“Now, that your other business is handled, let’s see what kind of ore you’ve got,” the coverall wearing man said. “I’m Roy Brandy, one of Titania Station’s assessors.”

  “Nice to meet you, Mr Brandy.”

  “Call me Roy,” the older man said.

  “Alright Roy. Call me Mac,” Mckenzie replied. “Right this way.”

  *

  “Not bad,” Roy said half an hour later. “The larger asteroid is mostly silver.”

  “How much silver?” the Sarge asked before Mac could.

  “739 troy ounces which is 23 kilograms,” Roy answered. “At current prices, that’s 22170 credits less the stations 20% refining fee. So, that’s 17436 credits.”

  “Troy ounces?” Mckenzie inquired.

  “Unit of measurement for precious metals,” Kathleen answered.

  “Yep. That’s been the standard measurement for centuries,” Roy added. Mckenzie nodded his understanding.

  “And the smaller asteroid,” Mac asked. I think that’s a good haul, but I can’t imagine everyone gets this lucky. Otherwise, everyone would be miners for a few years before living the high life.

  “I’ve got good and bad news there,” Roy replied. “The bad news is that it’s mostly rock. The good news is that there’s a few grams of rhodium in there as well as osmium.”

  “And that means?” Mac asked.

  “That you have a rabbit’s foot shoved up your backside kid,” Roy laughed. “There’s 62 grams of rhodium which equals 2 troy ounces. At current prices that’s 9000 credits minus the station’s 20%. So, 7200 credits for you.”

  “And the osmium?” the Sarge asked.

  “93 grams or 3 troy ounces,” Roy answered. “So, 3600 to you two. All told those two large rocks have earned you 28236 credits. Most mining crews go months without earning that much.”

  “And it’s not even a drop in the bucket of what I owe on this ship,” Mckenzie said.

  “Them’s the breaks, kid,” Roy laughed. “Sign here and I’ll transfer the funds to your account and have a couple of bots come take the asteroids to the refinery.”

  “Or if you prefer Mckenzie, you can try one of the private assessors and see if you can get more for the asteroids,” Kathleen said.

  “He could,” Roy agreed. “They might pay more, or they might pay a lot less. Unlike me, they don’t work for the station and want to make a profit.”

  Mac shrugged and signed over the rocks. “This is more than I had yestersol, so I’ll take it.”

  *

  “Do you want to see the station before we depart?” Kathleen asked after the station’s bots left with the asteroids.

  “Is there anything worth seeing?” Mckenzie asked.

  “Perhaps,” she answered. “There’s lots of shops.”

  “Joseph says there is a PetCorp shop here, and he could use the better company,” Mac said after reading the AI’s message. “That makes two of us, pal. No offense Sarge.”

  “None taken. I know you’re both talking about your normal sols and not these two weeks,” she replied. “And getting an inexpensive pet companion droid could be beneficial for you both.”

  “Good point,” Mac admitted. “Alright. I’m game for seeing the PetCorp store. Do you want to come, Sarge?”

  “Yes,” she answered. Kathleen checked her sidearm. “Mckenzie, go get your firearm. You are licensed to carry, and no station is a total safe zone despite cameras and security.”

  “Right. Good idea,” Mac said. He headed to his cabin.

  *

  “This place reminds me of Delmos Station,” Mckenzie commented as they walked the main throughfare, taking in the sights. “The lighting is bright, the decks are dingy, and there’s too many people.”

  “Most likely because both stations were built by the same corporation or at least have the same basic design and floorplan,” the Sarge replied. “As for people, well there are tens of billions of humans and droids in the galaxy.”

  “Even the shops are the same,” Mac complained.

  “Get used to it,” Kathleen said. “You’ll be seeing these same stores at every station you visit.”

  “Joy,” Mac sarcastically replied. I hope I don’t offend her by asking this, but I’m curious. “Sarge, can pet droids communicate with you and other humanoid droids?”

