There were two delivery trucks parked at the loading ramp of a sleek Mayfair-class freighter with the logo of TranStar Shipping on its side. A company name printed in dark red lettering on the side of the trucks caught Damien’s attention. Workers of various species were loading the vessel with forklifts and power loaders, so it appeared as if the TranStar freighter might be there a while.

The mastiff trotted back inside the Blue Horizon and flagged Taro’s attention. The captain handed out the last of her pay vouchers and went to see what was on his mind.

"What is it, Damien?" she asked. "You look shaken."

"Captain," he said. "Take a look at the ship on our portside landing pad."

The vixen followed him down to the tarmac, and then looked over at the nearby ship. "That’s the Freckled Shark," she said. "I read its transponder signal when we landed. What about it?"

"Take a gander at the name on the side of the trucks loading it," the load master replied.

Taro looked at the lettering and felt the blood drain from her face. Crimson Astrogation.

"Isn’t that the name of the company that cancelled our account?  I thought they were going out of business."

"That’s them. Their story was that they were under investigation and all deliveries were stopped," Taro growled. "Listen, Damien. You go ahead and enjoy your day off. I will look into this myself."

"Are you sure?" the mastiff asked. "I’d like to know what happened before I go."

"Come along if you wish," she said.

Damien’s first inclination would have been to seek out the captain of the Freckled Shark, but Taro had a different approach. She walked up to a Siamese cat with a clipboard who oversaw the loading process.

"Excuse me," Taro said to him, "may I ask you something?"

The feline glanced over at her. "What?" he asked brusquely.

When he faced her, Taro saw the Crimson Astrogation logo on his dark red uniform. "How did your company get back on its feet so quickly," she asked. "That was a fast investigation."

"Huh?" asked the puzzled cat. "What are you talking about?"

"I heard that Crimson Astrogation was under investigation, and that all shipping of their freight had been frozen until after the inquiry."

The Siamese narrowed his blue eyes. "I think you’re mixed up, lady," he said with a frown. "We're not under any investigation."

Taro frowned and bit her bottom lip. Damien looked again at the freighter that was being loaded and then turned back to the cat. "Is that the ship where you were scheduled to deliver?" he asked.

"Not originally," the feline replied in irritation, "but when our trucks got here, we were ordered to take it to the Freckled Shark instead. I was told it was a replacement for the other ship."

"What was the name of the other ship?" Taro asked.

The cat looked down at his clipboard and then pointed toward the name with the tip of a claw. "Blue Horizon," he answered.

"You mean that ship," Damien said as he indicated the vessel behind him.

The cat looked over at the blue freighter and frowned. "I don't understand," he said.

"We were scheduled to pick up a shipment from Crimson Astrogation for delivery to Pomen," Taro explained, "but in-flight, we received word the contract had been cancelled due to an investigation into Crimson's company."

"There's no investigation, and I wasn’t given a reason for the change of freighters," the Siamese replied defensively, "just the orders that another ship would be used instead."

"Where did your change of orders come from?" Taro asked.

The feline pointed with his pen to a nearby service shed at the edge of the tarmac. "Hexter's in there. He’s the official Crimson rep, so you can bother him for more information."

"Thank you for your time," Taro said.

"Yeah, whatever." The feline forgot them immediately, suddenly immersed in the data on his clipboard.

Taro and Damien walked to the shed, both of them confused by the information.

"What is going on?" Damien asked.

"I don't know. This doesn’t make any sense."

Taro knocked on the door to the shed and a muffled voice said, "The door's open."

It was dark inside the quiet, air-conditioned office when they stepped through the door, and it took a moment for their eyes to adjust. An aged badger looked up at them from behind one of three paper-strewn desks that filled the small room. The fellow was the only individual in the place and wore eyeglasses with thick, round lenses that made his eyes appear to bulge.

"What may I do for you?" he asked in a raspy voice.

"I am looking for Mr. Hexter, the representative for Crimson Astrogation."

"Amuel Hexter at your service, ma'am." He peered at her through his thick lenses. "Have a seat and tell me how I may help you."

"I just need to ask you a few questions," Taro replied as she sat down in a well-worn seat in front of the fellow’s desk. Damien remained standing beside her.

"My name is Taro Nichols. I’m the captain of the Blue Horizon." The badger's eyes appeared to bulge out farther.  "Oh, good," the vixen said dryly, "you know my ship."

Damien crossed his arms and took a step toward the desk. Hexter peered up at him and involuntarily crinkled the invoice he held in his hands.

"Uhm, w-well y-yes…" he stammered.

Taro leaned forward. "You have a contract with me, mister Hexter," she said in an even voice. "Your dock workers are currently loading your equipment into the wrong freighter."

"I-uhm-I am sorry, Captain," the badger said, "b-but your contract was cancelled days ago. Another ship was hired as your replacement."

"Why was it cancelled?" Taro asked icily.

"Y-your ship was deemed unsuitable for our needs," Hexter answered. "I can't tell you more than that."

"Read the contract you have broken," Taro reminded him with bared teeth. "There’s a ©25,000 cancellation penalty for the forfeiture of a contract in-progress, payable upon reaching the intended destination. We have been en route from Dennier for three weeks to pick up your cargo."

"Twenty-five thousand credits!"

"Why the surprise?" Damien growled. "It's clearly stated in the contract your company initiated with us."

Taro nodded her agreement. "If you switched freighters for a lower price, this is going to put a knot in your budget," she snarled. "Now you get to pay Blue Horizon Freight Transfer and TranStar Shipping!"

"Uh… uhm… I, uh… will need to consult my home office," Hexter said with a gulp. "Y-you should expect to hear from us within two to three weeks."

"Nope," Taro said as she put her hands on the edge of his desk. "Payment is to be rendered upon reaching the intended destination. We are here, so that means right now."

Hexter swallowed, his eyes darting back and forth between Taro and Damien, and then he saw the impressions of the Hestran vixen's fingers in the metal edge of his desk. He swallowed, heaved a heavy sigh, and then nodded. He turned to his computer terminal and logged into the Crimson Astrogation financial system. A moment later, he held out his hand. With her eyes locked onto his, Taro handed him a small metal device no larger than a stubby cigar case with one end flattened into a computer interface.

Hexter plugged the credicard into a datapak, tapped in a command, and then passed the hand-sized unit over to her so she could enter her authorization. Once she tapped in the passcode, a green light beeped in response; the badger removed the credicard and a printed receipt, handing them to her with a deep frown.

