Back at his room in the Maze Lewis lay down and had a decent night’s sleep. In the morning, they gathered for breakfast at the restaurant down the row. Lon met them there and after eating they went to the destroyer to look at the weapon shop. When they arrived they found two guards at the door, who looked them up and down. Lon vouched for them and they went right in. Inside were glass cases full of weapons of all types. The team hustled among the cases like a bunch of kids in a toy store, calling each other to look at this or that. Lewis and Lon walked up and down discussing the logistics of supplying Romeo Company as it grew. Lon explained that while they would sell to individuals, large clients were their specialty. Rifles and pistols were manufactured here. He showed Lewis a pistol that looked exactly like the revolver that Blair now wore instead of his old service piece. Lon also produced a rifle that used the same cartridge; it was a chunky little lever action with a fairly short barrel. They had a smaller, lighter version of the pair, which Lon said was good for training, youngsters, or hunting for the pot. Over and under derringers were presented in both calibers.
The other thing they produced there was ammunition for the guns they made. It came in several varieties, including jacketed slugs, accelerators, armor piercing, and explosive. The powder that drove these rounds was also available in different types. The gun powder made there was somewhat smoky, and corrosive, while the stuff made by the chemists in Wutanna was clean, hot and non-corrosive.
“It’s funny” Lon said. “We’ve got people working on our formula and it’s getting better, but the barrels last twice as long when using the defender formula. Also, we are not able to get our muzzle velocity past two-thirds of what theirs produce. But money talks and most people buy our smoke.”
They spent a little time on the range together trying out the products. Lon watched closely and noticed that Blair was out-shooting everyone else with the pistol that Roquette had modified. He took Blair aside and soon Roquette was part of the discussion.
In the end, Lewis purchased one case of twenty large pistols, one case of twenty four small pistols, two crates of large rifles, ten in each crate. He also bought two crates of small rifles, twelve to a crate. He would need ammunition for the guns, so he ordered five thousand rounds of each type, Maze blend, and five hundred rounds each Wutanna blend. Lewis left some brass that Team Romeo had brought from home, so Lon could try to duplicate it. Purchase agreements were drawn up and were contingent upon Romeo’s growth rate. Lon presented each of them with an eleven millimeter derringer as a memento of their visit
The three ships met their escort five miles south of Dontil. The commander of the warship stood by his rail and waved his arms in the elaborate signaling code that Lewis had witnessed in about the same location on the way in.
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“Are you paying attention?” he asked Telini.
“Yes sir,” was the only reply.
After a while Captain Inu told Lewis. “He says to tell you hoy.”
“Thank you,” Lewis answered, then stood straight and saluted the warship commander. The commander stopped signaling and returned his salute, text-book perfect. After that he continued the conversation he was having with Inu. When they were done, Inu sent a sailor with messages for the other ships. Over the next half hour Lewis watched the formation take shape, with Inu’s ship in the lead. The other two merchants were in single file behind Inu. The warship slowed and swung around to the starboard side. She settled in five hundred yards off the flank of the last ship, the Windrider.
Lewis spent most of the next day going over his books with Roquette. They found that financially they were doing alright. When he talked to Lenon that evening, Lenon told him to consider the arms as seed items for Romeo Company. Lenon thought that leaving from Port Mist was fine, but Lewis needed to give Captain Inu seventy thousand kolas to take care of business in Fort Dillson.
On the third day of the voyage, they spotted three ships a couple of miles seaward on a parallel bearing. As evening approached they drew in closer. By dark they were less than a mile off the starboard side of the convoy. The merchant ships decreased their distance in relation to each other, and the warship also closed her gap to a hundred yards.
The night was passed in a high state of tension. Everyone was either making preparations or standing at the rails, straining their eyes against the darkness. The lookout said he thought he saw something, and everybody got excited. Lewis hurried to the starboard rail to see what Inu’s lookout was pointing at. A great flipper broke the surface, followed by a body nearly the length of one of the merchant ships. Lewis saw a great eye looking back at him before it moved back toward the next ship in the line. It drifted lazily along the line of ships until it was even with the Windrider and then it turned away, in the direction of the warship. As dawn broke the ships became visible a quarter mile away. They were warships similar to the defenders’ ships, though a little smaller. They tacked along on a parallel course to the convoy. As the light rose to full day the lead ship slid out of formation toward the convoy and slowed slightly, while the others kept pace with the merchants.
Lewis put his team on high alert, ready for whatever might come next. They moved crates to the rail to provide some cover in case of small arms fire. Each member had their regular weapons, as well as two of the large rifles from the Maze. Blair and the first mate passed a rifle to each of the crew, who had formed a line in a discrete part of the deck. Lewis stood with Inu on the starboard side of the raised rear deck. Inu was watching through a small telescope, while Lewis used his field glasses.