As we descended through the atmosphere we slowly turned in an arc towards the downport. The main front of the storms eased to our port side, but they seemed angrier and wilder now than they had been when we had passed the highport.

A light blinked on my console and I saw it was an information packet from the highport. The Amber warning had been raised to Red and all flights to and from the downport were cancelled. The high winds from the storm, now growing into a fully-fledged hurricane, and rain were lashing the station. The electrical storms were disrupting communication between the downport traffic control and any orbiting ships. I eased my descent and began to circle, waiting on information from the highport and clearance to either land or the suggestion to return to orbit.

Nearly an hour passed of circling and we could see the hurricane slowly moving across where the downport was. There was no communication whilst we waited and I was almost ready to head back up to orbit when my comms panel alarmed and there was a message from the surface below. The message was scrambled somewhat due to the storm's electrical interference and I needed to work on enhancing the signal.

I struggled with the signal, but eventually managed to decipher the majority of it. The signal was a tight beam from the ocean below and was from a Lisse-class Cargo Submarine, "The Snow Hill", on the western side of the hurricane. They were declaring a medical emergency as a crew member had suffered a ruptured appendix and needed immediate treatment. There was no qualified medic on board, only a steward with first aid training, and no rescue vehicles could be dispatched from the port due to the weather. The submarine was asking for any streamlined vessel in range with medical staff to help intervene.

I quickly called all of the crew to the bridge and updated them on the situation and we decided to vote on whether to help.

Everyone was in agreement that we should head down to the surface, despite the storm. Annie headed off to inform the passengers and James went to the medbay to prepare everything and get the medical kit ready. Otto dashed back to engineering to see what extra power he could divert to the manoeuvre drives to allow us to be stable within the storm.

I grabbed the helm once more, sent a quick communication back to The Snow Hill and also one up to the highport confirming our intentions, before turning the Kalitá downwards towards the edges of the spiralling storm.

#0001 — 036-1106 @ 0300 to 036-1106 @ 0430 IST Ω

Closing in on the coordinates we had been sent was driving us directly down into the darkened clouds of the storm. As we started to enter the upper trails of the circling storm I ran the sensors to give us some indication of the troubles we were up against.

The storm was bad, but probably not as bad as it could have been. The Kalitá would be able to cope with the buffeting and shearing of the winds, but trying to fly consistently in the right direction would be difficult.

Gradually, I took Kalitá down into the maelstrom, losing some of the visibility and relying on sensors as the engines began to thrum to power the grav plates and manoeuvre drive.

I quickly realised that the storm was too strong and navigating against the crosswinds and changes in pressure were too much for me and my basic pilot skills. The Kalitá's drives, damaged as they were, did not have the power or finesse to cope with both the winds and the 1.23G pull of the world below and luckily I managed to pull out in time before we lost control.

We quickly called The Snow Hill, and through the static managed to relay the information and the difficulty of the approach. The only alternative appeared to be for the submarine to make speed to the western edge of the storm and for us to meet them there, but this would take at least an hour if not longer, and the crewman's condition was getting worse.

It was Otto that pinged us from engineering to say that he could try to push more power to the drives, overcharging the plates for a short period, and maybe give us time to get there safely. If I then took my time in bringing us in and keep a steady and stable approach, we could push past the force of the wind. I gave the order for Otto to perform his magic and prepared for us to make one more attempt.

With the extra power and agility, along with the steadier approach, we managed to creep down and down, arrowing in on the location of the submarine. We poked through the bottom of the clouds and found ourselves in another whirlwind of spray and vast waves. The comms array was able to pick up The Snow Hill much easier now that we were through the cloud layer and with some more straightforward manoeuvres we found ourselves hovering above the coordinates they had set.

Below us, The Snow Hill breached the surface, the waves battering across its deck, but the vessel was far too small to try any sort of landing, even with the air/raft. There was minimal freeboard and the waves easily covered the deck in regular cycles. It had a small conning tower with radio and sensor masts where a couple of people could stand, but that was about it. The only way to get someone down there, or someone up, would be via some form of winch, which would be difficult in the wind.

The decision would have to be James' to make on whether he would be comfortable with being winched down. Otto suggested some makeshift pulley using the cargo belt loader and dangling James out of the cargo bay airlock. It would be dangerous, however. The alternative would be to try to winch the crewman up, but in his condition it wouldn't be likely for him to make it.

We hardly started to ask when James told us to just get on with it, probably before he lost his nerve, he said. There was no argument that he wouldn't be going. He already had the medikit with him and had put on extra clothes in an attempt to keep warm out there. Coming from Dentus he had plenty of experience with the water and he was not worried. At least that's what he told us.

