Korrel

       Kelphus managed to stay on his feet during the next jump.  Looking about him, dazed, he noticed that Tiras was slumped against the wall again.  Mitsuko had passed out again, too.  Selah's eyes were glazed over, but she leaned forward in her chair and scratched her head.  Skyler and Takashi were already discussing their landing zone.
       The planet Korrel was covered in waves of grey, brown, and white with the occasional splotch of blue. The Celestial Eclipse entered the atmosphere and came down through a river valley between the snow-capped mountains that covered the planet's surface.  The sky above them was whitish-blue with the occasional whispy cloud.
       "There's where the mining facility should be," said Skyler as they approached an unusually dark, low-hanging cloud on the side of one of the mountains.  "I'm getting a structural reading, but there doesn't seem to be any other signal..."
       "What does that mean?" asked Kelphus.
       Takashi answered, looking down at the monitors in front of his seat.  "The building's there, but the power is probably out.  Computer, can you tell if the facility has been damaged?"
       "No apparent damage," replied the computer, in its almost-female electronic voice.
       Selah leaned back and rubbed her eyes.  "What are we doing here again?"
       "We're just picking up somebody in the company."  Takashi furrowed his eyebrows.  "I thought the boss was joking when he said this could be difficult."
       Skylar slowed the Eclipse to a midair crawl just outside the cloud.  "I don't suppose we know which radio frequency they use here?"
       The computer chirped up in reply.  "There is complete silence on all radio frequencies."
       The cockpit was silent.  Kelphus waited to see what Takashi and Skyler would do.  Selah blinked, still a bit dazed from the jump.  Tiras and Mitsuko were still unconscious.
       "Go ahead and land in the hangar," Takashi finally said.  Without a word, Skyler brought the Eclipse into the cloud.  The fog seemed to cling to the windows, making it impossible to see anything through them.
       "Any sign of life on the sensors?" asked Kelphus.
       "No life readings in the hangar," replied the computer.  A moment later the computer said, "Several unlife readings."
       Selah sat bolt upright, still blinking.  "Zombies?!"

Vantares

       "Where are we?"  Selah hopped over to the edge of the cockpit and pressed her face against the window.  The ground outside appeared to be flat, fuzzy, and purple.  The stars spangled in the sky above were just as visible as they were before the Celestial Eclipse approached the moon and landed on it.
       "This is the Vantares system."  Skyler was scrolling through data reports on one of the cockpit touch screens.  "One of the places that spacers go to hide.  Nobody lives out here, and there's stuff floating about that interferes with most sensors."
       "Where are we going next?"
       "I'm not sure.  Takashi said that our boss might have us shuffle around the plans for the next few days.  Or the whole trip might be called off."
       "What!?  Why?"  Selah turned back to look at him.
       "Because we got attacked by pirates."  Skylar looked up from his screen.  "This assignment is probably going to be a lot more dangerous than was outlined in the contract.  If the boss wants to keep us on board, he'll have to write us a new contract, pay us extra, and assign some security guys to our team.  Takashi and I don't know if he's willing to put up with that."
       Selah scrunched her face and tried to think, but all she could think about was her heart sinking.  She turned back around and looked into the stars.  Skylar felt like he should make a desparate attempt to reassure her.
       "Things might work out.  We'll see what happens pretty soon here."
       "Okay."  Selah kept on staring.
       Skylar frowned and looked back at his screen.  I wish I knew her better, he thought.  I hope I didn't totally crush her dreams... 
       The cockpit's side door opened and Takashi came through.   "Is that car unpacked?"
       Skylar looked up.  "Yes, everything's unpacked and put away.  All systems on the Eclipse are functioning properly, the mana core is delivering optimum output, Kelphus is checking out the kitchen (and he loves it, by the way), and Mitsuko and Tiras are checking out the computer systems."
       Takashi raised his eyebrows.  "I didn't ask for a full report."
       "Well, you got one."  Skylar smiled and saluted.
       Takashi chuckled.  "Get everyone in here.  Mr. Peters has arranged our next destination and he wants us there in an hour."
     

