After a beat, she nodded.“Sure.Can I come back for my gear later?”
The excitement of embarking on a new adventure with her fizzled out.“Yes.Of course.”I’d noticed her tool bag when I’d entered, but I’d either missed or ignored the duffle that sat next to it on her bunk.
Lacing my fingers with hers, we exited her room and made our way down the corridor.Burn stood near the internal cargo-hold door.Her gaze flicked down to our clasped hands, but she was smart enough not to say anything.
“Where’s Finn?”I’d expected him to meet us here too.
She shrugged.“Said he’d be along in a minute.”
It was just as well.I didn’t need another one of his explosions.“We’re going out to meet the base team.You’re in charge of opening up the cargo hold.”
“Got it, Sarge.”
The three of us slipped into the cargo hold.Burn lowered the ramp.Flood lights flickered to life outside the ship.I blinked several times to clear my vision.When I could see, I started down the ramp, Lacy close behind me.When we stepped out on the station’s platform, half a dozen crew waited at the bottom.They were dressed in protective gear.Their loaders were parked a few feet from the ramp.
The work crew leader stepped up and introduced himself as Bruce.“Hear you got some stupid shooters for us.”
I nodded.“Got a cargo hold full of them.”I gestured back toward the ship.
The work crews lead whistled.“That’s ballsy.Those fuckers are dangerous if you don’t transport ’em right.You see that debris field out there approaching the auxiliary station?”
I frowned.I didn’t recall seeing any debris field on our approach.“No, must have missed it.”
The other man slapped his leg and laughed.“That’s cuz there ain’t none.When those fuckers blow up, there ain’t nothin’ left.”
Damn.That was some dark humor.“Got lucky,” I said.“One of my crew’s got experience with them.”
“Handy,” Bruce said.“Every once ‘n a while, some amateur gets hold of some and tries their hand at delivering them.Only goes well about a third of the time.”
There was no hiding my wince.Damn, was I grateful that Lacy had worked with the loading crew.Her experience and theirs had probably saved us from blowing ourselves to smithereens.Another reason to keep her on the crew.
“Who do I talk to about—” Lacy’s hand on my arm stopped me.
She’d stepped to my side during the conversation and I looked down at her with a question.
“Captain, don’t forget to ask about the fruit,” she said.I had no idea what she was doing, but followed her lead.
“You got fresh fruit?”
I shook my head in real regret.“No, but we heard that would be welcome.Got any preferences, in case we make it back this way?”
A jumble of voices answered my question.Apples, kiwi berries, the slimy pears from one of the watery worlds.Basically, everyone had an opinion and I could see where this could become a profitable run if we figured out the logistics of transporting fresh fruit.
Finally, Bruce spoke over the rest of his crew.“Honestly, whatever you bring we’ll eat.Just don’t go cheatin’ us.We’ll pay a fair price but no more.”
He paused then continued, “Now let’s get this cargo unloaded.”
I looked back at the ship.Burn waited in the cargo hold doorway.“Show these folks the cargo, please.”
She nodded.The crew started up the ramp, an almost militaristic precision in their movements.Several guided the carts that would make the process of getting the shipment offFortunaeasier.The wheels rattled lightly against the metal.
“Why’d you stop me?”I asked Lacy.“It wasn’t really to ask about fruit, was it?”
She looked around and pulled me farther from the ship and the ramp.We were completely alone on the platform.She leaned closer, her hand still on my forearm.“You were about to ask about payment, right?”
I nodded and looked at her.“Well, yeah.We need to get paid for these things.That’s the whole point of running cargo, right?”
“Yes, of course.But you don’t ask about it here.”