Annie took James down to the cargo bay and from there they fashioned a harness and strapped him to the belt loader line. One of the sailors from The Snow Hill had secured himself to the platform on the conning tower and was awaiting James' landing. With a valiant salute at Otto, James made his way into the airlock and out into the wind.

The pulley worked marvels to begin with and James slowly descended towards the conning tower. Then, the wind took hold. James did hid best to compensate, but once he started moving from side to side it became easier for the wind to push him in different directions and within a few moments he was out of control.

James hit the decking with some force on one swing by, knocking the wind out of him and breaking one of his ribs as we found out later. He managed to claw on a hold, though, and steady himself, looking up to where the conning tower was. It would only be moments before another wave would strike the deck, so he had to move quickly to get to the seaman waiting for him.

With the wind and driving spray it was hard for James to stand and was only moments before he slipped. He didn't have time to grab onto a handhold before a huge wave swept across the deck and dragged him off towards the ocean.

Luckily the length of line we had prevented James being pulled down too far into the ocean. However, there was something else down there under the waves, a fish with a dolphin-like snout and sharp teeth. The sailors on Moughas called them "Oia", and they feed on the garbage tossed aside by submarines like The Snow Hill. They weren't averse to biting on larger prey, though, and as we manoeuvred to bring James up out of the water he must have looked like an easy prey.

The Oia swirled around James' legs but seemed to consider him not worth their while for the moment. The crewman on the conning tower was waving frantically, though, so there must be some danger from the fish. We needed to get James out of the water and across to the tower.

James took a very steady progress this time around, pulling himself up and out of the water and then making small adjustments and care on every swing. Time was running short for the injured crewman, but the patience and care that James took to swing himself directly onto the conning tower paid off, and the sailor stood on the platform grabbed James by his legs and secured him onto the frame of the submarine.

Within moments they released the line and we winched it back up, flailing in the wind. A quick report over the comms indicated that James was on his way into the submarine and to the crewman and that The Snow Line would dive and head westwards to the edge of the storm whilst James treated the patient. We could meet up with the submarine there in about an hour.

My timepiece told me that we had spent just under an hour since the first call from The Snow Line to getting James on board. Our hope was that this was quick enough to save the crewman.

#0002 — 036-1106 @ 0430 to 036-1106 @ 0600 IST Ω

With James safely down on the submarine I lifted the Kalitá a little and waited for Otto to let me know that the line was pulled back into the cargo bay. As soon as the light blinked for the cargo bay doors we headed carefully westward against the wind, aiming for the edge of the storm.

We kept fairly low but made sure we were out of reach of any of the reported super waves that often took hold trailing a storm. Fortunately, we did not encounter any, and for us we were through the end of the storm and at the rendezvous point with The Snow Hill in short time.

I kept an eye on the comms array and another on the sensor station for any sign of a signal from the submarine and after nearly an hour we received a transmission. The Snow Hill had dived and then set course for the rendezvous whilst James had commandeered the galley to use as an improvised surgery. From what the communications officer could tell us, James had had to act very quickly before the crewman's appendix burst and had started an emergency field surgery operation with the help of the steward. The operation was still ongoing, so we had to wait for any further information.

About another hour passed as we waited for any information. Relays from the upstation informed us that the storm had almost passed the downport, causing only superficial damage. They were tracking the storm, but had already reduced the warnings to Amber and flights were starting to take place again. The downport contacted us to see if we needed any further assistance and whether and emergency vehicle should be sent to aid.

At that point we got the message from The Snow Hill that the surgery had been successful and we all breathed sighs of relief. The suggestion from James was that we took the crewman, who's name was Oran Kesyk, with us on the Kalitá to the downport as that would be quicker than waiting for another vessel

Piloting in the relative calm now that the storm had passed was a lot easier and we were able to get down almost onto the deck-level of The Snow Hill and allow James to walk onboard, clutching his left ribs we noticed, and a pair of crew bring onboard Oran on a stretcher. The Captain of The Snow Hill followed with energetic handshakes and a joyous smile. He thanked every one of the crew and told me to look up Seadragon Transport AG at the downport who would be happy from his word to give us preferential trade.

Seadragon was a specialist in cargo transport across all of Moughas, with regular shipping from the downport to the arcology at Ash Ra Tempel, of all kinds of cargo. Exports of crystals and gems seemed to be the main source of income for the colonists, which was a fact worth knowing for our ongoing trade.

