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The station can barely be seen through the dense Barrier Cloud, but the captain of the Korma knows that she is there , he just needs to trust his instruments and he will reach them.

Once again he reads the order that came from the ILL Director, an order having the sigil of Ryo Kase , the Minister. He smiles and remember that he once seen him on New Athos and they actually spoke.

"Bearing 220 by 110 by 30 , speed 150. Keep an eye on the asteroids, have the weapon systems online. " Adam ordered, taking the ship deep into the cloud. In his mind , he review the instructions " Escort Doctor Oreste to the Barrier Gate and then bring back Commander Sarah and her crew to Yuma. " It seems simple but he knew that anything can happen.

" Pilot , increase speed. Keep this heading for 50 clicks and then turn onto the Nav-AI for guidance. Also, try not to damage the ship, keep the shields up."

"Yes, Captain"

Adam leaves the Bridge and he heads down the corridor to meet Oreste. "Strange man " he thinks " must have been all that time spent with the Military in Combat. Blood and Iron he is called". He continue to head to the Lounge and there he sees him, sipping a Supernova.

"Doctor, we will reach Barrier Gate in 30 minutes. "

"Excellent. Make sure we are getting there safe. I hope you know that this is an important mission. I hope you treat like that."

"Yes, Doctor. " Adam makes a formal bow and he heads towards the lift, however something keep bugging him. "Doctor, may I ask you a question?"

"Of course"

"Why they gave you the name Blood and Iron?"

Oreste laughs "Captain, I have been known to get right into the thick of battle and there things are always bloody. When I was finishing with my run I used to be covered in blood. After, I was rushing into Pre-Op and then straight into the Operating Ward. No one tells you that war is messy. Many doctors requested leave after a few weeks but I kept going. Week after Week I kept going and the Soldier and the Pilots were saying that I have an Iron will. They kept saying that and slowly that is how my name came.Satisfied?"

"Yes, thank you sir"

"No problem."

Adam leaves the Lounge and he slowly he makes his way to the Bridge.

---

40 minutes later....


"Reduce speed , one quarter impulse. Readjust heading and approach the docking gate."

" Heading 35 by 11 by 90. One Quarter Impulse. Approaching the DZ. All hands stop"

"Robert, give me Barrier Gate Control"

" Barrier Gate , this is the ILL Korma. We are requesting permission to Dock"

" Roger , Proceed to Docking Gate A. Berth 11. Taxi towards the Berth carefully. We are pretty packed. "

" Roger Control. Proceeding" he turns toward his pilot " Take us in and keep your eyes peeled. Alexandros, please send a signal to Doctor Oreste that we are inside the Station. Robert, please fill all the forms for the docking and remember to inform our Consulate that we are here. Oh, and remember to post on the screens that we are docked. "

Adam felt good that there had been no incident on the way to the station but he knew that the way back is long. He remembered that he hadn't inform the Ship AIT Security Team that they need to assume their positions. Quickly, he went to the comm system and sent a message to Sarge and he saw them already moving to their assigned sentry post, nodding when he saw that 4 AIT are securing the entry Hatch as well . " A good job indeed"

---

In 10 minutes , the monitors on that station announced that ILL-Korma has landed and it awaits it's passengers.

Barrier Gate Station, Coronado System

The majority of the crews for the project with the Colonials were still aboard ship. Some senior staff and security people, however, were in a conference room just off the bar of station A. While Zoners were regular visitors to the station, even a Med Force ship was as well but considering the villainy that was on station, it wasn't the best place for a young, attractive female cruiser commander. Outcasts, Rogues, Hackers, slavers and Freelancers were common as was the cardamine and other illegal activities they brought aboard. An attempted carnation of Sarah Coyle the night before prompted her staff to take up the conference room. Asides a torn uniform which she changed later, she was OK and bold as she ever was. She was almost defiant as she drew a concealed pistol and shot out the assailant's right knee and denied him medical care. Her staff now surrounded her as she awaited the arrival of transport.

"Commander," reported one of her officers, "our transport is docking."
"Good," answered the young, brown skinned lady with long, black hair, "take someone with you and greet them. I'll await them here with the rest."
"Yes, Ma'am," replied the officer. He and another officer then headed toward the dock to meet their transport.

She then turned to one of her men. "Lieutenant, you have your orders. You know where to go and what to do. Hopefully we get this IFF issue resolved." She snorted, "I refuse to pay anyone here to adjust it only to have the Outcasts and the Royals shooting at us."
"Yes, Ma'am," he answered. For the moment, he stayed close to his commander to look after her safety.

The two officers meeting the boarding team at the airlock stood fast making small talk. They ignored the people passing by including a woman who propositioned them for sex. They politely declined and shook their heads in disbelief when she left. When the airlock opened, they awaited their hosts, keeping their Med Force badges visible on their uniforms. With extended hands, they introduced themselves to their hosts.

