As Rachel and Dex slid the first crate into the oblong smuggling compartment near the stairs, Saul cracked open the other box and ran his fingers across the barrel of one of the sleek weapons. Unprofessional as it might have been, he finally couldn't resist lifting one of the rifles out, just to test its balance and feel its weight in his hands. As she looked up from the compartment, Rachel smiled in spite of herself and nudged Dex. He grinned. "Should we leave you two alone?" Saul remembered himself and, with an embarrassed grunt, lowered the gun to his waist. "Think the buyer'd let me keep one o' these?" Rachel shrugged. "Not on your salary." Saul nodded, then glanced down at the gun longingly. "Can I have a raise?" Rachel smiled. His first few months had been awkward, but Saul was finally starting to fit in. He even lifted weights with Dex during their downtime. "Wo men jiang chou. Just get it stowed. I'd rather not have to…" Rachel heard a tap at the door frame behind her and cursed under her breath. Too late. Sir Anderson straightened out his coat as he stopped dead in the door between the lounge and the cargo bay, Leo trying in vain to get out from behind him. "I apologize, Captain, I don't mean to interrupt, I was just wondering…" He stopped wondering. Despite Dex's attempts to sidle between it and Sir Anderson, it was clear he could see the pentagonal hole in the wall, to say nothing of the terribly expensive-looking weapon the cook was holding. His face twisted into a knowing scowl. "I didn't realize we were taking on cargo at Persephone." Rachel cleared her throat. "Sir, I…I realize what this must look like, but—" "Oh, really, Captain? And what exactly does it look like?" Leo tried to restrain his uncle with a look and a touch on the shoulder, but the old man jerked free of his nephew's hand and strided into the cargo bay. "Because to me it looks like my understanding that this was a legitimate transport vessel was less than accurate." Rachel sighed. This was exactly what she did not need. "Look, your Lordship, I understand your position, I do, but—" "I really don't think that you do, Captain. I am a loyal citizen of the Alliance. More importantly, I already have the largest crime family on Osiris hungering for my blood, and if there is one thing I do not need, it is for your unscrupulous dealings to make the federal government join them!" "Guang cai bo, they're trying to help us…" Sir Anderson waved off his nephew and stepped further into the cargo bay, the thought that he was facing down three criminals—one of whom was carrying a rather uncomfortable-looking Newtech rifle—apparently not enough to make him slink back to his bunk and mind his own business. "I am not going to endanger my life and the life of my nephew because you want to wei zhuang qing jie zhong tou ying you jin you bu bao xian!" Rachel snapped forward as Dex and Saul shot a worried glance at each other. "Let me tell you something, your highness, I will do whatever I gotta to be sure my crew gets to eat and my boat gets to stay in the air. If our survivin' the only way we got offends your He Xin sensibilities, you may as well start packin', so's you can get the hell off my boat the second we touch air. And, by the way, if we were really the hardened criminals you seem to reckon, woulda shot you th' second you stepped into this cargo bay." "All right, we got a course all locked in for Gloria Station, should be there in about…" Mona stopped halfway down the stairs and glanced around the cargo bay floor, at Sir Anderson and Captain Wu glaring at each other while Dex, Leo, and Saul shot each other nervous glances. She smiled painfully as they all finally looked up at her. "…I'll just…come back later, then." As Mona retreated back toward the cockpit, Rachel spun back toward her crew. "Get the other crate put away." She whirled on Sir Anderson. "I'll understand if you want to spend the rest of your stay here in your room." She shoved past him, up the stairs toward the bridge. Sir Anderson gestured for Leo to follow him back toward the guest quarters but, after a moment's glance in either direction, Leo broke off and took the stairs after the captain. "Captain, wait, please." Rachel turned around to meet Leo's eyes as he jogged to the top of the staircase after her. "I want to apologize for my uncle." "Man wanted to apologize, he'd do it for hisself." "He can be…stubborn. He used to be a barrister. The letter of the law…it's what he's comfortable with. Everything's black and white as far as he's concerned." Rachel nodded, then cast an eye up at the young doctor. "What about you?" Leo paused. "Those guns are illegal?" "They are, 'cept for the Feds." "Who are you selling them to?" Rachel sighed. "The kinda folks could afford two dozen Newtech laser rifles and want to use 'em." "I see." Leo's gaze dropped from Rachel's. "The rules are different out here. I don't quite know them yet." He shrugged. "I wanted adventure." Rachel shook her head. "Look, Leo…even if your uncle gets off, there's no reason you have to…" "Captain…" "Rachel." "Rachel…I'm all he has. As little as I know about life out here…he treats everywhere he goes like the Core. I owe him more than that. I mean, I'd like to…" Rachel pulled her head back. She hadn't noticed how close their faces had gotten. "I gotta get to the bridge." Leo watched her go. It was just as well. He hadn't really known what to say. As they slid the second crate into the hiding place, Saul glanced up at the door to the lounge, then straightened up and cracked his neck. "Well, I'm gonna go get started on supper." Dex squinted up at the big man. "What? It's nowhere near time for…" Saul flicked his eyes in the direction of the lounge and Dex swallowed the rest of the sentence. Saul cracked a barely-perceptible smile as he headed up the center stairs. Dex looked up and Mariah was standing in the doorway, smiling gingerly. "Hey, Mariah, it's good…how are you?" "I'm fine." She stepped into the cargo bay uneasily. After what had just transpired, he couldn't blame her. "So…smuggling?" Dex nodded. "Take it you heard all that?" "From my room. Sound really carries in here." Dex slid the wall panel back into place and stood up, pushing his wire-rim glasses back up over the tip of his nose. "'Specially when everyone's hollerin' at the top of their lungs." Mariah smiled. Dex took a deep breath. "Look, it's near five hours 'fore we hit Gloria. I mean, I don't know if, if maybe you…want to go up to the dining room and…I don't know, have a…" "Dex, could you come on up to the bridge?" The store of confidence Dex had been building up for the occasion began to funnel out toward his shoes. As he leaned over toward the comm, he tried to look at Mariah, to gauge what her reaction might have been if he'd managed to finish his sentence. Her eyes flitted up toward him, and he instead looked back down at the radio button. "Well, I…what's wrong?" Rachel bent over the side console and squinted, scarcely able to believe it herself. "We're gettin' a distress call."