The sun quickly sank below the horizon and soon it was full dark.  As
full dark as it can get with the glittering lights of a reasonably
large port city in the background.  Danes was lost in thought, staring
blankly into the darkness in the direction they would head, north to a
secret smugglers cove in Mexico when Hans tumbled back up on deck from
the maw of the main hatch.

``Our guest is all tucked in skip.  Put him in the forcastle cabin,
hope he doesn't get seasick,'' quipped Hans with a wry grin.  Danes
turned away from the darkness.

``I'm not sure he can feel anything.  Those eyes...''  Thinking about
the void within those twisting irises made him shudder, and even
though the evening was balmy in these tropical climes, he wished he
had a coat on so he could pull its collar up around his neck.  What
was he getting himself -and his crew- into now?

``Know what you mean.  He never said anything to me as I showed him to
the cabin, but one time he caught my eye, and I swear he looked right
into my soul!  Never experienced anything like it.  The sooner we get
this job done the better I reckon skip.''

Danes sighed.  ``This trip might be a bit longer than we all like
Hans.  Got a letter from the Hernandez fellow with some 'suggestions'
or the like regarding Matroska.  I've yet to read it, but I don't get
a good feeling abot this at all!''

``We'll get by skip, we always do, '' said Hans with his perpetual
cheer.  It always made Danes feel better to think that no matter what
they went through, he had a solid crew he could rely on.  Could
Matroska say something like that, with all his intrigues and shadow
lackeys?

``Let's not dilly-dally here then, cast off, make sail and fetch me
Mexico!''

The crew sprang into action, Es jumped ashore and let go the mooring
lines as Frank hauled them in.  Hans, in the cockpit had started the
engine and began top maneuver away from the dock.  Es leaped back
aboard at the last second as she was want to do.  It was like a game
to her, seeing how long she could wait before finally taking a running
leap off the pier and flying over the void between the pier and the
slowly retreating kill-9.  She landed spry as a cat, hands gripping
the railing and bare feet catching the edge of the deck briefly before
she vaulted over the railing and onto the ship proper.

``Woohoo!  I reckon that was the farthest yet!'' laughed Es as she
back to the cockpit.

``Show off,'' grunted Frank, but he had a grin on his weathered face.
``You try that again at my age and see how you fare!''

``How old are you again Frank, like 1000 or something?'' quipped Es
with an insouciant smile, ``Before I get to that age we'll all have
our brains implanted in robots and be flying around in space.  So I
guess we'll have to come up with something else when we get there''

``You'll never get my brain into a robot!'' Frank said, ``I love my
machines, and I'll take care of them till I die, but I'll be damned if
I want to become one.  I like being meat!''

``Well you can be meat while I'm in space.  Have fun meat puppet!''
With this she turned on her heel, ran forward across the deck to the
main mast and scampered up the ratlines, into the darkness above to
watch their departure from one of her favorite spots at the highest
point on the ship, where the various antennae and sensors spiked out
into the night.

``That cheeky monkey,'' sighed Frank as he sat down on a cushion in
the cockpit.  ``I swear she get's bolder by the day''

``Aye, that she does,'' said Danes, ``that she does.  You'll take
first watch Hans.  As soon as we clear the headland set sail and head
for the coordinates we got from Hernandez.  I'll be in my cabin
checking out these 'suggestions'.''  Danes turned and headed down the
main hatchway, leaving the kill-9 in Hans' capable hands as she
slipped out of Turbo harbour and into the black night.