JS went back where his men were waiting for him. Only his clenched jaw betrayed that something had gone wrong. "What about Eve?" S-Anne asked. JS shook his head. "No one had useful information. Let's get back onboard, we are done with the job here." The news that there was no trace of Eve got everyone into a tizzy. "How can we find her?" Maurr asked. "Do you think she's still alive?" Gila said giving voice to everyone's concern. JS nodded. "If she had died I would have felt it, and the ships too." "OMG, we put the Grays pushing up daisies for nothing!" Laetitia said, as her mind realized what had happened. Until then the exchange between Eve's life and the Grays had seemed acceptable, but now ... "Bullshit!" JS hissed. "We have not terminated the Grays, only destroyed the 104s and their minions. There are still Grays left around the Galaxy, we have the Body Bank with their DNAs, I'm here and I have a bit of Gray DNA. Lee and Laetitia I give you the task of helping the Gray survivors. You'll provide them anything they need, so they can start to procreate without the 104s' eugenics. Do all we can to help them. Is that clear?" They both nodded, but Lee said: "What will you do now, for Eve, I mean?" "I don't know, I have to think about it." JS replied, and walked toward Vickie's and Etta's core. When he was alone in the inner sanctum of the ship, Vickie and Etta asked in unison: "Do you think to connect and ask the stars?" JS shrugged: "That's the idea, I don't have a clue and the Galaxy is great." "The stars will help you definitely!" Etta said. "After all, you're their favorite!" JS smiled ruefully, Etta was always a great optimist. A cascade of ballads greeted him: the stars were singing a triumphal march, a joyful rhythm that opened in harmonies to last eons. JS joined the choir and one of the S'skash captains who were trapped with their minds in the harmony of the stars' songs told him: "A baby star was born in the Eagle Pillars. This is the welcome song. It's good that you join us. Where's your girlfriend?" "That's why I'm here. I'm looking for her. Can you tell me where she is?" JS replied. A scale of notes sung sotto voce by Phi-Snake, the Gray star, replied: "As you see, now we are in the midst of a welcome symphony, soon we'll be done, then we can answer you. Join us." JS sang a couple of naming ceremony songs and then cut off: the stars' 'soon' could mean a few million years at least, and this wasn't a period of time a human being could afford. "I'll try the time-honoured spook methods, girls: after all 3TC and Badu aren't slight-footed when they move!" JS told the ships. First JS went to the Reefs of Space, it was time to collect old debts. "JS!" Lou cried. "How did you sneak in muddy shadow lands and no one was any the wiser?" JS grinned: "Practice, Lou. Have you intel about our old friends Badu and 3TC?" Lou shook her head: "Gone, as if swallowed up by Hell. You rather be careful on the Reefs: there are many who did business with the Grays and want to make you pay." "There are Grays here?" JS asked. "A few. Slaves and some low-ranking accountant, but they are hidden fearing for their lives. There were pogroms on the Aquarius Reefs, so they keep a low profile. It's rumored they're looking for mercs." "Spread the word that Jem Snorri is available. He has a reputation among the Grays." After a few days Lou warned JS that G-90923 wanted to meet him. The meeting place was Lou's bar. "Snorri? Fuck you, you're Jay Sea! I"m dead." G-90923 wailed. "Answer some questions for me." JS said stopping her from running away. "Why should I?" "Because can I help you." JS replied and told her his project about the Grays' future. G-90923 nodded slowly. "I know you are a man of your word. We've a deal now. What I know is that two Waabi mercs' transports are en route to 15-Pavo. It's odd since there's nothing there."