Pei stopped in front of a rack of snack packs. One in particular caught her eye: an Ensk label bellowing in red font (to her, the words appeared afraid). She understood only a smattering of Ensk – which was pathetic, given how long she’d been with Ashby – but this label she knew, thanks to an unthinkable pair of days she’d had earlier that standard. (Had that rendezvous happened this standard? Stars, but it felt like a lifetime already.)

She picked up the bag. The Original Fire Shrimp! the label read. Devastatingly Hot!

Pei picked up a second pack and headed for Ouloo’s desk.

‘Ah, Human snacks, of course,’ Ouloo said. She took a pack in her forepaw and studied it with suspicion. ‘There’s no cheese in these, right?’

Pei laughed. ‘No, I don’t think so. And they’re not for me, they’re for a friend.’

‘The one you’re visiting?’

‘Well – no, they’re not for him. But they are for someone on his crew, so I … yes, I guess I’m visiting her as well.’ Intellectually, Pei was well aware that Ashby did not live alone, but she’d been so focused on spending time with him that she hadn’t given much thought to how it would be to spend time with the rest of his crew as well. This was new territory in their relationship, for certain. ‘Sorry, where’s the …’ She looked around for the patch scanner, and found it semi-hidden beside a stack of scrib repair kits. She pushed up her wristwrap, swiped her implanted chip over the scanner, and paid for the shrimp bits.

‘Anything for yourself?’ Ouloo asked. ‘I’m not trying to be pushy, I promise, I just want to make sure you’ve got everything you need.’

‘Actually, yes, I could use something,’ Pei said. ‘Though I don’t quite know what I’m looking for.’

Ouloo was instantly attentive. She set her bun down and extended her neck with keen alertness. ‘Oh, I’m sure we can accommodate whatever it is.’

Pei paused. How to explain a feeling she wasn’t sure of herself? ‘I’m not … feeling quite right.’

Ouloo’s eyes widened. ‘Oh dear, are you sick?’ She started to get to her feet. ‘Come on, I’ve got a bot scanner over—’

‘No, I’m not sick,’ Pei said. ‘I just feel … off. Kind of sore. I was wondering if you have any painkillers? Maybe muscle rub?’

‘I have lots of things in those categories, but let’s narrow it down. Sore, like you hurt yourself?’

‘No.’ The twinge in her arm from the night before wasn’t bothering her now, and this was a different kind of discomfort entirely. ‘It’s not any one spot, and it’s mild. It’s my back and my belly and … I don’t know. Feels almost like I slept wrong.’

‘You might have, unless you’re in the habit of sleeping in your shuttle.’

‘Yeah, that’s not an issue with my kind of bed,’ Pei said.

‘Oh, right!’ Ouloo said. ‘You have those marvellous squishy things. I slept in one once, when I was young. Really ought to splash out and get one for myself one of these years. Maybe when Tupo stops eating so much. But … hmm, yes, I see your point.’ Her neck wiggled slightly as she thought. ‘Could just be stress, you know. I haven’t been sleeping well either.’

Pei wasn’t about to tell Ouloo that the current disaster hadn’t gotten under her skin. But she did have a lot on her mind, and stubborn thoughts had a sneaky way of moving themselves into your body. She was accustomed to stress settling in her shoulders, not lower down, but bodies were anything but static.

‘You know, I can sell you some muscle rub if you like, but I think I have something even better.’ Ouloo’s eyes twinkled. ‘Have you seen the bathhouse yet?’

‘Oh,’ Pei said. She dimly remembered seeing something about it on the signage out front. ‘No, I haven’t.’

Ouloo got out from behind her desk and began walking toward the door, her decision already made. ‘Not to brag, but it’s a real treat. I am sure it’ll put you right.’

Pei had intended to come away from the office with a tube of this and a jar of that to take back to her shuttle, but Ouloo’s suggestion was tempting. Pei couldn’t remember the last time she’d bathed for something other than the sake of hygiene and habit. Honestly, disappointed as she was to lose a few precious days with Ashby, if bathhouses and cakes were what being grounded on Gora meant, being stuck there certainly didn’t suck. It did sound like a treat.

She thought of Ouloo’s neighbours, and kept that thought to herself.

ROVEG

Sky full of space trash aside, it was a beautiful day. Gora’s thin atmosphere made for a strikingly crisp canvas, and the habitat dome’s dulling of this effect was minimal. Without water vapour to scatter its rays, the sunlight pierced down as cleanly as honed metal, leaving you with no illusion that it was anything but a star. And as for stars, they were out, too, despite the sun being high. The satellite debris hid most of them from view, but the boldest shone through anyway, peppering the morning with an elegant tease of night.

Were the sky not full of space trash, Roveg would’ve assumed Tupo was simply enjoying the view. The child was on one of the lawns alongside the walking path, lying in a position impossible for any species but xyr own. Tupo was belly-down in the grass, limbs flopped every which way around xyr. This included xyr neck, which was folded back over xyr spine so that xyr head was fully rested against xyr lower back, face staring upward. It was a horrid configuration, but Roveg supposed that from Tupo’s perspective, it was incredibly comfortable.