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that I turned to Shira and asked, “You said they are sealed in; will we have to blast through the rock, then?”
    “No,” she said. “I know a way in. I used to hide down there when he was really angry.”
    “Well, it’s in Phareon space, but there’s no record of any claim on it,” said Crivreen.
    “Then it’s ours,” replied Felix. “Let’s go before someone else thinks of it.”
    “All right, then; lay in a course and let’s get this done,” I said. I could tell that Ragnar was still a bit uncomfortable, but in this case I agreed with Felix; it was ours by right of salvage.
    “We need to stop for some supplies first. Our fresh water and food stores are running low,” said Crivreen.
    “What would it take to start up those gardens we have?” asked Ragnar.
    “The hydroponics? I believe they work but have never been used,” I said.
    “Yeah,” said Crivreen. “I looked them over a while back. I think they are fully functional, and it would be good to get them going. Not only would they provide food, but they would help the air scrubbers.”
    “What would it take to get them going?” I asked.
    Crivreen scrolled through a list on his terminal. “With regards to materials we need some seeds, seedlings, organic compost and a few other things, but none of that should be an issue. The real problem, of course, is that we need someone to tend to them. They will need regular care and maintenance.”
    “I could do it,” said Shira, “if someone shows me how.”
    I looked at Crivreen who shrugged, then I said, “I’ll take you back there. I’m sure that there are manuals in the database. We can figure it out as we go.”
    “Okay, so we head to Zenfar for supplies, then over to Siden?” asked Felix.
    “Yes,” I said.
    Felix went to the bridge to set the course and I led Shira back to the hydroponics bay. The bay was filled with empty racks and silent equipment. When Narcion was alone on this ship there had been no need for it, so I was pretty sure the equipment had never been used.
    “Wow,” said Shira. “It looks far more complex than I expected.”
    I was about to say something to let her back out, but then I remembered that the most important thing for a former slave was to find their own identity. This would be the perfect time for her to grow. “We can stop over in Zenfar for a few days and see about training you or getting someone from the station to help get this thing fired up, if you want.”
    “No, I’ll figure it out. How long till we get to Zenfar?” she asked.
    “At least a week,” I said. “Once Felix has the course laid in, we will be able to work out our arrival date.”
    She looked around the room, stiffened her shoulders and said, “I will have this ready in time.”
    “Well, let’s fire up these terminals and make sure you have all the access you need.” I poked around for a while but couldn’t figure it out, so I contacted Crivreen on the comm.
    “You need to add ‘Garden Master’ to her profile,” he said.
    “Garden Master?” I asked.
    “Yep,” he said. “Whoever set it up named the security profile for hydroponics ‘Garden Master’.”
    “Okay, thanks,” I said as I added the role to her profile and then turned to Shira. “Congratulations, Garden Master.”
    Her eyes seemed to expand to fill her face as she quietly whispered, “Garden Master.”
    “Looks like there’s a ton of information in here; do you want help to go through it?”
    She shook her head, walked over to the terminal and started paging through the information. “I have this.”
    “Well, just call if you need anything,” I said and left her to work. On my way out I could hear her saying, “Shira, Garden Master,” quietly to herself.

Chapter Five
    “Zah’rak, we are cleared to dock,” said Felix.
    “Great. Once we’re docked you and Crivreen head over and get whatever supplies the ship needs, and Shira and I will look for what we require for the hydroponics,” I