Am I at the end of my rope? Not yet! But will I get there fast if I continue on without some reprieve from the insanity? Absolutely. I’m letting Mary take over the ship’s log for a bit. After the encounter with the scarship, I realized I need a break. I am beginning to see Ava’s wisdom in adding Mary to the crew. I’ve got my work cut out for me anyway. In two weeks we will rendezvous with the rest of the caravan in Port Sumeria. We would have arrived in port with the other artships, but since the scarship appeared during the Sojourner’s rear guard shift, we split off from the group.

What about safety in numbers? That only works when the enemy doesn’t have an ample supply of explosives. Scarships practically are explosive. The game has changed. Now, artships take turns being bait. Higher-ups like to call it the Red Herring Tactic, but we all know what it really means.

That being said, we are on our way to Port Sumeria. So far, so good. And since Ava decided that we’ll stay there for at least a week, it’s a much needed vacation. But first, I need to have our bartering inventory properly labeled and stocked ASAP. “Work cut out for me” doesn’t denote the half of it.

Shiprust, my prose sounds like a playground see-saw, all balance and no rhythm. Too much looking over the footage of the slag-gunned scarship. I’m all unnerved. Vedod prescribed me some sleeping pills. Hopefully I’ll be back on track in no time.