Blissfully, Alan stopped singing as soon as he was outside. Tony felt as if someone had hit him over the head with a mallet, though he knew from experience that it was merely the result of too much of too many kinds of booze. Still, he'd never have another stag night; it was just as well he had made the most of this one.

The night had gone well. The men had congregated in one of the Eagles some distance from the settlement so that they could be rowdy without waking everyone else up. There was plenty of alcohol and "plonk", the intoxicating drink made from Morrow mushrooms. The only thing missing was entertainment, at least until Kate turned up, wearing only a nurse's outfit and her bikini. She removed the nurse's dress as slowly as possible to the accompaniment of the appropriate music, but Tony had been far too busy laughing to be in the least bit titillated. Kate and her husband, Ben Vincent, later told Tony that Alan had done a draw to select the "stripper" for Tony's bachelor party and Kate had won. Although neither of them would say which other women had volunteered, Tony was flattered to think there had been more than one candidate.

Drawing his mind off the previous evening, Tony drank the coffee Alan had left. It wasn't really Irish coffee, as it was unsugared and had no cream on the top. In fact, it was simply artificial coffee with a dash of whisky in it. The concoction did however go a long way toward making Tony's hangover more bearable. Once his head was feeling clearer, Tony got up and went to get some clean clothes from his travel case. His best uniform, the one with the least rents and repairs, was already hanging from the railing in the corner. Tony wished he could have worn a proper suit for his wedding, but the one suit he had brought to Alpha with him before Breakaway had long since been recycled to make paper and cloth. There were no resources for him to get a new suit, so he was obliged to fall back on one of his uniforms, frayed by 16 years of regular use.

The textile situation on Alpha was getting desperate. The Alphans had managed to get by with their existing supply of materials while they were drifting through space, but the increase in their population over the past six years had made the shortage critical, particularly for families with children. Not only was it difficult to clothe the children, but with no source of cellulose to make the absorbent pads used on Earth, cloth also had to be used for nappies and women's hygiene, which contributed even further to the shortage.

The subject of clothing materials would normally have sent Tony to sleep, but the crisis had reached such proportions that John had asked Tony to draw up an immediate plan of action. Since the Alphans had long established that Alpha had nothing to offer as far as textiles were concerned, their only hope was to find suitable materials on Loki. Tony had assigned a team from the Agricultural Section, headed by Shermeen Collins, to study Lokian plant life and find a source of stable textile fibres as soon as possible. The Chemical Laboratory was also looking for ways of creating man-made fibres, but they were limited by the fact no petrol had been found on Loki yet. This excluded the manufacture of nylon, though there was hope they might be able to eventually create semi-synthetic fibres like rayon once suitable raw materials were found. In the meantime, a small group of engineers were designing looms and spinning machines so that cloth could be woven as soon as the fibres were found.

Reminding himself that this was his wedding day -- not a time for thinking about work -- Tony slipped on a pair of trousers and assembled his various toiletries, and then left his little cabin to go and wash himself in the common washroom. There was no permanent accommodation on Loki yet, so visitors had to either stay in an Eagle or in one of the prefabricated shacks which littered the heights at Area 3. Most of the shacks were of a type designed during the Summer and were little more than 2x2-metre boxes made of Lokian wood and plasterboard. Aside from the wall that held the door and the window, all the walls, the ceiling and the floor were made of identical, interchangeable squares. The furniture inside consisted of one table and one mattress; thin metal railings cut across each corner of the room to hold the box together, and these could be used for hanging clothes. Any other comforts had to be provided by the occupant, and the only bathroom was a common washroom.

"Hey, you can't go in here," said Annette as Tony approached the washroom. She was standing guard outside the converted Eagle module that served as Area 3's public bathhouse. Although all the other Eagles were equipped with toilets as well, this one was the only one fitted with several shower cubicles.

"Maya's in there," continued Annette, "and it is bad luck for the groom to see the bride on the day of the wedding. You'll see how does she look later."

Annette didn't look too chipper and her English grammar seemed to have taken a nosedive; perhaps she was suffering from a hangover as well. Tony had no doubt that, sober though Maya might be, her female friends would have made the most of her hen night.

"Yes, I'm sure I will see Maya later." Tony thoughtfully fingered the towel over his shoulder. He imagined Maya having her morning shower and smiled. "Okay, well, you give me a rap when she's gone."

Annette nodded and Tony trotted back to his little shack. The ground under his feet was dusty and dry; it had only rained a couple of times since the end of the Summer. Tony reflected that he had never lived in a desert climate; most of his memories of Earth seemed to involve rain in one way or another. Still, there would be plenty of rain later in Loki's cycle.

