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Darren glanced towards the construction site again. A bot was currently lowering a section of wall into place while another worked on the frame of what would eventually become the front entrance."At least the construction of our house is coming along," he said. "Though I reckon it'll take less time to finish the whole thing than it will to convince the kids that watching it is not an approved recreational activity."

"Perhaps we should put that on a sign."

"KEEP OUT. NO CHILDREN, NO TOURISTS, NO EXCEPTIONS?"

I grinned. "You forgot the local adults who come to be nosy. We've had a few of those, too, in the past two days."

"Fine. No idiots, either."

I laughed, then pulled out my comm and contacted Bob. "Bob, I need a favour. Could you arrange for a temporary fence around the sheriff's office construction site? Something that will keep people at a safe distance until the work is finished."

Bob answered almost immediately. "Absolutely, Sheriff! I can have the construction bots erect a proper perimeter fence. We can include clear warning signs, designated viewing points for curious visitors, and a gate for authorised personnel. I should have it all in place within the hour."

"That would be appreciated."

"Consider it done! And if you'd like, I can make the signs particularly colourful. People seem to pay more attention to things when they're bright."

Darren gave me a sidelong look as I ended the call. "Did he just offer to make the warning signs colorful?"

"He did."

"Of course he did. Do you think he just meant the letters, or adding art or...You know what, never mind.”

We stood watching the bots for another moment. I was beginning to appreciate the efficiency of the machines, even if their work attracted more attention than I'd expected. The building was being transformed rapidly, and once the fencing was in place, we could concentrate on getting our home ready rather than spending half the day escorting people away from it.

I checked the time on my comm, then glanced towards the distant landing area.

Darren noticed. "Why do you keep looking over there?" he asked. "Expecting trouble?"

"I hope not," I said. I grinned as a shuttle appeared over the spaceport and began its approach for landing. Darren followed my gaze as I continued, "Because the people we're about to go greet..." I turned to him. "Are your parents, Darren."

25

DARREN

Istared at Tarek, then at the Alliance shuttle coming in over the spaceport, and then back at Tarek again.

"My parents?"

He nodded. "Your parents."

"Here? Not that I'm not super happy to see them, but why are they here already? Our house isn't finished."

"Apparently, they decided they didn't want to wait."

"Apparently?" I repeated. "You knew about this?"

"Not until recently."

"Recently, when?"

He opened his mouth, then closed it again, his tail giving an unmistakably guilty flick. "Oh, no. That is the face of a man who knows something he isn't telling me."

"I might know a little something."

"Tarek!"

He laughed and put an arm around my shoulders. "Come on, my Corathiel. Let's go find out what they've brought with them."