"Gentlemen," Max said and found it hard not to sneer. That's how they thought of themselves now. They'd settled down and got fat and lazy, and stopped thinking of themselves as pimps and drug dealers and racketeers. Station Security kept a lid on them and they'd accepted the limits to their activities. The easy route. They were lifers to a man. Max needed to remind them what else they were.

Greedy.

"I think you have an opportunity, if you seize it now. If you take advantage of this juncture."

"Why now?" One man asked. Smoke curled up from his cigar, making dreamy swirls in the lamplight.

"Because of Bara. Because she's been banned from the station." Max looked around. "I hope you were all at least aware enough to know she'd been gathering supporters, muscle."

"We're aware." A woman's voice surprised him. Max hadn't spotted her. Well, he'd seen her, but she wore her hair so short, and had such a plain, weather-beaten face, that he'd taken her for a short man. "What's it got to do with us?" She asked.

"Those supporters are looking for someone new to take them on, to supplement their incomes. And really, they're just waiting for someone to tell them what to do. They are still used to taking orders. They need orders."

"Look, pal," the plain faced woman said. "We've got our men, why the hell do we want to start paying a load of extra men?"

"Businesses have to expand to survive. Oh I know you have the human sector carved up between you. That you have all your agreements worked out as to who runs what action and you keep out of each other's way. But what about the rest of the station? What about expanding your action?"

"We've never bothered with the other sectors," she said, shrugging.

"Why not? Isn't their money as good as ours?"

That made them murmur and even chuckle. Would they go for it though? They were lazy, they were happy with what they had. But if just one of them bit, then the others would follow, not wanting a rival to gain a lead on them.

Balance. They'd achieved that in their dealings with the humans, however un-ambitious Max considered those dealings. But they wouldn't stand back and watch while one of them gained more power, even if they had started to consider him a friend. An esteemed colleague.

"Station Security won't go for it," the cigar smoking man said, "They'll start a crackdown."

"Not if you're smart," Max said. "You don't have to increase the amount of crime. You just have to take over the operations of your counterparts in the other sectors. Though, I think there is room for expansion here in the human sector too. After all the population here is growing. And now Bara is gone, those places she protected are wide open and just waiting for you. The brothel. Dav's. The free clinic."

One of the men spat on the floor, making Max wince with disgust, but he controlled his reaction quickly.

"That damn clinic. Half my customers are getting free junk in there, instead of buying from my pushers."

Oh, there's nothing like the bitter fury of a drug dealer scorned. Max began to feel sorry for that idiotically idealistic young doctor who still struggled on in the clinic. Of course, with his benefactor cut off from the station, the place was doomed anyway. All a smart person had to do was wait. But a really smart person would not wait. He would use it.

"Then perhaps it's time you did something about it."

The pusher smirked horribly, gloating at the misfortune of his more respectable rival. "Maybe you're right there, Mr... ah, Max."

"I prefer Commander," Max said. Why not? He'd worked hard to get to Lieutenant Commander. And he never even got to take up the posting that came with it. Ended up on that damn planet with nobody to give orders to. With nobody to...

No. Stop it, he ordered himself. Not now. This is important business and Bara's relying on me, I don't need to start thinking about the three days it took... Stop it! His hands shook, so he clenched his fists.

"Look, pal, what's your angle?" The plain woman asked, looking at Max. "When did you become the local crime consultant?"

Max cleared his throat and brought his voice under control before he went on. These people would scent weakness like scavengers scenting carrion.

"The drifties don't trust you very much," Max said. "But they do trust me. I can make that connection for you. I can help place, shall we say, appropriate personnel in each of your organisations."

"For a cut."

"Of course."

She looked satisfied with that. They all did. What more understandable motive for a man than greed? They'd all buy that. More looks at each other, more muttering.

"Do you need convincing that the men I can get you can pull this off? And that they'll take orders? Which of you takes care of protection for the whores? The independent ones?"

"That would be me." Plain face again.

"Then tomorrow morning, I'll bring along the men I've selected and at four a.m. you meet us outside the brothel."

~o~

Major Jax had known it would happen.

The moment she heard that the Trebuchet had been banned from the station, she knew her days were numbered. The Marines Bara had provided were good lads, and had sworn they'd stand by her, as long as she could at least pay them enough for their rent and food. Well, she'd just about scraped that together. But still she knew it couldn't last.

