Gary Tobai met her at dockside. "How'd it go?"

"I need to talk to you," Ky said. "You and Quincy, anyway."

"Trouble?"

"No. My office, when you can."

"Now works for me," he said, dashing her hope that she could have

a few minutes to think up how to say it. "I'll get someone on dock

watch, and call Quincy-ten minutes?"

"Fine," Ky said. She went quickly to her quarters and tried to organize her thoughts. Quincy and Gary appeared long before she felt ready.

"So... what is it?" Quincy asked as she came in. The tone said "What have you done now, youngster, and how hard is it going to be to fix it?"

"We have a contract," Ky said.

"A contract. You mean-another contract? You do remember the

assignment is to take this ship to Lastway and scrap her..."

"Yes, I remember. But trade and profit is trade and profit. Belinta

was our only time-defined delivery. The goods for Leonora and Lastway are all spec. This is a profit run."

Quincy's mouth tightened. "How much?" Gary asked. "And what

do we have to do to get it?"

Ky explained about the Pavrati failure to deliver a prepaid order, and the Economic Development Bureau's urgent desire for

agricultural machinery before their attempt to open the Hamil Valley to farm settlements failed.

"And the profit," she said, ignoring the twitch in Gary's cheek, "is

enough-with the profit we can reasonably expect from the sale of our Lastway trade goods-to do a refit at some reasonable yard, enough to bring her up to spec." Or almost.

"Hmmmm." Quincy looked down. Ky couldn't read her expression.

"Payment or profit?" Gary asked.

"Profit," Ky said. She tensed, knowing the next question.

"So how much is the advance?"

"Well... actually... they'll pay on delivery. They paid Pavrati in

advance, and the manufacturer in advance, and they don't trust us."

"So... you're talking a spec run, and... do we have to pay for the merchandise?"

"Yes," Ky said. "But it's hard goods; if they don't cough up, we can

sell it somewhere else. And we get a residual, the rights to any insurance settlement."

Quincy let out a stifled sound and buried her face in her hands.

"What?" Ky said. "It's not that bad an idea..."

Quincy looked up; tears rolled down her face, and her shoulders

shook. She was laughing, Ky realized, laughing so hard she couldn't

speak.

Gary, when she glanced at him, was grinning. "Ky, Ky, Ky. We wondered how long it would take."

"How long what would take?"

"You. So prim, so proper, so very earnest-" He chuckled, and shook his head. "I knew it wouldn't last. It never does."

Ky felt her neck going hot. They were treating her like a child, and

"You're so Vatta, is what he means," Quincy said, through the laughter she was trying to control. "Trade and profit, right? If

there's an angle-and then it is your first ship." She shook her head, still laughing.

"The thing is," Gary said, "there was no way you were going to take

this ship off to scrap if you could help it. I'll bet you that you'd been wondering if you could possibly earn enough for a refit before you ever got aboard."

"Not... exactly," Ky said. They were both grinning now, not sarcastic grins, but genuine glee. "You knew," she said. "You knew all along... did my father know?" Gaspard must have known, she realized. He must have assumed that any Vatta would find a way to save a ship from scrap.

"He knows you," Quincy said. "I don't suppose he knew about the

Pavrati nondelivery, no, but he knew you."

"I think Ted got it," Gary said to Quincy.

"Depends on how we set the time," Quincy said. "From the time she

made the contract, or from telling us?"

"Now what are you talking about? Ted got what?" Ky asked.

"The ship's pool," Quincy said. "Actually we had two, one for you

taking a contract, and one for you figuring out a different way to

make a profit."

"I don't know whether to laugh or cry," Ky said. She had not even imagined a ship's pool on her performance. "You were all sure I'd try to save the ship?"

"Did anyone pick no?" Gary asked Quincy.

"I don't think so," Quincy said. "I'd have to look at all the entries so far."

"Just what did you expect me to come up with?"

"Who could guess?" Quincy said with a shrug. "First-run captains

have done all sorts of things. There've even been a few who followed exactly the line they'd been given, but most of those end up working for someone else. Now-let's take a look at this contract you signed. Spec, and we have to buy the goods up front?"

"Yes."

"Could be worse," Gary said. "You've got a letter of credit from the family, I suppose?"

"Yes," Ky said. "It's on Crown & Spears at Lastway, but that

should be negotiable elsewhere, but we also have the payment on

delivery for the cargo we brought in. That's actually Vatta Transport, money, though. I'd rather not use it."

"Quite right," Gary said.