Chapter 1

It was an ideal time for relaxation, and much of the LONAC crew was doing just that in the LSS Freedom's plaza. The ship was in tiptop shape for once, so they could afford to be off duty, and though they were light-years away from the nearest spaceport, the ship was still well stocked with supplies.

Roadkill, Splitwit, and Firestorm sat around a table in the Plaza. It was a welcome change from the many nights spent in the bar.

“Heh, we haven’t had time to relax like this in ages” Roadkill said as he leaned back in his chair.

“Yeah, it’s nice, too bad it’s going to be a few weeks before the next stop” Splitwit replied.

“If we had more crew members it would be more tolerable” Firestorm mentioned. “A lot of the crew hardly comes down to the Plaza. Heck, I don’t think Autumn Beauty or Dark Star ever leave their quarters.”

“Dark Star is such a bore. He’s practically a drone!” Splitwit began to use a much lower tone of voice. “You know, I heard that he doesn’t even have a spark.”

Amethyst overheard the conversation and walked over to the table. “Dark Star isn’t a drone! No spark? That’s nonsense! Maybe if you took the time to get to know him you’d see he’s not such a bad guy.”

Roadkill waved his finger in swirling motion. “Maybe if Mr. Anti-Social would take more than five steps away from his room I’d say ‘hi’.”

Splitwit stood up. “Come on now, let’s not waste this time arguing. We’re supposed to be having fun!”

“Yeah, whatever. Wanna go log some game time in the sim rooms?” Roadkill asked.

“Urg, I’ve seen enough of those for a while. I’ll meet you guys later” Firestorm said as he got up.

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Waitstate sat on the bridge of the Freedom watching the stars go by on the view screen.

Waitstate turned to Cirrus. “You know Cirrus, we’ve been in battle so much I’d almost forgotten how beautiful space is.”

“Sure is nice, now if only we could say the same about your quarters” Cirrus replied with a chuckle.

Cirrus looked over to the vacant comm station and saw a light flashing. “I wonder who that could be, were you expecting any guests?”

“Nope, but I always welcome a prospective member” Waitstate said as he activated the comm link from his chair. “This is the LSS Freedom, how may I help you?”

“Thank goodness I was finally able to establish a link. I’ve been trying to re-locate you for weeks, seems you haven’t been knocking down space stations like you used to” said the voice at the other end of the comm link.

Waitstate started to become impatient. “Are you going to state your business or continue with wise-cracks?”

“Dreadfully sorry,” the voice replied. “Anyhow, I have interests in joining your group, I have something I know you’ll be interested in.”

“We’ll see about that, but first, tell me why I can’t put you on screen” Waitstate demanded.

“I must apologize again. I can’t take any more chances of being discovered pre-maturely” the voice replied.

Waitstate turned to Cirrus. “His shuttle is a domestic cruiser. No weapon systems of any sort, I don’t know how it even managed to get this far without breaking down.”

“Actually, it has a few times. I would have been able to catch up to you after you committed Artifice to deep space if I had a better shuttle” the voice replied again.

“Very well, I’ll meet you in the docking bay, Waitstate out.” Waitstate got out of his seat. “Cirrus, tell Recoil and Drill Master to meet me in the docking bay.”

“Will do boss!” Cirrus responded.

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Waitstate entered the docking bay with Recoil and Drill Master just as the shuttle landed. They drew their weapons immediately as the shuttle door opened.

A rust colored robot walked out of the shuttle carrying a sac. He held his hands in the air. “Come on now, this isn’t the treatment I expected from my brother’s friends

Waitstate was stunned. “Gravix?”

“The one and hopefully only!” Gravix replied with a smile.