For want of a chair in his hut, Tony sat down on the table, which was one of the low plastic ones from Alpha. Someday, there would be a proper base at Area 3, he thought. The engineering team had already started excavating tunnels in the cliffside and so far, things were looking very good. Out of the five possible settlement sites the computer had picked in year 4, Area 3 was the most suitable, and its breathtaking landscape had clinched the issue. John had decided this would be the Alphans' main base on Loki.

It was already a de facto settlement site, since the wide plains nearby had been used for crops virtually ever since the Alphans first set foot on the planet. Some Alphans had also taken the habit of coming to the area for various ceremonies. The Kanos had been the first to pick a spot on the heights above Area 3 for the christening of their son David; a number of other Alphans had used the same place for similar purposes during the first Spring and the early Autumn. A prefabricated shack had now been set up in that location; this was where Tony was going to marry Maya.

He smiled at the thought. They were already registered as husband and wife in Alpha's census records, and Maya's official designation had changed from "Maya, daughter of Mentor" to "Maya Verdeschi". She seemed quite pleased with the idea of having a surname like the rest of her colleagues. But Tony wanted a big wedding, Italian style, and now that the weather on Loki had cooled down, that was exactly what he was going to get.

Tony heard a knock on his door and stood up, ready to go back to the washroom now that the way was clear. The day was all planned out in his mind: shaving, washing, dressing, walking up to the Temple, getting married, having a lot to eat, more drinking and dancing later and then a wedding night somewhere. Tony didn't even know where he and Maya would sleep that night. A cabin made of ticky-tacky didn't sound very appealing, but even though Alan had promised to take care of everything, Tony couldn't see what other venue was available. He'd have to let it all come as a big surprise later on.

"Don't be so nervous, Tony." John was laughing. "You've met your bride before."

"It... it... I don't know, it just makes me nervous," stammered Tony, who was not feeling very comfortable about the whole thing. The smell of incense was combining with his nerves and hangover to make him feel quite nauseous.

"Come on, it's not as if this is some kind of torture," said Alan, who seemed just as amused as John. "All you have to do is stand here and repeat what John tells you to say."

"That's all right for you to say, Alan, you're not the one getting married." The nausea was getting worse; Tony was beginning to wonder if he would have to rush out of the hut and throw up. That would give all the people who had come to see the wedding something to look at.

Even though he'd been sharing quarters with Maya for a dozen years, even though he'd been officially married to her for two, Tony felt that things would be different after this wedding. He put it down to conditioning -- he had been raised to believe that a church wedding was something mystical, a ceremony which created an indissoluble link between two individuals, and there was a finality in that belief which made him hesitate now. He told himself that it was ridiculous, that even marriage in a Catholic church was nothing more than civilisation's attempt to control sex and reproduction, and that this marriage in a shack filled with mementoes from half a dozen religions was nothing more special than Maya's announcement in Main Mission two years earlier. But even with these reassuring thoughts, he still felt nervous.

Trying to calm himself, Tony looked around the "Temple", as it was nicknamed. Ever since the Kanos had baptised their son in this location, it had become something of a tradition for those who used the Temple to leave something behind to decorate the room. Looking at the walls, Tony could distinguish a variety of artefacts from all around Earth; Russian Orthodox icons painted on cardboard, intricate Arabic suras from the Koran, a star of David, various crosses and crucifixes, sticks of incense which Sahn had probably left there. Tony's contribution for the wedding was a poster of Fra Lippo Lippi's Madonna With Child, a memento from his native Florence. More disturbingly, some people had put up photographs of their loved ones from Earth or people who had died on Alpha -- a faded Polaroid of Greg Sanderson featured prominently on the left wall. Despite being a non-believer, Tony toyed with the idea of adding a photo of his brother Guido to the collection.

All these artefacts had been packed up and taken back to Alpha during the Summer, but the Temple was reinstated almost as soon as the Summer ended. One of the larger prefabs had been set up to house the Temple in roughly the same place as it had been before. The room was too small to hold many people, so most of the guests were on the hillside around it; Tony doubted they would see much, as the Temple was very dark compared to the bright sunlight outside. The building was situated about 100 metres from the edge of the cliff, but its entrance was pointing towards the lake. This was apparently the way that David Kano had erected his original marquee, so the tradition had been continued -- it wasn't as if the building needed to point towards Jerusalem or Mecca. Strange to think that David Kano would no doubt be remembered as the instigator of Loki's only holy place.

