Kristin frowned at the comm speaker in her frame. "EFS Talis, this is
Lieutenant Kristin O'Connor of the Exofrigate Normandy, requesting permission
to board," she said into the contraption. It was their third attempt.

She sighed, "It's not just you, Elan, they don't seem to want to talk to
anyone."

"Lieutenant O'Connor, this is Michael Avery, I'm the XO of the Talis and the
commanding officer of this ship at the moment. What can I help you with?"

The group exchanged a curious look before she replied, "Sir, we were sent by
Captain Henry of the EFS Normandy by order of Admiral Winfield. We request
permission to board your ship."

There was a short pause before a reply came, "Permission granted, you're
clear to land on deck seven."

"Thank you, Sir," Kristin muttered.

The doors to the hangar opened and she motioned everyone forward.

"Kristin, you do realize that this is a freighter," Elan stated plainly.
"There's no way that's deck seven."

"Yeah, I noticed. They must be pretty shook up. Either that ot they need a
more competent XO. There's nothing out of the ordinary on the scanners, is
there?" Elan shook his head. Kristin shrugged, "Shall we?"

Elan took off and, after staring at the ship for a few moments, Kristin took
a deep breath and followed.

"You will have to be patient, I'm afraid. The Captain will be down to see you
as soon as possible. Please stay where you are until then."

"I thought the XO was the commanding officer," Nikki muttered. "Wouldn't that
mean that the Captain had been injured or killed during the attack?"

"Yes," Kristin replied. "Something strange is going on here and I think maybe
we should get to the bottom of it."

Kristin moved toward the door that led to the rest of the ship. She pressed
the release, but nothing happened.

"As I said, you will have to be patient. We are confirming that you are who
you claim to be. You can't be too careful with pirates about. Now please wait
for Commander Avery to join you."

"I thought it was the Captain..." Nikki mumbled, annoyed.

Kristin let out a disgusted breath, "This is just great..."