On its final approach to West Drop, the shuttle spins as it lands. This slow and impressive looking maneuver signaled the passengers to finish their exiting preparations. It would soon be time to get off of the shuttle. The Trans World Shuttle Corporation had an unforgiving time table. If passengers lingered, they would be trapped on the shuttle as it leaves again. If a passenger missed a shuttle, they would have to wait for the next one. Also, anything passengers left behind would most likely never be seen again.
With its box-shape, it was hard to distinguish the back of the shuttle from the front. Only the many levels of docking bay doors gave it away. In the pit, powerful guards and dock workers waited for the precious goods that made the town livable. The city also had goods to send. Even a city like West Drop needed commerce.
The landing gear touched the enormous docking pit with surprising silence. However, the landing gear hissed loudly as the air pressure escaped the brakes. Traded goods were moved around underground in the docking pit while the passengers exited from the right side of the shuttle.
The Trans World Shuttle Corporation has always been a trading company at heart. However, the company couldn’t ignore the profit of shipping travelers as well; guaranteed gold for each traveler and the additional gold they may spend on amenities. They may even be willing to pay more for some of the shipped goods than the original buyers, more profit.
The BigBad Crew exits the shuttle with Justice leading them. Jaquan pauses briefly as he sees the headlines of the latest news feed. It was a picture of Orien Quan with a disappointed look on his face. The caption read: “A fighter is supposed to have more respect than that.”
This didn’t surprise Jaquan at all. Quan was always pulling media stunts like this. That, and Jaquan opened the door for these events. That didn’t mean that he had to like it. Still, he was curious about what they had to say. He pressed a few buttons on his handheld. In doing so, he downloaded and paid for the story. In a few seconds it would be saved on his handheld to read later.
A few minutes later, Brisa disembarks the shuttle. She had only one small bag of luggage; the trip was completely unexpected for her. She only wished there were shops and hotels to provide what she needed in town.
She wore her combat gear perfectly fitting the look of a fierce warrior. She did her best to walk the way Catlin had demonstrated earlier. With all the powerful enchants increasing her strength, balance, and a host of many other things, it was quite easy.
Leaving the shuttle behind, she looked around for any sign of trouble before she continued to the port. There appeared to be none, but she needed to be safe. She was in a new place, a dangerous place. She needed to keep her wits for a good while longer. She checked her handheld for local restaurants; she was getting hungry and was going to be here a while.
The call to Mr. Meng in South Coast didn’t go at all the way she wanted. There were delays for all the other stories Champion’s Chronical was following. No one else was able to make it to West Drop or Bear Gate. Since she was still the only one that had access to BigBad, Meng needed her to tail them just a while longer.
She didn’t have the tools to track them. Of course, she didn’t need to track them. She knew where they were going. They told her when they were going; they wanted her to follow them. She just had to be ready to leave with the tournament party at hour seventeen. Hopefully, they would have an escort of some kind. One or more people with them would make her feel much better. She couldn’t trust them.
Exiting the shuttle port Brisa was approached by a frantic looking woman. With pain and fear in her eyes, the lady pulled at Brisa’s glove. “Help us,” she said, “They’re going to kill them! I need your help please!”