Dane De'Marc was wearing a crisp blue suit and captain's hat. "Welcome to the Sea Grinder," he said as he greeted everyone walking up the gangplank to board the old vessel provided for their journey to the Rassel Glades.

"Not exactly what I was expecting, Grandpa," Greyla said.

"She's built for comfort, not for speed," De'Marc said and laughed.

"Perhaps we should call her the 'Sea Turtle'." Raemolle quipped.

"Where do we sleep?" Danlea asked. She was wearing a wind proof jacket and pants. Beside her were three trunks full of personal belongings.

"The berths are below deck through the cabin there or the stairs at the stern," De'Marc answered.

"Looks like you did some shopping," Greyla said.

"I wanted to be prepared," Danlea replied. "We don't even know how long this trip will last."

Raemolle picked up a couple of bags to carry below. "Where to, Captain?"

"There's a nice double berth toward the front," De'Marc said to him. "You'll probably want that one. Greyla you have your pick of the others. I'm in the captain's quarters below the bridge."

Greyla picked a roomy berth next to the stairs at the stern. The drone of the big engine was loud, but she supposed the rhythm would grow familiar to the ears and she would learn to sleep through it. She spied another stairwell leading downward and investigated. It accessed a short hallway with doors leading to the engine room and a couple of storage sections. The end of the hall opened into the hold, a wide room with a low ceiling in the belly of the boat. It was stacked with boxes of supplies and had a couple of long worktables with benches beside them. Some tools were attached to one wall and a row of cabinets on another. At the far end a set of stairs led up to the bow and deck. Greyla climbed up to join the others.

The Sea Grinder was an old merchant ship, a little run down, but the big engine purred with power. Larger than a private vessel, she was still small by ocean going standards. The bridge and chart room sat high above deck giving the pilot a good view of the water ahead. The broad deck encircled the main cabin which had large square windows on all sides which could be shuttered in a storm. It was divided into two areas, a galley to the rear and a common room to the front equipped with a large table bolted to the floor. The top of the cabin was sloped for drainage but flat enough to make the perfect place to lounge and observe the ocean or the heavens, plus it had access to the bridge. Over fifty feet in length and seaworthy, she could carry some cargo if needed, but was slow and plodding compared to the newer designs and sleek boats usually seen in Novaland's harbor.

De'Marc kicked up the engine. It rumbled with power and she could feel it throbbing below her feet as De'Marc took them out of the harbor into the open sea. Raemolle climbed up beside De'Marc on the bridge.

Greyla and Danlea stood on the roof of the cabin to enjoy the view, watching until Novaland and the rest of the Sora Islands were out of sight. Geryal could tell the silence between them made Danlea feel uncomfortable.

"If we're goint to be shipmates, we should gossip a little and get to know one another," Greyla said.

"Yes. I admit I was feeling a little awkward," Danlea agreed. "We shouldn't remain strangers."

"How long have you and William been together?" Greya asked.

"Almost seven years now. I was studying at Furladad University in Trabest. I thought I wanted to be a chef like my father, but then I met William. He was working on a deep space telescope, and I found it fascinating. I switched vocations to join him on the project. We were married a few months later. Unfortunately, there isn't a practical application for deep space research and we've found little financial support.

"No children?"

"No. We tried, but it wasn't meant to be. I have some congenital blockage or something."

"We should be able to solve problems like that in a few years."

"I hope so, assuming all our resources aren't diverted to warfare."

"Yeah. good point."

"What do you recall about your adventure on the wreck?" Danlea asked. "Have you been able to make any sense of it or find out what kidnapped you?"

"I wish I could remember more," Greyla said. "I blacked out and afterward they gave me a strong sedative on the sub. By the time I woke up, it was as though I had a bad dream. Most of what I know, Hal told me." She watched the wake from the Sea Grinder going out behind them like a long ribbon and got lost in thought. Danlea seemed to be reading them.

"We're the about same age. Why aren't you married at thirty?"

"Not in my cards, I guess."

"Hal seems like a good man and he's crazy about you. Dane told us he was in love with you, but I could tell by the way Hal talked about you at dinner the other night."

"Yeah. I'm kind of crazy about him too."

"So why aren't you two together?"

"Funny you should ask, but things took a turn in that direction last night. My experience on the wreck brought me to my senses I guess."

