Seducing Stag
Page 30
“Mind sharing them? Please? I remember you like that word…”
He bent, tugging off his boots. “The Markus Models dispensed bombs inside the dead zone.”
Shock flashed across her features. “They mined the Pitch? Shit!”
“The types they used are drawn to vessel hulls. I didn’t want them attaching to us.”
“You wanted to outrun them so they’d have a harder time of locking on.” She removed the socks she kept taking from his drawer, baring her feet. “Damn, you’re smart.”
“I’m a cyborg.”
“I thought you were crazy. I would have blown up part of my ship if I’d pulled a stunt like that with the Pride. She was old though. She rattled and almost shook apart the last time I had to race her. I’d never have dared to full blast from a dead takeoff. I had to slowly increase speeds to keep her in one piece.”
“Why did you go to that speed if it wasn’t something your freighter could handle?”
“Pirates. They were the bane of my existence. We could always outrun them but I swear they’ve gotten smarter in the last year. It used to be that we’d run across a single ship and it put off enough radiation that our sensors detected them long-range. We’d adjust course and increase speed a bit so they didn’t stand of a chance of catching us. Four months ago, six of their ships were working together, or they were just closely spaced apart. It kind of caused a net effect. We had to push the Pride harder than I’d ever done before. They got close enough to fire on us that time. They missed, but it got hairy.”
He put his boots away in the drawer and turned. “Hairy?”
“Scary. Close call.” She shrugged. “Never heard that term before, huh? They almost got us. I was actually worried that time.”
“They wanted the sex bots you were transporting?”
“There’s no way they knew. It was a secret. I didn’t want a target on my back. Lots of thieves would have searched for us if they knew what we were carrying. Those bots are worth big credits on the black market. Pirates target anything large enough to carry food supplies, and the Pride probably looked like they’d hit the jackpot. Imagine their surprise if they’d actually boarded us to steal food.” She smirked.
“Your job was dangerous.”
“What job isn’t these days when you work in space?”
He couldn’t deny the truth in her words. “Most women don’t venture this far out. It’s considered lawless. Earth Government rarely sends battle cruisers beyond the Baylor System.”
“It’s too costly to resupply them beyond that point. I know. It would have taken my freighter three trips to Earth and back just for the food staples they use up with a crew that size. Think of the time involved. They would need a fleet of transports hauling water, food, spare parts, and other essentials to them every few months to keep a battle cruiser stocked if they regularly patrolled this far out. Imagine the fuel they’d need, too. Some of those vessels carry five to eight hundred crew members.”
He crossed the room and took a seat next to her. “I never thought of that.”
“It’s my job to know about supplies and shipping them.” She smiled. “The battle cruisers that do venture this far out are here to blow something up, then return back to Earth. They’re already stocked enough to last that length of trip without needing to be resupplied.”
“Blow something up?”
“Like the Chandler Station.”
He hadn’t heard of it. His expression must have shown that.
“It was only open for four weeks. It was this station that flew to the Spacian sector. Some hotshot funded it, thinking he could make a fortune off pirates. That was the word going around, anyway. Full facility, for black-market trading and doing ship repairs. Any ship repairs. Anyone who could pay the credits, and they didn’t care if the ship was sanctioned or not. Some of us captains were excited because the closest station with repair bays is on the Arris.” She shuddered. “Let’s say we avoided that one. It’s got a bad reputation for violence. They might allow pirates to dock, but no repairs are offered to them, so EG left them alone. The Chandler Station, on the other hand, said fuck you to EG from the get-go. They were advertising before they even set up in the sector.”
“So the Earth Government…?”
She nodded. “They sent out a battle cruiser and blew it to hell. No more Chandler Station. I heard they put up a fight, even got some pirate ships to defend them, but they didn’t stand a chance. Only a few ships got out of there intact. My dad talked to one of the captains, another hauler, and he swore they had him dead to rights but let him go. He’s registered, so he guessed that’s why he survived. Dad thought it was more a case of EG wanting word to spread that they don’t take that kind of shit, and not to mess with them.”
“What does being registered matter?”
“We have to pay a percentage of all our profits to EG. I was registered with them. They took twenty percent from me. The stations pay thirty percent or higher, depending on their size and income. It’s the difference between being a sanctioned business and being seen as a criminal breaking the law. Get it?”
“I do.” He intensely disliked Earth Government.
“They screw you either way, but at least paying them keeps us from being fired on or imprisoned. On Earth, they take far more from businesses. My grandfather got screwed out of half his profits.”
“What did he do?”
“Import business. He dealt in selling furnishings for those luxury liners. EG stole his business from me two days after he died.” Her voice reflected her anger. “They took over the contracts, stationed guards around the warehouses where we stored our merchandise, and told all our employees to leave or they’d be shot.”
“They could do that?”
“EG never asks. Comply or die. It’s how it is. I got the hell out of there before they decided to empty his credit accounts and seize his house, too. I sold it, drained the accounts, and bought the Pride.”
“Do you miss Earth?”
She seemed to consider it. “Living on a planet and breathing fresh air? Sure. But that’s not worth living with Earth Government. I’ve done some supply drops to a few colony planets, just three, but they weren’t ideal either. You know?”
