Poisoned Pawn Read Free Page B

spent on real cooking equipment was well worth every credit. The center of the room held a table with four chairs bolted to the floor around it. The cushions on them, courtesy of Jasyn again, were a darker green. The floor was covered with a fibermat carpet, guaranteed to withstand the wear, dark brown with a pattern of leaves subtly woven in with lighter browns.
    Behind the galley were two doors. One led down into the engine access areas. The other led up into a small cargo bay, fully heated and pressurized, lined with individual bins that locked. Behind that were two more cargo bays, large ones, that were vacuum in flight and unheated. The small cargo bay was mostly empty. I’d made a few speculative purchases that might pay off someday, mostly spices from vendors on Tebros.
    There were four cabins across the lounge area. My cabin was directly behind the cockpit, Jasyn had the one next to that. There were enough bunks for a crew of twelve, stacked two deep in our cabins, two sets of four crammed in the other two cabins. Our ship was comfortable, pleasant, though small.
    I’d overhauled the engines and controls. Jasyn and I were justifiably proud of the ship we’d put together from a broken down hulk.
    I went forward to the cockpit and called up Viya Control.
    “Phoenix, this is Viya Station,” a prim voice answered.
    “I’m filing flight plans. We want a departure window within the hour.”
    “We have a hold on your ship, please wait.” The prim voice was replaced with soft static.
    I drummed my fingers on the control panel, waiting. Preflight checks were going to take us most of that hour, I hoped we’d still be able to get it.
    “Your ship is denied undocking,” the prim voice came back.
    “Why?”
    “A pilot registered to your ship is in custody. You have to resolve the problem, and pay fines.”
    “If her name is Letha Toomis, she broke contract. She isn’t crew anymore. I hired a new pilot about ten minutes ago.”
    “One moment, please.” The voice went away again.
    Clark came into the cockpit, sliding into the copilot’s chair with a grace that spoke of lots of experience in small ships. He ran his hands expertly down the rows of switches and sliders. I saw his hands pause by the engine power controls. Those were overpowered. I wanted extra speed if I needed it. He shot me one unreadable glance and moved on. I listened to static and waited for him to find the scanning equipment. Half of it wasn’t available, usually, to non-Patrol ships. I’d found it, curiously enough, in a second hand shop. I suspected someone in the Patrol, that I knew and wished I didn’t, had put it there just so I could buy it. He knew I couldn’t resist it.
    “I’m sorry,” the voice said in my ear. “You’ll have to come to Station Administration.”
    “But…”
    She cut me off. I bit back the nasty words I wanted to say.
    “Trouble?” Clark asked.
    “Unfortunately, yes.” I got out of the chair. “When Jasyn gets back, tell her I had to go talk to Admin. She’s tall, dark hair, wearing a green suit like mine. Tell her you’re the pilot I hired.”
    I went before I could talk myself out of it. I hated dealing with authority. I hated the station. I hated the situation Letha had put me in. I grumbled to myself all the way to the offices of the Station Administrator. They sent me into his office, not an underling’s. Not a good sign.
    The Station Administrator was an older man, mostly bald, with sharp eyes hiding under hooded lids. He steepled his fingers and glared, nostrils flared as if he smelled something bad.
    “Sir?” I asked.
    “Your pilot caused quite a bit of damage,” he said, his voice flat and dry. “She also has a criminal record and falsified certification.”
    My heart sank. This was going to be nasty.
    “Her credentials checked out. I hired her on Tebros, from the port employment board. They cleared her.”
    “And the damage to my station?” His nostrils flared wider, showing huge