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The joke among the spacers, as Night Star told it, was that Damrok was very aptly named by the first colonists that set foot on it. They said, "Well, we finally made it to this damn rock," and that was the way that it came to be. Looking out the windows to the deep emerald green and sapphire blue of the planet in front of them made Strong Soul think more and more that Night Star was teasing her again. She couldn't imagine something as beautiful as the world that hung in the dark of space as they approached. The colors were even deeper than those of Avalon and where the planet was dark, even the lights of the cities were thinner and dimmer.

"It's beautiful," she said, still studying the image through the windows.

"It's even better when you get to land," Night Star said, grinning at her. "It might not look it, but it's got some of the better bars in any of the worlds we'll visit this trip. Something about the local vegetation and the way that it ferments makes the alcohol taste better and it rarely gives you a hangover."

"I must advise that we do not intoxicate ourselves," Stargazer muttered behind them. "There is enough danger to Keeper that intoxication would only make worse."

"Yes, yes, Stargazer," Night Star said, rolling his eyes. "We'll be good little kittens."

"You will do what you will, I trust. That has never changed," Stargazer kept his voice even and mollifying. "I only ask that you not encourage Strong Soul to accompany you."

"Be calm, Stargazer," Strong Soul said, turning in her chair to look over the shoulder rest at him. "I know what I'm doing, and you don't have to worry. I'm not going to go getting drunk with who knows how many trackers out there on that planet. Besides, I never enjoyed alcohol, anyway. James was the one that drank the mead from Father."

"We are receiving a transmission, Master Jason," Micah said over the speakers.

"On the monitor, please, Micah," he answered.

The monitor in front of him lit with the face of a stern-looking human woman. Her skin was pale and her hair was a shade of gold that Strong Soul had never seen before. It was drawn up in a tight bun, and a scowl that looked routine was plastered on her face.

"Name and destination," she demanded. Her tone was harsh.

"Mrr'tani Pride, en route to Damrok City, trade goods from Airgidbialle, Silverwell."

"Standby...Pride."

The screen blanked and Strong Soul looked across at Night Star.

"She couldn't even bring herself to say the whole thing, could she?" she asked.

"You'll find many that are like that. We've been pretty fortunate with this route to find fairly tolerant people. It was bound to happen that we'd find one that wasn't. Don't worry, though. Most of the humans on Damrok are pleasant enough. They don't have a problem with free Mrr'tani."

The screen came back on as he finished and he turned his attention back to it while Strong Soul watched, tasting his emotions in her mind. This time, the woman was gone, replaced by a jovial looking man, someone who reminded Strong Soul of the old human tale that Father used to tell when the weather was cold, about a large man with a beard and a red hat that left gifts for children.

"Mrr'tani Pride," the man said, smiling, "you're clear to land on pad five."

"Copy, pad five," Night Star repeated. "It's good to see you, Mick."

"You're a little late this time around, aren't you, Jason?"

"Had to do a little reroute this trip. Had some cargo that needed to get delivered sooner than normal. Don't worry, though, I'll make it up to you when I get down planetside. We've got some catching up to do."

"Heard you got a new right-seater, too. Gonna introduce me to her?"

"Absolutely, I'm sure she'll love you."

"Safe landings," Mick said, cutting the channel.

"See?" Night Star said. "Not everyone's horrible."

"You have friends everywhere, don't you?" Strong Soul asked.

"Better than having enemies everywhere. Friends will actually help you out if they can."

Jason sighed and settled back in the chair, watching Damrok drift closer. They were in the drift phase of their approach and it would be another hour before Micah cut in the reverse thrusters to set them into the proper orbit, and likely another couple hours after that before they were on their way to landing.

"Mick's a good guy. He doesn't care if you're free or not, he likes about anyone, and he's always treated his Mrr'tani with care. That's one of the reasons that Marcus trades with him so religiously. Marcus likes to support the masters that have a head on their shoulders for keeping their Mrr'tani in good condition."

"But he still owns them," Strong Soul pointed out.

"Yes, but so does Marcus. It's about keeping their heads down. They both try to make what difference they can without rocking the boat enough that the Allied Planets looks too hard at them. Right now, though, it's better for the good masters to own Mrr'tani, or at least lease them."

"How could that be better?" Strong Soul asked.

"With the demand for Mrr'tani labor as high as it is, there's a use for our kind. I'm not saying that I agree with how they think, but as long as the Mrr'tani have a use, then there's reason for the Allied Planets to keep us around. They're scared to death of us, love. They can't understand what it's like to be linked as we are, and they see us as a threat to their individuality, like somehow if we got loose and on our own again, we'd subsume them and brainwash them into our society. At least that's what Marcus told me once."

Strong Soul was silent, her thoughts racing. She'd touched Marcus' mind, and she knew that she could bond the Mrr'tani and the humans together, but it never crossed her mind to even contemplate doing it, let alone against either being's will. But she'd done just that, at least on a small scale when they'd run from the cruisers. If she hadn't then many more would have died before the damaged cruiser righted itself and left the hyper wave.

"You're thinking too hard on it, love," Night Star said. "Just let it be for now. You'd be surprised how many humans think like Marcus and Mick."

"How many Mrr'tani are there down there?" Strong Soul asked.

"Oh, probably a few thousand or so in the city proper. Mick leases a few hundred for his vineyard. You shouldn't have too much problem handling them."

"I'm concerned about First Spark. I don't know if she's had enough training to shield herself from them all."

"I spoke with Silent Heart before we left, and she's pretty sure that First Spark will be able to handle herself. And she wasn't the only one working with Silent Heart. I think we found a way for me to simply shield your thoughts from interacting with the links. I won't have to shut you out completely, but I can make it so others will have a much harder time sensing you."

