The deep subsonic base of contragrav racing thrusters had not been heard in the neighborhood for a decade. When Zuuli, the ancient starship engineer and mechanic had died, he had been famously lamented and extravagantly waked in the rundown Corinth porttown. The quiet, enigmatic centenarian had kept everything from Launches to GravBikes to robots in the neighborhood running quietly and perfectly for as long as anyone could remember. It might have taken longer than the efficient little shops in the core, but Zuuli charged fair, and what he fixed stayed that way. And to visit his hangar, purported to be part of the original Spaceport buildings when Corinth was being colonized, was to enter a wonderland of unique, bizarre and ancient transport technologies. One of his most prized possessions had been the old Newton Gravitics Zephyr Avanti Speedster that had long dwelt in one corner of the hangar. He had doted over the old hangar queen lovingly, and everyone knew, when her big motors shook the windows, that Zuuli was taking her out for a speed run, one of his few indulgences, or, more likely in his waning days, just keeping her in tune. That surprisingly comforting vibrato had gone out of the community when Zuuli died. Executors of his Will had come and methodically cocooned up the old shop and hangar, installed biometric locks on everything, and left. It was widely assumed that the engineer had been deeply in hoc to a banking concern that promptly forgot that they owned his old place. You would see that at the Port, some old freighter sealed and tied down, repossessed by the bank long ago, and remembered only during the automated inventory. So it came as a considerable surprise to the old-timers when a couple of well-heeled beings showed up one day and opened those locks with a glance and a wave. Even more of a surprise came a few days later, when rumors started spreading that the newcomers had been seen buying furnishings, and were apparently looking to MOVE IN to the old hangar. When Myc and Zuuli's Garage reopened a month later (Myc had skipped world 40 years ago, supposedly taking Zuuli's wife and best hunting dog with him) most of the porttown had shown up to gawk, but no one was yet ready to engage the services of the new owners. Everyone DID notice the old Queen, sitting back in her corner. The roof had leaked over her, and her once bright skin was corroded and rust stained. She was also hooked up to a couple of hi tech dryers, and a lot of the old diagnostic units were clustered around her in consultation. We also found out that the "new" owners were Zuuli's niece and nephew, all the way from across the Deep. They had come as soon as they heard that they had lost their favorite uncle and inherited his old rundown garage. Well, that had changed a lot of the 'town's mind. More got changed a little later. A few weeks after the reopening, we all felt that syncopated punch in our chests as her CGTs fought to life for the first time in 10 years, and just a few days later, they took the Old Queen up for a test run, both grinning like idiots, with Indio flying chase in her Snub Nose. That's when this shot was taken. Sheâ's got all new skin now, and the kids keep her as shiny as Zuuli ever did. They charge what a job is worth, and when they fix it, it stays fixed. And there's a big ole picture of their uncle in the front office, smilin' just like they had, in the cockpit of the Queen. Rendered in Daz/Studio with postwork in Photoshop CS3. Thanks to Stonemason for his masterful and intricately detailed Urban Future 2, and to MaxStudios_de for their GK Sturm prop. Thanks for having a look! -Tom