This cabin was usually vacant.  Being the farthest cabin away from the
centre of gravity it moved the most with the motion of the ship as she
sailed and subsequently none of the permanent crew wanted to make it
home.  It was kept vacant and ready in cases such as this, when they
might have to take on an unexpected passenger, ironically
(!!??REALLY??!!) enough, just those who had most need for gentler
motion than it supplied.

Danes knocked.  No Response.  He waited a few moments and knocked
again.  Still nothing.  He gave up (like he needed much excuse) and
began to turn when the door slowly opened with a slight squeeking
noise.  He turned back and found himself face to face with the
hunched, pale figure of Matroska.  The ceilings in any boat can be low
due to the usually cramped nature of smaller vessels, but Danes prided
himself on having a relatively comfortable ship with generous headroom
all over (except some smaller nooks and various holds and other spaces
under the main living deck of course).  Even so Matroska was such a
towering figure that he had to bend over a not insignificant amount to
move about in the cabin.  Danes figured that Matroska probably wasn't
going to have much fun on this voyage, though by looking at his blank
face you'd never be able to tell anything about his comfort level or
emotional state.

Matroska said nothing, just stared with those black-hole eyes,
seemingly sucking all life out of the surrounds, sucking everything
in, down past the event-horizon of those swirling irises, down into
the depths, never to return.  Danes started to speak but suddenly his
throat felt thick and he couldn't form any words.  He cleared it with
a cough.

``Sorry if I'm disturbing you...'' Danes waited for the customary
polite denial that any wrongdoing had occured.  None came.  He
continued after a slight pause.  ``...Uh, I read the note from
Hernandez.  I presume you know it's content?'' Still no
response. ``May I come inside?  I have a few questions.''

Matroska continued to stare for several more seconds before
responding.  Some sort of psychological tactic Danes was sure.  He
remained mute, but turned and walked back into the cabin and sat down
on the small stool which stood in front of the tiny wooden desk wedged
into a nook in the wall.  This had apparently become his office and
contained his small laptop and several papers, all blank that Danes
could see.  As Matroska had left the door open, Danes took this as an
invitation to enter, and did so, closing the door behind him.  Danes
perched upon the edge of the bed, the only other place to sit in the
small cabin.

Again, nothing but that blank void-stare.  This dude really was
serious.  So Danes would be doing the asking he guessed.  ``You're
aware of our little detour?'' queried Danes.

Matroska finally spoke.  It was the same unearthly cadence as
before. ``Your detour perhaps, always my planned destination.''

Danes continued, determined to see what he could get out of Matroska,
now that he had begun. ``But you must be aware of
the, difficulties, this puts on me and my crew?''

``You, your crew, and your possible `difficulties' are no concern of
mine.  You made a deal with Hernandez and you well know the
consequences for displeasing him.  Not on an unrelated note, you must
understand that should you decide to sail elsewhere than the location
indicated in the message, I would be rather \emph{inconvenienced}.''
Matroska said nothing that might imply a threat per se, but the way
that the last word was uttered (if it was possible to be even more
unsettling than the way he usually spoke) made it quite clear that
\emph{inconvenienced} was somthing that Matroska did not like to be,
and being the one who imposed any such \emph{inconvenence} on him
would almost certainly ruin your day in ways you would do best to not
to try and imagine.

Danes cleared his throat yet again.  He didn't like the way talking
with this man-mountain disturbed him.  Usually he was cool in pretty
much all situations and he considered himself reasonably eloquent and
persuasive, but there was just something about this man which shook
even the most steadfast of wills.  ``Indeed, be assured that I am not
willing to endure those consequences and neither would I \emph{dream}
(Matroska seemed oblivious to the slightly sarcastic tone used here)
of causing you any \emph{inconvenience},'' Matroska's expression
remained unchanged, ``I simply wanted to make sure that \emph{you}
were aware of my situation''.

``I am aware, of everything,'' and with that Matroska did something
Danes had never though he would see, he smiled.  Well, a smile perhaps
is not the right word for it.  It wasn't quite a smile in the sense of
the word as we know it.  The corners of Matroska's mouth curled up
ever so slightly and as he delivered the last word the intensity of
his glare increased (if such a thing were possible) and for a moment
Danes felt displaced, like he was being drawn into the black-hole
gaze.  It lasted only a split-second and then the face was back to its
same expressionless mask.

Danes gave up.  It was clear that he would get nothing more from
Matroska today, if ever.  He sighed.  It seemed like he was doing that
a lot lately.  He resolved to stop lest it turn him into an emo, a
fate worse than death in his eyes!

``Very well then.  If there's anything you require, just ask,'' said
Danes and stood up from the bed.  Matroska gave the slightest nod from
his head before turning to his laptop and presumably continuing with
whatever arcana he was engaged in.  Danes left the small cabin and
closed the door carefully behind him.  He continued up on deck to get
some fresh air, passing the galley on the way he made sure to retrieve
the fortified coffee Frank had made for him earlier.  FSM knew he
needed it!  As he emerged he looked up.  The black sky was pin-pricked
with thousands of gleaming stars shining down their light on him.  Now
that they were further away from the coast and its light pollution he
could see them in all their majesty.  This sight never failed to calm
him, and FSM knows he needed it!  Four days to Grand Cayman, maybe a
bit less.  Better enjoy the peace while it lasts he thought...