“Saber fish.They’re?—”
Finn interrupted me again.“You say no to berries but want us to take on fish?”He sneered.“Talk about stinky cargo.”
I took a deep breath.Keeping my cool with Finn was gonna be hard.
“They’re not fish at all.They’re actually spools of highly specialized wire.Not many industries use it.”
This time even Dax stared at me.“Seriously?”
“Yeah.”I nodded.Inside I was trying not to laugh.Or cry.Dax and his crew seriously had no clue what they were doing when it came to cargo.What had he planned to pick up on Elegium Station?At this point, I was starting to think I’d saved them a lot of trouble by stealing the ship.
“Saber fish are easy cargo, but there just aren’t that many places you can offload them.We’re pretty close to Raddech, which tends to have a high demand.”
I paused to take a sip of my cider and study them.No one looked that interested in the saber fish.I didn’t blame them, but they’d soon learn that not all cargo was created equally.And some days, they’ll be thankful for any cargo at all.
Time for the big guns.“Big payoffs require big risks.Is that what you’re looking for?”
“Now we’re talking,” Finn said.
Dax and Burn were slower to respond, but she finally said yes.Dax nodded.
“Stupid shooters are probably the biggest bang for your buck here on Rigel Naught.”
“Well, why didn’t you lead with that one?”Finn asked belligerently.
“Stupid shooters?”Dax asked at the same time.
“Because these literally are the biggest bang.The payout is big because stupid shooters are fucking dangerous.”I left it at that, curious what they would ask next.
Burn was the first to break the silence.“What are they then?Bombs?”
I nodded.“Basically.”I shared a little more information.“Stupid shooters are filled with a specific particle that is attracted to the atmosphere.In 99 percent of space, the particles are completely inert.But once you hit Harrier’s atmosphere, or another planet like it, that changes.Stupid shooters will rip through the walls of ships to get to the atmosphere.”
They all stared at me in silence.
“Why the hell would we risk our ship for that?Why would they want them?How the fuck do you transport them?”
There was no way to give them the master class in hauling cargo that they needed, but Dax’s questions were a good start.“They’re used for mining the planet.Because of their affinity with the upper atmosphere, the miners bury the stupid shooters in the earth.They break through the rock as they try to reach the upper atmosphere.”
“That’s...crazy,” Burn said.“How do they get them to the planet?”
“Very carefully.There are special boxes designed for stupid shooters.As well as special delivery routes.It’s a very specialized, very dangerous cargo route.”
“You’re serious?”Burn asked.
I nodded.“This isn’t cargo to joke about.”
“How do you know so much about it?”Finn asked.
“I grew up on cargo ships.I learned this at my father’s side.”
Finn was staring at me in dislike again.“Why aren’t you running cargo then?”
“Because I’m a mechanic.”
The waitress arrived with our food, providing a break in the tension.I bit into a fry, then added ketchup to the side of the pile while I waited for their decision.I was 90 percent sure that they’d decide on the stupid shooters.Personally, I thought they should do those and the saber fish.We could fit both in the cargo hold—and empty space didn’t pay for itself.
If they did go for the dangerous job, I knew people here on Rigel Naught who knew people.New crews weren’t usually tapped to carry something this dangerous, but I was pretty sure I could get them the job.The question was, how much would I have to reveal to Dax and his crew to make it happen.
