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It keeps rising when Vuttis decides he wants to haggle. "Two hundred thousand credits for this lot," he announces, waving his flask in the air. "Untrackable credits, of course. You'll make ten times that scrapping all of it."
I snort. "You're a keffing idiot if you think I'm paying that much. Thirty thousand. Max. Untrackable."
The szzt hisses at me, baring his sharp teeth. "You insult me."
"No, I don't." I gesture at the load. "It's a good haul, but it's not two hundred thousand good." This is all part of the game, of course. We'll haggle over pricing for a while, he'll call me names, I'll verbally trash what he brought, and we'll settle on a price somewhere in between. Sure enough, Vuttis counters with one forty, and we continue haggling as I work the price down to one hundred, then ninety, then seventy-five. He's completely soused, so it's not that difficult to bargain, and he's giving in pretty easily. Either the gear is extremely hot and freshly stolen, or something else is going on.
I suspect the latter when the ssithri slinks toward us, listening in as we work out the price. "This mussst be a lonely ssstation," he hisses at me, his tongue flicking. "Ssso far from everything."
"That's how I like it," I tell him, keeping my tone casual even though my hackles rise. I gesture at Vuttis. "Do we have a deal or not?"
The szzt grunts. "Deal. Pay me."
I pause, glancing over at their ship. I want to ask if they've got any human artifacts on board. I can tell them I know a buyer and purchase whatever they have…just because I want to see Sophie's eyes light up. But I don't. I'm already on high alert, and I don't want to let these too-curious fools know that Sophie's here on the station, along with an expensive guard-beast. "Seventy it is, then. Follow me."
I head over to the wall safe I have built into the hangar itself, where I keep my trading income…or most of it. I actually keep it pretty spare as part of the “bargaining.” If I offer to pay seventy and I only have seventy-five in my safe, they think they've gotten a good deal out of me. In reality, I have more squirreled away on board, hidden in vents and under false flooring, like any good scavenger. I keep my walk slow, exaggerating my limp as I head to the safe, and I can't help but notice that both the ssithri and Vuttis follow close behind me.
Hopefully they're just drunk.
I open the safe and pull out the funds, and the ssithri eyes everything I do with great interest. I hold the bag of credits out to Vuttis, who takes another swig before snatching it from my grip.
"Pleasure doing business with you," I say in my driest voice. "Now you can leave."
The ssithri gives a hissing laugh. "So hosssspitable."
"No one comes here for hospitality," I point out. "You come here because I buy your junk and don't ask questions." I gesture at the ship. "But now we're done and you can go."
Vuttis picks up one of my favorite tools off a nearby work bench, studies it, and then pockets it. I narrow my eyes at him, but he just grins at me and drinks another round. Behind him, the two other szzt laugh and grab whatever is nearest and pitch it into their shuttle.
"What the kef are you drunks doing?" I keep my tone exasperated, even though I'm on high alert at this point.
The ssithri pulls out a weapon and points it at me. "Haven't you figured thissss out, friend? Thissss is a robbery." He gestures at the safe. "You can open that again. Give usss the ressst."
I eye Vuttis, but he won't look at me. Typical. Something tells me he wasn't just dumped from his last crew because they were a “bad fit.” I snort with disgust. "You're robbing a junker?"
"Timessss are hard," the ssithri says. "And I sssussspect you make plenty, my friend."
I stare down the blaster pointed at my face. I've been robbed before. It happens, especially on the edge of the universe. It's another reason why I keep my credits stashed. I can probably distract them long enough to get them out of here reasonably safely…but I don't know these pirates. They might just as soon shoot me the moment I open the safe.
And there's Sophie's safety to think about. I can't let any harm come to her. "If I give you what's in the safe, you'll get out of here?" I'll change the permissions, arm the defenses and make sure they never come to my doorstep ever again.
"After we sssee what you have on your little sstation," the sssithri acknowledges with a nod. "Maybe you give us your food, hmmm?"
Those supplies are for Sophie and her pet. And me, but I can miss a meal. I don't want my fragile human guest suffering. I narrow my eyes at him and cross my arms over my chest, unwilling to flinch in front of the blaster. He won't kill me as long as that safe remains locked, after all.
