“You’ll sleep there above Stan’s bunk,” explained Bane to the new recruit. “There’s not much privacy, I’m afraid – jus’ have to get used to it.” Corren had not closed her mouth since she stepped aboard. She braced herself against the side of the bunk as the ship left the planet, whereas Bane just rocked on the balls of her feet, quite used to the motions. “Tony will speak to you before dinner ‘bout what he ‘spects from you an’ you better heed his words.” Corren nodded obediently, this was so much better than being stuck on her parents’ farm on Haven. Bane scratched one of the many scabs on her back, a result of their recent stop on Salisbury.

Now that she was away from her parents, Corren was for the most part well behaved and enthusiastic, a born spacer in fact. Ragen’s cousin had begged them in a wave to take her, as she was proving too much to handle on Haven, especially when there was so much to do. But regardless of the worrying report, Corren proved to be a hard-working and useful addition to the Rosalyn, despite her youth. She was a typical Pye in features, Earth-That-Was Eurasian, with various mixes over the centuries, dark brown hair and brown eyes. Of them all only Lee Shoo had uncharacteristically blue eyes, a trait from one of his other ancestors. Corren was apprenticed to Angel in the engine room while they were on the ship, having expressed an interest to work there, but took turns with them all when they were planet-side and doing the Eatings. The first few months were always the hardest, but she had managed to get her shipboard crushes on Tony and Stan out of her system fairly quickly, and with the minimum of embarrassment.

“Where we doin’ the Eatings next?” Corren asked enthusiastically. Tony glanced at her over his cards and placed a careful but unimaginative bet. He was not a good bluffer and Corren matched it smugly. After eight months on the Rosalyn the only person she could not beat was Stan.

“We’re headin’ t