“Impressive, even for Caruther’s,” Mads said, less than ten minutes later as they edged out of the shuttlebay and headed toward the ships currently in the holding pattern around the base. “Okay, we’re looking for the…“ she checked the listing on her padd. “The NorthStar.”

Cam mumbled, “I hope the Northstar, with its steady glow, guides the pastries through this dark and uncertain journey.” 

He then shifted his attention to Mads, pointing towards a nearby dock, and asked, “So, where is it? Isn’t it supposed to be right here?”

She shook her head and pointed in the other direction. “They didn’t have the right paperwork to dock, so they’re in a holding pattern. We’re going to have to go to them. They should be in holding pattern Echo-Nine-four. If they got that right.”

“Well, Come on, Deputy McGowan!” Cam’s voice brimmed with enthusiasm as he turned the shuttle and headed the other way, toward the elusive Northstar. The mundane routine they had expected this day to be had transformed into something far more intriguing. The air was charged with the promise of an puzzlelike adventure, each step revealing new clues and mysteries to unravel.

She shook her head, hiding her smile at the younger officer’s enthusiasm.

“Just don’t crash us, okay?” She warned him, mock-sternly. She didn’t like to fly in anything smaller than a planet, which was one reason she’d always opted for base and station assignments. “My son is a pilot, so I know all about the little tricks you lot like to pull.”

“You mean like…” Cam’s face lit up with a mischievous grin as he gripped the shuttle controls, pushing them forward to accelerate with vigor. The acceleration pushed him back into his seat, making his heart race with excitement. Suddenly, he jerked the controls back, causing the shuttle to brake sharply. The force of the abrupt deceleration overcame the inertia dampeners, sending a thrilling jolt through his body. His eyes sparkled with delight as he finished his sentence, “…This?”

Mads squeaked, grabbing at the seat rests as she was jolted around in her seat. “Yes! That!” she managed, a small hint of exasperation in her eyes as she slid the younger officer a sideways glance. His eyes sparkled with mischief as he looked at her and she shook her head. “Don’t do that when we’ve got the pallets on board. Catering will not be happy if the eggs for the Admirals cakes arrive smashed.”

“Don’t worry, it’s out of my system now, I’m not planning to make an omelet” Cam stated, a sense of calm in his voice as they approached the Northstar. 

“We may initiate the docking procedure, ma’am,” He informed Mads, his fingers poised over the control panel, ready to guide the ship smoothly into its designated berth. The Northstar’s shuttle bay doors began to slide open, revealing the well-lit expanse where their docking process would take place.

“Good!” She raised an eyebrow at him and nodded. “Go ahead please.”

She sat quietly as Cam guided the large shuttle into place and set them down so gently she barely felt a thing. A welcoming committee of what looked like the ships cargomaster and possibly the first officer approached the shuttle, their expressions fierce.

“Doesn’t look like they’re that happy to see us,” Mads murmured, sliding out of her seat and making her way to the back of the load space as the back ramp began to lower. “They definitely won’t be happy to see me if they don’t have these damn eggs. Keep everything primed and ready to get us back, we’re pushing the deadline and catering are going to start screaming soon.”

Cam nodded at her, and Mads left the shuttle. After a very frustrating conversation with the Northstar crew which had her thinking the universal translator was playing silly sods, she finally managed to get the paperwork in order and stood behind the pilot’s seat as the sealed cargo boxes with the previous eggs were loaded aboard.

“Be careful with those!” she warned, as the Northstar loader-driver clanged the forks of the vehicle against the side of the shuttle, leaving a three inch wide gouge in the paintwork. She was less concerned about the aesthetics of the shuttle as she was with the state of the eggs inside. Scrambled was not the optimal condition for them to arrive in and she definitely didn’t want catering on her back when they eventually got them there.

Finally they were loaded and she hit the panel to close the back door with a sigh of relief.

“Next time,” she grumbled to the young pilot. “I’m going to insist on paperwork up front, and confirmation the cargo is loaded on anti-grav pallets. Come on then, get us out of here.”

She sat back as Cam took them out of the Northstar’s shuttle bay and turned them back toward the base. Checking the time, she gave a small sigh of relief. They would just make it in time…