The captain did not stay too long, however, keen for us to depart and head to the downport to get Oran to the medical centre. For now, James would stay with Oran in the medbay. With a final goodbye, the captain and the crew returned to their ship and we lifted into the sky and headed towards the downport, wary of any clouds on the horizon.

#0003 — 036-1106 @ 0600 to 036-1106 @ 0900 IST Ω

The flight through the thin atmosphere eastwards towards the downport did not take too long. We were starting to get tired, though, as we had left jump fourteen hours ago and had still not landed and when we finally came close to the downport we were relieved.

Moughas' star was just rising as we got close enough to the downport to contact traffic control and we were guided in towards the station. The downport was a central circle, with arms reaching out on three sides to allow ships to dock in the clear blue waters. The water was shallow and the port was surrounded by a number of small islands interspersed with other circular buildings that could be warehouses or manufacturing facilities. The islands did not seem to have much built upon them, but there was a large communications tower on one, and another had some small building on stilts or scaffolding.

Now that the storm had passed there were a number of ships held in queues for landing and the downport was busy. However, we were pushed to the front of the queue immediately and asked to dock at one of the subsurface bays.

Our route took us right up to the central circle and then down into and under the water, almost touching the sand below, before heading into a docking bay and coming to rest on a platform propping us up almost out of the water.

A medical team was waiting and as soon as we brought the engines to a stop they requested permission to come aboard. I granted and they rushed in to take Oran. I made James follow them, however reluctantly he seemed, to get his ribs seen to.

We received notification from the Starport Authority that our berthing fees had been waived due to the unusual nature of our arrival which was a pleasant surprise so I started to power down the Kalitá and gave the go-ahead to Annie to start disembarking our passengers. A group of port workmen were already gathered to unload the passengers' cargo.

As Annie managed the departure of the passengers, Otto started linking the fuel line, which was likely just a connection to the ocean below us, and started the refuelling and processing. I connected the ship's computer the local data net (which required a small fee I noticed) and set about the process to find a broker for the cargo, perhaps one that I could compare prices with the one at Seadragon Transport that the captain of The Snow Hill had mentioned to me.

By the time I was finished the passengers had all been escorted into the starport and had gone through customs successfully and Annie was back on board. I had found another supplier, Vabillian Logistics, and had sent them a pricing request for their goods and for our cargo.

I didn't look as though they were interested in buying the starship components, nor the pneumatics but I asked about prices for the engine components.

I felt I had a good price, but I held onto the sale, though, until I had time to talk to the representatives of Seadragon. That would have to wait until the morning as we were all tired and needed some sleep.

#0004 — 036-1106 @ 0900 to 036-1106 @ 1400 IST Ω

My alarm woke me up the next day from a long and deep sleep. Today I would need to get all of the Kalitá finances in order as the mortgage payments and monthly salaries were due, but first I had to arrange a visit to the Seadragon broker. It was night at Moughas Down and would be for another sixteen or so hours, the rotation of just under thirty-six hours for the planet made the days and nights very long. However, most facilities in the port ran under Imperial time. I made the call and the Seadragon representative would see me at 1000 IST.

I left the crew to their own devices and headed out of the docking bay and up into the main circle of the port. At the customs point into the concourse I was checked and allowed through with no delay and it wasn't long before I was outside the Seadragon Transport AG offices. They were not flash or imposing, just simple and practical, and they reminded me a little of the brokerage on Kinorb that I had spent most of my working life at, yet seemed so far away and so long ago already.

Heading in, I introduced myself to the receptionist who led me straightaway to an office where Ahren Belmont, the broker I had spoken to earlier. I informed Ahren of my cargo and we started to work out an agreement between us.

Fortunately, and a lesson to be learned on my onward voyages, Seadragon were interested in all of the cargo that we had and we sat down to thrash out some prices.

With the goodwill of Seadragon we agreed on some very good prices, and I immediately accepted, noting that I would need to contact Vabillian Logistics and inform them that I would not be taking their offer. Ahren asked if there was anything I would like to purchase to take on to my next destination, but I replied that there were a few things we needed to get arranged for the Kalitá before we loaded any further cargo. I thanked him, and let him know that I would return soon, before leaving the office.

From the office I wandered along the concourse, bustling with activity already of all types of people. Workers from the port, visitors and passengers, and merchants and businessmen alike. The general hubbub that echoed around the central dome was comforting in many ways and I stopped for a tea at a small booth to watch the world go by.

Once I had finished my tea I headed towards the branch of Zirunkariish^[3] to pay my first mortgage payment. The teller at the bank was extremely helpful and the monies were taken from the escrow account in the Kalitá's transponder. The mortgage process was new to me in many ways, but paying just short of one hundred thousand credits brought it into sharp reality.

