Anyway, nobody friendly. Because of Earth's mass and consequent gravity, the really crucial part of the landing had been choosing a trajectory while I was well outside atmosphere. But then I was down. Expected to climb out of my cockpit without so much as a breathing unit between me and the starred night sky. I'm not a native Belter, but I'd lived out there for twenty years.
Caution is a way of life in the asteroid belt.
One does not survive carelessness there, not for long. I'd spent the first ten years of my life on Earth, but the twenty years since then of living in enclosed environments had produced in me a strong conviction that to open my cockpit under a domeless sky would be suicidal. That's why I decided not to kill the stranger I found waiting for me by the landing strip. Which sounds contradictory, since that's also why I was nervous enough to consider it. Bit it took only a moment to realize I hadn't yet done anything illegal, and that his presence there wasn't just a rude intrusion into my personal smuggling plans.