by J. P. Larson
“What if they had come out of hyper more slowly?”
“Then they would have passed us, and we could just turn and run. I was afraid of the trap, not the pursuit. But we can outrun anything short of a military cruiser. The Pride is light and fast, Pamela. Especially if we’re willing to spend our profits on speed. We have no weapons, very light accommodations, and no cargo hold. I only carry light cargo and I run from all threats. But boy, can we run.”
“Alex, would you stand up for a minute? Please?”
Alex stood up and moved to the hallway. Pamela suddenly reached out have gave him a crushing hug.
Alex disengaged.
“I was so scared.”
“I wanted you to be. I’m sorry. But I knew they would scan you at one point or other. Now, I need you to pay attention to them. Are they chasing us? What’s going on? You keep track of them, and I’m going to monitor the engines.”
Alex returned to the cockpit after gently pushing Pamela towards her cabin.
Relaxation
It took three days before the two pursuing ships fell beyond Pamela’s ability to watch them. The other two ships hadn’t even tried to follow, but had gone to help their partners. Alex spent most of the time monitoring the engine gauges. When he had to take a break, he could reduce the velocity a touch and would ask Pamela to monitor.
With the pursuit too far distant for further threat, Alex slowed down further, but still ran the engine at 120% of peak efficiency. “It eats fuel, but I just feel better getting to Rolling World as fast as we can,” he told Pamela. “However, I’m exhausted, and I need to get the engines out of the danger zone.”
He looked at her. “I want to have a good workout, a shower, then I’m going to crash.”
“Okay,” she said. “I’m proud of you, Alex. You really came through. Have a good workout. I’m going to scan for traffic in front of us again.”
Alex paused before saying anything. “Pamela, we’re out of their range to scan us.”
She looked at him. Then her face fell. “You want to take off my necklace. I…”
“You thought I was getting used to it. You were hoping I would ask for the bracelets back, I suppose. I’ve seen your eyes travel from my neck to my wrists.”
“But…”
“But you’re hoping I’ll fall in love with you. You’ll hoping I’ll see Dawson’s Star and decide I would be happy waiting for you when you go off on your new ship.”
“You would live in a really nice home, Alex. You’ve lived on planets before. My home is very beautiful.”
“Tell me, the man of your dreams. Does he get to have a job?”
“Of course. Men need to feel fulfilled.”
“I’m a bright guy. I would probably be able to find a pretty good job. Bank president? Maybe I could run one of your mother’s businesses?”
Pamela looked aghast. “Of course not. You might be able to work in a bank, of course, if that’s what you wanted. Or help out with Kari’s import/export business. There are tons of opportunities available. Maybe you have some of your father’s artistic talent. I could set you up with a studio.”
Alex looked at her. “You know, actually, I do have some of his talent. You could buy me everything I need. Set me in a nice little cottage. Working full time, I could turn out three or four pieces a year, once I’d spent ten years learning how. You would come home to visit for two or three days every several months. I’m sure I would be quite happy. Will you bring me presents from your travels? Little trinkets to remind me of all the dangerous places I didn’t have to visit anymore?”
Pamela looked at him. Her rising, hopeful smile started to falter.
“Actually, we can make that work, Pamela,” Alex told her. Her smile grew. “I know exactly what it would take to make me happy on your world.” He paused. “All I would need is the right drugs or maybe a little surgery. I’m sure they could find a way to rip out half my personality. The right drugs, and I’m sure my only thoughts will be to make a nice house for you to come home to. I won’t really be me anymore, but what’s the harm?”
Pamela’s smile came crashing down. “You jerk.”
“Pamela, you’re right about a few things.”
“Go to…”
“I am falling in love with you. I would be willing to play the dutiful husband on Dawson’s Star. Outwardly, I could be nearly perfect. Your tamed offworlder. People would marvel at the control you have over me. If only they knew what was really going on my head. But I could do this, for up to a few weeks at a time, knowing we would be shipping out together again shortly. I won’t live there forever. Not even if you stayed with me. I won’t be half the person I am for you. I’ll only be the full person for you.”
“I’m sorry, Alex. I was being foolish.” She slowly reached up and removed the necklace from his neck.
“Not foolish, Pamela. You’re falling in love, too. But you’re falling in love with the man you think I could be, not the man I really am.”
