"Passport"

"Civilian-class passport, type NVA..." the inspector in front of me mumbles, "Ch-ch-ch... sorry for the holdup, it's my third day on the job..."

"Ah, that ain't a problem," I say with a hand-wave, "'Side from gettin' away from my family, I'm in no hurry."

"Mm," she hums, "Bad visit?"

"Somethin' like that," I tell her. I debate going over the details with her, at risk of breaking her concentration.

Best not, I think.

"Ah-ha, here we are!" she says with a self-content smile, "And you're flying a sparrow-class ship, right? Or was it Kestrel?"

"Sparrow, Ma'am."

"Mm," she hums again, "There should be a good number of openings, then. Estimated travel time to Asahi-Yon will be ten days, so..."

Her voice trails off as she clacks away at her keyboard. Knowing how hard being a newcomer to an inter-federal job can be, I think about thanking her just for encouragement. But again, I don't wanna ruin her train of thought.

"With Toukyou-Hachi as your destination, the most convenient time slots would be all day for Stardate 22042.27, or .28 from 000 .beats to 500 .beats."

"We'll do .27 @000 .beats," I say.

"Sure thing," she replies with a click, "Enjoy your voyage."