I had been shown not to a bath but to an entire suite. It did include a bath which I used and then I pulled a uniform from my bag. I may not have had much pride in anything else but I pulled it on and settled the equipment belt about my hips where it belonged, though I no longer had a ship. There was a chime and I went to the door. The Iskar stood there and appraised me. "My employer would see you if you are ready," she stated. "Then let's go see what she has to say. Or perhaps find out what words she wants to hear." The Iskar smiled at the reference to its earlier remark then turned and walked away through the vast rooms of this place. Finally she opened a large double door into a room lit only by... What was that thing? I had no idea but it gave a sputtery, orangish light to the room. Giant shadows danced on the walls. It was a long walk from the door to the place where the woman sat. As we approached the Iskar walked around the table holding that strange light source to stand beside her employer. The presence of the blonde woman was almost intimidating. She studied me with eyes that seemed to miss nothing and I was glad I was now impeccably dressed for a spacer pilot. "You will do. If we can come to an agreement." Her voice was somewhat throaty and pleasant to listen to. "What could someone like you want with a washed up pilot who's had his ticket pulled when you could afford the best that this place has to offer? They not only pulled my ticket but confiscated my ship also. It doesn't matter that I was framed but I'm sure that any of the guards in this place would love to hand me over to the local enforcers." I stopped. Neither of these two deserved my anger which I kept on a short leash. Perhaps it was the bad light but I thought I saw the Iskar shiver. "You are the best that this place has to offer." The Silver Lady said. "None of the others have your qualities nor would they be willing to risk much other than standard employment." She looked at me. "I need more than that." I bit down on my impatience. "Lady, I don't even have a ship anymore. What are you going to do? Buy one? Have one built? I know that the yards are booked solid for the next forty years building fancy trash for the coddled to trot about in...." She raised a hand and despite myself I shut up. "I have a ship. If we can reach an agreement it will be yours once we have accomplished what I need to do." "Sorry. I'm not interested in a Mega-Star or a Bohemian." "It's not anything like that though it is, indeed, custom built. You might be familiar with it. The Title plate calls it 'Athame' though that name isn't recorded on any of the other official documents for it." Yeah. I was familiar with it all right. It had been my ship before I planeted here and found myself on the wrong side of the law. Anger, grief, suspicion all exploded through my mind before I got a grip on myself and could speak quietly again. "Just how much of my soul is this going to cost me?" I asked somewhat acidly. "If you agree and we succeed you get title free and clear for your ship. Five-hundred million Universals in a fund that will unlock for you in five years time whether we succeed or not. A quarter of a mil salary." "There's still the matter of my ticket and provisioning the ship." "If you agree that will be taken care of in due course." "On board ship I'll need obedience. If I tell you something I want it done without question. It will be for your safety and the safety of the ship and I expect it done." She glanced at the Iskar then back at me. "Do you agree?" "The Iskar doesn't like what you are doing but trusts you enough to follow your lead. And what do I call you?" "Something nice," she said flatly. I blew out a gusty sigh and spread my hands. "Done. I'm in." "Thank you, Captain." To be continued.......