"Excuse me," Alex asked the boarding clerk. "Can you tell me if you ever go to Samalia?"

    "Never heard of it," was his reply before turning away and.

    This was the tenth ship Alex had talked to after the clerk at the trip advisor counter couldn't tell him if any of the ship passed by Samalia. Only the planned stops were on the lists she had access to.

    He had to walk for five minutes to reach the next passenger ship. This one was a luxury liner and Alex had no idea if he could afford it, but he had to ask. He couldn't take the chance it would be the one. If it wet by Samalia and if he could get them to agree to drop him off there, he'd find a way to pay, even if it meant working the amount off.

    He'd sold everything he owned, which hadn't been much, but that added to his savings was a good sum. He'd told Emerill in person of his plans. The old man had looked at him sadly, but shaken his hand and wished him luck.

    This boarding clerk was dressed in red and gold, to match the ships colors. Alex waited for her to be done explaining to a couple how to get to their cabins.

    "Excuse me, do you know if you go by Samalia?"

    She looked him over and her lips curled slightly. He wasn't dressed for a ship like that in his brown slacks and white shirt. with the bag over a shoulder and the case containing the Defender statue, Alex looked more like someone destined to work in the bowel of a freighter rather than travel on a luxury ship.

    "That isn't on our itinerary," she said after consulting her datapad. "I'm sorry."

    "I know it isn't, but I'm wondering if you still go by it."

    She rested the datapad against her chest. "That planet is pretty much at the rim of space, right?"

    Alex nodded.

    "We don't go to the rim. There isn't enough spectacular sights there. too much empty space. If you go to one of the more central planet, like in the Alura system, or Thumbor one, you'd have better chances of finding someone going to the rim."

    "Those systems are years away, and once there I have no way of knowing how long it'll take to find someone going there. I'm in a bit of a hurry, so I was hoping I'd be able to find someone who fly by there and could drop me off."

    "I'm sorry, even if we did, we couldn't do an unplanned stop. None of the passenger ships can. we have a schedule to maintain, and a stop can add days, if not weeks in delays."

    "Ah, I didn't know." Alex looked around. It was looking like he'd have to get passage for Thumbor and start again from there.

    "You know," the clerk said. "If you are really in a hurry, you might want to go down to the level where freighters dock. I hear some are willing to take passengers, and they have more control over where they go. It's just that," she trailed off.

    "What is it?" Alex tried to control his eagerness, this was the first actual progress he'd made. He hadn't considered freighters.

    "Well, I've heard rumors that not all freighters are actually freighters. Some might be pirates, passing themselves off as such."

    "Oh." some of his enthusiasm left him. Did he want to deal with criminals, specially pirates? could he tell the difference? "Thank you for the information."

    "You're welcome. be careful if you go there. I hear the people down there aren't very reputable."

    Alex nodded and started looking for the elevator. It couldn't hurt to at least take a look. Samalia was so far he might not find anyone going there even among freighters.

    * * * * *

    Alex felt he was in a different world once he stepped off the elevator. the colors were gone, leaving only the metal gray on the walls. Tractors pulled crates and boxes and people argued. Instead of the well dressed boarding clerks standing by each ship's entry, it was someone dressed in heavy, dirty, clothing supervising the loading or unloading of a ship which couldn't be seen through the metal bulkhead. It seemed that what a ship looked like wasn't much of an incentive for freighters.

    Everyone here looked like they were ready for a fight. a few even had empty holsters at their hip. Alex eyed them wearily as he moved about, heading for the closest opening.

    "Excuse me," Alex asked the woman screaming at someone carrying a crate out of the ship.

    She glanced at Alex then went back to screaming. "Excuse me."

    "What?" she asked without turning. 

    "Do you go to Samalia?"

    "No."

    "Do you go near it?" 

    "No."

    "Do you,"

    "No, and even if we did, we don't do people, unless they're in a stasis coffin. I don't see one of those with you, so the answer is no."

    Alex stepped away at the tone. The next one wouldn't even answer him.

    Alex almost didn't ask the next ship, the crew was dressed in dirty and ripped clothing, and when the supervising man looked in Alex's direction, Alex worried he'd try to steal his clothes. he still forced himself to ask, but they didn't go there either.

