The Juggernaut (Juggernaut #1)

Nine

Someone had taken charge of the crowd and organised them into a line. One person was being let into the docking bay for each one who departed.

Those waiting for their turn were a jumble of curious residents and professional traders, each jockeying for position, each looking to buy or barter as much fresh food as they could carry or afford.

The residents wanted to eat it there and then, but the traders were just as eager to resell their merchandise at a profit margin which would fall somewhere between healthy and outrageous.

The cargo transport Orion barely fit in the bay. It squatted before the great docking bay doors which led to the space dock entrance. The ship's name was stencilled in huge white letters above the open cargo ramp and over the primary port and starboard engine housings.

Crew members were shifting items down the cargo ramp and onto the deck where they were being sold and claimed as fast as they could be removed from the ship.

Tila grumbled, "We can't buy anything anyway. Why do we have to wait in line?" It seemed the slow minutes of steady shuffling had brought them no closer to the front of the line. It wasn't just the wait that was getting on her nerves. Malachi's enthusiasm was starting to grate.

"Because I want to see this ship for myself," he said. "My dad said I should look at the ship now in case he decides to punish me by not letting me help him fix it."

"That's a punishment?" said Ellie.

"Punish you for what?" said Tila.

"Your birthday present," said Malachi without turning around.

"Oh."

"If it's so amazing why did it break down?" Ellie asked.

Malachi shrugged. "He doesn't know. Maybe they just hadn't bedded in the design yet. Could be anything."

"How come older ships don't break down here," said Ellie.

"Ellie, the older ships don't even come here because their crews know how dangerous this system is," said Tila.

"If only that were true. You know most ships would avoid this system if they could, but until they can build new beacons for longer range jumps Celato is still the fastest route for most trade.

A thought occurred to Ellie. "Why is Theo punishing you? Tila's the one who went to the Eclipse."

"I'm the one who told her where it was. I was supposed to stop her from going, not help her find it."

"Didn't you tell him you couldn't stop me even if you wanted to?" said Tila.

"No. Believe it or not I didn't tell him that!"

"It might have helped," she offered.

"It might!"

Eventually their long slow shuffle brought them to the threshold of the docking bay. The shouts of the traders haggling with the crew and arguing with each other were magnified by the cavernous space as echoes reverberated around the chamber.

Once through the bay doors Malachi started impatiently hopping in and out of the queue trying to see more of the ship's design. He was the only person there looking up. Everyone else was intent on buying anything and everything they could before someone else beat them to it.

"Back in line," warned one of the crew, wary that anyone from the Juggernaut would be taking an interest in his valuable ship. None of the crew wanted to be here, and they had no intention of making the best of this bad situation. They wanted out of here now. As far as they were concerned they needed to make what money they could before their stock was worthless and get their ship repaired and underway as soon as possible.