'Captain, how much longer do we keep this up?  We've been searching for five days now.'

'Until we're sure no other salvage vessel is going to beat us to it.'

'Yeah, but out here, treasure maps don't work.  X is supposed to mark the spot, but that don't work in space.'

'Stop griping, Snotty, and keep your eyes on the screen.  If we miss out on the best salvage since they opened King Tut's tomb, you'll be conducting the next sensor sweep out there in person, and without benefit of a space suit!'

Snodgrass subsided with a sniff and turned back to the sensor screen.   'You're the boss, Boss, but I still think we're wasting our time on this wild goose chase.'

'Very droll!' remarked Benson.  'Do I have to remind you that the shuttle Gander is carrying 200 tons of dilithium crystals?  If we can lay our hands on that before Jorgensen gets back to this sector, we'll be rich beyond our wildest dreams.'

'I dunno, my dreams can be pretty untamed!  How much do you reckon that'll bring back on Titan base?  Assuming the Gander hasn't blown up into a million pieces, of course.'

'Enough to keep you and both your ex wives in luxury for the rest of your lives.'

'Benson walked through to the grapple room to check on the beams that would grab an abandoned ship or even a small asteroid rich in ore, and allowed himself a small smile as he visualised the neat streamlined space yacht hed seen in the Titan yards the last time they'd been back to base.  He could scare up a fair bit of hell-raising in that sweet little craft around the rings of Saturn, or even closer in, in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.  Life as a salvage tug captain was a little too unprofitable for his liking, what with all the competition out there. 

He knew of ten tugs in the solar system alone, most of them around the other side of the sun, and out of his hair most of the time, but Jorgensen was his main problem.  How many times had he arrived in that rust bucket Ariadne to seize the prize right from under the noses of the Envy's crew?  He seemed to have a knack of knowing exactly when Benson was onto a good thing, and swooping in at the last minute with his larger ship, pipping him at the post.  Benson might sneer at the Ariadne as a rust bucket, but he had to admire her larger engines and superior grapple beams that allowed Jorgo to dash in and grab the derelict drifting ships and be back at Titan base before Benson had a chance to file a complaint.

'Captain, I'm getting a blip on sensors!' called Snodgrass.  'It's probably the Ariadne sniffing around to see if we're onto something she can steal from us again.'

'What's the bearing?'

'509.6.'

'Can't be Jorgo,' crowed Benson.  'He's over the other side of Saturn, towing a selenium asteroid into Titan.  He's not going to drop his tow just to come chasing us.  It must be the Gander.'

'Make that two blips,' warned his second in command, his swarthy face creased in a frown.

'Close in and let's have a look.' ordered Benson, settling his wiry frame into the co-pilot's seat, not waiting for the navigation officer to make it from his computer station.  'Smithy, stand by on the grapples,' he called to the navigator.  'We'll handle this end.'

'Suits me,' said Smith, after a quick check to make sure the Captain had the right course on his board.

'Do we have a visual yet?'

'Just coming into range, Captain.  Hang on, yes, it's the Gander all right, and oh oh!  That's the Ariadne closing on her fast.''

'What? That's impossible!  Hail the Ariadne.  I want to talk to Jorgo, now!'

'Ariadne here.  Well hello, Bennie!  Late again as usual.  We're just about to set the grapple on the Gander.'

'How the hell did you get round here so fast?  You were out behind Phoebe last I heard, towing an asteroid round to Titan.'

'Didn't you hear?  That last salvage paid for an engine upgrade, so we've almost doubled our top speed.  You might as well retire now.  I can't see the Envy getting much more salvage in future.'

Benson wished they were facing each other in person.  He'd love to wipe that supercilious smirk right off Jorgo's face.  He was just about to sever the comm. link in disgust when Jorgo looked sharply to one side and hissed, 'What do you mean?'

An off-screen voice answered back, 'I said, the grapple beam is down, Sir.  It blew a circuit and shorted out a few systems.  It'll be at least a day before it's back online.'