fore said.
"My ship— my rules. Take it or leave it."
"What if we decide to leave it?"
"Then I leave with the cargo."
The freighter crewman scowled and removed his holster, then handed it to the man behind him, saying, "Leave your weapons in the shuttle, men."
When there were no more weapons in sight, Vyx allowed the five crewmen to enter the Scorpion . Byers led the way to the cargo bay. At the first cross-corridor, the freighter crewmen were surprised to see Brenda and Kathryn on either side, both armed with laser pistols and lattice rifles, and holding their rifles at the ready.
Turning towards Vyx, the crewman in charge of the group said, "You don't take any chances, do you?"
"Being careful keeps me and my crew alive," Vyx said.
"And a nice crew it is," the leader replied looking at the women. "Part of it, anyway."
"The only thing that concerns you is straight ahead. Keep walking or turn around and leave my ship."
The freighter crewmen spent twenty minutes checking and verifying that every seal on all four containers was intact and there was no sign of tampering. When they were done, the lead said, "Okay, you pass. I'm satisfied the seals are intact and no one has messed with the containers."
Vyx held out a viewpad and said, "Put your right thumb on the face and repeat that statement."
"We don't sign for cargo until it's loaded."
"You're not signing for the cargo. You're simply stating that when the containers left my ship the seals were intact and there were no signs of tampering. After you've loaded the cargo, I'll need a statement that you are in receipt of the cargo and everything was okay."
The lead took the viewpad and repeated his earlier words while his thumb was in contact with the viewscreen.
"Satisfied?" the lead asked.
"Fully. We'll escort you back to your shuttle and begin evacuation of the air in this bay so the outer doors can be opened. It will take about a GST hour."
"An hour?"
"It's a large bay. It's actually more than half the interior space of the ship. We can't open the doors until the pressure is equal inside and out."
"Well, make it fast."
"As fast as possible. I don't want to be hanging around here any longer than necessary."
An hour later, Nelligen and Byers were in the hold. The bay doors were wide open on the larboard side, and the two men were suited up in EVA suits and ready to release the first container when a small robotic tug arrived from the freighter. The small tugs were used for moving containers in space and were nothing like the large tugs required to bring containers up from a planet or deliver them down to a planetary surface.
As the free-floating container cleared the bay doors, the tug decided on the best way to attach itself and latched on. In minutes, the container was drifting towards the freighter, guided by the attached tug.
Vyx watched everything from the bridge. He had every one of the Scorpion's cameras running and watched for anyone trying to approach the ship from any direction. It was unlikely that the freighter crew would try to 'take' the small freighter by force with an outside attack, but when dealing with people performing illegal activities, it never hurt to be careful.
Seventy minutes after the first container was picked up, the fourth was ready to be taken away, but when the robotic tug arrived, it brought the first container back. Vyx immediately reached for the communications headset.
"What's the problem?" Vyx asked. "Are your refusing the cargo?"
"Not at all. We've transferred the cargo and are giving you back the empty container."
"I don't want your empties."
"The deal is that you return the emptied containers when you return to the planet."
"That wasn't part of the deal. My deal is to deliver four quarter-sized containers. Nothing was ever said about carting containers back."
"That's the way we operate. If you want to get paid, you'll bring the empties back. It's up to you."
"Alright, I'll bring the empties back, but tell your
"My ship— my rules. Take it or leave it."
"What if we decide to leave it?"
"Then I leave with the cargo."
The freighter crewman scowled and removed his holster, then handed it to the man behind him, saying, "Leave your weapons in the shuttle, men."
When there were no more weapons in sight, Vyx allowed the five crewmen to enter the Scorpion . Byers led the way to the cargo bay. At the first cross-corridor, the freighter crewmen were surprised to see Brenda and Kathryn on either side, both armed with laser pistols and lattice rifles, and holding their rifles at the ready.
Turning towards Vyx, the crewman in charge of the group said, "You don't take any chances, do you?"
"Being careful keeps me and my crew alive," Vyx said.
"And a nice crew it is," the leader replied looking at the women. "Part of it, anyway."
"The only thing that concerns you is straight ahead. Keep walking or turn around and leave my ship."
The freighter crewmen spent twenty minutes checking and verifying that every seal on all four containers was intact and there was no sign of tampering. When they were done, the lead said, "Okay, you pass. I'm satisfied the seals are intact and no one has messed with the containers."
Vyx held out a viewpad and said, "Put your right thumb on the face and repeat that statement."
"We don't sign for cargo until it's loaded."
"You're not signing for the cargo. You're simply stating that when the containers left my ship the seals were intact and there were no signs of tampering. After you've loaded the cargo, I'll need a statement that you are in receipt of the cargo and everything was okay."
The lead took the viewpad and repeated his earlier words while his thumb was in contact with the viewscreen.
"Satisfied?" the lead asked.
"Fully. We'll escort you back to your shuttle and begin evacuation of the air in this bay so the outer doors can be opened. It will take about a GST hour."
"An hour?"
"It's a large bay. It's actually more than half the interior space of the ship. We can't open the doors until the pressure is equal inside and out."
"Well, make it fast."
"As fast as possible. I don't want to be hanging around here any longer than necessary."
An hour later, Nelligen and Byers were in the hold. The bay doors were wide open on the larboard side, and the two men were suited up in EVA suits and ready to release the first container when a small robotic tug arrived from the freighter. The small tugs were used for moving containers in space and were nothing like the large tugs required to bring containers up from a planet or deliver them down to a planetary surface.
As the free-floating container cleared the bay doors, the tug decided on the best way to attach itself and latched on. In minutes, the container was drifting towards the freighter, guided by the attached tug.
Vyx watched everything from the bridge. He had every one of the Scorpion's cameras running and watched for anyone trying to approach the ship from any direction. It was unlikely that the freighter crew would try to 'take' the small freighter by force with an outside attack, but when dealing with people performing illegal activities, it never hurt to be careful.
Seventy minutes after the first container was picked up, the fourth was ready to be taken away, but when the robotic tug arrived, it brought the first container back. Vyx immediately reached for the communications headset.
"What's the problem?" Vyx asked. "Are your refusing the cargo?"
"Not at all. We've transferred the cargo and are giving you back the empty container."
"I don't want your empties."
"The deal is that you return the emptied containers when you return to the planet."
"That wasn't part of the deal. My deal is to deliver four quarter-sized containers. Nothing was ever said about carting containers back."
"That's the way we operate. If you want to get paid, you'll bring the empties back. It's up to you."
"Alright, I'll bring the empties back, but tell your
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