> In business news, Hyperium Exchange officials predict increasing instability in the hyperfuels market as commodity prices fluctuate. Experts say that predatory trading ahead of the Office of Monetary Policy's expected announcement of new consumption fees is a major contributing factor. The fees, which will be charged on commodities including consumer goods and fuel, are intended to provide much-needed capital to the New Republic, which is struggling under the staggering debt incurred during the fight against the Galactic Empire and their recent reconquest of the capital, Coruscant.
>
> Exchange spokesbeing Urqtlii Babeesh released a statement indicating that the organization of hyperfuel manufacturers and distributors is taking swift action to stabilize prices, but they urged the New Republic Senate to, quote: «...strongly reconsider this reckless course, that will adversely impact the galaxy's poorer systems, thousands of which are still recovering from the effects of the recent civil war.» New Republic officials could not be reached for comment.
>
> -Edon Pitda
> Galactic HoloNews Business Correspondent
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41:03:08 GrS
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"Found one," Taz piped up, sipping from his mug of khaff while he scrolled through the auction listings.
"One what?" Lyra leaned over his shoulder and peered at his datapad. She took the mug from his hand and drank, then crinkled her nose. "Not sweet enough." She dropped two lumps of driftcane into the mug and swirled, answering Taz's frown with a coy smile. "One what?" she repeated.
"A ship. Well, ships," he said, pouring more of the dark drink for himself. "You know, you could get your own instead of ruining mine."
"I'd rather have yours," she pronounced and sat next to him, her bare thigh pressing against his leg. She was wearing one of his shirts, and not much else. "What do you want with a ship? What's wrong with Allegra?"
"Nothing but with another ship we could expand RCS or..." he glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, "maybe get away for a while. If you wanted to, I mean." She didn't say anything, so he added, "I hear Inusagi's nice this time of year."
Lyra took a drink. She kept her face impassive but her coppery eyes twinkled. "Trying to bribe me with a trip home, Officer Oktos?"
"I wouldn't think of doing any such thing, Ensign Nimor." Taz's expression was the very image of nonchalance.
"Sure you wouldn't." She found his innocent denial oddly sexy. "Tax auction?"
"Looks like it, plus some surplus and second-hand sales."
Lyra leaned over to get a better look at his pad. "Show me."
Reiko came out of the commander's cabin in her underwear, all smiles. Sera was right behind. "Morning Lyra, Taz." They sat across from the other two at the big table in the parlor.
The pilot pushed a tray of breakfast drafels toward them while they poured cups of khaff. "Taz is tired of us. He wants to buy a ship."
"I'm not," he protested, looking around the table. "I really... appreciate being on a small ship with three attractive women who like walking around half-undressed, I do." Taz slurped his drink, hiding the color in his face.
"Only when we don't have passengers," Reiko laughed. "My brother never minded."
"Neither did Allegra," Lyra quipped, throwing a smirk at her engineer co-conspirator.
"Not the same thing," Taz pointed out needlessly.
Sera looked amused. She leaned back and absently ran her fingers through Reiko's thick black hair, drawing a smile from her lover. "You're outnumbered, Doc. Probably didn't think about that when you signed on, did you?"
"I suppose not." He uttered a sigh but couldn't suppress a grin. "I'm not complaining, just saying. With two ships we could double our operations, or get some time away every now and then. I'll bet you and Rei wouldn't mind not having a man constantly underfoot."
"Nah, who would we tease, Doc?" she winked, then pursed her lips. "Hadn't really given much thought to growing the business." Sera's trimmed fingernail clicked as she tapped the plastic behind the padded backrest. "Not a bad idea to be honest. What've you got?"
Taz activated the projector on his datapad to show her. "Auction on Ansible Free Station. There's about two dozen starships up for sale." He glanced across the table. "It's a couple of hours from our next stop at Ongary Nine where we have a pickup contract for—" Taz tapped at the pad, bringing up the payload— "a custom order of eighty-seven tons of havod hull plates, bound for Lantillies."
"Ships are expensive," Lyra noted to no one in particular.
"I've been saving," he riposted. "After that automated refinery we salvaged for Gexorr Gas, I should have enough for a decent used one, or at least a down-payment."
"Seems you've thought this through, Doc."
"I'm not leaving, Sera, I promise. I'm just thinking about how we can... increase our options."
"'Our options,' says the man who didn't want an ownership stake in the company," Lyra commented, drawing a grunt from him with a surprise elbow to the ribs.
"You don't need to justify it, Doc. If you want to buy a ship I think that's great. You don't have to throw in with us either if you don't want to."
