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food, water, clothing, a roof over your heads, and good, decent health care.”
    “I wasn’t complaining. I’m just curious how bad it must have been for you to turn it down.”
    “I only take what I know you can handle. This … this wasn’t something it was possible for you to do and survive. Don’t give me that look, that’s the end of the conversation.”
    He glanced at her as she nodded and walked past him.
    “I’ve got to get to the barracks,” she said. “Your own rules dictate I have to check in there before any shift.”
    Kozol frowned. “Safety protocol is safety protocol. Go on then. Will I see you again tonight?”
    “Couldn’t you use a night off from me?”
    “No,” Kozol admitted, “I enjoy having you around.”
    “Look, Daniel,” Lena said quietly. “We have to talk.”
    Kozol barked out a laugh, “Nothing like that. After my husband died … it’s been lonely. It’s nice to just have someone to wake up to in the morning. You’re beautiful, yes, but I enjoy having a friend at home again. Everything else is just a bonus.”
    “Oh,” Lena replied, her face softening. “How … was it recent?”
    Kozol shook his head. “Well, to me it feels recent. It’s been five years. It was quick. Had a puncture in his heart we never knew about. One day, it just stopped. I didn’t know until the next day, I was out of town … you don’t want to hear about this.”
    “You wanted a friend, here I am.”
    “I also wanted sex, I’m not going to lie about that.”
    “It was nothing I didn’t want.”
    Kozol made a face and then continued, “The point is, I like having you around. So stay around if you want to. You have nothing to fear from me. It’s good to have a friend at home. A particularly attractive friend.”
    “I think I can handle that,” she replied, softly, but smiling, “but I still do need to go. I’ll give you a shout later today. Alright?”
    She left without kissing him.
    *
    Lena tried to sneak out of the turbo pod quietly, only to run into Stiar drinking her morning coffee at the counter. Stiar looked up at her and smirked. Lena went bright red.
    “It’s not what you think,” Lena insisted.
    “How long have you been sleeping with him?” Stiar asked, amused.
    Lena tried to protest, but Stiar merely raised her eyebrow.
    “Only a few days,” Lena said finally. “It’s nothing serious.”
    “I’m just surprised,” Stiar admitted. “Don’t get me wrong, he used to sleep with everyone. And I mean everyone. It was becoming a dramatic vid around here. Then when Eric died, he just sort of stopped. Seems like the wrong time to get monogamous, but grief does weird things to people. Maybe he felt guilty, I don’t know.”
    “He was cheating on him?” Lena asked.
    “I think Eric more looked the other way. Grief does weird things, but love is even worse. I miss Eric. He was a good guy.”
    “Do you have a problem with me sleeping with Kozol?”
    “God no. Who do we meet when we get off shift? Take your kicks where you can get them. Just let me know if you need to know where the daytime sex health clinics are. Goodness knows you’ll need one with him.”
    Lena paused, seeing Stiar’s grimace before going back to her coffee.
    She asked, “Are you … jealous?”
    Stiar laughed, “God no, you’re welcome to the man.”
    “I meant—”
    The two glanced at each other, blushing before looking away. Lena cleared her throat and picked up the dossier on her table.
    “Strange,” Lena commented. “In all of this, they want to have a music festival? In the middle of the day?”
    “It ends just before noon. Some rich teenagers being stupid and drunk in public. I think it might be good for them. It’s been uneasy since the Americans arrived. There’s been a lot of kids getting into trouble. It might be good for them to unwind for a while.”
    “And they need three of us for this?”
    “The host requested Kozol himself, in fact. He holds the safety of his