In the darkness of space, the color of a starship is hard to determine, but in the case of the SS Savannah Hunter, it would not have mattered much if the wedge-shaped freighter had been in a spotlight. Its ridged hull was painted a green so dark that it was almost black. Even the cabin portholes were polarized to let little, if any, light out into space. The exception to this was one tiny room on the starboard side beneath the bridge where the window polarization had not worked in months. The room was poorly insulated, often cold, and served as the First Mate's office.

As the Savannah Hunter approached the watery world of Crescentis, a passing deep space satellite detected the solitary light floating through space. The instrument's purpose was to alert ground-based tracking systems of approaching ships that would be delivering much-needed cargo to the island colonies that supported the fishing fleets, but the collective budgets of the settlers were not endowed well enough to afford top-rated equipment. The vessel's freighter profile should have triggered an alarm at a tracking station on the nearby planet. Instead, it merely registered the dim light emitting from the solitary window as glowing space dust being drawn into the planet's gravitational field; it was quickly dismissed as anything of importance.

JW Chon sat in the small room that served as his First Mate's office and the chair underneath him groaned beneath his weight. The giant panda pored over the account books and snorted to himself. Were it not for him, Captain Jensen's business would have gone bankrupt long ago, and they would have all been out on the streets of some forgotten town on a backwater world.

Armando had no sense of business, and as far as Chon knew, the Mainoran lion had never taken care of the company that his father had given him years ago. The Savannah Hunter was a Sakura-class freighter only five years old and already it was in poor shape due to the plethora of unsavory help that had worked maintenance during that time. Although the ship was Armando's, he was the captain in name only. Ever since he had hired Chon as his accountant and made him his First Mate, business for the wedge-shaped freighter had steadily increased, in both quantity and quality. JW Chon had a good head on his shoulders that was keen with business savvy and numbers. He was also a natural leader.

It had been said by competitors who knew them, that for the past three years, the real captain of the Savannah Hunter was JW Chon. Armando may own the vessel and the business, but he was merely a figurehead these days. He had given Chon full authority to run the ship for him so that he could spend his time and money on the things he wanted. Chon took his occasional orders with a grain of salt and then ran things his own way. The business was better for it.

Unfortunately, there was a high turnover in the crew of the Savannah Hunter. Those who signed contracts to hire onto the freighter often jumped ship at the next available port. Although without any real power on board his own ship, Armando was not an easy man to be around. He ranted often when he did not get his way and pounded on anyone who happened to be near him, whether or not they were responsible for his plight. The crew roster for the ship had been fluid, contract or no.

Besides Armando and Chon, only one other crewmember had stayed on throughout all the changes. A small runt of a ferret named Lon Hunkle had become Chon's right hand flunky. He was king of the brown-nosers and was delighted to have Chon's trust. He did not have a specific job on the ship other than to follow the panda's orders, but he obeyed without question and Chon rewarded loyalty.

For the past year, the crew of the Savannah Hunter had consisted entirely of individuals shanghaied by Chon and Hunkle. JW Chon was afraid of no one, including Armando, and was often forced to assert his authority with everyone brought on board the vessel. His soft looks were deceptive. As yet, he had not yet lost a fight, even against aggressive predator types.

Most of the crew was afraid of Chon's wrath, but the majority of them respected him even if they harbored hatred for kidnapping them for his crew. They worked hard when he gave them assignments, and while some escaped at their ports of call, most stayed on board the ship. Chon paid them well, but while the lot of them did not want to be there in the first place, they waited patiently until the ship might return to their homeworld before jumping ship. It was a wise person who did not want to be stranded somewhere far from home.

The crew recognized Hunkle for the weasel he was and often plotted to do nasty things to the little snitch. The ferret kept Chon informed of everything going on aboard the ship, which had often been in time to foil a mutiny or other disruptive action. The panda was in the business for the money and did not intend to let disgruntled employees get in the way of ship operations. Lon Hunkle had been instrumental in keeping that order.

JW Chon snorted to himself in impatience as he tallied up Armando's personal expenses. The captain's quarters were more luxuriously equipped than any other cabin on board, whether it was the expensive linens for his bed, various books, magazines and comics, the audio and video equipment, or case upon case of Deck's Exotic Honey Mustard for the galley. Armando loved honey mustard on everything and demanded that the ship be well stocked for all his meals.

Unfortunately for Chon, who managed the business account, Armando rarely saved his receipts for the purchases he made on their planetary stops, so keeping the books in line was often frustrating. Fortunately for the rest of the crew, Armando did not venture out through the corridors of his own vessel very often. Instead, he usually locked himself up in his quarters throughout most of the voyages, emerging only to eat his meals or to give his First Mate some new order that would likely be ignored.

When he did happen to roam the passages, Armando often saw faces among his crew that he did not recognize. When asked, the hapless individual would usually respond with something like, "Mr. Chon brought me on board." As Armando trusted his First Mate's judgment implicitly, this was usually enough for the lion.

The panda stared incredulously at the one receipt in his hand that Armando had remembered to turn in to him. It was for a box of comics from their last stop on Pomen.

Chon heaved a sigh, set the receipt and his pen on the ledger book before him, and then rubbed his eyes. Something had to be done or the Savannah Hunter would go bankrupt – not from a box of comics, but from the other things Armando acquired in impulse without reporting. He sat back in his chair and it gave another groan beneath his weight. He put a hand under his chin as his thoughts whirled through several ideas to bring in more money for the business. However, all of his thoughts kept returning to the same conclusion.

JW Chon began to smile. It was a smile of amusement at first, as if the thought was merely a fanciful dream, but then it transformed to a grin that spread across his whole countenance. If handled just right, the Savannah Hunter's financial problems could very well improve. He allowed himself to laugh aloud, something he did not do often, and it felt good to do so.

He stood up from the chair, moved soundlessly out of his office, and into the corridor. He had another job for the ferret.

Lon Hunkle grinned ear to ear and his tiny eyes shined in delight in the dim illumination of the corridor. The mask of brown fur around his eyes gave him a mischievous look that was enhanced by the tip of pink tongue sticking out between his lips.

The diminutive ferret carried a folder of papers in both hands, and he was careful not to let any of them drop to the floor. A jaguar dressed in a pair of denim shorts and dark green vest stepped out into the hallway. She scowled when she saw Chon's little snitch.

"What are you up to now?" she growled unpleasantly.

Hunkle glanced up at her and shrugged his shoulders. "Got more requisitions for the captain to sign," he replied.

"More acquisitions? Who is it this time? Another snooty cook like that poodle we picked up on Sillon last year?"

The ferret grinned, but shook his head vigorously. "No, Phile, nothing like that," he said. "Just something for the ship."

Phile Mavron crossed her arms and leaned against the wall. "C'mon, weasel, spill the beans. What's going on? You don't ever look this pleasant unless you're doing someone dirty."

Hunkle snorted. "You're just too suspicious," he said to the mechanic. "Sometimes things are as simple as they look. Mr. Chon sent me to get the captain's signature. Nothing more."

The feline glared at the smaller fur. "Watch your step, ferret. One of these days you're going to be alone without Chon's protection."

Despite his diminutive frame, Hunkle was unafraid. "Oh really?" he said. "I would imagine that Mr. Chon would find interest in knowing where the spare gold relays that went missing from the engine stock room last month have turned up. Very interested indeed…"

Phile looked uncomfortable. "How did you…?"

"Doesn't matter," the ferret said as he resumed walking down the corridor. "Mr. Chon doesn't have to find out, but should anything happen to me, he has instructions and the passcode to access to my personal diary. He might see something in there." Phile watched him go silently, biting back a retort to the ferret's subtle threat. With another growl beneath her breath, the mechanic turned and headed aft.

