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“Are youfun of me?”

“Little bit But I’ containers on the float And guess what?” Fred gestured to the display on the desk before hireat emptiness of the Tycho work sphere was drawn in thin, clean scheaze went to the Rocinante Fred pointed beyond it to a floating cluster of metal containers “One of them’s warm”

Chapter Seventeen: Alex

Alex had spent a fair a back noas strange in a couple ways There were the sorts of changes that he’d becoone, new restaurants in place, the crappy handball courts converted to an ad his cart through the wide corridors, the thing that struck hi everyone was Cadets strutted in front of the bar that had once been the Steel Cactus Mexican Grill and sold to-go cups of Thai food now, their chins up and their chests out looking like they were playing dress-up The ads on the screens were all for weapons and churches, singles services designed for people on tours of duty, and life insurance tailored for the fas that promised control or comfort in an uncertain universe Alex remeed, but the needs and subterranean fears that fueled them were the same

Alex had worn the uniform, told the jokes Or at least the same kind He’d wondered whether there would be violence when he got out with a her than he was in hope of becoher He reotten drunk and started a fight with Gregory Alex had been pulled into it, and they’d all ended up before the MPs, certain their careers were over The ti and had been dishonorably discharged It had felt like someone died

Now, looking at these kids, of course there was brawling and stupid decisions They were children And so he’d been a child when he was there too, and his choices had been uy who didn’t know any better He’d married Talissa when he was about that old They’d made their blueprints for how he’d serve his tours and then co Looked at that way, ithad worked out

The other thing that surprised him was that everyone seemed to knoho he was

He parked his cart outside a teahouse called Poush that had survived the years since he’d served The blue-and-gold awning put a gentle shadow over the glassed doorway Faux-aged paint on thecurved in art nouveau fraured the intention was to evoke the idea of some Parisian café of centuries before for people who’d never so e that the quaint feeling translated so well

Inside, a dozen sether The air was thick with the scent of the local qahwa – al for coffee, and Alex felt a ret that he was off on Tycho Station where he couldn’t sht, Fermín boiled up out of his chair and wrapped his arms around him

“Alex!” Ferot fat”

“No,” Alex said, returning the hug and then breaking it “That was you”

“Ah,” his old friend said, nodding “Yes, that was ot Sit down”

The waiter, a young hteen, looked out from behind the kitchen door and his eyes widened The smile pretended to be the customary politeness, but when he ducked back Alex could hear hi to someone He sounded excited Alex tried not to feel aard about that

“Thanks for this,” Alex said “I don’t like to be the guy who doesn’t keep in touch until he needs a favor”

“And yet,” Ferray and thickened his jowls Alex felt like if he squinted, he could still see the sharp-faced man he’d served with hidden soestures when he waved Alex’s concern away “It’s nothing Happy to do a favor for a friend”