Here's a tidbit that was nearly buried in my LJ; I've always loved Simon's first appearance in the series, largely because of his spectacular specs. I thought there might as well be a drabble to explain why they never appear again.

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The bubbly engineer showed Simon to his dorm, a small, spare room with cheap paper screens. She still had that ridiculously bright smile on her face, and hovered around him even while he set his bags down and zipped the first one open loudly, a sign that he would be unpacking soon and required privacy.

"Thank you," he said firmly, wondering why she didn't leave.

"This ain't no Core hotel, but look - you got your own private head here, what fits into the wall nice and snug, an' I'm sure the Cap'n will let you hang whatever you want on the walls."

"I'm positive my stay won't be that long," he said, and he meant it. Once he got to Boros, he would see a man about forged ident cards, and then - well, what happened then didn't matter so long as he wasn't on this ship anymore, with its Alliance shipments and its nosy crew.

"What business you got in Boros? I'd never think of a tidy gent such as yourself wanderin' around that place; you better watch out, 'cause there's some dangerous folks there, fugitives and the like."

"My business is my own personal - oh dear," he had turned about as he began his retort and knocked his sunglasses off the small shelf on the bulkhead with a sweep of his elbow. The reddish glass cracked on the left side; the entire right lens fell out, with an enormous chip near the frame.

"You broke your glasses!" the mechanic exclaimed, as if he hadn't noticed already.

"I'll buy a - I can do without," Simon muttered as he stooped to scoop up the fragments.

"Aw, don't you worry 'bout that none. No one needs sunglasses in space, silly." The engineer crouched to help him. Simon wasn't irritated by her gentle crooning or the way her shoulder bumped his because he was already absorbed in berating himself.

"Look, I've made a