"Twenty-five thousand credits have been transferred to your company account," Hexter said in a huff. "Now get out of my office."

Taro stood up. "C'mon, Damien. Let's go."

"Not before I find out why this happened," the load master replied as he cracked his knuckles noisily. He stepped up to the desk and leaned over so that his snout was mere inches from the badger's nose.

Hexter's expression darkened and he stood up behind his desk. "Get out," he repeated.

Damien reached out, snared the badger's shirt roughly, and then yanked him closer over the desk. "Answer the question!" he bellowed.

His eyes wide with fear, the badger's momentary boldness evaporated. "Th-the order came directly f-from Arbogast Crimson, p-president of the company," he stammered. "I d-d-don't know why, other than you were unsuited. I don't know anything more! I swear it!"

"Damien, let's go," Taro said calmly. "Merlin will take care of the legal ramifications from here."

The mastiff released Mr. Hexter and made a show of brushing imaginary dirt from his knuckles. "Thank you for your time," he said. The badger only glared at him.

Taro and Damien walked out of the shed without another word and started back toward their freighter.  After a moment, Taro looked up when the local mail truck arrived to pick up their shipment. She recognized the driver as having handled their mail shipments before.

"This is happening too often lately," she said to her companion. "Merlin's going to have a fit when he finds out what Crimson pulled on us."

"Did they really think we wouldn't find out about their lie?" Damien asked.  Taro did not answer. She walked with her eyes on the ground as she replayed the whole scene in her mind.

"Hey, who’s that?" Damien asked after a moment. As they neared the mail truck, they saw the uniformed lupine driver talking with a couple who stood just inside the open bay doors of the freighter.

"How are you doing, Alaska?" Taro called out.

The mail carrier waved and tipped his hat at her. "Still running," he replied with a smile. "Do you still make deliveries to Dennier?"

"Our headquarters are there, yes."

The wolf grinned. "I may see you there sometime. I'm being transferred next week at my request. If you’re ever in Grandstorm, I'll be there."

"Our home office is in the capitol city, so we probably will see you there."

"That would be great. Well, I need to get your mail shipment and take off again."

"Have a safe trip, okay?"

"Same with you, Captain. Safe journey!"  The mail carrier gave her another wave and then pushed an antigrav dolly toward the red mail crates in the ship's hold.

Taro turned to the pair who had been talking with the wolf. "May we help you?" she asked politely. A large male Malamute and a shorter female Siberian husky smiled in unison.

"Yes, hello!" said the malamute in a friendly voice. "We’re looking for the captain of the Blue Horizon."  He extended a hand toward them when she and Damien stepped up the ramp. Taro rarely felt small next to anyone, but she was dwarfed by the size of this guy. He was muscular, with broad shoulders and chest, a full mane of fur around his head, and golden amber eyes that held a direct gaze that was hard to behold. She almost felt as if she were looking into the piercing eyes of her former captain.  She took his hand and he gave her a warm grip that spoke of controlled strength.

"I’m Captain Nichols. What can we do for you?"

"You’re the captain of this fat bird?" the malamute asked in a throaty voice, maintaining his grin.

The husky put an elbow into her companion's ribs. "You’ll have to excuse him," she said. "He forgets himself a lot."

Taro smiled and tilted her head as she looked up at the malamute. "Yes, I am the captain, and you are standing inside my fat ship." She said the last so casually with a straight face that the large visitor almost did not catch it.

"Right!" said the male canine. "My friend and I need to book passage with you to Pomen. I just bought my own ship, and we have to get there to take possession." He held up one of the Blue Horizon flyers. "We saw your availability announcement on the terminal vidscreen, and then when I was at the public Com terminal on a call to your home office, they told me you would be landing here at any moment! How’s that for timing?"

Damien nodded. "Yeah, you had a stroke of luck."

"They said you had vacancies, so here we are to fill them!"

"Just so you are aware," Taro said, "we’re not going straight to Pomen from here."

"Wait," the smaller husky replied. "Your home office said Pomen was your next destination."

"That is our ultimate destination, but we will first make a stop on Tanthe to pick up the shipment bound for Bassaris, Pomen."

"How much longer will that take?" the malamute asked.

"It will only add a day to our schedule," the captain replied. "The flight time is roughly twenty hours to our Tanthean destination, with another two to load up and square away the manifest."

The malamute made a casual gesture of his hand through the air. "An extra day won't matter," he said. "How long will it take us to get to Pomen from there?"

"Four weeks."

The malamute wrung his hands together. "More good timing!" he said.

"How’s that?" Damien asked.

"Frosty ordered a few modifications to the ship's design," the husky explained. "The shipyard said it would take about a month to get them installed."

Taro nodded. "I take it you are Frosty?" she asked the large male canine.

"Tarjon Frost, ma'am," the malamute said with a smile. "This is Mina Ferris, my engineer."

"Well, Mr. Frost, the fare for you and Ms. Ferris together will be ©2,400. Will you need one or two cabins?"

Tarjon glanced quickly at his companion and cleared his throat. "Two, please."  Mina looked disappointed, but remained silent.

"Well then, if you will follow me up to my office, I'll collect your payment and get you registered. However, we won't be able to put you up tonight. My crew is on shore leave this evening, so you will need to find lodging until tomorrow afternoon. Please be here two hours before liftoff, so you will need to be here no later than 1400 hours."

"Lead the way, Captain," Tarjon replied.

"Should I stay around until you are done?" Damien asked the red fox. He glanced over at the mail truck as it drove away with their delivered shipment.

"No, thank you," Taro answered. "Go and enjoy your leave, Damien. I'll see you back here tomorrow."

"Aye, Captain," the mastiff replied.  "See you then." The load master departed and then Taro looked over at her passengers.

"This way," she said.

"Why do we have to be here two hours before launch?" Mina asked as they walked across the empty cargo deck. "That seems like a long time to wait around."

"For insurance purposes, our doctor will give each of you a physical before we depart," the vixen replied. She noted Mina's alarmed expression, so she gave her a smile for assurance. "Don't worry, dear," she added. "It's only a minor physical to make sure you are not inadvertently bringing anything on board that will infect the rest of the crew on our month in space."

"Ah, okay," the husky replied. "I'm not fond of getting poked and probed by doctors."

"Neither am I," Taro told her, "but my physician is experienced and is compassionate toward his patients. You won't have anything to worry about."

The husky gave her a pained expression. “Thanks, but I think I’ll choose to worry anyway.”

