"So..." Brendan stared at her curiously. "...what's your story?"

Cassie started hastily eating her lukewarm soup, the noodles long gone. "There's no story to tell."

"Everybody has a story," Brendan pressed.

Cassie shrugged, stirring her soup to bring up the stray pieces of tofu from the bottom.

"Let's start with the most important question," Brendan suggested. "Earth or Mars?"

Cassie stared at her meal. Tofu chunks were falling from the surface, disappearing into the murky depths. "Ummm... Mars."

"Oof." Brendan dropped his spoon into his almost-empty bowl, holding nothing except a shallow pool of green-brown sauce.

"Told you so." Mike smirked as Brendan reluctantly tossed him a small candy bar. "So you went to one of the orbital academies?" He ripped open the colorful packaging, taking a big bite of the bright blue substance.

Cassie nodded, stirring her soup again.

Brendan picked up his spoon again. "What was that like?"

"It was... very hard to get in," Cassie said hesitantly, in a quiet voice. "I know I'm very lucky to be here."

"Why do you say that?" Brendan asked curiously, as he began to finish off his curry.

Cassie bit the inside of her cheek. She'd said too much. This was too... close to home. "My family gave up a lot to send me here," her voice was almost a whisper. "I just hope I can pay them back." She carefully picked up her packaged soup, just broth now, and drank it dry.

Mike nodded understandingly, munching on his winnings happily. "The pay is decent, Geoff just likes to complain."

"Yeah, don't listen to them." Brendan tilted his head the other two men, who's argument seemed to be losing steam. "You'll get paid well, this work isn't going to make anyone rich, but you'll definitely be able to help your folks out."

"And you'll get it in Martian credits," Mike added. "So no need to worry about the currency conversion fees when you send it down to the surface."

By then, Geoff and Danny had stopped arguing and turned their attention back to the conversation.

Geoff put a hand on Mike's shoulder, leaning over the table. "I heard something about money?"

Mike brushed his hand off. "We're just trying to convince our newest crew member that she's going to get paid."

"Oh." Geoff's expression softened. He sat back down at their table, in his old seat next to her. "It's not as good as it used to be, but it's not bad. Still buys some decent booze."

Danny pulled up another chair, yellowish and stained. He sat down at the end of the table, next to Cassie and Mike.

Mike raised an eyebrow at Geoff. "I thought you were still trying to make your own?"

Geoff reached inside his light jacket. "Not trying, succeeding." He pulled out an old fashioned flask and waved it around dramatically. "The fine fruit of storage room C."

Brendan frowned slightly, disapprovingly. "You're not supposed to be doing that."

"Shut up, you got your cut already." Geoff unscrewed the top and took a deep sniff. "Plus, this batch has turned out pretty good, if I say so myself."

Brendan scowled. As if he disagreed. As if he felt like he'd gotten the short stick of this arrangement.

Geoff took a long drink before offering the flask to Mike. "Want a taste?"

"I'll pass." Mike leaned away from the table. "Your last experiment was too close to gasoline for my liking."

"I'll do it." Danny grabbed the silver flask, taking a swing without even smelling it. He was a lot faster than Geoff and smacked his lips together afterwards. "It's an improvement."

Danny handed the flask back, then Geoff offered it to Cassie.

Cassie looked at the battered container dubiously. A faint scent was starting to grow in the air. It didn't smell good. She didn't like how everyone was watching her either. Her fingers started running over a particularly deep gouge near the edge of the metal table.

"Are you even old enough to drink?" Brendan asked suddenly. There was weight behind the question.

Cassie thought about it for a moment, then shrugged. "In some places? I'm seventeen."

"That's pretty young to be a spaceship mechanic," Mike commented.

"Conscription starts at fourteen," Geoff pointed out. "They've got fifteen year olds piloting fighters. Like that's not insane."

"Thanks for the reminder," Danny said dryly. "Because we all didn't know that already."

"You're welcome." Geoff smirked back, before turning his attention back to Cassie, still holding out the booze. "Don't worry, there's no drinking age in space."

Cassie gave the flask another skeptical look.