Hunkle chuckled to himself as he neared the captain's quarters. He really hated that room, but he had a job to do. He reached up and knocked on the green painted panel, just beneath the seal control. A moment later, an annoyed growl emanated through the door.

"What is it?"

"It's Lon Hunkle, sir," the ferret answered. "I have more papers for you to sign."

The metal wheel in the center of the door turned and there was a tiny hiss as the door seal vented. The pungent aroma of incense filled the corridor as the door opened. The large frame of Armando Jensen towered over the ferret and glared down at him. He wore a silk bathrobe of gold and black thread, with stylized dragons battling across the surface of the material.

"Who sentchu?" the Mainoran lion growled at him.

"Mr. Chon, sir. I have more papers for you to sign."

"What's it for?"

"Mr. Chon needs your approval to invest a bit of the ship's funds in stocks for Deck's Exotic Honey Mustard. He has a contact to get them at a good price, and word has it the company's worth is about to go up."

Armando's face lit up. "That Chon's the best guy I ever hired to work for me. He knows how much I love that stuff on my food!"

Hunkle held up the folder of papers toward the lion and then produced a pen for him. "Just sign the line at the bottom of page five and Mr. Chon will take care of the rest."

Armando flipped directly to the last page of the document and then took the pen from the ferret. He signed it against the door with a flourish, and then gave the pen and folder back to Hunkle with a grin.

"Here ya go, Hunkie," he said. "Tell Chon he's earned his pay for the day."

"Yessir, I will."

Armando winked at him and then disappeared back inside his room. The door handle turned to reseal the panel, and then the ferret opened the folder to look at the document the captain had just signed.

 "This is gonna be good," he whispered to himself.

Several hours later, Lon Hunkle watched the landing of the Savannah Hunter from an observation cubicle beneath the floor of the cargo bay. He lay on his belly on worn cushions in the small enclosure, watching the evening clouds push past the wedge-shaped freighter on its way toward the watery surface of the planet. This was his favorite place to be during landing operations, and it gave him an unobstructed view of what lay below them. It was also the safest place for him, as it was an area not well known to the rest of the transient crew. It took a crawl through an access tunnel between the double hulls of the ship, and most of the species on board would have a tough time negotiating the cramped passageway had they known about it. The same could be said for the other access tunnels that ran throughout the ship, which the diminutive ferret used frequently to move about unobserved.

The observation window on the bottom of the Sakura-class ship was made of a Ganisan glass that could withstand temperatures far greater than most planetary reentries. Even through the brunt of the Savannah Hunter's descent into the Crescentis atmosphere, Hunkle had never been uncomfortable, as he had watched the colorful display through darkened goggles. That was behind them now, and the lithe ferret enjoyed the view as he munched on a chocolate snack treat from Earth.

The destination of their cargo of standard colony supplies was currently near the solar terminator, which would mean the local time was dusk over the island. Red and orange clouds were now above the green ship as they neared a tiny landing strip that was set up to accommodate both space and air craft. Within moments, the ship would be safely on the ground and the crew would assemble to unload their payload.

A movement outside from the starboard signaled the ferret that Chon had initiated the landing sequence. A set of massive caterpillar tracks extended beneath the ship, and the ground rushed up toward them rapidly. Hunkle took that as his cue, swallowed the last of his snack, and then started back through the narrow tunnel to the nearest access panel.

By the time it took the ferret to reach his exit, the ship had landed and powered down. He opened the panel inside a modified storage locker and quietly closed it behind him; it would not do to have a disgruntled crewmember discover the entrance to his labyrinth. He opened the locker door behind a stack of cargo cushions, and then moved along the outer edge of the hold toward the cargo bay doors. He could already hear the huge seals release their locks and knew that Justin Firetripper was anxious to get the work out of the way.

The load master was probably the least resistant to work on the freighter he had been shanghaied on than any of the others on board. The malamute enjoyed hard work and preferred to unload their cargoes as manually as he could get away with. Hunkle knew that Justin longed for the day when the Savannah Hunter would return to the northern regions of Kantus so he could jump ship and rejoin his family, but Chon was no fool and had no intentions of making another delivery to that area.

"Alright, you mugs," a deep voice rumbled from the back of the hold. "Let's get this cargo unloaded quickly. The locals will want to have their evening meals soon and will be annoyed that we've arrived so late in the day!" The crew members that had gathered looked up at the giant black and white panda that approached them from the lift and decided it was time to break off from their idle chatter. Lon Hunkle picked up the clipboard that held the manifest from the workbench where Justin had set it down, and then took his place at the panda's side as work gloves and moving jacks were taken out of storage. The dock master had not yet arrived from the nearby warehouse, but Chon always liked to get things going before the officials arrived.

Chon gave his diminutive friend a nod and then cleared his throat again. "I know the past few weeks have been rough," he announced to the working crew, "so I've arranged a little entertainment to boost your morale." There were murmurs and grunts of disbelief, but several of them looked up in interest. "As soon as the captain gets here, I'll show you what I mean."

He looked back down as his sidekick handed him the manifest, and asked out of the side of his mouth, "Did you bring it?" Hunkle nodded vigorously and pulled a camera from the pocket of his brown vest. "Good," Chon said quietly. "Keep it handy."

"The Savannah Hunter sure has a hard-workin' crew!" another voice bellowed out in satisfaction. "Barely on the ground and everyone's already hard at work… That's what I like to see!" Almost as one, everyone stopped what he or she were doing and looked up at the large Mainoran lion that had arrived on the scene. He wore a brightly flowered shirt and a pair of loose tan slacks. Everyone wondered what the panda had in mind, but now that their captain had shown up, they were soon to find out.

Chon walked over to the lion and gave him a salute; it was something the panda hated doing, but was required by the captain when his First Mate reported to him. "Everything is on schedule, sir," he said formally. As expected, Armando was anxious to get off the ship, so he began walking toward the bay opening as the panda went over the manifest with him.

"Listen, Chon," the lion said as he grimaced in anticipation, "I'll let you handle this as you always do. There's a nice lil' club down on Argyll Street that has a lioness dancer to put all others to shame. By local time, she should be starting her show pretty soon!"

"Captain," Chon said in a slightly overloud voice, "I'll take good care of the ship. Here, you might need this tonight." The panda pulled out a small envelope from a shirt pocket and handed it to the lion. Armando opened up the envelope in curiosity and pulled out a glossy strip of paper. He looked at it closely in the fading sunlight and laughed out loud. He reached out, grasped his First Mate's hand, and shook it cheerfully. Hunkle quickly took a picture of the scene as Armando nodded his head.

"A voucher for an extra hundred credits!" the lion said merrily. "Extra spending money for my good time tonight!"

"You accept the money?" Chon asked in clear voice.

Phile Mavron narrowed her eyes as she watched the proceedings. Something smells rotten, the jaguar thought to herself.

Armando laughed. "Of course I accept it!" he replied. He shoved the voucher into his pocket and then slapped the panda's shoulder

"You had better spend it wisely," Chon said in a sudden change of voice. "It's all the money you have left to you."

Armando snickered and grinned at the panda. "Surrrrre, it is," he chuckled. "Listen, Chon, I hate to break up our little joking session, but I need to get to my show."

"You're free to go," Chon said in a darker tone, "but don't think twice about coming back. You are not welcome around here anymore."

The only sound that could be heard in the cargo bay was the crash of ocean surf not far from the landing pad. None of the crew dared to breathe and everyone seemed anxious to hear the next words from their leaders.

