Harland Ranson held his tug steady over Titan. He had checked his log when Doctor Herd had explained what she wanted. The coordinates of his sighting had been listed with the date and time. He had typed the note in and let the autopilot do the rest.

Anderson had a screen dedicated to the sensor readings from the surface of the moon. He had his hand on the pen, but he seemed to be letting the tug direct his search. The intenseness of his glare never varied as he went over the surface piece by piece.

Doctor Herd had brought a small kit in her suit. She had taken some of the navigation details from his reports to check his course corrections. She frowned at the fact that the tug was in place, but nothing reached the detectors.

Ranson leaned back in his chair. He had warned them that what he had seen was probably just a shadow. He didn't try to get involved in the search. He didn't know enough about what they were doing to make a difference. It was better that he just flew the transport instead of getting involved.

When they were done looking, he could drop them off and collect his money to go to his next contract.

“Captain Ranson?,” asked Doctor Herd. “Could you take us south from here?”

“Sure,” said Ranson. “How far do you want to go?”

“I don't know how far,” said Herd. “Let's say five to ten kilometers at the slowest speed you can do.”

“All right,” said Ranson. He turned to his keyboard. He put in the direction and the amount of trust he wanted. He kept an eye on his screen as the terrain passed below them.

“Stop,” said Herd. She held up a hand as if that was going to stop the tug from going where it wanted.

Ranson hit the pause key to tell his ship to freeze on post.

“I'm seeing bits of metal,” said Anderson. “Could this be it?”

“It would be excellent to get lucky on the first try, but I doubt it will be that easy,” said Doctor Herd. “There is a current down there. It might have moved the Argo from where it went down depending on its condition.”

“It might only be a small part of the Argo,” said Ranson. He made sure his boat wouldn't go anywhere until he wanted it before he leaned back in his chair. “Reports were that it blew up and crashed into the surface. It might have broken in half when it hit.”

“So the readings could just be part of an engine?,” asked Anderson.

“Maybe,” said Ranson. “It could also be a piece of another ship that hit Titan and just happened to land in about the same spot. What I reported might not have been the Argo at all. It could have been part of a Cent ship that had taken a beating.”

“We need a way to confirm,” said Herd. She rubbed the back of her head as she looked at the reading on the screen, and the reading from her own kit.

“If I dropped down, I could put someone on the ice,” said Ranson. “Then you would just need a way to punch through the ice to drop a sensor pack proofed against the liquid and cold.”

“We don't have a probe we can drop,” said Herd. “We would have to go back to Mars and come back to continue.”

“Let's continue with the survey,” said Anderson. “We just mark the position so we can come back and find this fragment. Then we can confirm if it's the right ship, or not.”

“I don't know if we will be able to mount another expedition out here,” said Herd. “We need to be able to show that there is something here before we can raise more money.”

“Let's stick to the plan,” said Ranson. “We can map any debris for salvage, and then you two can figure out a way to get something to dig out the ice to get to what you want to look at in person.”

“That sounds reasonable,” said Herd. “I don't have a better idea at the moment.”

“And it lets us keep moving without worrying about resupplying,” said Ranson. “Once you have enough sites marked, you can hire someone with a bigger ship to bring you back out here. This thing would need a module for your equipment, much less any more passengers.”

“A ship with a shuttle might be what we need,” said Anderson. “I don't think we can get one from the school.”

“That's a future worry,” said Herd. “If you can take us south, Captain, there might be a place where the debris is pushed together and can't be pushed further.”

“Like a Sargasso?,” said Hanson.

“There might be a point where the current hits something under the ice and everything it carries is pinned,” said Herd. “There might be some lateral movement if the water pushes sideways after hitting a block.”

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“Sounds like a plan,” said Hanson. He turned back to his keyboard and issued an order for the tug to continue south at slow speed.

Anderson marked each piece as they flew over them. The readings looked like pieces of ships. How many ships had hit the surface of Titan? They might have pieces of the small fleet that had engaged the Argo before it crashed on their flight path.

They might have enough that salvaging just those pieces would be as good as finding part of the Argo.

The historical significance would almost be the same.

Finding a mostly whole Argo would make them something after they raise it.

“Hold on,” said Herd. “Are you seeing this, Tom?”

Anderson stared at his screen. He used the pen to close up on a shadow under the ice. He leaned back as he stared at the inset.

“It looks like a solid shape,” said Anderson. “What are the chances this is the Argo?”

