Of Beasts and Men

[Chrysalis]

The shuttle stood centered on the hangar pad closest to the launch section, a plain outdated model no longer in use in most of Sirius, but appearing well-maintained nonetheless. Blue insignia of the Commune adorned it's otherwise mostly white exterior. A group of people circled it, some fueling it for the trip, others simply checking for any possible malfunctions. In the center of the commotion and close to the ramp stood Gabriel Thorne, fiddling with a datapad, trying to make sense of the outdated specifications and flight manuals.

Bassam Hussaini emerged from the hallway leading to the Y section, an annoyed scowl on his face. He walked over to the shuttle with a fast pace, his gaze set to the distance, at the hangar doors.

Thorne looked up from the datapad as Hussaini approached him. - "Did everything go okay down there? We heard the order to prepare for departure planetside, but I wanted to double check with you, just in case."

"I gave the order." - Hussaini replied, still looking at the distance. - "Are all the provisions loaded?"

"Almost, just a few more crates. We're not gonna need any weaponry, though, right?" - Thorne said while adjusting something on his datapad.

Bassam turned his head to face Thorne with one incredibly fast motion as if he said something utterly profane and unbelievable. Thorne peeled his eyes away from the datapad and looked up only to be greeted by Hussaini's cold death stare and silence. He swallowed a lump. - "Oohh-kay, more weapons it is then."

Hussaini stared for a moment longer and then looked away, sighed and shook his head. He then walked past Thorne and into the shuttle and Thorne followed him. Hussaini made for the passenger area and sat down on the bench, grabbed a belt from the wall and fastened himself while Thorne went to the pilot's seat and started punching in the departure codes, transmitting them to the station's flight control. A few marines clad in combat armor walked in and towards the benches, but all sat down on the side opposite of Hussaini.

"Shall I notify the outpost of our arrival?" - Thorne turned around and looked at Bassam.

"No, just give them a moment's notice once we're five minutes to touchdown. Let's make this a surprise inspection." - Bassam replied as he glanced from one marine to another, inspecting them, looking for any flaws he could nag them about, but to no avail. - "Start the engines and take off."

"Yes sir..." - Thorne inputted the commands on the console and pulled the safety level. The shuttle ramp retracted and the doors closed. The shuttle took off, first vertically with thrusters, hovering some 10 meters above the floor while the launch doors opened, and then straight ahead with lightning speed as the main engine kicked in.