Joshua typed in the code, after investigating the lock to his own satisfaction. He'd insisted, something about traps. Jessamy didn't argue with him - for all she knew, he could be right.

He pulled the door open, revealing the crates inside the old bunker. Jessamy wondered if it was some sort of leftover from the war. She wondered if Persephone even saw any fighting. With a mental shrug, she dismissed the thoughts, and started handing out crates.

Three at a time, they loaded them into the cargo bay. Once they were all aboard, Jessamy took the helm, and they left Persephone behind. Joshua and Maurice got everything tucked away in the 'mouse-holes' as Maurice insisted on calling them.

She put in the course for Niobe, and set the Oberon on autopilot. Niobe was a good week away. Small planet, one major metropolis and several small outlying communities. The major city was still fairly small, and that was where the contact was to be met. When they arrived in orbit, the nav computer would alert her, or Obi, and she would manually land the ship.

The evening meal was nice, another meal where she laughed as much as she ate, listening to Maurice and Joshua go back and forth, arguing and talking, and annoying each other good-naturedly. She laughed at the way the two teased each other, and to her surprise, Obi spoke up several times.

That night, she slept well, and dreamed about the Man Who Smiled. When she woke up, her head ached, and she couldn't remember what she'd dreamed. She got up, got dressed, and grabbed her brush on her way out. When she reached the hall above her cabin, she started brushing her hair, and turned left toward the cockpit.

She pulled the brush through her tangled black cherry curls, until it lay shiny and smooth over her shoulders. Her eyes roved over the readouts, pleased to see they would be arriving very soon. She dropped the brush down into her cabin as she passed, and went into the common area.

Maurice had a pot of coffee on,