Alex looked at her for another moment, then slowly headed to the workout room.
* * *
“Ms. Grey, would you join me in the cockpit please,” Alex asked over the ship’s intercom. The last several days had been very tense, and both of them had resorted to formality to maintain a polite distance.
“Yes, Captain,” came the reply. Alex heard the guest cabin door open and close, then felt her presence at his back.
“We’re approaching Rolling World. We’ll dock at the station. I was wondering if you could tell me the home planets of any other ships in system.”
“Not from this far,” Pamela told him.
“Could you tell me if there are any DS ships present?”
“Yes, that I can tell you. There are none.”
“Thank you, Ms. Grey. I trust you will help me choose our cargo after we deal with our commissions?”
Pamela flashed her eyes at him. “I thought I would be handling that myself. I thought my title was Finance Officer.”
“I’ve never heard of that title before I met Ms. Waters. Mostly, the ships’ captains negotiate for cargo. Unless you think we should announce who you are and what our relationship is.”
“What if we did?” Pamela asked him.
“Then no one will believe any PR from me, and I will have failed in a big part of my agreement with Captain Dawson.”
“What did you have in mind, then, Captain?”
“Can you use your, um, special talents without leaving the ship? And tell me what you’re discovering?”
“Of course.”
“Then we have a plan. You’ll make sure we’re being dealt with fairly. I’ll find cargo we can haul.”
“Yes, Captain.”
“We drop out of hyper in… fourteen minutes. We’ll be docked in about two hours.”
“I’ll be in my cabin if you need anything further.”
“Yes, Ms. Grey. Thank you for your help.”
Pamela stormed away. Alex tried not to think about her as he busied himself with the approach to Rolling World.
They dropped out of hyperspace right on time. Docking procedures took just over an hour. By the time their airlock was opened, Alex had sent messages off to his various clients for whom he was carrying cargo, transmitted the mail he was carrying, and had arranged for buyers to take a look at his artwork. The buyers would come aboard shortly after docking, and he expected everything to sell shortly after that.
“Ms. Grey,” he said over the intercom. “Could we talk the easy way?”
Alex filled Pamela in on his plans.
Everything went according to plan. Swanson’s Pride was given a berth in a landing bay. Several delivery companies
were on hand to pick up the items Alex was delivering. And several art dealers met him at his airlock immediately after the bustle died down. He led them to the galley, then retrieved the pieces he was prepared to sell. Alex unwrapped and explained each piece before setting it on the table. He listed asking prices for each item as he went.
Alex was only selling seven pieces here. Of the seven, no one was interested in two of them. Alex dickered lightly over the first two that sold. On the third, he asked for Pamela’s help.
Alex had asked an outrageous price for the piece in question.
The dickering went on for a while. Alex dropped his price twenty percent, then wouldn’t budge. He let Mr. Brown and Mr. Blue fight it out for a while, but they both were still twenty percent below Alex’s price.
So Alex came down 15% and blue eyes immediately agreed.
In a similar fashion, Alex sold the remaining pieces, minus the two no one wanted. Station credit changed banks, and Alex warned everyone he would be stopping by their shops to look for things to carry off world. Shortly thereafter, the Pride was back to its normal complement of Captain, Finance Officer, and Neglected House Plant.
Alex waited in the galley and was soon joined by his finance officer.
“Pamela, I am going to visit a nice restaurant here I know. You are under no obligation, but I hope you will join me. After that, I am going to check out some artwork and visit some other potential suppliers. It’s going to take me several days to scope out what I want. You’re welcome to help me or visit the station on your own.” Then he handed her a small paging device. “So I can get your attention if I need to. I’m assuming you can get mine at will.”
Pamela looked at him. “This isn’t working, you and I. We’re not good at working the middle ground.”
Alex didn’t say anything.
“Dinner would be nice, Alex. But after that I’ll go wandering on my own.”
* * *
Alex indeed spent the next three days chasing down lightweight cargo. Everywhere he went, he told people about his harrowing escape from certain death, with a last minute rescue by Jane’s Gift. He played up the low repayment and never mentioned any additional arrangements. Word spread, and Alex found doors opened to him that had previously been closed due to the small size of his ship.
