Octavia’s armor clinked and her hoof boots thudded on the metal floor of the industrial complex as she made her way to the shipping and receiving office to claim her item for transfer to her awaiting ship. She delivered her cargo for processing earlier in the day. Now with her ship refueled and flight departure approved from the Mares Gatesway Space Port she wanted to be on her way.
The Traffic Officer saw Octavia enter his office and without saying word he rose from his desk and gestured for the mare to follow him. The small diamond dog lead Octavia through a locked door and down a dimly lit hallway. The Traffic Officer shuffled up to a small, locked, and shielded storage room. With one hand they inserted a security node into the slot by the door and then typed in a password into a keypad. The heavy metal door hissed and groaned as it opened revealing a dimly lit 12ft x 12ft room. Standing up in the center of the room was her cargo.
The mare stepped in the room and examined it careful. Frozen in a block of carbonite was her bounty. A unicorn mare named Vinyl Scratch. A bounty on the planet of Trottoonie had been issued for her capture and live return to that world. Apparently the entertainer/smuggler had run up quite a debt and then skipped town.
Octavia did a quick inspection that her prize was still alive. Satisfied with what she saw she looked back at the Traffic Officer. “Have a grav sled brought over. I’ll be transferring this to my ship now. Did she give you much trouble?”
The diamond dog shook his head. “Nah! Nothing we haven’t dealt with before. “ He reached into a satchel that hung from his neck and produced a data tablet. “She almost got that inhibitor ring off, but beyond that it was a routine job. If I can get you to sign this I’ll get you a shipping manifest.”
Octavia took the tablet and quickly inputted her signature and verification code. Then she handed it back to the diamond dog. “There you go.”
The diamond dog typed an instruction into the tablet and then stowed it away. “Alright! The sled will be here soon. On your way out you can pick up a printout of your manifest.” He paused and looked at the carbonite frozen mare. “How does a pony run up a bar tab big enough to make folks hire folks like you to bring them in?”
Octavia fiddled with one of her vambraces for moment before replying. “I have no idea.”
A patreon reward for :. They wanted a Star Wars Mandalorian themed drawing. This is the story that popped into my head as I worked on it.