Sunday February 22, 2009
Book 10: The Longshoreman of the Apocalypse — Epilogue

Transcript

Narrator: Aboard the mercenary warship Touch-And-Go. . .
Captain Tagon: Commodore! Captain Tagon of the Touch-And-Go here. I think it's time for you to pay us.
UNS Commodore: Pay you? Captain Tagon, do you watch the news?
Captain Tagon: Sometimes. Are you talking about the new leadership here in Credomar?
UNS Commodore: New leadership? New leadership? Captain, you installed a tyrannical robot-regime, and nearly destroyed the station in the process!
Captain Tagon: Actually, per the terms of our contract, we "delivered and ensured the equitable distribution of UNS-supplied emergency provisions."
UNS Commodore: You were supposed to do that through one of the existing authorities, preferably by shoring up support for a pro-UNS-annexation faction.
Captain Tagon: Really?

It doesn't say anything like that in the contract.

UNS Commodore: Because it shouldn't have to. That should have been the easy, obvious way to do it.
Captain Tagon: Commodore, if you wanted us to prop up the faction of your choice you should have put that in the contract.
UNS Commodore: You might have found our choice. . . objectionable.
Captain Tagon: Then we would have asked for more money.
UNS Commodore: Mercenaries. . .
Captain Tagon: You get what you pay for.