“Not very good,” said Herd. “It looks like something crashed down there. This looks like an almost whole ship.”

“It looks like the same shape as the Argo,” said Ranson. “That doesn't really mean that much.”

“I have to agree,” said Herd. “I like it. I wish we had a way to confirm things before we moved on.”

“Would the Argo give out an energy signature?,” asked Anderson.

“I don't know,” said Herd. “It depends if the engines could stay active and nothing did anything to ruin them.”

“How likely is that?,” asked Ranson.

“Not likely unless the engines are taking in the water and converting that to fuel,” said Herd. “It would be a minor miracle in my opinion.”

“Would it explain why it's so much farther south than the sighting?,” asked Ranson.

“There could be a thrust going on, pushing the ship farther south,” said Herd. “If this is the Argo, and the engines are still burning, and it's still in one piece.”

“That's a lot of ifs,” said Ranson. “How do we make sure?”

“We need to get a bigger ship and set up to dive,” said Herd. “I don't know if we can get the money to do that.”

“I will take you to Mars, and refund the rest of your money,” said Ranson. “That should give you a start on getting another ship.”

“All right,” said Herd. “Mark the location, Tom. We'll come back and look further south when we reach here.”

“Location marked,” said Anderson. “I'll be able to mark a path when we get back on scene.”

“All right, Captain Ranson,” said Herd. “Take us home. Maybe we can get someone to fly us back here in something bigger.”

“If you can't get anything that you need, I can haul a module train out so you can put your own camp together until you make sure you really have located the Argo,” said Ranson.

“That sounds reasonable,” said Herd.

“It's the best I can do,” said Ranson. “It's going to take me a couple of days to find some business once we're on Mars. I can give you that long to let me know what you want to do.”

“That would be great,” said Herd. “I'll leave you a message to let you know what is happening.”

“That would be great,” said Ranson. He typed in the memorized coordinates for Mars. Once they were closer, he could finetune the course until they were joining the ships entering and leaving the dock system.”

Anderson stared at the collected data on his screen. He used his pen to close in on various things on the screen as he studied it. He leaned back and closed his eyes as the tug hummed around him.

Doctor Herd packed up her kit and put it in the storage bag she had brought with her when they had transferred to Ranson's boat.

“How long do you think it will take for us to reach Mars?,” she asked.

“A few hours,” said Ranson. “I'll have to course correct when I have their beacons on lock.”

“All right,” said Herd. “I'm going to take a nap. Wake me up when we get there. I'll have to make a call to let the University know what we think we found.”

“No problem,” said Ranson. “As soon as we start talking to their orbital control, I'll be able to get your connection to the university with no problem.”

“Thank you,” said Herd. She walked into the tiny galley and sat down at the counter on a folddown seat. She rested her head on her arms and tried to sleep to conserve her energy for the calls she would have to fight through to get what she needed to continue her search.

Even if it wasn't the Argo, finding whatever was throwing out that energy signature would help her career and ensure funds for other expeditions to Titan.

Eventually she would be in a place where she could lift the old warship to the surface and bring it home where it belonged.

She had promised her father that she would get it done. It had taken some years, but this was the closest she had ever been. She realized that part of her success was Tom Anderson's strange affinity for numbers and computer forms. She didn't question his ability. He had turned into a godsend after the setbacks that she had already dealt with in her pursuit.

She let sleep come on and bring the dream of sailing on a sea of stars. It was her favorite.

Ranson sat back in his chair and watched the course move his tiny tug toward a red dot. They should intersect Mars and match up relative velocities before the ship's day was out.

He thought about the energy signature indicated by Anderson. Could someone still be alive on the Argo? The Net had reported the captain was the only one left onboard. Had he survived the battle and the crash?

That was as unlikely as the Argo still producing energy after all these years.

He thought about the situation and went around in circles in his mind. He finally boiled it down to a few facts that he could handle.

The Argo had been confirmed lost by the surviving crew picked up by the rescue ships after the battle. It had crashed on Titan. Something buried in the ice on Titan was giving off heat. They needed to look into it to make sure it was the Argo and not a Cent ship.

How involved was he going to be in the salvaging? He doubted they would need him if they found a bigger ship and another pilot to take them back to Titan. On the other hand, he could make money if he hauled modules for them.

He could take a few days to wait on what they were going to do. If he was turned down, he could find another cargo to haul.

He wanted it to be the Argo. It would make his career.