Prologue. Part 3

The chair next to him was empty again. He glanced at watches and got up heavily to his feet. Two girls rushed past him. An elderly man in a torn jacket, barely dodging them, walked in the opposite direction. Captain sighed. He won't see any other people in the coming weeks besides his pilot. Then, they will spend a few days in a small remote station. And the way back will take even longer.

He walked leisurely towards the airlock, bypassing groups of talking people and giving a way for those who were in a hurry. There were less than 20 steps to the airlock when someone's hand blocked his way.

"Need to deliver a cargo to Mars? Faster than official carriers." the woman said in a low voice. She looked into Capitan's eyes, and he looked at his recent neighbor.

"Ah," she said with disappointment. "You are departing. "

Сaptain nodded.

"By the way, what happened with the big cargo ship which arrived at the station a couple of hours ago?" captain asked.

"Their pilot fell asleep." the woman dropped andю She lost all interest to Captain and stepped aside.