"Welcome aboard!" they all said in unison.

Director Zanderson glanced around the group. "By the way, I want to congratulate… That's funny-1 could have sworn Spence and Ari were just standing here." …

THE GARDEN SEEMED COOL after the stuffy warmth of the party. The station was tilted away from the sun and the solar shields were open to the light of a spray of stars. Crickets trilled their evening song among the leaves and a fountain pattered gently nearby. The moist, perfume-laden air lay still and dark. They had exhausted themselves in talking and now Spence and Ari wandered aimlessly in green solitude, their steps lit by small lanterns set in among the foliage along the pathways.

"We'd better be getting back," said Spence after a while. "Before they send out a search party."

"Mmm," sighed Ari, raising her head from where it rested lightly on his shoulder. "I feel as if I'm in a dream. It's a shame it has to end." She turned to face him, looping her arms around his waist.

"It doesn't have to end," he said, pulling her closer to him. "The dream is just beginning."