The footsteps of Ronaldo Benitez melted away down the corridors of Barrier Gate leaving Brisbane alone with his thoughts.
The negotiations had been far more relaxed than he anticipated, he had expected the Corsairs to be blunt, vicious even. A brutal barbarian swinging threats and demands with reckless abandon. They had the power and the ability to take rather than trade, so why had they sent Ronaldo? Instead of a savage melee he'd gotten a fencing match with a partner of great finesse, equal or greater than himself.
He picked up his cigar and tumbled it between his fingers.
The gentle swirls of smoke entranced him for a time allowing his mind to sift through the days events without conscious interruption. Nothing stood out to him, the banter had the ebb and flow of normal negotiation, the body language was measured and eye contact remained polite yet constant. Good, at least he wouldn't be killed the moment he set foot on Crete.
Clamping the cigar between his teeth Brisbane headed back into the throng, it would take a while to set the company on track for his absence.
***
The cyan clouds of Sigma 19 raced past as Brisbane activated the tradelane sequence, the route from Honshu was mercifully quiet he had thought of taking a jumphole directly from Sigma 13 but these were contested systems frequented by all manner pirates, several with whom he had not made contact. The gas miner Ogashawa came into view as the nebulous gases thinned, the tradelane spat him out as an automated request for ID was transmitted from the gas miner. He sent the details and was cleared immediately, one of the perks of being legitimate, less ID hassle.
He kicked his freighter into cruise and headed into open space, the luxury liner Hawaii was in orbit of planet Hiran several sectors away, an hour or two at top cruising speed. Brisbane set the autopilot and settled in with a good book, the complete works of William Shakespeare.
He had just reached the third act of Henry the Fifth when the Hawaii sent an ID request, unwillingly Brisbane sent off his details and contacted the dock master.
"Boundless gold alpha four four one. Requesting permission to dock."
"Permission granted Mr Brisbane, welcome aboard the Hawaii, I hope your stay with us will be a pleasant one." "I'm certain it will."
The auto dock systems took over as Brisbane gathered his belongings into his luggage. The ship was swept up into the dock and towed into an individual airlock. Before long he was settled in a business class suite, the message to Benitez was on its way, now all he had to do was wait.
