The gunfire outside subsided. Ishikawa unwrapped the large flat package he’d brought to the Threeworld business agent’s office. “I happen to have an example of the third class of ship you mentioned. What do you think?”

The framed photograph depicted a jumpgate ship. It had a large spherical hull and three jointed, spoke-like arms. Each arm bore a Volkoff-Lorentz manifold in an oversized nacelle. The arms were canted forward to prevent the ship from being enveloped in its own wormhole, giving it an ungainly tail-first appearance.

“I think it has merit,” Shwartz allowed. “It would make a fine addition to some engineer’s den.”

“Here’s the interesting part,” Ishikawa said, pointing at a silvery blob in the corner.

Scanned, enlarged and computer-enhanced, the blob resolved to a jumpgate tender—an odd little ship. It was shaped to dock with a manifold nacelle; and it had an external cradle designed to carry a manifold.

“You’ll never get one,” Shwartz said.

“Just find me a ship that size,” urged Ishikawa.