Scorpion Fleet Shipyards:<br/><br/>"Very nice."  Leoben Rollins exclaimed, showing one of his rare smiles as he considered the packaging of his cargo.  "The warning graphics are a nice touch Major."  The bio and radiologic warning icons would give all but the most zealous inspectors pause before opening the crates.  The Major was the logistics and supply officer for the shipyard and one of Leoben's most useful contacts.  "I like to make sure I earn my keep."  The overweight officer laughed as he was earning very much more than his keep with his little business.  The shipyard was supposed to mothball many of the spare parts that made up Leoben's cargo in the event of some emergency requiring a major mobilization.  The Major however was certain that these out of date parts would never be missed.  The Colonial Fleet had progressed so far beyond the need for antiques such as Leoben would be selling on the black market.  It was part of the Major's rationalization for his treachery.<br/><br/>"By the way, once we have the Valhalla worked up I should have another shipment ready, it's a hunk of junk but should be just right for you."  They began to walk up the metal stairs that led to the Major's office on a mezzanine level of the warehouse.  The Major nodded to his crew who began loading Leoben's ship, a heavily modified pre-cursor of the raptors used in the last war.  Larger than the modern day versions, with a moderately sized cargo bay, disarmed of course which made room for a basic FTL drive which was an essential piece of equipment for Leoben's business.   Once they were alone again the Major got down to business.  "So let's see the cubits."  He demanded.  Leoben laid a satchel down on the desk, leaving it to the Major to verify the amount.  "Do you want to stick around to see the Valhalla?"  He asked idly as he counted out the bundles of currency.  Leoben had never cheated him before but he felt it was bad business to show too much trust, especially in a smuggler and black marketeer.<br/><br/>"I've seen her a few times, I'll be back in a few Sectons if you manage to get anything of value off of her."  He mused, thinking about his encounters with the old ship now relegated to intercepting smugglers such as himself.  Of course he knew there would be no shipyard in a few sectons but there was no sense troubling the Major with such news.  Leoben looked out the window watching the humans loading his ship.  He could do it himself with as much ease as the four workmen but that would raise questions of an officer even as dense as the Major.<br/><br/>Leoben departed with a hand grip as to the custom of humans.  He had no sense of sentimentality about the human's impending doom.  While there were honorable humans, or so he believed, they were not among the contacts he had at the shipyard.  The extermination of man was about to begin, but Leoben was certain there would be survivors and that would be the next humans he would encounter.  He wasn't quite sure how it was going to play out, but there were always survivors.  He wasn't the type to place bets, but if he were, he would not have considered the crew of the Valhalla worth a single cubit in the very near future.