“I glanced over it, but I didn’t read it carefully. Why?”
“You should look at it. It’s going to be one of the hottest items on the agenda. Most of the other captains are gearing up for a major brawl.”
“Maybe it’s the terminology that’s putting me off, What’s it all about? In non-accounting terms.”
“Simply put, the planets who subscribe to our services pay their money into a big common pool,” Tambu explained. “From that pool, the money gets divided down among the individual ships which comprise the fleet. The question that’s being raised is what is a fair basis for determining which ship gets how much.”
“Aside from the fact that everybody gets emotional when there’s money on the line, what’s the problem?” Ramona yawned. “I mean, how many ways can you carve a pie?”
“Lots. The trouble is, each way has its drawbacks.”
He rose and began to pace the room as he spoke, unconsciously falling into a lecturer’s role.
“We can’t just give a set amount to each ship. Some of our ships are twice as big as others and require larger crews and more maintenance. Similarly, we can’t give a set amount to each crewman or captain. On a small ship, a crewman has to do more than one job. Should a navigator gunner be paid the same as a man who is only a gunner?”
“Or should the captain of a five-man cruiser be paid as much as the captain of a forty-man dreadnought?” Ramona supplied.
“Exactly.” Tambu nodded. “And then there’s seniority. Should a five-year crewman be paid the same as someone in the same job who just signed on?”