Welcome to Gaia! ::

Arianeira finished breakfast and made preparations to leave the planet. As she pulled away, she couldn't resist setting a scan to find the Hyperon. As her ship had been within close proximity of the Hyperon before, it should have been easy to trace, but it was still a while before it picked up even a faint reading. "That's odd." Arianeira thought with a frown, looking at the signal, but was at a loss to explain it. Deciding it couldn't hurt, she asked the computer if it was possible to open a secure link to the Hyperon. The computer replied in the affirmative, but recommended scrambling just in case. Arianeira considered for several minutes, before shrugging and opening a line.

"Morning." Arianeira said cheerfully, noting with approval that he had scrambled his message too. She paused with a frown. "Or else what?"

"Actually I'd prefer it if you called me Aeron if we aren't speaking face to face. Even the secure channels can be tapped with the right equipment and a source who knows the ship well enough to track the frequency." She used the same airy tone as she shifted in her seat, wondering how to phrase her request politely, without annoying him. She hesitated for a few seconds, and the only noise was her fingers drumming on the keyboard.

Deciding that subtlety and courtesy weren't exactly her strong point, Arianeira gave up almost instantly and blurted, "I need a favour."

"This is something that shouldn't be overheard." Arianeira said seriously. "I can find you if you're willing to hang around where you are, and I'm prepared to offer my help in any venture in return, to be called in at any time." She fidgeted slightly, tempted to just drop this now. This wasn't in her line and she felt awkward. "It's just pride." She thought to herself cynically. "A weakness like pride can kill you as easily as the enemy. Drake knows you and your weaknesses, but he doesn't know Stratford. Enlisting his help throws a variable into the equation that Drake won't know how to counter. This could ultimately mean the difference between success and failure." Arianeira rolled her eyes. She hated that little voice. It was always so smug.

The line went dead. "Dominating males..." She grumbled under her breath, but reminded herself to be grateful that he was even willing to hear her out and to behave herself while she was there. With a sinking feeling she wondered whether she was giving herself an impossible task. Deciding to grapple with that obstacle when she came to it, she set course and headed for Endret II. She knew where it was - about half an hour away - but had never landed on the planet before. Not surprising if there's only one hotel. She thought as she steered her ship to avoid a passing comet. She watched it idly as it passed but only absently as she planned how she was going to talk Stratford into taking part in this foolhardy trip.

The time passed slowly and several times Arianeira put the ship on auto-pilot and got up to walk around the cabin in frustration. She was still unable to come up with a strategy for her meeting with Stratford and she reluctantly admitted that she was going to have to make it up as she went along, depending on his reaction to her request. She sank back into her chair with a sigh; men were so confusing. Almost before she realised what was happening, the computer beeped at her to let her know that they were approaching the planet. Ruefully wondering where the time had gone, Arianeira prepared to dock automatically, using the free time to get a better look at the planet.

Arianeira docked and regretfully had to go through the proper channels to get in as she didn't know the planet well enough to sneak in the way she usually did. It was boring and Arianeira wondered how people managed to wait patiently to get through to planets that were three or four times the size and much busier. She shook her head sadly. She would never be able to compete with that sort of patience and would have to find an illegal route on and out of the docks as soon as possible. She had her ID checked several times and got the distinct impression that most of the other people came here regularly and that the staff were rather suspicious of her. She smiled sweetly at them, but the smile didn't reach her eyes. After more pointless waiting she finally got a skycar to the actual planet and then asked directions to the hotel. It was bigger than she had expected and she hesitated for a second, before resolutely stepping inside. She approached the desk warily, looking around at the hotel's guests as she waited for a receptionist.