On their third day on station, and at least two days sooner than Alex had expected, he paged Pamela.
Alex sent an image of a witch in a top hat.
Alex laughed and told Pamela where to meet him. They arrived at the outer office to Rollo’s Consolidated. The secretary didn’t want to let them in.
“I know that. But would you please tell Rollo that Ms. Grey of the Jane’s Gift is with me? She has some interesting information about his new process she has been meaning to tell me, but I thought she should meet Rollo before she said anything to me.”
She talked quietly to her boss for a minute. “He’ll see you now,” she finally told them.
Alex led the way into Rollo’s inner office. Rollo was a big man. He liked his food. And he liked his office. It was huge. He had a desk big enough to sleep on, but kept ugly, uncomfortable chairs for guests who come to see him. Alex eyed the chair, but decided he wouldn’t be using it for very long. He walked across the room, shook Rollo’s beefy hand, then introduced him to Pamela.
“I understand Ms. Grey is from the Jane’s Gift?” Rollo verified. “Seems to me I’ve been hearing about that ship lately.”
Rollo looked startled. “Can you read my mind?”
“She can, Rollo, but it’s rude unless you give permission. Would you like to know what it feels like? It’s quite distinctive.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that,” Rollo said. “I kind of like my private thoughts private.”
“She won’t look very deep. Pamela? Why don’t you tell me what Rollo’s wife’s name is?”
Alex felt a tickle in his own mind and grinned at her. “First or second?” she asked him.
Before Alex could answer, Pamela turned to Rollo. His eyes got wide. “Alex, did you know he had gotten married a third time? Her name is Marilyn.”
“Rollo! Congratulations. I hope you’re happy,” Alex replied.
Pamela paused for a moment.
“It will be a boy, Rollo. No need for that test tomorrow. Congratulations.”
“What do you want, Swanson?” Rollo asked. “As if I didn’t know.”
“Rollo, Ms. Grey helped rescue me. When I told them I was going to Green Skies by way of Rolling World Station, she asked to join me. I promised the people at Green Skies I would bring back your process with me. They could really use it.”
“With her little tricks, why are you even here? Did she just ferret out everything you needed?”
Alex paused. “Rollo, neither Ms. Grey or I ever cheat our customers or our vendors. But the people at Green Skies could really use your process. They won’t be cutting into your business here, and you can make some money selling it at a fair price.”
Rollo looked the two of them over. “Two million in a local bank.”
Alex laughed.
“Now, Rollo. I thought we said ‘fair price’. You know the people at Green Skies can’t afford that. In fact, we both know you’ll sell for a hundred thousand.”
“This isn’t fair, Swanson. How can I dicker with you?”
“Had you ever, even once, decided on a price before this?”
“I had no intention of selling to you. No, I didn’t have a price picked.”
Alex reached into his coat pocket and removed a piece of paper. He handed it to Rollo, who opened it. Written on the paper was the number 100,000.
“I do my homework, Rollo. That’s what it’s worth. We’re not here to cheat you. But I’ll be able to make a nice profit at that price. So how does one-twenty-five sound?”
“That sounds fair, Swanson. You have a deal. But I’m only licensing to Green Skies, and not for export.”
“Deal. I have papers all ready, if you can transfer the data directly to my ship.” Alex pulled out two copies of a one-page contract, signed and dated both of them, then passed them to Rollo. Rollo signed both and returned one. Alex used a pocket comm to transfer the funds to Rollo’s bank, and Rollo used his computer to transfer the process details to Swanson’s Pride.
Five minutes later, and Alex and Pamela found themselves in the public corridors again. Alex led the way to a quiet restaurant. After ordering, Pamela asked him, “How did you know his price?”
Alex said nothing, but started pulling papers from his pockets. One said 50,000, and the others ranged upwards to 350,000.
Pamela started laughing. “You and Kari have got to compare notes! How did the Captain ever get you to agree to her terms, if you can negotiate like this.”
“Her terms were very reasonable,” Alex replied. “And I wasn’t in much of a position to bargain. But here it’s a different story. I have some maneuvering room.”
“When do we leave?”
“Are you done here on the station?” Alex asked her.
“Ready whenever you are.”
“Then we’ll finish dinner and ask for departure.”
