Balmy Weather

Posted on Sat Sep 12th, 2026 @ 4:28pm by Captain Cassandra Hawk
Edited on on Sat Sep 12th, 2026 @ 6:38pm

865 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: Episode 1: A New Sheriff in Town
Location: Calidus IV

The heat radiated off the ground near her feet with much more motivation than the dust. A dry, oppressive, unrelenting wall that made the cool comfortable air of her starship feel like a distant and oh-so-precious memory. Cassandra Hawk may have grown up in the desert, but she was years of conditioning away from being used to that weather. And, truth be told, even the brutal summer heats of the Arizona countryside would seem tame compared to the daily temperatures of Calidus IV's main continent. And whether she'd believed it or not based on the preliminary reports, this was the "nice" part of the planet.

The Achiilles, with her delightfully climate-controlled atmosphere a full 60 degress cooler than the ambient air, sat about a half a kilometer back on the flat plains outside what passed for the city limits of Calidus IV's main Outpost. The blistering sun glinted off her hull producing a rather unfortunate glare. Despite the awkward angle of the sun, the landing spot was about as good as any. They'd found a reliable patch of flat, stable ground, lurking just close enough to keep an eye on the delivery team without feeling like they were breathing down anyone's neck. Cassandra pulled the brim of her hat down to block the glare. Maybe it was more than just an aesthetic choice, after all, this mission.

Somewhere behind her, she could hear Petty Officer Reyes was audibly coordinating the offloading of a few grav-sleds, and a few of the townspeople had come out to assist. Medical supplies, water purification units, sun-resistant clothing. Hopefully things to make life here a bit easier. Calidus IV's unstable and active sun was quite the hinderance to life planet side, but the colonists here had also found a rich vein of tritanium and a some fairly valuable medicinal crops, so the investment had been deemed worth overcoming the hardships. Despite all that, this felt less like a supply run and more like a humanitarian aid mission. Without a steady lifeline, this colony could be in dire straits in mere weeks.

A loud, frustrated huff preceded the arrival of the colony's administrator, who barreled his way down the steps and across the short walk to where Cassandra stood.

"Captain Hawk." The man's voice cut through the air with a higher tone than she'd expected. He was frustrated, but not seemingly at her. "Kyle Ellis, Director of Calidus Outpost. Wasn't expecting the Station Commander herself to show up on a supply drop."

Cassandra felt the tension in her shoulders lessen just a little. "I heard you needed the drop off in a hurry, and I just so happen to have a pretty fast ship at my disposal," she said, playing off her own investment in getting personal familiarity with the region. "Small wonder on the rushed request though. You sure have some balmy weather here, Director."

Ellis let out a short little chuckle, wiping a beat of sweat from his forward. "Balmy's one word for it, Captain. A few of my people have some other words which I might not share in polite company." He looked over his shoulder toward the crew unloading the grab sleds. "Believe it or not, it's home though. For now at least. And these supplies are going to make a whole lot of people's lives a whole lot easier."

"I'm grateful that you responded directly. We've been waitlisted for weeks by numerous traders. 96 days since our last supply drop. And everyone seems to have somewhere better to be, or seems unwilling to deal with the damned raiders. It was hard enough getting set up here before those damn pirates started hitting trade ships," Ellis said, his fists visibly balling at the absent foe.

"Doing my best to help with that too," Cassandra said, tilting her head at her vessel. "Achilles has got some teeth to her too, despite her size. So we'll be doing our best to keep those pirates off your back. But rest assured, Mojave will have you on the top of our own supply runs priorities too."

The man's shoulders dropped just the slightest bit, and his fists loosened. He didn't say anything, but Hawk could see that the mere acknowledgement had alleviated a good deal of stress. Trust, Cassandra had found, was a currency hard earned in the region they called the 'Stardust Drift'. But once earned, it paid dividends. One supply run wouldn't earn it in full. But it'd be a good start.

"I'll take it. Hell, everyone here knows we need it." He looked around the prefab buildings that made up their town square. A few friendly faces looked out. A younger looking colonist, probably early 20s with a very sunned complexion, even waved. "We've got good, hard working people here, Captain Hawk. They're worth the effort."

He gestured toward the dome at the end of what stood in for a street. "Here, how about I give you the tour of what's got everyone actually interested in this forsaken rock. Figure you'd want a tour before we talk logistics on the delivery of that hydroponics pod."

She dipped the rim of her hat. "A tour would be excellent, Director. Lead on."

 

RSS Feed