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and he’s accepted, but I understand he has at least a little experience.”
    Diane brightened a little with that. “Oh, really? What’s his background?”
    Brill paused, allowing me to answer. “Well, I’ve worked a little with sludge, and I’m pretty familiar with changing out algae matrices.”
    Diane glanced back and forth between us. Brill grinned broadly.
    “It’s him?” Diane exclaimed.
    “Yup. I tried to get somebody better, but we had to take what we could find on such short notice.”
    Diane’s face ran through a range of emotions from anger, then confusion, and finally to pleased as the reality of the situation sunk in. “It’s really you?” she asked again and slugged me in the arm. “You sludge monkey! You set me up for that.”
    “I hope you’re not too disappointed that you’re getting a greenie. I’ll tell ya, when the captain hit me with it this morning, I was about as surprised as you are right now.”
    We settled in at a mess table so Brill could eat her soup before it got cold. “I actually talked to Mr. Kelley this morning right after Gregor told me,” she said. “I thought we’d have a bit more time, but the Moore is getting underway first thing tomorrow and they wanted Gregor aboard immediately.”
    “We’re not too far behind that,” Diane pointed out. “How is this all going to work?”
    “I’m not entirely sure and just doing what I’m told. They’re working on a replacement for me and I’m supposed to stick here until they find one. Mr. Maxwell seemed to think that wasn’t going to be too difficult.”
    Brill paused from her soup and said, “St. Cloud is a good place for picking up quarter shares because working on mommy’s sheep ranch or daddy’s fishing boat isn’t all that much fun. Like all company planets, there is not a lot of options down there.”
    “Amen to that,” I added. I started on a company planet and knew only too well how limited the prospects could be. If not for the Lois’s arrival at Neris, I would have been deported at my own expense after my mother died. “So, what has to happen to make this as smooth a transition as possible?”
    Brill finished her soup and sighed in satisfaction. “Cookie makes the best soups in the galaxy.” Focusing on the question at hand, she replied, “We need to get you transferred over to engineering berthing to free up the deck bunk space for the greenie.”
    It took me a moment to realize that by greenie she did not mean me. After being the junior member of the crew for six months, I looked forward to relinquishing that particular title. “What’s involved?” I asked.
    Diane answered, “Oh, that’s nothing. Just go over to engineering berthing and claim an empty bunk and locker. Then move your stuff in. Strip the linens off your old bunk and reset the palm lock on your locker when you’re done with it.”
    Brill concurred, “That’s about it. We’ll update the ship’s records when you officially transfer to the section.” She stood up and cleared her dishes. “Speaking of which, I need to get back and finish the paperwork.”
    “Thanks, Brill,” I told her.
    She just smiled and gave a little wave before heading off in the direction of environmental.
    “Ish?” Diane said softly. “I…um…I’m sorry for the nasty comment earlier.”
    “What nasty comment?” I asked.
    “About getting somebody who doesn’t know anything.”
    “Oh, that. Are you still upset now that you know who the greenie really is?”
    She shook her head. “No! I’m delighted. I was just afraid we’d get somebody who wouldn’t fit in.”
    “Are you sure?” I pressed. “I know I don’t have anything close to Gregor’s experience.”
    “Don’t count on that. You already have a better feel for it than Gregor ever will.”
    “Maybe, but—the bottom line is that the department is losing a spec three and getting an ordinary engineman. You’re gonna have to babysit me for a while.”
    “Of course, but you’ve