Renny hopped down the steps in front of the antiquated bed and breakfast inn where he and Taro were registered and looked up at the vixen as she took slower steps down to him. "You look wonderful!" he told her.

She spun around slowly so that he could view her lavender dress from all sides. "It's nice to see you dressed up, too," she replied with a smile. The cheetah wore a pressed pair of dark grey slacks and a tan dress shirt with a thin silk tie. He felt conspicuous in garments that were anything but casual, but Taro wanted to go out on the town and enjoy the evening as a couple.

Renny extended his elbow courteously and the vixen slipped her arm through his. "Shall we go?" he asked.

"Lead the way, my handsome navigator."

The cheetah looked up at the night sky, but was unable to see many stars due to the city lights.  He feigned confusion and then pointed toward their left. "This way, I think," he said.

Taro raised an eyebrow. "I thought you lived in this town all your life," she said.

A wide grin spread across Renny's face with a mischievous glint in his eye. "The Thornton farm is out on the savannah about a hundred miles from here," he said, "but I moved into Gate City when I was old enough to attend college. However… the restaurant is only three blocks that way. It's one of the reasons I booked our room here at the Crescent."

"This is the one that has the live magic act, right? Have you ever eaten there before?" Taro asked when they began walking in the night air.

"That's the place, but no, the Caplan Garden is generally out of my price range. However, since you're buying tonight…"

Taro snickered. "I hope their kitchen is well-stocked, but I can only afford so much, Renny. Please be reasonable when you order."

The navigator licked his lips. "I will… try," he said with a waggle of his eyebrows.

Taro laughed and gestured casually back at the bed and breakfast inn. "Did you see the pamphlets in the lobby?" she asked. "The Crescent is supposed to be haunted!"

Renny shook his head with a frown. "I had forgotten about those stories," he muttered. "Hopefully they're only tales to draw in tourists. If I had remembered that, I might not have come here."

"Why, Mr. Thornton, are you afraid of ghosts?" Taro teased. "I thought Pockets was superstitious one."

The cheetah looked over at her. "Don't tell anyone about this," he said in a quiet voice, "but I think I had a run-in with a spirit, ghost or something like it when I was younger."

"You're kidding, right?"

"My sister and I were prowling around in an old abandoned farmhouse one night while our folks were in a neighboring town for a jamboree. We saw… something in the attic that we couldn't explain, almost like a pale mist in the vague shape of a lion. It came at us with upraised paws and frightened us so badly that we ran from the house and didn't slow down until we got back to our own home! She and I both swore we felt something shove us as we ran…"

"Are you sure it was not a…" Taro began.

"We didn't know what it was," Renny responded by stopping in his tracks, "but Sophie couldn't stop talking about it whenever she and I were doing our chores the next day. She was always too curious for her own good and she snuck back out there a few of nights later when everyone was asleep."

"What did she find?"

Renny's expression grew dark and he stared down at his feet as they resumed walking. "When we all got up the next morning to do our chores, Sophie wasn't in her bed. We looked all over for her, but she was not in the house or barn. Ma started to panic and Pa was fixin' to start calling up neighbors for a search party when I remembered something she had told me the night before. She wanted to go back to see if she could find what we saw, but I didn't want to. I confessed to us sneaking over there earlier and Pa took off without waiting on anyone else. By the time Ma, a neighbor and I got near the abandoned farmhouse, Pa was hiking back home with Sophie in his arms."

"Was she okay?" Taro asked in a whisper.

Renny shook his head and swallowed. "No one knows exactly what happened, but…  but… Pa said she probably fell from the attic ladder, landing on some old, rusty furniture with sharp edges. It was ruled an accident, but sometimes I can't help but wonder if her death was caused by the apparition we saw."  He looked over at his companion and heaved a heavy sigh. "I've never been afraid of ghost stories, but sometimes I get a chill if I think about Sophie's death."

"Wow… I'm sorry to hear that," Taro said after a moment. "Listen, if it makes you uncomfortable, I won't mind if we get a room somewhere other than the Crescent."

Renny's familiar smile returned as he puffed out his chest in exaggeration. "No need for that, ma'am. I'll protect you from any free-floating apparitions who dare enter our room!"

Caught off guard by the cheetah's sudden mood switch, Taro simply stared at him with an open mouth. Renny reached out and closed her mouth with a finger. "I'm okay," he assured her with a calm smile. "I still miss Sophie, but that was a long time ago and it was her own curiosity that got the better of her.  You know what they say about curiosity and cats…"

Taro chuckled and shook her head.  "Even after all this time, you can still surprise me. Come on, then. Let's forget this ghost nonsense and go eat some expensive food." Renny's eyes lit up and he practically pulled her along the sidewalk toward the restaurant.

"Blue Horizon Freight Transfer. Keri Petrie speaking. How may I help you?"

"Keri, hello," Taro said toward the port side bridge vidscreen. "We'll be launching in a few hours and I wanted to report in."

"Taro!  It's good to hear from you!" the brown mouse exclaimed with wide eyes and a big grin.

"I don't usually get you when I call in to the home office. Where is everyone?"

"Penny's out sick with the flu, Cindy is away on vacation, Stu went across the street for coffee, and Tina is in Merlin's office filling him in on the books. It's just me and my caffeine out here in the front room."  She took a drink from an oversized coffee mug and then licked her lips with a smile.

"Merlin's back?" Taro asked. "Isn't he supposed to be on his honeymoon?"

Keri snickered. "He and Samantha were only at Ocean City for three weeks, Taro. Merlin came in this morning looking fluffed, relaxed, and ready to get back to work. He also smells of cinnamon."

"Cinnamon?  Okay… Listen, I need you to have the cinnamon wolf contact me at his earliest opportunity. I have some information for him concerning Crimson Astrogation. Please tell him it's important."

"Isn't Crimson under some kind of investigation?"

Taro's brow furrowed. "Not yet, but I'm sure they will be after I talk to Merlin."

"I don't understand."

"That's okay, Keri. I'm sure you'll hear it all when he explodes after I tell him how else the business is taking a hit."

"Does this have anything to do with the Mooncrest?" the mouse asked.

Taro tilted her head. "Uh, no. What's going on with them?"

"Abner's ship left Fyn nearly four weeks ago with a load of perishable goods for Quet. When they got to the landing coordinates, the mining town they were to supply was abandoned, and it looked like it had been deserted for years. There was no one there to deliver the cargo to, so we tried to double-check the delivery location in case we had gotten it wrong. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to contact the customer who put in the order. Something about this is all wrong, but none of the business contacts will work. The Mooncrest was supposed to pick up a full load of micronite for delivery to Dennier after unloading their Fynian cargo."

