Chapter 49

Zeke spent half an hour with Kilos and Nikau.

He answered their questions and showed them some basic spells. He also reminded them that Queen Lee had a help page on her website, and her people would help answer questions if he wasn’t available.

To change the subject, Zeke said, “Kilos, as you know, my brother, Dallas and his girlfriend, Sabrina, will be shipping the MC sheets in future. Anne has arranged that he will dock in Section C. Dallas will need assistance shifting the cargo and loading whatever you have for him.”

“I can organise that and guards,” Kilos replied with a nod.

“Good. Look after him and Sabrina, Kilos. While they are Rooky Mages like you two, they do have a few more items. I have no problem with you telling them about you and Nikau. Your sexuality won’t be a problem either.”

“I will have to go chat to the Customs Officer for this section to let them know what Dallas is shipping. Dallas may have problems otherwise.”

“We have a new one, and he is a good man,” Kilos told Zeke with a big grin.

“I hope so,” Zeke responded.

“Before I go, I do have a little job I need some help with,” Zeke told the men.

He then led Kilos and Nikau to the room in the warehouse where he had dropped off two cargo containers.

“In the blue container is twenty-four thousand Pedz. I have the same number of Padz in the green container. That’s thirty pallets in each. Each pallet holds eight hundred items.”

“On each pallet of Pedz, two hundred are large, four hundred are medium, and two hundred are small for kids and small adults. They are all marked. How hard will it be to organise them being sold to freighter crews?”

Nikau answered, “Easy, we will put up signs. All crew members have to be registered with the name of their ship. So, they have it put on the ID chip in their hand like you did. If they let us scan their chips, we can sell them the items.”

“We are registered to sell anything Customs approves from the warehouse. They may not like us being so selective of our clients, but that is our problem. It’s not as if the Station people come down here very often.”

“Do any of the people travelling to Terra leave from here?”

Kilos answered, “Yes, some of the smaller nations do, as they use smaller ships, and it is cheaper for them to leave from here. Some suppliers also prefer their freighters boost from here and bypass Armstrong Station. The settlement ships dock in Section B.”

He had Zeke walk out to the front of the warehouse and then pointed down the thoroughfare. About 30m away, at the end of the warehouse, was a set of large, airlock doors that were open.

“We are that close to the settlement ships,” Kilos grinned.

“Really; now isn’t that handy. If they have a legitimate boarding pass, they can buy the items at a reduced rate with the freighter crews. If the homesteaders want to buy for immediate family, they must also have their passes.”

“Everyone else has to pay the higher rate, the same as on Armstrong. You may need to build a shop front and employ a couple of workers, Kilos. See if some of the old timers want to make a few extra Sols.”

“I’ll drop three more containers each of the Padz and Pedz in the warehouse for you. I’ll also give you Raul’s comm details. Let him know when you need more supplies.”

“He or the Lorenzo twins can drop them off to you when they can. Unfortunately, it may be feast or famine, as they can only work so fast and have to supply Armstrong, too.”

“You honestly expect us to sell so many?” Nikau retorted.

Zeke told them the prices, and both men gapped. They now understood why they would sell. Both men looked at the Pedz on their own forearms. They had taken an instant liking to them. They were comfortable to wear, easy to use, and take off. They also had great reception.

Nikau turned and looked at the front of the warehouse they leased and thought about the layout behind it.

“Kilos, we don’t use that front office on the right-hand end. Why not turn it into our shop front? It has a door to the storeroom behind it. We can partition off space for Zeke’s containers in that new section and make it more secure.”

Kilos nodded, “Would it matter if we take a few days to do some rearranging before we open for business, Zeke?”

“No. You’re running the shop, so it’s up to you. I’ve heard that after Christmas they plan to start running settlement ships regularly again. Many of the nations are bucking UNSEC’s commands as they want to get people moving again.”

“It’s costing them a lot of money having the ships idle at the space stations. They have told UNSEC that they have had more than enough time to sort out the pirates.”

“I’ll see you two shortly. I’ll go grab a quick lunch and then go and see the Customs officer for Section C. I’ll tell him what’s going on.”

“Don’t be a stranger, Zeke,” Kilos said as he hugged Zeke goodbye.

Nikau wrapped his arms around them both. “Thank you, Zeke. I’ll look after him,” he promised.

“I know you will,” Zeke replied, and after the last squeeze, he stepped back.

He glanced around, but no one was around, so he blinked.

Zeke blinked back to Freya.

He didn’t know Section C, well. While Kilos had given him directions to the office he was looking for, he wanted to see if he could find a safe place to blink to.

He grabbed a pre-made meal from his fridge and heated it while he checked his Pedz and brought up a map. He chuckled. It was as if he was docked in Section J. He just had to turn to his right and go down the hall.

He finished his meal quickly and headed out. One good thing was that he wasn’t ambushed by Armid and his goons for a change. The hallways also looked in better repair than in Section J, and there wasn’t any graffiti on the walls.