Chapter 36 Dax
Dax
The atmosphere on the bridge was tense as we approached Harrier.
Burn sat to my right in the navigator’s chair and Finn was hunkered down in the engine room.
I would have been more comfortable with Lacy up here on the bridge with us, but that had been vetoed by the others, no matter how hard I argued for her expertise.
Finn was still adamantly against her involvement with anything to do with Fortuna and Burn seemed to be supporting Finn, albeit reluctantly.
I had convinced them to let her listen in on our communications with Harrier, in case we ran into any problems. And I’d spent several hours with her going over what we needed to know.
She had still been generous with her knowledge, but her eyes had lost their sparkle and her expression lacked her usual animation. It was like the spark had gone out of her.
Even before I’d told her of the crew’s decision, she’d known that we would be leaving her on Harrier. I’d felt like the world’s biggest asshole asking her about our destination, but we couldn’t afford a mistake, not with such dangerous cargo.
The comms crackled to life. “Unidentified craft, please be advised that you are entering Harrier airspace. State your name and business.”
“Harrier control, this is Fortuna. Be advised we have a load of stupid shooters from Rigel Naught.”
“Well now, that’s useful cargo. ’Course, if you’d said you had fresh fruit, we mighta had to throw you a parade.”
That surprised a laugh out of me. “I’ll keep that in mind for next time.”
Burn waved to catch my attention. Next time? she mouthed.
Why not, I mouthed back. Regular, well-paying cargo would be damned handy. Depending on how this delivery went.
“Appreciate it,” the gruff voice on the radio responded. Then it turned business-like again in the next breath. “Land at the auxiliary spaceport and we’ll offload that cargo for you.”
“Auxiliary?” I asked.
“We keep those stupid shooters away from the main populated areas. Those things don’t mess around.”
“Got it.”
I verified the coordinates after Burn entered them into the navigation system. “Course is laid in.”
“Roger. Fortuna, you are cleared for that flight path. Safe flying.”
“Thanks. Appreciate the assistance.” I signed off, wishing Lacy was on the bridge with us. Her experience would be invaluable.
“Next time?” Burn asked again.
I shrugged. “If we’re gonna run cargo, it never hurts to start making connections. This could be a valuable run.”
“That makes sense. Holy shit! Would you look at that?”
Once just a dot on the radar, the auxiliary spaceport suddenly appeared out the front windshield.
“That’s one ugly base,” Burn said.
I don’t know what I had been expecting, but it was not the floating, twisting tangle of shapes ahead of us.
Part circle, part pyramid, part . . . I had no idea.
The whole thing looked cobbled together.
A pit formed in my stomach as I wondered if my skills were enough to land Fortuna on the floating structure.
And if the structure was solid enough to support our ship.
With a confidence that I didn’t feel, I contacted the controller on the base and confirmed our dock number.
“Should I get Lacy?” Burn asked as soon as I cut the call.
Wanting nothing more than to take her up on that offer, I shook my head. I needed the experience. And after this stop, we wouldn’t have Lacy to fall back on any longer. “No, I got it.”
Burn raised her brow but didn’t say anything other than “Aye aye, Captain.”
I eased the ship into the docking station, hoping that Burn didn’t notice my white-knuckle grip on the controls. A combination of autopilot and either luck or skill got us safely into our assigned dock.
“We’re attached,” Burn said after she verified our position. “And the atmospheric shield is stable.”
Only when I’d cut the engines and the ship slowly settled into the port did I finally release my grip.
“Welcome to Harrier auxiliary spaceport, Fortuna.”
“Thanks, glad to be here.”
With the atmospheric shield in place, we wouldn’t have to put on spacesuits to unload the cargo.
“Are you ready for this?” Burn asked.
I blew out my breath before responding. “Completing our first job? Yes. The rest of it?” Leaving Lacy here? “No. Not really.”
I really fucking hated the idea. I’d wrestled with options all night. Sure, I could probably enforce my will, or try to at least, but it would either lead to physical violence or destroy my crew. Either way, it was a step that my team would never come back from.