Shadows

     Damion stared at the grain of the rich brown wood through the glass top of his desk, lost in thought, leaning back slightly in his luxurious black leather office chair.  He was a thickly built man with carefully trimmed thick, black hair and narrow glasses.  The office wall to his left was covered in bookshelves, and the rest of the white walls were mostly bare except for a few landscape pictures from various planets and a circular clock.  A potted plant with football-sized leaves occupied the corner behind him to his right.
     His computer made a low beep.  "Mr. Peters, Kevarin Gaartha from Public Relations is here to see you."
     "Send him in."  Damion placed both feet flat on the floor and leaned forward over his desk.  A moment later, the silver door slid silently open, and Kevarin walked cautiously into the room.  He wore a blue collared shirt with the sleeves rolled up and a black tie, and his hair was bright green.  He scanned the office with his deep blue eyes, then took a moment to gape at the antiquated paper-and-ink books.
     "Have a seat, Kevarin."  Damion's quiet, deep voice almost made Kevarin jump.  Kevarin dragged a black cushioned chair over from by the door and plopped down into it.
     "I've got the report you asked for."  Kevarin pulled an orange flash drive from his shirt pocket and dropped it on the desk, then quickly withdrew his hands into his lap.
     "Can you give me a quick summary?"  Damion grinned gently as he slid his hand over the flash drive and closed his fingers around it.
     "Yeah.  The UGS are definitely gonna go after our smuggle teams, 'cause they definitely know about what we're wanting to smuggle and they totally know that we're totally going to go for it.  Somebody must've leaked the information or something.  We're gonna need to have our smuggle teams be pretty tough fighters or something if we're gonna make the operation work."
     "Do you know what extent the UGS has mobilized its counter-operations to?"
     "Not a clue."
     Damion's grin faded and he leaned forward a little further.  "Our Celestial Eclipse team was attacked before they even left their home planet.  They just barely contacted me from the Vantares system."
     Kevarin reeled back, wide-eyed.  "Crap.  Somebody's leaking info.  I'm pretty dang sure now."
     Damion leaned back in his chair and raised his voice slightly.  "Tell your supervisor I need your department to confirm that the attackers of the Eclipse were indeed from the UGS.  I will grant him administrative access to the recording of my conversation with Captain Takashi.  Do you have any questions?"
     Kevarin's eyes shifted left, then right, then he spoke.  "Nope."
     "You are dismissed."
     Kevarin stood and moved quickly out of the room.  Damion looked down at his desk and started tapping his fingers on it slowly.
     I thought I was becoming CEO of a merchant company, he thought.  And now we have a spy department hidden in our public relations department, and a military force in our security department.  We're fighting a secret war with pirates and malicious companies.  And there's no telling what the governments are going to turn into...
     He pressed a button on his computer.  "Get me Kypher from Security."
     It's time to see if our smuggling teams are up to our challenge.

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After the Jump

       It wasn't a star; it was a light bulb at the top of the cockpit.  Kelphus stared at it for a moment as he collected his thoughts.  We were exiting the atmosphere... we were being attacked by somebody... we did a space jump... Skylar said something about him and Takashi being the only ones who'd jumped before... Why did he seem alarmed?
       Kelphus sat up.  He had fallen over onto his back.  Selah was lying stomach-down next to him, with her eyes open and glazed over.  Tiras was slumped against the wall, and Mitsuko had passed out in her chair.  Skylar and Takashi had turned their chairs and were looking back at everyone.  Skylar cocked his head at Kelphus.
       "Why is it that summoners always handle their first jumps so well?"
       "More bizzare things than that can happen during summoning rituals," said Kelphus.  "Especially when you're learning a new one."  He stood up and brushed off his long brown leather coat.  "I was once turned into a loaf of bread for a split second.  You almost get used to that sort of thing."
       Skylar's eyes went wide.  "Wow."
       Takashi interrupted.  "Skylar, let's land on the third moon for now.  I need to contact our employers and explain the situation, and we need to unpack Selah's car.  We might spend the night here and carry on tomorrow as scheduled."
       "All right," said Skylar.
       "Kelphus, can you help me wake the others?" asked Takashi.
       "Yeah."  Kelphus kneeled down and waved his hand over Selah's face.  "Selah... Se-lah..."
       She's grown a lot over the years, Kelphus realized.  I remember when we met each other, six years ago... She was just as energetic and outgoing as she is now.  But now she has a more peaceful and confident aura.  And she's a lot taller.
       Selah blinked and drew a deep breath.
       She probably knows me best out of anybody.  But she probably doesn't know that.
       "Was that the space jump?" she asked softly.
       She's bright, too.  "Yes.  I wasn't expecting that either."  Kelphus stood up and offered his hand to help Selah up.  The crack of a backhand slap suddenly echoed through the cockpit.
       Mitsuko never liked being woken up, did she?

