As Patrice finished relating the story of Orville for the second time, Rachel leaned over to look at Dex, whose eyes were cast to the ground. He was sure she was about to ku jue xue guan—they already had too many enemies as it was, and the last thing in the 'Verse Artemis needed was trouble on a simple, legal job like this one. As she stepped up to him, Dex braced himself. "'S gettin' late. Why don't you n' Saul stay here tonight and keep an eye. Tomorrow we can figure out what to do." Dex glanced up hesitantly. She didn't look angry, not like the fiery tong tian shi she usually was during her bad moods, at least, but she certainly didn't look like herself. "Rach, what's wrong? If you can't tell me, who can you tell?" Rachel brushed past him, swinging the door open, Mona and Mariah following some distance behind. "See you tomorrow morning." Dex sighed as Mariah shot him a sympathetic glance and followed Rachel. Long night ahead… "Check." Leo let out a low whistle as he moved his king out of the path of Daphne's bishop. He'd always considered himself a master, but the Companion was starting to wear him down. Her outfit did little to help his concentration. He cleared his throat and refocused on the board. "Thank you for playing. I think my uncle was starting to get tired of chess." "Oh, anything to make our new guests more comfortable." He felt Daphne's foot slide against his trouser leg, and he shifted uncomfortably. "I, uh…I'm surprised you're still here. I thought you…I thought you'd have a client." Daphne leaned back in the lounge's padded chair. "On Athens, are you kidding? Most of the nong fu here couldn't even spell Companion." Leo chuckled. It was true—Athens had been devastated during the war. There was really nothing left but subsistence farmers and contractors salvaging scrap from the bombed-out cities. "I'll just have to fu mo wo de ji zhen zhu." Leo coughed awkwardly as she looked up at him. He might not have been on the frontier long, but that didn't seem like the kind of thing that people talked about in polite company, even this far out. "You're not…really the typical sort of Companion, are you?" "Oh, you noticed?" She leaned forward again, squeezing her arms tightly to her sides. "I always thought those ceremonies and ling bu bi yao zu li were ridiculous. I mean, heaven forbid I should do my job because I like it…" Leo picked up his knight. "Is that why you left Bernadette?" The Companion bent back from the table. "Well, you know why I'm all the way out here. I think it's only fair." Daphne smiled sumptuously and leaned back over the board, elbows up, dislodging a few of her own pieces. "If it's that important to you, we could always talk about it after." She had leaned across the table almost far enough to do whatever it was she was planning to do when the clatter of boots echoed into the lounge from the cargo bay. Leo was up first—Daphne sighed softly and followed him. "Rachel. Good to see you back." She nodded dismissively as she, Mona, and Mariah entered the cargo bay. "Hi Leo! I really wish you'd been with us in town today." Leo smiled lightly at Mona, nodded, and turned back to the captain. Mona smiled hopefully, then, gradually fading, sank backward, up the stairs to the bridge. "How did things go today? Do we have a cargo? Is something wrong, I thought you planned to be back before now?" Rachel sighed as Leo wedged himself in front of her. "Tai yi wen shi bi kang, doc, this really ain't the time. Just mind your own business." Leo squinted and tightened his lips. "I'm sorry, I thought as ship's doctor it was my business. Or maybe I don't really count as crew, seeing as I wasn't even asked if I needed to go into town this morning." Rachel glared. "Right, I'm sure you had some pressing cocktail party or board meeting at one of the farmhouses." "I'm trying to be useful to this crew, Rachel. Forgive me if I wasn't born in the ni chen…" Rachel pushed past the doctor with a grimace. "You want to be useful? Stay the hell out o' everyone's way 'til things get desperate enough we call you." Leo was about to respond, when Daphne's hand fell on his shoulder. "Why don't we go finish our game?" Leo smiled bitterly. "Yes, why don't we." As they walked off, Leo slipped his arm around the Companion's waist. Rachel watched them go, with a short, burning glance at Leo's black sleeve cinched around Daphne's blue silk. Mariah noticed the look in the captain's eyes and smiled. She'd thought as much. Rachel turned to the dilettante and glared. "What?" Mariah backed off, hands up in submission. "Nothing." Rachel shook her head and muttered as she walked toward the stairs. "Chuan chong man biao zi ruo tong…" Mariah shook her head ruefully as the rest of the crew and passengers stormed off. Long night ahead… "You gonna sleep at all tonight?" Saul shrugged. "Figure I might as well keep watch, case Stoltz tries somethin'." Dex nodded. "How 'bout you?" The mechanic let the screen door slip shut. "These folks are nice and all, but their parlor furniture ain't exactly conducive to a good night's rest." Saul chuckled and nodded as Dex took the other rocking chair. The cook offered him the steel flask nestled in his hand. Dex shook his head. "I ain't the whiskey type." "Mei wen ti. It's bourbon." Dex chuckled and waved the liquor off. Saul shrugged and took a swig. There were a few moments of relative silence, broken only by the crickets and the gentle creak of the windmill, before Dex turned to the cook. "Look, back in town…I'm real sorry I, you know…jumped in without thinking and almost got you killed." Saul shrugged. "Not like it was the first time." "Ci fo, anyone ever tell you it's real hard to 'pologize to you?" Saul let a slight smile crack his face. "Don't worry about it. Daily gunplay's part of the job description." He took another drink. "Prob'ly woulda done the same thing in your place, anyways. 'Magine you had a good enough reason." Dex shrugged. "Yeah, I did." He leaned back on the rocking chair, taking in the smell of farmland, hay and tanned leather—it took him back, unwittingly, to the first nineteen years of his life, to the ranch…he sighed. "You wanna know what that reason was, Saul?" "Not really." "Oh. All righty. You sure?" "Yeah." "Right."