Snippet #2787314

The shuttle ride had been long - nearly sixteen hours. It had also been boring - the windows had been kept dark, and communications were prohibited. Perhaps this was unnecessary, but the destination - Taiyō Shipyard - and its owner, the legendary shipbuilder Taiyō himself, liked their privacy. Everyone knew the shipyard was located around Mercury, but anyone traveling to visit the location was forced to keep his rules.

The seven people aboard the shuttle were quite different from each other, but they all had the same reason for the journey: they were all new members of a crew of space explorers, chosen to board the Blackbird's Cry, a starship only recently finished but already drawing the attention of many. Their captain: Amaya Rose, a woman whose name inspired apprehension to many. Her first three ships had all ended in tragedy, the final one of which had lost all hands, except for Captain Rose herself. Perhaps it was just bad luck... perhaps it was something more.

Astraeus Economos, known as Eco to his friends, rose to his feet as the shuttle settled into dock at the shipyard. He had been chosen to be first mate aboard the new ship, and he brushed a quick hand down his new suit. It was nicer clothes than he'd ever had before, gifted along with most of his new wardrobe.

Turning to the others as the door slid open, Eco smiled and cheerfully called out, "All right everybody! We're here! Last one out's a rotten egg!"

Chuckling, Eco stepped out the door and nodded in greeting to the trio of guards awaiting the group.

"Welcome," the lead guard said, stepping forward and smiling tightly through his mustache and goatee. "I am Matias, head security of the Blackbird's Cry. You are Eco, correct? Our new first mate?"

"That's me!" Eco said, shaking Matias' hand. "Thanks for meeting us."

"That's my job," Matias said, maintaining his smile. "I'm also here to greet the others."

"Of course," Eco said, turning back to the shuttle. "I'll let them make their own introductions."

***

The Blackbird's Cry sat on the dark side of Mercury, clearly visible from where Amaya Rose sat. Around her, the technicians and builders of Taiyō Shipyard were still celebrating the successful completion of the starship, but to its new captain, it hardly seemed believable. It had been three long years since she had flown aboard a ship, three long years since her entire crew had been lost on the doomed voyage of the Spriggan.

Now, here she sat, her father's journal in one hand and a glass of wine in the other, although the wine remained untouched and the journal firmly closed. Amaya simply couldn't take her eyes off the ship. It was beautiful, and striking, in a way no other ship had seemed to her, nor perhaps would it again. For this ship - this ship had been made for her.

The circumstances of the Cry's construction were too long to go over in her head, so Amaya didn't bother. The past few years had seemed unreal to her, but now, now the reality was catching up to her. In just a few days, she would be on her way, following her father's footsteps into the larger universe.

"Taiyō has outdone himself, Doctor," Amaya commented to the older man seated at the table with her. "It's beautiful. I can't believe he would do this for me. And I have you to thank as well." Amaya turned to Hank Blazer, and smiled. "Your support has helped me reach this point. I couldn't have done it without you. Thank you."