Pirra cheered delightedly as an ancient spirit from Dessei mythology danced through the parade.

It was an impossibly thin, multi-legged being that moved with more grace than any real creature, floating over the floor as if gravity was merely an idea.

The stealthsuit the controller wore was a high-quality one that surely cost plenty of Ex, and bent light in the human-visible spectrum enough to make them nearly invisible.

But the suit was clearly tailored for human vision only; Dessei saw in a slightly different range than they did, and so she could see the controller in a vivid shade of ultraviolet. They were actually very hard to miss.

But she wouldn't take points off for that! She excitedly gave them a vote, wondering for a moment if it had been a mistake to vote for every costume so far. To some extent she did wish everyone well, but she had also loved every costume that had come along!

The only thing missing was her own partner.

It was a good thing that she and Alexander had decided not to take part in the parade. Sure, their costumes were not nearly as amazing as most, but they were good! They'd even had them made out of the closest materials they could get on the ship to historic Earth outfits. And though she found them somewhat uncomfortable, they looked great.

Admittedly, she had hoped they might join in last-second. There was plenty of space left at the end, and she had her Tommy Gun with its special ship-safe blanks for a reason!

Where was Alexander?

He had to be in the crowd, but he hadn't answered her last call. He probably had his hands full or something, but still, he could at least have picked up . . .

A call from him came in, and her heart jumped.

"Alex!" she said excitedly, picking up. "I'm down near Watchito's-"

"Hey," Alexander's voice came. He sounded subdued, and she felt her elation dissipate.

"Alex, are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said quickly. "I mean, I'm not hurt or anything . . ."

"Did something happen?" she asked sharply, her voice slipping into a professional Response tone.

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"Nothing like that. I'm sorry, Pirra, I just . . . kind of don't feel well. I'm still at home."

She was silent a moment. "Oh," she finally said. "Are you sick?" she added after a moment.

"Maybe. I don't have a fever, it's just . . . I guess I don't feel very energetic. I tried taking a stim, but it didn't do a lot." He paused. "I really hate to disappoint you, but . . ."

"If you're not feeling well, you should stay home," she said firmly. "Get a medical drone to check you out, just to be safe."

"Okay," he said. She could hear the relief in his voice. "And Pirra? Try to have fun, okay?"

The parade continued, and Pirra went back to upvote the costumes she hadn't even seen during her call.

Right now they'd gotten into a military theme, with a unit of people all in their own Heavy Armor Suits marching together. Each one was unique, with paint themes ranging from historic to modern to bright pinks with flowers and even some based on cultural characters. She recognized some from her studies of historic human culture and excitedly started cheering again.

"Hey, I know that voice!"

Turning, Pirra saw Iago waving. She waved back, hurrying over.

Iago's costume was just an old Response uniform, a style that pre-dated his time on the Craton. Probably something he actually had in his closet, she thought.

Next to him, Elliot waved as well, beaming. His costume was far more involved; he had fur all over much of his body, with torn old-style human clothes.

"I'm so happy I ran into you!" Pirra said.

"Your costume is great! That's from the 20th century, right?" Iago asked.

"Yes!" she replied. "I'm Bonnie Parker, an old criminal!"

"Nice, I thought that might be it, but I wasn't sure enough to guess," Iago replied with a laugh.

"I can see who you are," she replied. "Lazing out and just wearing an old uniform."

"Well, I had to throw it together at the last second," Iago replied, glancing past her. She turned and looked as well and saw someone striding by in a four-meter tall robot suit that was really just some clever use of stilts and piping.

"Were you not going to come?" She glanced around. "Is Cass here?"

"No, she didn't want to come out," Iago said lightly. "For her religion, Darkeve is kind of a somber occasion."

"Oh, I see," Pirra replied.

That would explain why he hadn't planned on coming.

She looked to Elliot. "Your costume is great!" she added. "What kind of creature are you?"

"I'm a werewolf!" he said, bearing long fangs and letting out a howl. "On ancient Earth they once thought people could get cursed and turn into these when the moonlight hit them! They went around and broke stuff and ripped people apart!"

He howled - his sound enhanced by some device that turned it from comical to genuinely blood-chilling.

"That's so cool!" she said. "I've heard of them, there were a lot of movies about them in earlier times!"

"Dad won't let me watch those," Elliot said. "He wouldn't even let me put blood or guts on my claws."

"Don't act so disappointed," Iago chided his son, clapping a hand onto his furry shoulder. "You saved a lot of Ex, the good fake blood and guts costs a lot and isn't even worth it."

Elliot glanced up at his dad, surprised, and Pirra nodded. "It's true. One year your dad and I went as people who had died in a meteor accident. Blood and guts trailing everywhere. It was a great idea, but they looked so fake people actually laughed."

Iago sighed. "They just don't make 'em on the Craton like they do in a full system," he said.

"Wow," Elliot replied, eyes wide. "I want to see those costumes!"

"Well, they were a little wild," Iago admitted.

Pirra shifted. Yes, those had been worn to a private party and they had been . . . risque at best, for the both of them. It wasn't a time she was keen on bringing back up visually, especially since she had never told Alexander about it.

Granted, it had been before Iago had even introduced the two of them . . .

"Hey, Pirra, have you seen the Executive Commander?" Iago asked, changing the topic. "Elliot has some candy for Hannah."

"Daaaad," Elliot whined. "Not everyone has to know!"

"Oooh, you got her a gift?" Pirra asked, smiling and crouching slightly to be on his level.

"It's just a bag of sqipz," Elliot muttered, looking away.

"That's so sweet!" she chirped, rising. "But no - I haven't seen him. I'm sure he's around, though. He's dressesd up as an Earth tree - I don't think you can miss him."

"Okay, we'll go looking for him, then," Iago said.

The parade was almost halfway over, Pirra noted. She quickly upvoted the last few costumes.

As Iago and Elliot moved away, a sudden urge came to her. "I'll go with you!"