Shipment by William Quinn

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The little voice inside me warning of trouble started to pipe up. I stifled it.
She started to continue, but the waiter decided that moment was perfect to walk up and ask what she wanted. She got one of those spicy Martian cocktails; I got my beer from Sipsa. I then waited a moment to let her continue. She wasn't very forthcoming.
"Care to explain? If it's bio-waste, illicit arms, or anything else that isn't exactly standard cargo, that's fine. Just let me know ahead of time and I'll let you know what my shipping charges are." I smiled at her in what I considered a friendly way. I really hope she doesn't work for United Patrol.
"The cargo would be a single crate."
"That's it? You made it sound in your messages as if it were going to take up a lot space."
"Well, that's because I'm the other part of the cargo. I need to go with the crate, and I'll require my own quarters."
"Ah."
She wrinkled her cute little nose at me and batted her eyes in confusion. Some men find those eyes creepy and disturbing on a Nocta, I find them interesting and alluring. Different strokes I guess.
"Yes, I don't usually ship people. And by usually, I mean never. I've done it before, and it was rather disastrous." I left that out in the air for her to chew on. The problem is part of me wanted her to come along. Most likely that damned soft spot.
"I'm willing to pay quadruple the initial amount if that would make things more convenient." Her sultry stare almost sent my thoughts to scattering again, but in the face of that many credits to my name they quickly decided to stay cohesive.
"You realize that's a small fortune?" I said, looking skeptical.
"I am aware this is a large sum, but the cargo is quite precious. This is also why I need to tag along, to keep an eye on it." Some of the sensuality she projected was pulled back and replaced with seriousness.
I looked around the bar I was in, mostly to stall for time to think. I had chosen a table in the back corner. I wanted to be able to see the whole place; I hated having my back to people. Call me paranoid, I call me cautious.
There were only a few people in here at this time of day. It was right before most standard jobs let off, so it would most likely start to fill up soon. I've been in this place a few times before. It was my favorite spot on this small planet to take care of business. And it sure beat having to keep offices or something somewhere.
In the end, when I tuned my attention back towards her, having her tag along for a few weeks didn't seem like such a bad idea. That damnable soft spot talking I'm sure of it. I was beaten before I knew it.
"If you would like to come as well, I'll need a day or two to get things situated for another person. I haven't used the second set of quarters on my ship for anything other than storage for a long time."
"That's fine, although if we could leave sooner that would be better for me." She almost seemed worried, but I was surely mistaken. What reason could she possibly have for wanting to make haste? She probably just wanted to get it over and done with.
"Alright, eighteen hours, you be at the Starlight dock, Bay 15-C.