There was still a handsome amount of credits in the Kalitá account and I considered what Otto had told me about repairs. I left Zirunkariish and started heading back to the ship, calling Otto along the way. As I got back to the docking area Otto met me and we headed to one of the local shipyard offices. There, we paid for the parts and labour for a small crew to perform the monthly maintenance as well as recondition all of the life support systems for another month or so. Just those two set us back another large amount, but we were not finished there. With Otto's help we picked out a full ton of spare parts for which Otto looked very happy. He thought we would be able to fix at the very least our thrusters with this, if not more about the ship. Whilst the maintenance crew were onboard he would make a start on the thrusters and see how far he could get with the parts.

With all of that done and prepared for I headed back to the Kalitá and to my stateroom where on the ship's computer I went back through the accounts and to pay the crew's wages.

That left only one last thing to do and that was to work out the profit on the voyage so far this month so that the crew's bonuses through the profit share could be calculated. We had started on Kinorb with an investment I had poured in to the business, some Cr40,000. After our travels, expenses as a busines and the profits we had made from speculative trade, freight, passengers and others we had amassed Cr309,233. A fair amount of profit.

The bonuses were not enormous, but this was our first month of operating. I am hoping that we could increase these every single month.

With all of these payments out of the accounts we now had our new checkpointed accounts total of Cr308,845.

Now I had to go out and really start to earn my money on speculative cargo.

#0005 — 037-1106 @ 0800 to 037-1106 @ 1200 IST Ω

As a crew we had a simple lunch of the leftovers from the high passage provisions and discussed what we needed to do next. James' ribs had fully healed with the medical attention he had received from the facilities at the port and he indicated that he wanted a bit of rest and relaxation after his exploits and the chance to have a look at some of the fauna on Moughas. Otto seemed very keen to start work on the repairs and was going to start straight away after lunch — he thought it might take a few days, he was going to take his time and try to use the least amount of spare parts that he could. Annie said she would go on the hunt for passengers, but then wanted some downtime to enjoy herself for a bit. I said I would sort out some cargo and help Otto where I could.

With all of that in mind we decided to give ourselves five days on Moughas and we would aim to leave at 042-1106 at 14:00 IST. That should give us plenty of time to get things done and get some rest and enjoyment as well. I stated that our destination would be Wochiers (Spinward Marches/Regina/2207) , keeping us on the general direction to Regina. Annie nodded, and she headed out to find passengers.

Otto, meanwhile, headed straight to engineering whistling a happy tune.

As Annie headed out and James headed to his stateroom to gather a few things, I followed Otto to engineering to see if he did indeed need any help. He definitely seemed to be enjoying himself, lining some of the parts up in anticipation. He said it would be at least a day, maybe even two if he took a break. But, no, he didn't need any help. I grabbed my jacket and headed to the airlock, with the intent to go and see Seadragon once more and see what cargo they had.

Ahren was still in the office and we sat down over a cup of coffee to go through the cargo list he had presented before.

I had undertaken some research on Wochiers and understood that one of their largest exports were vast crystal lattices, grown under the high atmospheric pressure at sea level, and were used in shipbuilding. Some of their crystals were imported from Moughas, a product of the shallow oceans, volcanic vents, and warm weather of the planet. The crystals would hopefully sell well at Wochiers.

Alongside the crystals I purchased some polymers, spending most of the capital that we had left. There was still a fair amount of cargo space, though, so I enquired about any freight from Seadragon.

There was plenty to choose from, but I would need to know from Annie how many passengers we had managed to find before I could commit to fully stocking the hold. For now, though I decided to commit to enough to fill the hold minus the six tons of space we would need for a maximum number of high passengers.

With both cargo and freight organised, I needed to head back to the Kalitá to oversee the unloading and loading of all of the crates. The dashing around to get cargo and freight had paid dividends, as everything was set all in one day and I would be able to get some relaxation for myself. Back in the cabin I started to tidy round and make sure I looked up more of what Moughas had to offer to see where to spend my time.

Our cargo had been unloaded and the freight had already arrived by the time that Annie returned to the ship. She had managed to find passengers for the trip to Wochiers.

There were only four passengers that wanted high passage to Wochiers, so we would still have a small amount of room for some extra freight if Seadragon still held some. The passengers would arrive in five days, so we still had some time to order the provisions and perhaps even get more freight.

That final piece of the puzzle could wait another day, or maybe even more, though. I'm heading to bed and looking forward to some fun around Moughas tomorrow.

#0006 — 037-1106 @ 1300 to 037-1106 @ 2000 IST Ω