All of a sudden, there was a cheer outside the Temple, a roar of joy mixed with the distinctive ululating that Alpha's few African women used to celebrate every occasion. Tony peered at the bright entrance to the Temple; all he could see were the outlines of the crowd outside and a bit of Loki's blue sky. The people seated in the Temple -- John's family, the Frasers, the Oforis -- turned to watch the doorway as well. Tony's throat felt dry; all this commotion could only be announcing Maya's arrival.

The cheering spread to the inside of the Temple when Maya stepped in. For a moment, as she crossed the threshold, Tony saw her as little more than a black silhouette with the distinctive veil of a European bride, outlined against the bright blue in the doorway. But as she moved towards him, Tony's eyes were able to make out more details.

Maya was wearing a white dress, which took Tony by surprise, preoccupied as he was with cloth shortages; he knew that Maya had no such item in her wardrobe, and wondered where she had got the material for it. The wedding gown was very simple, the sort of sober design which was well within the capabilities of Alpha's non-specialist seamstresses. It was a full length, sleeveless dress with a scoop neck collar where the material had been folded outwards, forming a flounce around Maya's shoulders. The straight line of the wedding dress went well with Maya's slim figure, the material clinging to her body as she walked. Tony could see her dark red hair flowing loose under the light veil. He was so enthralled by Maya as she came to join him that he barely noticed her bridesmaid Sahn hovering beside her. By the time Maya had lifted her veil, Tony was unable to tear his eyes away from her lovely face. The nausea and the nerves were well and truly gone -- the sight of her seemed to have even cured his hangover.

John said all sorts of things, telling Tony and Maya to repeat vows that Tony had already kept since the day he fell in love with Maya. The couple promised to stay together, to be faithful, to take the responsibilities of their marriage seriously. Tony repeated the words automatically, too caught up in the beauty of the moment to pay much attention to the details. Alan produced the wedding rings at the right time and everything went smoothly. It was only when John declared them married and everyone cheered that Tony truly felt he was looking at his very own Mrs Verdeschi. And she was the most beautiful Mrs Verdeschi he had ever known.

There was more cheering when Tony and Maya came out of the Temple. At Helena's instigation, Maya tossed her wedding bouquet into the crowd -- Jim Haines caught it amid much hilarity. Everyone crowded around to wish the newlyweds good luck and happiness. Some people gave them presents: sweets from Alpha's catering facilities, an Eagle model from the Engineering Section, a potted plant from Hydroponics. Betty Ling, one of the rare Chinese Alphans, gave them a pair of scarlet booties -- "Good luck for having children," she explained. Others, respecting ancient traditions from another world, gave them money, worthless pieces of intricately printed paper which the Verdeschis politely accepted; they could probably be passed on at future weddings and Tony suspected that Maya would have fun carefully inspecting the dinars, dollars and lire notes later. Even though Tony knew there couldn't be more than 100 people at Area 3, he felt swamped by so much attention and goodwill.

Sahn and Alibe took care of all the presents, packing them into what looked like a clothes basket, though Tony didn't inquire as to its origin. He was too busy being embraced and congratulated to pay much attention to the proceedings. The crowd gradually moved down the hill to the prefab village, away from the cliff's edge.

Kate Goldburg seemed to magically materialise beside Tony as they neared the settlement. "Food!" she exclaimed simply, shouting above the chattering crowd.

Tony exchanged a glance with Maya and shrugged his shoulders. When they reached the village, he could see that some people had stayed away from the ceremony to set up the wedding banquet. Shermeen Collins and Kate Andrews were waiting there, along with Alan, who had probably hurried back as soon as the ceremony was finished. There were too many people for everyone to eat at the trestle tables, so the food was organised as a buffet and the guests were then free to spread out over the heights.

While everyone was anxiously jostling for a place near the table, Alan's voice rose above the noise. "Ladies! Ladies and gentlemen!"

The crowd finally hushed and the Alphans turned to look at Alan. Tony sighed and steeled himself for what would follow; he had been rather hoping that this would be one tradition Alan would forgo.

"As you all know," started Alan, "it's traditional for the best man to make a speech -- well, in my neck of the woods at least..."

"Are there woods in Australia?" asked Kate Andrews dubiously.

"Of course there are! If you'll just let me get on with this... Now, I've known Tony for a long time. In fact I've known him longer than Maya has, and that's saying something, because I honestly can't remember a time when those two weren't together. It's traditional at this point for the best man to make some jokes about the groom's former conquests, but what the hell: half of them are right here anyway!"