"I am Lieutenant Phil Simpson," said the senior officer, "and this is ensign Todd Baker of Med Force Two. Our commander is awaiting you in a conference room behind us."

The AIT security team deployed to form a secure perimeter around the airlock and an armored soldier approached the two Med Force officers and after a quick scan the helmet came off " This is Sargent Thomas Hunnicutt. Welcome aboard the Korma. " he bowed " In the name of the Crayter Republic , welcome. I will notify doctor Oreste. One second please." The sarge took his hand and he touched the radio control panel on his hand a he whispered in a hidden microphone near his shoulder " Our guests are here, Doctor. Please proceed to Chamber AA1. They are waiting"


No more then 5 minutes have passed since the message was transmitted and a hasty Oreste made his way to the airlock. He pause just before the corner to catch his breath and he then proceeded to meet the Med Force team. " Sorry to make you wait, sirs. But what is this ? We were told to expect a lot more people. Where you attacked ?"

" No , we are here to invite you to the conference room where our Commander is."

" Ah, I see. Hmm, Sarge, form a detail , 4 AIT. Barrier Gate is dangerous. " Oreste ordered and he smiled seeing that from the shadows 4 soldiers approached. They are really shady now , maybe we are not having simple AIT , they could be CIS , he thought but kept that thought hidden in his mind.

"Please lead the way Lieutenant. "

The small party formed up and they were heading to the conference room at a steady pass , ignoring all the people around them.....

Sarah was standing next to a table. It was obvious that she didn't like the station even a little. Once the team arrived, she extended her hand to them.
"I am Sarah Coyle, Commander of Med Force Two. Please, get me off of this miserable station." Her statement, while worded with courtesy sounded more like a plea for help. Between the two groups, she was surrounded and being escorted out. As they did, a voice from the back yelled out. It was a voice with a Hispania accent and quite chilling.
"What my pahtna stahted I will finish," he yelled to Sarah, "mahk my word."
She closed her eyes for a moment as she reached for her pistol and paused briefly but then kept walking. "Just get me out of here before I put one between that Maltese's eyes." Now she sounded a mix of angry and frightened. She was petite but fit but no match for a physical confrontation for the much larger Maltese yelling at her.

She tried to smile at the Crayter crew but until she was off base, she really couldn't. While they were escorting her out, another, smaller group was heading for the airlock where Med Force Two was. They had their orders....to leave for Freeport 6.

Oreste barely entered the room and introduced himself when Sarah said "Please get me out of the miserable station." and it sounded strange , almost like she was feeling an attack on her person.

"Of course Commander. We will discuss more if you wish aboard the Korma or on Yuma , if you require any sleep." he turned around and ordered the Sarge "Reform detail. Escort us to Korma! And if we have any issue, please take care of it. But remember , no use of lethal force" .

"Yes, sir! Gilbert, Chat , you two in front. Irwin, you secure any crossroads. Ibom , you and me are forming the rearguard. Please , Med Force personnel in between us. " He waited until all were in position and he ordered "Let's Go"

Barely exiting the conference room area, when a voice was heard from the back, yelling toward the Commander. Sarge was grinning especially since he saw the uniform of Outcasts and ordering Ibom to continue , he proceeded towards the Maltese which seemed that he was as high as he could get and was ready for a fight "Listen here Orange, I do not like you and you do not like me and if it were up to me, I would decorate this walls with your blood and would use your guts as a drying line but this is a neutral station. You were yelling insults towards one of my guests. Refrain or you will loose some teeth "

" Wha' , 'ou defen' that piece? She givin' you something too ? I will .... " but the Maltese couldn't finish his sentence as Sarge activated his helmet and with the full power hit the Outcast in his face , rendering him unconscious. "That is for yelling insults to a human being, Gods waste of creation that you are " Sarge added as he was running to catch up with the group.

As they headed towards the ship, no one dared to challenge them and Sarge went ahead to open the airlock. He stood on attention as the group was passing by him.

"Sarge, you have some blood on your helmet. Anything I need to know or treat?"

" No sir, just correcting some people attitude and teaching them manners."

"Ah, I see. Please clean your helmet. "

The group entered the Lounge on level 3 and Oreste turned towards the Med Force team "There are Lounges as this on every deck which have Sirian and Crayterian cuisine. Do not be shy. As for rooms if you needed, use the level Console to see your accommodation and also to call for any assistance."

He led Commander Sarah and a small part of her team to the elevator to Level 1 Lounge " Please follow me" he said as he invited them to enter. The trip was short and soon they were in a luxurious lounge, having a better part of the roof covered in plexi-glass.

