Smoke billows when the pistol is fired. Thunderstrike is startled by the report and kicks some, unused to the sound, but he is a warhorse of excellent breeding and calms down quickly enough without too much trouble.

Hifestus and Jer'el, continuing their search in the hold, find a cranny up high on top of cargo. It seems to be where someone had hidden for some time. Jer'el can "taste" with his tentacles that some sweat had built up over time there. Someone definitely had a lot of will to stuff themselves up there so as not to be noticed when One-Eye came in for supplies.

"Excellent deductions," says Captain Wavebreaker. "Well, at least we know from where he was operating. Though, given the seduction possibility with One-Eyed Willy, I'm thinking it's a woman. Jer'el, look at what signs you can and see if you can't track something. We'll get Korian out of the nest to help and send Skald in his place. You both track well, and he's good at sniffing things out."

Except for Hifestus and Desiria for now, all of the colonists are ordered to remain out of the passageways and in berthing. Jer'el aids Korian once he gets down ... almost like a hound and its master as Korian is on all fours.

It doesn't take long for them to give up, noting the assassin hid their bleeding and scent too well.