Thoss World
Inbound Lane
SS Yardbird

“Thisss iss the Thrynn Elite Guard. Identify yourselvess and your intended desstination.” Boz was sitting in his chair on the bridge, sweating as the translation came through the communications monitor. If the cloak bleed wasn’t thick enough, they were about to find out. The hail had been addressed to a bulk freighter less than a hundred meters in front of the cloaked Yardbird. The response came quickly.

“Hollryss, this am Hrixx Bxx of Her Majesty’s Freighter Hezzy Tu, graciously put, no doubt the not very—” The Guard cut the Veloxi captain off.

“Ssstate your desstination, Hezzy Tu.”

“Am to we certainly Narssuss,” was the eager reply. Yssk looked over to Boz and Nexbo during the long pause that followed, sweating none too little. He knew how the Guard treated trespassers. Especially traitors. Finally, the Guard was satisfied, certain that the freighter was operating no intelligence gathering devices or bearing any threatening items. Hezzy Tu was cleared to make planetfall at the ancient Thrynn commerical center. She turned into the atmosphere of Thoss and assumed a glider template descent profile. Off her stern port quarter, Nexbo coaxed the Yardbird off the course and turned her onto a different trajectory, aiming for low orbit.

“Nice and easy, Nexbo,” urged Boz Grabow, checking to make sure the Elite Guard ships were staying on station. Yssk lit up the communications monitor and started sweeping the bands for a signal. Boz wiped a film of sweat from his face, whispering, “alright, Green Harrison, reach out and touch someone.”

Thoss World
The Swamps

Grssn swore as the thorns whipped back across his face. He lopped off the offending vine with a machete while gripping a branch with his other arm. He and the senator were nearly at the top of an ancient yaffanss oak that shot up from the muddy swamps and into the jungle canopy far above. “Thisss isss intolerable,” he muttered. Senator HvHuss said nothing, but began driving stabilizer clamps into the mighty tree’s trunk and tugging them to ensure they stayed fast. Grssn followed suite and when a sufficient number were in place, he heaved the transmitter pack off his back and, bracing himself against a thick branch, began clasping the pack’s hooks to the secured clamps.

“You may wish to begin calibrating your code, sssenator,” he hissed, “I shall proceed further up and finish the deployment.” Free of the excess weight, Grssn pulled himself quickly up the tree, carrying a long cable and a portable radar antenna. After a brief climb, he broke through the top layer of the canopy and was rewarded with a burst of warm sunshine burning through the murky skies of Thoss.

The radar was fashioned of a golden foil and unfolded easily to form the familiar disk shape, which he fastened between two young branches. Careful to leave plenty of slack, Grssn ran the cable back down to the transmitter pack. Several minutes later, an innocent burst signal shot out on a wide transmission arc.

Thoss World
SS Yardbird

Yssk and Boz had been monitoring communications band for nearly a day while Nexbo kept a close watch on their jury-rigged cloaking system. Yssk keyed a command into the computer, filtering out a swath of background noise. He took off his earphones, concentrating on the display screen. Some things just reach out and grab you. “There it isss,” he said.

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Next: “'...In Danger's Hour'”

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