Project Charon 2 by Patty Jansen (brene brown rising strong .TXT) 📗

heartily deserve it. You can accuse them of being so rich, they don’t know what to do with their money. You can accuse them of being out-of-touch. I won’t mind. But they are not dishonest and have nothing to do with crime.”

A heavy silence followed his words.

Tina let out a deep breath. Why did people have to have such complicated lives? “All right. But that doesn’t change the fact that we need supplies and we need to wait in that office. I suggest that we retain our place in the queue. We need to behave like a commercial vessel as much as possible. And that is only until we can figure out what to do next. I’m sure that between all of us we can figure out a way to get our supplies sooner, but to demand them in a room full of people has probably been tried before, and I am not sure I’d like to hear about the result of that.”

Finn hung his head. “I’ll volunteer to take over from Rex,” he said.

“But you were so afraid to go into the station,” Tina reminded him.

“Someone has to do it.”

“I can do it,” Rasa said.

Both Finn and Tina said “No,” at the same time.

Rasa snorted, as if she couldn’t see their objection. “I used to do this all the time. Most of the ships hire a little boy or girl who does this sort of stuff. Nobody ever gives them any attention.”

Tina did remember seeing lots of young people in the queue. “I’ve seen that other ships do this. We need to look inconspicuous. I’ve bought some clothes for Rasa, so she can dress herself and we will do her hair and make her look nice like she is proper ship’s crew.”

Finn had to admit defeat. “Well then, let’s all keep our heads down and say nothing, and do nothing unusual, and hope to high heaven that we can get through and that nobody discovers us here.”

It left the problem of money. Finn might be from a rich family, but he hadn’t given any indication that he could help out in the money department.

Tina asked him about it. “Is there a possibility that you or your family could give me some money to facilitate the process?”

Finn shook his head. “If you pay extra money to have your case given priority, you’re effectively paying a bribe, and you raise awareness. It’s one thing to come here and play dumb, it’s another to go and break all kinds of rules. That’s just asking for trouble.”

“But they don’t need to know the money came from you.”

“No, but once you start donating as much money as they usually require, you’re sure to come under a lot of scrutiny.”

It made a lot of sense, and Tina assumed that he had a lot more experience with things like this than she had at Gandama, where small bribes usually worked. “But what about some help with docking fees and all that? I’ll pay it back.” After she had deducted his share.

“My father has control over my accounts.”

“What? You’re an adult.”

“It’s very common in families like ours. They don’t trust the younger generation until they’re properly settled, and know they’re not going to marry a vindictive partner who is only in it for the money. My father says I already proved that can be an issue. My father thinks I’m a failure, and he doesn’t know that I’ve left the Force.”

Ouch.

They still needed money, so Tina spent some time looking around for something she could sell. Goose eggs were the best thing she could come up with, but they weren’t very expensive.

She also had her collection of cactuses.

But she very much doubted that people here would care much about them. Even if they were also the result of a rift infection.

Chapter Ten

Tina left the ship with Rasa and went through the checkpoint and the crowded hall again to get to the office.

Rex waited patiently, surrounded by pretty much the same people who had been there before. Now that she paid attention, Tina did notice quite a number of scruffy-looking young people in the room.

“Look, I’ve progressed a whole ten numbers,” Rex said.

“And how many numbers are there? Four hundred?”

Rex grinned.

“Rasa is here to take over from you. She says it’s common that captains get junior crew or pay kids to wait on their behalf. We agreed that it’s best to do as other ships do. Rasa said she’s done this before, and that this is what ships do.”

“Will you be all right?” Rex said. He looked concerned.

“Don’t worry about me, I’m going nowhere.”

“I wonder why all this queueing is necessary?” Rex said. “Even in Gandama we can do most of these things online.”

“They used to do that in most of the stations, too,” Tina said. “Until they found far too much abuse of the system, so they needed to insist that every person actually shows their face in the office to make sure that the ship exists and that all the papers are in order. It’s far too easy to falsify electronic records.”

“I’m sure there are better solutions.”

“Yes, but they’re also much more expensive.”

“The queues are just a way to get people in here and sell them stuff while they’re waiting,” Rasa said. “Or take their pictures and scope out who they are. Another reason to hire someone to do it, someone who is unimportant and has no marks against their name.”

Tina and Rex left Rasa in the office. They walked back through the main hall where it was just as busy as before, regardless of the time of day.

“This is a bit like Kelso, but bigger and with more problems,” Rex said.

“Stations are nasty. They’re not friendly for individuals, and it is very easy to disappear. That’s why I wanted to come to the largest station, so that we have more chance of staying undetected.” She then told Rex all the things Finn had said about his family and about the reward