“Sometimes,” Jimox began on a cloudy but warm morning, “two ships, at different ends of the station, needed us at once. It happened most often when a passenger transport came in.”
Teina’s eyes grew large. “Oh, yeah, passenger transports. That’s a story they have to hear!”
“Siminia Three Planet Station, this is passenger transport Triluli Paloma,”
a reptilian voice began from Teina’s bracelet, “one hundred kilometers west at four thousand meters, requesting landing instructions.”
She looked at Jimox with wide eyes. “We’ve never had a passenger transport. How big are they?”
He
shrugged.
She touched her bracelet. “Triluli Paloma, how big a landing space do you need?”
“It’s supposed to be a hundred and twenty meters across, but the pilot swears she can squeeze us into a hundred.”
Jimox and Teina looked at each other.
“B-One is thirty-six meters across,” Teina began, “and that’s our biggest.”
Jimox nodded. “The Castleland Plaza is about fifty. Remember, we decided not to put a landing circle there because of all the trees.”
Teina nodded. “That leaves . . . the ticket plaza.”
“But it’s outside the . . .”
NEBADOR Book Eight: Witness 173
“I know. You get guns, I’ll get marker cones.”
Jimox strode toward the office in Forestland as Teina touched her bracelet and headed toward the front of the theme park. “Triluli Paloma, this could be an adventure in itself . . .”
The passenger transport ship hovered a hundred meters above the large open space just outside the planet station. The pilot and navigator carefully analyzed every bench, planter, drinking fountain, and ticket booth, and discovered they had a circle of clear space a hundred and seven meters across.
The avian crew of the only other ship in the station, having heard the transmissions, gathered near the two hosts at the animal-proof fence. The huge passenger transport extended struts and lowered itself to the ground. A long ramp appeared, but the hatch remained tightly closed.
Jimox checked each pistol and handed a belt with two holsters to Teina.
Some of the avians looked nervous, but the feathered engineer offered to work the gate, and the captain and steward spread wings and flapped up to the top of the fence.
Once both hosts were ready, Teina touched her bracelet. “As soon as we’re in position, your people must head straight into the planet station, not stopping for anything, no matter what they see or hear.”
The reptilian navigator acknowledged that everyone was ready.
Jimox nodded to the bird at the gate, he and Teina slipped out, and the gate quickly closed behind them.
During the next minute, with Jimox on watch, Teina marked off a corridor with bright green cones. They met halfway between the ship and the gate.
Jimox pointed. “There’s a brown mutt nosing around behind the old stroller rental place, but I can’t tell if it’s alone. I’ll take this side.”
Teina got into position to cover the opposite side, then touched her bracelet. “We’re ready.”
The hatch opened, and the passengers came pouring down the ramp. The planet station hosts didn’t dare look, but both cringed when they heard the voices of several young children.
Everything went smoothly, and about a hundred of the passengers were
NEBADOR Book Eight: Witness 174
safely inside the animal-proof fence, when Teina was forced to fire the first shot as a trio of large black dogs came running into the ticket plaza.
The crew of the transport ship, and their passengers, had been ready for anything — except the deafening sound of the pistols. The adults mastered their surprise, but one young ursine panicked and ran.
Teina got all three black dogs, but one tumbled into the passenger corridor before dying, causing more panic. A leggy young equine bolted, came face to face with a hungry dog just a second before Jimox shot it, and dashed back to the safety of the corridor and the fence.
Suddenly Teina had a big problem. The young ursine was in her field of fire, and two scuzzy gray dogs were crouching to attack. She took aim at one dog, but the sound of wing-beats filled the air, so she waited, saw the avian captain scoop up the little bear, then shot both dogs with two bullets.
Her field of fire clear, she turned to check on Jimox, and found he also had a clear field. The ship’s hatch was closed, and the last few passengers were hurrying through the gate. The pair of monkey mammals walked backwards, side by side, guns still drawn, and were the last ones in before the avian engineer closed the gate.
A moment later, the captain swooped down, back-winged with powerful strokes, and deposited the ursine child on the ground.
“Wow!” the little bear said. “This place is fun!”
