She finally looked away from those stars, and her gaze settled on Jupiter. “So beautiful. Jupiter.”
“It is,” Will said. “Like you.”
Stunned, she looked at him. “Do you mean that?”
He returned her gaze. She saw only sincerity in his eyes. “Yeah.”
She smiled. “Thank you.” She looked back to the stars. “Though beauty is meaningless in this day and age. Everyone can be beautiful, thanks to technology.”
“Externally, maybe,” he told her. “But I was talking more internally.” He rested a hand on her knee. “Though I admit, sometimes I wonder…”
She looked at him, but he refused to meet her gaze. “What? What do you wonder?”
He shook his head and let his hand drop. “Nothing.” He gazed at the stars.
“No, don’t do that,” she said. “Finish what you were going to say.”
“Nah, it’s not important,” he said.
“Will…” she pressed.
“Okay, fine,” he said. “But it’s probably going to hurt. I was going to say, sometimes I wonder what you looked like, when you were completely human.”
“Oh,” she said.
“Like I told you, it would hurt,” he said.
“Actually, it didn’t,” she replied. “I often wonder that, myself. And I wonder what our relationship would have been like, if the two of us had met while I were fully human.”
He smiled. “Probably wouldn’t have worked out, considering I was a kid.”
“Probably,” she agreed.
“Plus, even if we met when I was older, I would have just invited you over, and after we did our thing, I would have never called you again,” he said. “So it’s probably for the best that things ended up the way they are.”
“Probably,” she agreed, though she wasn’t entirely convinced. “Why do you do that, anyway?”
“What, have sex with random women?” he asked. “It’s in my nature. When you install the genital attachments, you’ll understand.”
“What I mean is, why not seek out one person?” she replied. “Someone who you can have sex with again and again?”
“That’s an old-fashioned notion if I ever heard one,” he told her. “Look, let me tell you a story. There was once a young salvager who was doing fairly well for himself. He had saved up enough money to buy a transport, and he was going to start expanding his operations. But then he met this girl online, and they hung out together almost every day. After a while, he told her he loved her, and would do anything for her. She said she loved him, too, but if he could help her buy a transport, she would really, really appreciate it. So he did. With all his savings, he bought her a transport. She saddled on up in that brand-spanking new transport, waved goodbye, and he never saw her again. Lesson learned.”
Rhea regarded him uncertainly. “You made that up. You would never fall for something like that.”
He smiled. “Maybe. But you should know, you’re not the only person in the world who’s ever been naive.” He stood. “Well. I’ll leave you to your cogitating. People to see, games to play, and all that.”
She gazed up at him. “Thanks for the visit. You and Horatio… you help ground me.”
“You’re welcome,” he said, and vanished.
They weren’t harassed by any more assassins or pirates during the remainder of the journey, and the two weeks passed uneventfully for Rhea. Well, as uneventfully as playing Robot Wars against someone as good as Targon all day could be. For his part, the merchant certainly enjoyed the passage of time, and Rhea had to admit she had begun to get into the game as she got better. She and her two companions even won a few bouts, though she suspected it was because Targon let them. When she confronted him after one suspicious victory, he admitted to going easy.
“Have to make ye look good once in a while,” Targon said. “Ye are the Warden after all. It’s not good for ye to lose all the time, even if you’re dueling a world class player such as meself.”
She put her heart into every match, so much so that when they finally reached Earth orbit, Rhea had become somewhat addicted to the game.
“You know, I never thought I’d say it, but I’m actually going to miss the game,” she told Will and Horatio.
Will nodded. “I used to hate it at first, but it’s kind of grown on me.”
“It’s not even the game itself I’m going to miss most,” she continued. “But rather, that microcosm in time we spent together, with nothing else to do. A place for us to hang out during the day and be with each other. Bond. That’s what I’m going to miss most.”
“I’m sure we’ll have ample opportunity to bond in the coming days,” Will said. “You didn’t really think we were going to let you confront Veil alone, did you? Even with that Banshee thing or whatever you call it, you’re not all powerful.”
“No, I suppose not,” she said. “I won’t try to stop you from coming, if it’s what you want.”
“It is,” Will said.
She glanced at Horatio. “Does he speak for you?”
“He does,” Horatio replied. “We fight with you, Rhea. You are our Warden. And our friend.”
She frowned. “Don’t call me your Warden. To you, of all people, I’m only Rhea.”
“Whatever you say, Dude,” Will said, patting her on the shoulder.
A passenger shuttle arrived to take them to Earth, since Targon’s craft wasn’t capable of atmospheric entry.
The merchant escorted them to the exit hatch. Everyone was wearing their spacesuits, as per protocol.
“Thanks again for letting me take you to Ganymede,” Targon said.
“Are you thanking me for the voyage, or for the gaming footage I gave you?” Rhea asked.
“Both,” he said. “Everything. I hope to play Robot
