Alex got lost a few times on his way back to the ship. He hadn't paid attention to how he'd gotten to the market, and even with checking the comm boards for the map, in his hurry, he managed to make wrong turns.

    The conversation hadn't only made him realized that he was on the clock, but it had reminded him of the shadow's words, and it was right. Alex, the corporate coercionist had no chance of going toe to toe against Tristan. He needed to toughen up.

    He had no illusion about being able to take him on, Tristan was one of the most dangerous being in the universe, but he had to be able to give him pause. Alex was going to have to talk his way into the alien's mind, get him to bring Jack back. He needed to have the time to do that.

    When he made it to the ship, he found the captain at the same place he had on that first meeting, supervising the unloading.

    "Captain," Alex panted as he stopped next to him, "I'm done being your passenger." Alex found he had to catch his breath for a moment.

    The captain raised an eyebrow. "Are you certain? This isn't the best place to-"

    Alex raised a hand to stop him. "I want to become part of the crew."

    The captain thought it over for a moment. "Are you certain?"

    Alex nodded. "Until we reach Samalia, I want to be a crew member."

    "Very well." He looked the people on the dock over. "Mister William," he called. Will joined them. "Mister Crimson has decided to join the crew. Have him help you with the unloading."

    Will stared at Alex for a moment, then sighed and motioned for him to follow. After a while he looked over his shoulder to confirm they were out of ear shot from the captain.

    "You shudda walked away," he said.

    "I can walk away once I'm with Jack."

    Will shook his head. "Don't work that way. What we do, it's gonna stain you, your insides." He struggled for words, then just tapped his head. "It changes things. You ain't like me. I was born in this. You got a life. What's your guy going to think of what you'll have to do?"

    "Will, I'm not going to Samalia to meet up with Jack, I'm going to rescue him. The guy who's holding him...he's tough, I have to become tougher if I want a chance to succeed."

    Will looked at him, stunned. "You want help?"

    Alex shook his head. "I have to do this by myself." He couldn't bring others. If he did, he'd have to explain he was trying to save a persona, an act. He didn't want to have to say that out loud. He didn't want to hear how utterly insane that would sound.

    Will didn't say anything more. He grabbed two anti gravity carts and they loaded crates on them. The results of the last few jobs, Alex guessed. The carts were easy to control, they offered resistance so they didn't careen out of control. When Will shoved his and let it go, it only went a couple of feet before slowing to a stop.

    "Why aren't we back to the other station to get rid of this?" Alex asked on their third trip. There was forty of them unloading. "Didn't Lea say that guy gave her good prices?"

    "Can't always go back to the same place, the law's going to figure things out. We get good money here too. Next place we sell the stuff is Samalia."

    "So that's why you could show it on the board, but couldn't tell me when you'd get there."

    Will nodded.

    "Isn't it dangerous, advertising you'll be there? What if a law enforcement agency works it out?"

    Will gave him a broad smile. "We're merchant. We got merchant routes. That's all the law knows."

    Alex thought it was risky, but they had to know what they were doing, they'd been at this for a long time. It took two hours to empty the hold, by which time Alex was panting and sweating. He wondered how many jobs it had taken to fill this. He'd helped on six, maybe seven, before the accident, and he'd been locked up for months, so there had to have been many other jobs.

    "Mister Crimson," the captain called to Alex. "Go clean up and meet me back here in an hour."

    Alex opened his mouth to asked what it was about, but Will grabbed his arm and pulled him back into the ship.

    "Crew don't get to question the captain's order," he said at Alex's questioning look. That made sense, and he was part of the crew now, he had to keep that in mind.

    Alex went through his clothes before showering. He'd bought a few extra sets from the last station, but they were all 'normal' clothes. Things he'd wear back home, after work. He wanted to set the rest of his time here apart from his previous life. He was a pirate now, he... not so much wanted to look the part, everyone on the ship dressed how they pleased, but he wanted to fabricate a look to help him make the division. None of what he had would do that. He'd go shopping after the captain was done with him.

    * * * * *

    The captain was talking with official people, so Alex stayed a few steps away and stood at what he thought was attention. When the captain was done he turned and smiled at Alex.

    "I don't run a military ship, Mister Crimson, you don't have to stand stiff like that."

    "Sorry, Sir. I don't really know what's expected of me as a crew member yet."

    "Pull your weight, follow my orders, or those of who ever you're working under at the time, don't cause trouble you can't get yourself out of."

    "That seems pretty simple."

    The captain nodded. "I run a relaxed ship."

    Alex had noticed that. "What did you want to see me for?" 

    "Follow me, we need to talk, and I need a drink." The captain led him a few bays over and into a quiet bar. As the captain was looking the room over someone raised his voice.

    "Hey Meron! Come on over, and have a drink with us."

    Alex looked at the man, thin with a scarred face. He noticed the captain was looking in his direction too, with an annoyed expression. Was Meron the captain's name?

    "Follow me, don't say anything."

    At the table were three other people, two women, one dark skin and the other very pale, and one man. They all looked rough and ready to fight.

    "Rogan," the captain said, his voice neutral. "I didn't know you were here."

    "Got here a few days ago, come on, sit. Let me get you something to drink. Wine works? You still like red?"

