“A pleasure doing business with you, my friend”, said the Terllarite individual standing behind the small counter as they handed over a small bottle of Saurian brandy in exchange for the slips of gold-pressed latinum I had set on the countertop. I lovingly placed the flagon, with its elegantly elongated neck and traditional cordage, into a small standard-issue over-the-shoulder valise I had brought for the occasion. Walking back to my quarters would not be difficult, but it did make me a little nervous (Daring + Security, Difficulty 1). It wasn’t that I was doing anything wrong. I really wasn’t. But I might have been bypassing a few regulations by making such a purchase outside of the more normal channels.

We actually have it pretty good on station. It’s just that there are certain things that are more difficult to acquire by way of the quartermaster’s monthly allotments. Even amidst a post-scarcity society, good people still have needs and desires and are willing to part with a few slips of gold-pressed latinum or trade in-kind for the things they want. Especially when access to such goods is limited or those goods are of a questionable variety. Show me a starship or station, and I guarantee there is some type of…let’s call it a grey market operating behind the scenes. Maybe it’s just that guy everyone knows who has friends back home. Perhaps it is a more elaborate concern that involves multiple contacts at different points in the machine. Honestly? It’s best not to ask. All I know is that markets always fill available niches. And don’t think it’s only us lackeys who keep business afloat. Word has it that even the station XO has made a buy or two.

Whatever. I was glad to get back at my quarters to stow that lovely bottle in the cabinet. But not before filling a small glass and contemplating the great mysteries of life, the cosmos, and everything for a bit (Insight + Science, Difficulty 5).