La Soeur du Dan Ham, Riedquat, 15-Jun-3200

Riedquat's security is still not improving. Last time I was here, there was talk of a Traders' Union forming as a sort of counter-piracy protection, but it's been two months and nothing seems to have come of that. It doesn't surprise me, really -- I don't know how they expect to get protection to a ship in trouble when dogfights last about a minute, and to have to let some Traders' Union know when I planned to arrive in Riedquat would be intolerably intrusive, expensive and insecure.

A far better plan would be for a few of us to pilot small fighting vessels and defend a fleet of unarmed trading ships; but we would find that too restrictive on our individual flight plans. In any case, every time I arrive, there seems to be one or two fewer traders wanting to come this way. Still, it leaves less competition for my robots. I manage to shift the entire consignment for a profit of ¢21217.5, a surprising amount of money given the system's status as one of Dante's levels of Hell.

As I watch the robots being taken away from my vessel, I notice the bank balance has made it past ¢200,000. I splash out on 17t of slaves (¢915.4/t), 6t of narcotics (¢467.9/t) and 19t of live animals (¢846.0/t). The loading will take some time, so I'm off to soak in the local bar.