"Morning Soph. Gimme a flaming-whatever and a packet of crisps, if you'd be so kind my dear."
"You're looking a little frazzled Mr.P."
"Yeah. Looked at the old bank account, seems like these earners I've been doing lately, pretty as they are, just aint pulling in the cash. I've picked up a job ferrying toffs and propeller-heads from Cambridge up to Sigma 17. God knows what they've got going in that planet up there, must be something big to need all those scientists.... probably some kind of vast Frankensteinian experiment. But at least the pay is good.... and to top it off I've been contracted to ferry whatever green goop they're cooking up back to Cambridge. It's been a right payday."
"Sounds like a bit of plain sailing."
"Not quite.... many of the routes are through some pretty heavy asteroid fields. I spend half the trip banging off rocks and trying to steer her back on course, and the other half listening to a bunch of squealing academics over the intercom. Which reminds me, I gotta have a word to the physics department on CU.... I think Mr.Newton got it wrong, judging how the tiniest little rocks can knock a fully laden transport around like a dolly."
"Here's your drink and breakfast, hon."
"Cheers. So anyway in Theta I finally gets into open space near Corfu base. Thirty clicks of nothing but pretty scenery. I put her into autopilot straight on to the s-17 jumphole, and I sits back to relax. And what happens? Some stupid bloody Bounty Hunter comes screaming out of nowhere, plows straight into me. Knocks me, my ship, and 800 yelling geeks for a six. I wore a cup of coffee all over my new jumpsuit, and just after I had it dry-cleaned."
"So you're having a bit of fun then for a change!"