"What happened?"

"We even tried to get in touch with the customer on Dennier who had ordered the micronite from Quet, but that contact information is non-working too. After that, Merlin authorized the Mooncrest to restock the ship's stores from the cargo and continue on to their next assignment. We've arranged with a local store to buy the rest of the cargo at a reduced price to help recoup some of our costs, but had to completely cancel the delivery of the micronite to Dennier. We lost over a hundred thousand credits because of this, and our lawyer is having difficulties trying to locate the ones responsible. He's been working overtime for us lately."

Taro looked down at the console in front of her and pursed her lips. "In that case, I'm not sure he'll want to know about Crimson Astrogation…" she muttered.

"What is it I don't want to know about?" asked Merlin's voice.  Taro looked up sharply and saw that Merlin and Tina had joined Keri behind the secretary's desk. "I just caught the last of your conversation."

"Merlin, hi! Uhm, I have twenty-five thousand credits to transfer into the company account," the vixen said with a wilted smile.

"That's always good news," the grey wolf replied. He crossed his arms and added, "Now tell me how we came to have this extra income…"

Amanda led their latest passenger up the ramp into the airlock with a careful hand on his arm for assistance. The elderly human gave the coyote a grateful smile as she retrieved his suitcase from the tarmac and brought it inside for him. He had pulled the roller-equipped case across the tarmac, but had been unable to lift it up the ramp.

"Thank you, Miss," he said. "I can take it from here."

As the Business Coordinator handed the wrist strap to the gentleman, the Blue Horizon's security unit floated across the cargo bay toward them. The saucer's metal skin shimmered iridescently in the overhead lights as it stopped to study the human with an offset pair of lenses, one slightly above the other; it rotated all six of its whisker-like antennae as if it were wondering what it was looking at.

"Moss, security scan, passenger authorization Lehigh Desmond," Amanda told the unit. The saucer emitted a pale green light from its upper lens and scanned the elderly visitor briefly. Then it moved to his luggage and scanned them as well. When it was finished, it moved to a position in front of the man and intoned a casual "Meow" as it rotated two of its whiskers.

"Thank you, Moss," Amanda said to the unit. "You may resume your duties."

"Meow!"

"That was curious," Mr. Desmond said with a smile as he watched the unit float around the tethered cargo.

"It's just a standard scan to enter you into the profile of our onboard security system," the coyote explained, "as well as to make sure you were not bringing any harmful devices on board. We have to do this for all passengers who travel with us."

The human grinned at her. "I hope it found me a harmless old man," he said. He ran his fingers through his wispy shock of grey hair and then scratched his chin. "I am only a danger to myself these days."

Amanda returned his smile. "Welcome aboard the Blue Horizon, Mr. Desmond. We can leave your luggage here for now; I will have someone take it up to your cabin for you shortly."

"Thank you, Miss."  As the coyote led the elder gentleman toward the lift, he took her arm and hooked his elbow around hers with a smile. She did not know how old the human might be, but for his apparent age, he seemed to walk beside her well enough. He did not seem frail, just aged.

 "Do you have a doctor on board?" Desmond asked.

"Yes sir, we do. Dr. Somner is a fully licensed physician."

"Might I have a chance to talk with him before we take off?  I brought my medication with me, but I'm not sure I will have enough for the whole voyage."

"You're in luck," Amanda told him with a smile. "I was just about to take you to him."

"Very good," replied the old man. "We have not even left, and you are already taking good care of me. Thank you, Miss."

"You are quite welcome, Mr. Desmond. I'm happy to help."

Releasing himself from the flight harness in his cabin, Jerry Somner stood up and stretched. The launch went smoothly with Justy at the controls on the bridge, and Taro had just announced that it was okay to move about.

He stepped over to the small refrigerator beneath his desk and took out a cold bottle of minted water from his personal stash of drinks.  He took a long swig of the pale green liquid and then recapped the bottle while he licked his lips.

The red fox walked to his bookcase and unstrapped a large blue tome from the bottom shelf, but as he pulled it out, he remembered something. He re-strapped the book and headed for the door, grabbing his medical smock on the way out.

A moment later, he knocked on a door and heard a quiet reply.

"Please come in. Yes, please come in."

He opened the door and stepped inside. The elderly human was still strapped in his flight harness. He held an old book with worn pages in his hands, and he marked his place with a red ribbon.  With a look of gratitude to the fox, he said, "Hello."

"Hello," Jerry replied as he tried to hide his smile.

Mr. Desmond looked apologetic. "These are good buckles," he said. "I can't seem to get loose."

The doctor looked at the straps with a frown. He tried to release it, but the buckle mechanism appeared to be jammed with a bent pin. He worked with it for a moment before the straps finally slid through the frame.

"There you go," he said. "I will have someone fix this broken buckle before you need to use it again."

"Thank you, I appreciate it!" Lehigh replied as he stood up and set his Bible aside. "I may have some age on me, but I'm not usually this helpless."

Jerry looked at the man with a critical eye and then nodded. "I came by to make sure you were okay after the launch," he said. "Other than a faulty harness, how are you feeling?"

Moving to the room's rectangular window, Lehigh looked out into space and could see the receding disc of Kantus. "I'm a little stiff, but that's my arthritis. The launch was interesting. I've never been out in space before."

"Space travel is as routine as cross-country travel these days," Jerry said with a smile.

"How come we can stand up okay? Shouldn't we be floating around the room?"

"All the floors are equipped with one-gee artificial gravity regulators," the doctor replied. "We just call them gravity plates, and they help us keep a sense of normality. It also helps keep muscle tissue from atrophy while out in space. Now, would you like to go up to the galley for some coffee? I believe Lori picked up a few Kantan blends before we left."

Lehigh's gaze lingered on the window a moment more before he turned toward the fox. "Yes, a cup of coffee would be nice."  He followed the doctor out the door and around the corridor to the lift.

"So, what brings you out into space now?" Jerry asked merely to make conversation with the guest. "It must have been important."

Mr. Desmond nodded as the lift doors opened and they stepped out onto the recreation deck. "I've been a farmer all my life, Doc. My wife and I had a son and tried to raise him with strong family values, but he moved away to Pomen after his mother passed away, unable to cope with the loss. I don't think he realized that by going away he left me all alone, but he does send money with his letters from time to time."

