Welcome to Fist

Nathan and Ed resumed their seats at the helm. The hyperspace timer was nearing 0-hour.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," said Nathan, "this is the Captain speaking. We are about to drop out of hyperspace. Please stand by. All crew members should be at their duty stations. I will make another announcement once we've left hyperspace and confirmed our position."

Nathan thumbed the communication link, "Sam, Jake, let's not be too itchy on the triggers. Fist is pretty heavily patrolled so we should be safe."

"Will do, Cap'n," chirped Sam.

The bridge fell silent as the timer worked it's way down to zero. When it finally hit, there was a sudden drop in Nate's stomach. The multi-colored static of hyperspace dissolved into an inky blackness and then suddenly came alive with the light of stars, all dimmed by the presence of one particularly large, bright sun. They were back in normal space again.

Nathan had seen this star hundreds of times but it wasn't his call. "Lloyd, what do you think?"

"Everything checks out," answered the Navigator. "It's Fist all right. Looks like our maiden jump was a success."

"Attention all hands," said Nate, "this is your Captain speaking. We have successfully transitioned back to normal space and have confirmed our arrival. Welcome to Fist and the border of Imperial space."

Linda called up from the engine room, "Just so you know, Captain, everything here in the engine room looks good. I guess those repair techs at Eshadi really knew what they were doing."

"Good to know, Lin."

"Captain," said Ed. " Looks like we've got some company."

Scanners showed that a vessel was moving at high speed in their direction.

Their comm channels lit up as the transmission reached their ship. "Attention arriving vessel. This is the Imperial Navy Escort Cheetah Meat. We request that you heave to and present yourself for boarding and inspection."

The incoming transmission was bundled with a data squirt confirming the ship's identity. Being on the very edge of Imperium space, most ships got stopped and checked by the navy forces stationed in the area. So Nathan wasn't too concerned.

"Roger, that Cheetah Meat," said Ed, "This is My Other Option heaving to and standing by for boarding."

Nathan opened a channel to the gunners, "These guys are official so please try not to spook them, OK?"

"No worries," answered Jake.

A short time later, the escort's gig was docked to the Option and a small team of customs agents were striding through the airlock.

"Captain Fletcher?" asked the officer in front.

"That's me," answered Nathan.

"I am Lieutenant Shepperd," said the officer, "I'll be heading up the inspection. This shouldn't take too long, we'll have you on your way, shortly."

"Good to hear, Lieutenant, we're at your disposal."

The inspection was mostly a formality. Nathan and Shepperd spent most of the time reviewing the manifest while the other agents made quick visual inspections of the cargo hold.

"Very clever," said Shepperd, "using the collapsable tanks to increase your jump range. Headed out into the Borderlands I take it."

"That's right," said Nate, "It's been a few months since I was this way last, what's the news out there?"

"The tensions with the Zhents have everyone on edge. It's got some people thinking we're a little too distracted to worry about a little piracy here and there. It's not terrible, but we have noticed a slight uptick in trouble recently. If you stay near the main trade routes though, you should be fine. And it looks like you'll give the casual pirate a bloody nose."

"Good to know, thanks Lieutenant."

"No problem. Looks like everything is in order here, so we'll be on our way. Thanks for your cooperation, Captain."

"Happy to help, sir."

The customs party assembled at the airlock. Helpful was escorting one of the agents back from the passenger area where he'd interviewed some of the passengers.

"Pardon me, officer," said Helpful to the Lieutenant, "but the name of your ship, Cheetah Meat. That is...a human joke?"

"The rear admiral who named the ship was a Solomani, so I guess it is. I suppose it's funnier to an Aslan though."

"We name our Gazelle-class ships the same way. Although to us, it's not so much a joke as a happy synergy of languages."

"Hmm...I can see it might be at that. At any rate, it's a fine ship and we're happy to serve aboard her." Shepperd nodded. "Ma'am, Captain." He strode through the airlock and back to his boat.

"It's a joke?" asked Nathan.

"I will explain it later," said Helpful, "it's a long story."