“So what are we going to do with you, Ben?” Greyla asked.

“Take me home?”

“No can do. We are on a very tight schedule here.”

“Where are you going?”

“Ask me a question I know the answer to and I’ll be happy to tell you.”

Ben gave her a puzzled look. He wasn’t used to indirect talk.

“What is the question?”

Greyla laughed and put the herbs she had purchased in a gauze bag and tied them securely. “Exactly. We don’t know what questions to ask.”

Raemolle had been standing at the head of the stairs and overheard their conversation.

He poked his head in the door and asked, “Is he in your way here, Greyla?”

“No. I just don’t want to be responsible for his life, William.” She poured hot water over the herbs and covered the bowl with a plate to let them steep.

“Bengie, I mean Ben,” Greyla began.

“I am both.”

"Which do you prefer?"

"Ben I guess."

“Alright. Ben, you have accidentally stumbled into a very dangerous situation. We are being chased by some very ruthless men who were supposed to be our friends. They obviously want us dead. We can’t get you home safely. Not now. Maybe never.”

“Why are they mad at you? What did you do?”

“It’s not because of anything we’ve done. It’s because of some things we accidentally found out about.”

“I understand. They kill you, so you can’t tell.”

“Smart boy,” Raemolle said noting the way Ben clung to the rifle he’d chosen. “I’m guessing this isn’t the first action you’ve seen is it?”

Ben nodded and followed Raemolle's gaze to the gun in his hand.

“Mercenary pirates killed my parents in a raid two years ago.”

“Who takes care of you now?” Raemolle asked.

“Different people.” He placed the gun on the table. “You want this back?”

“No,” Greyla said. “Keep it. But now that you're a member of our crew, you will have duties just like the rest of us. You’ll earn your keep.”

Ben’s face lit up. This meant acceptance to him. “I work very hard.”

“I can see that. First you will present yourself formally to the captain of this ship, Captain Dane De’Marc, and swear your loyalty to his command.”

“Yes.”

“His needs are you first priority. He’s suffering from the poison in his bite wound and you can be his legs,” Greyla said. “Secondly you will learn to help the Ramolles both at the helm and in the galley. Can you peel potatoes?”

“Yes. I cook a little.”

“Good.”

“What must I do for you, Miss?”

“You will keep the guns clean, oiled and ready for action. If we get in trouble, your job will be to make sure everyone has a weapon and plenty of ammo.”

“I can do this.” Ben said.

Greyla reached in her pocket and pulled out five rodas to give Ben.

“I almost forgot the reason you’re in this mess. Here’s the money I owe you.”

Ben took the money and studied it in his hand.

“Moral of story, money and trouble are often found together,” Danlea added.

"I am impressed with this young man's adjustment to such a frightening situation," Raemolle said. "He will be more of an asset than a liability."

"Welcome to the crew, " Greyla added.

“Come on, Ben. Let’s find a berth to your liking,” Raemolle said. “Then I’ll take you to Captain De’Marc.”

Ben followed Raemolle to the stairs. When he reached the landing, he turned to Greyla and said, “Thank you. I won’t let you down.”

“We won’t let you down either, Ben. I hope to be able to someday personally thank your people back in Catspaw for saving our skins.”

* * *

The Sea Grinder was cutting through a calm sea at full power. De'Marc had recalculated their course to make up for lost time as much as possible and picked another rendezvous point. There was only the problem of contacting the Solar Wave. Danlea had tried incessantly to get through. She had just about given up hope, when the radio crackled, and Mara's voice came through.

"Solar Wave to Sea Grinder, come in."

Danlea lept to her feet and answered, "Sea Grinder here, you have no idea how glad we are to hear from you."

"Sorry. Our radio was accidentally muted. What's your status? Over."

"We made a detour to Catspaw and were attacked by a couple of patrol boats out of Agartoon."

"Patrol boats? From the Beldorian Security Force?"

"The same."

"They should be friendly. You're on an authorized mission of the Council."

"Well, they've apparently been authorized to terminate said mission. Here's our current coordinates and course."

Danlea took the precaution to send their location and trajectory in code.

There was a long pause. Danlea was afraid she'd lost contact, then Mara came back.

"We can beat that if we run at maximum power. Moving up the rendezvous time. Here's the new point," she returned a set of coded coordinates.

"I can't believe it. That's only a few hours away."

"This sub was designed for speed. Were there injuries in the attack?"

"No. We're okay from that standpoint at least. De'Marc's suffered a poisonous rat bite in his leg and isn't well. He's running fever."

"Tell him to stay off it."

"Greyla did. She's threatening to tie him down."

Mara laughed. "Tell him he'll have to answer to me when I get there."

"With pleasure. Standing by. Over."

"Good. See you soon. Solar Wave out."

Raemolle was listening to the radio conversation. "They'll catch up to us in a few hours? That's incredible."

"I know. We may get out of this alive after all. Here's the new coordinates."

Raemolle corrected their course and Danlea ran in the cabin to share the good news with the others. Ben was dutifully peeling a large kettle of potatoes for boiling.

"I'm going to cook our last meal on the Sea Grinder," Danlea said. "Someone needs to mind the radio while I whip up a feast."

"I'll do it. By the way, I promised Dane some turtle soup," Greyla said. She turned to Danlea and winked.

Ben's eyes grew wide with fear.

"Where is that turtle anyway?" Greyla said pretending to look for it among the shelving.

"I confess. I took him." Ben said backing away from her. "Please. We don't eat him."

"Did you make a pet of our supper, Ben?" Greyla asked.

Ben nodded his head and looked devastated.

Danlea couldn't stand it any longer. "It's alright. I have plenty of other things to cook for the captain's dinner."

She hugged Ben to her side."We won't eat the turtle."

"Now we'll have to convince Mara to let it on the sub," Greyla said.

Raemolle called down from the bridge. "There's a ship approaching. Starboard side."

"What sort of trouble has found us now?" Greyla asked, bounding up to the deck.

The others followed. An older wooden hulled vessel with black smoke billowing from a tall stack was coming toward them.

"It's not flying any standard."

"Pirates," Ben said.