So when Etta, the hard-faced little bitch, walked in with a load of men at her back, all looking very handy, Jax knew they hadn't come to avail themselves of the facilities.

"We're closed," Jax said, and heard her Marines lining up behind her. Outnumbered three to one, they had little chance, but they stood behind her nevertheless. Good lads.

"Major," Etta said, smiling. Smug, Jax thought. For so long she'd watched this place with greedy eyes, and been afraid to touch it while first the military and then Bara protected it. Now she had her chance and she was going to savour it.

"Get out." Jax folded her arms.

"Major, I don't want to start a fight here. I certainly don't want to smash this place up, or see anyone get hurt."

"Any of your thugs touches any of my girls I'll kill him myself."

"Then let's not allow this to escalate."

"What are your terms then?" She might as well hear them. There was always the slight chance they might be reasonable.

Etta laughed. "Terms? There's no terms. This isn't a negotiation. This is a hostile takeover." She grinned. "Very hostile. Throw them out, boys." She pointed at Jax. "Her included."

"What? Wait --" Etta's men rushed at Jax and the Marines and engulfed them. Fists and feet flew. Jax hit the floor when a blow to the side of her head felled her.

Dazed, she couldn't fight when men grabbed her arms and dragged her out of the room. They dumped her onto the deck outside and left her there, groaning. The Marines were dumped one by one around her.

When the last of them hit the deck, Jax looked up to see Etta standing in the doorway grinning.

"The girls," Jax said. "You hurt any of them..."

"Of course I won't hurt them. They're my income."

"If any of them want to leave, if you try to stop them, Station Security will be all over your ass, you bitch."

"They won't leave, Major. Why would they, when I'm the one who can protect them?" She laughed and closed the door. The echo of her laughter mocked Jax as she staggered to her feet, helped by a couple of the Marines.

"I'm sorry, ma'am," one of them said. "There were just too many of them. We couldn't do anything."

"I know. You tried. Now..." She looked at them, their downcast or angry faces. "I don't think there's anything we can do now." What could she do? Get more men herself and start a gang war? And pay them with what?

A couple of Klaff security officers came over then.

"You having trouble, Major?"

Jax shook her head. "Nothing you can do anything about." Then she regretted her bitter tone. Unfair. Station Security had always treated her fairly. So she managed a smile at them. "There's been a change of management. Do me a favour and keep an eye on the girls. Please."

They glanced at each other, and then one said, "Happy to, Major." They strolled off on their patrol.

The Marines still stood around, looking unsure of what to do. There was only one thing she could do now.

"Boys, I guess I'm dismissing you. It's everyone for themselves now. Smartest move for you is to get off the station and try and hook up with the Trebuchet again."

"And you, Major?"

Jax shrugged. She didn't even have quarters, her room was on the other side of that door and she wasn't getting back in there. She'd demand her belongings back tomorrow. Right now...

"Me? Well, to start with, I need a drink."

~o~

Max saw her come into Dav's, with the Marines from the brothel, all of them looking quite battered, and miserable. He smiled. It seemed that Etta had dealt with that as planned; using the men he'd sent her. Max hadn't been present personally of course. Any more than he had been earlier when this bar got a new, ahem, security contract.

The good old protection racket. How long had that been going on? Did Neanderthals muscle their way into their neighbour's homes and stomp around saying 'cave is nice, be terrible if something bad happen to it'?

Anyway, Max couldn't show his face at any of the actual operations. That wasn't part of the plan. Chatting to Major Jax was though, perhaps buying her a drink or three...

~o~

Lon looked around at the shattered remains of the free clinic's waiting room. He'd just received a visit from some men who considered him a rival for their customers. And that's what he had been recently. No respectable people came here any more. Just the drug seekers and those with suspicious injuries, especially ones that they maybe didn't want Station Security to know about.

Well it didn't matter. His stock of drugs, at least of the sort the junkies wanted, was exhausted. The nurses he'd hired had left, as he could no longer pay them. The rent on this space would fall due in a couple of days and he had nothing to pay it with. Same went for the power and water.