  “Like an AI or humanoid droid does without speech?” she asked. Mac nodded. “No. Pet droids are more intelligent than their real-life counterparts, but they are not smart enough or programmed to communicate with other droids beyond what they communicate with humans. We just get the same barks, whines, and looks you would.”

  “Oh.”

  “Were you worried that Joseph and any pet droid you purchased would plot behind your back or something?”

  “A little, yeah,” Mckenzie admitted. The Sarge laughed. Mac shook his head and smiled. “There’s the PetCorp shop up on the left.

  *

  “Lots of choices and some are even on sale,” Kathleen noted.

  “Yeah. Wow! The Shiba Inus are on closeout for 70% off,” Mac said. “That might be worth looking into.”

  “Let’s take a look,” the Sarge encouraged. They started walking to the back where the Shiba Inus were, and she stopped after looking to their right. “He is beautiful.”

  “Sarge?”

  “That droid is beautiful,” she replied. Mac stepped to her side and noticed the rather big, unboxed dog droid she was looking at.

  Belgian Tervuren, Mac read on the sign. The dog was reddish brown on it’s back and back legs. Its tail was a whitish cream color as was its underside. The droid’s front legs, neck, and face were darker brown running to black. Around the neck was an almost mane.

  “It is pretty,” Mac agreed. He looked at the price. The Tervuren was on sale for 15000 credits. I suddenly feel like buying this droid for her as a thank you despite the price. “I’m going to go look at the Shiba Inus.”

  Sergent Kathleen nodded but didn’t speak. Mac smiled and walked over to the counter.

  “How may I assist you?” the clerk asked. The man’s nametag read David.

  “I want that reddish brown, black Tervuren,” Mckenzie said.

  “Really?” David asked. Mac nodded. “The boss bought on commission for a customer who backed out of the deal a few solyears ago. That’s why it’s on sale.”

  “Tired of paying taxes on it?” Mckenzie asked.

  “You got it,” the clerk replied. “I heard you mention the Shiba Inus. If you want one and the Tervuren, I’ll sale them for 25000 together.”

  “Oh?”

  “Yep. The boss gets some non-selling stock out of his inventory, you get a deal, and I make a nice commission,” David said with a grin on his face. “It’s a win-win-win.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind,” Mac laughed. “Let me take a look at them.”

  He walked over to the small droids. The Shiba Inus were either red with a cream underside, black with a tan underside, or just a creamy white with a hint of light red along the back.

  They’re pretty. They’re also small and would be a good fit on the Hawk, Mac thought. He looked over at David. “I’ll take one of these two cream-colored ones.”

  “Do you want the female or male?” the clerk asked back.

  “Female,” Mac answered. Hopefully, she’ll be easier to get along with than my AI.

  “Want me to leave her in the box?” David asked as he retrieved the small droid from the display case.

  “Will she follow me back to my ship?” Mckenzie asked.

  “Sure will, once she imprints on you that is.”

  “Then unbox her please,” Mac said.

  “Alright. Let me grab that Tervuren too,” David said. Mac watched as the clerk set the Shiba on the counter and walked over to the Sarge. She stepped aside and frowned as he unlocked the case and removed the big dog.

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  “Sarge, come on,’ Mckenzie called. She looked from David to Mac and back. “The Tervuren is yours.”

  “Mckenzie, what are you doing?” Kathleen asked, walking to the counter behind David.

  “You obviously want the big guy, so I’m buying him for you as a thank you gift.”

  “You can’t do that!”

  “It’s already done,” Mac said. David looked relieved and quickly finished ringing up the droids. Mckenzie sent the store payment. “You’ve helped me tremendously and made this trip more profitable than it would’ve been. Heck, I wouldn’t have even been able to take the trip without you. And it’s not in the academy rules that students can’t give gifts.”

  “I… thank you.”

  “You’re welcome,” Mac replied. “So, what are you going to name him?”

  “Good question,” David chimed in.

  “Lee,” the Sarge answered.

  “Done,” David said. “Now if you’ll just follow these… wait. You’re a droid. You two can…”

  “Lee is imprinted on me,” Kathleen said. The droid barked and jumped from the counter and sat on the floor beside the sergeant.

