Smells of cooking wafted out of the open hatch. Beryn and Darus walked tiredly towards the ship. The heat was draining and they both had armloads of boxes containing parts. They'd arranged delivery for the heaviest but those wouldn't arrive until morning. Evening light poured sideways across the port.
"I hope Dace has that coupling unit pulled," Beryn said as they walked up the boarding ramp and into the ship.
"She will," Darus answered.
Jasyn stirred a pot on the stove. Clark talked with Louie in his nursery. Twyla and Ginni were in the cockpit, surrounded by wires and stripped control panels.
"Smells good," Beryn told Jasyn as they lugged the parts past her and down to the engine room.
"She hasn't touched the coupling mount," Darus said, frowning. There was no sign of anyone in the engine room. The engine was as they had left it earlier when they went to fetch parts.
Beryn put his stack of boxes down and turned to Darus. "She did say she was coming right back, didn't she?"
"Maybe she's in her cabin," Darus said.
"Where's Dace?" Jasyn asked when they came back up to the lounge.
"She isn't here?" Darus asked back. "She said she was going to strip out the coupling unit. She said she was coming straight back here. That was hours ago."
"She didn't come back," Jasyn said. She moved the pot off the stove, placing it on the table.
"Then where is she?" Beryn asked. "We could go out and look for her."
Jasyn shook her head. "Maybe she just needed time by herself. We have been hounding her a lot lately. I'm sure she'll be back before long."
"That doesn't sound like her," Beryn said. "It took major convincing to get her to come with us this morning."
"And a promise that we were just going to find parts," Darus put in. "She made us promise we'd come right back. She was a bit jumpy."
Jasyn sat in a chair with a sigh. "We could check the local police bulletins. She promised she was through getting in trouble." She spread her hands on the tabletop. "I don't know her anymore," she said quietly.
"I'm not sure any of us do," Darus said.
"So what are we going to do?" Beryn asked. "We can't do more on the engine until we get the coupling unit replaced and Dace has that."
"Maybe we'd better go looking for her," Jasyn said.
"Dace didn't come back?" Clark said as he joined them. He handed Louie to Jasyn. "I'll try paging her." He went into the cockpit. "Does the com still work?" he asked Ginni.
"It should," Ginni answered. "We're checking circuits on the engines. I did the com board two days ago." She leaned around him to look into the lounge of the ship. "Is something wrong?"
Clark shrugged. "We don't know yet. Dace didn't come back this afternoon."
"She didn't fit in here anymore," Twyla said. "She wasn't happy."
Ginni glared at Twyla. "Don't say that. This is her home and she knows it. This is where she belongs."
"Then why isn't she here? Why didn't she come back with Beryn and Darus?" Twyla shifted a pile of wires to the empty chair.
Clark was at the com, keying in the code for the com unit Dace should have been carrying.
"Something's happened to her," Ginni said.
"When hasn't something happened to her?" Twyla said. "She brings trouble everywhere she goes."
"Not deliberately," Ginni said. "And if she hadn't gotten into trouble over me, if she'd done what she should have done, I wouldn't be here."
"I've got a signal," Clark called to the others in the lounge. "It's receiving."
"What are we going to do this time?" Twyla asked, loud enough they could all hear.
"You can leave if you want," Jasyn said tiredly. She had Louie in his chair. He was busy smearing food across the table.
"I didn't mean it that way," Twyla said.
"Then what did you mean?" Jasyn answered.
"Maybe she was picked up by a Patrol enlistment crew," Beryn said. "I've heard rumors."
"If she was, they'll id her and either lock her up or escort her back here. I doubt they want her," Clark said. He flipped a switch and pushed more buttons. "Finally, an answer," he said. "Dace?"
There was a burst of static. Everyone watched Clark, waiting, except for Darus. He came up from the engine room and crossed the lounge into the cockpit. He put a com unit on the panel next to Clark.
"She left it with the tools," he said. "She either forgot it or thought she wouldn't need it."
