Cassiopeia slipped her ultrasonic scanner in her pocket, making her way through the crowd gathered in the makeshift reception room on the Calibri Freighter. She was overdue for this java break, but that wasn't anything new for a Colonial med tech, her diet plan consisting of "too much to do, no time to eat". As she headed for the commissary, it occurred to her that if she hadn't volunteered for this extra duty that she would have been meeting Starbuck about now. However, his sudden entanglement with that woman had brought their romantic liaison to a grinding halt. She tried not to dwell on it; after all, Starbuck had about as much experience as she did with monogamous relationships. Then again, it was one of the things that endeared him to her; they both seemed to be starting out on even ground, neither of them having unreasonable expectations of the other. In a life filled with uncertainty, it had been nice to meet a man willing to take each day as it came, especially one who came in such a handsome package.

Cassie sighed, pushing her hair back from her face. She'd recognized sincere regret when Starbuck had said his goodbyes. There had been true vulnerability in him that had resonated with her, allowing her socialator training to overcome her more female instinct to slap him across the face. It had taken all of her self-control to not proceed on her own, performing genetic tests on the child to put her own scepticism to rest. Furthermore, it had required far more effort than she cared to admit to not blurt out her suspicions about Honour, even as that little voice in the back of her mind screamed out that there was more to woman than met the eye.

She'd seen Honour's type before: scheming, malicious, two-faced. The way that Honour manipulated a situation led the med tech to believe that at some point she had had some socialator's training. Cassie doubted that Honour had completed her training, making it to convocation. Somewhere along the line one of their esteemed pedagogues would have realized that while Honour certainly had the intelligence to become a socialator, that she lacked the simple heart that was necessary for the traditional and respected designation.

All the same, if she had mentioned any of this to Starbuck or anybody else for that matter, it would have come across as jealousy. It was a no win situation, and Cassie had grace enough to cede the first round to Honour. The next round, well that would be a different matter . . .

So much for not dwelling on this, Cassiopeia . . .

Angry at herself for allowing her mind to wander where it would, she abruptly rounded a corner, instantly regretting it as she stumbled into a young man carrying a tot.

"Oops, sorry!" Cassie said, her hands extended to soften the impact. Controlling her shock, she recognized Starbuck's "wife" and "child", more from a visceral reaction than from any obvious visual clues.

Honour's hair was shorn so close to her head that she looked like a young teen carrying his sibling. Oversized and tattered pants and tunic completed the transformation, a tightly cinched belt hinting at malnutrition. Smudges of dirt disguised a face that could be considered "too pretty" to be male. Shadows of what had to be grease were smeared on the jaw line, giving an illusion of facial hair. Yahrens of socialator training kicked in, and Cassie bent down, recovering the pack of belongings that Honour had dropped when they'd collided. She paused only briefly in indecision before taking the initiative, knowing she wouldn't regret it.

"S'okay," the imposter replied, her voice muffled and lowered in tone as the baby fussed in her arms. "No harm done, lady."

Cassie stood back up, handing the "young man" the pack. She was careful to cover any trace of recognition as she glanced at her chrono. "There's a clinic today. Maybe you should bring the little one. Your sister?"

"Yeah. Maybe." The reply was noncommittal, as "he" took the pack and brushed past her.

Cassie chewed her lip a moment in thought as she turned towards the commissary. Something had to have happened, but what? Had the second round of this rivalry presented itself so soon? The question was what should she do about it?