“So here’s what I don’t understand,” Rixie said. “Why did you take the bait?”

“I was mad,” Liss said. “I wasn’t thinking of it from his perspective, I….”

“No, no, no,” Rixie interrupted, smiling inscrutably. “Liss Peten. The White Shaar. You’ve been smuggling for years. You’re very good at what you do, and you haven’t done it by out-running Magilna-class destroyers who are bearing down, lasers firing. You’ve done it by calmly talking your way through inspections, keeping your head when others would panic. You know how to ignore what your nerves are telling you to do, to remain calm in the face of catastrophe. So I repeat: why did you take the bait?”

Liss smiled in spite of herself. “You must have been a formidable Imperator, Ms. Tam.”

“Call me Rixie, and if I hadn’t been, Pryvani never would have hired me.”

“True,” Liss said. She paused for a good long moment before she spoke again. “My ex-husband was a good man, despite being Margu Peten’s son and my husband. I didn’t change my name back after the divorce because…well, I wasn’t proud of being Liss Tjytsieølmi, but I was proud of being Damu Peten’s wife. Damu brought out the best in me, and if Margu hadn’t been there to bring out my worst….

“Nest reminds me a lot of Damu. He’s smart, he’s funny, he’s cocky – but in a good way, he knows he’s good at what he does. But most of all…he’s a good person. He wants to be a hero. Just like Damu wanted to start clean. I didn’t let Damu start clean. But I…I can let Nest be a hero.”

“Nest Themego is already a hero,” Rixie said. “And that’s thanks to you.”

* * *

“Yeah,” Alex said. “I know what you mean. Liking them really sucks, doesn’t it.”

“I get it,” Nest said, “none of these are real problems.”

“Alex was being serious,” Nick said. “He can be, sometimes.”

“I mean, not if I can help it,” Alex said. “But you’re right. You fall for them…and then you realize…..”

“You can’t possibly be enough,” Nick said.

“Exactly,” Nest said. “I mean…she’s gorgeous, she’s tough, she’s funny, she’s a bad girl…and….I’ve had Jacks training. I got used to thinking of the Titans as just big people. But that was about fighting them. How can I be a partner to her?”

“It helps a bit that I have Sophia, and that I’m part of a team,” Nick said. “You worry about it less. And Sophia is strong enough that the human partners won’t ever be in the back seat. But if it was just me and Brinn, or me and Zara, or me and Taron….”

“Or me and Rixie,” Alex sighed.

“Rixie loves you to death,” Nick said. “And you know it.”

“Knowing it and knowing it are different. Like you said, you’d worry if it was just you and Brinn. And we’ve been with our partners about as long as I expected to live – can’t blame Nest for being worried.”

“Nest, I understand,” Zhan said. “But you two should know better.”

* * *

“Yeah, maybe, but that was me making up for my screw-up, I shouldn’t have been there in the first place. Nest needs someone good…and I’m not good,” Liss said.

“Oh, get over yourself,” Xele sighed. “My dad’s not good. You’re just a smuggler. You haven’t killed anyone.”

“Well, Margu….”

“He did himself,” Rixie said. “He set his course and flew his ship.”

“I’m a criminal, though,” Liss said.

“Well, I suppose I might be, too,” Rixie said. “I’ve bent some laws working for Pryvani. I bent some laws when I was an imperator. Nobody’s all good or all bad. I think it’s better to ask whether you want to hurt people or not. I don’t…unless they’re hurting someone else. Then I take real joy in hurting them, making them suffer the way they make others suffer. I don’t know if that’s good or bad, but it’s me, and at least, in the end, I want to hurt the right people. I’m okay with that.”

“Besides,” Brinn said, “it’s not up to you to decide whether you’re ‘good enough’ for Nest, it’s up to him. There are days I don’t feel good enough for any of my spouses. And Nick and Sophia…they could have held my sister’s actions against me. They would have every right. And there’s a small part of me that is always afraid they might. And if they did, I think Zara and Taron would back them. And so would I.”

“They never would,” Rixie said. “You aren’t responsible for Trell, just like Pryvani’s not responsible for Syon.”

“Sure, but that doesn’t mean you don’t worry about it, you know?”

“I do,” Rixie said. She appeared to be about to say something more, but she stopped herself.

“But you two…at least you can be proud of what you do. You’re chief of security for Pryvani Tarsuss, and you’re a respected doctor, and I’m….”

“You’re the White Shaar, Liss,” Rixie said. “You’re more famous than me.”

“I doubt that sincerely,” Xele said, with a smirk.

