a corridor outside the docking bay, looking at the ore hauler through the windows. Somehow he'd managed to be first to arrive at the meeting point outside the bay, despite the fact that two of his crew members arrived the day before and were already moved into their quarters. Garden Variety Animal arrived earlier than scheduled, so Tyrone and Justine dropped him off before going to be unloaded. They would have to come back to unload his boxes, but at least he hadn't had to walk across the station.

He let the other crew members know when he'd landed. All but Rebecca were already on the station, but it was a big place. Vermillion Station was primarily a shipyard, and like the agriculture on Couradeen Station that industry needed a lot of space. The two were almost the same size.

Vermillion was again similar to Couradeen in that everything was decentralized. Passenger ships might dock anywhere, unlike Orson where they were all directed to one part of the station. Rebecca's ship would dock near here, which was fortunate since it was the last in. Samuel and Charlie both docked miles down the station, and were working their way to the meeting.

While he waited, Joseph took a look at his ship. Only on a shipyard would she ever fit in a docking bay. She was just over a thousand feet long, two hundred wide and two hundred tall with the height of the cargo intake and outflow hatches included. Most stations just didn't bother with docking bays that large, and that included the asteroid mines. Ships this big were designed to moor to a station, not land in one. That said, Joseph had been careful to select a model capable of atmospheric landings. Not all metal refineries were in space, and he wanted no limits on their potential destinations and customers.

The ship was shaped like a fat fish. It reminded him of the catfish he and his father would catch when he was young. The intake hatches on the top, and the corridor that provided access to them, looked like a long dorsal fin. More corridors that resembled the barbels bulged out of the hull, running from the bridge and quarters in the bow to the mechanical and engineering sections in the stern. Even the dark brown hull color added to the comparison.

A momentary fit of nerves struck Joseph as it occurred to him that he would have to fly the thing. Garden Variety Animal wasn't difficult for him to pilot, but this ship was huge by comparison. He'd only flown ships this large in simulation. He brushed the worry away; Charlie had flown plenty this big, and the old man wouldn't let him make any serious mistakes.

As though summoned by Joseph's thought, a door slid open at the end of the corridor and Charlie approached. He dragged a small hovercart stacked with a few boxes and suitcases behind him. "Is this an okay place to dump these?" The white-haired man gestured at the boxes. "I came on the station tram, I have to take the cart back."

"You could, but I'd go over to where the gangway is connected and see if there's space there." He pointed to the ship's starboard side, where the tube extended into the docking bay wall. "That way you won't have to carry them as far when we board."

"Good plan," Charlie grunted. He continued past Joseph and out of sight around the corner. It was only a minuted before he reappeared. "Plenty of space," he reported. "I didn't see any of your things over there." He stopped next to Joseph and joined him at the window.

"We got in early enough for Tyrone and Justine to drop me off, but there wasn't enough time to unload before they had to be at the warehouse. They'll come back to drop off my boxes before they get the outbound load."

"Got it." Charlie gestured out the window. "Mighty fine-looking ship you got yourself there."

"Thank you. I was just comparing her to a catfish in my head."

Charlie laughed, rocking the hovercart back and forth with one foot. "Most bulk haulers have a little bit of a funny shape to them like that. The dominant design priority is to keep that center area empty for as much cargo space as possible. Still, a fish isn't a half bad look for a spaceship. Even better if you happen to like fishing."