I said, "Juan, I propose that we become partners. We can combine our stables and have three horses. I have two horses for $140 and you have one horse ...or $120. If you give me $10, we will share the three horses. The girls can decorate all three and then we will split all of the winnings 50/50 but we will have to share the decorating prize if we win. You have to pay the stable boys too, ya' know."Juan saw the benefit of diversification and labor pooling and said he would get me the $10. We shook. “What’s this for, Tony?” Lissa asked.“You knew about all this being here, Mr. Devious,” Melody chimed in.“I have a surprise for you. Now here are the rules. You can’t move away from where you are. After our first toast, you can’t turn around and look at anything else. You can’t use your hands for anything but your champagne glass. And you can’t say anything—although I’ll make an exception for general moans and sighs,” I instructed.“You’re sounding kinky,” Melody said.“Fun!” Lissa volunteered. I. I daydreamed and considered all that was going on in the Entous. The sabotage of the ship's energy systems, the murder of Winterfall, the strangeness of Tarry's collapse, all left my paranoid brain working on the events for links. I was lost in thought, looking at the crewmen's eyes as they milled around the food stations, when Merritt pulled me into a hug."Good Morning, lover!" Merritt purred, her brown eyes radiating intelligence and warmth.I kissed her as she sat next to me. "You're a bright. Name's Jericho Phoenix. I'm your new combat engineer.” He waved to them, mentally slapping himself immediately afterwards for how foolish that must have looked. “Don't mind Cormier” a female voice out of sight called to him. She entered the room, wearing a white tank-top and some digital camouflage cargo-pants, a beautiful blonde human with brown eyes and neck-long hair immediately after. “I'm Lieutenant-Commander Sascha Toly. I'm your new CO.” She shook his hand with a firm grip. “Cormier is.