“Rixie’s is Alex’s company, and it’s growing nicely, but….”

“Wasn’t talking about that,” Xele said, with a Cheshire grin.

Rixie blinked, then said, quietly, “I would expect you won’t go around gossiping about things you might have found in your hacking days, Dizmona. I still have friends who are imperators, you know.”

“Hey, I think it’s cool, and don’t worry, I’ll keep it quiet. If you agree to chat later.”

“Always happy to,” Rixie said.

“What’s she talking about?” Brinn asked.

“Ask Taron. Anyway, as I was saying, you’re more famous than I am, at least if you move in the right circles. And Nest knows you’re a smuggler, right?”

“He does. But I mean…I’ve sort of gone legit, I didn’t tell him I might still move some things….”

“Listen, there are a lot of people who would love to be dating a bad girl,” Brinn said. “Nest met you when you were retreating from an attack on a group of humans, he knows gorram well what he’s signing up for.”

“Hold the phone,” Rixie said.

“Huh?” Brinn and Xele asked.

“Oh…it’s an expression of Alex’s. Means ‘wait a minute.’ Liss, we’ve been talking about what Nest thinks of you, and whether you’re good enough for him and that’s all important…but we haven’t mentioned the freighter in your plot.”

“Huh, what’s that?”

“In everything you’ve said you’re worried about, you never brought up one big thing…or maybe, one small thing,” Rixie said. “Liss…you did notice that he’s human, right?”

* * *

“Zhan,” Alex said, “you know better than any of us just how lucky the three of us are. I mean…you’re married to a woman you worshipped growing up.”

“No, I’m married to Pryvani Tarsuss,” Zhan said. “And yes, she’s a goddess, at least as far as I’m concerned. But she isn’t the Goddess. She’s a person. She’s amazing in every way…but she’s also very mortal, and though she does a good job of hiding it, she’s very sensitive. She can walk through fire and you wouldn’t know she’d felt the heat…but she does. Keenly.” Zhan shook his head. “She’s not a God, she’s a real, vulnerable person. Just like Brinn, and Taron, and Rixie.”

“Brinn and Taron are vulnerable, maybe,” Nick said. “Rixie could punch out an armada, and your wife could buy it before it came to that.”

“Oh, Pryvani’s powerful, sure. And Rixie is tough as nails,” Zhan agreed. “Taron is cool as the morning dew, and Brinn is the opposite of her sister in every way. But that doesn’t mean that they don’t worry about being good enough, smart enough, tough enough, pure enough. Every one of them has a part that’s soft.”

“Rixie’s got a marshmallow center, it’s true,” Alex said. “But still….”

“But still nothing! The people who love us are bigger than us, but every one of them loves us because whether we believe it or not, we make their lives better. Nick, I can’t imagine you without your husband and wives, you all fit together just about perfectly. And Alex, you and Rixie would have ended up together if one of you was Dunnermac and the other Tusola.” Zhan downed the last of his drink, and set it on the counter. He looked at it for a moment, before continuing on.

“As for me…I joke that I don’t know why Pryvani loves me…but I do. When she told me she wasn’t a goddess, I called her out. I pushed back. I didn’t have to. And I didn’t have to eventually forgive her – and I only did when she gave me a good argument as to why I should.”

Zhan smiled. “She wanted someone who wouldn’t view her as Pryvani Tarsuss, Most Important Person to the Universe, but someone who’d view her as just a person who’s doing her best. She wanted someone who loved her and respected her for the person she is. And I do. More than I could have ever imagined. So Nest,” Zhan said, “don’t worry whether you’re ‘enough’ for Liss or not. It’s not up to you to decide whether you’re good enough for her. It’s up to her.”

“Maybe,” Nest said. “But I don’t know how she can possibly see past me being the size of her finger.”

* * *

“I really don’t care that he’s the size of my finger,” Liss said. “If you love someone…I’m not saying sex isn’t important. It is. But it’s not the only important thing. Besides,” she said, with a shy smile, “at least a few of you have managed it. I’m guessing it’s okay.”

“It’s funny,” Rixie said. “I wouldn’t have thought so, before I met Alex. I might have said what I said about Araeu Shen when she married Gbwqtebttlq – they were a great pair, so you figure they’ll find a way, and they’ll enjoy it even if it isn’t perfect. But I would have thought that probably, they’ll occasionally find Titan and Ler partners for each other and that’ll be fine too. But…I mean, it’s different…but it’s…uh…well, Brinn, you’re a doctor.”

“I am?” Brinn asked, with a grin.

“Ha. You know, biologically…well, womens’ genitals are pretty sensitive.”