"No," he assured, shaking his head, "this is home. I want to stay with you."
Rei looked excited. "Want some company, Taz? I can take a look at the ships, check them out." She turned to Sera. "That's okay, isn't it Sera-sha?"
"Of course, my love. Nimor and I can handle the run to Lantillies. We can circle back to the station when we're finished, or if you buy one we can meet you somewhere."
Rei clapped her hands together. "Ooh, a new ship to play with!"
She looked happier than Taz did.
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Like most structures of its kind, Ansible Free Station had grown organically over decades. The ancient mobile defense platform had been abandoned by the Republic a half century before millions of clones and battle droids clashed across the galaxy, plowing through worlds, leaving chaos in the furrows. First smuggling gangs, then a succession of criminal enterprises had tried to run it over the years but bloody turf wars, poor leadership, and a disastrous failure of the atmospheric processors that poisoned half the population had left it adrift in interstellar space.
It was near enough to the Reena Trade Route's Vandor spur that the Empire had declared it a navigation hazard. Responsibility for its destruction fell to Moff Vanns Levido but his incompetent rule of the Ividal Sector meant nothing was done beyond placing a warning beacon.
Ten years into Emperor Palpatine's tenure, Parahna Loss Prevention thought it might make a good hub for their collection and liquidation activities in the Mid Rim. After its spatial position had been stabilized and its major systems repaired, PLP began hosting auctions on the station to sell off items seized in bankruptcies, tax liens, and other misfortunes that fell upon citizens and corporations throughout the section of the galaxy known as The Slice. That activity attracted a plethora of related businesses; everything from underwriters to banks to maintenance facilities to bars and hotels sprang up on Ansible.
The big station floated against the dark curtain of space, visual beacons and floodlights washing the dark triangular facets with splashes of color. It looked like two octagonal pyramids had been smashed together, forming an eight-sided, squat structure over three kilometers across. From the primary hull extended a confounding superfluity of hab modules, communication and sensor masts, docks, maintenance pods, and who knew what else. The platform's big guns had long been stripped, but Lyra counted a dozen quad laser turrets just on the side she could see, to say nothing of the six Marako-class gunships slowly patrolling among the vessels choking the approach lanes.
Lyra programmed an orbit that matched the station's slow rotation, staying fifty kilometers away. With an auction about to commence, inbound traffic was thicker than a swarm of Acridiolans. Rather than dock Allegra's Heart at the station, they'd done the sensible thing and hailed a transport pod.
Smart decision, she thought, watching the little transporter dodging through the tangle of inbound traffic. She set the autopilot, then headed aft. Taz stood by the portside airlock, idly playing with the strap on his rucksack and watching as the automated craft closed the last few hundred meters.
"Hey."
Taz turned at the sound of her voice. A diffident smile twitched at the corners of her mouth, though her stomach was doing slow-motion tumbles for some reason. "I guess we'll be gone for a week or so."
"Yeah. Gonna miss me?"
She scowled for a long second, then thrust out a closed fist. "Here." Taz extended his hand, looking curious, then surprised as she dropped a translucent blue credit chip with a tracery of golden circuits onto his palm.
"What's this?"
"A few thousand credits, my take from that Gexorr salvage. I, um, want to make sure you have enough to get a ship. It's an auction, so, you know, things can get pricey."
A smile bloomed on Taz's face. "That's really nice, thanks. I hope I won't need it, but I'll be sure to pay you back if—"
"No," she stopped him, stepping closer while the acrobats in her stomach lurched into their final routines. "That's not what I mean, Taz." Heat rose in her cheeks and a shiver vibrated down her spine.
His eyes got bigger. "You want to buy it... with me?"
Lyra made a little urgent nod. "Don't make it sound so serious, Oktos. It's not—It doesn't mean I'm—"
Taz smiled and touched the soft line of her jaw with his finger. She didn't resist when he drew her mouth to his and gave her a long kiss. "Lyra Nimor, I..."
She knew what he wanted to say; she could almost see the words. Part of her wanted him to finish the sentence but the other part quailed. If he did say it, how would I answer?
He kissed her again. "I'll miss you," he said instead. For just a second, frustration clouded his cool blue eyes.
"Me too." Relief and regret waged a heated battle, the same one she'd fought with herself every day for most of the last four months. Dammit, Lyra!
Sera cleared her throat behind them. They turned to see her and Reiko, hand in hand, smirking at them.
Lyra stepped back, feeling the way she did when her mother caught her sneaking honey biscuits. "Be sure to keep him out of trouble, Rei," she blurted in a voice that was a touch too loud.
