Milk Run (Smuggler's Tales From The Golden Age Of The Solar Clipper Book 1) by Nathan Lowell Page A

built for small ships. Several nuzzled up to docking tubes against the bulkhead. Natalya saw a few shuttles, a couple of couriers, a mining support skiff, and a large collection that she couldn’t guess about.
    “Big door for little ships,” Natalya said.
    “Maybe they need to let them out all at once or something.”
    One of the docking tubes started to flash a green light. Natalya took a moment to wipe her palms off on her thighs and gripped the helm control again. She settled the Peregrine onto the deck on a big X-marks-the-spot target in front of the tube, rotating the ship so the lock side faced the tube. They watched the tube extend and heard it clamp onto the side of the ship with a soft thunk.
    “ Peregrine , Dark Knight Local. Secure engines. Stand by for port authority. Over.”
    Natalya started shutting down the navigation systems as she spoke. “Roger, Local. Securing all engines. Standing by for port authority. Over.”
    Almost immediately the lock-call buzzer echoed in the bridge.
    She pulled off her seat belt and nodded to Zoya. “Come on. They’ll want eyeballs on both of us.”
    Zoya followed her down the short corridor to the lock. Natalya opened the inner door and stepped into the lock. She waved Zoya in and closed the inner door. Two men and a woman waited outside the lock. All of them wore simple jump suits with some kind of logo on the left chest. One of the men and the woman wore sidearms, but the man in front had a tablet and a bored expression. Natalya keyed the outer door open and smiled.
    The front man nodded, looking back and forth between Zoya and Natalya. “Captain?”
    Natalya stepped forward. “I’m the captain and registered owner. Natalya Regyri.”
    “Welcome to Dark Knight Station, Captain. I’m Thomas Russ. I’m your station liaison. How may we help you?” He smiled and it crinkled at the corners of his eyes.
    “This is my crew, Zoya Usoko. We need food, fuel, and gasses. We’d also like freedom of the station. It’s our first visit to Dark Knight and we’d like to look around.”
    Russ’s gaze flicked to Zoya and back again. “Of course, Captain. Docking fees are a hundred a day. Shore power is available, but billed at station rates. Tankage connections are available but you’ll need to arrange for delivery with the chandlery.”
    “That’s satisfactory,” Natalya said. “Do you have a banking terminal handy so we can check our balances before we get too far over our heads here?”
    A tightness in the man’s face seemed to relax. “Of course, Captain. If you’d follow me? There’s a terminal right outside the tube.”
    The two guards led the parade and Russ waved Natalya and Zoya ahead of him. Natalya keyed the outer door closed before following the guards into the station proper. The corridor inside felt positively roomy after being aboard the scout but fell short of the wide, well-kept promenades on CPJCT orbitals. The guards took up station on either side and Russ pointed to a mundane-looking bank kiosk mounted on the bulkhead across from the docking tube. “I trust this will suffice?”
    Natalya nodded and stepped up to the console. She keyed her bank ident and stared into the darkened port. The machine beeped and the screen popped open. She checked her balances and schooled her features to a careful neutral while she queried deposits. Satisfied, she turned to Russ. “Do you need an escrow for our stay?”
    Russ shook his head. “That won’t be necessary, Captain. Can I ask how long you plan to remain on station?”
    “Two or three days at least.”
    He nodded. “We’d ask that you pay for docking fees in advance. A hundred credits for today’s docking.”
    “Routing?” Natalya asked.
    “DKS Services should suffice.”
    She turned back to the kiosk and transferred five hundred credits to the station. “There’s five days. That should do for now.”
    Russ checked his tablet and nodded. “Thank you, Captain. If you should leave earlier, any