"Or she's telling us she left on purpose," Twyla said.
Clark shook his head. "She had panic attacks when she left the ship. I'm surprised she went shopping with you," he added to Darus.
"So what do we do?" Ginni asked.
"Eat dinner, first, before it's cold," Jasyn answered.
"I'll see what I can find," Clark said. "Tireo doesn't have much of a datanet. It's rundown and neglected." He started typing on the computer.
Jasyn set aside a plate for Clark. The meal was strained. The empty chair where Dace usually sat was too prominent, too hard to ignore. Louie was the only one who talked, babbling happily and drawing in the smears of food across the table.
"At least he isn't throwing it anymore," Twyla said as they finished up. "Jasyn, I'm sorry for what I said. I'm worried about her, too."
"We'll find her," Ginni said.
"We'll give her until morning," Jasyn said. "And then we'll take the port apart looking for her." She picked up her squirming, food-covered son and went into the nursery.
Darus and Beryn went back into the engine room after the meal. The sound of the engine coupling being dismantled echoed through the ship. Ginni went back to the wiring and control panels. Twyla looked at the dirty dishes on the table and sighed. She did the dishes without further complaint. Clark stayed at the computer, typing strings of code as fast as he could.
Jasyn brought Louie back out after he was clean. She put him on the floor with his toys. "Any luck?" she called to Clark.
"Nothing," Clark said. "No police reports of anything that might possibly be connected to her. Nothing in the news about an accident, either. The Patrol presence here consists of a message office, so nothing there."
"No ransom demands?" Jasyn sat on the floor and shoved blocks with Louie. He giggled and got to his feet.
"Adaba," he announced as he toddled towards the cockpit. "Dada," he said and patted Clark's leg.
Clark ruffled his hair. Louie smiled and rested his head on Clark's leg. Clark picked him up and settled him on his lap.
"If someone is holding her for ransom, I'm sure we'll hear about it soon enough," Clark said as he set the com to standby, erasing his illegal search as he did so.
"She still has enemies," Ginni said.
"Don't remind me," Jasyn said, pulling a face. "Although I thought Lowell took care of the crime syndicates. After Xqtl, none of them would dare touch her."
"Lowell doesn't have the resources to keep her safe anymore," Clark said.
"He's head of the Patrol, how can he not have resources?" Jasyn asked.
Clark shook his head. "The crime syndicates are still active, more so than ever. From what I could find out, they're behind the move to topple the Empire. Lowell hasn't stopped them."
"Dace uncovered the leaders," Ginni protested. "That's why she was on Shangrila. That's what her engagement to Vance was really all about."
Clark shook his head. "Not the real leaders. She was a diversion. I think she realized that. She told me about Scholar being with her on Linas-Drias. He was the real threat."
"Tireo doesn't have much of a Gypsy presence, either," Jasyn said. "Tell me why we came here instead of somewhere else."
"Because if we land in the Federation, they're going to drag you back to Tebros to finish the trade regulations," Clark said. "We would have been there within a week or two anyway."
"So we hope for the best," Jasyn said, gathering up the blocks and tucking them away in a locker. "We hope Dace just decided to go for a long walk by herself." Her voice said she didn't believe it was true. "I'm going to bed."
Clark stood, Louie tucked against his shoulder. The toddler was asleep, one thumb hanging loosely from his mouth. Jasyn took him and headed for her cabin. Clark lingered in the lounge, watching her.
"Do you really think she's all right?" Ginni asked him.
He shook his head. "I don't know. But I do feel sorry for whoever kidnapped her, if someone did. They have no idea what kind of trouble they're asking for." He grinned at Ginni. "We'll get her back again."
"How many more times, Clark?" his sister, Twyla asked.
"As many as necessary," Clark answered levelly. "She's the captain and half owner."
"She's also part of our family," Ginni added, glaring fiercely at Twyla.
"We just have to convince the whole galaxy that they shouldn't mess with the Shellfinder clan," Clark said. "Then they'll leave her alone."
