then looked over his shoulder. Three men came forward, one in a suit, one in a System Security uniform, and a third in the uniform of a CSS-SN lieutenant commander with the name Bradford on his breast.
"Is there a problem, Mister O'Reordan?" the Security officer asked.
"There is a problem with this shipment. I want this ship impounded and the cargo seized," he snapped and the three men looked at Ann.
"Captain," the Navy officer began but Ann held up her hand to stop him.
"Admiral. To be precise, Rear Admiral Annette Fairmont Stevenson, retired, commanding officer of the armed merchantman Admiral Ann's Revenge."
"Um, what would be the problem?" the lieutenant commander asked.
"The problem is that this man wants to modify our contract now that we've arrived. I will not unseal the ship until he has signed for our payment. That is how the contract is worded. If you try anything else, I'll issue a call to Beta Sector Command and request an arbitrator. Or, if you insist, I'll undock and take these damn vegetables elsewhere."
"You won't get away with-"
"Allan, shut up," the lieutenant commander whispered harshly. "Just sign the damn contract. I'll explain later."
"Taylor, what--"
"Just do it. No tricks. Not with this ship."
O'Reordan gave Lieutenant Commander Bradford a look that carried a thousand questions, but finally took the contract from Ann and signed it. "There. Now deliver our shipment."
Ann nodded to Sterling and the big cargo hatch opened. Sleds and lifts entered the ship as Sterling delivered stacked crates to the main door with his cranes. It took far less time to unload than it had taken to load, and Ann stayed beside Mister O'Reordan the whole time, counting crates as they passed.
"That is the entire shipment, Mister O'Reordan."
"Very well. But I meant what I said. You won't get--"
"Allan, don't!" Lieutenant Commander Bradford snapped.
"What the hell is wrong with you, Taylor?"
"Her," he almost shouted as he pointed at Ann. "Her maiden name is Fairmont, as in Secretary of Commerce Fairmont. She's his baby sister. You want her crying on big brother's shoulder about the combine?"
The man looked at Ann with a sick expression on his face, then fled. The security man followed him. Finally, the man in the suit stepped forward. "Captain, or should I say Admiral Stevenson, what is your capacity?"
"We can haul nineteen thousand tons," she answered.
"Very well. I will see if we have a shipment that small. Good day to you," he said with a slight bow.
"Who was that O'Reordan character?" she asked before he had turned completely away.
"Allan? He's sort of an unofficial official. He keeps things running on the docks with little trouble."
"You should replace him. Commander Bradford is correct. It would be unfortunate if I had to call in a favor from Andy."
The man paused, and then shook his head. "Some people are hard to replace, Admiral Stevenson. Allan wields a lot of power on these docks."
"I see," Ann said as she looked past the man. "I see indeed."
"I'll contact you shortly about a cargo, but we seldom have anything small enough for you to carry." Without another word he turned and walked away with Lieutenant Commander Bradford close on his heels.
* * *
A message arrived for Ann three hours later. "Admiral Ann's Revenge , we have a shipment to the Maori System. It's small, just ten thousand tons, but urgently needed. The space liner Herakles has suffered an engineering casualty and is stranded in Maori orbit. She needs a complete new set of Johansen Coils, and the dockyards in Maori only have three. I'll guarantee you a twenty-thousand credit profit if you'll take the load and leave now."
"He wants us out of here for some reason," Ann mused as she chewed the end of her stylus. "Fortunately, I want out of here badly enough to take a low profit shipment to make it happen. Signal our acceptance and get down to the hold, Sterling. Start loading and I'll be down in just a bit to sign for it."
The loading
"Is there a problem, Mister O'Reordan?" the Security officer asked.
"There is a problem with this shipment. I want this ship impounded and the cargo seized," he snapped and the three men looked at Ann.
"Captain," the Navy officer began but Ann held up her hand to stop him.
"Admiral. To be precise, Rear Admiral Annette Fairmont Stevenson, retired, commanding officer of the armed merchantman Admiral Ann's Revenge."
"Um, what would be the problem?" the lieutenant commander asked.
"The problem is that this man wants to modify our contract now that we've arrived. I will not unseal the ship until he has signed for our payment. That is how the contract is worded. If you try anything else, I'll issue a call to Beta Sector Command and request an arbitrator. Or, if you insist, I'll undock and take these damn vegetables elsewhere."
"You won't get away with-"
"Allan, shut up," the lieutenant commander whispered harshly. "Just sign the damn contract. I'll explain later."
"Taylor, what--"
"Just do it. No tricks. Not with this ship."
O'Reordan gave Lieutenant Commander Bradford a look that carried a thousand questions, but finally took the contract from Ann and signed it. "There. Now deliver our shipment."
Ann nodded to Sterling and the big cargo hatch opened. Sleds and lifts entered the ship as Sterling delivered stacked crates to the main door with his cranes. It took far less time to unload than it had taken to load, and Ann stayed beside Mister O'Reordan the whole time, counting crates as they passed.
"That is the entire shipment, Mister O'Reordan."
"Very well. But I meant what I said. You won't get--"
"Allan, don't!" Lieutenant Commander Bradford snapped.
"What the hell is wrong with you, Taylor?"
"Her," he almost shouted as he pointed at Ann. "Her maiden name is Fairmont, as in Secretary of Commerce Fairmont. She's his baby sister. You want her crying on big brother's shoulder about the combine?"
The man looked at Ann with a sick expression on his face, then fled. The security man followed him. Finally, the man in the suit stepped forward. "Captain, or should I say Admiral Stevenson, what is your capacity?"
"We can haul nineteen thousand tons," she answered.
"Very well. I will see if we have a shipment that small. Good day to you," he said with a slight bow.
"Who was that O'Reordan character?" she asked before he had turned completely away.
"Allan? He's sort of an unofficial official. He keeps things running on the docks with little trouble."
"You should replace him. Commander Bradford is correct. It would be unfortunate if I had to call in a favor from Andy."
The man paused, and then shook his head. "Some people are hard to replace, Admiral Stevenson. Allan wields a lot of power on these docks."
"I see," Ann said as she looked past the man. "I see indeed."
"I'll contact you shortly about a cargo, but we seldom have anything small enough for you to carry." Without another word he turned and walked away with Lieutenant Commander Bradford close on his heels.
* * *
A message arrived for Ann three hours later. "Admiral Ann's Revenge , we have a shipment to the Maori System. It's small, just ten thousand tons, but urgently needed. The space liner Herakles has suffered an engineering casualty and is stranded in Maori orbit. She needs a complete new set of Johansen Coils, and the dockyards in Maori only have three. I'll guarantee you a twenty-thousand credit profit if you'll take the load and leave now."
"He wants us out of here for some reason," Ann mused as she chewed the end of her stylus. "Fortunately, I want out of here badly enough to take a low profit shipment to make it happen. Signal our acceptance and get down to the hold, Sterling. Start loading and I'll be down in just a bit to sign for it."
The loading
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