Chapter 48

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I helped Marcus wrap up his new treasures and put them into several cloth bags. I carried one bag while he carried the other two. He glanced back at my room as the door closed. "I thought the rooms on ships were normally much smaller?"

"All of the Bridge crew has a room with a sitting area. The other crew members just have one room, but they don't have to share unless they are a couple and wish to."

He furrowed his eyebrows as he looked at me again. "If you don't mind me saying, you look a bit younger than what I expected of someone in that position."

My voice was a bit dry. "That is what I told the one who hired me, but he was quite adamant. None of the crew has ever complained."

He shrugged, dismissing any possible criticism. "As long as you do a good job, age doesn't really matter."

I smiled faintly. "That is what I have decided. It seems to be working so far."

"Well, you must be doing a good job if they are keeping you in that position. You can let them know that I will open up trades with them if I can negotiate through you. I am usually in the trading hall."

"Thank you."

He hefted one bag lightly. "If you find more such as these, please let me know. They will be going into my displays at the local geology gallery."

"I am glad to hear that they found a home that will value them. Only a handful of people have seen them so far and it kind of seems like a shame since they are such nice pieces."

I walked with him to the main access door and onto the ramp. I passed him the bag I was carrying. "Here you go. Do you need any help getting them the rest of the way?"

Marcus rolled his eyes as he responded, "I may be old, but I am not decrepit. They aren't that heavy. I will manage."

"Will you be around tomorrow morning to discuss potential trades?"

"Yep. Come by before ten though, since I have an auction starting then."

"Certainly, have a good evening."

I leaned on the railing as I watched him walk swiftly down the ramp, his excitement hastening his pace. 'That went well.'

"It did, and he even offered to be a go-between for some of his other contacts. We will likely have to order a dozen precious stones every time we stop. More may irritate him, but even a handful of the pieces he has access to will be quite profitable."

'Do you think he will figure out who I am?'

"Not likely. Most Captains flaunt their rank and prefer to avoid dealing with suppliers directly. He only trades with two other ships, so he doesn't really keep track of who the Captains are, nor does he care."

I went back inside the ship, pleased with the outcome of what we had managed.

*        *         *


My eyebrows crept up higher as my disbelief grew. I read the numbers again, but they didn't change. It shouldn't have surprised me that my paycheck would increase when I became Captain, but the numbers gazing back at me seemed far too high.

I did like money, but this was a bit ridiculous considering the ship was still in the process of getting stabilized. We hadn't even done an entire circuit of our trading route, nor were all of our crew positions filled.

'Uh, Starsong, I think someone misplaced a decimal in this payment...'

His voice had amusement laced into his words. "If that were true, then you would have been paid below minimum wage. The Starships all decided that the Captains would start at five times above whatever the minimum wage was in their main trading area and that the amount would slowly increase to a maximum of ten times."

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