The free clinic was dead. As Sheni had warned, one day Bara would stop coming to the station and the money would dry up. With a sigh, Lon closed and locked the door. He went back to his consulting room and packed his doctor's bag with his personal gear. Once that was done he brought up the station's business directory on his computer panel and found the category for movers.

~o~

A few drinks later, Jax was sitting at the table with Max and laughing about the way their names rhymed. The Marines sat at another table and gave him suspicious looks. But they had their orders too, Max knew, not to interfere with his plans. Co-operate in fact.

"Perhaps I'll just call you Lieutenant Commander instead," she suggested. "And you can call me Major."

"You can call me anything, anytime, Major," he said, smiling and leaning closer. She was merry enough already to believe his attentions sincere. Well, they weren't entirely insincere. After all, this woman was trained in the arts of pleasure. Her looks may be fading, but if her skills remained, Max wouldn't say no to her.

"Barring the Treb. Tha's where 's all gone wrong," Jax said. "Say what you like about the Captain, and not gonna deny, she's madder than a box of frogs. And scary, fucking hell, scary. But's only been couple of days since the blueys banned her, an this place is already going to hell in a hand basket."

"So you think it was better when Captain Bara was around?"

"Better. Yeah." Jax tossed back another drink and slammed the glass down. Max signalled the bar for another round.

"I think a lot of people are likely to agree with you. I've been hearing about all kinds of trouble since the announcement. Some people are trying to take advantage."

Speaking of taking advantage... he moved a little closer and slid his arm around her waist. She didn't object, in fact she turned to him.

"You're a handsome lad. No wonder I never saw you in the house. You don't have to pay for it, do you?"

"Not so far. You know, Major." He leaned close, to whisper in her ear. "If you need a bed for the night, you ca--"

He broke off mid word, his body frozen solid. Her hand... she had her hand... The thought ran through his mind that a woman trained in making a man feel pleasure could also have special insight into ways of causing him pain. His eyes started to water. Jax smiled gently into his face.

"Don't be so cheeky, sonny." With her free hand, she patted his face. He didn't move. Too terrified to move. "Try again when you make full Commander."

Then she was sliding out from behind the table and he unfroze, wanting to slide himself. Slide off his chair and under the table. The Marines were grinning.

"I've been on this station a lot longer than you, sonny. I can find my own bed for the night."

A waiter arrived at the table, with two drinks on a tray. Jax grabbed both, downed them one after the other and slapped the glassed back onto the tray. Then, while Max stared, she turned and walked out. She wobbled a bit, to be sure, but not so badly that she couldn't make a dramatic exit.

Max waved the waiter away, with a request for his bill. He felt like going home to bed. Definitely alone. That hadn't gone exactly as planned. But he'd achieved his main aim. Jax thought things had been better when Bara was coming to the station, and she'd tell everyone she met that same thing. How soon before all the humans on the station were saying it? Well that depended on how quickly things got worse.

~o~

A couple of hours after he closed the clinic, a tired Lon and several bored looking men with crates on trolleys walked into Dr Sheni's clinic. The receptionist stared at him and he gave her a weak smile.

"Hi. Can I see Dr Sheni?"

She came out a few minutes later, with Anishk following her.

"You were right," Lon said. "I was..." This was difficult for him to admit. Such words didn't come naturally to a confident young doctor. But he gritted his teeth and got them out. "I was wrong. The free clinic is closed. I brought the equipment and what drugs I had left, to give to you. If you'll accept them. And... well, if you'll accept me, I've brought myself back too."

Sheni looked at the boxes and crates and some larger pieces of equipment and then looked back at Lon.

"I'd like to have you back, yes. As for the equipment. Well, I think you've earned it. So yes, I'll accept it."

For a moment, he thought he would cry. He wanted to sink to the floor as the tension and fear drained from him. Why did this tiny old woman make him feel safe again? Because of her allies. The best people on the station, he realised that now. The good people that one could rely on. They didn't stamp around shouting about protecting Sheni's clinic. But you just knew that to hurt the doctor would be a bad idea.

Anishk ran up to him then and threw her arms around him. She did weep, he saw, just before she turned her face away to hide the tears.

"You are an idiot," she told him.

"I know, but I learn eventually." He held her tight and she snuffled against his shoulder.