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Jump

       The Celestial Eclipse rose up, higher and higher into the clear azure sky.  Scarlet trees, brown roads and Selah's white house got smaller and smaller, fading into the overall forest-green color of the landscape.
       "I'm glad we told our parents goodbye already," Mitsuko told Takashi, as they watched the cockpit viewscreens.  Takashi closed his eyes and nodded.
       Tiras leaned against the back of the cockpit, chewing on a piece of jerky, watching the sky grow darker through the windows.  Kelphus and Selah were talking in low tones by one of the doors, as Kelphus explained to Selah what had happened.  Skylar had his hands firmly on the control sticks, watching the monitors and dials.
       "Transmission coming in," said the computer.
       "Go ahead," said Takashi.
       A male tenor voice came over the radio.  "Starship SEP-967SXL, callsign Celestial Eclipse, this is the Bureau of Spaceflight.  You are required slow to docking speed and prepare to be boarded, as you are in violation of ordinance 7765."
       Skylar rolled his eyes.  "Same ruse, I bet."
       "Computer, does their ID match up to the Spaceflight Bureau?" asked Takashi.
       "No."
       The voice repeated.  "Starship SEP-967SXL, callsign Celestial Eclipse, this is the Bureau of Spaceflight.  You are required slow to docking speed and prepare to be boarded, as you are in violation of ordinance 7765."
       Takashi sighed in exasperation.  "Skylar, jump to the Vantares system before they attack us."
       "Roger that."  Skylar pushed the throttle forward.  "Computer, we're going to Vantares.  Start crunching numbers."
       "Starship Celestial Eclipse, slow to docking speed imme--"
       "Silence!" shouted Takashi into the radio.
       "Ready to jump!" said the computer.
       Green laser bolts sailed over the cockpit.  "Punch it," said Takashi.
       Skylar hit the flashing green button on the panel in front of him, then his eyes went wide as he turned to Takashi.  "Oh flip."
       "What?"
       "You and I are the only ones who've been through a jump before."
       Pure white light flooded the cockpit, then the light split apart into all hues of reds and oranges and yellows and greens and blues, mixing together and breaking apart, sailing backwards, then forwards, then swirling, then slowing, lining up evenly, then all mixing together into a final white light, which shrunk and faded into a single star.

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Leaving the Nest

       "We've been attacked by the Eclipse crew at the landing bay!  We need backup!  Gyaa--"
       Skylar squeezed his trigger and a blue bolt of light scorched the last gangster's wrist, ruining the comlink.  "Let's get out of here before more show up!" he shouted to Mitsuko and Takashi.  He pressed a button on his wrist computer, and the entry ramp dropped down from the ship's underside.
       Tiras, still on the balcony, saw the bandit Mitsuko had landed on start to get back up.  Hardly thinking, Tiras swung his body over the railing and dropped on top of him.  The bandit dropped back to the ground with a groan.
       "Sorry, man."  Tiras pushed himself up and ran to the entry ramp.  He had to duck to avoid hitting his head on the way up into the ship.  Kelphus was waiting at the top with a raised eyebrow.  "What's going on?"
       "Welcome aboard the Celestial Eclipse," said Mitsuko, as she pushed the button to close the ramp.
       "Computer!" Skylar shouted as he sprinted up the ramp to the cockpit.  "Get this thing in the air!"
       "What about Selah?" asked Kelphus quickly.
       "We'll have to pick her up on the way out."  Takashi ran up the ramp after Skylar.

---

       Selah bounced in the front door of her house.  "I'm home!"  

       "Me too!" called a voice from the kitchen.  Selah skipped down the hall towards it and found her dad sitting at the table with a fork and a bowl of diced fruit.  

       "So, Selah, umm, don't you think this space trip is awfully short notice?" he asked, stroking the curled end of his large grey mustache.

       "Yes." Selah sat down next to him and put her arms on the glass that covered the black wooden table.  "But Takashi has been planning this for a few months.  He has every little detail worked out."

       "So why didn't he invite you sooner?"

       "He didn't find out until last week that he needed to find his own crew.  They told him they would assign him a team and then they went and changed their minds on him."

       "Hmm."  He took a bite of fruit and stroked his mustache again.  