"And now you're leaving on this mission without him."

"I know. Bad timing," Greya decided to let Danlea in. "Ever since I met Jejliard as a young girl, I've had this huge crush on Jejliard, but he never really got over his wife's death. He became obsessed with his work above all else."

"He's quite a charming fellow, but I can see he is a man consumed by his work," Danlea turned her face to the wind. "It's been many years. Where was Hal in all of this?"

"When I met Hal, he was married too. His wife survived the tsunami, but when she got pregnant decided she'd had enough of the island life and left Hal to go home to Sera Luca."

"Sera Luca?"

"Yeah. She didn't survive Sera Luca."

"That's messed up."

"We were all a little messed up. Apparently, I chose to love the wrong guy."

The ship made its way toward the lower Theopian continent at a slow pace through calm waters. Danlea treated them to a fine meal she whipped up from the provisions in the galley.

"That was delicious," De'Marc said. "We shall count ourselves lucky to have such a talented chef among our crew."

"Thank you," Danlea said. "I can at least contribute in some way other than star gazing."

After playing a few games of cards after dinner with the Raemolles, Greyla turned in for the evening. She lay awake, missing Hal for an hour or more until her thoughts were drowned out by the drone of the engine and the soft ocean swells rocked her to sleep.

***

The next day found De'Marc still at the helm.

"You can't stay awake forever, Dane," Raemolle said. "Teach me how to steer this thing so I can fill in."

"Looks like we're your crew, reporting for duty," Danlea added.

"I can keep you all busy," De'Marc said. "Duties will be assigned according to abilities. Prepare to develop new skills."

Greyla helped in the chart room to assist De'Marc in navigation and making corrections in their heading. Raemolle had a keen interest in learning about the engine, monitoring the ship's gauges and piloting the boat. He and Greyla were both able to relieve De'Marc at the helm. Danlea declared the galley as her domain since she loved to cook.

The Raemolles were charming company but didn't have much in common with Greyla regarding fields of interest and research. Greyla knew little about astronomy and the Raemolles knew even less about the biology of marine life. Jejliard had provided manuals for everyone to study. They found a common ground in their lack of knowledge about nuclear technology and its possible military uses. They met in the ship's main cabin to study.

"Where does Novaland get the uranium?" Raemolle asked."

"The ore's mined in Crayden, in the far north past the trade routes." Greyla said.

"Is that the only source?"

"The only one we know about," Greyla replied.

"Then why aren't we looking for activity there?" Danlea asked.

"I imagine Colberton has other resources available in that area. We’re here because BTP has no jurisdiction where we're going," Greyla explained. "The Glades were never part of the treaty because they were never involved in the war."

"Not much there to fight over," Raemolle added.

"Exactly," Greyla agreed. "Jejliard told me in confidence before we left, there may be some weapons testing in this area."

The Raemolles were startled into silence. Greyla could tell they were not at all prepared for the reality of this mission. "We may encounter hostile forces," she said. "Let's go below for some training on personal security."

She led them below deck and unpacked one of the large trunks stowed there. Danlea gasped as Greyla laid a variety of guns on the table.

"I'm to instruct you in the use and safe handling of these," Greyla said. "I'm really sorry you didn't have more time to prepare or get in some practice."

"I did a bit of hunting in my youth," Raemolle said. "But I haven't seen weapons such as these before."

"No. Probably not. They're all military grade firearms," Greyla explained. "My grandfather served many years with the Castonea forces and fought in the Agartoon war before he retired."

"So you know how to use these?" Danlea asked.

"I do. Dane raised me after my parents were killed in the battle of Casgora. I'd seen a lot of action before the age of ten and was happy to leave the continent with Jejliard’s expedition. It' a good thing too or we'd have probably been killed in Sera Luca."

"I had no idea things were so bad." Danlea said. "We didn't have any problems in Trabest."

"Yes. Fortunately, we managed to stay neutral until near the end of the war," Raemolle said. "Trabest's contribution was mainly to provide hospital ships. We didn't have a large military presence and assisted in negotiating the treaty with the Theopians after Agartoon fell."

"Have you ever shot anyone?" Danlea asked. "In the war I mean."

"It's hard to know if my bullet connected with any given target," Greyla said. "I certainly tried."