The stench of rank human sweat was only sweetened by the spilled alcohol in which they seemed to christen themselves. It was a rim moon way station, frequented by those who would only stay long enough to find another berth or to fuel their ship and go. A couple of long-term buskers had popped up, spaced here and there between ships. A few permanent buildings had cropped up, but most dwellings were prefabricated or converted cargo sheds.

One such cargo shed had been outfitted with tables and massive amounts of alcohol. Exactly the sort of place that saw the most traffic of human bodies through the fueling station.

“No! Not at all. I just wish I knew how to do things like you, taking things apart and being able to put them back together again. I tried to do a paper model once and it was a disaster. I think I got an infection from a paper cut.” Lien downed a small glass of clear liquid and placed it back in a line of others. The table was littered with them. Only half of them stood upright. A few rolled around the floor at their feet.

“But you gotta admit, sitting around all day and making decisions that can affect hundreds of jobs...” Kaylee looks up and points to a blank space, “Your report’s late. You’re fired!” She giggled and took a sip of her own drink.

Barely touched, Zoe’s drink was being nursed slowly. Her eyes kept drifting off to the corner of the room where the Jayne had convinced two girls to join them. One was attached to Jayne, the other trying to sidle up to the Captain. He seemed to be chatting her up amiably enough but the girl was reading much more into it than there actually was.

Zoe took another measured sip from her drink, giving the appearance of sociability without succumbing to the effects of the alcohol. “I don’t think the power of being able to starve hundreds or thousands of families is all that funny.”

“She’s right,” Lien sobered quickly enough. “I had to cut costs one time by shutting down an entire factory. It took over a year for some of those pe