Lorelei had not yet come up to the galley, so Jerry moved back into the kitchen while Lehigh took a seat at the galley table.  The fox rummaged around in the cupboard and found several bags of coffee strapped into the cabinet.  "I know Lori bought some coffee from Kantus, but I only see one bag at the moment. Will Kidwell coffee do for you? It's a simple breakfast blend."

The human smiled. "That will be fine," he said. Jerry pulled down a tan package and started preparing the rich granules to brew.  "I have never met my daughter-in-law Chloe," Lehigh continued, "but now that they are going to have my grandchild, I want to be there for that."

"How long do you plan to stay with them?" the physician asked.

Lehigh chuckled. "I am too old to keep up a farm on my own now, and my son has no plans to return to Kantus to work the crops, so I sold it before I left. I am hoping Pomen will be hospitable enough for a gentleman like me to live near my grandchild."

"How do your son and his mate feel about you staying?"

The elderly human looked thoughtful. "They say I am welcome, but I am hoping that does not change after my daughter-in-law meets me in person. I have enough money in my account that I can get a small place of my own near them."

Jerry nodded and leaned against the tabletop. "It's not easy to pick up and move when you've been in one place for so long. It's even tougher when you go to another world altogether."

"That sounds like the voice of experience," Lehigh said.

"Yes, sir," the doctor replied. "I also grew up on Kantus. I have seven siblings and we always had a close family. My parents were pleased when I announced that I wanted to study medicine, but were not happy when I said I wanted to study on Pomen – that's where the best hospitals in the Planetary Alignment are. I was the first of my family to go off world, and it was not easy learning new places and histories, but my leaving seemed to prompt a mass exodus among my siblings to all parts of the PA.  My parents made us all promise to make an effort to come back to visit as often as we could, but space-travel is expensive and I was not able to afford it until after I had my license and was practicing. Despite that we're all scattered across the cosmos, my family still remains close."

"Did you get to visit with them before we left Kantus?"

Jerry nodded. "Yes, and it was nice to see them again. Two of my brothers were there too, so it was a nice little reunion."

"I am hoping the reunion with my son goes as well," Lehigh said with a nod. "Jack and I have stayed in contact, but it's been ten years since we last saw one another face to face."

"I'm sure he will be glad to see you again," Jerry assured him as he pulled two cups from a cabinet. "He will get to show off his bride to you, with the anticipation of their child as well."

"Whatever the outcome, I plan to make the best of it," Lehigh said. "Even if I occasionally have my doubts, I have always been an optimist."  The human looked up and sniffed the air as Jerry brought him a cup adorned with a white unicorn. He took a sip of the hot liquid and leaned back in his chair with a smile.

"Yes, that's good. Thank you, Doctor."

Renny stepped out of the Infirmary, studying the flight roster for the rest of their voyage. Taro had tasked him with making the bridge Duty assignments and he juggled names in his head as he scratched them in the notebook with a small pencil.

Another door nearby opened, but he did not look up until Pockets stopped next to him with a grimace.

"Have you seen the Doc?" Pockets asked in a pained voice. "I burned my hand with a soldering iron."

Renny looked alarmed. "Bad?"

"Not really, but I still want to get it treated. I forgot to turn off the iron before the launch and tried to catch it when it rolled off my workbench."

"I was just looking for him, but Jerry left a note saying he would be in Mandy's quarters."

Pockets' eyes lit up. "Mandy?" he asked. "I never expected she and Jerry would hook up together!"

Renny chuckled. "I don't think it's like that between them," the cheetah replied with a grin. "Ever since Taro had them working together on Se'rei, Mandy has been helping Jerry with the paperwork associated with the Infirmary. He doesn't trust computers to keep good records, so he's printed out everything. She's good with paperwork, so she volunteered to help him out."

Pockets shook his head. "You know how relationships are in this ship," he said. "If they aren't together, they probably will be if they spend so much time in one another's company."

"Are you jealous?" Renny asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Nope," the raccoon answered. "Mandy's okay, but I just don't find myself attracted to her."

"It's possible that Jerry isn't either. They may just be friends, do you think?"

"Maybe… but I still think they spend way more time together for just friends."

Renny shook his head in resignation. "Jerry's in Amanda's quarters," he said. "Go see him about your burn, but don't cause a scene."

"Who me?" Pockets responded with an innocent expression.

"Yes, you little bandit. You."

"Come in, the door's unlocked."

Tarjon thumbed the control button and then stepped into his partner's room. The lights were dark and there was no one there. "Where are you?" the malamute asked.

"I'm in the bedroom, Frosty. Come on back."

Tarjon tapped on the lights of the front room so he would not run into the furniture, and closed the door behind him. When he entered the bedroom, he stopped with a frown. The female Siberian husky had her tail to him, but her garments were on the floor at her feet. She wrapped a towel around her middle and then turned around to give him a smile with a wag of her tail.

"Hi," she said.

"What are you doing?" Tarjon asked with crossed arms. "I thought we were going to get something to eat right after the launch."

"That was before I decided I wanted an immersion bath," she said. "I've never been on a starship with a bathtub before, and it's been a long time since I've used anything but a shower anywhere else."

Snorting, her companion turned to go. "Have your bath. I'm going up to eat," he said.

"Wait," Mina called. Frost turned to look at her. She stepped up to him and put a hand on his muscular arm. "Share my bath with me," she whispered. "There's enough room."

Tarjon let out a long exhale and shook his head. "No, Mina. We've discussed this before and you know my answer. Go take your bath. I'll see you later on the upper deck."

The husky shrugged her shoulders. "Can't blame a girl for trying," she said impishly. Just to spite her companion, she dropped the towel at her feet and then padded off into the bathroom.

Tarjon shook his head with a deep frown and then departed her quarters. Out in the hallway, he saw Lorelei at the lift. The door opened and she stepped inside before noticing him.

"Going up?" she asked.

"Yes, thank you," he replied.

"Where's your friend?" the lapin doe asked as the door closed. She tapped the upper level button.

"She wants to try out the bathtub," he grumbled. "She'll be up later."

Lori smiled up at him with large blue eyes. "I'm surprised you aren't in there with her," she said.

Tarjon looked at her incredulously. "Mina is my business partner, lady, not my bed partner," he snorted.

"Why not? I've seen the way she looks at you."

Tarjon could not believe how direct this rabbit was with him. It was irritating. He stuck a finger in her face and growled, "That's not your business!"

Lorelei only grinned at his response. "I thought so!"

"Thought what?"

"You do like her, don't you? You're just afraid of a relationship!"

