I pause. He has my attention now, and he knows it. That is a lot of money, more than I thought they would be worth. “I’m listening.”

“These humans will have good lives. I promise you. We will not hurt them. They will live more luxurious lives than they would have on Earth or on one of your farms which no doubt you will send them to.”

He’s not wrong. No doubt some of them would end up on farms just like Volunteer 4711 was. I consider his offer and think about my fleet, and I know it’s wrong for me personally, but I need to do what is right for my position. “I accept your deal. I want the UCs first.”

“Let’s get the numbers correct then. You have 101 Water people onboard.”

“No, one hundred.”

“Our sensors show 101 Water people,” the Imperial captain insists.

“One is a member of my crew,” I explain.

“I want him too.”

“No,” I say. “That crew member is not for sale.”

“What do you want with Water person?” he asks. And this is what I do not like about the relationship between the Imperial people and the Water people. Imperials see the Water people as their own.

I should not have to explain myself, but I want to make the deal, and I want to make it clear that I am not selling my valet. “This Water person saved my life. In return, I offered a position on my ship.”

“I see, but perhaps you should ask this crew member if he would consider leaving to be with a species more like his own.”

“He is happy here,” I say. For some reason, my instincts tell me not to let on that Volunteer 4711 is female. Not that his sensors won’t tell him when he sorts through them, but still, I am not handing out any extra information.

“I understand you feel some obligation to this Water man, but let me assure you, you will tire of this Water man, and when you do, you will have wished you sold him to me.”

“When I tire of him, I will think about selling him to you,” I assure the captain. “Now, the UCs for the 100 Water people?” When I see the UCs appear in my ship’s account, I say, “Thank you, Captain. I will have the Water people delivered to your ship just over the border.”

“Walk in the gods’ light,” the Imperial captain says and signs off.

I look at the blank screen and feel a little guilty, but business is business, and if my crew and fleet had found out that I had passed up that deal because I was fond of my valet, I would have a full-scale mutiny on my hands.

I walk back to the bridge and announce to my fleet the good news. I know Volunteer 4711 will hear my announcement. I cannot imagine what she will think. I nod to my comms officer, who lets me know I’m on to the entire fleet. “This is your Commander. I have just sold the 100 Water people we took to the Imperials just across the border for 5,000 UCs per person. On top of what we will make with the crew and the ship, we can move forward with our sweep of the sector sooner than expected. Good work.”