Shades of Green - Part 1

The shuttlebay on Deck 4 had a particular energy when it was expecting something. Not busy exactly, just alert, the way a room felt different when the people in it knew something was about to happen and were trying not to make it obvious that they were waiting.

Zedd was leaning against the hull beside the main bay doors with his arms crossed and his eyes on the approach corridor visible through the gap where the doors had been cracked open for the incoming shuttle. He had his jacket on and the dataport at the base of his neck was doing the low level passive scan it always did in situations where he wanted more information than his eyes alone could provide, reading the electronic signature of anything moving in the immediate approach vector and filing it without him having to think about it.

Cormus was nearby, closer to his Type 11s than strictly necessary, running a pre-flight check on the nearest one that he had not been asked to run and that the shuttle did not need to land but that gave him something to do with his hands while they waited. He had a diagnostic tool in one hand and was moving through the exterior sensor housing with the practiced ease of someone who had done it enough times that it required no particular concentration.

"She coming in on a shuttle or a runabout?" Cormus asked without looking up from the housing.

"Shuttle," Zedd said. "Small one. She travels light apparently."

Cormus made a sound that was not quite skeptical and not quite impressed. "Anyone who travels light in the Gamma Quadrant either knows exactly what they are doing or has no idea." He closed the sensor housing and moved to the next one. "Which one is she?"

"First one," Zedd said. "Probably."

Cormus glanced at him sideways. "You don't sound entirely sure about that."

"I am sure enough to let her aboard," Zedd said, which was not quite the same thing and both of them knew it.

Cormus accepted that without pushing further which was one of the things Zedd appreciated about him. He knew when a subject had reached its natural limit and he did not treat that as a challenge.

The approach indicator on the bay panel chimed once, soft and steady, which meant the incoming shuttle had entered the docking approach corridor and was on final.

Zedd pushed off the hull and straightened up and looked at the bay doors.

It was not but a moment later that the vessel came lazily arcing downward into view from where it had been on course to approach. It was immediately apparent as the ship drew closer it was no shuttlecraft and instead was more the size of the runabout sitting in the bay. The blue forcefield shimmered as the nose of the vessel pierced through, slowly and loudly edging its way into what was now the cramped space. The pilot maneuvered it with skill, but not necessarily ease, until finally the craft was adjusted in the exact way it needed to be to finally make contact with the deck. It was a sleek vessel. The hull was a swampy green color offset by ornate black and gold decals on the crescent shaped nacelles that curved like blades at the sides of the ship. On the nose sat the barrels of two disruptor cannons that were reminiscent of huge fangs sitting in the mouth of a predator. The triangle shaped cockpit was black and opaque to the outside - something that wouldn’t exactly surprise Zedd given his experience at the establishment Tiraa had brought him to the previous evening and all the precautions taken for privacy there.

It gave a hiss as it powered down, and a quieter one as the hatch on the left side opened. Only seconds later, the sound of boots on metal became the dominant sound in the shuttlebay, and Tiraa was the first to step into view, followed very closely by the man who had escorted Zedd the previous night, Rallid. The difference in how she was dressed was stark. Gone was the champagne silk poured over her figure like artwork; instead she wore something much more akin to Rallid. A black duster jacket with a very feminine cut and fluttering back sat over a black top with a u-shaped neckline that managed to be mostly modest. A black belt with a large golden buckle at the center served as an accent at her natural waist, and the simple black pants she wore hugged her legs neatly but not excessively. On her thigh was strapped a small golden object that was hard to identify. Naturally, the entire outfit was trimmed in tasteful gold and accented by her golden necklace and earrings.

“You didn’t leave much room for my shuttle.” She didn’t seem to be annoyed by the notion, if anything there was a bit of amusement in her voice and her expression was warm and friendly. Rallid, however, seemed more annoyed as he walked behind her.

“Good morning, Captain.” She drew close to Zedd, but stopped a respectful distance away.

Zedd watched the ship ease down onto the deck with the particular attention he gave things that were trying to tell him something. The disruptor cannons were real and maintained and the opaque cockpit was not an affectation. Neither was the skill it had taken to fit that hull into the available space without scratching anything, his or hers. He had known Tiraa operated at a certain level. The ship confirmed it without needing to say so.