As Lorleii dropped out of the last trade gate near Curacao, she was struck by the beauty of the tropical planet. Only high, light clouds that whisped across the oceans and occasional small chains of islands marred what from space looked like a big azure marble.
The trip into Cortez had been uneventful, if you counted the numerous stops that had been ordered by LSF and Navy troops while transiting the New York system. Apparently, even the trade lanes that crisscrossed the home system of Liberty were not immune to Hackers, Rogues and Pirates. Because of this, road blocks and interdiction points were being set up by law enforcement officials to try to stop criminals from harassing civilians. Unfortunately, the only thing that seemed to be happening was a general slowdown of traffic as inspection scans were being made and questions about the results answered.
At times, Loreleii considered being pirated was almost preferable to having to broadcast your ID & manifest at the numerous roadblocks while on an outbound route. At least you could occasionally negotiate with a Pirate...
A blinking light on the communications panel focused Lorleii's attention back to what she was doing. She flipped on the transceiver and checked her IFF broadcast, while slowing her ship and wide port turn out of the exit path of the trade lane.
“... incoming fighter, this is planet Curacao, where you headed?”
“Curacao control, this is Lorleii Darksaint, Chief Operations Officer of Saint Logistics, requesting flight path to Windward II resort, over...” She smiled as she stated her newly minted title.
It seemed like a lifetime ago that she was a musician, traveling from capital city to seedy frontier outpost and back again trying to get her big break in the holo-music industry. And while she made a decent living at it, her band never seemed “new” or “edgy” enough to really be successful. During her last stop on Erie, she ended a long, abusive relationship with her manager and decided to get out of the entertainment industry. Trading in her lights and amps and taking out a loan from a large helium mining concern, she was able to afford a used Kestrel class freighter and started Saint Logistics. After a lot of long, dangerous flights; and being in the right place at the right time on more than one occasion, the company had paid off it's start up loans, upgraded it's equipment and was finally starting to show a profit.
“Yes Ms. Darksaint, we have your reservation confirmed, we're uploading the coordinates to Windward II Resort, dock 41B to your neural net. Your flight path is clear and you are authorized to land. Feel free to to contact any member of the Orbital Spa & Cruise staff if you need anything once you've landed. Enjoy your stay.”
Lorleii flipped over to the local traffic channel and listened to the chatter as she eased her Havoc Bomber into a starboard slide. She slowed to enter the docking ring and begin her descent to the planets surface. As she entered the atmosphere, she wondered how her upcoming meeting with Karen Banks was going to go. She seemed nice enough in the communications that had been exchanged, but there was a lot to be said for a face to face discussion. And with a good conversation about their own personal investigations, just perhaps they could begin to figure out where Moleigh had disappeared to and why.
![[Image: lds_fldisco_serenity_01_zpsztxnxswr.png]](http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn124/darksaint01/Freeworlds%20Discovery/lds_fldisco_serenity_01_zpsztxnxswr.png)