Exiled to the Stars Read Online Free

soon as we reach the dorm and the guards leave, I think they will start what I used to call the 'barnyard dance'. Everyone will be fighting to establish their place in the 'pecking order,' the order of dominance. Don’t be surprised if there are more than a few deaths and maimings. It may take a few weeks, but a dorm leader will emerge, and he'll struggle with the other dorm leaders. Finally, unless we're very lucky, a criminal 'boss of bosses' will appear. That's when the really nasty stuff will begin. If you have any valuables in your personal bag, find a place to hide them, preferably not in the dorm. Soon enough the thugs will be coming around to steal anything that might have value."
    Each dorm accommodated two hundred people, the same number as the shuttle had carried. One end of the dorm contained the hatch leading to the main corridor. The other had another hatch, this one leading to a communal dining room, or "messroom," seating an entire dorm, and designed to be shared with a neighboring dorm.
    Vlad had the bunk "above" Ron's, apparently by virtue of being seated next to him in the auditorium. The bunks were three high. Ron had been given a middle bunk, and Vlad an upper. Ron started to swap bunks with the older man, but decided to hold off until he was sure no one would take it from the older man, whose thin frame and small potbelly told Ron he was a man of thought, not of action.
    At one end of each bunk was a small locker, a cube about half a meter in size. The door was equipped only with two loops through which the combination lock in their box could be secured to protect the contents.
    Ron and Vlad were arranging their meager belonging in their lockers when the occupant of the third bunk in the stack arrived. He was a small, thin man with a furtive manner, whose eyes never stopped scanning their surroundings.
    "Name's Manny," he said, shaking hands in a desultory manner. His eyes ran up and down their figures, evaluating and categorizing. "I figure you guys are straights. Either of ya got any EarthGov credits?"
    "Some," Vlad replied with an amused expression, "Why?"
    Manny shrugged. "'Cause they're gonna be toilet paper aboard ship. Worthless. But for the next few days, maybe even a week, they'll be gold. The guards and attendants aren't leaving. To them, the credits are gold. And some of the Drones won't figure it out right away. For a few days, they'll think credits're still money. As long as we're here, I can do some tradin', get set up. For instance, who's got the top bunk?"
    "I do," replied Vlad, clearly amused by their entrepreneurial companion.
    Manny nodded. "Okay. Tell ya what. I'll swap ya for twenty credits or two beers."
    Vlad opened his mouth to reply but Ron interrupted. "It's not worth more than ten, Vlad, and you should hold onto your beer ration. I have a feeling it's going to be good trading material."
    Manny's grin was feral. "Yer right about that. Fifteen credits."
    Ron shook his head. "Ten."
    Manny's feral grin faded slightly. "You're a tough one. All right, ten credits."
    Ron nodded and turned to Vlad. "Take it. It's well worth it. Don't forget, we'll be here for a long time."
    Vlad pulled out his wallet and pulled a bill from a thick sheaf of them. Manny's eyes widened. "Damn, Doc," he said in a scandalized tone, "You gotta get rid of that stuff! In a week it'll be waste paper!"
    "He's right, Vlad," Ron put in. "We need to talk. Manny, could we have a few moments?"
    Manny gave him a conspiratorial wink before he said, "Sure, Ron. I'll be around." He sauntered off.
    Ron whirled back to face Vlad. He sighed. "All right, Vlad, I'm going to have to presume on very short acquaintance and ask you to trust me. We have a couple of problems and an opportunity, here."
    Vlad frowned and his expression turned to suspicion. "I don't know what you mean," he said.
    Ron nodded. "I know you don't, and that's a big part of the problem. First, there's the fact that Manny now knows you have several thousand