    "It's fine," The captain said, pulling a chair and sitting. The thin man left for the counter. "Hello Felicia, how have you been doing?"

    "Don't act like you care, Meron." The dark skinned woman replied. Alex forced himself to look her over. He had to pay attention to everyone if he wanted to avoid giving away hints. She was wearing a tight body suit in beige with gold trim. She was well stacked, as his grandmother would say. Her hair was pale brown curls.

    "I'm just being polite. If you prefer, you can introduce me to the others."

    "That's Captain Volentia," she indicated the pale skinned woman. She was wearing a white business suit, her hair was black and her eyes violet. She nodded to Meron. "And that's Captain Druin." The man wore a loose unbuttoned shirt, his blond hair was disheveled, and he leaned back in his chair, instead of sitting straight like the others. He nodded to Meron, then glanced at Alex, looking him over in a manner that made it clear he'd prefer if Alex wasn't wearing anything.

    "Who's the fellow with you?" Druin asked.

    "The newest member of my crew," Meron answered.

    "And what is it you do for the captain?" Druin asked, addressing Alex.

    Alex wasn't sure if he should answer, so he looked to his captain, who nodded, but by the tight lips, Alex figured he wanted him to be careful of what he said.

    "I clean floors, Sir."

    "That's a waste. You should jump ship, I'd-"

    "There you go," Rogan said, putting a glass before Meron.

    Meron stared at the glass, as the others snickered. The glass was filled with grapes.

    "I see you've run into some of my crew already."

    "Yeah," Rogan said, barely containing his laughter. "They had great stories, as usual."

    "I'm certain," Meron replied. Alex thought his captain was trying to contain his temper.

    "So, what else have you been up to, Meron? It's been a while since we've been at a bar like this," Rogan asked.

    "It's only been three years for me," Meron answered. 

    "Really? It's got to have been ten for me."

    Meron smiled slightly. "I can tell. You shouldn't stand still for so long. Someone's going to catch up to you at some point."

    "I'm not worried, I can take them on, who ever they are." 

    "I have no doubt you aren't worried." Meron stood. "While I appreciate the drink, I have business to discuss with my new crew member." He nodded to the dark skinned woman. "I know you won't believe this, but it was good to see you again Felicia. It was good to make your acquaintance," he told the other two, then he left the table and found one as far away from them as he could.

    The captain sat against the wall. Alex guessed he wanted to keep an eye on the others. A waiter arrived and they ordered.

    "I don't know what's the procedure here," Alex said. "Am I allowed to ask you a question?"

    Meron smiled. "You can consider any time we're in a bar to be informal, so yes, you can ask."

    "What was that about? You know some of them, but I got the feeling you don't like that Rogan guy."

    "We are what you can consider, rivals. More than once he's tried to steal my cargo."

    "So letting you do a job and then take that from you?" 

    The captain nodded.

    "Lea told me about the grapes, but why did he do that? Serve you a glass of them?"

    "He's rubbing my nose in a failed job. He hoped I'd get angry and start something. He's looking for an excuse to try to kill me."

    "Can't he just pull a gun and shoot you?"

    "Not without provocation. Not if he wants to continue working with the others. If he shows himself to be untrustworthy, every other pirate is going to turn his back on him, some might even let the law know where he's hiding. It isn't what you imagine. We don't have a board running things, but we're all wanted by the law, so we have to be able to depend on each other."

    "But you said he tried to steal your cargo."

    Meron nodded. "And I made him pay for it. My ship's better armed, my crew more experienced. If he thought he could manage it, he'd find us in the void, and blow us up. We're not all as trustworthy as the others."

    Alex nodded. "And Felicia?"

    "She used to be my first mate, and my wife." 

    "Ouch."

    Meron shrugged. "This life isn't easy. There's a lot of stress, and she preferred giving the orders over relaying them. She tried to take over my ship, so I had to get rid of her. She hates that I won."

    The drinks arrived and Meron drank his in one swallow and ordered a refill. Alex settled for a sip.

    "Now, the reason I want to talk to you away from the rest of the crew is that I need you to fix the problem you have with Anders."

    "I don't have a problem with him, Sir. He's the one who has a problem with me."

    "I don't care. I need it fixed. When you were a passenger, I could tell Anders to lay off you, but you're not anymore. This thing between you two, it's dividing the crew. Anders' hard, so not everyone likes him, but he's good. He's been with me for a long time. He's one of the few on the ship I can trust to follow my orders no matter what they are. If you get hurt now, it's going to cause me no end of trouble."

    Alex opened his mouth, but the captain silenced him with a raised hand.

    "I know you didn't start this trouble. I know all you wanted to do was stay in your room, and do menial work, until we got to Samalia, but you saved our asses, which makes people look up to you. Then you showed you could make jobs run a lot smoother, so more people look up to you. Anders' always been the top guy on the ship after me and Melicent, now that isn't so sure. I can't afford for my crew to be divided."

    "Sir, I don't know how I can fix this. I told Anders I didn't want to take his place. He knows I'm going to be leaving once we get to Samalia."

    "Mister Crimson, this isn't a threat. I am simply explaining to you the reality you have decided to live in. If you don't fix this, I can't guaranty that you will survive until we reach Samalia.