The day prior to his scheduled visit of DeMuer Exports" latest seaborne investment, Governor Simon reached the Outback at sunrise. Parking his Jeep, Matt began to walk toward Dockside just as the first rays of the sun glinted off the glass windowpanes of nearby buildings and cast a red-orange glow onto the street below.

As he traveled, Matt inhaled deeply; the crisp clean air, freshened by light overnight rain, felt good in his lungs. He enjoyed mornings like this, they enabled him to take a sliver of precious time for himself " time not filled with meetings, interviews, reports to review, pilots to train, duels to officiate, a wife and daughter to protect. Not that he hadn't asked for those things, not that (most of the time) he didn't enjoy those things. But they left room for very little else. Time alone was rare and he took advantage whenever he could.

Walking through the gates separating Dragon's Gate from Old Market, Matt paused to speak briefly with the pair of guards on both sides before continuing on. Whenever he could, Matt tried to engage those he met, citizen, guard, or otherwise in conversation, even if it equated to little more than an exchange of pleasantries. He'd found that such conversations, however brief, let him get a sense of the populace's general mood and morale. As Governor, such insight had proven vital on more than one occasion where policy decisions came into play.

Aside from bustling inside of bakeries and restaurants soon to be open for breakfast meals, the streets in Old Market were relatively quiet. The Marketplace itself was nearly deserted except for a street-cleaner busy with his trade and a pair of stray dogs playfully chasing each other around the stalls. A flock of gulls squawked overhead as he walked across the city's westernmost bridge which connected Old Market with Southgate. He paused again for a few moments when he stood over Underbridge Tower. The sun, continuing its ascent, reflected brilliantly off the water. To the west, he could see Overlord Isle where remenants of last night's rain glistened upon the bright green shoots on the Isle's numerous trees and hedges. He idly wondered if Tormay was yet awake and continued his trek across the bridge.

Following the main road, he walked past the Rhydin Museum and cut down several side-streets before emerging into Dockside. He passed by the Rose Haven Boarding House, continued to the Thompson Apartments, and finally trekked by the warehouses and onto the docks themselves.

Locating the Black Baron wasn't difficult; the ship's newness set her apart from most of the vessels gently bobbing up and down in the harbor. She'd been constructed with dark brown timber which due to a combination of fresh wood-stain and rainwater, shone with a sparkling luster that automatically attracted the eye. The whiteness of her slacked and folded sails, not yet stained by time and weather, contrasted with the wood and added to the ship's impressive stature. The bowsprit jutted forward at a proud angle, giving way to an unusually lengthy jibboom. The mainmast, foremast, and mizzen, their rigging and shrouds completely intact, rose far into the air, towering above the deck. A large gathering of bright yellow cloth completely covered the vessel's figurehead at the prow; Matt guessed that it would be revealed as part of the launching ceremony.

Despite the early hour, men scurried to and fro on the Black Baron's main deck as did their counterparts on the dock itself. One man was busy giving orders, pointing here and there, and directing the organized chaos of movement. Matt surmised that the man was likely the ship's captain or one of its officers and raised an arm in greeting upon catching the man's eye.

Remaining where he was for a few more moments, Matt grinned. He looked forward to the next day, where he'd be able to, he hoped, get a much more up close and personal look at the Black Baron. Without warning, Matt's datapad buzzed in his pocket signaling the proximity of a scheduled meeting in the Governor's Office; his personal time was nearly at an end. With a sigh, he took one final look at the Black Baron and began to retrace his steps.

The Jeep raced along the road, its power-plant thrumming happily as the landscape rushed past in a blur. The morning had, for Governor Simon, gone entirely wrong. He'd planned to have parked the Jeep at the Outback an hour ago, taken care of a few trivial items, and walked to the DeMuer Exports office, arriving, at worst, right on time.

His daughter, however, had other plans. She'd stayed awake throughout most of the night, alternating between heartbreaking whimpers and ear-piercing screaming. Matt guessed that Thia's first tooth was on the way as he could feel a rough bump along her otherwise smooth gums. The constant up-and-down from their bed had put Koy and Matt both behind schedule and a brief but terse argument, born mostly out of tired crankiness, about who would get home first and tend to the baby, delayed him further.

Unlike the previous day and despite the later hour, the sun had yet to fight through the clouds to burn away a light fog that coated the landscape in a hazy gray film. He wondered if the Black Baron's chastening would take place under the pallor of fog and drizzle or blue skies and warm sunlight. The day, he thought, could go either way.

Yawning wide as he reached the city limits, he cut back on the throttle in order to more safely navigate the city streets. Twice, he impatiently stopped to wait for small convoys of merchant-carts to cross the road and his travels were interrupted a third time by a pair of dogs, the same ones he'd seen yesterday in the Marketplace, chasing each other in and out of the street.

In order to arrive at the DeMuer building when he'd agreed, he had to drive directly there instead of dropping off the Jeep at the Outback. Trying to ignore the rumbling in his stomach (he'd skipped breakfast in his rush), Matt entered the New Haven district. The building itself wasn't too difficult to locate and the relatively early hour meant a parking spot was easily found. Exiting the vehicle, Matt yawned once more, crossed the street, and began a search for Dib Jaster Aurene.

After spending a few minutes looking over the building's exterior and the bustling hubbub all around it, Matt made his way inside and nearly bumped into a package-wielding courier making his way out with undue haste. Following posted signs to the main office, Matt patted his rumbling belly as if to assure it that food was, at some point, on its way down.

Walking through the office doorway, he briefly saw a pair of legs skittering through an adjacent doorway and an annoyed looking man watching her flee. Making his way toward the counter where the other man stood, he began to examine the office to get a better feel for the place.