Dillon dump them on one of those transports going off world. Pick the right one and it’s in empty space for months before delivering its haul. Vin nodded and then climbed onto the back of the hopper. He lifted the prisoner up and handed him down to Vannie. Vin handled the large man as easily as if he were a child. Vannie dragged the man into the shop. The night eased toward dawn, details emerging as Emma moved closer. Tape covered the prisoner’s eyes, ears and mouth but otherwise he appeared uninjured. Not that she intended to examine him after what happened a few hours ago. Vin sprang down from the hopper, his hands full of odd shaped items. They followed Vannie inside to where he deposited the bound man on the floor beside the other prisoner. The man in the chair jerked upright when he saw Vin, his eyes going wide. Though not for long as Vin covered his eyes, ears and mouth also with tape. Then he moved behind the prisoner and wrapped some strange looking rope around the man’s wrists. A brief light flared and then Vin rose. “ You got this, Vin?” Vannie said as he and Moe headed for the door. “I have to get the men going to the river.” “ I’ll join you soon.” Vin went to his workbench, gathering up lines and hoses attached to some kind of robotic device. Emma didn’t doubt he heard her approaching him. She skirted around the prisoners whimpering behind their gags to join him. “Is this the thing you made to protect the men working the river?” He leaned down to check something, his long fingers skipping cleverly over dials and connections. “It should keep them safe, at least from the metal traps.” He paused and looked at her. “They could come up with something new.” “ Vin.” Emma put her hand on his arm, feeling muscles tighten beneath her fingers. “Thank you for helping us.” He looked down at her hand on his arm and then up at her. The intensity in his eyes almost sent her back a step. “Promise me that you’ll stay out of the shop and away from these guys while I’m at the river.” She couldn’t have said no to him even if one of the prisoners was bleeding to death. “Do you trust my promise?” Giddiness tickled her middle. Was she actually flirting with a Recon Marine? But she leaned toward him. A flicker of uncertainty in his eyes warmed her as much as his answer. “You lack a sense of self-preservation and have too great a need to help and protect others. Even those who don’t need help or deserve it. I don’t know if it’s your medical training or something inside you.” He again looked down at her hand on top of his arm. “I vow that these men do not need medical attention. Will you stay away from them?” “ I will.” He nodded and returned to tinkering with his machine, forcing her to drop her hand. She studied his profile, seeing him as she hadn’t before. He was a handsome man, verging on beautiful with his high cheek bones and square jaw. His complexion appeared tan but she knew he’d been genetically designed with a skin tone to withstand most suns’ rays. His lean, graceful body completed the most attractive package she’d ever met in a man though she wasn’t one to be impressed with physical appearances. Only today had she noticed how gorgeous he was. Today she’d recognized the haunted look behind all the caution in his cool gaze. Today she saw the loneliness and the forlorn search for familiarity in the military neatness of his shop and sleeping quarters. Was the assistance he gave Hovel Port without being asked only his engrained habit of serving civilians? Or was he just a lonely man trying to find a place? Vin gestured for her to proceed him out of the building, kicking the door closed behind him. He hefted the equipment to his shoulder and headed down the street toward the south gate. The miners already trudged that direction to start their day. They greeted Vin and then picked up their pace to match his strides. Some laughter and