  “That was fast,” David muttered. “Alright, Mr Edwards, it’s your turn. What are you going to name her?”

  “Um… Ariel, I guess,” Mac said. I should have thought this through more.

  “Ariel it is,” David replied. “Now, let’s get her imprinted on you.”

  43

  Mac scratched Ariel behind her ears. “I’m glad that unlike a real dog, you can eat anything. It’ll make feeding us cheaper.”

  The android Shiba Inu butted her head into his hand and then walked into the lounge and started playing with Lee. Mac smiled and pulled up the sensor logs from the asteroid belt as he finished cleaning up from lunch. Sergeant Kathleen was sitting on the couch watching the dog droids play.

  “Joseph, analyze the asteroid scans please,” Mckenzie said.

  “Why are you interested in doing that?” the Sarge asked. “Trying to find a better way to harvest a few asteroids?”

  “Yeah. I could have sworn I read something in the Marconi help files about scanning rocks and determining their makeup even at low levels,” Mac answered.

  “Interesting. I know the sensors the Yellowjackets use cannot do more than determine weight,” Kathleen replied. “That’s why we are programmed with knowledge of the weight range of precious metals and rare earth elements and make sure the Yellowjacket AI are as well.”

  “I had considered Omega Eye but decided I’d rather have the Marconi sensors considering price vs performance,” he said.

  “You made a good choice.”

  “It didn’t help us with that Mantis.”

  “But it did. We just didn’t see it or realize it in time,” Kathleen countered. She put the sensor logs of the contact on the lounge video screen. “See that blip in the log?”

  “Yeah. Looks like a glitch or just some kind of anomaly.”

  “If you go back to our mining, you’ll see it shows up just after the first test shot,” the Sarge explained. “That blip is the Mantis.”

  “Are you sure? It doesn’t look like a ship at all.”

  “I’m sure,” the Sarge answered. “Seems our shooting asteroids is what drew the Mantis’ attention. We really are fortunate that the Mantis’ captain decided a level 1 caravel wasn’t worth anything.”

  “Yeah. Shouldn’t Joseph had noticed the blip?” Mac asked. Joseph put a snarky reply on the screen. “I’m not blaming you, but you are the ship’s AI and sensors are the AI’s responsibility.”

  “Don’t start fighting,” Kathleen said. “Mckenzie, remember that Joseph is locked at level 1 capabilities until you earn enough credits to advance levels and level 1 AI are specifically locked out of their more advanced features including noticing sensor anomalies unless specifically instructed to look for them.”

  “I get you, Sarge and I apologize Joseph,” Mac said. “I’m surprised the sensors picked up the ship at all.”

  “So am I,” the Sarge replied. “I want a copy of your sensor log so I can include it in my incident report. I’ll be advising the academy to make Omni Eye sensors the new standard sensor in our ships since their newest model is supposed to have similar capabilities as your Marconi does and offer Marconi as a highly recommended upgrade option.”

  “You can have a copy,” Mac said as he took a cup of iced tea with him and sat in the pilot’s chair. He pulled up the Marconi help files and searched for asteroids. There it is, He thought a while later. “Marconi does have a mining mode that will work at level 1 but only for common metals such as aluminum, as well as precious metals such as silver and gold, and a couple of the rarer, rare-earth elements like rhodium.”

  “Joseph is correct that switching to that mode will leave him and the Lady Hawk nearly blind though,” Kathleen stated. “I would not recommend going into the Kuiper Belt to test this mode.”

  “Too many unknowns out there?” Mckenzie asked.

  “Too many pirates and privateers preying on miners in the Kuiper Belt,” the Sarge clarified. “Plus, a lot of the miners think they own claims in the belt and are quick to defend what they see as theirs.”

  “Huh. I hadn’t considered that the miners might be aggressive. Guess we got lucky in the asteroid belt then.”

  “Yes.”

  “Alright. How about if we head make toward Europa and stop off at the Greeks or Trojans near Jupiter and Saturn? We still have five sols before we need to be back at the academy after all.”