My job. My responsibility.
I shoved out of the captain’s chair, wishing again that the circumstances were different.
Burn followed me with a sigh as I left the bridge. She went to corral Finn, while I stopped at Lacy’s door.
I knocked, then opened it. “We’re here.”
Lacy logged off the computer, then stood up from the desk. She looked subdued. Her hair was pulled back into a high ponytail, the braided end draping over her shoulder. She wore her worn Elegium Station coveralls.
My heart raced, knowing this was likely the last time I would see her. I hated that thought.
“How will this work?” I asked to break the tension that hovered between us.
“Depends,” she said. “Am I allowed to help?”
“Yes.” My response was immediate, even though it wasn’t technically what Finn and Burn had agreed to.
“Okay. Someone will need to meet the unloading crew on the cargo deck. Someone else should open the cargo hold. The team will let us know if they need help. Most likely, they’ll instruct us to stand back and stay out of their way.”
“Sounds easy enough.”
Lacy laid her hand on my forearm. “Dax, nothing about this delivery is easy. The stupid shooters are essentially massive bombs. They’re no less dangerous now that we’re on the spaceport than when we were in transit. It’s not easy until we’re—you’re—well away from here.”
I covered her hand with mine. “Thanks for the reminder.” I hated knowing that we would be leaving her here, in danger.
“Want to meet the station crew with me? We can get Burn to open the cargo hold.”
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 off Fortuna easier. 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.”
I didn’t understand whatever she was trying to tell me. “Here, as in in this moment? Or here, as in on the spaceport?”
“Both.”
“That makes no sense.”
She looked at the ship for a moment, seeming to consider her words. “Did you have superstitions in the space corps? Things you didn’t do? Things you never said?”
I nodded. “Of course. There’s a long rich history of those in the military.”
“It’s similar here. Asking about payment is considered disrespectful. The explosives we brought here—the ones he joked about vaporizing ships—those things cost lives. You don’t talk about money when the cost can be so much higher.”
I rubbed my forehead. There were so many nuances to this business that I never would have guessed. “Then how do we get paid?” I winced as I asked, her words already having taken root.
“Someone, probably the crew leader but maybe not, will bring out a tablet. He’ll enter the amount; you enter the account. The money will be transferred without anyone saying a word.”
“What would have happened if I’d asked?” I needed to know the worst-case scenario.
Her serious gaze met mine. “You would have still gotten paid. But they would have taken note of the question, the ship. Maybe you stop here again, but it doesn’t go as smoothly.
There’s no joking around.” She shrugged.
“And maybe it’s more widespread. Someone leaves the mining colony, they remember the ship, mentions the question to someone on another station. Word spreads.”
I stared at her, hoping she was kidding. Seconds ticked by as I realized she was dead serious.
Fuuuck. That would have been a disaster. “Thank you.”
She smiled then and her whole face lit up. “You’re welcome.”
There had to be a way to keep her on the ship and keep Burn and Finn happy. “How am I going to learn all this without you?”
“You’ll figure it out.”
Whatever she said next was drowned out by the sound of unloading cargo.
The crew leader led the way, with his team and their cargo lifters staggered behind him. I shuddered as I watched the highly dangerous cargo leave my ship. The risk would be well worth the payday, but I’d sleep easier at night with the explosives off my ship.
Burn and, finally, Finn followed the crew down the ramp.
The first pallet of stupid shooters rolled past Lacy and me, the crew members carefully guiding it from the ship to the loaders.
The rattle on the ramp got louder and faster. I looked up in horror as the figure in the back lost control of his cart. “Fuck! Watch out!” he yelled.
Gravity and the angle of the ramp pressed it down against the man at the front. No matter how strong he was, there was no way that he would be able to stop the cart full of heavy explosives.
I shoved Lacy behind me. Even knowing I wouldn’t get there in time, I raced toward the ramp.
Vaguely aware of everyone around me stopping what they were doing, I prayed someone would stop the tragedy about to happen.
I didn’t see how the other man could survive.