Rayland couldn't decided whether it was because of the throbbing ill effects of cryosickness after a long voyage or the fact that Towan, the ship’s primitive yet informative computer intelligence had miscalculated the timing of the slipspace jump (once again) and brought the entire vessel within an hour’s reach of Falymar Station; a schedule he was hoping to delay by second hour that was putting him in an already annoyed mood. It was probably both. As usual, he blamed Towan.

He knew however he couldn't be hard on the old virtual intelligence; Towan was created several centuries ago, currently obsolete compared to the newer Vis or the much more capable and self sufficient Hepheatons. Rayland considered numerous times of removing Towan from the ship’s main network whenever he couldn't take the program’s unreliable calculations or decisions anymore, but in the end he could not bring himself to do so.  Towan was a part of the vessel long before the captain was even conceived and Rayland consciously believed the aged VI, perceived as an individual, had every right to remain on the Infamous Alto. 

Soldiering through the ever present headaches, Rayland quickly got himself cleaned up and dressed, knowing that he would be needed on the bridge to organize an already fatigued crew to a prepare a transport frigate for heaven knows how many passenger-specialists whom may turn his beloved ship into a science project possibly out of boredom without their interments. Oh god those would need to be installed too he thought. The realization challenged his sanity and deteriorated his mood further; he hoped Kaite had better news.

Ah, speak of the devil.

Conveniently as Rayland exited his quarters, he found Kaite in his usually officer attire standing just outside, greeting him good morning before giving the detailed status report. An appreciated gesture from the young Chimera, though in all honesty he didn’t know if it was actually morning or not. As much as he would have loved to debate it, there was simply too much think about all ready.
 
“Always good to know that I actually have guns.” commented Rayland to Kaite’s report regarding the ship’s armaments. In most other jobs he has taken on, the main batteries were normally the least of his concerns. Today however he felt that combat was a growing possibility.

It was then the two eventually entered into the small bridge of the Infamous Alto. Though unspacious as the brain center of the ship appeared, the bridge however did have plenty of room for several other personnel to staff the consoles and tactical stations. [color=0072bc][b][i]“Captain on the bridge.”[/i][/b][/color] Towan sounded off from the local vox, alerting the current staff of their captain’s arrival whom in turn greeted Rayland with several nods and salutes.

With a small returning salute Rayland walked over to the captain’s seat and rested into it. He didn’t like this part. With a click, a cord snapped into place with cyber link behind his neck, causing him to wince in slight discomfort as the physical coupling neurologically connected him with the ship’s network, empowering Rayland with the Infamous Alto’s controls and functions. As he finally sat up, the cord followed with him; at this point, there was little he had to manually interact with as his station.

Outside sensors brought up the imaging into the bridge; data streamed forth, animating the bridge’s HUD screens until Falymar Station was identified and well within view. Now within only several minutes before docking, Rayland figured it was time to make a ship wide announcement before the eventual arrival. With a few keystrokes at his console interface, Rayland highlighted all vox channels through out the frigate before initiating the broadcast.

[b][i]“Good morning crew.”[/i][/b] to the best of his current knowledge anyway, [b][i]“This is your captain speaking...In a few short minutes we will be docking with Falymar Station to pick up all essential Galactic Coalition selected personnel and equipment before joining up with the main expedition force.”[/i][/b]

He allowed a brief pause to settle in.

[b][i]“As we’ve gone over plenty before, the Alto will be acting as a temporary troop transport and science vessel for these new crew members we’ll be having aboard so they may operate efficiently during this mission. With that in mind, please take the time to make your last checks for ship wide facility cleanliness and functionality as we make our final approach. That is all.”[/i][/b] With that Rayland ended the broadcast before turning his attention to other matters.      

“Towan, do we have docking clearance?” asked Rayland, his eyes now glued to the cockpit HUD details.

[color=0072bc][b][i]“Affirmative. We’ll be docking in Sector B24, Platform 7.”[/i][/b][/color] Towan replied through the bridge vox once more.

With several taps at his console, Rayland pulled up a course into the station’s docking bay; holographic streaks illuminating the docking path for the Infamous Alto as she entered into the sector. Lurching forward, the frigate was then under the influence of the stations tractor beams, gracefully pulling the Infamous Alto deeper into its structured maw of docking clamps and maintenance catwalks. Though it was below Rayland’s attention, docking and maintenance crews quickly began to position themselves to assist the docking and securing of the arriving vessel. Within moments of its powering down sequence, the Infamous Alto was successfully anchored to the platform as large mechanical arms reached out, holding it in place.