Park had to stand there in the dark and process what was going on; things were moving at a much faster pace than she was used to. She looked at the crumpled suit he’d brought for her and felt her fingertips chill. Eos was out there. Just one hatch away. But did Fulbreech know what he was offering? The implications of such an action? Stealing an exo-armor suit was bad enough, but to exit the ship without permission, to take her out there to explore an alien planet on their own, no supervision, no authority . . .

Her scalp tightened. She turned to him and said, barely hearing herself: “Why would you do such a thing for me?”

Fulbreech turned to look at her, despite the gloom. The look on his face was entirely serious. He said quietly, “You don’t know?”

Park’s pulse quickened; it felt as if someone had plucked her heart like a string. But before she could answer, there was a clanking and whirring from the door of the escape shuttle. Park felt her vision narrow as panic thundered in. Someone was accessing the lock.

In one swift movement, Fulbreech crossed the distance between them and kissed her.

Park jerked back from him as if he’d burned her. But the picture was complete, and when the door opened, whoever stood in the doorway got a good eyeful of Park and Fulbreech standing there, hastily breaking away from each other in the dark.

“Ah,” a voice said. Park could hardly stand to look at the speaker, but she turned when Fulbreech did. Vincent Sagara, their security officer, stood outlined in the threshold of the doorway. His face was entirely in shadow, so that Park couldn’t read his expression.

Fulbreech, on his end, recovered admirably. “Captain Sagara,” he said, clearing his throat a little. “What—ah—what brings you here?”

“I suppose I don’t have to ask you the same question, Fulbreech,” Sagara answered. His voice was perfectly neutral, devoid of embarrassment or ridicule. He clicked on a little utility light and swept the inside of the escape pod with it. Imperceptibly, Fulbreech shifted to block the exo-armor from view.

Sagara’s light landed square on Park’s face. “Park,” he said—and now he did sound a little surprised. Park felt heat swamp her face and croaked, “Captain. We were just leaving.”

He paused, then lowered the light when Park squinted. “So was I,” he said, perfectly brusque. “I was conducting some electrical inspections, after hearing about Kisaragi. But I can return later. Carry on.”

The door shut behind him before either of them could say another word. After a moment Fulbreech turned back to Park and said, his voice low and incredulous: “Do you believe him?”

Park could hardly speak through her humiliation. She said faintly, “What?”

“That he’s looking at—the electronics? Sagara doesn’t know the first thing about the ship’s computers. Or its systems. Does he?”