"What?" Armando asked half-heartedly. "What did you say to me?"

Hunkle scrambled over to Chon's side and handed two things to him. The panda held up a multi-page document so Armando could see it clearly. "Do you recognize this?" he asked.

The lion shrugged his shoulders and peered closer at it. "Not really," he admitted. Chon flipped to the last page and held it up so that the signature of Armando Jensen was visible to the lion, as well as the nearby crew.

"This is a legal document that you signed last night, Jensen," the panda explained. "For the price of one hundred credits, you have sold the ship, the company and all interests of the Savannah Hunter Freight Services to one Jiawen Chon of Brandt – that's me, if you're too thick to realize it."

"You're joking, right?" Armando asked with a swallow.

"I'm as serious as a heart attack."

"I didn't sell my ship to you!" Armando roared.

Undaunted, Chon held up the other object that Hunkle had given him. "Here is a photograph of you and I shaking hands on the deal, with you accepting a one hundred credit voucher." The panda handed the document and photograph back to Hunkle, who quickly shoved them into a large envelope. He retreated several steps and looked back up at the lion with a satisfied smirk before he ran off toward the lift to the upper levels.

"You tricked me!" Armando shouted into the panda's face, his fists clenched tightly. "That lying weasel told me that document was to buy stock in my favorite mustard!"

"You should have read what you were signing," Chon said evenly. He had been ready for Armando's bluster and was more than prepared for what he knew would happen next. "You no longer have a ship, Jensen," he said with a sneer. "You've been trying to bankrupt the business your daddy gave to you, while I've been trying to keep it above water. Now you're stuck, without a ship, without a business… without any money but the one hundred credits in your pocket."

"I trusted you, Chon!" Armando roared. "You BETRAYED me!" He jumped for the panda, but Chon had expected it. Chon stepped aside quickly for all his bulk and Armando stumbled past him. Before the lion had a chance to regain his feet, Chon brought a muscled arm up and drove his fist into Armando's chin in a powerful uppercut.

The Mainoran lion did not hear the cheers and jeers from his former crewmembers. He fell backward, tumbled over the top of a cargo container, and landed headfirst between two more boxes. Before he could get up, Chon grabbed Armando's collar and hauled him back out into the open. The panda shoved another fist into his former captain's middle; Armando doubled over with the forced loss of breath. The lion was normally a competent fighter, but he had been taken totally off-guard. He sank to his knees and fell over onto his side, his arms clutching his stomach.

Armando looked up at the panda towering over him and swallowed hard. "Chon…" he said in a strained voice.  "Don't do this to me… I've always been good to you… trusted you with my business…"

"Armando Jensen," Chon said down to him, "you are a liability to the business. We can't even keep a solid crew with the way you manhandle everyone. With you out of the formula, this ship can begin to recoup its losses and start taking in a real profit for a change. I've been running this ship for the past three years despite your ignorance, and now things are going to get better."

Chon looked over at the sound of footsteps and nodded to Hunkle, who wrestled with a box full of colorful publications. He dropped them on the floor beside the lion and retreated behind Chon.

"What's that?" Armando wheezed.

"All the comics you're so fond of," Hunkle replied with a cackle.

"Take your box and get off my ship, Jensen," Chon said in a menacing tone. "The sale of the Savannah Hunter is legal and binding, and it's now mine. If you make any attempts to retake the ship, I'll have the SPF issue a watch for you as a pirate. Now… get out."

Armando coughed into his hands and gathered himself together. As he stood up, the lion roared with the breath left in him and launched himself at Chon. He drove his head up into the panda's chin and then punched him in the side as hard as he could, while holding onto him with his other arm. Chon had seen Armando tense his leg muscles and recognized the stance for attack, but the lion had been quick. Despite the pain in his chin and his side, Chon swung a powerful arm and drove his fist into the lion's left temple twice, very fast. Armando grunted and dropped like a sack of rocks.

JW Chon rubbed his chin and then picked up the large lion. He carried him to the edge of the bay door and then tossed Armando out into the dirt. A moment later, the box of comics dropped onto the ground beside him. The crew erupted into cheers and applause.

Armando shook his head and hauled himself up to his feet. The tendons in his neck were taut in fury and he took a step back toward the ramp up into the ship. As one, the assembled crew lined up across the entrance to confront his return. The lion had been unaware of their personal animosities toward him, but he suddenly realized they all sided with Chon. They all looked as if they were eager for a fight, simply waiting for the excuse to jump him; he could not take them all on at once.

Dazed, dejected, and beaten, Armando picked up his box and slinked away into the darkening night.

Blue Horizon, PA1138

Captain's Journal

 I have finally been reunited with my ship and crew. Since my voyage to Crescentis from Tanthe was a longer one than the route the Blue Horizon took from Nalirra, my people have been here awaiting my arrival for nearly a week. They've taken the time for shore leave to enjoy the sun, sand, and surf of Emmett Island, and in the meantime repairs to the hull of the ship and to Pockets' old cabin have been completed.

While it's true that Crescentis was not one of the original Kantan colony worlds, enough settlers from other PA worlds have populated fishing colonies on practically every major island on this planet. Thirty years ago, the fishing fleets organized and formed their own government, and were later granted entry into the Legislature as another Planetary Alignment member. Emmett Island is one of the larger landmasses at twenty miles wide and thirty-seven miles in length, and has a population hovering around five hundred thousand.

There's plenty to do here and my crew has enjoyed the time off, but since I have been in space for the past three weeks, I gave everyone another two days of shore leave. I need the salty sea air in my lungs to flush out the scent of that old man I was cabined with for so long. He was a nice enough gentleman, but I actually hope I never meet him again.

The island where the original Blue Horizon crashed is on the other side of the planet from us. Thankfully, we have no need to visit that vicinity. I have no desire to see it again.

I've been informed that Clarence Duffy caught a public transport back to Fyn a couple of days ago, so I've missed the opportunity to talk to him about Maximillian. This is the kind of thing I would rather not discuss with him over a Com channel, but I don't know if we'll be back on Fyn again before he's recalled into active duty.

Merlin Sinclair, Captain

Samantha Holden stretched and wiped the sleep from her eyes. She glanced over at the softly snoring form beside her and smiled. She blew lightly into Merlin's left ear and watched it twitch, but the wolf continued to sleep soundly. It had been a while since he had been as affectionate toward her as he had been since his return from Tanthe, and she closed her eyes contentedly. She and Merlin had been casual lovers for years, but his attitude toward her in recent months had become more focused.

Was it because of the baby I lost?

 Neither of them had ever maintained an exclusive relationship with one another, but she found that she enjoyed his full attention – especially since she was not really interested in anyone else on board. She and Tanis had not shared a bed in nearly a year and there had been no one else in her life. Lorelei had admitted to her on their last voyage that she had been unsuccessful in luring the captain to her own bed more than once, and that her feelings had been a little hurt. Fortunately for the rabbit, Lori had plenty of other willing partners on board the freighter to take her mind off of it. She never brought up again.

Samantha opened her eyes and looked at Merlin again. She touched noses with him softly and his breathing slowed for a moment before returning to its normal sleeping pattern. She smiled, brushed his cheek fur gently with a finger and then left him alone. Was the relationship she maintained with him now exclusive? It was not a thought she would mind if it were true, but she felt she really wanted to know. She did not want to assume it, as Alex Rogers had done.

She had been amused when she read the private letter that Alex had sent. She had not been oblivious to Alex's infatuation with her, but she had never felt a romantic attraction to him; he was a close friend and nothing more. Apparently, Alex had long assumed that she and him would be married and raise a family together, but Samantha was happy that he finally found someone else to occupy his thoughts.

