The galley of the SS Busan Star was cramped, as usual, and dimly lit, Sae-jin insisted that the low lighting made food taste better. Most of the crew suspected that it was a load of crap. Tonight, the food was… suspicious.

Tobias stood behind the serving station, wearing a stained apron. “Dinner is served. Possibly edible. Definitely hot.”

“You have an interesting definition of edible,” Varin said, arms folded with all the warmth of a Cardassian executioner.

Tobias ladled something vaguely protein-based into bowls. “If it doesn’t kill the Vedek, I’ll call it a success.”

Salvos lifted a spoonful of steaming stew. “If a man prepares a meal in good faith, one must respond with trust.” He took a bite.

Everyone watched.

He swallowed, “It’s… complex.”

“I’ll take it,” Tobias said, already digging into his own bowl. “Best review I’ve gotten from a man of the cloth.”

Reluctantly, the rest of the crew followed suit. Even Kordath grunted approval between bites.

Min-jae was the first to break the silence. “So. We’re really doing this? The Consortium? The cargo?”

“Doing this pays the bills,” Kim said not looking up from his bowl.

Rhian scoffed. “You mean selling medical plasma to a syndicate built on smuggling and sabotage?”

“We’re not selling to them,” Min-jae corrected. “We’re delivering. Big difference.”

Varin interrupted, “It is neither big nor a difference.”

Salvos lowered his spoon. “There are lines. And then there are chasms.”

“And yet here we are,” Sae-jin said quietly, “Flying straight into Freecloud’s worst back alley with a cargo hold full of no questions asked.”

“It’s a job,” Kordath said flatly. “Jobs keep us flying.”

“Jobs with consequences,” Rhian snapped. “They traffic people. Weapons. They ruin lives.”

“We all have a past,” Han muttered, “need I remind you, none of us are squeaky clean either.”

“That doesn’t mean we work for people who are worse,” Rhian shot back.

Kim slammed a fist into the table, “We’re delivering medicine. Whatever they do with it isn’t our concern.”

“No,” Salvos said, “but it is ours to know.”

Min-jae glanced around. “You all knew who we were when you signed on. This ship walks the line because that’s where the money is. That hasn’t changed.”

“But maybe it should,” Rhian said.

Silence again.

Kim sighed. “We get to Freecloud. We deliver the cargo. We stay alive. We figure out the rest after.”

“And if the Consortium tries to hire us for something worse?” Sae-jin asked.

Kim stood up, so fast he knocked his bowl to the ground.  He looked around the table before storming out.