Wash grinned as Kane walked into the cockpit. "Hello, Fearless Leader. We have a wave, and he's askin' for you."

Wash flipped the vid screen to show a man with a hat.

"Kane?" The man said. "You're William Kane, right? I heard that you do some good jobs, and I've got some cargo to be moved. It's live, though. I need some chickens moved from Canton to the Core Planet, Ariel. Can you do it? I've got some good coin for payment. 2,000 plantinum to move 40 crates of chickens. I've even got someone who can take care of 'em while you ship 'em."

XXXXXX

Jade watched as Kane left the infirmary. She turned to the tired, sleepy Maxx and said softly, "It's time to get some sleep. When you awaken we will get you something to eat." She pressed another hypo into his neck, this time injecting him with a sleep aid that would keep him knocked out for hours. It really was the best thing for him at the moment; his broken body needed a lot of time to heal.

Making sure her patient was well secured, Jade exited the infirmary and made her way towards the bridge. The time to examine the contents of the mystery box was drawing near, and she wanted to make sure her captain and crewmates were aware. Due to the cargo's uncertainty, she would take extra precaution in examining the contents. She would examine the box in the vault, wearing a vac suit for her own protection. Although running diagnostics on foreign material was not uncommon in her practice, Jade admited to feeling a little uneasy. New compounds were being discovered across the 'verse every season, and many times the effects of these things were extremely powerful, if not downright deadly. She had no idea what to expect once the box's compound was exposed in its raw form, but at least she would have the protection of the vac suit and the air tight vault to secure her.

Or so she hoped.

Entering the bridge, she touched Kane's sleeve and said, "I'm ready to run the diagnostic on the box's contents. Do you want to accompany me, or are you going to wait here?"

Was