When she looked at Merlin again, his amber eyes were open, watching her. "G'morning," he whispered.

"Good morning, love," she replied. "How did you sleep?"

"Very restful. You?"

"I slept well," Samantha replied quietly, "but I dreamt…" She cut herself off and lightly bit her bottom lip.

"But you dreamed…" Merlin prompted.

"…that -- that someone took you away from me."

Merlin stared at her for a long moment, wondering if she were precognizant. "What happened in this dream?" he asked finally, prompting her again.

"I dreamed you got serious with someone and wanted to settle down with her," the Border collie admitted in a small voice.

"I am serious about someone," Merlin replied.

Samantha stiffened and wondered if she wanted to hear more. "I…uh…" was all she could say.

"The one I'm serious about is you, Sam," Merlin told her. Samantha searched his eyes for any sign of amusement, but his gaze was steady. He did not appear to be joking. "You're the only one I want," he said a moment later.

Renny picked up a figurine from the shelf before him and looked at it dubiously. He and Pockets were in a small beachside curio shop, where they had been for the past half hour. The cheetah and raccoon did not normally pal around together, but they had shared a cab from their hotel to the same area of town. Both had begun walking in the same direction, and both had stopped at the same café to eat. When they had finished their meals, Renny and Pockets continued their route about town together. The navigator had never really considered Pockets to be of much interest to him, but had never had anything against him either. Their browsing had taken them to the boardwalk near a sandy beach and the two of them had gotten along well.

As to be expected, Pockets tended to talk shop about the ship's systems that he either maintained or repaired, but it had actually been interesting to the cheetah. Renny was an experienced pilot and often boasted that he could drive or fly anything created if given a few moments to study the controls. He had studied engineering during flight school, but his passion had been in the area of the actual control of the systems, rather than their inner working mechanisms.

Nonetheless, he knew enough that Pockets' rambling actually made sense to him. During their stroll along the boardwalk, the thought occurred to the cheetah that he should volunteer to help Pockets and Max in the engine room occasionally. It would not hurt to know more about the ship he flew and lived in.

The figurine Renny picked up was of a squat, fat pig sitting in a lotus position, both hands outstretched together as if holding something, with a thick tongue protruding from its lips. He assumed the ugly little thing was designed to hold a stick of incense in its hands, but was not quite sure. It might be something Lorelei would pick up, but he set it back onto its dusty shelf and looked toward the front counter where Pockets was bargaining for something he had found.

When he walked over to see what his crewmate was haggling over, he raised his eyebrows in curiosity. The item in question was a simple-looking wooden tube with a pattern of holes along its length; it tapered to one small end with an opening in it. Moments later, the shop owner nodded, resigned to the deal.

"Okay, you little thief," the Irish setter said at last, "you can have it for thirteen credits – but I assure you it's worth twice that price!"

"Thirteen credits," the raccoon nodded in satisfaction. He looked up at Renny and winked at him as the canine took his money.

"What is that thing, Pockets?" the cheetah asked. "It doesn't look like any kind of tool I've ever seen you use before."

Pockets grinned up at him. "It's not a tool, my friend. It's a birthday present for Patch. It's called a woder… it's a music instrument from Ganis, similar to one he lost in the crash."

"When's his birthday?" Renny asked. "I know yours is coming up in a couple months."

The raccoon stared at him in amusement. "Renny," he said with a grin, "Patch is my litter mate."

"Yeah, I know. What's that got to do with it?"

"We have the same birthday, you nut."

"Oops…" Renny said with a lopsided grin. "I forgot."

Pockets laughed at him and then took the wrapped package the storeowner handed to him. "Nice doing business with you," he told the man. The Irish setter nodded without another word and then the two Horizon crewmates left the shop together. The morning air was pleasant and lazy clouds floated high above the as they continued on their way.

"Does this outfit make me look fat?"

Taro Nichols looked up at the rabbit that examined herself in a triad of mirrors outside the dressing room. She shook her head. "No, Lori," she replied, "but the tail flap is too low for you. If you wear it like that, you'll be showing more than your cottontail when you lean over."

Lorelei turned her hips toward the mirror and then bent over. "Whoops…" she said with a giggle.  "I want to entice the guys, not give them a free show! The top straps are a little tight, too." She began removing the pale pink overalls she had tried on.

"Better take it off in the booth, Lori," Taro said. A pair of teen felines had stopped to stare at Lorelei as she unfastened the straps to the garment. Lori looked up and saw the guys watching her with lecherous grins. She gave them a seductive wink, but withdrew into the dressing room cubicle before undressing further.

Taro looked back at the two males and furrowed her brow. "Scram!" she said. Both cats nearly tripped over one another in their haste to retreat. When the peeping toms had gone, Taro returned her attention to the garment she had considered buying, a medium green sleeveless blouse with a loose turtleneck. She walked to the mirrors that Lori had vacated and held the garment up beneath her chin. The shade of green accented her reddish-orange fur nicely, and she nodded to herself in satisfaction. The price was reasonable and it looked to be the right size. All she needed was to try it on, so she moved into the dressing cubicle adjacent to the one Lorelei had gone into.

"May I ask you something, Taro?" Lori asked through the door as the vixen removed her purple blouse.

"Sure, Lori, what is it?"

"Have you slept with all the guys on board the ship?"

Taro froze and grimaced. There were women in the other dressing room stalls and she did not normally discuss her bedding habits in public. "No," she answered cautiously.

"Tanis and Renny?"

"Uh, yeah." Taro set her blouse aside and then pulled on the new one. She did not understand why mirrors were not installed inside the dressing rooms, but she could tell just by looking down at herself that the fit was good. She opened the door to walk out, and noticed a brown eyeball peering at her through the opening of another door. She ignored the eavesdropper and went out to look at herself in the mirrors. Lorelei stepped out beside her a moment later. She wore a red bikini that barely covered her assets.

"With the exception of Max," the rabbit said casually, "I've had them all." She studied her appearance and nodded in satisfaction as Taro walked back into her dressing room without another word. "Of course," Lori said in a slightly louder voice so her friend could hear her, "I'd give him a try too, but I've heard he's been altered. It wouldn't be the same."

"Lori…" Taro said in a quiet voice that she hoped would carry only to the rabbit, "let's not discuss this here."

"Why not?" Lorelei responded as she returned to her own cubicle. "I don't care if anyone knows that I like the guys."

"That's because you're a slut!" said a new voice from outside the stalls. Whoever the person was, they could hear her stomp away. Undaunted, Lorelei laughed aloud and changed back into her own clothes. She had picked out three outfits she wanted to buy, and folded them neatly atop one another on the tiny bench inside the cubicle.

In the dressing room next to her, Taro sighed and shook her head in disbelief. She enjoyed the company of males, herself, but she had never been as loose as the rabbit. In the months she had been back on board the Blue Horizon, Taro had tolerated Lorelei better than anyone else on the crew, but the more time she spent with the ship's cook, the more she realized just what a ditz the girl really was.

"Wow, Tanis, look at the design of that house!" Maximillian said as he pointed to a large, Victorian-style home across the street from the shore boardwalk they strolled along. The canine youth stared up at the high roof and decorative mauve trim of the pale blue structure. A human couple relaxed on a porch swing on the veranda and Max thought the place looked peaceful. When he did not get a response from his companion, Max turned to look at him. Tanis had stopped and leaned against a wooden rail. He stared out to sea, a breeze cupping his large ears and the wide sleeves of his orange tropical shirt, but he did not look as if he actually saw the ocean or the fishing fleet off in the distance.

