[In some shade of tone, he thinks he can hear that smile. What it reminds him of is — a Stellaron, although there are differences, one's complexity not matching the uniqueness of the other's. And certainly it had never become a place to visit in quite the way Lighter describes.]

... It sounds like a dangerous business venture. Is that what you do? Do you recover the energy resource within these 'Hollows'?

[He thinks of watching the man move, that first day they'd met. The power and fire within him, the athleticism. Hard-earned traits.]