A writing group that I am in does little exercises from time to time. I was in something of a writing binge today, but a few minutes diversion looked attractive. So, this was the first such exercise I've actually done.
The portion in red was the given starter; the writer is to make a mini-short story from those initial words.
Borden Lu stared in astonishment as the incoming ship slid sideways in its descent and collided with its neighbor. He jumped to his feet and spilled his coffee. "That's my ship!"
He turned to see red-headed Petra approach his table in the lounge. "The diamonds were fake but I got..."
Petra trailed off, looking at Lu's face, then followed his gaze through the port. Outside, the ship she'd just unloaded was munching happily on one close by. Blood clouded the water outside, and humans on sleds were swarming to deflect the great beast's attention.
"You know, this timing may work for us," she said. "But what happened?"
"They'd unharnessed him for whatever reason, and were bringing him back down to re-harness. And they gave him too much slack. Stupid. We've got to get going, and now we're gonna be stuck here. Depending on how much damage Jonesy did." Lu turned his attention from the view outside at last. "What do you mean, timing?"
"I should have told you, but I wasn't planning on keeping Jones. We've got some ores to haul, and Jones is losing some buoyancy and never did have the size."
"You sold Jonesy?" Lu turned again toward the great porthole to the docks outside. Jones was now constrained, and dockworkers had anchored sleds to the side of the victim so they could begin repairing the damage.
"Sure," Petra said. "And just in time, it seems. The harbormaster bought him herself, and I worked a deal: We get her company's new big rig--see the green gal out there?"
Lu looked. After a moment, he smiled broadly. "Wow! That's a deep ride. Okay, and what else?"
"And the harbormaster gets a share if we succeed."
Lu stood up, and worked on his clothes with a napkin. "Succeed in what?"
"Remember our old competitors who disappeared? Our new partner just gave me the coordinates of where the Skeedaddle and crew went down."
"Okay, I'm impressed." His view again strayed to the window. "Let's go check out the new ship. Who is it, by the way?" Borden strode off toward the submarine pens, not waiting for Petra.
She walked faster than he did, anyway, being a half-meter taller. "Name's Gertrude, and she's good-natured from what I heard."
"How'd you convince the harbormaster to do this deal?" Lu said over his shoulder. No one else was in the passageway, and the smell of sea salt increased with every step.
"Those diamonds were fake--but they showed that we had actually /been/ to the Jiminy wreck. The harbormaster had put those particular diamonds on board; no one else knew they were fakes."
Borden Lu stopped in the passageway and turned back to her. He looked up at Petra suspiciously. "Wait a minute. If our new partner pulled a stunt like that on the Jiminy ... what's she going to do to us?"
Petra, for once, was at a loss for words.
Outside, Gertrude's broad jaws opened in a slight smile. Their ship had just come in, and was ready for them.
===|==============/ Level Head