Max wiped his sweaty palms on the Blue Horizon tee shirt and frowned. Tanis had been preoccupied a lot on their last day of leave, and Max wished he knew what was bothering him. Samantha had taught the German shepherd youth to be bolder when he wanted to know something, and Max nodded to himself. He still had difficulty mustering up the nerve to look for answers at times. His childhood of submissiveness was not always an easy rearing to get over.

"Penny for your thoughts," he said to Tanis.

The fennec fox looked over at him with a crooked smile. "What does that mean?" he asked.

Max shrugged with a grin. "I was just wondering what you were thinking about," he admitted. "I heard that phrase when we were on Earth, though I'm not sure what a penny is…"

Tanis sighed and nodded to his young friend. "I think it's one of their local coins," he said. He glanced back out toward the ocean again and then shook his head. "I was thinking about Nalirra," he answered. "I have no desire to join the war, but it was my home for the first half of my life."

"Does your family still live there?"

"I'm not sure," Tanis admitted. "I haven't talked to any of them in a long time. I don't even know if Pop is still alive. He and Mum were doing okay the last I heard, but he's up in years. There's been nothing in the news about whether or not any of the Tanatan attacks have hit their area, but there are no military bases in that region, either." He fell silent again and Max saw the distant look return to his eyes.

Several quiet moments went by and then Max tapped him on the shoulder. "How long have you known Duffy?" he asked.

Tanis looked over at him. "Duffy?" he asked, "What made ya bring him up all of a sudden?"

Max shrugged and began walking. Tanis followed him and they stepped off the boardwalk onto the beach sand. "Thoughts just jump into my head sometimes," the canine youth replied with a smile.

Tanis scratched his chin. "I first met Clarence during our original draft into the Nalirran military service," he said. "We were in boot camp together and were later assigned to the same company. I became a pilot and he was my mechanic. It was not until after my first conscription ended that I went into the medical field. Duffy and I stayed in contact after we split up and have remained friends ever since."

"What is conscription?"

"That's when yer leader sends ya off to war, risking death, disease, famine, maiming, and blinding whether ya believe in a cause or not. Most cultures did away with it a long time ago, but it's tyranny's first line of self-defense."

"Oh… anyway, I didn't get to spend much time around Duffy on our flight here from Nalirra," Max mused as they walked up a sandy dune. "I was just wondering what he was like."

"Duffy's a good guy," Tanis said. "He's good with machines, and as a friend he's fairly reliable. I wouldn't trust him around yer girl, though."

"My girl?" Max asked as they trudged down the other side of the dune. "Does he know Wendy?"

The desert fox laughed aloud. "No, Max, I meant in general. He loves the ladies and has been even known to play around with those who have steady boyfriends."

"How do you know that?" Max asked carefully.

"I once caught him in bed with my cousin, and she was engaged to be married to someone else at the time."

"Oh… What about money?" Max asked. "Does he have a decent income?"

Tanis stopped at the bottom of the next dune and looked at his companion with narrowed eyes. "Yer being awfully interested in his affairs, Max. What gives?"

Maximillian stuck his hands in his pockets and looked off toward a red and white lighthouse farther up the shore. He did not answer for a moment and Tanis was about to repeat himself when the youth shook his head.

"Uncle Merlin told me something about him last night," he explained.

"What was that?"

Max looked into his friend's eyes and shrugged, something the youth tended to do a lot. "He said that Duffy was my father. I was just curious to know a little more about him."

Tanis bit his bottom lip. "Do ya believe it?"

"Sure," Max replied. "He told me how you discovered our similar DNA markers, and how he had King Aramis check it out for him."

"King Aris," the fox corrected.

"Yeah, him." Max started up the sand dune and said, "It fits, y'know. I never really knew my mother either, but I knew that she was a pleasure girl somewhere else on Quet. I grew up around a lot of pleasure girls at the Wild Star, so I know there was the occasional pregnancy. I have no doubt that's how I was born."

"And yer okay with this?"

Max smiled. "Why not?" he asked. "It's no real shock to know my biological father was still out there somewhere. It was just a fluke that I actually met up with him, without either one of us knowing it at the time."

"For a kid, yer acting rather mature about this whole thing," Tanis said in amazement. "Okay, so ya have accepted that it's probably true. How do ya feel about Duffy being yer father?"

"I don't know yet." Max said. "I haven't made up my mind on how I feel. Duffy's a complete stranger to me, but I know he was your friend. That's why I asked you about him."

"Has anyone contacted Duffy about this?"

"No, I asked uncle Merlin not to do that just yet," Maximillian replied as he reached the top of the dune. "I want to sort this out on my own a little more. I think that —"

Max stumbled and almost fell. Tanis could see the youth's look of surprise, so he scrambled up the rest of the way to join him. As soon as he crested the dune, he saw a body lying at the bottom of the dune, next to a cardboard box, partially covered with newspapers.

The medic scrambled down toward the person and he knelt in the sand beside the large form. When he leaned over to take a look at the face, Tanis gasped in surprise.

"Armando!"

At the sound of his name, the Mainoran lion opened his eyes. He lifted a dirty paw to shield his eyes from the sun and squinted up at two silhouettes staring down at him. "Whut?" he asked groggily. "What do you want wit' me?"

"Aren't ya Armando Jensen?" Tanis asked.

The lion lifted his head and focused his eyes on the fox. He looked familiar, but he could not place him. "Yeah," he replied cautiously, "that's me."

"What are ya doing out here on the beach? Is yer ship nearby?"

Armando shook his head. "Got no ship no more," he answered remorsefully. "Chon stole it from me." He looked over at the German shepherd boy with ice blue eyes and suddenly recognized the logo on his tee shirt.

"Blue Horizon!" he said in recognition. "You're with the Blue Horizon?"

Max nodded. "Yeah," he replied. "You've heard of us?"

Tanis laughed. "Of course he has, Max. Armando was our biggest competitor and quite the pain in the neck. We probably won't have to worry about him anymore."

"Listen," Armando said as he crawled up onto his knees. Sand clung to his slept-in clothing, the party shirt and pants he had been in when he thought he was going to a dance club before he got booted off his ship. "I know me and Sinclair have had our differences, but can you ask him to take me to my dad on Mainor? My dad will pay him well."

Tanis snickered. "Whoa, there, ya idiot," he said. "There are two things wrong with yer request."

"What?"

"First off, I don't think Merlin would give ya the time of day. Ya have been a thorn in his side since you two first met and I think he would be happy for yer plight. Yer also forgetting Mainor was blasted to a smoldering rock. If yer Pop was there, he won't be helping ya anymore…"

"Oh…" was all Armando could say. He did not look as if he really missed his old man, but it was easy to tell he realized his predicament had worsened.

Max frowned as he listened to the exchange. He remembered hearing Armando's name on the ship, but as he did not know the guy, he did not understand why Tanis treated him so callously. He opened his mouth to say something, but Tanis motioned for him.

"C'mon, Max," he said, "let's leave this loser. We should get back to the ship." The two Horizon members started walking away in the shifting sand, but the lion got to his feet and followed them, his box of comics clutched in his arms.

"No, please!" Armando pleaded. "I got nowhere to go now. Take me with you!"

"Don't follow us!" Tanis said over his shoulder to him. "Yer presence is not welcome!" When he saw that his words were being ignored, he started trotting away. Max had to do likewise to keep up. When he looked back, Armando was still shuffling along after them.

"Go away!" Tanis shouted.

"Ask Sinclair to hire me!" the lion shouted back. "I need a job!"

"Go away!" Tanis repeated. He motioned Max forward and the pair of them broke out into a run.