That earned Alan a laugh. Tony reflected that there were probably two or three women he had slept with in the audience. That was nowhere near half his conquests, but Alan had a point: it wasn't very usual. Still, it didn't matter as long as Maya didn't seem to mind.

"I'll tell you what though," continued Alan, "I'll skip the jokes and just tell you all the truth. About a month after Maya came to join us -- you remember, back in the days when I still had hair -- Tony came to see me one day and he asked me what I thought of her. And I said she seemed nice but really shy and a bit lost in all our human culture; well, she hasn't changed much, really. And he grinned and he said 'Well, I think she's gorgeous'. Which she certainly is, but there I was thinking 'Yeah, and you don't have a hope in hell, Tony-boy'. Well, I'm glad I was wrong, because I've rarely seen such a dedicated couple." He raised his mug. "So, Tony, Maya, here's to your future together. I hope it'll be as happy as your past."

Tony heaved a sigh of relief as their colleagues toasted the Verdeschis. There were more congratulations; every member of the former security team seemed intent on coming to slap Tony on the back. He reflected that he had already been through this rigmarole the last time he and Maya had got married. But it all felt different here on Loki, under a blue sky which seemed to go on forever.

The banquet turned into a party that stretched into the afternoon. Small clouds had gathered in from the east; although it was unlikely to rain, the clouds kept passing in front of the sun, bringing occasional moments of welcome coolness. Most of the guests had retired to the shade of the huts; Tony and Maya had followed suit and settled on two folding chairs in the shade of Tony's prefab.

Tony had just brought Maya a glass of cool orange drink from one of the Eagles, when Bill came over to join them. He was carrying his two-year-old daughter Dinah; Maya frowned as the child stared curiously at her, probably fascinated by her wedding dress.

"Lélé jolie la dame!" cooed Dinah. Tony's vague memories of learning French at school suggested that this was baby talk for elle est jolie, la dame, "the lady is pretty". Tony couldn't disagree.

"So now you two are really married," declared Bill, turning so that Dinah was facing away from Maya. That didn't last long; the child craned her neck over his shoulder to continue to stare at the bride.

"We were already really married," Tony reminded Bill. "But you're right, Bill, it feels more real this time. Just filling in the computer form didn't feel like a real marriage, even if it was legally binding. You need a ceremony like this to feel really married."

Maya put on a supercilious air and drew herself up to her full height to glance down at Tony. "Your human obsession with ceremonies is illogical, Captain," she said, putting on an American accent.

"What?" Bill seemed puzzled.

"Ralph's Star Trek tapes have just made their way to the Verdeschi household," explained Tony. "Maya is now convinced that the Vulcans are the coolest thing since the Psychons."

"Oh, right." Bill nodded uncertainly. "Good impression of Spock, Maya."

Maya made a face. "Actually, I was trying for an impression of Tuvok."

"No you weren't," said Tony good-naturedly. He knew which end of Star Trek Maya enjoyed. "Anyway, where's Annette, Bill? I haven't seen her since this morning."

"She's not feeling very well. She's resting in our hut," explained Bill. "It's probably all that partying last night."

Tony had a sudden vision of the Frasers and their daughter sharing one of these tiny rooms. He decided not to think about that. The child in Bill's arms started to struggle; when her father refused to let go of her, Dinah coughed angrily, evidently gearing herself up for a scene. She chirped something completely unintelligible and Bill lowered her to the ground, keeping a firm hold on the collar of her patchwork tunic as she tried to toddle off. Maya swept up her wedding dress defensively as the girl grabbed at it.

Bill pulled the child away. "I'd better go and let this one play with her little friends. I'll catch you two later!"

Tony watched as Bill guided Dinah towards the children's play area, a pen set up beyond the settlement. Once they had disappeared, Tony turned back to his wife.

"I know children aren't at their most recommendable at that age, but they really don't bite, Maya," he said gently, amused by her reaction to the toddler. "Anyway, I wonder what's the matter with Annette. It's not like her to miss a party."

"She had a miscarriage last week," said Maya.

"Oh."

There wasn't much Tony could say. For every child born healthy, there seemed to be a miscarriage or an abortion. Alpha's women were too old for reproduction to be easy, and many had been exposed to radiation at some time in their working lives. Some, like Helena, pregnant for the third time at 54, had been relatively lucky, losing only one child or none; others seemed doomed to failure after failure. Even Shermeen, who was one of the only women under 40, had lost a child, and although she had later gone on to have her daughter Becky, Tony could see the toll the experience had taken on the young woman. Maybe it was just as well he and Maya had given up on the idea of having children.

