<a class="link link--external" href="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/67/ba/d6/67bad6b09e26897151727e29ffe811e3.jpg" rel="nofollow ugc noopener" target="_blank">Thomyris “Riz” Heroux</a><br/>Location: Kohlberg Station<br/>Tagged: Iona Knutedottir<br/><hr class="bbc-hr bbc-hr--3"/><br/>Envy was bright in Thomyris’ eye when the Captain bought the bolt of silk for herself. It made her think of how little she had and how much she had left behind. It was tough not to let her mind wander into such painful memories, the sight of her smiling mother being given a similar fabric for a particular event by her own father.<i>But now she’s dead. And so is he. And their only daughter thrown to the wolves…</i>Still, in the back of her mind, there was a hope and a prayer one day she might get to enjoy the finer things in life. But first, paying off her debt was her only hope, a miniscule one at that, if she ever wanted to settle down on any world without being harassed.<br/><br/><i>With only four hundred and eighty credits to my name, which is worthless to me. But to others my name is the offer of a cut of sixty thousand…</i><br/><br/><b>“Time is money, as they say.”</b>Thomyris remarked in her usual dry tone, as the Captain explained their situation. The forty-eight hours of shore leave in fact was killing the Captain and the St. Anne, but without it, it would be the crew members who would be dropping like flies without it. Thomyris couldn’t help but give her Captain a fugitive glance of admiration, looking after her crew rather than fattening her own pockets. It was one of those brief moments where Thomyris felt safe, even after the attempt harassment of the taller woman. Her hand slipped to her baton but she slipped closer to Iona as well, as if their presence together might deter others. She wasn’t above playful flirtation herself and didn’t mind a friendly grab, but by strangers and unknowns she absolutely abhorred it.<br/><br/>She was still glaring after the man, offended on her Captain’s behalf, as Iona kept explaining their operating procedures. At first, Iona’s joke going over her head, she cast a disgruntled glance towards the Captain when she mentioned liking the idea of running more fetuses. Already Thomyris could feel a growing lump in her throat and not just figuratively. But when the Captain laughed, as loud and majestic as any crystal hued waterfall, Thomyris felt her own lips quirk into a smile.<br/><br/><b>“Talk about overkill. We’ll both we crammed into one of those sealed bags and shunted off out the airlock if we picked that particular order.  But beggars can’t be choosers. If that’s what we have to ship, then none of us have a choice if we want our next pay on time. Right, Captain?”</b>Thomyris guessed, before checking her datapad and glancing around. Her smile slowly dissipated and again the business demeanor pervaded her expression, brow furrowed and eyes focused.<b>“We can meet with the Brarvis people actually. They are right over there.”</b>Thomyris pointed out, jerking her jaw in the direction of a small stall, which in essence was a board placed over stacked crates with a busy looking clerk behind them.<br/><br/><b>“And this might seem irrelevant…those crates that man have, they are a bit thicker in their proportions. If we take the potash order, and transplant the ash from their crates to ours, I’m sure we can fit a good third more of the stuff in. It would take a hour or two more I reckon, in moving the product out of his crates to ours, but I’m confident we can ship more. If the crew doesn’t mind a bit of ash under the fingernails or in their servos…”</b>Thomyris mused. She was about to suggest to the Captain in taking a vote, but thought better of it. As lenient as Iona might be, their ship wasn’t exactly a democracy either. On the other hand, the crew would probably avenge themselves on Thomyris if they found out she was sticking extra duties on them without proper compensation for it.<b>“I don’t think he would care. Not like his boxes are marked with any brand.”</b>Of course, the receiver could complain about his shipment being tampered with or so and haggle over the price. She turned and looked at the Captain, waiting for her opinion on this.