" We will depart in 1 hour and 20 minutes as scheduled. What do you wish to do Commander Sarah ? " he asked as most of the Med Force scattered around , sampling the food, "And do you mind to tell me why I detected a small note of fear and anxiety in your voice earlier ?"

She looked at Oreste with a straight face then turned and looked back toward the station.
"That Outcast's partner tried to carnation me last night," she explained looking back and then turning back to Oreste. "He managed to tear my uniform shirt which only made getting my gun easier. Had I not been able to do that, had I not escaped to my crew........" She sighed as it was very uncomfortable.
"I just want to forget it......this isn't how I wanted to meet you all either," she said calmly. "I think once I'm away from this station, I will be fine."
She then muttered under her breath, "So much lawlessness in that place." She took a sip of some water.
She then forced a weak smile, "Now, Doctor, I could use a bite. Care to join me?"

_________________________________

The skeleton crew was aboard Med Force Two.
"Barrier Gate control, this is Med Force Two. We are releasing docking clamps," stated the acting commanding officer.
"Med Force Two you are cleared for departure. Easy goes it, traffic is heavy and good luck out there," replied the docking officer over the comm.
With little other conversation, Med Force Two slowly moved away from the station before engaging it's cruise engines for the Baffin jump hole and eventually, Freeport 6.

Oreste looked at her as she was telling the story of last night events and toward the end he smiled "His partner just had a meeting with our AIT Sarge. Let's say that he will be needing some dental implants soon ... And I feel sorry for what you had been through" he sighs "Indeed is a place of lawfulness but is not under Crayterian Jurisdiction and the Cloud Inhabitants interest us less then a pimple on a soldier with an chest wound.We maintain some patrols in the area and we have aboard a small consulate just in case someone need anything from the Republic."

Oreste smiled and getting straight, with a small note of pride in his voice he continued "You will see yourself a reborn civilization here in Coronado, one that is old and that survived through everything, I hope you will enjoy Yuma" as he was taking a plate from the table "And for food, you can try some Crayterian Cuisine if you wish. This is very nutritional Red Sting fish from Yuma. Very nutritional. You can have it with some Rice, which is a modified Rice created to give more then 6 harvests a year and you can wash it all with Gorinth Wine, harvested on New Athos. "

" Now Commander, after you are eating and if you want I can give you a check up once we reached Yuma to make sure that nothing was damaged in the assault. "

In the comms of the ship, the voice of Captain Adam sounded cold "Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome aboard the Korma. This is an OSC freighter modified by ILL on Pecos to give our guest the best accommodation while they are in transit. The top speed is 250 and we are now preparing to depart Barrier Gate. Once we leave the station and we are 15 clicks away , you can watch from the Observation Lounge on level 1, the 3 Nyx ships that the Home Defense attached to us. They are a model of EVO 2B, used by the Crayterian fleet in combat. With them on our side and with the weapon armaments that this ship have, we can assure you that you will be safe and will reach your destination unharmed. Please prepare yourself in 10 minutes for the initiations of docking procedures and a small increase in artificial gravity. "

"As you could hear we are ready to depart Commander. May I ask you something? Are you a Commander of the ship and also a Medic?" he stopped with his questions as he realized that he was breaching the protocol "I am sorry, Ma'am. I already asked you too many questions as if we met before. If my patron would find out that I breach the Crayterian Code of Manners would not be happy" he smiled and continued "Allow me to introduce myself, I am Oreste Atreides, personal physician of the Atreides Enclave and Combat Medic of the Atlantis battle group" doing a small bow while still keeping the plate in his hands, forgetting all about it and that it had to offer it.

She made herself a plate of food. It all looked so good. She had heard of Crayterian cuisine and looked forward to it. A plate with the recommended Red Sting Fish, rice and some mixed vegetables made for a nice meal and she took the recommendation of the Gorinth wine.
"I'm normally a coffee person," she joked as she took it, "but I'll do that later." She found a seat near a window and sat near Oreste. She found his presence a bit soothing after the ordeal on Barrier Gate.

She managed a smile. "I'm going to be OK. I don't think he hurt me outside of a scratch on my upper chest but if I might take being checked out as you never know where the cardamine is on those animals."
She was listening to the announcements as she started eating. It was delicious. She pointed her fork at it and said, "This is delicious. You'll have to get the recipe to my wait staff."

"As you could hear we are ready to depart Commander. May I ask you something? Are you a Commander of the ship and also a Medic?Her mouth opened and her chest expanded before he continued. "I am sorry, Ma'am. I already asked you too many questions as if we met before. If my patron would find out that I breach the Crayterian Code of Manners would not be happy"She managed a laugh and waved her hands, "It's alright. Really. I don't mind." Once he sat down at her insistence, she started answering his questions.
"I am the ship's commander but in no way am I medically qualified outside of basic first aid," she explained. "I'm in charge of the ship's crew. Dr. Sanderson is in charge of the medical department." She gave a quick chuckle, "He'll probably demand a full exam if he finds out what happened. He's that tight with regulation."

