To whoever may be receiving this.

If you are reading this then you have just legally taken ownership of my ship, what ever ship that may be. I have, for some reason, taken leave from the vessel and until further notice you are the standing captain. As my second in command I put a lot of trust on you, and now I must ask you to take on my own responsibilities. I leave you with my "flying funds", should I have suffered my own death. This is an account that I keep for the necessities. I hope it is sufficient in getting you started as the new captain. Use this to buy food first, then ship repairs or general upkeep. I would strongly advise that you do not spend this money poorly, however that is up to you now.

If you care to read on, I will leave you with a few words of advice. Firstly, remember that your crew is like a family. Treat them well, reward them when appropriate, and be stern when needed. This isn't the military so have fun with your job, take in the sights and the experiences. Take your crew for a vacation every couple of jobs. There are fine beaches and cities to relax in all over this Universe.

Secondly, be safe. Watch your back and the back of your crew. Don't dabble in shady deals or immoral folks. Integrity goes a long way in this universe.

Thirdly mind your money. It slips away faster than you can imagine. The way i keep myself in check is making sure I have enough cash in my account to repair the most expensive piece of my ship. If I have been doing a good job you should have enough for that in the account I am passing over to you.

Lastly keep your mind clear. Have fun, as I said before this isn't a military vessel. When the work is done lay back and enjoy yourself. An uptight captain is a dangerous captain. It fuels conflict. You don't want conflict while your riding a little metal tube out in space.

Good luck, I hope my leaving was on good terms.

-Ginsrag

Devon sighed deeply, his fingers slowly scrolling down his touch display to find the information attached to the message.

"How did this happen…" He whispered to himself as he laid back on his bed. It was a short trip to their next stop, But he felt completely lost. He hadn't signed up to run this ship, he just wanted an easy pilots job. Though he couldn't deny the opportunity he had been given, but under the circumstances it hardly seemed like a gift.

He couldn't put it in his head that Ginsrag was gone. It felt as if he would be waiting for him in the pilots room a short fifteen hours from now.

~ ~ ~ ~

"Docking bay this is the Ronsar, requesting permission to land." Devon said, his finger held down on the display. He glanced to his left where Rachel usually sat, she had not left her room since last night.

"Ronsar this is docking bay, sending your coordinates now." A mans voice called back.

Devon quickly brought the map up and found his landing pad on the display, "Thank you docking bay, coordinates received." He released the com button and glanced over his shoulder still expecting to see the monstrous Marlek standing behind him. He sighed once again and selected the main com on his display, "Touching down in about two." He called into the radio.

~ ~ ~ ~

Feras wiped her brow as she stood, "Hey Karl." She called out into the room.

"Yes?" The bulky human said as he stepped out on the human balcony.

"Everything up to speed?" She asked, pulling a small brown rag from her pocket and wiping it across her face.

"Yes ma'am." He replied, "These things hardly even get hot."

"Tell me about it." She said with a nod, movement from below caught her gaze, "Farlos?" She called after the small, scaled Marlek who was making his way towards the door. He had his large duffle bag slung over his shoulder.

"Yeah?" He called over his shoulder as Feras followed him.

"Where are you going?"

The Marlek turned towards her and laughed, "I'm getting off this heap before I get a bullet of my own."

Feras blinked, "But this is easy work." She muttered to herself. She walked passed the small creature and entered the hallway. She saw another Neko making his way towards the door with his belongings. She scoffed and made her way out into the loading bay. She stared down over the railing towards the platform which was still lowered to the ground.

"Lost about half of them…" Devons voice called from behind her.

She turned to face the human who was standing on his own balcony that looked out over the landing pad, "Your kidding?"

"No." Devon said with a deep sigh, "The pirate threat has gotten everyone spooked. That and losing our captain…"

"Cowards…it's not like our ship is tagged! We have a good months worth of work left don't we?"

"At least." Devon said with a nod, "But I guess they figure work will come by quickly. I mean this moon is pretty heavily traveled."

Feras groaned, leaning on the railing, "So what are we going to do?"

"I'm still thinking on it." Devon said shaking his head, "Look why don't we round up everyone that's left tonight. We'll talk things over, Ginsrag handed over control of the ship and finances to me…we can work this out."

Feras nodded, her face unusually serious. "Yeah."

