The desert heat washed out the hiss of coolant being cycled through pipes and vents as the gantryway of the Osiris lowered and the pressure equalized between ship and planet. It was empty for the most part, just a scattering of supply boxes and a portable crane folded up in one rounded corner of the landing pad.
It wasn't set inside a concrete crater, but the pad was screened off from the dust and dirt. The sky overhead soon darkened, but not with rainclouds; a dust storm was blowing through and it would be awhile before any ships would fly again, they would just have to wait it out.
The floor lit up, leading to the gantryway hatch, where Terry was already in his regular outfit and disembarking. The crew would probably be waiting at the usual hangout, Inferno Wind, a spacer's bar and hangout for mechanics and desert prospectors.
Valaad was dotted with mines dating back to before the Qel'noran ownership and its subsequent transfer to Yamataian control. Most of the people, as far as Terry was aware, were near-humans that passed themselves off as Yamataian, not by "upgrading" to the artificial bodies, but by means of various implants and neural enhancements. Some of those were not available to the average person, but some specialization was of course needed.
Terry liked to keep his appearance the way it was; he'd wait for Lucien and Kirio to get off of the ship and then take them to meet the rest of the crew, and then check the bulletins to see if there were any jobs available. By now customers would know to tag their request with the name of the ship and crew they would like to handle it, but the concept was still catching on.
It wasn't set inside a concrete crater, but the pad was screened off from the dust and dirt. The sky overhead soon darkened, but not with rainclouds; a dust storm was blowing through and it would be awhile before any ships would fly again, they would just have to wait it out.
The floor lit up, leading to the gantryway hatch, where Terry was already in his regular outfit and disembarking. The crew would probably be waiting at the usual hangout, Inferno Wind, a spacer's bar and hangout for mechanics and desert prospectors.
Valaad was dotted with mines dating back to before the Qel'noran ownership and its subsequent transfer to Yamataian control. Most of the people, as far as Terry was aware, were near-humans that passed themselves off as Yamataian, not by "upgrading" to the artificial bodies, but by means of various implants and neural enhancements. Some of those were not available to the average person, but some specialization was of course needed.
Terry liked to keep his appearance the way it was; he'd wait for Lucien and Kirio to get off of the ship and then take them to meet the rest of the crew, and then check the bulletins to see if there were any jobs available. By now customers would know to tag their request with the name of the ship and crew they would like to handle it, but the concept was still catching on.