I did some quick math in my head. “Ten per kilo. I have mass for fifty and enough creds for about twenty.”
Bev grinned at me. “Depending on how well the belts sell, you’ll recover some of the mass, and a lot of the money.”
Diane raised an eyebrow in my direction. “How many do you have?”
“Pip and I got a deal on eighty of them back on Gugara.”
“Eighty, wow that’s quite a lot,” Diane said with a whistle.
“You guys should pay me a finder’s fee.” Bev teased, much to Francis and Diane’s amusement.
“Hey, I spotted the belts first.”
“Kids, if you’re gonna fight, please take it out of the booth, okay?” Francis grinned at us.
A new group of customers stepped up to the table and we had to behave, but I snapped a quick digital of the buckle with my tablet and flashed it over to Pip’s address before I started answering questions.
Customers paraded through the booth in a more or less steady stream for the rest of the afternoon. Francis and Diane sold all the scarves, almost all of the plates, and three more of the brocade vests. Francis only put one out at a time and after each sale he rummaged in his duffel and pulled out another.
After he put out the third one, I shook my head in amazement. “How many of those do you have?”
“Three more.” He grinned at me.
“Are you putting them out individually to make them seem more valuable? Like they are one of a kind or something?”
He shrugged. “They are one of a kind, just like the belts. I put them out that way so they’re easier to keep track of.”
I chuckled. “Never overlook the obvious.”
Late in the afternoon, an attractive woman in a smartly tailored blouse and slacks stepped up to the table and looked it over. “How are things going?”
“Very well, Captain.” Bev elbowed me discreetly.
I managed to suppress the gasp of recognition. “Yes, sar, very well. Thank you for setting this up for us.”
She turned to Francis and Diane. “What do you two think of the idea?”
Francis spoke first, “It’s been great. We’ve sold almost all our trade goods and it’s been fun to boot.”
Diane nodded as he spoke, “Yes, sar, I’ve been dragging those plates around for months. We’ve sold most of them and at good prices, too. My mass allotment will be wide open after today.”
The captain smiled. “Excellent.” She turned back to me and asked, “Is there anything you need?”
I shook my head. “We came in not knowing what to expect and the banner was a surprise. I’ve made some notes to myself to get some clips so we can hang it up on the drape behind us and to replace it with a tablecloth for tomorrow.”
The captain’s fingers strayed to the blue fabric and she stroked it gently. “Excellent plan, Mr. Wang. This has served as tablecloth more than once so you’re carrying on a proud tradition. Is there anything else?”
Bev spoke up, “More trade goods, Captain. At this rate, we’re going to run out. We need to let the rest of the crew know what we’re doing so they can take advantage of the booth.”
The captain nodded and smiled. “Mr. Carstairs has been recruiting all day. I think there will be enough to sell tomorrow.” She scanned our faces. “Anything else?”
We looked at each other and I answered, “No, Captain. You’ve done a lot for us already, thank you.”
“No, thank you, Mr. Wang. This is a good thing you and Mr. Carstairs are doing for the ship.”
“Thank you, Captain.”
She nodded to all of us and started on down the aisle after a few steps she turned back. “Oh, Mr. Wang, when you get aboard this evening, please collect Mr. Carstairs and report to my cabin? Around 20:00 would be good. I’d like a status report.”
“Aye, aye, Captain. My pleasure.”
She smiled and, with a jaunty wave, disappeared into the crowd.
As soon as she was gone, Bev slugged me on the shoulder. “You didn’t recognize the captain?”
“I’ve never seen her in civvies.” I rubbed my arm. “How was I to know she’d be here?”
“You’ve seen her practically naked in the sauna and you can’t spot her in civvies?” Diane laughed at me.
I looked to Francis for support but he shrugged in response.
“Well, if she’d come to the table in her towel, I might have.”
Bev punched me again.
We proceeded to sell the table bare as the last crowd of buyers came through looking for end of day bargains.
Around 16:45 the speakers gave a ping-ping-ping warning. The customers wrapped up whatever deals they were working on and began filing out. The big doors started slowly closing at 17:00 and when the pa-pong tone sounded again, most of the vendors had already taken down the booths, and pulled their grav-pallets and cargo totes toward the staff doors.
Diane and Francis helped by folding the banner neatly while I pulled the badge off the drape and Bev collapsed the table. We dropped it off at the office and headed down the lifts.
On the way down, Francis turned to Bev and me. “Diane and I are heading out to grab dinner. Either or both of you want to join us?”
I shook my head. “I need to get back to the ship. Pip is going to be chewing the bulkheads to find out how it went.”
Bev declined as well. “I’ve got the duty in the morning and my legs are killing me. I just want to get back and into the sauna.”
The banner and badge went into my duffel to pass off to Pip and we separated at level six. Bev and I headed for the ship while Diane and Frances went off to eat. We checked in with the officer of the watch and had our respective mass allowances adjusted. Mine went down but Bev’s went up because of the buckles. They did indeed mass a lot for their size. Curiously, the banner didn’t get charged to either of us, but instead was marked down to Lois McKendrick. I looked to Bev, but she didn’t seem surprised so I didn’t ask.
Back in the berthing area, Bev changed and headed for the sauna while I stowed my gear, took a quick shower, and jumped into a shipsuit before going to the mess deck to see Pip and Cookie. It had been a long day.
Chapter 21
Margary Station
2352-January-11
Just after 18:00 I stepped onto the mess deck and took advantage of mealtime by grabbing some pasta and bread from the buffet. Pip heard me and came out of the galley. Cookie followed right behind him.
Pip looked at me, anticipation radiating from his body. “Well? How’d it go?”
“Great. I sold everything I had, but I’m bushed. It’s hard standing there all day.”
Pip drew me a mug of coffee and delivered it to the table. “Okay, pleasantries over. Where’d you find that buckle?”
“I didn’t.” I swallowed a mouthful of pasta before continuing, “Bev did, booth two something. Two-eighteen, I think she said, or maybe it was two-sixteen. It shouldn’t be too hard to find.”
Cookie smiled and stepped back into the galley, but Pip nodded. “So? Tell me everything.”
I ran through the day in roughly chronological order, starting with picking up the banner at the lock and returning it. “In the morning, you need to take the badge to the office and get a table. It’s already paid for. Somewhere we need to find some clips so you can hang the banner and you’ll also need some kind of cloth to put down on the table to cover the top. They’re in pretty rough shape.”
Pip nodded.
“Now, it’s your turn. The captain said you’ve been recruiting?”
