Andromeda's Gates: The story of Yseult Brenneaux

Chapter 27: Previous Occupants

Somewhere far from the edge of one of the darker regions of the moon where the black daytime sky did little to illuminate the jagged features and the gas giant it orbited even less so, the last sliver of its banded clouds fading as it approached its daily eclipse of the surface, cruising across the landscape, a small glint of light defied the darkness.

With one side of Ganymede always facing Jupiter, daytime on the jovian hemisphere meant the king of the planets was always in between the moon and the distant Sun and an eclipse was a daily occurrence... each day being just over seven Earth days long elongated the process and soon, the dark surface below the dark blue transport would have even less light to reveal its character to the pilot steering her ship down a gentle glide-slope as she approached the co-ordinates she had been given.

Yseult carefully watched her instruments; there would be no approach lights for this landing, no illuminated apron. The hangar was built into the side of a steep rocky slope... Difficult to find... That was the idea. She didn't know how Riddaeon had found it, he just provided her with the co-ordinates and the approach vector. Despite the bland field of darkness before her, the primary flight display clearly showed where she was headed and she reduced the throttle accordingly to maintain a gentle approach. The hangar's internal lighting became visible only at the last minute and finally, Yseult was able to use her natural senses to guide the Speedy Owl in. With a shudder, the passed through the atmosfield and the growling hum of the engines acquired an echoed resonance as they entered the enclosed space. Bringing the ship to a hover in the centre of the hangar, she throttled back on the lift engines and with a loud clunk, the Owl set down of the hangar deck. As the engines spooled down, Yseult looked up out of the canopy at the hangar... It wasn't the bright, well lit industrial space she'd expected. Black surfaces oddly lit by yellow glow - it was difficult to see the details. 'Maybe that's the idea' she thought. Even from within the enclosed confines of the cockpit, there was a foreboding feel to it.

The hangar floor was black. So were the walls and the ceiling save for a few stark details is contrasting bright yellow. The air was cold and had a deathly silence, broken only by a random clank somewhere that echoed off the walls enough to hide its true origin. Yseult tried to determine whee it came from, the only evidence that they were not alone was another vessel parked neatly in one of the designated bays. Yseult had landed the Owl right in the centre over the large triangular markings that adorned the floor... No-one had told her otherwise so she parked where she liked. The other vessel, in stark contrast to the hangar was grey and red. She knew the design but the Cylbruda Starglider was a classic, there weren't many around, certainly not in the condition this one appeared to be in. A moment later, Riddaeon appeared from behind it with Ellie, they were discussing something and pointing at various parts of the chassis. When Riddaeon noticed that Yseult was out on the deck, he left Ellie and came over.

"What do you think?" He asked as he neared her, his arms open indicating the hangar. Yseult looked briefly around while maintaining her usual non-plussed expression.

"I don't like it." She said.

"Well, we need to stay off the scopes." Riddaeon replied. "Everybody's... Including M.A.N.T.I.S. so we need somewhere..." He considered his words for a moment, as though avoiding an unfortunate truth. "... they don't want to go." Yseult's gaze had returned to him, sceptical, as usual, but with more concern than he was used to. He didn't blame her. This place was the kind that stories were told about. But with Big Sal on the run and still back in Andromeda for all he knew, M.A.N.T.I.S. were showing more interest in Riddaeon's 'side projects' than he was comfortable with. They needed to be tucked away somewhere... They needed a home of their own. "It'll do until we go back. For now, we need to get this place running properly, we've only got basic power at the moment... Did you bring the gear?" Yseult merely leaned her head back towards the container she had brought in with the Speedy Owl. Riddaeon took a breath and gave an assured nod... "Let's get to it."