Trading in Danger by Elizabeth Moon Page B

Not yet.”
    “Then—”
Don’t blame us because you didn’t have sense enough to hire us
was hardly tactful. “Not all firms are alike,” Ky said instead. “Vatta Transport is sorry that you have not been served well by another firm, and that this incident has damaged the image of Slotter Key businesses.”
    “I suppose it’s not actually your fault,” the man said. “But we’re so far out—”
    Which wasn’t Ky’s fault. Was this the time to push for a mutually agreeable solution?
    “What do you think happened to the Pavrati ship?” the man asked.
    “I don’t know,” Ky said. “They could have had a drive failure—”
    “Drive failure! You mean—that happens?”
    “Yes,” Ky said. “Usually going into or coming out of FTL space. Any little bit of debris in the jump lane can cause that much damage—it’s why we only travel to places with a decent traffic control crew. Or they might have collided with something bigger—” Leaving a dangerous smear of debris on the mapped routes. “Piracy you mentioned—they could have been intercepted somewhere—”
    “But surely Pavrati would have told us about any of that—”
    “No,” Ky said. “In the first place, they may not know what it is yet, and in the second place they won’t want it known, lest someone else profit by the knowledge.”
    “Seems ridiculous,” the man said. “They should at least tell our insurance company…”
    “If they know, yes. But when a ship disappears… space is big and ships are small.”
    “Ships really do disappear… they’re not lying about that?”
    “Ships can,” Ky said. Across her mind ran the list of Vatta Transport, Ltd.’s disappearances. They had a good record, the result of prudence, hard work, and another dollop of prudence on top. The spaceways, her father had said when she first mentioned the Academy, offer risk enough.
    “Well, then…” His voice firmed. “Your consul tells me you have the authority to decide if you want this contract. As I said, we aren’t going to pay in advance this time. What are your rates?”
    “We have no consignments for Sabine,” Ky said. “Nothing we can sell there.” She had tried to find something in the cargo for Lastway that would sell on Sabine, but nothing fit. “And you have no consignments, either, do you?”
    “No. We’ve never had exports to Sabine.”
    “Well, then. That means it’s a dry run over, and a paying cargo back. If we’re not getting an advance, that means a surcharge for the extra distance—”
    He scowled.
    “Think about it,” Ky said. “You want us to go out of our way, without profit on one leg; if we know we’re going somewhere, we carry cargo there, and that means we only need to charge each shipper for the distance their cargo actually travels. Now, have you asked for bidders again, or are you planning to buy from FarmPower?”
    “Well… no.”
    “Well, then,” Ky said. “Let me suggest this…”
    The haggling continued for hours, with breaks for refreshments, but in the end she had what she thought was an acceptable deal. She had missed the polo match, but she didn’t much care.

Chapter Five
    The closer she came to the station, the more reluctant she felt to tell her crew, her experienced baby-sitting crew, about her bright idea and the contract she’d signed. What would they think? Would they insist on telling her father? She was the captain. She had to approve all communications. Would that stop them?
    Gary Tobai met her at dockside. “How’d it go?”
    “I need to talk to you,” Ky said. “You and Quincy, anyway.”
    “Trouble?”
    “No. My office, when you can.”
    “Now works for me,” he said, dashing her hope that she could have a few minutes to think up how to say it. “I’ll get someone on dock watch, and callQuincy—ten minutes?”
    “Fine,” Ky said. She went quickly to her quarters and tried to organize her thoughts. Quincy and Gary appeared long before she felt ready.
    “So…