Tarjon felt like wrapping his thick fingers around the doe's neck, but he closed his eyes and silently counted to ten. The lift doors opened and Lorelei slipped an arm around his, pulling him out into the room with her. Renny and Jerry were in the galley, quietly chatting with the elderly human, and Damien was spreading out an exercise mat on the far side of the room. 

He followed Lori to a couch and then sat down beside her, his breakfast temporarily forgotten. He sat there quietly for a moment while Lorelei merely waited. Without prompting, the malamute began talking in a low voice so the others would not hear.

"Mina and I first met about fifteen years ago," he said. "We dated for a while, but she let her finances get out of hand and dug herself fairly deep into debt. My cousin's brother-in-law had helped me make some good investments with my savings, so I had a nice little bank account that Mina thought she would tap into. She told me I had gotten her pregnant, but I was friends with her doctor and discovered that it was just a ploy to appeal to my sense of family and get me to propose to her.  I thought that if I confronted her, she would bolt and run away.  I was wrong."

"What happened?"

Tarjon leaned back against the couch cushions and rubbed his temples. "She admitted that she was never pregnant, but still wanted to marry me. By this time, I figured out that she saw me as a way to get her out of debt, no matter how she felt about me."

"But yet you're still together after all this time," Lori said.

Tarjon scowled at her. "Since she wouldn't let up on me, I'm the one who bolted. In an effort to get away from her, I joined the Dennieran military as a helmsman on the battleship Deep Well during the Dennier-Mainor conflicts. Unfortunately, it did no good to run. She signed up too, but I will probably never know how she wound up serving on the same ship as a mechanic. We got busy with our assignments and she stopped trying to marry me, but she's never let me out of her sight."

Lori tilted her head, letting one ear droop. "She can't be too bad if you still let her tag along with you, even now."

The malamute finally smiled. "She's an extremely good mechanic," he replied. "Our service contracts ended a year after Dennier and Mainor agreed to a truce and she followed me wherever I went as my mechanic. We hired out as a team on several vessels, but my investments finally earned enough that I could buy a ship of my own. She talked me into keeping her on as my mechanic, and helped me pick out the rest of my crew."

"Where is your crew?"

"They're waiting for us on Fyn, where we're headed after I take possession of my ship on Pomen."

Lorelei stretched and then smiled at the canine. "Do you think that you and Mina will ever get married?"

"Miss, I…"

"You may call me Lori."

"Lori, I may one day take a mate for life, but knowing Mina as I do, I don't intend for it to be her. She's a great mechanic and sometimes is a good friend, but she also likes to play mind-games. She probably thinks she will eventually wear me down, so I have to maintain a psychological barrier against her at all times."

Lorelei's pleasant smile faded at this last revelation, but then her eyes sparkled with a new thought. She put a hand on his knee and whispered, "If you need a break from her attentions, I'm willing to offer you a new distraction."

"What kind of…. Uh… oh…"  Tarjon swallowed when he realized what her offer meant. "Uhm, thanks," he said.

Lori giggled at his reaction and then stood up. "What would you like for breakfast?" she asked. Tarjon's stomach growled at the sudden mention of food. He stood up with her and named his request.  Lori nodded at his short list and said, "I can have that ready for you in about twenty minutes, if you can wait that long."

"Yes, thank you."

Lori padded off to the galley. Tarjon considered joining the others at the galley table, but Damien's exercise routine caught his eye.  The mastiff was stripped to the waist and exercising in a number of moves that the malamute did not remember ever seeing before.

"Hello," Tarjon said when he stopped next to the mat.  Damien looked over at him, but continued exercising.

"Hi," he replied. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"Just watching you work out," Tarjon answered. "I don't recognize your moves."

"I used to be a Tanthean boxer. This was my trainer's personal exercise routine."

"You're a fighter?"

"Used to be, but I like to stay in shape. Boxing, wrestling, martial arts… How about yourself?"

Tarjon smiled. "I've been in more barroom brawls than I can count, but I've done some boxing in my time."  Damien studied him quietly and Frost could almost read his mind.

"How about a friendly match?" Tarjon asked.

Damien gave him a good-natured smile. "I'm not sure your passenger flight insurance will cover us if I hurt you."

Pulling off his shirt, Tarjon grinned. "I'm willing to take that chance," he said. "It's been a while since I've had a good workout."

Damien looked over toward the galley. "Did you hear that, Renny?" he called. "How about it?"

"Yes, I heard. Why are you asking my permission?"

"You're the First Officer."

"If you are both willing, go for it."

Damien walked to a wall cabinet, pulled out two pair of boxing gloves, and then tossed one set to the malamute. "Give us a hand lacing up," he said.  Renny walked over to the mat just as the lift door opened. Taro walked onto the deck and went to the galley to sit down next to Jerry.

"Hello, Mr. Desmond," she said to the passenger.

"Hello, Captain," the gentleman replied with a smile. He picked up a slice of toast and buttered it with a greenish paste from Alexandrius.

"What's going on?" Taro asked when she noticed the trio on the exercise mat.

"Two fools want to beat up on one another," the male fox replied. "I'm staying out of it until one of them needs the Infirmary." Taro frowned; several of her crewmates occasionally worked out together on the deck, but she was unsure if including one of their passengers was a good idea. Jerry correctly guessed her train of thought and added, "Mr. Frost offered to work out with Damien. Renny gave his permission after Damien informed our passenger that his flight insurance won't cover him if hurt."

"I see," she said quietly.

Jerry stood up. "Maybe I'd better play referee and keep a close watch on them," he said.

As the fox approached the gloved pair, Renny told them, "The edge of the mats will mark the rope boundaries. Go to your corners and wait for my signal to begin."

"I'll take over from here," the physician said. "Go eat your breakfast."

"Thanks, Doc."

Both combatants stood ready until Jerry dropped his hand a moment later. Damien and Tarjon approached one another and then tapped their gloves together. Tarjon then took a sudden swing at the mastiff, but only found empty air. He grinned and then tried another tactic.

The lift door opened again and the ship's engineer wandered into the room, both of his hands in his namesake pockets. He looked around the deck, watched the boxers jab at one another for a moment, and then noticed Lorelei serving a plate to the navigator. He sauntered over to the cheetah and took a seat next to him. He gave a casual wave to the captain, but she was busy watching the fighters.

"Hey, I heard you two spent the night in a haunted hotel while we were on Kantus," Pockets said with wide eyes.  Renny looked up as he swallowed the first bite of his breakfast.

