“That wasn’t so bad”, Aldous commented, wiping his hands on a rag as they walked toward the town.

“How would I know?” Loomie asked archly. “All I did was hand you the tools”.

“Yeah, but you handed me the right tools”.

In the mid-afternoon heat they walked back toward the main part of town from the supply building where Aldous had just finished fixing a broken loader for the port control authority.

The foreman had paid them in Alliance script for their efforts which they had counted and split between them. As they walked away from the tower Loomie re-counted her half. “Anyway”, she mused, “I think we have enough for a decent place to stay, now”.

Aldous looked around him. “I don’t think this place has too many decent places to stay”, he mused out loud. “Better put that away, anyway”, he surmised, pointing at the wad of paper bills his sister held in her hand.

Loomie stuffed the bills into a secret pocket in her pants as Aldous did the same. They walked on, talking about where to look for food and lodgings. As they came to the other side of the square, two men walked up beside them. “I heard you two talking”, one of them began. “Sounds like you two are looking for work”.

“Depends on who’s asking”, Aldous began evenly as he and Loomie stopped.

“We’re kinda particular”, Loomie added.

“Well”, the stranger continued, “we got a couple of things lined up you two just might fit right into”.

Aldous grew suspicious as he heard two more men coming up behind them. “And what might that be?”

“Oh”, he started, tracing one finger up Loomie’s arm, “let’s just say it don’t need no special training”.

Two more men grabbed Aldous from behind as the first two pinned Loomie’s arms behind her. Loomie squealed, stomped one foot on one attacker’s foot, then immediately stomped the other on the second man’s foot. Both men screamed in pain and released Loomie as they reached for their damaged appendages. Aldous was not so generous: he brought one foot up and mule-kicked one man in the knee, then repeated th