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felt ashamed of her own cowardice. Her better judgment warred with her resolve. How could she journey to a land that violently rejected people from her world when she couldn't even find the courage to walk confidently within her own city? Where was her courage? Doubt and fear started to chip away at her resolution to follow Edison's instructions.
    Once they were all inside, Daniel lingered at the door, resting his back against one wall while he casually looked around at the nearly empty pub. Shadows obscured most of the tables in the malodorous and dim room. The ambiance promised that one would not be able to see much more than the outline of any other patron. Seclusion was the specialty of the house.
    The women crossed a tiny open area in the center of the room and seated themselves at a solid yet filthy table. From her seat, Chenda could just make out the torso of a man leaning against the bar. His face was obscured by shadows, but she could tell he was of average height, but thickly built. He wore heavy, thick soled leather boots and thick canvas pants held up by dark leather braces. His white shirtsleeves were rolled up to his elbow. Every so often, his massive hand lifted a pint from the bar to the shadow surrounding his head. The occasional turn of his torso led Chenda to believe that the man was watching her. After a few moments, he picked up his drink and turned toward Chenda's table. His step into the dim light revealed his clean-shaven face and a head of dark hair touched with gray over his ears. He tipped the glass upward, downing the remains of his drink in one gulp, and walked over to the two ladies. His presence filled the space in front of them, and he asked in a throaty voice, “Are you Henrietta's friend?”
    “Yes, I'm Professor Candice Mortimer, and you are...?”
    “Endicott,” he said, “Maxwell Endicott, Captain of the airship Brofman .” The man eased himself onto the edge of the empty seat closest to Chenda, but he kept his focus on the professor.
    “A pleasure to meet you, Captain Endicott.” Candice leaned in slightly. “We are in need of an airship. We'd like to spend several weeks surveying the waters over the Mid-Sea Ridge. Would you be interested?”
    “I'm interested,” he smiled, “But Henrietta Hoppingood asked me to come here as a favor to her, and she doesn't like to owe people favors if she can help it. From what I gather, you don't need a research airship. You need something that looks like a research airship. So, where are we really going?”
    Candice glanced at Chenda and then said. “Kotal. Can you get us there?”
    Endicott laughed, a great, room-filling bark. “No,” he said, still chuckling. “I can't get you to Kotal.” Chenda's heart sank, but the captain continued, “I can, however, get you close.”
    Chenda spoke for the first time since entering the pub. “Define close .”
    Endicott turned his sparkling gray eyes toward Chenda. “It's not as if I could dock a Republic airship at the front door of the Imperial Palace, doll. I'm just saying that I can get you -- closer than you are right now - for the right price.” He turned his attention back to Candice. “Who's she?” he said, jerking a thumb at Chenda.
    “My assistant,” Candice said, waving her hand as if Chenda ranked just below luggage in importance for the trip. She appreciated that the professor was leaving her name out of the discussion. “It will just be the two of us for this journey,” Candice said.
    “Two passengers. Fair enough. You call it research, if you want, but I call it bonkers. Then again, who am I to judge. I don't really much care about your reasons or your destination. What I do care about is flying, and getting paid.”
    Candice smiled. “Then I guess what we need to do next is agree on a price.”
    As the captain and the professor began to work out the details of expectations and payment, Chenda sat back and tried to examine Maxwell Endicott with an assessing eye. She came