container with raw wool. We’re already taking three containers as part of a scheduled shipment and adding one on spec isn’t really very expensive.”
“Well, for our stuff, I’ll contribute the extra ten kilos I’m getting for moving up to half share, and you’ve got all our joint funds still, so whatever you find at the flea market is fine by me. I’m not going to get back up there before we get underway.”
“Okay,” Pip agreed, “between us, we’ve got a lot of open mass so I’ll probably try to fill it.” He slipped into his free-flowing analysis mode. “I’m leaning toward the yarn. I talked to Sean last night after you left and he says this is prime material and clued me in on some things to look for. But if we buy forty kilos that will be a lot of yarn, and I’m not sure we can sell it in Dunsany. How about we commit to twenty kilos for now and I’ll see if I can find anything to diversify the load with?”
“Sounds good. I trust your judgment. I’m trying not to be spoiled by the successes we’ve had so far. We’re bound to throw a deal here sooner or later.”
Pip gave a self-deprecating laugh. “That’s probably truer than I’d like to admit to myself.”
I pointed at the chronometer. “If you’re meeting Biddy, you better move it.”
It was still early when I finished the breakfast cleanup, and Cookie shooed me out of the galley, so I headed back to the gym. I did not usually run early in the day, but with so much uncertainty, I thought I better get it in while I still could. I overheard one of the deck gang saying that the captain had already gone down to the planet, so we could expect a new hand any time.
After my run and a shower, it was still early. I rambled on down to environmental to check in. Francis had the port duty watch, and he grinned when he saw me. “You reporting for duty?”
I shook my head. “Not yet. Still waiting.”
“Nerve-wracking, isn’t it?”
I sighed and rolled my eyes. “Unbelievably!”
“Oh, I believe it. I think almost everybody has been through it at least once. In a way, shipboard promotions are worse than transfers. With a transfer, you pack your gear and you’re gone.”
“Someday you’ll have to show me how that works.”
“How what works?” he asked.
“Transfers. For instance, how did Gregor get a new berth without going down to the Union Hall?”
Francis looked concerned. “You’re not planning to leave already, are you?”
“No, no. It’s just one of those mysteries that I’ve always wondered about. Why does the captain have to go down to the Union Hall to hire a new hand but Gregor gets a new berth on another ship almost before we dock?”
“When you get a tick, bring up the communications options on your tablet.”
I groaned and had a flash of déjà vu. All through my first weeks aboard, Pip kept springing little surprises like this on me. I had been aboard for weeks before I discovered the ship had a gym. My tablet had a good schematic of the ship, but I had never thought to check for recreational areas. It was one of those situations where, if you did not know it existed, you never thought to look. I could not remember the number of times I had tripped on that mistake and was chagrined to think I had just done so again.
I pulled the tablet out of its holster and pulled up the communications options. At first I did not see what Francis was talking about, and then I saw the StationNet option at the bottom of the list. I had noticed it there, of course, whenever we’d been in port, but I had never pulled it up. Pip had even talked about using it to hunt for trade goods. I opened it now and saw the local options including a duplicate of the Union Hall data. All the ships in port, and those due in the next few weeks, scrolled across my tablet. I knew from experience that I could dig into that data and find an amazing array of information on each of the vessels.
Francis came around to glance over my shoulder.
“Well, for our stuff, I’ll contribute the extra ten kilos I’m getting for moving up to half share, and you’ve got all our joint funds still, so whatever you find at the flea market is fine by me. I’m not going to get back up there before we get underway.”
“Okay,” Pip agreed, “between us, we’ve got a lot of open mass so I’ll probably try to fill it.” He slipped into his free-flowing analysis mode. “I’m leaning toward the yarn. I talked to Sean last night after you left and he says this is prime material and clued me in on some things to look for. But if we buy forty kilos that will be a lot of yarn, and I’m not sure we can sell it in Dunsany. How about we commit to twenty kilos for now and I’ll see if I can find anything to diversify the load with?”
“Sounds good. I trust your judgment. I’m trying not to be spoiled by the successes we’ve had so far. We’re bound to throw a deal here sooner or later.”
Pip gave a self-deprecating laugh. “That’s probably truer than I’d like to admit to myself.”
I pointed at the chronometer. “If you’re meeting Biddy, you better move it.”
It was still early when I finished the breakfast cleanup, and Cookie shooed me out of the galley, so I headed back to the gym. I did not usually run early in the day, but with so much uncertainty, I thought I better get it in while I still could. I overheard one of the deck gang saying that the captain had already gone down to the planet, so we could expect a new hand any time.
After my run and a shower, it was still early. I rambled on down to environmental to check in. Francis had the port duty watch, and he grinned when he saw me. “You reporting for duty?”
I shook my head. “Not yet. Still waiting.”
“Nerve-wracking, isn’t it?”
I sighed and rolled my eyes. “Unbelievably!”
“Oh, I believe it. I think almost everybody has been through it at least once. In a way, shipboard promotions are worse than transfers. With a transfer, you pack your gear and you’re gone.”
“Someday you’ll have to show me how that works.”
“How what works?” he asked.
“Transfers. For instance, how did Gregor get a new berth without going down to the Union Hall?”
Francis looked concerned. “You’re not planning to leave already, are you?”
“No, no. It’s just one of those mysteries that I’ve always wondered about. Why does the captain have to go down to the Union Hall to hire a new hand but Gregor gets a new berth on another ship almost before we dock?”
“When you get a tick, bring up the communications options on your tablet.”
I groaned and had a flash of déjà vu. All through my first weeks aboard, Pip kept springing little surprises like this on me. I had been aboard for weeks before I discovered the ship had a gym. My tablet had a good schematic of the ship, but I had never thought to check for recreational areas. It was one of those situations where, if you did not know it existed, you never thought to look. I could not remember the number of times I had tripped on that mistake and was chagrined to think I had just done so again.
I pulled the tablet out of its holster and pulled up the communications options. At first I did not see what Francis was talking about, and then I saw the StationNet option at the bottom of the list. I had noticed it there, of course, whenever we’d been in port, but I had never pulled it up. Pip had even talked about using it to hunt for trade goods. I opened it now and saw the local options including a duplicate of the Union Hall data. All the ships in port, and those due in the next few weeks, scrolled across my tablet. I knew from experience that I could dig into that data and find an amazing array of information on each of the vessels.
Francis came around to glance over my shoulder.
Similar Books
