As the space freighter reached orbit, Renn entered the compartment occupied by Zack and Tron. He had been out rumaging for some diversion to deal with the tedium of the boring time between jumps from one planet to the next. He and his two compatriots had been hired by a company that was developing the resoursces of a newly discovered planet. They had secured passage on a freighter bound for that destination. The company felt they needed hired guns to bring order to the chaos of an undeveloped frontier. Renn had convinced the HR person he and his two friends were just what they were looking for. He and Zack had been a team for several years now, hired guns, more often than not fighting for the underdog. They had earned quite the reputation for their fighting skills. They hooked up with Tron on the last planet after finding he meshed well with their lifestyle. They didn't have to work very hard to convince him to join them in their quest for excitement and interplanetary adventures. Finally, Renn found a good book and settled in to read it while they continued on their journey. They arrived at their destination a few standard days later. They discovered a planet much like old Mars had been many centuries ago before it was settled and terraformed to more resemble the terran planet. The air quaility was better than Mars had been. At least humans could survive without the need for space suits and artificial environments. No permanent settlements had been established yet. Everything consisted of temporary living modules. There was a lot of building activity going on. A company rep escorted them to their living quarters on the edge of the main settlement and gave them a quick tour of their living module and other equipment. This company must not be as well off as the HR person had led Renn to believe. All the equipment was of an ancient vintage. It was in good shape, but still not very close to modern day standards of design and efficiency. The guys took one look at the rover and collectively gasped. 'Renn! What have you gotten us into?' asked Zack. 'Do you really expect us to be an effective peace keeping team with this old junk?' 'Hey man!' said Renn. 'From what I can see, there doesn't seem to be much activity around here yet. This assignment should be a cake walk. Our contract is only for 6 months. For what they are paying us, I think we can tough it out for that long. I've checked with InterGalactic Banking. The company is solid, so I don't believe they will stiff us on our fee.' 'You better be right! We can't afford to do any more charity work after that last fiasco. Our bankroll is pretty nearly dried up, partner!’ said Zack. 'Well, I for one am a bit excited at the prospect of being among the first inhabitants of this planet.' said Tron. 'Just think of all the possibilities and new discoveries to be made and seen just over the next horizon!' With that, our three compadres retired into their quarters where the company at least had a good supply of booze and food stocks enough for a year. The guys weren't going to starve to death at least. Thank you for taking a peek! Your support is greatly appreciated!