By the time Max and Tanis arrived at the warehouse on rented bicycles, the rest of the crew was already unloading cargo from four panel trucks and taking it in though the open bay doors of the Blue Horizon. Merlin crawled out of a truck and looked up at them as they arrived.

"You're late," he said with a frown.

"Yeah, sorry about that," Tanis said as he pulled off his sunglasses. "We ran into an old buddy of yours and had a tough time ditching him."

"Buddy?"

Max waved at Lorelei and then ran into the ship to grab some work gloves. Tanis helped his boss load a grey box onto a flatbed cart.

"Yer pal, Armando Jensen," Tanis replied with a smirk.

"Oh, Great Maker," Merlin grimaced as they set down the crate. "Is that idiot here, too?"

"Yeah, he's stranded and wanted us to take him on as hired help."

Merlin straightened up and looked at Tanis. "Stranded?" he asked. "What happened to the Savannah Hunter?" Before Tanis could answer, Merlin held up a hand and shook his head. "No, I don't even want to know. He probably got drunk at some bar and his crew accidentally left him behind," he said as he crawled back up into the truck. "He can eat rocks for all I care."

Tanis grinned and shook his head. "Okay, I'll tell ya about it later after we've launched," he said. "Ya should get a snicker out of his predicament."

"I doubt I'll want to hear about it," Merlin grumbled as Renny shoved another box toward him from inside the truck. "Go get your work gloves and help Pockets over in truck three."

"Aye, Captain."

Almost as soon as Tanis walked away, Merlin had put Armando out of his mind. Whenever they were moving cargo, he always cleared his mind of distracting thoughts in order to get everything moved, weighed and placed to Durant's direction inside the hold. Unfortunately for him, that particular distraction suddenly reared his head.

Armando nearly fell to his knees right beside Merlin's flatbed cart, panting for breath and holding his sides as he leaned against the cart. He dropped a box at his feet and comic books spilled out onto the concrete tarmac. He had been running, fearful that he would miss the Blue Horizon before take-off. The wolf turned at the sounds and then flattened his ears in disbelief. A low growl filled his throat. "Get away from my ship!"

The Mainoran lion managed to straighten up and looked at Merlin in relief. "Sinclair," he gasped. "Gimmee a job! I need your help!"

Merlin knew this particular irritant would not just get up and leave without a confrontation, so he motioned to Renny to take a break and then turned back toward Armando.

"I own two freighters that are doing well," he said dryly. "Why would I give any of my customers to my chief competitor?"

"You don't understand," Armando said as he tried to catch his breath. "Chon stole my ship and business from me. I don't own 'em anymore and I'm stuck here. I need you to take me with you."

"Wait a minute," Merlin said with an upraised hand. "How did your First Officer take your business away from you? That's not just something you can shoplift from a coat pocket."

Armando fidgeted and looked at his feet. "He tricked me into signing papers that said I sold everything to him," he said humbly.

Merlin stared at him in amazement for a long minute as he worked out in his mind what the lion has just said. "Was… there a monetary transaction," he asked slowly, "or did you just donate your livelihood at your signature?"

"No… he gave me a hundred credits."

"One… hundred… credits…?"

A look of amusement crept across Merlin's features, and Armando felt worse than ever when he saw a smile form. Merlin crossed his arms and shook his head. "If you can be tricked into selling your ship and business for a mere ©100, you have no right being in charge of your own business, Armando, even if it was given to you by your daddy!"

The lion stuck his hands in his pockets. He was starting to get hot under the collar, but had enough sense to know that he could not afford to make the wolf upset at him. "C…can I buy passage on your ship to your next destination?" he asked meekly. "I don't want to be stuck on Crescentis."

"You want to buy passage on the Blue Horizon?" Merlin repeated with an upraised eyebrow. "Do you think you can afford it?"

"All I have left is eighty credits," Armando admitted in a quiet whisper. "You can have it all."

Merlin looked up at the large person before him without a trace of intimidation. "Eighty credits," he repeated. "Get lost, Jensen. I have no reason to ever see your mug again."

"Sinclair… please…" Armando said weakly. "You've helped other people before. Why won't you help me?"

Merlin narrowed his eyes and looked at him darkly. "Because you've often tried to hurt my business and you can't be trusted," he said to him. "I don't mind honest competition, that's what makes the economy better, but I've tracked you at times and know about the dishonest means you've used to get and cheat your customers. Your First Officer did me a favor, Armando. I should send him my thanks."

"But…"

"Get out of my sight, Jensen," Merlin growled, "or I'll have the Port Security escort you from the premises in manacles."

Armando heaved a great sigh and looked around. The entire crew of the Blue Horizon had gathered around them and all were staring at him in either disgust or indifference. Several looked as if they were preparing to fight. Without another word, he knelt down, picked up the comics that had spilled from his box, and then tucked them all under an arm. He turned and then trudged away from the ship.

Merlin shook his head and then noticed his crew standing nearby. He did not feel like discussing the matter further, so he clapped his hands and said, "All right, the show is over, people. We've got cargo to load!"

"Meow…"

Durant ignored the floating saucer that greeted him and entered the lift to head up to his quarters. The launch of the Blue Horizon had gone smoothly and the ship was now two hours into its journey to Kantus, loaded down with self-regulated, cold storage containers of fresh seafood. As Pockets was especially fond of seafood, the load master knew he would have to set up a perimeter alarm around it to keep the raccoon out of their customer's goods. First, he needed sleep. He felt tired and thought a short nap would help to perk him up.

Moss turned in mid-air on its axis and watched the grizzly bear go, studying him with its two shimmering green eyes and twitching its metal whisker antennae. When it had registered the closed lift doors, it turned and moved out into the hold on a routine security sweep, its quiet whirring of internal mechanisms the only sound in the dark chamber. For its first random check, Moss altered its course and shot straight up toward the cargo bay's ceiling, two stories above. The small flying saucer stopped and then floated quietly beside the overhead cranes as it detected a stress fracture in one gear wheel. It logged the matter into a file that would flag the chief engineer the next time he signed into the engine room terminal. It continued on, its scanners penetrating the dark recesses until it was satisfied there was nothing out of the ordinary to report. Slowly, Moss descended back down toward the cargo pallets secured to the Horizon's deck plates, where they barely took up a third of the lower capacity of the hold.

The saucer moved quietly around the perimeter of the crates, reading individual systems maintaining each container's interior temperature, and making note of those that showed any fluctuation in the normal settings monitored before launch. As it moved around almost lazily, the upper scanning eye changed from green to a red inner light. It stopped in its path and changed subroutines for a new set of scanning protocols that tied it in the with ship's security files. There was a change in atmospheric pressure registered on the other side of a large box, and its auditory sensors picked up a slow, regular pulse of sound. It checked its records, searching for signatures. It ran in a microsecond a profile on each of its records, and found no match.

Back in his cabin, Pockets looked up from his workbench and saw a flashing green light on his cabin terminal. He reached up, tapped a series of switches on a console, and patched his way into Moss' infrared video capture. He swore suddenly, pulled a small microphone from a receptacle on the terminal, and thumbed its pickup switch.

"Moss, security routine gamma-gamma," he asked into the microphone. "Don't let it out of your sensor range."

Following its new command, Moss responded with a simple flashing light on the engineer's console, instead of its normal "meow".

Pockets keyed the intercom switch to the bridge, and the first officer's voice came back to him immediately. "This is Taro," she said.

"Pockets, here," the raccoon said. "Moss just discovered an intruder in the cargo bay."

"Why does this always seem to happen on my watch?" the vixen asked. "Does Moss have an ID on the stowaway?"

