“If we follow the Guiding Star, some problems should never arise in the first place,” Cesca said.

“Nevertheless”—Jess boldly took the last step to her, closing the distance, refusing to think about what he was doing—“it happens.”

He kissed her then, surprising her, pleasing her… and terrifying them both. Cesca responded for just an instant, clinging to him as if they were teetering on the precarious edge of a precipice. Then, in unison, they broke away and took an awkward step apart.

“Jess, we shouldn’t even—”

“I’m sorry.” He blushed furiously, stumbling backward, gathering his notes and recordings. Jess shook his head, immensely ashamed and baffled by his own actions. He felt like a traitor to his brother. “What was I doing?” He could only picture Ross, an innocent bystander in their mutual attraction.

“Jess, we don’t dare even think about this.” Though deeply unsettled, Cesca wasn’t angry with him. “It never happened.”

He readily agreed. “We’ll forget about it. That’s what we should do.”

But the memories only burned brighter for both of them, month after month. How could anyone ever forget?

As Jess’s ship swept out of the planet’s shadow and into the full blazing day of the roaring sun, the sudden glare and buffeting heat rocked them from side to side.

“We’ll need to map out a recommended safe approach,” Kotto said, noting Jess’s difficulty piloting in the solar storm as if it were a mere detail to add to his proposal. “We can take advantage of the planet’s shadow for bringing in most of the big supply haulers.”

Jess increased the filter density on their viewing windows. “Your bigger problem is going to be shipping off the processed metals. They’ll need to be taken far from here before we can market whatever we don’t use for ourselves.”

“Oh, of course,” Kotto said. “The Big Goose would never even come within sensor range of the planet. They might get a blister on their delicate skin.”

Though the Hansa would not look twice at a rough, hot world like Isperos, such places were acceptable enough to the Roamers, who had already established themselves in many remarkable habitats, such as Rendezvous itself.

The seed of their society had been started by the generation ship Kanaka, named after the brilliant explorer of Vallis Marineris on Mars. The Kanaka crew and passengers had boarded the eleventh and last vessel to leave Earth, fleeing hard times. By that point, funding for the brave and optimistic colonization project was nearly gone, and equipment and supplies were sparse. Still, this group had envisioned themselves as tougher than the others, true survivalists.

What the Kanaka passengers lacked in raw materials they made up for by bringing eccentric and innovative geniuses who could create habitable environments in the harshest of places. Before setting out from Earth, these people had lived in arctic wastelands and set up mining stations on the moons of Jupiter. They operated under the assumption that if a standard method did not work, they would find another alternative, or simply invent one.