"That's not true. At all." Brendan pulled the alcohol out of Geoff's hand, picking the silver cap off the table.

Geoff let their first officer take the questionable contraband without any resistance. "Old enough to die fighting, old enough to die drinking," he said pointedly. "That's what I say."

Brendan just shrugged as he screwed the cap back on before handing it back to Geoff.

"You should try it. It's good." Geoff immediately offered Cassie the closed flask, for the second time.

Irritation flickered across Brendan's face. Mike suppressed a smile.

Cassie smiled politely, but didn't make any move to take it. "Thanks, but I don't drink."

"Smart girl," Brendan said approvingly. "You'll definitely have money to send back home soon." He pointed at Geoff and Danny. "Don't let these two suck you in."

Cassie smiled slightly as Geoff tucked the flask away, after taking one last gulp.

"These two?" Danny objected immediately. "Hey, I've got nothing to do with this bootlegging operation."

Mike and Brendan shared a knowing glance.

"I'm no chemist," Danny argued. "I just drink the product." 

Neither Mike or Brendan looked at all convinced.

Danny tilted his head thoughtfully. "And accept it when he runs out of cash at the black table every week," he admitted.

"Not true," Geoff said hastily, wagging a finger at Danny. "And I'll prove it this Friday."

Danny shrugged. "I'm sure you'll try." He looked at Cassie curiously, almost as if he were mentally strategizing. "You're invited to join too."

"Woah," Brendan jumped in. "Don't steal all her money right away. Girl's got a family to support."

Geoff looked offended. "Hey, we don't do that."

"Yeah, this is an honest game," Danny protested, though it lacked sincerity. "We always play fair."

"Sure," Brendan replied, extremely skeptically. "And what happened with Shrey?"

Geoff snickered.

Danny couldn't hide his smug smirk. His eyes slowly drifted over to Cassie as he started fingering the single stud on his left ear. "Well... I'm sure she's better than Shrey."

Mike stifled a scoff, covering it with an not-so-inconspicuous cough.

Brendan gave Danny a rather unamused look.

"Um, I probably won't be there," Cassie finally said quietly. "...I'm not a big gambler either."

"We'll be able to fix that soon." Geoff winked at her conspiratorially.

Cassie shifted in her seat, just enough to cause the microwrench sitting in her busted pants pocket to slip out. It hit the floor with a sharp clang and she nearly jumped out of her seat. Her elbow hit the edge of her tray and her makeshift bowl wobbled dangerously, she grabbed it before it could tip over.

She exhaled in relief, before realizing that the container had been empty anyways, and wouldn't have made a mess even if it had tipped over.

Before she could pick the tool up off the floor, Danny had already grabbed it. He put it on the table, with exaggerated gentleness, and slid it towards her. "A little jumpy, are we?"

Cassie flashed him an apologetic smile as she took the tool back, putting it in a different pocket. "I'm just a little on edge... you know, with the dark zone and all," she admitted softly.

"Don't be," Danny told her bluntly. "There's nothing to be afraid of out here."

Cassie glanced around the group. "Are none of you worried that we're going to run into anyone else out here?"

Geoff took another swing of his flask. "Nah."

Mike nodded, finishing off the last tiny piece of his candy bar. He tossed the wrapper on the table. "You'll see, this place gets boring real quick."

Cassie looked to Brendan, who had been silent so far.

"They're right," Brendan finally agreed. "Nothing ever happens out here other than the trouble we make for ourselves."

Before everyone could react to that, Cassie jumped again as the radio in her ear beeped twice, signalling a shipwide alert. She managed not to elbow anything this time. Helen's voice came through the earpiece.

"Everyone to your stations. We're going to be passing real close to a cruiser in about ten minutes."

Another beep signaled the message was over. Chairs started to scrap as people began to move. Geoff sighed, moving slowly. Danny had disappeared before she could blink twice.

Cassie sat up straight, very on alert. "What's going on?"

Brendan patted her shoulder reassuringly. "It's nothing to worry about. Just procedure."

Cassie glanced around at everyone leaving, still seated. "Um, where do I go?"

Mike had a thoughtful look, which then morphed into a smile. He gestured for her to follow him. "Come watch the show."