Storm Chaser: Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The incessant jangling of the door bell woke Elena many hours later. She grumbled as she pulled herself from the bed. She had not been in the suite long and many things were still factory standard.

“Apparently some psychopath decided on the door bell.” The bells got increasingly louder each ring and by the time Elena crossed the central living area she could feel her brain rattling. She hit the door opening mechanism and the ringing stopped as the door slid open. A tall man with the bulk of a football player stood framed in her doorway. He wore wire rimmed glasses and a three piece suit. His skin had that pale look that let her know he didn’t spend much time off the docking facility and in normal sunlight although his blonde hair had been cut in what she thought of as the latest style for men about her age who had to dress up for work but didn’t want to look like their fathers.

“How tall are you?” She asked. The man smiled.

“Six foot seven,” he replied, his voice showing a hint of amusement. Elena blushed.

“Sorry I’m not at my most polite when I first wake up.”

“My apologies for waking you.” Elena glanced over at the clock. It was set to Docking Facility time, a weird version of time that had been established to keep everyone on the same schedule. At the moment it was showing the time as 9:30.

“No problem, I over slept anyway. Come on in. Can I get you something to drink?”

“What ever you are having is fine.” Elena motioned him in and the door shut behind him. His face maintained the bemused look.

“It will be coffee then,” she said, gesturing for him to take a seat. He sat and Elena walked towards the kitchen area. Halfway there she stopped. She turned around. “I forgot to ask who you were.” She commented. Elena ran a hand through her chin length black hair. It reminded her that she really needed a shower. “sorry I’m kind of out of it this morning.”

“Its all right. I am Benjamin Valentine. I work with TravCon.” Elena nodded and continued to the kitchen to make coffee. TravCon was a business akin to a travel agency. It stood for traveling connections. Their job was to help find passage for people without ships who needed to get to or from the docking facility. Her grandfather had occasionally worked with them. Elena got two mugs out of the cabinet and when there was enough coffee for both she filled two mugs using the pause and pour function. She brought the mugs back to where Benjamin Valentine waited.

“I hope you like your coffee black, Mr. Valentine. I haven’t managed to pick up milk or sugar yet.”

“That will be fine, and please call me Benjamin.” She handed him the mug and took a seat across from him.

“So Benjamin, what brings you by?” Elena sipped her coffee. Since she had being paying attention to her dreams the headache aftermath of the calling had faded but she still found a tight coil unwind at the taste of coffee.

“Have you heard of TravCon?”

“Travel connections,” Elena said.

“That is correct. We help people get to where they need to be.” Benjamin reached into his suit pocket and pulled out a slim silver case. He popped it open and pulled out a business card. Elena took the card from him, glanced at and put it on the occasional table next to her.

“And you are here because…?”

“I am here because I have three people who need travel back earthside, close to your listed home port. Or close enough that they can arrange transportation from there.”

“I see,” Elena said sipping her coffee.

“It was noticed that your crew is remaining at the Docking facility while you will be leaving later today.”

“It was,” Elena said, not really comfortable with someone checking up on her plans.

“The trip was registered with the guild of course. As a reputable agency we are aloud to check. We look at all of them if it makes you feel any better.” It didn’t but she let it go.

“And who needs transport?”

“Two kids heading back to college in the fall. One has a summer internship starting in a few months and the other has never really spent much time outside of the docking facility and their families wish them to spend some time acclimating to more earthside focused living before integrating with the system.” Elena smiled at the phrasing, remembering her shock after spending so much time skyside. An adjustment period was always needed. Benjamin pulled two files from his portfolio and handed them to her. She flipped through the information on both of the kids. One was from a family she knew. She hadn’t realized he was college age yet but it fit. The other seemed legit as well.

“And I fit in where?” She asked, knowing the answer.

“If you are willing the two would act as crew for the trip back in addition to a small fee to cover the cost of their passage.” Elena tapped the folders.

“The contacts listed are on the Docking facility?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll contact them and let you know.”

“That is all we could ask for.” Benjamin stood and offered her his hand. Elena stood and shook it. She walked with him over to the door.

“I plan on leaving around 3 DF time,” she told him. He nodded. “I’ll let you know by noon.”

“Thank you Ms. Calabrese. We will be in touch.”