    Some crews looked more dangerous then others, and Alex figured those were the pirates passing themselves off as freighters, but even they didn't go to Samalia.

    Alex felt like he'd sent the day asking one ship after another without luck. He had no idea how far along the ring he'd gone, and while he felt like stopping, and either grabbing a shuttle back or taking a room, he forced himself to continue. he'd do the entire ring, if no one went to Samalia, then he'd go to Thumbor and hope for better luck.

    "Excuse me," Alex asked the person looking like he was in charge. "I need to know if,"

    "You got to asked the captain," he answered without looking away from the crew carrying boxes out of the ship, wither in their hands or on hover plates.

    "Where can I find him?" 

    "He owe you money?"

    "What? no. I just want to know if you go to Samalia." 

    "Yeah, we go there sometime."

    "you do? great! can I book passage?"

    The man turned and looked at Alex. He had to be at least in his fifties, subjective. he looked tired with an uneven beard that didn't match the meticulous white suit he wore.

    "This isn't a cruise ship."

    "I know, but I've been asking up and down the station for anyone going there, and you're the first one who said you went."

    "I said sometime we go there." He snapped his head back to the crew. "Clarkson! If all that shaking breaks something in that crate I'm taking it out of your hide."

    "Wait, are you the captain?"

    The man looked at Alex sideways. "What do you think?" 

    "How long it takes to get there isn't too important, so long as you can guaranty me you'll go there."

    "I don't think you heard me, I don't do passengers. Go ask one of the cruise ships, i think they're a few levels up."

    "I have. no one's going even close to Samalia. Captain, I'm willing to work, i don't care what I'd have to do, I need to go there."

    The captain looked over the crew again then, with a sigh, he turned to face Alex and studied him. Alex knew he didn't look like a hard worker, over the last few months he'd not only regained all the weight he'd lost, but a few pounds more.

    "I know I don't look like much, sir, but I am a hard worker." For a moment Alex considered offering to work the passage off in the crew's bed, but this wasn't a porn vid.

    "So, if I tell you to grab that crate." He pointed to a large crate two woman were carrying toward one of the trucks. "And walk it to the Oularon's warehouse, you'd do it?"

    "I don't know where that is, but yes I'd do it." He had no idea how he'd do it, it took two of them to lift it and they were muscular, but he would do whatever it took.

    The man chuckled. "What is it you actually know how to do?" 

    "I'm a coercionist, sir."

    "What's that?"

    Alex almost told him about using a mix of programing and psychology to infiltrate computer systems and forcing them to do what he wanted, but the look in the man's eyes made him opt for; " I work with computers. Programs and stuff like that."

    "Cleaning off infections?"

    "Yeah, I can do that." Alex didn't have any credited training in that area, but he'd caused enough infections to be competent at cleaning them.

    The captain turned his back to him and was silent for a long time, watching the men and women unloading the ship.

    "Alright," he said finally, "If you're willing to work, I'm willing to take you, i can alway use some free labor. But there are rules on my ship. I keep you around only so long as I find you useful. You don't get to question my orders. you do that and I'm dumping you at the next station i see. You start trouble within the crew, and I'm not going to even wait for a station before throwing you out, is that clear?"

    "yes sir," Alex replied without hesitation, which earned him a glare. "You won't regret it."

    "I'd better damn well not. Will! get your ass here!"

    Alex couldn't stop smiling as a man a few years younger joined them. His canvas pants and shirt were dirty with sweat and other stains. He was a couple of inches shorter than Alex with straight black hair going down to his shoulders, and like everyone else working at the ship he was muscular.

    "Will," the captain said, "this is." 

    "Alex," Alex provided, "Alexander Crimson."

    "This is Crimson. he's your cabin mate. It's your job to make sure he fits in with the crew."

     Will nodded. "Yes sir. Do I finish emptying the cargo hold first?"

    "No, the rest can deal with it. You start your babysitting duties now."

    "Alright, sir." Will offered his hands to Alex. "I'm Will Williams."

    Alex shook it and followed him through the crowd of people, and onto the ship. To the side, out of the way Alex stopped and turned, looking out onto the station.

    "You getting second thoughts?" Will called from a doorway further in.

    Alex smiled and joined him. "No I was just taking in that this is finally happening."