  “That I can approve of. There are more patrols and general traffic around the Jupiter and Saturn, so the odds of us being attacked are far less,” the Sarge said. “Alright Mckenzie. Let’s give the Greeks a try. Set our course.”

  “Yes ma’am,” Mac replied, shooting her a grin. “Let’s see how fast we can get there, Joseph.”

  *

  “See you around, Mckenzie. Thanks again for the gifts,” Sergeant Kathleen said as she and Lee headed down the Hawk’s ramp four sols later. She carried her watermelon under her left arm and waved at the male droid that was walking towards Mac’s ship with her right. Trailing behind the droid was a bot. Mac smiled and looked down at Ariel.

  “Just you, me, and Joseph, huh?” he asked his companion droid while scratching her behind her ears.

  “Mckenzie Edwards, I’m Donatello, the academy’s metals and minerals assessor. What do you have for me?” the male droid asked as he walked up the ramp and the bot followed. Mckenzie watched Donatello look into the hold. “Seems to be quite a lot.”

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Donatello. We made good use of the last three sols as you can see,” Mac replied.

  “Indeed,” the assessor agreed. “Judging by the sheen, I’d say most of this is copper, iron, and aluminum.”

  “No sir. That’s just what we had my bots stack at the front. The good stuff is further back.”

  “Good stuff?”

  “According to my sensors, there’s several troy ounces worth of osmium, ruthenium, platinum, and rhenium in the smaller rock chunks that make up the majority of what’s in the hold,” Mckenzie answered.

  “If so, that will mean you’ll get between 50 and 500 credits a troy ounce,” Donatello said. Mac smiled and nodded. “Would you like to apply the credits to your debt?”

  “No sir. I’m going to meet with Victoria in an hour and she’s going to help me setup a GBT ship account,” Mac replied. “Then, depending on what this stuff is worth, I was thinking of leaving the credits in the ship’s account for operating expenses, but if there’s enough here, I’ll split it between expenses and either a down payment on my debt or on the Lady Hawk’s second level.”

  “Good plan. I suggest the level,” Donatello said. “Kathleen told me you had a good trip overall and an even better three sols mining. So, let’s see what’s here.”

  44

  “Greetings Mckenzie,” Victoria said as their meeting started.

  “Hi,” Mac replied. He sat on his couch and Ariel jumped up and laid down with her head on his lap. Mckenzie smiled and started to rub the droid’s side. She turned over to give him easier access to her stomach. Mac’s smile grew and he shook his head.

  “So, let’s get down to business, shall we?” Victoria asked.

  “Sure, but I have no idea where to start,” Mckenzie replied.

  “That’s because this is something you were not supposed to do until your senior solyear.”

  “Ah. Yeah, that makes sense,” Mac said. “So, what do I need first?”

  “To incorporate or at least establish your company,” Victoria answered.

  It doesn’t matter the type, though a corporation would offer better long-term options, Mac read Joseph’s statement. I don’t think I want to incorporate since I don’t plan on doing more than living the best life I can while living my dream and providing something for my folks in their old age, Mac thought. He told the two AI as much.

  “Let us start with the type of business you want,” Victoria said. She sent Mac a list of the types of businesses along with the pros and cons of each. “Mckenzie, read this and make your decision. I will answer any questions you may have.”

  “Alright. Thanks,” Mac replied. He read the material. A sole proprietorship is all I need even if it doesn’t offer the tax loopholes and legal protection a corporation does. “I think I’ll go with the sole proprietorship. I’m not married, have no partners, and can always change things later if necessary.”

  “True,” Victoria agreed, ignoring Joseph’s snark filled comment about Mckenzie and the odds of ever finding anyone willing to marry him or live on his bird shaped ship.

  Yep, old Joe really doesn’t like me or the Hawk, Mac thought. I need to do some more research about changing out AI. There’s got to be a way of doing it.

  “Mckenzie,” Victoria said. “Are you well?”

