“Don’t I know it. It was a lifesaver when I arrived.” Well-worn from the seven-hour walk, chilled to the bone, it had been more hiking than he’d done in… well, maybe ever. Before, airborne shuttles or jump-jets had always been there to help carry you bounding across an alien landscape. Being land-bound again was more than an irritation; it was strangling.

“Having my own space is my main reason to look into this, too,” Reyes admitted. They seemed alike in that regard. “Still, it’s probably high time that I got out of your hair — it’s a chilly day, I’m sure you’ve other things to do. And we can catch up properly over a drink some other time.”

Another old habit, hard to shake: you couldn’t just take a pretty neighbour to the bar for a drink. He realised it a moment later, with an apologetic shrug. He’d used to live above a nightclub. The scarcity of alcohol here took some serious readjustment.