"No, the signature doesn't match that of anyone else who is ever been on our ship before." Pockets knelt down, pulled out a slim case from under his workbench, and opened its top. "I've got my Binfurr rifle and am heading down to the cargo bay to make sure whomever it is does not move."

"Okay, I'll inform the captain. Be careful, Pockets, but hold back until I can get Durant and Renny down there, too."

"Thanks, Taro." The raccoon closed the intercom circuit and then checked to make sure the rifle had a full clip. He pulled a second clip out of the case, shoved it into one of his many coverall pockets, and then was out the door headed toward the lift. Renny burst from his nearby cabin dressed only in a pair of blue athletic shorts and joined the engineer as the lift doors opened.

The cheetah saw Pockets' rifle and frowned. "I should have brought mine, too," he mused as the doors closed and began its descent.

Pockets reached into a leg pocket a pulled out a slender, sheathed knife. He handed this to Renny with a smile. "Better to be prepared," he said. Renny pulled the blade from its sheath and could tell it was razor sharp even without testing it. "It's made of Damascus steel," Pockets told him.

Renny put a finger to his lips as the lift stopped and the doors parted. They crept out into the dimly lit cargo bay and the cheetah immediately caught movement on the other side of the hold. Renny gave Merlin and Durant a silent wave. The grizzly returned the greeting with a nod and hefted his own rifle to the ready.

Pockets pulled out a small device from a belt pouch and consulted the readings displayed there. He gestured with it to the right and whispered, "Moss is stationary over there about twenty paces, at the edge of the crates." Renny nodded and hefted his blade as they moved quietly in that direction.

Merlin and Durant reached the location first. Moss turned and scanned them briefly, but under the security protocol it now followed, the small hovering saucer made no sound in greeting. Merlin gripped an antique broadsword in one hand as he eased his nose up to look over the crates beneath the sentry unit. He turned back to Durant and nodded as Pockets and Renny arrived. He did not seem to be surprised at what he had seen on the other side.

"Get out here, Jensen!" Merlin said in a loud voice. Since they had all been stalking quietly in the dark hold, the wolf's voice seemed louder than necessary. Pockets started in surprise. There was a shuffle behind the crates and then the head of a Mainoran lion appeared between two of them. Armando looked surprised that he had been discovered so quickly after the launch and wondered if the Blue Horizon possessed internal scanners. He saw the rifles and blades and meekly raised his hands above his head.

He saw Merlin's scowl as he crawled out of his hiding place and then dropped to the ground in front of him. "Listen, Sinclair, I don't mean any harm to your ship or crew," he said quietly. The captain put the tip of his sword up against the lion's breastbone.

"I'm not quite sure how you got on board my ship," Merlin said with a growl, "but I know an easy way you can leave…"

Armando glanced suddenly at the nearby airlock and swallowed hard. "Now… w-w-w-waitaminute!" he stammered quickly. "Don't space me, please!"

"Why shouldn't we?" Pockets asked coldly. "You're using up our oxygen."

Armando lowered his hands and Merlin pressed the blade tip into the thin fabric of the lion's party shirt. The point barely penetrated, but Armando got the message and nodded his head. He put one hand slowly into his pants pocket and then drew out several silver coins. He held them out to the wolf and said plaintively, "Eighty credits is not much, but this is all the money I have in the universe. Please take it."

Without shifting his eye contact, Merlin scooped the coins from Armando's hand and handed them over to Durant. "Now, you're broke," the wolf said as he lowered the sword to his side. "You have no money, no ship, no business, and no life. What do you want me to do about it?"

Armando swallowed and sat down on a nearby crate. He lowered his head and put his massive hands in his lap. "Gimmee a job," he said humbly. "I'll work for my passage."

"What can you do to earn it?" Durant asked. "Are you a mechanic… a computer tech… a cook…?"

Armando looked up soberly. "I really don't know much about any of that," he admitted. "I've always hired other people to do those jobs for me. I used to work with a load master before I got my ship, though."

"That's convenient," Durant snorted, "since the cargo was weighed, placed and tethered before we launched."

"So…" Merlin asked dubiously, "what job on my ship are you applying for?"

Armando recognized the sound of resignation in the wolf's voice and felt inspired. "I dunno… give me anything. I'll clean your clothes, wash your dishes, and help you move cargo…"

"We won't be moving cargo until we land a month from now," Durant replied.

Merlin sighed and then looked at his crewmates. They knew he would never jettison anyone short of an attacking pirate, but he did not like having to cater to his former competitor. "Alright," he said at last, "you can stay until we get to Kantus, but you will have to earn your passage, Jensen."

"Thank you, Sinclair."

"You will address him as Captain," Renny spoke up.

Armando nodded his acknowledgement and then slowly got to his feet. "Thank you, Captain," he said.

Merlin gestured to the bear at his side. "This is Durant. He'll be in charge of your work assignments, but you will follow the orders of anyone else on my crew if they have something for you to do."

"Yessir."

"I've got something he can do," Pockets said. He thumbed the safety on his rifle and slung it over his shoulder.

"Good," Merlin replied. "Armando, this is our chief engineer, Pockets. He'll get you started."

The raccoon smiled slyly at Renny and then headed off toward his engine room with Armando in tow.

As soon as they were out of sight around the perimeter of the cargo bay, Renny chuckled. "I hope that lion's not too fastidious," he said with a grin.

"Why's that?" Merlin asked.

"Pockets thinks some beach sand might have blown into the landing gears while we were on Crescentis. He was intending to clean them out and re-grease them during the voyage. I think he's going to make Armando get dirty and do it for him."

Durant groaned and his companions looked up at him. "Sorry to burden you with him," Merlin said, "but I thought you could probably handle his work assignments better than anyone else."

"That's not what has me concerned, boss," the bear responded with a frown.

"What is it?"

"Armando only has one set of clothes with him," he explained, "and I'm the only one on board who has anything big enough for him to wear."

"Oops…" Merlin said with raised eyebrows. "During our next landfall, buy some replacement clothes for yourself from the ship's funds."

"Thanks, boss…"

Tanis shook out the wet brush he had been using to comb the dirt out of Lorelei's pelt and then dipped it back into the bath. "There's sand all in yer fur," he said to the rabbit sitting in the water in front of him. "I don't have this much in my own fur, and I spent more time on the beach than ya did."

The bunny smiled at him over her shoulder and snickered. "I don't suppose that you are a desert fox means your fur is better equipped to ward off sand?" she asked as she tickled his toes beneath the water.

"Stop that!" Tanis commanded with a smirk. He dropped his brush and it made a splunk as it hit the water. He reached into the water to retrieve it and Lorelei suddenly giggled.

"Watch where you're grabbing," she teased.

"Can't," the fennec replied in mock indignation. "The bath's too murky with yer dirty water." Lorelei giggled again and squirmed. She lay back against him suddenly and pinned his arm between them.

"Gotcha!" she said with a wink.

Resigned to his fate, Tanis leaned back against the side of the bathtub, causing her to lean back further. She rested the back of her head on his chest and smiled up at him.

"So," she said after a moment, "what did you and Max do today?"

"We mainly just talked as we wandered around the beach town," the fox replied. "He asked me some questions about Duffy and I told him about Nalirra."

The rabbit frowned. "That doesn't sound so exciting," she said. "How are you handling the whole war thing?"

"Okay, I suppose," he replied. "It's not easy seeing yer homeworld bombed apart by the very people yer government was going to bomb first. However… I cut ties with home years ago, and I have to keep reminding myself that."

"What about your friend, Duffy? Does he know he's Max's father?"

Tanis looked down at her in quiet shock. "How… did ya know about that?" he asked.