She took another bite. "So, tell me more about Yuma. I've heard much about it."

Oreste felt a bit uncomfortable about the way he was behaving and how she was responding, him being used with being mostly around military personnel. He found her a mystery, the way she was behaving , a Commander being so friendly, as he observed in the Crayterian Fleet that from the Commander rank most of them had Iron in their veins and a mechanical pump as a heart. Strange but he enjoyed the feeling at the same time.

"I see. Appologies. I thought that you are also a Doctor. If you wish, I can give you a check up or maybe you can search for a former colleague of yours, Doctor Naggar. She is working with us now." he chuckled "Rumors is that soon there will be a new family on Yuma" laughs a little "Not that is a bad thing"

"About Yuma, she is like a Goddess. One that is untamed. The flora is the main problem we are having and I must admit, in the past we had tried everything, even firing with our weapons from space, but now we are taking a different approach. We build on the oceans." he stopped and looked in her eyes "You must see our cities glistening in the warming sun, the tall and proud buildings designed after Crayterian and Sirian arhitectures. Ahh, is a sight. Each of our Islands is designed to be mostly self sustainable, basically we are building floating fields and forests along our buildings. We are developing a new ethic, to live with the planet, not ON the planet. And for that we are studying the planet and we are trying to find ways to co-exist." he stopped had a bite and continued "We are having our islands on every type of climate and even if they may look the same, the population there is what makes it special as each island is developing their own small sub-culture." he stopped as he had a flash about his life on New Europa, how the people there are trying to keep the old Crayterian beliefs alive, helped by the Atreides Enclave "Is interesting. They are so diverse that even the food is different.You can also note the language might be slightly different in the pronunciation, as we have a lot of Sirians in our Republic. You can have pleasant days at our artificial beaches or on the designated shorelines, as we are still trying to secure a colony on the land, surfing, exploring along with 53rd on the continents, enjoy the life on the islands. As for security " he smiled " you do not have to worry about anything. We have our AIT and Police force on the streets and if you wish you can have a small bracelet" he lifted his arm to show it "which can give you an immediate link to the nearest Island Emergency Command Center where you can state your emergency and a response team will be dispatch. They also act as GPS, for an easy location in case of necessity" he shake his hand and a small red dot appeared "This means that my GPS is active."

Oreste stopped and took a bite, waiting for Sarah to take in all the information

---

"This is Captain. We are leaving the 15k radius of Barrier Gate. Nyx 223 , 432 and 556 are in position near us. You can observe them from the main lounge. ETA to Yuma, 45 minutes, maximum speed. Hope you enjoy yourself , ILL Korma Captain out."

If you wish, I can give you a check up or maybe you can search for a former colleague of yours, Doctor Naggar. She is working with us now."
She stopped eating for a moment, cocked her head and thought a moment. "Doctor Naggar....." She then shook her head and looked at Oreste a bit perplexed. "I don't know of a Doctor Naggar. I've spent so much time on my ship, so much time in the Tau regions that I don't know a lot of Med Force staff elsewhere."
She was cutting another piece of fish as she explained. "Med Force Enterprises is a big enough entity that we can serve many people all over but at the same time we are small enough to be under people's radar....if you know what I mean."
She took another bite of her fish and again complimented it and then began listening to Oreste talk more about Yuma and Crayterians. All she really knew of them were what she read in news clips and the ever popular rumor mill. It gave her time enough to finish her main course.

"My knowledge of the Crayterians is limited," she explained as she wiped the corners of her mouth with her napkin, "I only get news from my visits on Freeports and through small talk on ship. I know of your fight against the Outcasts and the Gallic Royals. Yuma? It sounds wonderful, like a place where one can set roots. I, for one, look forward to some shore leave before our project begins. The last time I lived for an extended time on a planet was back on planet Stuttgart." She smiled a bit. "I don't know if you've ever been there but it's a wonderful place. But, like so many places in Rheinland, it suffered from the war which was harder on my family than most. My father was from Stuttgart and my mother was Libertonian, from Los Angeles." She sighed, "But, that's a whole nother story I'd rather not get into. I myself was lucky enough to get boring patrol routes during my enlistment in the military, covering for more experienced combat pilots who served on the fronts."

As they spoke, a man walked by. She turned and grabbed his shirt sleeve. "Dr. Sanderson...."
"Oh, heya, Commander," he answered, "How are you? I heard about what happened at the Gate."
"I'm OK," she answered kindly, "Listen, this is Doctor Oreste of the Crayter Republic. Dr. Oreste, this is Dr. Lyman Sanderson, our chief medical officer."