Refueling Starrider was a matter of a couple of hours, but the ship also needed repairs as it had been damaged when it arrived on Rimzana.

They brought it into the hangar. Then Onna set some of her fixers to work on the ship, and Kaine watched as Val fumed.

“What are you so angry about? Can’t you appreciate a bit of peace and quiet?”

She glared at him and he half expected she’d say she just wanted to get rid of him. He was starting to think she didn’t like him—which came as a big surprise, as he liked to think he was a rather likable kind of guy. But she surprised him with her answer.

“There are people waiting for me, and this is all taking too long. First, I get thrown through a space rift—”

“Excuse me?”

“—then I have to fly through a battlefield. Once I’d landed, I figured I’d need a fixer. So I go looking for one, and can you guess what happened then? I met you, that’s what.”

“Oh, so it’s all my fault?”

She sighed. “No, I don’t suppose it is. I should have remembered what I was looking for. Besides...” She looked back toward the ship. “Starrider needs fixing. Whether it’s here or on Rimzana, it’ll take the same amount of time. Actually, it might go faster here, as I doubt I would have had more than one fixer working on her.”

Was she thanking him now, in her own twisted kind of way? No, of course she wasn’t. That was just wishful thinking on his part.

“Well, I’d have suggested we go out and visit the planet if the weather wasn’t so dreadful out there.”

Val straightened and looked at him.

“You know, that’s a good idea.”

“Say what?”

“Weather isn’t an issue if we take a shuttle.”

“You think they have tour guides around here?” he asked wryly.

She snorted. “I’m sure we can borrow something from Onna.”

“Why bother?”

“If you’d rather stay here and stare at those fixers, suit yourself. I’ll see you in a few hours.”

Val turned and started toward Onna’s office, at the far end of the hangar.

“Hey, wait up!”

She didn’t, but he caught up to her quickly and saw her grinning.

“You realize it’ll likely be just as boring?” he asked.

“Maybe. Maybe not. Isn’t that exciting?”

He would hardly have called it that.

It was a world of cold winters and perpetual storms.

All they’d see would be snow-blown fields and mountains.

Onna agreed to lend them a shuttle, though she was skeptical how useful it would be.

“I’ll send Rodger with you.”

“I can pilot it myself,” remarked Val.

“I’m sure you can, but that’s not the point. Rodger knows the land, you don’t. He’s also very familiar with these smaller types of ships, you aren’t. It’s also a good idea to have him with you in case anything happens, as he knows all of our emergency procedures.”

As those were all valid points, Val relented.

Rodger was a tall blonde with short hair, a mustache, and a friendly smile on his face.

“What do you want to see first?” he asked. “The Temple of Constant Blizzards or the Forest of Eternal Night? Unless you prefer the Castle of Freezing Winds?”

Kaine blinked. “Are you serious? There are such places?”

The man laughed. “Not really, though I could always make them up for you if you like.”

They strapped their belts and watched as the pilot lifted them out of the hangar and into the night sky.

“Still,” said Val thoughtfully, “there must be something here to have drawn the original settlers. Or are you saying the landscape was different back then?”

Rodger made a face. “It would have taken some serious terraforming might to change this world. Too much trouble for our loving Emperor, I’m afraid. It’s always been like this, that I know of. But if you want to know why folks came here to begin with, well... that I can show you.”

The ship veered eastward and raced toward the horizon. The sky was darker there, and Kaine grew concerned they would go straight into a storm. Not that they weren’t already in one, but the one ahead seemed much more ominous.

“Where are we going?” he asked apprehensively.

The man glanced in his direction and gave him a wink.

“Don’t worry, buddy, I know what I’m doing. That’s why they pay me the big bucks. Not that that means much on a world with no currency.”

His laughter resonated in the small cabin as they sped through the night.

Kaine glanced at the silent Val and saw she still had a thoughtful expression on her face.

“What’s on your mind?” he asked.

“I just think it’s an odd place to set up a colony.”

The pilot chuckled.

“You’d think so, wouldn’t you? But you know the saying... There’s a reason for everything.”

A mountain came into view, and they headed straight for it.

Then the shuttle dove, and the ground raced toward them.

Rodger straightened the vessel just before they reached the surface, and they landed smoothly, a few feet from the cliff.

The pilot unstrapped and stood.

“What are you doing?” asked Kaine.

“I want to show you something.”

“Out there?”

“Of course.”

Kaine was alarmed—unlike Val, who got to her feet and followed their guide quietly.

Reluctantly, he did as well.