“So, you admit you threw the first punch,” Joseph Baxtor asked Henry Cook.

“I did, sir, but you didn’t hear what they said,” said Henry.

“They insulted us, did they?” asked Captain Baxtor.

“They went on about man-on-man love on the high seas. It got the marines upset, but I cooled them down and kept control of the situation. Then they insulted you,” said the engineer.

“What did they say about me?” asked the captain.

“They called you fat, a coward, and a thief,” said Henry.

“Their captain called me fat too. Maybe I do need to lose a few pounds. They don’t know my other faults if they only mentioned these,” said Joseph Baxtor.

“That’s what I said!” said the young engineer.

“And then you hit her?” asked the captain.

“No, sir,” said Henry. “Again, we turned the other cheek, just like you’ve always taught me.”

“Then why did you hit her, Henry?” asked Baxtor.

“They said such vile things about the Phoenix, sir. It makes me furious to just remember them. I couldn’t let them insult her that way. I just couldn’t,” said Henry.

With a wry smile, Joseph put his hand on the young man’s shoulder. “Your heart was in the right place, and it’s good to have pride in your ship and to love her,” he said. “The authorities here have taken Sinclair Foran and Radiance into custody and are holding them against any additional disturbances. That woman went into the bar trying to stir up trouble and you fell into her trap. You’ve made things harder for us here.”

Looking deep into the engineer’s eyes, Baxtor said, “You’re confined to your quarters until we leave port.”

* * *

Closing Sinclair Foran’s cabin door behind him, Captain Baxtor said, “It’s just me” into the darkness and moved carefully to the table, setting down the food.

A flame flared in the darkness as a lantern was turned up. Norah approached the captain and put the lantern on the table.

“I have bad news about your father,” Joseph Baxtor said. “He’s been imprisoned by the pirates who live here. They arrested him, not because he did anything wrong, but because they were angry about what someone else did and they want to put pressure on us. He’s safe and we’ll get him back. Second Captain Ward had a great idea that we’re going to try.”

Norah looked back at the captain wide-eyed and nodded. “Is he all by himself?” she asked.

“He has Radiance with him. He’s probably the man I’d choose to have with me if I had to be imprisoned somewhere,” said the captain.

* * *

Radiance and Sinclair Foran sat in the jail cell.

“Isn’t there anything you can do?” asked Sinclair.

“I am doing something. I’m organizing my thoughts on some recent ideas I’ve had about the elemental plane of water. What would you prefer I be doing?” asked Radiance.

“Could you use earth sprites to break us out of here?” asked the healer, eyeing the rusted metal bars in the small window.

“I could, then our captors would likely shoot us both dead,” said Radiance.

“Well, then what should we do?” asked Sinclair Foran.

“I’d suggest thinking about any of the recent illnesses you’ve seen that you find particularly interesting,” suggested Radiance.

* * *

Captain Baxtor walked into the bar, and a number of his marines took up position outside. Inside sat Arthur Carter, Edward Shaw, a number of shop owners, and many of the other prominent residents.

Eyeing the door, Shaw asked, “Are they there to stop us from leaving?”

“No, they’re there to keep the Onell from causing another disturbance,” said Baxtor. “This is to keep you from leaving.” A deckhand placed a small cask on the table and began pouring glasses of Mytar Whiskey and passing them out.

“You think we’re so easily bribed? With a few glasses of whiskey?” asked Carter, taking a sip from his drink.

“The whiskey isn’t a bribe. It’s a demonstration. This isn’t from my god, or government, or navy. It’s from my personal stock that I have to celebrate special occasions. You’re some of the most prominent members of your culture. How often are all of you drinking something better than watered-down beer?” asked the captain.

“With hungry children to feed, we can’t be wasting money on firewater,” said one of the women angrily.

“You make my point exactly,” responded Joseph Baxtor. “Your children are hungry, you don’t have basic health treatments available, your food choices are limited and the amounts are meager, the simple pleasures of life are denied to you. Your elemental supplies are coarse, and you lack the means to improve any of these issues.”

“And after we get paid for those elemental artifacts things are going to be better,” said Arthur Carter.

“Yes, some of these things will be a little bit better,” agreed Baxtor. “But how long before those denarii are spent and things are back to the way they are now? No matter how much you get from whatever great power purchases them from you your lives are going to continue along much the same way they’ve been going.”

“So, what are you willing to pay?” asked Carter.

“I’m suggesting you give the artifacts to the Pantheon as a gift,” said Baxtor. At this, angry muttering broke out between the assembled people. Holding up his hands, Joseph Baxtor continued “And in return, we’ll help you solve all those problems I listed earlier yourselves.”

Most of the conversation died down, with some isolated muttering. The owner of the elementalist supply shop flatly said, “Explain.”

“We’re willing to lift the embargo on New Moon and the rest of your culture. You’ll be able to trade with the Pantheon and all of our allies. Trading vessels will start visiting you here. At first, they’ll come for your denarii, but you have lands and aptitudes. Once you have goods and services for sale, they’ll be people hungry to buy them. I know two cargo ships that would love to hire you to make repairs for them.”

At this, there were a few small chuckles.

“And what do you expect for this?” asked Arthur Carter.

“The return of the elemental artifacts and no more attacks on vessels belonging to the Pantheon or our allies,” said Baxtor.

“And as soon as you’ve gotten your artifacts for free and sailed off, suddenly there’s a change of heart. No deal!” said Carter.

“You’re welcome to retain the artifacts until you’re convinced we’ve lived up to our words. If that takes a few weeks, so be it. If it takes a few months, that’s ok. If it takes a few years, we’ll keep at it until you’re convinced,” said the captain.

“And if we’re not allowed to attack any ships, what do we do when the denarii dry up, and we’re still building up these markets you’re promising us,” asked Edward Shaw.

“I didn’t say you couldn’t attack any ships. I just said you couldn’t attack Pantheon ships and our allies. We’d be delighted to have you attack all the ships you’d like from the other great powers. Personally, I’d love to hear about some attacks against Onell vessels,” said Baxtor, getting more laughs than before. “As a trading partner, we’re willing to protect you against any formal retaliation, so you’ll be able to go after bigger prizes than you may have in the past. I’ve found diplomacy goes smoother when you have a big cannon next to you.”

“In addition to all this, you’ve shown an aptitude for gathering information that the Pantheon is very interested in. If you’re able to provide us with verifiable information that’s useful to us, we’d be happy to regularly pay to keep that flowing to us.”

Looking around, Carter asked, “And to get this, all I have to do right now is not sell the elemental artifacts to the Onell?”

“Or anyone else, until you feel we’ve earned them from you,” said Baxtor.

“I think you have a deal,” said Carter.

* * *

Sailing away from New Moon Port, Captain Baxtor looked back at the two Pantheon cargo ships being repaired.

“Are you sorry to be sailing away with us, Mr. Reeves?” Captain Baxtor asked his third captain.

“A bad day at sea beats the best day on land, sir,” said Albert Reeves.

“It does indeed,” said Joseph Baxtor. “It does indeed.”