The gas giant is restricted to Naval use only, and there are very visible ED-14 Escort destroyers (10k tons), including the Alert commanded by Commander Albert Bunker, who enforce this restriction. The base on the gas giant moon usually has 3-5 ships of the line in orbit.
Sometimes ex-Imperial Navy officers of high rank can convince them to refuel their ship free (MT: Difficult, Admin, Social Standing), but it is more likely that the ship will simply be escorted to the planet. The Navy will not hesitate to destroy any ship that seems suspicious.
This high security extends to the rest of the system, and all ship traffic is usually escorted by a Naval ship, most often a Gazelle class Close Escort.
Once on the planet, ships are assigned an enclosed sealed hangar -- this is more a comfort than a security measure. Traffic control is very strict, and transgressors are fined heavily.
Visas for access to the planet outside the starport (which constitutes its own domed village) are hard to obtain. Computer hookups are generally limited to the starport administration systems, and indeed there is no physical connection between that system and the main planetary network. There is no mail or phone system available, just the merchant trading system -- which is nevertheless very good and efficient. Despite the security, the charges for landing and fuel are standard.
Computer terminals and display screens at the "Flying Dutchman" show location of (civilian) ships in port, as well as expected arrivals and departures; details on the ships, including the company and captain's name, are easy to come by.
They reach orbit over the base, where they refuel at no charge. Linda hooks into the base computers and warns them about the hazardous security system, also sending over a highly edited version of the ship's log. She sets up a monitor on all communication and computer links to see if anyone contacts the shore. The naval computer system is really high security, as they find out when they try to run a check on the retinal scans, but Delaney manages to talk the Navy people into running the check for them. Delaney says they have good brewers on board, and the base tells them that the place for that is Karin, where there is strict prohibition, and that they should take it to the scout base in orbit -- but don't land, because the ship will be put under seal and armed guard.
The computer check turns up some information immediately. The person is identified as Robin Sherwood, wanted for piracy by the Zhodani, but the Imperium doesn't have much evidence against her. The Zhodani have her for ambushing and destroying passenger liners, blowing up merchant ships, and she has been blamed for many ships that vanished. She escaped while fighting some Zhodani Navy ships a year or two back and they haven't heard a thing about her since.
The Captain and Miss Gregson tell Chiang Ho and Fostriades the results of the check, and that she's a very dangerous person -- the tape of the conversation with the base is replayed many times. Fostriades says that Helen has said as much to him, and that she told him she was operating under a Warrant issued by Archduke Norris, acting as a privateer with Imperial authority -- she was caught in a trap, had to jump in a hurry, misjumped, and lost her ship.
The conclusion of this Security Council is that she is not a threat to the security of the ship, but also that she should remain on the ship here since she is so well known. Fostriades tells Helen that they know her reputation, and that she should not leave the ship here.
Chiang Ho runs a simple scan on the beans, and posts a message that he will accept bids on lots of 100kg, to leave message with the ship. There is no way to mail directly to the pharmaceutical companies on this planet, so he posts it through the trading link. Anyone interested is to contact him by 075/13:00 at the latest.
The only bar here is the Flying Dutchman, a merchant bar. Fostriades heads there right away looking for anyone he might know. The bar is very quiet right now, but there is a Tukera lines Leviathan class ship, the Sumenojr, due to arrive in an hour. The captain is a young man who was a rookie line officer on a ship Fostriades served on -- the chap invites Fostriades (and anyone else he wants to take along) to dinner on the ship.
Midnight local time is 20:29 ship's time.
Various people go shopping, but the only stores available are those at the starport, because (as they discover) visas for planet access have a 1000Cr fee (no problem!) and a 7-day waiting period (Ah! we knew there was a catch!). The Captain nevertheless buys: several suits of totally nondescript clothing (non-ethnic, non-tech-level specific); a battle computer (NOT with a General Products plate!); 1000Cr in jewelry (for a 10% surcharge over real value); a book on the Sword Worlds, their military campaigns and tactics (this is the standard textbook on the subject that he should have read in training but didn't -- it's very heavy reading).
At 19:15 Fostriades and Captain Delaney go to dinner on the Sumenojr.
Fostriades flies the Pinnace to the merchant ship, which has just finished
unloading in orbit. Fostriades gets a broker training program from the
chap. The ship is heading out through District 268 to Glisten, and
then out into exploratory trading expeditions. The Captain gives him some
of the "coffee" that has been made out of the strange beans from Faldor.
They return after a very pleasant dinner, during which very little is revealed
except that the merchant (and Tukera Lines) had not been at all worried
about some unknown threat.