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“ I don’t like what she said to you at all,” Frank said. “That last bit sounded like a threat to me.”

“It did to me, too, but I’m kind of over it now.”

“What?”

I shrugged as I looked at him in the holoscreen. “In case you can’t tell by my damp hair and smudged makeup, I went to the spa after work, and I’m a lot more relaxed after all that, and I just don’t think I care. Much. I mean, I care, but what are they really going to do?”

“We don’t know. That’s the problem.”

“I agree with that, but we’ve found nothing so far. No real clues. Just a weird, possibly living ship and enough technology to change photos. Not great but so far, not life-threatening either.”

He sighed. “That’s true, but I haven’t listened to the day’s recordings yet, and with the parameters adjusted, I should have been able to pick up three distinct conversations this time. New information might give us something.”

“Maybe that will turn something up, and maybe it won’t. The bottom line is we’re going to have these people on the starliner for the next six weeks. And I have to be in close proximity to them. It would be easier for me if things weren’t antagonistic. You know?”

“I understand. But I think there’s more to them than anyone knows.”

“I agree. Having them in the library has put me in a tough spot, though.”

“I get that.” He frowned and glanced away.

I knew he was bothered, but the whole ordeal was taxing my mental health. “Do you want to hang out tonight? Maybe watch that movie we never got around to? You can pick. I’m fine with anything.”

That got him to smile. “I’d like that a lot. Should I come to you? I’ll bring dessert.”

He was good at that. “Yes. Date at my place after dinner.”

“I’ll see you then. Text me when you’re on your way back from the dining hall.”

“Will do.”

He rang off, and my holoscreen disappeared.

I glanced down at Harry, who was in his usual spot on the couch. “Do you think I’m wrong to stop caring about the Ohuli so much? Or do you think they’re a bigger problem than any of us realize yet?”

He lifted his head and yawned. The squirrels still played quietly on the main screen. “You’re the one who has to work in the same space as them, Mum. I’d say it’s your call. But I don’t like ’em much.”

“No? Why not?”

“They seem like they’re hiding something. Pretending to be one thing but secretly something else.”

Harry was on Frank’s side. Not that much of a surprise, really. I gave him a quick scratch. “Thanks, baby. I’m going to shower and then have dinner with the girls, but after that, Frank is coming over.”

“Is he bringing Gracie?”

“I don’t know, but I can ask him to.”

Harry settled into his bed again. “I like Gracie. She’s pretty.”

“I think you like Gracie because she’s a bird.”

“Mum, I don’t want to eat her. She’s my friend.”

I snickered as I got up. “I’m glad to hear that.”

I went into the bathroom and turned on the vapor shower. While it heated up, I got out of my clothes. I hadn’t planned on washing my hair, but it had gotten wetter than I’d intended, even though I’d tried to keep my head up while I’d done my laps.

My shower was quick. I’d had plenty of heat and steam already today. I did simple makeup, towel-dried my hair, then left it to dry the rest of the way on its own. It would be curly and a little unruly but nothing a good scarf couldn’t cure.

I put on stretch jeans and a dolman-sleeve tunic top with my black flats, then replaced my diamond studs. That was the full extent of my getting ready.

Now I was just going to sit and relax, something I didn’t get to do that much.

I went back out to the couch, and my stomach growled, reminding me I’d never eaten lunch. Dinner was only an hour and a half away, though. I ordered a yogurt from the Instachef and hoped that would tide me over.

As I sat on the couch and ate, I realized I was watching the squirrel channel. And Harry was asleep.

With a soft laugh, I changed the channel, putting on a Loessaian game show that had just been dubbed in English a few weeks ago.

It was called Pitfall and required contestants to stand on marked squares while they answered questions.

If you got the answer wrong, the square might open and drop you into a giant pillow or a vat of slime.

If you got slimed, you got to continue, but then a pile of feathers was added to the mix. There was also a round where members of the audience were able to fling eggs at the contestants.

It wasn’t a game show I’d ever want to go on, but it was mildly entertaining. I watched two and a half episodes and then it was time to go. I put the squirrels back on, then smooched the top of Harry’s head.

I sent Frank a message about bringing Gracie tonight, hit Send, and walked into the dining hall at the same time Benni did. “Hey. How’s it going?”

“Good,” she said. “I have to admit, I’m a little jealous of the rest of you.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because space dust doesn’t recognize fallow time.”

“Oh, right. That sucks.” She and Will and the other EMS, or Exterior Maintenance Specialists, took care of the solar collection panels that covered three different sections of the starliner.

There were thirty thousand panels, and she and her partner, Will, ran maintenance on Section A.

It took them four and a half days to clean their allotted ten thousand panels.

Then they had two and a half days off before they started all over.

Benni heaved out a sigh. “That’s all right. I understand we’re picking up a new FAN-approved EMS crew at our next starport. They’ll need some training on all three sections, but then they’re going into the rotation, and each crew is getting two weeks off.”

“That’s great news. What are you going to do with all of that time?”

She got a goofy grin on her face. “Will and I were thinking about taking an advance shuttle to the next starport and spending a week planetside.”

“Wow, that would be really nice.”

“Yeah, we could hike and hit the beach and do some exploring. Might be good, you know?”

“It sounds perfect for you guys.”

Vashti joined us, not in her scrubs this time. “Hey.” She looked into the dining room. “Where’s Zanya?”

“Hasn’t shown up yet,” I answered.

Vashti frowned. “She didn’t answer my text earlier either. I hope she’s all right.”

Benni looked over. “Why wouldn’t she be?”

“She had that reading today,” Vashti said. She glanced at me. “Did you see her?”

“No. I left a little after one, and she still hadn’t come in. Maybe she didn’t go.”

“Or maybe she slipped into the reading room as stealthily as she could so you wouldn’t see her,” Benni added.

“Except I was in the reading room, and I’m pretty sure I would have noticed if she’d done that.”

We moved forward in line and took trays.

Vashti and Benni were still looking at me, but Benni asked the question I knew they were both thinking. “Why were you in the reading room?”

“Because.” I sighed. “I was getting a reading. I’ll tell you all about it when we sit down.”

Didn’t take long. We got our meals—fish and chips for Benni and me, but Vashti opted for just the chips with a side salad—and went to our usual table.

There was still no sign of Zanya, something we all seemed to notice.

“Maybe,” I said, a large chip in my fingers, “she went to the spa afterwards. That’s what I did today.”

“Maybe,” Vashti said. She scanned the crowd in the dining hall, obviously looking for Zanya.

The fish and chips were good. I didn’t like to eat too much fried food, but for this I’d make an exception. We chatted a bit about our day, what we were doing tonight, that sort of thing, but by the time we were done with our meals and talking about dessert, Zanya still hadn’t shown up.

I pushed my tray away. “I might go check on her.”

Benni nodded. “I’ll go with you.”

“Me, too,” Vashti said. “My gut says something’s not right.”

With a sigh, I had to agree. “Same here. And I don’t like it one bit.”