"Ahh…ah…CHOOO!" Daphne sniffed and reeled her head back into place, hair sticking in strands to her face. "All right…has that little monster been in here?" The Companion half-stepped, half-stumbled from the shuttle doorway to the catwalk, eyes whipping around the platforms. Leo cleared the last flight of stairs and winced as another sneeze wracked Daphne's body. "Here, this one's a nasal spray. You'll have to take it twice daily, but it should help with the irritation." "That's what you said about the last three!" He shrugged. "I'm sorry, I thought dander allergies were more or less extinct on the Core. I'm not really set up to deal with this." Leo wrinkled his nose as she sneezed again. "You should think about trying to keep it out of your shuttle." The Companion grimaced and snatched the dainty bottle from the doctor's hand. "Brilliant." Mona had finally gotten her hands on the energetic kitten and was cradling it in her arms. "I'm so sorry, Miss Penn, I wish I'd know you were allergic before…" She shrugged. "Jubil's sorry too, aren't you Jubil?" The ball of fur between her arms purred. Daphne stared daggers at it. "I'll try to teach her to stay out of your shuttle," the pilot volunteered helpfully. Daphne let out another sneeze, and on the other side of the catwalk Rachel's smile widened. Saul, leaning against the bulkhead next to her, cast a sideways glance at his captain and raised an eyebrow. "You let that cat into the Longbow?" "Yeah." The cook shook his head. "You're really enjoying this, aren't you?" The captain grinned. "Yeah." Dex's eyes fluttered open as the clink of footsteps down the aft corridor grew louder. Mariah stopped on the engine room's threshold. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…" The mechanic shook his head and tried to extricate himself from the lotus position as quickly and as gracefully as possible. "No, it's fine. I was just meditatin'." Mariah smiled slightly. "I didn't think anyone but priests still did that." Dex shrugged. "I like it. Makes me feel all peaceful-like." "I guess that's precious enough when you've got a new pet running around and a registered Companion blowing her nose day and night." The mechanic laughed and narrowed his eyes. "You're Buddhist too, right?" The debutante shrugged. "My family is, but I don't practice." "Well, if you got time, why don't you come on in and I'll show you how to do it?" As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Dex blushed. He could barely manage to cough out, "Meditate. How…how to meditate." She smiled awkwardly and took a tentative step into the cramped engine room. "Right. No, I didn't think…all right." The mechanic settled back into the lotus stance and Mariah began to lower herself toward the floor. "Do I have to…?" Dex looked down at his crossed legs. "No, no, just however you feel comfortable." She nodded and sat, legs crossed under one another. "Now you just need to stop thinking." Mariah grinned. "I don't think I can do that." "Well, that's why I do it in here. Just listen to the engine. Let the sound fill you until all that defines your conscious self is subsumed by…" Dex's eyes cracked open as Mariah started giggling. "What?" She cleared her throat. "No, nothing. It's just…you sound like a guru, but you've got that Beaumonde accent…" Dex grinned. "Hey, you wanna reach the pinnacle o' spiritual existence or what?" Now she was laughing out loud. "Hey come on, this is serious. Don't make me…start reciting thousand year old riddles with no answer. I mean it, I'll riddle if I have to…" As they laughed, the two leaned closer. Soon, Dex's hand was resting on Mariah's, and their laughter died as their eyes met. Mariah cleared her throat. "So…" "Yeah, I uh…" Dex was almost grateful when the click of the intercom broke the silence. "Dex, can you come up to the bridge? We're about to hit the mining colony." The mechanic lifted himself clumsily to his feet and tapped the comm button. "Nar yan kan." Mariah lifted herself from the floor and smoothed out the edges of her skirt, nodding gratefully as Dex stepped aside to let her enter the corridor. She fell into step with the mechanic as they cleared the stairs to the bridge where the captain was standing over Mona, staring at the approaching docking struts. "So this is an asteroid, or…" The pilot smiled before turning back toward the outpost. "Dead meteor, I think. Hit a couple of the smaller rocks in the belt and just lost momentum. They build the superstructure inside so you can get at the core material easier." Dex shook his head. "Girl can give you a professional critique on a space-mine but can't remember not to leave her shoes lyin' around…" Mona swiveled her head around sharply. "Hey, sittin' right here, controllin' whether we live or die? Show a little respect, okay?" Dex held up his hands in playful surrender as the teenager turned back to the controls. "Besides, I'll pick 'em up tomorrow." "Speakin' of which, I'd like to be out of here first thing. We're just here to get that solid fuel injector took care of, right?" Dex nodded to the captain. "'Less I find somethin' else while I'm fixin' that." "Well, then, best see you don't. Every day we spend on this nowhere rock's one we ain't gettin' a job." Rachel turned and passed between Dex and Mariah, down onto the main corridor. "'Sides, the landing fees here are steep enough as it is. If this weren't the only rock in range…" "Say no more, Rach. We'll be out of here in two shakes." "Make it one and a half, xing?" All three were standing in front of the cargo bay doors now, Mariah and Dex framing the captain. "We got a hard seal, Miss Wu, and the green light from docking control. Go ahead and open 'er up." Rachel nodded to Dex, who jabbed the button to open the doors. When the ramp landed on the rocky surface of the mine interior, a round, dark, emotionless face greeted them. "Welcome to Corone Remote Mining Endeavor Bian Yuan 622. The Corone Mining Consortium extends its hopes that your stay at our facility is a pleasant one." The greeter recited his lines blankly, gaze slowly shifting from Rachel…to Mariah…and finally to the red-haired man standing by the control panel. His eyes went wide at the same time Dex's did. The prepared speech died on his lips. Dex couldn't move. The greeter shook his head slowly. "Cong lai bu zai zhi nei yi qian nian…

"You miserable son of a bitch!"