"It better be soon," Ginni added, her fierceness fading into wistful hoping.
Things didn't look any better the next morning. Dace's cabin was empty, her bed still made. There was no sign of her on the ship. There weren't any messages waiting for them.
"Now what?" Beryn asked over breakfast. "We can't put anything else back until we have the coupling unit."
"That's what I can't understand," Clark said. "If she was going to run away for a while, why take a big piece of the engine with her?"
"It was heavy," Beryn said. "She offered to take it back to the ship and get it ready to install while Darus and I tracked down the last few parts we needed. She said she was going right back to the ship. I should never have let her go by herself."
"Where is Darus?" Twyla asked, frowning around the table.
"He left last night," Beryn said. "He said he was going to look for her. We looked for half the night. He headed out before sunrise to keep looking."
"So he's missing now, too?" Jasyn asked.
"He checked in fifteen minutes ago," Clark said. "He's got a com and he promised to keep calling. Even if he doesn't find anything. Ginni went with him this morning."
"Mum?" Louie's voice carried out of his nursery.
Twyla stood. "Let me get him."
"We've got cargo coming today," Jasyn said. "And the rest of the supplies."
"Beryn and I will get the rest of the controls back together," Clark said. "We'll see if we can find another coupling unit."
"And you'll stay where you can answer any calls from Darus and Ginni," Jasyn said.
"Exactly," he agreed. "I'll take Louie."
Jasyn stood. "Twyla," she called. "We've got cargo and supplies."
The answer was muffled. They all heard Louie laughing over whatever Twyla said.
Jasyn turned to the hatch. She stiffened as she looked outside. The others turned their attention to the hatch, wondering what she saw outside.
"I think we're going to get answers very soon," Beryn said.
Two men entered the ship, pausing politely at the hatch. One of them was in a uniform of the local police. The other was port authority.
"We wish to speak with the captain of this ship," the policeman said, his voice curt.
"She isn't here," Jasyn answered.
"Who are you?" the man asked rudely. Jasyn's beauty didn't seem to affect him. He stared at her, nothing more than impatience in his face.
"I'm the owner," Jasyn said with an edge to her voice now. She found the man and his attitude offensive.
"Then you can pay the fine," the man said.
"What fine?" she asked.
"We have strict laws against littering," the man said pompously. "You can leave it out there," he called to someone still outside. Something landed on the boarding ramp with a loud thump.
Beryn edged past Jasyn to look. "It's the coupling unit," he said quietly when he saw the greasy box on the ramp.
"We traced the box to the store that sold it," the policeman said. "Your crew bought the part. It was found early this morning." He tore a paper off a stack he held in a snapped case. "Your fine for littering," he announced as he thrust it at Jasyn.
She barely glanced at the paper. "Where did you find the part?"
The man shrugged. "In the warehouse district. The full amount is due by tomorrow morning or there will be late penalties." He turned and marched out of the ship.
The man with port authority lingered. He glanced at them, measuring their reactions. "You can pay it in the port offices."
"Do they keep records of where they find things?" Jasyn asked, the ticket crumpled in one hand.
The man shrugged again. "If they do, they don't tell me. Is there something else?"
Jasyn looked behind her at Clark.
"One of our crew went missing yesterday afternoon," Clark said.
"I can't help you with that," the man said. "Three day waiting period is standard. Most either come back or find a new berth by then. Unless you have proof it was against her will…" He let that trail off suggestively.
Jasyn shook her head.
"It's probably nothing," Clark said.
The man waited a moment longer, studying them each in turn. He shrugged a final time then left the ship, stepping over the box on the boarding ramp.
"Well, that solved one problem," Clark said.
"What?" Jasyn demanded.
"We have the coupling unit," he answered. "Beryn and Darus can put the engine back together."
"So we can leave as soon as we find Dace," Ginni said. "I really don't like this planet."
"I don't like it, either," Jasyn agreed.