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up a resource. They can tell people that it's limited, or it's forbidden. They can even make it illegal. But what they can't do is actually change the demand. And as long as demand exists, so does the market."
    It was practically identical to what Valero had said.
    "Low supply plus high demand equals higher price."
    "Exactly. It's only natural that somebody will try to take advantage of that situation, and by definition, that person'll be an outlaw."
    "So you think the pirates have a right to what they take?"
    He snorted. "A right ? Fuck no! But the damn Regencies sure don't have a right to it, either. They may claim they do, but that don't make it true."
    "But the pirates—"
    "Look, kid," he said, interrupting me. "There's pirates, and there's pirates . If you knew the things I've heard, you'd curl up in that cot and cry like a lost lamb.
    Men slaughtered. Women and children sold into slavery. I met one woman who saw her husband and son shot right in

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    front of her. The crew took turns with her, doing things to her you wouldn't do to a whore. She was actually relieved , at the time, 'cause they only raped her and not her daughter.
    Turns out only reason they left the girl alone is 'cause virgins bring more on the slave market. They left that woman bleeding, lying on the cold bodies of her menfolk, and she never saw her daughter again."
    My stomach turned at the thought. "That's awful."
    "Don't think that's an isolated incident either, Captain Kelley. Every year, ships turn up in salvage with their airlocks blown and every man, woman, and child on board missing and never heard from again."
    "Why don't we hear about it?"
    "Because the damn Regency don't care, that's why.
    Sure, each Regency takes care of her own quadrant, but nobody gives a fuck what happens in the blind space in between. The Empire has plenty of men. They could send shiploads of soldiers out here to fight the pirates—get rid of the vermin and protect their citizens at the same time—but the only thing they use their military for is to expand their own power."
    Or to guard the spoiled sons of Regents. But I didn't say it loud.
    "They don't care what happens out here," Jerald said. "All they care about is that they get their goods, and

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    they pay as little for them as possible."
    I thought about his words for a minute. "But you're saying there are different kinds of pirates."
    "Exactly. They ain't all bloodthirsty savages, thank the gods. Some are just honest men, trying to make a living."
    "Like these?"
    "Fuck if I know," he said. "Guess we'll find out. But the one thing you can mostly count on is that pirates work specific shipping lanes in the blind space. They respect each other's territory."
    Realization finally began to dawn. "So you're
    saying a smart captain will pick the devil he knows over one he doesn't?"
    "Better to cut a deal with a group you can trust than lose your ship and your life to a group you can't."

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CHAPTER 7
    It was another two days before Pierce came to me
    with the news that his captain wanted to see me again. I'd had a great deal of time to think.
    First and foremost, I thought about the things Jerald had told me. I had no way of knowing what was true and what wasn't. On one hand, I found it hard to believe such barbarism could go on without people talking about it. On the other hand, I had to admit I was not an educated man. I lived in a cocoon. I had never gone to any kind of trouble to find out what was going on in the universe. I followed orders. It was that simple. I liked it that way.
    What it came down to was whether or not I trusted
    Jerald. I didn't really want to believe him, but what reason did he have to lie?
    I also found myself wondering who had given the
    pirates our lock code. It could have been any of my men, and yet, it seemed unlikely. The ones with decent futures in the militia wouldn't have risked it, and the