He bent, tugging off his boots. “The Markus Models dispensed bombs inside the dead zone.”
Shock flashed across her features. “They mined the Pitch? Shit!”
“The types they used are drawn to vessel hulls. I didn’t want them attaching to us.”
“You wanted to outrun them so they’d have a harder time of locking on.” She removed the socks she kept taking from his drawer, baring her feet. “Damn, you’re smart.”
“I’m a cyborg.”
“I thought you were crazy. I would have blown up part of my ship if I’d pulled a stunt like that with the Pride. She was old though. She rattled and almost shook apart the last time I had to race her. I’d never have dared to full blast from a dead takeoff. I had to slowly increase speeds to keep her in one piece.”
“Why did you go to that speed if it wasn’t something your freighter could handle?”
“Pirates. They were the bane of my existence. We could always outrun them but I swear they’ve gotten smarter in the last year. It used to be that we’d run across a single ship and it put off enough radiation that our sensors detected them long-range. We’d adjust course and increase speed a bit so they didn’t stand of a chance of catching us. Four months ago, six of their ships were working together, or they were just closely spaced apart. It kind of caused a net effect. We had to push the Pride harder than I’d ever done before. They got close enough to fire on us that time. They missed, but it got hairy.”
He put his boots away in the drawer and turned. “Hairy?”
“Scary. Close call.” She shrugged. “Never heard that term before, huh? They almost got us. I was actually worried that time.”
“They wanted the sex bots you were transporting?”
“There’s no way they knew. It was a secret. I didn’t want a target on my back. Lots of thieves would have searched for us if they knew what we were carrying. Those bots are worth big credits on the black market. Pirates target anything large enough to carry food supplies, and the Pride probably looked like they’d hit the jackpot. Imagine their surprise if they’d actually boarded us to steal food.” She smirked.
“Your job was dangerous.”
“What job isn’t these days when you work in space?”
He couldn’t deny the truth in her words. “Most women don’t venture this far out. It’s considered lawless. Earth Government rarely sends battle cruisers beyond the Baylor System.”
“It’s too costly to resupply them beyond that point. I know. It would have taken my freighter three trips to Earth and back just for the food staples they use up with a crew that size. Think of the time involved. They would need a fleet of transports hauling water, food, spare parts, and other essentials to them every few months to keep a battle cruiser stocked if they regularly patrolled this far out. Imagine the fuel they’d need, too. Some of those vessels carry five to eight hundred crew members.”
He crossed the room and took a seat next to her. “I never thought of that.”
“It’s my job to know about supplies and shipping them.” She smiled. “The battle cruisers that do venture this far out are here to blow something up, then return back to Earth. They’re already stocked enough to last that length of trip without needing to be resupplied.”
“Blow something up?”
“Like the Chandler Station.”
He hadn’t heard of it. His expression must have shown that.
“It was only open for four weeks. It was this station that flew to the Spacian sector. Some hotshot funded it, thinking he could make a fortune off pirates. That was the word going around, anyway. Full facility, for black-market trading and doing ship repairs. Any ship repairs. Anyone who could pay the credits, and they didn’t care if the ship was sanctioned or not. Some of us captains were excited because the closest station with repair bays is on the Arris.” She shuddered. “Let’s say we avoided that one. It’s got a bad reputation for violence. They might allow pirates to dock, but no repairs are offered to them, so EG left them alone. The Chandler Station, on the other hand, said fuck you to EG from the get-go. They were advertising before they even set up in the sector.”
“So the Earth Government…?”
She nodded. “They sent out a battle cruiser and blew it to hell. No more Chandler Station. I heard they put up a fight, even got some pirate ships to defend them, but they didn’t stand a chance. Only a few ships got out of there intact. My dad talked to one of the captains, another hauler, and he swore they had him dead to rights but let him go. He’s registered, so he guessed that’s why he survived. Dad thought it was more a case of EG wanting word to spread that they don’t take that kind of shit, and not to mess with them.”
“What does being registered matter?”
“We have to pay a percentage of all our profits to EG. I was registered with them. They took twenty percent from me. The stations pay thirty percent or higher, depending on their size and income. It’s the difference between being a sanctioned business and being seen as a criminal breaking the law. Get it?”
“I do.” He intensely disliked Earth Government.
“They screw you either way, but at least paying them keeps us from being fired on or imprisoned. On Earth, they take far more from businesses. My grandfather got screwed out of half his profits.”
“What did he do?”
“Import business. He dealt in selling furnishings for those luxury liners. EG stole his business from me two days after he died.” Her voice reflected her anger. “They took over the contracts, stationed guards around the warehouses where we stored our merchandise, and told all our employees to leave or they’d be shot.”
“They could do that?”
“EG never asks. Comply or die. It’s how it is. I got the hell out of there before they decided to empty his credit accounts and seize his house, too. I sold it, drained the accounts, and bought the Pride.”
“Do you miss Earth?”
She seemed to consider it. “Living on a planet and breathing fresh air? Sure. But that’s not worth living with Earth Government. I’ve done some supply drops to a few colony planets, just three, but they weren’t ideal either. You know?”
