‘But you were OK when your partner left, you did not love her.’ ‘Yes, probably true. But she was company and the sex was good although apparentl... not good enough for her.’ ‘She was already cheating on you.’ ‘Yes, but she told me we were a couple.’ ‘But you did not believe her.’ ‘No.’ That conservation seemed to have shaken a gloom off her and her smile turned from polite to real. After we ate in silence for a while I said, ‘I love this.’ ‘Me too.’ I nodded as we finished our food and drank our. He also expressed relief that they were just slaves, because otherwise it could have led to weeks or months of paperwork, legal filings and possible lawsuits.The doctor showed up half an hour later and, after examining the readouts, agreed that they seemed to be in good health, commenting that they could stay in the pods for another 20 or so years if need be. Dan thanked him and said that removing them today would be preferable.Eventually, things were smoothed out. In fact, the lawyer commented. ” “Can’t you just say boyfriend?” “Don’t be old fashioned! So will it help?” I sighed. “I can’t use the information unless I can confirm it. That’s a condition for me to get paid for this.” She looked crestfallen. “But… But he’s sooo big, he’d win you that fucking article for sure.” “Well if he’s yours, it can’t be helped.” I lied… “I guess the 10,000 dollar finder’s fee that I’m gonna give whoever hooks me the biggest bad boy will have to go to someone else.” That made her bite her lip, and. ”“It’s true,” she said, waving her half-empty glass to punctuate her statement. “Don’t judge the colony based on beauty shots of the domes, I have larger quarters on the carrier than I did back home. I’ll always resent that my ancestors never claimed a planet during the great expansion, they thought their little slice of Mars was so desirable, but now look at us. Did you know that the damned Amish have an entire planet to themselves, and we don’t?”“So I’ve heard.”Runt watched them drink as he.