  “Sorry. I was just lost in my thoughts,” Mac answered, ignoring another comment from his AI about how easy it was for him to get lost. “What were you saying?”

  “I had asked where did you want to establish your company headquarters and what you wish to name your company,” the financial AI said.

  “Oh. Does it matter if I have a headquarters or not? I mean the Lady Hawk is the business as well as my home,” Mac replied.

  “I understand your concern. Your ‘headquarters’ is your ship but for legal reasons, you must have what is considered a home system even if you decide to roam the galaxy for the rest of your life without ever stopping,” Victoria explained. “And like the type of business, you can always change headquarters locations later.”

  “I know I don’t want to use Mars,” Mac said. “Redrock and AresCorp both have too much control over the planet and are too corrupt.”

  “Then might I suggest here on Europa or if you do not wish to deal with Titan Custer, then Titania Station would be a viable alternative, especially with your recent dealings with Foster and Dawson Attorneys at Law,” Victoria said. “Foster and Dawson are well known for their expertise in establishing new business ventures thanks to all the mining in the Kuiper Belt. They are also highly regarded and will not overcharge you for their services.”

  “That works for me,” Mac said.

  “Excellent,” Victoria replied. “I will contact Cassandra and Sophia to set things up. Cassandra is Foster and Dawson’s AI and Sophia is one of Galactic Banking and Trust’s AI.”

  “Alright,” Mckenzie said. This is moving fast.

  “Before we do that, I need to know how much you want to put in your ship’s account,” Victoria said. “Records show that you have 130000 credits in your Redrock bank account from your recent contract and prior savings. In addition to that amount, the metals and minerals you have sold to the academy are worth another 100000 credits.”

  “Wow. I only thought what I sold to the academy was worth about 30000 credits,” Mac replied.

  “A few ounces of Rhodium and Palladium were found in the asteroids during refining,” Victoria explained.

  “Oh. Wow!” Mac exclaimed. “That’ll come in handy.”

  “Indeed,” Victoria agreed. “Your business ventures so far have earned you 230000 credits. If your good fortune and smart decisions hold, you should reach level 2 within the next two solyears.”

  “Plus, there’s the 5000 or so I have in my personal account,” Mac said. “Since my business is going to be a sole proprietorship, couldn’t I just combine accounts?”

  “You can, but I’d suggest keeping them separate for legal reasons as well as to keep you from treating business revenue as personal income,” the AI answered. “On the negative side of that idea is that you will have twice the banking fees.”

  “Since it’s just me, let’s keep things simple and combine everything into one ship account. If I need to, I can always open a personal account with GBT down the road.”

  “True,” Victoria replied. “Give me authorization and I will transfer the funds from the academy’s purchase as well as your Redrock account to the new Lady Hawk ship account. This will close out your Redrock account. Redrock is charging a 1000-credit account closing fee.”

  Those crooked, greedy motherfu…, Mac fumed silently. “Fine. Here is my authorization.”

  “Thank you and your ship account is authorized, verified, and open. Be sure to remove my temporary access,” Victoria said a few seconds later. “Now, we need to focus on your business and name it. Have you thought of a name?”

  “Mac’s Exploration and Transportation Services,” Mac answered.”

  “That name is taken,” Victoria replied.

  “Alright. Let’s try Edwards Exploration and Transportation Services,” Mac said.

  “Yes, I can see that EETS is an acronym for Edwards Exploration and Transportation,” Joseph remarked. “Though. it’s close to EATS, which is what people do.”

  “Yeah, that’s not good,” Mac said. “I think I want to change the name.”

  “Done. Congratulations Mckenzie. Your company is now registered,” Victoria said.

  “Too late,” Mac murmured. Joseph sent him a message that was nothing but a clip of people laughing. He sighed.

  “Now Mckenzie, you need to transfer 24000 credits to me for banking, attorney, and academy fees,” Victoria said. “The academy fees are for my time and assistance.”

  “At least I’ll still have right at 210000 credits in the bank,” Mac said. “I’m authorizing the transfer.”