Ridley Scott, Zaonce, 15-Jan-3200

Zaonce seems to be a much nicer hole than Leesti or Lave. It's bigger than Leesti, freer than Lave, and better-equipped than either of them. I can get the kit I was complaining about not having — a laser cooling booster, scanner and a radar mapper. Now, I can start claiming bounties from the Elite Federation.

I take a look around the markets and make a very interesting find. Zaonce sells slaves. Good, high-quality slaves and at good, low-quantity prices. I'll need a life-support system in the ship as well, but wouldn't you know it? They have those in the shipyard, too. And, if memory serves from my last trip around Lave's shipyard, it costs less to install here than the amount Lave would pay me to take the system off my hands. I could just spend my days exporting hardware from Zaonce to Lave if I so chose. But I digress. I'm trading slaves, not hardware. There's not the money in hardware.

The shipyard get the system installed with admirable efficiency, and I head back to the market. I need to refuel, so order 3t of hydrogen fuel, and settle down to inspect the slaves. It seems somewhat inhumane to measure slaves by the ton, but I guess the whole deal isn't exactly reeking in humanity. ¢835.3 per ton is the price; I reckon my friend Edwards will pay me well over double that in Lave.

Permission for launch obtained, I head off for what may well prove to be another round of fighting my way into Lave and invoking the gods of trade against the local constabulary.