Free Galaxy Blues by Allen Steele

up, and he went on. “I’m not a diplomat, nor am I a scientist.” Dropping his voice, Goldstein gave me a conspiratorial wink. “Fact is, I’m not that much of a spacer even though I own a fleet of commercial spacecraft. The reason why I was aboard your ship in the first place was because I had to tend to business interests back on Earth, and the accommodations aboard the Lee are more comfortable than the ones aboard my own vessels.”
    â€œI was wondering about that.”
    â€œKeep it to yourself.” Another puff from his cigar. “At any rate…I’m an entrepreneur, Jules. A businessman, and a damn good one if I may say so myself. Started out by buying a secondhand lunar freighter that was about to be decommissioned and went from there.” He patted the coat pocket in which he’d put his pad. “The trick to striking it rich is spotting opportunities when they come up and seizing them before anyone else does. And the hjadd …”
    â€œAre an opportunity.”
    â€œKid, I’m beginning to like you even more. Yes, the hjadd are an opportunity. Better yet, they’re an opportunity no one else…particularly not my competitors…has managed to get their hands on. If Janus can reliably deliver what they want, then I stand to gain a monopoly upon whatever they have to trade in return. Not only that, but I’ll have access to any other races with whom they have contact. When that happens, my company will become the sole freight carrier between us and the rest of the galaxy.”
    â€œUh-huh. And what does the Coyote government have to say about that?”
    â€œOh, don’t worry.” Goldstein grinned. “They’re in on it, too. The Federation Navy only has one ship big enough to handle that amount of cargo, and the Lee is already committed to the Earth run. After that, they have nothing but shuttles. And since I have the ships they need, they’re just as willing to subcontract my company…for a generous share of the profits, of course.”
    â€œSounds like you’ve got everything lined up.”
    â€œI’ve been working on this deal for the last six months, Coyote time. If all goes well, within the next two or three weeks we’ll be sending the first commercial freighter to Hjarr…their homeworld, that is. There’s just one last detail that needs to be taken care of…and that’s where you come in.”
    Goldstein glanced at the cell-block door, making sure that we were alone, then he shifted forward in his chair, leaning closer until his face was only a few inches from the bars. “One problem I had with this is putting together a crew,” he went on, his voice lowered once more. “I’ve got a lot of good people, but I know damn well that some of them are spies for my competitors…just as I’ve placed my own informants within their outfits. That’s the way business is. Everyone wants to know what the other guy is doing and tries to use that info to their advantage. But with something like this…well, the fewer risks I have to accept, the happier I’ll be.”
    He toyed with the cigar in his hand. “So instead of bringing in a crew from Earth or Mars, I’ve decided to build a new team from scratch.” He stopped himself. “Well, almost entirely a new team. Out of necessity, my chief engineer comes with his ship. But he’s been working for me for a long time now, and I trust him like I would my own brother. For all other positions, though, I’ve had to recruit local talent.”
    I could see where this was leading…and even then, I couldn’t quite believe it. “You want me?” I asked, and he nodded. “Why?”
    â€œBecause you impressed me.” Goldstein exhaled a mouthful of smoke, then looked me straight in the eye. “It took a lot of guts to steal that lifeboat the way you did, and it took even more to bring