"It was a bed and breakfast, not a hotel, and it was supposedly haunted," the cheetah replied a moment later. "If there were any ghosts there, we never saw them."

"Did you hear any strange noises or bumps in the night?"

Renny shook his head. "No, nothing. The place was peacefully quiet."

Pockets looked thoughtful. "If I had known you were going to a place like that, I would have given you my lucky four-leaf clover from Earth."

"What is lucky about a plant with four leaves?"

"The clover on Earth only has three leaves. The locals there believe a rare one with four leaves is lucky!"

Renny took a drink from his cup. "Silly superstition," he said with an amused expression. "I know you believe in that sort of thing, Pockets, but I saw no sign of paranormal activity while we stayed at the Crescent Bed & Breakfast Inn. I don't think your mutant clover could have made our stay there any quieter."

The raccoon frowned. "The Crescent, huh?  I'll have to remember not to stay there next time I'm in Gate City."

"Why? You don't like a good night's sleep?"

"There are rumors of ghosts there. I don't want to anger any ghosts!"

The First Officer rolled his eyes. The diminutive engineer apparently heard only what he wanted to hear. "I've heard the stories, but we didn't see any ghosts, Pockets!"

"Did you go to sleep?"

"Of course I did."

"They could have been in your room without you seeing them if your eyes were closed!"

Renny signed audibly. "Pockets… you're making my brain hurt. Forget about it. I'm sure the Crescent won't miss your money if you don't check into one of their rooms."

"You can bet I won't be staying there!"

The cheetah left his empty plate and glass for Lorelei and then headed for the lift without another word to the superstitious raccoon. Pockets pulled out a transparent circlet from the shirt pocket of his coveralls and examined the clover within the disc. The acrylic was scratched and scuffed from sharing space in his pockets with tools and miscellaneous junk, and he vowed to keep it with him everywhere he went.

Damien found an opening and drove his glove up against the malamute's jaw. Frost's head rocked with the blow and he fell backward onto the mat. His equilibrium was skewed, so he lay there gathering his wits.  When the marbles finished spinning around inside his skull, Tarjon looked up at the mastiff with a lopsided grin.

"You win," he conceded.  "You're good… better than I am."

Damien smiled and offered his glove to help him up to his feet. "You're pretty good too," he replied, "but you could use a little training to fine-tune your offense."

Tarjon stood up and put a glove on the load master's shoulder. "Is that an offer to coach me?"

"Are you serious?"

"Sure am. As you say, I can use the training."

"Hmm, okay. I'm agreeable, providing the captain gives her approval."

Tarjon grinned and looked over at the vixen. "How about it, Captain?" he asked before he grabbed the end of a glove lace in his teeth.

Taro frowned and crossed her arms. "I have to admit that I'm impressed by my load master's boxing abilities, so I'm afraid he might hurt you inadvertently, Mr. Frost. Your passenger flight insurance does not cover something like that."

"What if I sign a waiver?" the malamute asked. "I won't hold him responsible if it's an accident."

"I don't know…"

"I can pay him for the training," Tarjon added.  "Listen, we're going to be with you folks for a month, and this would be good to help me pass the time."

Taro finally nodded. "If you're willing to sign a waiver, then I don't see why I should refuse it. All I ask is that you be careful."

"Thank you, Captain.  I'll gladly sign it."

"See me sometime tomorrow," the vixen replied. "I'll have the waiver drawn up by then."

"Excellent!" Tarjon said with a wide smile.  He turned back to Damien as he removed a glove and went to retrieve his shirt. Lorelei waved at him from the galley, and the malamute licked his lips in anticipation of his breakfast.

"Okay, folks, we have an unusual cargo this time around, so you can't just load up the hold as we normally do with standard crates," Damien told the gathered crew. The Blue Horizon landed twenty minutes earlier and the mastiff had just signed off on the official documents taking possession of the cargo.

"What's so different about this load?" Justy asked. He looked over at a pair of large delivery trucks backed up to the loading ramp. Damien walked to the nearest one with his clipboard and flipped the latch. He raised the door with one hand and gestured inside.

"Rather than standard octagonal shipping crates, we have a number of rug and carpet rolls," he said. "We've got them in several sizes, in length and diameter, so standard tie-downs aren't going to work. Some of these are extremely heavy. I requisitioned special straps from Aris Grand so this can be done correctly."

"These hand-made items are very expensive and are being exported to the Pomen ruler of Bassaris under serious scrutiny," Taro added. "The Tanthean monarch has guaranteed safe passage for this cargo simply by requesting our services by name. The Blue Horizon has a special relationship with King Aris, and we are going to treat this cargo as if everything was made of irreplaceable Vaterfin Crystal. The Bassarian prince will have an armored truck waiting for them when we land."

"Armored?" Justy repeated. "Wow…"

Damien clapped his hands and said, "We can hand-carry the smaller rolls with one person to each end, but power loaders will be needed for the larger rolls."

"Jerry and I will operate the power loaders," Renny announced. He and the male fox left the group and walked across the hold to a pair of exoskeleton power suits stowed near the engine room.

The captain looked over at the coyote standing at her elbow as the others started to move to Damien's direction. "Do you have a ride to the print shop?" she asked.

Amanda nodded. "I just called for a cab to meet me here," she replied. "The name tags that Cindy ordered for us have been paid for and are ready to pick up, but the shop is across town from the spaceport. Depending upon traffic, it may take an hour and half to get there and back with them."

Taro frowned and looked at her watch. "We're scheduled to launch at fourteen hundred hours, local time. That gives you roughly two hours to get there and back."

"You will wait for me if we get stuck in traffic, won't you?" Amanda asked hopefully.

Chuckling, the vixen put a hand on the coyote's shoulder. "We aren't going anywhere without you, Mandy, even if we have to miss our launch window and reschedule take-off.

"Hopefully, I'll be back before that happens."

"Well, you're off to a good start. Here comes your cab."

Amanda trotted off toward a green and yellow vehicle that pulled up next to the delivery trucks, but before Taro could join her crew to help with the cargo, she saw her passengers approach from the lift.  She gave them a pleasant smile.

"Hello," she said.

"Hi, Captain," Tarjon answered. He wore a simple white shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, a pair of jeans and boots. Mina had on a blue skirt with a matching halter-top and sandals.

"We'll be launching in two hours," Taro said, "but if you want to get some fresh air and wander around the spaceport, you're welcome to do so until then. Just don't be late getting back."

