Xena's Arc

Chapter 2 of 13

The hatch had barely sealed before Tom Paris's comm crackled with bad news. Port authority wanted a final sweep before departure. Two inspectors, coming up the ramp in five minutes. Xena stood in the cargo bay with the wrapped sword still under her arm. Tom Paris pointed at a locker near the bulkhead and told her to stow it, but Xena had already seen the seal on the door. Any locker with a seal would be opened. She shook her head and looked around the bay. Crates. Netting. A feed bin for the raccoon. The raccoon itself sat on a low shelf, chewing a strip of dried fruit, watching her with clever eyes. Xena crossed to the feed bin, lifted the lid, and buried the sword under a layer of pellets. Then she picked up the raccoon and set it on top of the closed bin. "Stay," she said. The raccoon licked its paw. The inspectors came up the ramp with scanners in hand. Xena lifted crates and did not look at them. One inspector ran a wand along the sealed locker and frowned when it chirped. Tom Paris opened it and showed him a case of tools. The other inspector walked toward the feed bin. The raccoon stood up on the lid, puffed out its white chest, and hissed. The inspector stepped back and swore. Tom Paris laughed and said the animal bit the last man who tried to scan it, and the port clinic had charged him for the shots. The inspector waved his wand once over the bin from a safe distance. The wand chirped. He looked at the hissing raccoon, looked at his partner, and marked something on his pad. "Livestock feed," he muttered. "Metal fittings in the bin. Fine." He moved on. Ten minutes later the ramp closed for good and the freighter's engines began to warm. Xena lifted the raccoon off the bin and set it on her shoulder. It smelled of dried fruit and dust. She dug the sword out of the pellets and wiped the blade clean on her sleeve. Tom Paris watched her from the ladder. "You owe that animal," he said. "You also owe me a shift. Galley needs scrubbing before we hit the belt." Xena wrapped the sword again and followed him up the ladder. The Vega mining belt was still weeks away. Seven of Nine was still weeks away. But the port was behind her now, and the sword was still hers.