Brinn snorted. “You might say that, yes.”

“So it’s not…you have someone who’s giving it very exacting attention, and who is able to locate and see every little nook and cranny…and enjoys the work…a lot….”

Rixie smiled. “To be blunt, you let a human get acquainted with you, they will find ways to get you off that you never imagined existed. Plus, if you’ve got a long, boring meeting coming up, they fit nicely in your panties.”

“Wow,” Liss said, laughing nervously. “I…um….”

“Rixie, you’re embarrassing our guests,” Brinn said.

“Thanks,” Liss said. “But it’s okay…I did ask….”

“You did. And Rixie’s right, though I must admit, it’s fun having a couple of human spouses, because as much fun as one is, you get both in there….”

“Wait, both?” Rixie said, sitting up. “You…both?”

“Nick and Sophia say they enjoy it, and frankly…all three of us do,” Brinn said with a grin. “Zara will back me up on this.”

Rixie didn’t know what to say to that, so she simply raised her hand, and let Brinn high-five her.

“So what I’m gathering,” Xele said, deciding it was best to move the conversation forward, “is that if you wanted to sleep with a human, you could have fun. So Liss…what are you gonna do?”

“Do?” Liss asked.

“Yeah,” Xele said. “You screwed this date up because you didn’t want Nest to date a criminal. That was stupid. So what are you gonna do about it?”

* * *

“I…don’t know if there’s anything that can be done,” Nest said. “I was an idiot.”

“You were,” Alex said. “So was I. So were all of us. Except Zhan, he’s the smart one.”

“I snuck into the compound and got kidnapped by Trell,” Zhan said. “Smart one’s Nick.”

“The smart one,” Nick said, “is Sophia.”

“You’ve got us there,” Alex agreed.

“So as Alex asked, Nest,” Nick said, “are you going to try to fix it? Or just cry in your beer?”

“I…don’t know,” Nest said. “I was an idiot. And I didn’t mean to be, but I sort of did, and…and Liss deserves a guy who won’t be scared to be with her, right? I mean, I called her stupid, basically. I don’t see how I come back from that.”

“You could at least find a close to it,” Alex said. “You could tell her you were a fool, tell her you’re sorry. No, you might not get another shot, but at least you wouldn’t leave her feeling bad.”

“If she even wants to see me,” Nest sighed. “I will send her a letter. And I’ll admit I was wrong. She deserves that much.”

“Yes,” Zhan agreed. “She does. Alex, you about ready?”

“Yup,” Alex said, putting the last of the glasses in the sink. “You got a place to stay in town, Nest? If not, you’re welcome to come up to the mountain. We can find you a place that doesn’t cross paths with Liss if you want.”

“Nah,” Nest said. “Though I’ll walk with you to the station. I’m gonna take the early train to Gla, see my folks.”

“Suit yourself,” said Alex.

* * *

“He was pretty furious,” Liss said. “And I don’t blame him. He isn’t gonna want to hear my explanations.”

“Alex was willing to hear mine,” Rixie said. “You know, I tried to be a tough owner, when I first unthawed him. It lasted about two hours. I went to my rotation and immediately felt horrible about it.”

“You’re secretly a softie, Rixie,” Brinn said.

“Nothing secret about it. Part of why I hate evil felgercarbers so much. What I’m saying is that you never know if he’s going to forgive you until you ask him. Maybe he won’t. But you’ll never know unless you try.”

“He headed back to Atlantis,” Liss said. “So it doesn’t much matter. Not like I can walk down there without the Jacks attacking me again.”

“You could, though!” Xele said. “I mean, you’d have to use the holos – Myona showed me how to work it. It drops you off right in the main station.”

“Approaching him at human size wouldn’t hurt,” Brinn said.

“I’m not gonna find him in a whole city,” Liss said. “He could be anywhere.”

“He could be,” Rixie said. “You said he was from Gla?”

“Um…yeah, that sounds right.”

“Well, if he had time left in his leave and wanted to see his family, he’d probably take the Southeast Express. Brinn, what time does that leave?”

“04:30, I think?” Brinn said, pulling out her pad. “Yup, 04:30A. So that’s about two-and-a-half hours from now. And like Xele said, the holos would drop you right off the Carey Station’s mezzanine. You’d just have to follow the signs. Heck, there’s one pikzlup place open overnight, if he was waiting for the train, you’d probably find him there.”

“I don’t know,” Liss said. “I think I’ll probably just let him go. Maybe I’ll see if I can get him a note, though. He at least deserves an explanation.”

“Suit yourself,” said Rixie.