"So you'll be hiding both of us? You sure you're strong enough to do that?"

"As long as you don't go poking and prodding at the links like you used to do, we'll be fine. And you may want to make sure that First Spark doesn't do it either. Just keep the communication to the four of us."

"Five," Strong Soul corrected.

"Okay, five. I don't know that you'll be able to link with Micah when I've got you blanked."

"I'm pretty sure I will," Strong Soul answered. "I don't know why, but he's just as bright as the rest of you, in some ways brighter."

"This whole thing is new to us all, so I can't pretend to understand why you linked with him, or what the link is going to do. We're all feeling it out as we go along, so just try to keep it between the four of us. Don't try to push too hard if you find that Micah's not there when I'm shielding."

"Okay, love. I'll be safe, and I'll make sure that First Spark is as well."

"Good. Now, how about you all come back and help me get the cargo ready for when we land."

He unstrapped himself and crawled out of the seat, holding his hand out to help her from hers. She took it eagerly and scrambled out behind him with Stargazer exiting behind them.

They found First Spark waiting for them in the cargo bay. Just like Strong Soul, the girl had taken to spending her time among the stacked crates and grav straps. It was the most open part of the ship, and it was the easiest room in which to practice some of the physical things that Strong Soul had been teaching her. Though First Spark knew so much about living in the urban environment of New Mecca that sometimes it was she that was teaching Strong Soul. Together, though, they were learning and practicing. They each had time with Stargazer for combat drills and when they weren't with him, First Spark taught Strong Soul how to see a path through a crowded and congested city while Strong Soul taught her to use the bow and the skills of a hunter.

She was already packing up the makeshift archery range that was set up at the far end, putting away the targets and the arrows with a care and reverence that made Strong Soul smile. These were the busiest times, during the approach to a new planet. Cargo needed to be shifted and re-secured so that when they landed, the loaders didn't have to travel too far into the Pride. It was a point of convenience as well as a point of security. They didn't want anyone they didn't know getting too far into the Pride. Not that Micah would let anyone through the secured cargo door, but they didn't want to have to take any chances. The way they stacked the cargo when they landed made it quite easy for them to pick out those who were up to no good.

"We're close?" First Spark asked.

"A few hours. We've got plenty of time," Night Star said, undoing the first of the grav straps on a stack of containers. A few taps on the console mounted on the bottom container and it lifted itself and the stack above it a few centimeters off the deck. It was a simple matter for three of them to push it along while the other guided them among the other stacks. Because of the pattern they'd followed on the way to Mss'ranaw, the going was a little slower than it would have been if they'd unloaded in the pattern Night Star had set them to. It hardly mattered, though. With the way the cargo hold was laid out, there was plenty of room to maneuver.

As she pushed the huge stack of containers with Stargazer and Night Star, she marveled at the natural feeling in her artificial leg. It helped her when she pushed with it, providing most of the inertia for the stack, even more than the two Mrr'tanoun provided, but it didn't feel any different from what she was used to. In fact, when she focused on it, it no longer even had the delay that it used to when she first was getting used to it. It responded exactly the same way as her other, natural leg.

The cargo for Damrok was only three stacks, almost all of it destined for the Shinsayasa Vineyards. There was one smaller container that Strong Soul recognized right away, a case of Marcus' mead from Airgidbaille addressed specifically to Mick Rankow.

"That's good to have done," Night Star said. "How long till landing insertion, Micah?"

"Two hours, fifty one minutes to insertion," Micah responded.

"Well, that gives enough time for a nice nap. I think I'm going to need it if I'm spending the night with Mick. The ship's yours, Keeper."

"Aye aye, skipper," Strong Soul responded with a huge grin. "I'll try not to crash it into the planet before you wake up."

"Pssh. With your connection with Micah, I'm surprised the two of you need me at all. Just remember what you practiced with Silent Heart and we'll be just fine, I think."

"Don't worry, love. I'm not going to go prodding at the Mrr'tani on the planet. You'll just have to put up with me being more in your heads."

"You can be in my head any time you like, love."

Strong Soul smiled at Night Star as he turned for the door. Stargazer bowed quickly to both of them and left on his heels and Strong Soul smiled at the feelings she felt from him. While he was still concerned, he felt more relaxed and at peace with the situation than he had since they'd proposed leaving Mss'ranaw. Most of all, though, he seemed happy to just be with her, something that she was used to feeling from him.

"He's just doing what he thinks is best, you know," First Spark said quietly. "He really cares for you."

"I know. He's just stifling sometimes, and I'm glad to know that he's coming to terms with this whole thing."

"It makes me feel better to know he's around. I saw him on Mss'ranaw, fighting with some of the other Mrr'tani. He's better at it than any on New Mecca. I think we'll be just fine if he's watching over us.

"Of that I have no doubt," Strong Soul said. Then she held out her hand. "Come. It's time for our practice. Even heavy labor can't get in the way of that, or we'll have to answer to Silent Heart, and that's not something I would ever look forward to doing."

"She'll give us...the look," First Spark said, giggling. "Can we link with Micah again? I like it when we do. He makes me feel calm."

"I don't think I could avoid that if I tried. He's getting as close as Night Star and Stargazer. And I get the distinct feeling that he enjoys it as well."

"Of course, Strong Soul," Micah said. From the volume, she could tell that he was only speaking through the cargo bay audio system, and she could taste the tinge of eagerness in his mind.

"Then we better not keep him waiting. Come on, let's go practice."