The inspector, Xavian Darrd, headed for the corner Philomena had disappeared behind.

"May we continue the inspection, please?" he asked.

As he approached it, Luci's jittery feet stamped the threadbare carpet in the middle of the hallway. Her feet were ready to take off running, but she had no idea where to run to. Going after Darrd seemed like the safest bet, but she also had a very strong urge to run back to her precious manga collection and seclude herself until the heat death of the universe.

No, Philomena told you to do this!

It was a weak, flimsy excuse. But Philomena had thrust her into the spotlight, and Luci clung to the farfetched idea that maybe, eventually, someday, possibly, maybe she would get a kabedon if she did what she was told. It was the only thing that kept her from totally falling to pieces. And even then, she was only held together by duct tape and string.

As Darrd rounded the corner, Luci lunged after him and grabbed his wrist to pull him back. She didn't have the upper body strength to make him stop — not by a long shot — but he halted anyway. He eyed her hands, which were wrapped around his much-larger wrist, and then followed her arms all the way up to her flushed, sweaty, twitching face.

"Is there something you're trying to hide from me, Ms. Ramirex?" he asked.

Wh-What do I say to that? she thought.

A sudden flash of motion down the corridor caught her eye. The door to the warehouse slid open, and the light from the fire splashed onto the wall. Darrd's head, angled towards her, was turned just a bit too far to notice it.

Wait, I don't need to say anything!

"Que?" she asked, giving Darrd a vapid, eager-to-please smile.

Philomena rushed across the hallway and into the office opposite the warehouse.

"Está tratando de ocultarme algo, Sra. Ramirex?" he asked.

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"Que?" she repeated, keeping the vapid smile on her face. In Spanish, she said, "I'm sorry, I only speak Spanish."

In Spanish, he replied, "I know."

It felt like a meteor had crashed down on her head.

"Hah?" she asked.

"My husband is from Asilo. We visit the planet pretty often."

Luci gulped.

His Spanish is, um … really, really good.

Darrd said, "I've always found it very awe-inspiring how your people can turn bare metal infrastructure and exposing wiring into such works of art. What you call 'Steel Brutalism' is truly a monument to the power of human engineering and intellect."

The office door opened. Philomena rushed back to the warehouse with a rolling office chair in her arms.

Luci flexed her arms and edged sideways. Pretending to get comfortable, while secretly drawing his eye away from the hallway.

"Isn't it just! Th-Those buildings back home are, um, really something, aren't they?!"

"I'm especially impressed by the work of, uh, Augusto Alvarex."

Behind him, Philomena and her chair disappeared into the warehouse. The door slid closed behind her.

But Luci wasn't able to breathe a sigh of relief just yet. Darrd had fallen silent with an expectant look in his eye, waiting for her to continue a conversation she hadn't been following along with.

"I'm sorry?" she asked.

"I said, I enjoy the work of Augusto Alvarex."

"Who?"

He cocked his head. "The … the artist who designed the Cosmic Condor? The sculpture symbolizing your ancestors' ascent to the stars?"

Oh, that big bird thing in the city center? Did we learn about that in school? Well, if we did, I was almost definitely too busy reading manga to study.

Aw, crap, he's expecting me to say something.

"Right!" she blurted out. "That Augusto Alvarex! It-It's a really … swell … sculpture. Isn't it?"

"It certainly is."

After they both trailed off into silence, Darrd cleared his throat.

"Well, now that we've gotten the communication barrier out of the way, may we continue the inspection?"

Behind her smile, Luci felt stress fractures build up in her facial muscles, and she wasn't sure how much longer her face would hold up under all this pressure.

"Um, s-sure! Ha ha!"

Philomena, please hurry up!