"I will!" the engineer enthused, her dark hair bobbing with her head. On the monitor, the autopod flipped around and fired its retro thrusters to snuggle up against Allegra's hatch. The docking light turned green, accompanied by a chime.
Stolen story; please report.
Rei stretched up on her toes to give Sera a kiss, patted Lyra's arm, then hopped over to Taz, carrying her duffel and looking excited. He picked up his bag from the deck and hooked it over his shoulder. The frustration was gone though Lyra thought he looked lonely.
Sera activated the switch to open the airlock door. "We'll call when we've finished at Lantillies so we can coordinate. Don't have too much fun without me, Rei-sha."
"Never!" answered Rei, wearing an eager grin.
"Thanks, Sera," said Taz, opening the docking hatch. He smiled at Lyra, lips pressed thin. "See you soon," he promised, then ducked into the transport pod. The doors sealed behind them and the little automatic transporter pushed away with a puff of reactant from its aft thrusters.
Lyra watched the pod retreat and uttered a quiet sigh. How long will you keep him guessing?
Sera fixed her with an amused look. "Nope, you're definitely not in love."
"Shut up, Rendix." Yet more warmth enflamed her face and ears. The tingle of his kiss lingered while the pod grew smaller on the monitor. How long before I get to feel that again?
Sera's grin got even bigger. "C'mon. Stop mooning after Doc and get us to Ongary Nine. The agent there is a Heuthomarian; it's a stickler for punctuality."
"Who's mooning?" Lyra griped, the ghost of a smile tugging at her mouth as she walked to the cockpit.
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Reiko and Taz stepped out of the pod and walked the short distance to the transit office. Eight sets of sliding doors inhaled and disgorged travelers in a steady, mostly orderly stream. They hastened into line behind a shambling, broad fur-dappled creature trailed by a quartet of cleaning droids that mopped up the slimy ichor left in its wake. As soon as they were through the door they angled across the long lobby toward the shortest of the inbound traveler queues. After twenty minutes of slow advancement, they reached the arrivals desk.
"Purpose of your visit?" asked the flat-faced administrative droid in a perfunctory tone. A dozen others did likewise in queues to either side.
"We're here for the auction," answered Taz.
"Length of stay?"
"A few days, maybe a week?"
"Precision is required for proper entry, sir. Length of stay?"
"Five standard days," Taz frowned, enunciating each word with pedantic emphasis.
The droid's immobile black face and bar-shaped yellow photoreceptor still managed to look unimpressed. It held out a terminal with a list of entry and environmental fees, plus a deposit of ten-thousand credits to attend the auction. Taz whistled as he inserted his credit chip; he had only a little over twenty-five thousand in his account.
"I guess they don't want people who are just here to kick the landing struts."
"Seems that way," Taz agreed. The terminal spat out two ident tags.
"Welcome to Ansible Free Station, a wholly-owned property of the Tagge Corporation. 'Let Tagge, take care, of you!'," intoned the droid in a passable imitation of a salesbeing, accompanied by a lively jingle.
He returned to his flat, functionary expression before continuing. "Ident tags can be used to purchase services offered by Tagge Corporation while on the property. Many independent vendors also accept payment via your ident tag, although TaggeCo may charge a convenience fee of up to three percent of the purchase price. Your ident tags provide entry to the PLP auction and allow you to place bids. Do not lose your ident tags.
"You may examine the merchandise today until twenty-two hundred hours, at which time the auction hall will be sealed for the evening. The hall opens at seven hundred tomorrow morning and the auction begins promptly at ten.
"Parahna Loss Prevention charges a one-half percent seller's commission. All sales are final. All merchandise has undergone standard safety inspections per Imperial regulations. All vehicles have been certified safe to operate for their intended environments. Neither TaggeCo nor PLP make any warranty, express or implied, as to their fitness for a specific purpose. For a five percent holding fee you may make your purchase pending an independent inspection. Independent inspectors will be available at the auction venue or you may provide an inspector of your choosing." The droid finished its recitation. "Have you any questions?"
"What about property aboard the ships?"
"Sale of the vessel includes any cargo, consumables, or incidental property contained within them at the time of the sale. Note that freight may be subject to excise tax or other duties if it exceeds certain quantities or monetary values. This information will be posted with each vessel. Have you any other questions?"
"Lodging?"
"Dormitory lodging is available at Imperial standard rates or you may avail yourself of private accommodations at one of the many hotels on-station. Use the kiosks located near the exit. Have you any other questions?"
Taz shook his head.
"Good day, sir, madam. Next," it called, beckoning the Rodian who stood behind them in line.
