The Planetary Archaeologist

The tiny ship slowed as it entered the solar system. While officially listed as the Aeternus in the Galactic Council's databases, over the years so many pieces had been salvaged from other ships for repairs that only around a third of the vessel was still original. One of those original pieces was its pilot: Jax Strabben, Planetary Archaeologist.

That was the title he preferred, but he had been called many things over his career. Scavenger. Looter. Culture Thief. Tool of the Leisure Class. That was one of his personal favorites. He felt it gave his job a certain gravitas it really didn't deserve. Even though it was true that anyone with the means could hire him, the majority of his clients were universities and museums. In fact, he would always say to people that if he really was a Tool of the Leisure Class he'd have a much nicer ship.

Not that he'd ever give up the Aeternus. They'd been through too much, together. He'd just restore her back to her original glory.

It just so happened, though, this trip out was funded by a private collector. Praxam Vole LXXIII was the CEO of Vole Mining. His family have been mining asteroids for nearly as long as ships have had the ability to land on those unpredictable rocks. He's also one of the few people left in the post-War universe who still openly proclaimed their human ancestry. Only those of a certain wealth or power stature could do so without fear of repercussions, and even most of those were too nervous to proclaim their true heritage.

Vole had found Jax the way most of his richer clientele did: Word of mouth. He prided himself on his work ethics, despite the fact that some of those private jobs might not be the most ethical, themselves. He considered each contract a promise and, if he couldn't uphold his end, he would offer his most sincere apologies to the client, along with returning every credit of his Retainment Fee. This had put him in the good graces of many of the universe's more elite, ensuring plenty of repeat business.

This was the first time he had been hired by Vole, or any of his family. "You come very highly recommended," he had said in their meeting. It was rare that a client ever mentioned the name of the recommending party. The rich were discreet, like that. "I understand you specialize in finding the 'hard to find.'"

Jax humbly shrugged. "I don't know if I'd say I 'specialize' in it, but I do have a knack. Top-of-the-line tools help a bit, too."

Vole opened a drawer on his desk and removed a data screen. He slid the clear, playing card-sized object across to Jax. After a cursory review of the information, the archaeologist responded, "Looks like you've done most of the work for me."

"I have spent several years researching these items. Those calculations should be within a half-kilometer radius for each, give or take."

When Jax got back on board the Aeternus, he plugged the data screen into his console, downloaded the coordinates into the Nav-Comp and started on the journey that brought him to where he was, now. At first, he really didn't think too much of this solar system. It was pretty average in comparison to many he had visited. The giant planet wreathed by a series of rings momentarily caught his eye, only because it's a phenomena that has fascinated Jax since childhood. Their dull color, though, served as an accent to just how average this system appeared to be. "You're nice," he said out loud as the planet passed, "but you're no Rings of Hyglon. Maybe try a little harder, next time."

After passing uneventfully through a sparse asteroid belt, it wasn't much longer until he could see his destination. The small, grey moon was almost completely blocked from the light of the system's sun by its planet. That meant very cold surface temperatures. Cold temps meant cranking the heat in his Excursion Suit, which translated into a couple extra breaks to switch out the Batt-Pack. This was definitely going to take the better part of a day.