The trip to Ascore took three days, during which time they learned a lot about the operations on the ship. Conversations with Tom and his granddaughter, Cheva proved much more difficult. They left the team with a feeling of superficiality.

When they reached Ascore it was in the failing light of evening. Lewis was appalled by the appearance of the DeLeah ship; she rode low in the water with her starboard wing and engine mostly submerged. A large crack extended from the crown almost to the waterline. No lights were in evidence and all the colors were faded, like a century had passed.

“She look dead, mon,” Gomez whispered in an exaggerated Caribbean accent.

At two hundred yards out Lewis asked Captain Inu to drop anchor, and called Captain DeLeah.

“Hello Lieutenant, glad you could make it,” came the reply. “Can you move a little closer? Maybe the dock that runs past our port side, then nobody will get their feet wet.”

Lewis wanted to ask what had happened, but only said. “Roger.”

Captain Inu halted the descent of the anchor and they proceeded to the dock as indicated. After the boat was secured, the crew extended the gangplank so that cargo could be exchanged. Michael walked out of the shadows at the far end of the dock and Lewis wondered how he had stayed unnoticed while they docked. Lewis introduced Inu and Derrik to Michael, who in turn directed Inu’s foreman to place the cargo on the dock, near the port wing of the Star Skipper.

Inu stared with open interest at the ship. “I don’t remember seeing that before, it must be the origin of some of the strange rumors I heard.”

Michael looked suddenly sharp and hard. “Please, Captain, try not to remember.”

“It doesn’t seem to be functional. Am I wrong?” Inu asked.

Michael raised a thin eyebrow. “Not everything is as it appears.”

The crates were unloaded without incident and then Michael led Inu and Lewis over the port wing and into the Skipper. A black curtain hung inside the open hatch, blocking the dim red glow that lit the interior. As they moved down to the common room, Inu’s eyes grew large. Lewis could see the questions in Inu’s face, but he said nothing. Lenon sat in his oversized chair with his hands in his lap. He was wearing a shirt that looked like chainmail that Lewis had seen in a museum in London, a sword as tall as Lewis leaned against the wall behind him. On the table sat a mini gun with the tripod removed. Captain Inu gasped, but quickly regained his composure.

“Hello, Captain Inu,” Lenon said in his rumbling voice. “Welcome aboard my ship.”

“Captain Inu, meet Captain Lenon DeLeah,” Michael offered. “Please, have a seat.”

“Good to meet you, Captain DeLeah,” Inu said, then turning to Michael as he sat in the indicated chair. “Thank you.”

“Would you two care to join me for a drink, or shall we go straight to business?” Lenon asked, producing a square crystal decanter and five matching shot glasses. Not waiting for an answer he poured an ounce or so of amber liquid in each glass. “You’re the guest, pick a glass,” Lenon said to Inu.

Inu looked pleased and got up to pick a glass from the middle of the line, then sat back down and set the glass down in front of his seat. After everyone else had sampled theirs he drank his. He drank slowly and Lewis watched his face light up. Inu finished his drink and looked at Lenon like a long lost friend. “May your anchor never rust Captain, where can I get some of this?”

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“Right here,” Lenon lifted the decanter and stoppered it, and then set it on the table. “I have a proposal for you. If you accept, I'll give you what’s left. I’ll wager that’s all you can find of it on this planet.”

Inu looked suspicious. “What do you want me to do?”

“When you are done with your present task, I want you to start a shipping company based here,” Lenon answered.

“I have a home port already,” Inu said. “Why would I move to a port city that has no people, just ruins and beasts. I can’t raise a family here. My wife wouldn’t like it.”

Lenon smiled very slightly. “I understand you worked hard to turn a wreck into a sea worthy vessel, and your wife stood by you even though it caused some hard times for the family. She must be very proud of your success.”

Dayel entered the room with a pitcher of water. She looked regal in a long white dress and native flowers braided into her hair.

Inu looked curious. “You have water filters?”

“It’s not filtered, it's pure distilled water. Want some?” Dayel said.

Inu nodded and everyone got a glass.

Lenon looked amused. “Listen Captain, how would you like to make pure water on your ship?”

“Alright Captain,” Inu said somewhat sarcastically. “Tell me what you mean by ‘shipping company’, and what would I have to do to make that possible.”

“Why, you would do what you’re good at. Namely, moving cargo and people, just on a slightly larger scale. The growth is here, not in Vakum. Vakum has some stability, but your company could make a fortune moving between Ladzoo and Port Mist on a set schedule while also keeping the flexibility to offer other services as the need arises.”

Inu looked thoughtful. “I only have one ship and it’s all I can do to keep up with that much.”

“I was thinking of six, four fixed schedule and two, shall we say freelance. An office here to start, and later in Ladzoo and Port Mist. That way the captains will focus on sailing and leave the finances and some of the paperwork, along with most of the scheduling, to an office staff.”

“Where am I going to find five more ships and how long will it take to make them ready?” Inu said incredulously. “Even if we had them, we need crews and captains. And when ships are running hard they need a lot of maintenance. A crew of book keepers would be required to keep track of schedules, contracts and all that money you spoke of.” Inu nodded his head and sat back. He crossed his arms over his chest and looked satisfied with his closing arguments.

“Are there any ships out there that could be bought?” Lenon asked.

“Well,” Inu sputtered. “Yes, but how are we going to afford that? I’m doing well, but I can’t buy a ship, not even one.”

“I can. If a ship shows up here for sale, I will buy her and hire the crew if I can. It will be up to you to find the people to fill the gaps. As for office personnel, Michael is building a computer that will take care of that if we can train a couple of people to keep the office organized. I have thought this through. This is a good central location and there is little or no competition. Can you stay a few days so I can show you some stuff we are working on?”

Inu nodded and Lewis thought he looked a little dazed.

“I will see you back to your ship,” Michael said, and patted Inu on the back.

After Inu had left Lenon turned to Lewis. “Tell me about the character of Ladzoo and the people you met there.” They stayed up late into the night talking, with Lenon mostly listening.

When Lewis went to his room he found the rest of the team sleeping and quickly followed suit. In the morning he woke up alone. The ship seemed empty, so he made his way out through the port air lock. It took a while for his eyes to adjust to the daylight. The scene looked like a small village had turned out. There were the crews of the two ships, plus his team and several people he didn’t know. Lenon was further down the pier with Telini, Inu and Michael. Lewis walked down the pier to the beach, passing Cheva and Naurel, leaning over an upright barrel intently discussing a book which lay open on top of the barrel. Roquette, Dayen and Derrik, followed by five other workers pulled carts of rubble out of the ruins. Lewis watched as they took them out into the surf and tipped the contents into the water.

Sometime later Lenon brought him aboard a cargo ship that was grounded a couple of piers to the west. Michael was teaching Inu to use a computer that he had built from parts that he picked up in the ruins of Ascore.

“Our plan is to put our commerce offices and Inu’s headquarters on this ship,” Lenon told Lewis. “And hopefully in a couple of years whoever is running this burg can move it into the city.”

A woman Lewis did not recognize came in the door and told Lenon that a longship had been spotted coming from the west.