~ ~ ~ ~

Later that night the remaining crew assembled in the mess hall, all seated around the human balcony as Devon collected himself. He glanced over to Rachel who was seated alone at one of the tables. On the balcony there were four humans, and the Noras. Their medical staff remained intact, but most of the other departments had lost most of their crew. Many of the laborers had left the ship without much thought at all.

There were five Neko including Feras, and three Marlek.

"We are going to run this ship with thirteen?" Feras whispered as she leaned over the balcony.

"That's what we're going to figure out." Devon assured her. He stepped forward, clearing his throat as Feras sat down next to him. "Hey, everyone. I assume everyone here plans on staying?" He glanced around, noting no one made any comments. "Well, good…because there is really no reason to be skittish. What happened was terrible, but a one in a billion chance, we were just severely unlucky. But, I think now the only option we have is to push forward."

"Are we going to fill the empty spaces?" A Neko male spoke, he was young, perhaps in his early twenties by earth years. He had a mop of brown hair that surrounded his wide Fela ears. Ethan was his name, coincidentally sounding similar to the human name but it's roots were traced back to Teralist.

"Well um. We could try." Devon said, "It would put a dent in our schedule and there is no guarantee we would find everything we are looking for here…in good time anyway."

"Or." Feras said, folding her arms, "We could run the ship with what we have now."

"It's a big ship." A gray furred Trugon spoke up, "Can we handle it with so few?"

"It's possible." Devon picked up again, "We would need to pick up some extra responsibilities each, I would go down and help with the cargo running after landing the ship. And, if we did take this route….well we could pocket a lot more coin each."

"Oh I like that idea." Another Marlek spoke up, he was much smaller in height than the other Marlek, but he was bulky. There was a murmur of agreement between the various crew members.

"Freddy jumped ship, but I don't think there will be any issue serving humans." Honela said with a nod.

"Great." Devon said, feeling a positive rush for the first time in days, "Our next pick up is about four days flight out. If we are all in agreement?" He glanced around the room, when no one responded he got to his feet, "Good. I'll go ahead and get us into the air…just take a moment today I guess to reflect on all that has happened. A great man was lost."

~ ~ ~ ~

Devon could not shake a nervous twinge that constantly wracked his body. He had not left his pilots station since they had taken off about ten hours ago. It was almost as if he had been cast out of a ship with a parachute without ever being trained. He vaguely knew what he had to do, but he had never even thought of running through the specifics. He had never handled a business deal on his own, he had never set up his own shipping routes. And it did not help that no one else on the ship had done this either.

The main doorway slid open, the reflection of Feras visible. "Devon?" She called out.

Devon turned towards her as she approached, "Yeah?" He called out once she was close.

She came to the railing before leaning down to his level and sighed, "So. Are you ready for this?"

Devon shrugged, "Yeah. Well I mean I hope."

"So do I." She replied.

"Look. I won't make you call me captain or anything like that-"

"Well good, I wasn't going to bring it up…but I wasn't going to regardless." She sighed again, "Look Devon we have our first impressions and there is no getting around that. But, I do respect how you are handling this."

"Thanks." Devon said with a nod.

"So, let's just do our best to be on even terms, yeah?"

"Yeah." Devon said with a nod. "I'm going to need help." He admitted, "I'm just a pilot…"

"And I'm just an engineer." She said with a laugh. "Just making sure we're clear."

"I think we got it under control. I'm just worried about when our schedule runs dry. Maybe we need to hire a business consultant?"

Feras stood, leaning on her hip as she thought, "Well…they tend to come with a big paycheck."

"True." Devon replied, "I just don't have any experience with this much money or cargo…most I have bought is like a new computer."

Feras laughed, "Yeah…I'm sure we have to have someone on this ship that can do some deals." She shrugged, "Either way, I don't want some suit and tie on my ship."

"Your ship?" Devon asked with an ached brow.

Feras winked as she stepped back, "I keep my boy flying."

"Boy?" Devon asked with a gasp, "My friend this ship is most certainly a she. Aint that right girl." He said as he rubbed his hand along the console.

"Ronsar is a very masculine word. Not to mention the ship is big and bulky, and red. Three male traits…sorry bud but you've been riding inside of a male ship."

"Yeah what ever." Devon said with a laugh.

"See you around." Feras said as she started for the door.

"See ya'." Devon said, still shaking his head. He had to admit he felt a little better.