Date:         Mon, 19 Aug 1996 16:08:33 EST
From: CJ Vaughan <Chris.Vaughn@SSA.GOV>
Subject:      INT: The Hub: Arrival

     RESERVED: Capt. Carl North, The SeaDog,
               Lt. Ronald Willis

     The SeaDog rattled as Carl North eased off of its throttle.  He
     watched the Hub as they closed in on its Northeastern docking bay.
     The Hub was massive even from three hundred kilometers out, and filled
     80% of the SeaDog's wrap-around windshield.

     "Will you look at that?"  Willis wiped his forehead nervously and
     looked at the Hub.  "That things the size of Titan."

     "Almost," North said matter-of-factly, pulling a clipboard from its
     Velcro (tm) stays.  A pen, attached to the board by a thin string,
     drifted by its side.

     "Geez.  Does it really have artificial gravity?"

     "Yep."  North checked off some items on the clipboard, then checked
     his instruments.

     "How do they do that?"

     "Ask them."

     "Yeah, right.  The Coneys don't share their tech."

     "I don't know..."  North put the clipboard back in place and grinned
     at Willis.  "There was one I met on Infevra Allay who showed me a real
     high-tech way to fuck."

     "That's sick.  They're blue, for Christ's sake."

     "No they're not.  They're pinker than we are."  North looked at
     Willis' cocoa-brown complexion.  "Well, pinker than I am, anyway.
     They just have a thin layer of blue 'peach-fuzz' covering them.  It's
     nice.  Feels softer than a baby's bottom."

     "That's still sick.  I don't care if they do look mostly human."
     Willis wiped his forehead.  "Damn this ship's humid."

     "We'll get that fixed while we're in dock," North said.  "It must be a
     problem with the condensor unit on the AC12 unit."

     The ship jerked slightly.

     "Tractor?"  Willis looked over at North, nervously.

     "Yep."  North flipped off the main drive and shut down the primary
     reactors.  "We're cruising on their nickel, now."

     Willis shuddered.  "I hate this.  Letting the Coneys drive.  They'll
     probably just send us off into the nearest star."

     North snickered.  "No, they're obligated by treaty to let us dock."

     "Well, it's no secret how they feel about humans."

     "No, I suppose it isn't," North agreed.  "But they aren't shooting at
     us, anymore.  That's the main thing.  As long as we abide by the
     letter of the treaty, they'll leave us be."

     "How long are we gonna be holed-up in here, anyway?"

     "I was figuring a month, here.  Then, three more to get home.  We
     should arrive right around Christmas if we're lucky."

     Willis shrugged.  "I'm an atheist."

     "Who isn't these days?  I still put up a tree and all, don't you?"

     "No."

     "What does Lenore say about that?"

     "I don't care what Lenore says about that, okay?"  Willis wiped his
     forehead, again.  "Damn it's hot in here."

     Willis looked up and sighed as the last of the stars were blotted out
     by the bulk of the Hub.  It was a massive, round space station.  From
     a distance it was virtually indestinquishable from one of the more
     populated moons in the area.  A rift in the side over a kilometer long
     and 1/2 a kilometer wide opened up before them.  Inside were thousands
     of small space craft.  A faint, blue glow was the only sign that there
     was anything protecting them from the rigors of space.

     "Jesus.  I heard the Coneys were high tech, but this is some shit,
     man."

     North nodded.  "I've seen it all, before, but it never fails to amaze
     me.  I can't believe we ever were at war with them."

     "I can - we got our asses kicked."

     "It wasn't that bad.  They could have done a lot worse to us.  Only a
     few thousand people were killed."

     "Yeah - but 90% of our ships were destroyed, and we were restricted to
     Algon IV, the smallest planet around."

     "It's a rich planet in resources.  They could have given us Weimar or
     Nellis.  For that matter, they could have just exterminated all of us.
     We were helpless."

     Willis nodded, glumly.  "I suppose.  You really sleep with one of
     them?"

     "Oh - a couple. I like them."

     "You do?  How the hell could I have travelled all this way with you
     alone in a little freighter, and *not* know you love Coneys?"

     "Because, my friend, you never stopped talking about yourself long
     enough to find out."

     They watched as the SeaDog was tractored through the thin, blue force
     field into the hangar bay.  They were then moved sideways for several
     hundred yards before they were finally lowered, gently, to a small
     landing area.

     A voice came over the ship's radio.  "Welcome to the Hub.  Our
     analysis of your call sign shows you to be the human freighter SeaDog.
     Destination Algon IV.  Crew compliment of two.  Captain Carl North in
     command.  The Hub is opened to you under the Treaty of Kaldor.  You
     may consider yourselves the guests of the Monconians.  Please proceed
     directly to customs."  The greeting played over twice more, first in
     Japanese and then in Russian.

     North unbuckled himself and stood up, straightening his blue-gray
     flight-suit and runing his fingers through his thick, brown hair.
     "Ready?"

     Willis sighed, then nodded, unbuckling himself.  They walked over to
     the hatch and North keyed in the exit code.  The hatch slid open,
     revealling a bustling bay beyond.  All manner of creature were busily
     working in the bay, and taking little notice of the two humans.

     "After you," Willis said.

____________________________________________________________
CJ Vaughan                    chris.vaughn@ssa.gov
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