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Lyra and Sera sat at a chipped plastoid table at Jegg's Cantina adjacent to Meshid-Qor Spaceport on Ongary IX. At midday the place was just starting to feel the press of the lunchtime crowd. Above the bar a flat display showed the local edition of Galactic HoloNews. The GHN anchor, a Bothan female with her fur dyed in polychromatic amorphous stripes, recited a report of an investigation into hyperfuel price-fixing, then turned to the crime blotter, leading with news of a murdered former CEC engineer from the design bureau.
Lyra read the crawl below the anchor's image, looking for a weather report. Through the dirty window she could see the cargo frames that Yuzu and two other droids were loading onto Allegra's Heart. Clamped in each frame was a big, irregularly shaped piece of brilliant red gleaming metal.
Across the table, Hgarko Fijhnit Gantoovfor's three vocal beaks snapped in staccato patterns while the Heuthomarian pushed a cargo manifest across the table with one of its grey and green spotted manipulator tentacles. Another wrapped around a deep bowl of something that looked like snot. Yet a third tentacle commuted between the bowl and the creature's oral pouch. Lyra looked away and tried not to let the slurping sounds turn her stomach inside out.
Sera responded with a flourish of her hands that was meant to imitate the alien's sinusoidal tentacles. "Of course, Manager Fijhnit, I can assure you that RCS will take utmost care of the shipment. We're quite aware of the demand for havod and the recent price increases in the commodities market."
Fijhnit chittered even more kinetically, waving two of its rubbery tentacles for emphasis.
"I understand piracy is a concern but we're perfectly capable of defending ourselves, or running if needed. And there's no need to worry about the schedule. Allegra's Heart is a fast ship. We'll arrive at Lantillies well before the delivery contract with your buyer breaches." Sera pressed her thumb to the scanner plate to accept the shipment, hoping that would quiet the chattering cephalopod.
Her comm beeped. Over the tiny speaker Yuzu's voice said, "Captain Rendix, I have completed loading and securing the cargo for Lantillies."
She double-tapped her earpiece to acknowledge the message and pushed the datapad back across the table. "Now, Manager, if there's nothing else, we'll get that shipment on the way for you." She affected a bland smile and rose from her seat, waving both of her hands in a complex, if awkward imitation of a Heuthomarian farewell.
Fijhnit's primary vocal beak trembled as though it wished to continue its frenetic discourse, but custom demanded an end to the conversation. It slinked from the chair, standing on three of its five locomotion tentacles, and bobbed its bulbous body while two of its manipulator tentacles made interlacing contortions and its large eye blinked with epileptic rapidity. A puff of putrid-smelling soot ejected from its nasal tubules as it shuffled along the cracked permacrete floor and out the door.
"Ugh," Lyra blanched, pinching her nose and fanning at the air. "No more deals with Heuthomarians!" The cantina's ventilation fans kicked into high gear, evacuating the nasty stench.
Sera smirked. "Oh, they're not so bad once you get used to the slurping and the pheromone ejections."
"Says you!"
That made Sera laugh aloud. "Not that I don't trust Yuzu but I want to inspect the cargo and record its condition before dustoff."
"Great idea," Lyra seconded. "Last thing we need is Manager Squidly accusing us of scratching its precious havod hull plates." She pushed past a pair of green-skinned Duros and made for the exit. "Some idiot with more money than brains wants to make their spaceship look like a child's toy, who am I to argue?"
Sera's mouth twitched. "Missing Doc already?"
More than I want to. "Why would you think that?" the pilot shot back.
"You're pricklier than usual."
"Hmph. Mind your own business."
Sera just laughed as they walked toward Allegra. They headed to the cargo holds and carefully inspected the merchandise while Kalli and Yuzu recorded holos of everything. The expensive, glamorous-looking plates were all custom-formed, of different shapes and thicknesses that varied from a few millimeters to nearly twenty centimeters. Their shipment looked like a lot of metal but Sera figured anyone who could afford all of the luxury hull material must be putting it on a big ship.
Kalli followed at her shoulder, carefully scanning each one. The plates were wrapped in plastic sheets that clung to every curve. "What beautiful-looking pieces these are."
"They look pretty now but they'll be scratched and dinged the first time their ship takes flight."
Kalli agreed, "Doubtless anyone who can afford all of this will have the resources to keep it looking as immaculate as it does now, Captain."
"They're certainly paying us well to transport it."
"I must congratulate you on your negotiation skills, Captain Rendix. A cargo of this nature would normally have been shipped with one of the big commercial freight lines."
