“Hey, you two. Did I do good, or did I do good?” “You did good, Sophie.” Beach sand spilled out of Jess’s shoes. “And if you had substance, I’d be hugging the stuffing out of you.” Sam did his best to not envision Sophie as a life-sized, self-aware stuffed animal. The light orange of the captain’s dress deepened to shades of dark red as she turned to Sam. “And what about you? I’m not forcing you to go to Earth. Just say the word, and I’ll take you back to Chariklo.” Jess stared at Sam in confusion. “What’s she talking about? We haven’t spent the last few months adapting to Earth just to turn around and go home. What haven’t you told me?” Sam focused on the view screen to find the small blue dot still far out in the blackness of space. He should have known he couldn’t keep anything from Jess for long. “I’ve just been having second thoughts.