       "If I stayed here, I'd just be applying for jobs and college."  Selah pushed her golden hair back over her shoulder.  "I don't have any commitments.  And I'm getting paid for going on this."
       Selah's mother came in, carrying a small leather bag in both hands.
       "What do you think about this space trip?" Selah's dad sat up straight and looked to her.
       She sat down next to Selah. "When do you leave?"
       "Tomorrow mor-" The sound of her cell phone ringing cut her off.  She pulled it out to see.  "Oh, it's Mitsuko.  I'll put her on speakerphone."  She pressed the button.  "Hi, Mitsuko!"
       "Selah, we got attacked on the launch pad and whoever's behind it is after us.  We're in the air now and we're going to pick you up from your house in five minutes!"
       "But, I haven't got the groceries out of my car or anything!   I just got home!"
       Skylar yelled in the background.  "We'll just pick her whole car up!  There's room in the hold!"
       "Okay."  Selah took a deep breath.  "Good thing I'm packed already.  I'll be waiting in my car in the driveway."
       "Alright!" said Mitsuko.  She hung up.
       "I guess I'm leaving now, then."  Selah scooted her chair back.
       "Well, take this," said her mom, handing her the leather bag.  Selah undid the button and gently poured it out into her hand.  It was a thin golden chain, with a diamond-shaped pendant attached.  In the middle of the golden pendant was a deep-blue sapphire, cut to the same shape as the pendant, that had a white light shining from inside of it.  Selah could feel the energy inside of it; it was almost like holding a gallon of water in one hand, that would flow into her body as soon as she willed it.  It was the energy that powered magic.
       "A mana gem," whispered Selah. "Thank you."
       "They're not easy to find," said her dad.
       "I know.  I... need to get going."
       They all stood up, and Selah hugged both her parents in turn.
       "I'll keep in touch, okay?" she said.  Her parents nodded, and Selah rushed out of the room.
       Her parents lingered, taking each other's hands and watching the entrance.

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Wanted

       Tiras leaned his large, muscular body against the balcony's glass railing and studied the sleek starship on the landing pad beneath him.  The ground was about ten feet below, and the ship rose up to about twenty feet above him.
       "It's shiny," said Tiras.
       Mitsuko laughed at him as she leaned on the railing herself.  "Is that the extent of your analysis?"
       Tiras shrugged.  "It has some big guns on it."
       "They look like mining lasers."
       "I guess.  Who are those people hanging around down there?"
       "I don't know..." Mitsuko brushed her black hair out of her face.  "I have a bad feeling about this."
       "Takashi and his pilot buddy should be here any minute.... and Kelphus is probably still on the ship.  Do you think we should go down there?"
       "Takashi's there."  Mitsuko pointed at the entryway to the ground level.  "Let's see what happens."

       Takashi and Skylar blinked as they stepped into the skylit landing bay.  Takashi walked forward, frowning, towards the first blue-uniformed person that was standing in front of his ship.
       "Are you the owners of this ship?" the man asked gruffly, studying Takashi and Skylar with a superior air.
       "Yes.  Who are you?" asked Takashi.
       The man pulled a digital tablet out of his jacket and started talking.  "We're from the Bureau of Spaceflight."
       Takashi furrowed his eyebrows, clenched his right fist, and muttered an incantation under his breath. "Karusvari solemtavar."
       Behind him, Skylar stepped back and counted the strangers around the spaceship. There were five, and they all looked too athletic to be bureaucrats.
       The man with the tablet kept on talking, not paying attention to Takashi.  "We're here to inspect your spacecraft per ordinance 8D-ISUR3.  We are going to have to take you to our office downtown and discuss the results of our inspection--"
       Takashi cut him off.  "Let me see your ID."
       The man looked up from his tablet down at Takashi.  "What?"
       "Your ID.  To prove that you're from the Spaceflight Bureau like you say you are."
       The man rolled his eyes and reached behind him.
       "Hyaaa!"  Mitsuko leaped off the balcony on top of the closest 'bureaucrat', who had pulled a pistol out of his jacket and pointed it at Takashi.  The man talking to Takashi had pulled out a pistol too, but he turned, distracted my Mitsuko's yell, and Takashi opened his right fist and grabbed the man's shoulder.  The man twitched and crumpled as electricity coursed through his body.  Skylar whipped his own blaster pistol out of its holster and nailed the third gangster's hand,  causing him to drop his gun.  All this happened in the few seconds it took Tiras to realize what was going on and yell, "Those are bandits, not bureaucrats!"

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