Barbary Station

Adda and Iridian have engineering qualifications and few prospects in a solar system still suffering after war. Hijacking a colony ship is their ambitious solution: they intend to impress a pirate crew and join a life that appears more rewarding than unemployment. Reaching Barbary Station exposes the flaw in that plan. The pirates are surviving in makeshift shelters outside the station because its security intelligence is trying to kill them, and departing ships are shot down. The newcomers can earn their place only by solving the problem. With the previous engineer dead and the crew doubtful, Adda and Iridian must outwit a system that has made both joining and leaving equally dangerous.