Calling them "unsympathetic" doesn't entirely cover it. If you have no business to be on their starship, they'll let you know about it. Even a passage from Tarconda Prime to Tamerlane used to cost the price of a lakeside property (yes, genuine lakeside - close enough that a rod would catch Tarconda Pike, which taste a heck of a lot nicer than the Earth variety) in Tarconda Central. Obviously, with the hyperdrive revolution, trans-galactic prices aren't what they used to be, but the spacer's saying still holds: "Every ounce counts." If you haven't paid before you enter a starship, you should be ready to pay later. Big time.