Lorelei grinned. "I saw your notes in the Infirmary. You left them out on the counter."

"I see… Have ya told anyone else about it?"

"Renny, Taro, Pockets, Samantha, and Durant were all eating lunch when I mentioned it."

"Lori… that means everyone on board knows about it now. For Max's sake, we weren't going to tell anyone else!"

The rabbit shrugged her shoulders. "Oops," she said. "Too late now."

"I just hope Max doesn't think I betrayed his trust…" Tanis replied solemnly.

Armando Jensen grumbled and growled to himself as he left the engine room and headed for the nearest lift. He was tired, wanted to crawl into bed in the cabin that had been assigned to him, and sleep for a month. He had been on board the Blue Horizon for nearly eight days and he had hardly had any time to rest. It seemed that nearly every person on board the ship had gone out of their way to find degrading assignments for him to do. He had done everything from scrubbing toilets with a toothbrush to vacuuming floors and washing dishes. He had been made to crawl into a filthy maintenance tunnel between the double hulls of the ship that were not designed for someone of his bulk, to get to greasy gears that he later discovered were just inside a large access panel in the engine room. He had mashed his fingers reorganizing equipment cases for the load master so they were arranged by size, and had gotten carpet burns on his knees picking fur out of the air reclamation unit filters. He had already lost track of the other little disgusting jobs that had been found for him, and he strongly suspected some of the things he had been assigned had never been done before by any of them.

He had taken to griping about everything in sight, even though he was constantly reminded just how fortunate he was to be a privileged passenger instead of free-floating in space. The only ones who had not treated him like dirt were the rabbit who cooked for them all, and that canine boy who seemed to look on him in pity. Armando did not mind pity from Max. At least he had not made him wash his socks as the cheetah had done.

He heard a sound up ahead and looked up to see what it was. Durant was sitting on the cold flooring of the hold outside a locker full of cargo tie-downs, tarps, and cables he had been looking through. Armando thought the bear looked winded, and despite the dirty assignments that had been given to him, the lion thought the load master needed a hand up.

"Are you okay?" he asked. "You need some help?"

Durant looked up at him and shook his head as he massaged his left arm. "Just feeling a little light-headed," the bear replied in a raspy voice. "It's nothing."

"You need me to help you clean up this stuff?" Armando asked. "You don't look too good."

Durant waved a hand at him and swallowed. "No, just go on, please."

Armando shrugged and shuffled off toward the lift, thankful he had not been berated nor given something else to do. He had been sincere when he offered his help to the bear, but was not bothered to have his help denied.

Durant watched the lion disappear into the lift and then turned over so that he was on his hands and knees. He closed his eyes to gather his bearings and then slowly stood up. He wavered a little, but remained on his feet. He glanced at the stuff he had pulled out of the locker and decided it could sit there a while longer. The grizzly bear made his way back to his office at the back of the cargo bay and shut the door behind him.

Merlin kicked off his boots and sat down on his bunk with a sigh of relief. He had just turned over the bridge watch duty to Samantha and he was more than ready to relax for a bit. Granted, bridge duty while the ship was on automatic was dull and boring, but despite the non-activity, it usually drained whoever released it to the next person.

The wolf was not sleepy, but he did not really feel like doing anything else at the moment. He looked over at the small table beside the bed and picked up a novel he had begun reading earlier. He thumbed it open to the page where his bookmark resided and made himself comfortable against his pillow. No sooner had he settled into the first paragraph, the intercom chirped at him.

The captain groaned and closed the book as he leaned over to tap the remote beside the lamp. "Yes?" he grumbled.

"Sorry to bother you, dear, but Cindy's on the line for you," Samantha's voice said from the overhead speaker.

"Patch it through."

"Aye."

"Captain! Captain Sinclair!" another voice issued from the speaker.

"Hello, Cindy," Merlin replied. "What is up?"

"Bad news, captain…" she answered.  "Brandersen Electronics has cancelled our contract!"

"Brandersen? Isn't that who we're supposed to pick up our next cargo from on Kantus? A breach of contract is serious, especially with the distances we have to travel…"

"Marcus Brandersen himself called to make the cancellation."

"Brandersen has been a repeat customer over the years," Merlin growled. "Why would he pull out all of a sudden? His business hasn't been doing that badly."

"Captain…" Cindy seemed hesitant and paused before continuing. "Another freighter offered Brandersen a better price on the same delivery, so he went with them instead."

"We had a contract that was made weeks ago," the wolf said angrily. "We have to schedule our shipments in a series or we'll lose money. Start searching for another customer from Kantus to Alexandrius in order to keep up the rest of our delivery schedule."

"Yessir!" the mouse replied over the speaker. "We'll get started immediately."

Merlin hit the intercom button again.

"This is Samantha."

"You hear all that, Sam?"

"Yes, I did. That jerk…"

"Contact our lawyer, Jackson Wyatt, and see if there's any action we can take against Brandersen for breaking contract."

"That'll be a pleasure."

"First see if you can get Brandersen on the line for me and pipe it in here. I want to find out who stole our job from us."

"Right away."

"So much for taking it easy," Merlin muttered under his breath.

A moment later, the intercom chirped and a deeply gruff voice spoke from the speaker. "This is Marcus Brandersen."

"Mr. Brandersen," the wolf said, "this is Captain Sinclair of the Blue Horizon. I'm calling about…"

"You want to know why I cancelled your services. Yes, I was expecting to hear from you."

"Would you mind explaining why you dropped us while we're currently on our way to you?" Merlin asked in a strong tone. "You've done business with us for years. Why would you bail out on us now?"

"Captain, you've always given me fair market prices for your deliveries to other worlds in the Planetary Alignment," Brandersen replied. "As a businessman, I'm always on the lookout for more economical means of shipping my goods, since the cost for deliveries from one planet to another are phenomenal. Nevertheless, times change and other freighters sometimes offer better prices. That's fair competition, Captain Sinclair."

"I don't have a problem with the concept of competition, Brandersen, but we had a contract! You are bound to it until the deal has been completed. If you like this other freighter so much, you can wait until your next delivery to hire them!"

"Contracts mean nothing to me. The Savannah Hunter will be here a full two days before your arrival, Captain, and—"

"The Savannah Hunter!" Merlin croaked.

"Yeah, that's right," Brandersen replied. "That's the name of the ship that belongs to a new freight business called Bamboo Cargo Services. I understand her captain is having the name of the ship changed soon, but that doesn't concern me. I need my goods moved quickly and they offered the same delivery at a cost of ©40,000. That's ten thousand credits cheaper than your usual price for deliveries between star systems."

"Mr. Brandersen," Merlin said through clenched teeth, "I agree that competition is good. If you had been approached with that price, I would have matched it to keep you as a customer — had you only contacted me first."

"Sorry about that, ol' boy. At first, he offered to do it for ©45,000, but I told him it was not enough of a discount to warrant my interest. That's when he dropped it to forty thousand credits. I couldn't turn down that price, then. That's the way the business goes, Captain. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to my dinner guests."

"Mr. Brandersen, we had a legitimate contract signed weeks ago. You can expect to hear from my lawyer over this incident. Prepare to spend the money you think you just saved." Merlin jammed his thumb down on the connection switch and disconnected the conversation before the bulldog had a chance to say anything more.

The wolf nearly tripped over his boots as he stormed out of the bedroom into the front room of the cabin. Angrily, he kicked them up against a wall and then growled beneath his breath as he departed his quarters. The first person he saw in the corridor was Armando.

"Jensen!" he shouted. "Get over here!"

The weary lion grumbled, but ambled toward the captain with dark eyes. "What do you want?" he said with im