<a class="link link--internal" href="https://bluemoonroleplaying.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=83335&amp;pid=2015179#pid2015179"><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#dda0dd">Iona Knutesdottir<br/>
</span></a>Kohlberg Station<br/>Midwatch<br/>Tagged: Thomyris<br/><br/>"That's slick," Iona said admiringly.  "Same amount of cargo but less cubic to store it in means more space for us to pick up something else.  It's not hard to rig a pressure differential when you've got vacc all around, a suction hose and some valving and we move it right out of the crates as they're broken open and dumped into the holds.  I don't think it's dangerous but we'll be in respirators at a minimum, full suits if need be."  Iona nodded, then put a hand on Thomyris shoulder and squeezed, adding a little tug to make the gesture complete.<br/><br/>"Real slick and we're going to add two more pieces to it.  First, it's your idea so whatever you can get for the containers whole or as scrap is yours, straight creds into your account.  Call it a finder's fee.  Second, don't get too attached to it because you're going to set it aside as part of the fee you'll need a year from now when I vouch for you as a third mate candidate before the guild, providing that you keep your nose clean and learn to both ship handle and the finer points of shifting cargo, which you're already showing an aptitude for."<br/><br/>Iona squeezed again, a smile on her face, then let her hand fall.  Thomyris had come to the St. Anne under suspicious circumstances, Iona still didn't know all of them, and she'd taken the young woman aboard more as an act of Xtian charity than anything else, intending to move her from world A to world B and dump her off.  Instead she found herself depending on the girl's hard work and her bump for figuring out what needed to be done and doing it.  There was real potential in Thomyris and Iona's investment of time was paying off.  Profit could be measured in more than sheer creds - it could also mean building capacity in your crew.<br/><br/>"Let's go see the dealer and grab the load.  Potash...agri product, right?  Potassium for crops.  Makes sense, Zienus is an ag-world and I seem to recall that it's nutrients are hard locked in the native life.  Easier to bring bulk in and spread it than try to extract it from the planet.  You know what," she stopped walking and turned half on to Thomyris.  "Recyclers.  If they're shipping in this stuff in bulk, it means a lot of it is getting lost in farming.  Irrigation or mudding or whatever the dreck it is farmers do," her hand dismissed the work with a wave.  While a lot of ship's crew came from agricultural backgrounds, Iona hadn't and anyway most of them were glad to get away from the boring work.<br/><br/>"Lots of good nutrients run off, right?  Well, use that extra cubic to ship some sort of small recycling plant.  If we can find someone who is tired of digging in the dirt and looking to liquidate, we can take their creds and put them in a new line of work, nutrient scavving.  They can't produce the same bulk we can, but they can provide it for less and probably sell it to the smaller farmers for a profit to both of them.  We just need to find out if there's something like that here, or parts 'n pieces to have one run up by the crew.  Offer them shares in the sale for their work."<br/><br/>"Off St. Anne shift time," she added.  "Otherwise it's ship's cargo and the St. Anne's creds.  I'll move it for free since you found the cubic, but I won't pay for the man hours."<br/><br/>"Always keep business and personal separate," Iona warned.  "Captains sometimes have to make hard decisions - life or death at times - and if you can't understand business is business and personal is personal then you don't get to be the captain."<br/><br/>Like choosing to put out a ship threatening fire by evacuating a compartment to space while still occupied by a crew member who didn't have a suit or rescue bubble.<br/><br/>Good thing in space no one could hear you scream.<br/><br/>Iona turned back and continued through the station, leading Thomyris to the shipper for negotation.