Jeiel didn’t return for two solarities. When he finally strolled into his room, having traveled through the ga’lif system, he breathed a sigh of relief when he spied Jenny sitting casually in the large padded chair by the window, thumbing through some Azorian tech manuals. At sight of him, she raised a happy face to his, laid aside her book, and jumped up to greet him.

“I thought you’d never return,” she told him, hurrying over to give him an affectionate hug. “I’ve missed you.”

“And I you,” Jeiel said, dropping a salutatory kiss on her cheek. “But please…I must get some rest. I haven’t slept in days.”

“Of-of course,”...