Mina grinned. "The fresh air and the sunshine out here are nice," she replied, "but I think I'm going to check out the trinket shops in the spaceport. It shouldn't take me two hours to see what's there."  She looked up at her companion. "You coming along?" she asked.

Tarjon shook his head. "No, if the captain says it's okay, I would like to help with the cargo."

"Suit yourself, Frosty," the Siberian husky said. She gave Taro a wave and then walked toward the terminal building.

"You don't have to help us load rugs," Taro said to the malamute. "I pay my crew to do that for me."

"I'm not asking for payment," Tarjon replied with a toothy grin. "I just want something to do while we're waiting around."

The red vixen nodded her understanding and pulled a pair of work gloves from her back pocket. "I doubt mine will fit you, so follow me to the storage closet and we'll see if we have some you can wear."

"Thanks, Captain. I appreciate you letting me help."

"You're welcome. Just don't get hurt, okay?  Your flight insurance doesn't cover this."

Tarjon grinned at her. "Y'know, you bring up our insurance coverage just about every time I ask if I can do something," he observed.

"We are liable to keep you safe as we transport you from one location to another," Taro explained. "I just don't want to see either you or Mina hurt from misconduct, whether by you or one of my crew."

"Yeah, I understand," the malamute responded with a wide grin. "I'm just giving you a hard time about it."

Taro raised an eyebrow and gave him a smirk as she opened a storage locker. She pulled out a large pair of worn gloves and handed them to Frost. "Here, these should fit. Now, get to work!"

Tarjon laughed and gave her a salute with the gloves. "Yes, ma'am!"

"The Blue Horizon has been authorized for immediate launch," Taro announced.

Jerry checked the readouts of the pilot's console and unconsciously nodded to himself. Energy buildup was at one hundred percent and he was about to fire the thrusters when there came an urgent knock on the bridge door.

"Hold it," Taro said in alarm. Jerry stayed his finger over the green-lit control as the vixen unstrapped herself from the Com station. Renny bit his bottom lip as Taro tossed her headset to him and then moved quickly to the door. When she opened the panel, she looked up into Tarjon's smiling face.

"Mister Frost!" the vixen said in surprise, "Please get back to your cabin and get strapped in. We need to launch right now!"

"May I watch the launch from up here?" he asked quickly. "I won't be in the way."

"Passengers are not allowed on the bridge," Renny called from the center seat.

"You heard the announcement a moment ago to get strapped in!" Jerry added.

"I'm a pilot, too," offered the malamute. "I thought that if —"

"The control tower is demanding to know why we haven't launched," Renny suddenly announced.

Taro growled beneath her breath and pulled Tarjon into the room forcibly. "Sit down and strap in!" she said angrily. She jumped for her own seat, strapped in, and then said to Jerry, "Punch it!"

The doctor fired the thrusters and then moved his hands quickly over the controls. The Blue Horizon rose quickly from the spaceport and then the elliptical flying saucer shot through the overhead clouds.

Once the freighter had broken orbit, Renny handed the Com headset back to Taro and began his calculations for their journey to Pomen. Without looking at the malamute, Taro touched a pad on the engineering console next to her and then spoke into her headset mike on ship-wide broadcast. "The ship's artificial gravity has automatically enabled and is reading normal. Once we are beyond all planetary traffic, the LightDrive engines will be engaged for cruising speed, but mobility is now safe. You may now shed your harnesses and move about."

She disconnected the circuit and then turned to look icily at the malamute. Knowing what was coming, Tarjon looked embarrassed and gave the vixen a small smile.

"Mister Frost," Taro hissed at him. "This bridge is off-limits to you at all times, especially during launch and landings! If I find you up here again, I am going to fine you five hundred credits and then have you locked in your cabin for the duration of our flight! What you did was incredibly dangerous and stupid! Had we launched while you were standing there at the door, I'm sure our doctor here would now be treating you for injuries."

"Yes, ma'am. I am sorry," Tarjon said in a small voice while he unbuckled his harness. "I just wanted to —"

"Get off my bridge!" Taro shouted.  Frost bolted for the door and quickly departed. After the panel closed, Taro glanced down at her hands and let out a curse.

"What is it?" Jerry asked as he and Renny looked over at her. Without another word, the Hestran vixen lifted her hands and let them see the mangled arm rests of her seat.

Jerry raised an eyebrow and Renny politely went back to his calculations. Taro sighed and tried to straighten an armrest, but its metal base was fractured. This was something she would have to report in with the home office for funding approval to get the chair replaced. Merlin would not be happy.

The intercom chirped and the vixen tapped the control with a hard-placed finger. "This is the bridge," she said tersely.

"Captain, would you please meet me in my office?" Damien asked. Jerry frowned at the tone of the mastiff's voice and returned his attention to the instruments in front of him just as Renny fed the navigational data to his panel.

"I'll be down in a moment," Taro replied. "What's up?"

"I just caught Pockets trying to pilfer one of the smaller Tanthean rugs from our cargo."

There was a sharp snap when one of the mangled armrests of Taro's chair broke off completely in her hand. Renny winced as the vulpine captain raised the piece in the air, but then she changed her mind about throwing it against a wall.

"I will be right there," she said through clenched teeth. She disconnected the circuit and then gestured to Renny to follow. She stood up, dropped the armrest in her chair, and then stormed off the bridge.

The cheetah glanced over at Jerry and said, "I'll check back with you in a bit to see if you need anything."  The male fox only nodded his acknowledgement.

A few moments later, Taro and Renny stepped in through the door of the mastiff's small office. Pockets sat meekly on a chair in the corner. Damien rested on the corner of his desk. Rolled up on the desktop beside him was an ornate rug in several shades of brown, beige and burgundy. The hand-woven detail was intricate, and tassels of Tanthean silk adorned its edges.

Taro only made a cursory glance at the rug before boring her eyes into Pockets'. She resisted the urge to scream at him. Instead, she crossed her arms and simply waited for him to explain himself. Renny was unable to keep quiet, however.

"Pockets…" he began, "Are you insane?" The raccoon shrank further into the corner, but said nothing in his defense. "This cargo belongs to a friend of King Aris!"

Damien looked over at Taro. "He was out there just as soon as you gave the okay to move around," he said. "I guess he thought no one would notice him getting a small rug with everyone distracted from the launch."

"How did you catch him?" Renny asked.

"I set up a perimeter alarm as soon as the bay doors were closed and we began pressurization.  I thought it would be a good idea with an expensive cargo and three passengers on board the ship. I didn't suspect I would catch ou