"They can't give it the personal attention that we can. Plus, pirates are a lot less likely to bother a tramp freighter like Allegra."
"Hey, who's calling my ship a tramp?" Lyra yelled from the doorway. She and Yuzu had fewer pieces to inspect and were already finished.
"Your ship, is it?" Sera called back.
"Step it up, Rendix, we're burning daylight."
Sera cracked a smile. "You're just saying that because you want to finish this run so you can get back to your boyfriend."
"You're dreaming." She'd be damned if she let Rendix know how close to the mark she was.
Sera left the rest of the inspection to Kalli and walked with the pilot into the cockpit. "Men don't make many appearances in my dreams, Nimor."
Lyra laughed as they strapped into their seats. "Tell me you aren't missing Reiko, too." Sera didn't answer but Lyra caught the flash of longing in her captain's green eyes.
Forty minutes later they were riding dual columns of ion thrust as the last vestiges of Ongary IX's argon-rich atmosphere bled away from the freighter's durasteel skin. Sera manipulated the control yoke, watching the stark shade of space occlude the daylight they'd just passed through. She steered Allegra's Heart with careful movements, her lips pressed firmly together. The nav sensors indicated a large vessel inbound on a reciprocal vector. "Should I change course?" she asked, uncharacteristically hesitant.
"Hmm, I wonder?" answered Lyra from the pilot's seat. She glanced at the scope. "Time to intercept?" Sera reached toward the keypad but Lyra stopped her with a raised hand. "Do it in your head, Rendix. Use the formula I taught you."
Sera swore under her breath. She'd never been great at mathematics. Fortunately the formula was made for estimation, not precision. She ran through the calculation. "Um, twenty-two seconds, I think?"
Lyra shrugged. "Twenty-four is closer but that's not bad. When do you check again?"
"Every six to ten seconds."
"Good. What's your safe separation distance in an uncrowded lane when passing an approaching vessel?"
Unlike math, she'd never had a problem with recalling facts. "The greater of two-thousand meters or three ship-lengths of the larger vessel." Rendix checked the scope again. The display indicated a projected separation distance of twelve hundred meters on their current course.
"How are you going to pass?"
"Port to port," Sera answered with barely any hesitation.
"Good. Nudge her a few degrees to starboard," advised Lyra.
Sera gave the control column a twist to the right and Allegra's blocky nose followed. As the intercept distance dwindled, the gigantic Botajef passenger liner passed by well to their left, points of light gleaming from a few thousand portholes along the ship's tapering hull. The former Rebel commando allowed herself a satisfied grin as the ship fell behind them on its way to landing. She wiggled her shoulders and relaxed against the back of her seat. "You're not a bad instructor, Nimor."
"Stop flattering the teacher, Rendix," Lyra smirked. "Contact Control and get us a vector to our jump point."
Sera keyed her mic. "Ongary Nine Departure Control from Allegra's Heart, requesting coordinates and vector for hyperspace transit."
"Transmitting coordinates to you, Allegra's Heart," came the response. Sera turned the ship to the heading she'd been given and juiced up the ion engines.
Beside her, Lyra entered their destination into the navcomp for the lightspeed calculation. "You're picking this up pretty fast. A lot faster than Oktos did."
"He's a man," Sera crinkled her nose. "They're slow learners."
"Don't I know it. I swear, sometimes he's as dense as a dewback."
An amused look twitched at the corners of Sera's mouth. "Thanks for doing this. To be honest, I've been feeling kind of useless around here."
"You're not useless. If you weren't here who would I argue with?"
"I suppose there's that, but... Rei-sha's engineering, your piloting, even Doc. All your skills are important in a transport operation. I just know how to kill people and break things."
"Hey, don't do that, Rendix," Lyra said, turning serious. "So you're not a pilot, or a genius starship engineer, or a pain-in-the-ass medic," she smirked. "Every ship needs a skipper, and every job needs a leader." She put her hand on Sera's arm. "People trust you. They like you. If they didn't, Rixon Charter Service would've never gotten off the ground. Besides, it's not a bad thing to have a commando on the crew." She put on a sour look. "It's a dangerous galaxy with all you ex-Rebels running around."
"Not to mention all you sore loser Imps," Sera volleyed with a casual head tilt. Then she added, "Thanks, Nimor."
"Don't mention it," the pilot answered just as the navcomp beeped. "We're approaching the jump point." She lifted her chin toward the hyperdrive levers. "She's your ship. Want to do the honors?"
Sera grasped the levers while Lyra counted down to zero. She pushed them forward wearing a little smile as Allegra's Heart crossed the dimensional barrier into hyperspace.