"Anyway, the women last night were talking about honeymoons," said Maya. "Have we got a honeymoon planned?"

"Of course we have," said Tony with a grin. "Two weeks off regular Main Mission duty to spend here on Loki, complete with the Eagle of our choice -- when the Eagles aren't in use, that is."

"Ten days off 'regular Main Mission duty'?" she repeated, raising a bumpy brow curiously. "What about our other duties?"

Tony had known his qualifying statement wouldn't go unnoticed. "Okay, the fact is that John can't spare us for two weeks. I have to keep an eye on the cloth issue, and since you're already working on the meteorological study, he doesn't want to put anyone else on the project. But we're free to stay on Loki to do our work, and we'll be able to borrow an Eagle and disappear off into the wilderness occasionally."

"That sounds very good," said Maya with an approving nod. "I must admit I'd been wondering if we would have time for a honeymoon at all. But as I was told this was your responsibility, I decided to leave you to sort things out with John."

"Glad to know you trusted me to sort things out." Tony kissed her cheek. "Now, the only thing I don't know is where we're going to have our wedding night!"

"John didn't like the idea of us coming to Loki," Helena was saying. "He was worried something might happen after the way this pregnancy started. But I'm taking various drugs to stabilise my condition, and I haven't had any further complications."

Looking at Helena's wrinkled face and dyed hair, Tony reflected that it was a miracle that she was pregnant at all. He remembered the controversy in his native Italy when a doctor there had found a method to allow post-menopausal women to have children. Tony didn't know if Helena was post-menopausal or not, and he wasn't about to ask; all he knew was that she was well beyond the traditional "childbearing age" bracket of 18-40. There had been all sorts of arguments on either side of the issue when the Italian doctor published his findings, but the conclusion in the end was that if it was possible and this was what the women wanted, why deny them? The life expectancy for an Italian woman at the time was 80, by which time a child born when the mother was 50 or 60 would have reached adulthood. Tony had no doubt that Helena planned to live forever, and that her children would be well cared for in any case. But he still felt uncomfortable.

In any case, Helena wasn't talking to him. She was having a girly chat with Maya, both of them sitting outside one of the huts as the sun set beyond the crop fields. Sitting on the dry ground beside them, Tony was eavesdropping purely because it was getting late and he wanted to talk to his wife.

"Are you going to that place near the west coast?" asked Maya. Helena nodded. "I was wondering if Tony and I might go there when you've been. It would do us some good to see different scenery." She looked at Tony for confirmation, and he smiled approvingly.

Helena, on the other hand, seemed doubtful. "Well, I..." she started, before smiling. "Oh, of course you can go," she exclaimed, taking Maya's hands in hers. "The valley doesn't belong to us! We'll only be staying a few days; I can call you when we're leaving. I'm sure you'll enjoy it. It's a beautiful area."

"This one isn't too bad either," said Tony. He could sense that Helena wasn't keen on the idea of the Verdeschis taking over the place where she went with her family. He felt no need to go there; the planet was large enough for everyone, and would stay so for a long time before humans wore it out as they had their homeworld.

"I'm sorry to interrupt you two," continued Tony. "But Maya, you and I should do our 'going away' bit now."

"Oh? Have you found out where we're going?"

Tony grinned and nodded. Helena seemed to know what Alan had planned for their wedding night as well, because she returned his smile and started to get up.

"We'd better join the others," she said. Tony sprang to his feet to help her and the three of them headed back to the rest of the party. The Alphans had congregated around the trestle tables again now that the heat of the day was over.

"Hey, the happy couple are back among us!" exclaimed Alan, evidently the worse for some drink. "Are you ready for your night of passion?"

Maya's face flushed bright red and she turned away slightly to hide her embarrassment. Tony looked daggers at Alan; although Maya was always happy to discuss anyone else's sex life and reproduction, he knew she was uncomfortable discussing her own. In such a public context, at any rate. Everyone else seemed to think Alan's remark was very amusing, and several people started making suggestions as to what Tony and Maya might do with their wedding night. After her initial reaction, Maya put up with the good-natured ribbing, although Tony could tell she was still very tense, especially when everyone crowded around to wish them luck again. There was evidently something about a wedding which made people want to get close to the bride and groom.

Alan's voice finally rose above the brouhaha. "Come on, you two. Let's show you to the wedding suite."

There was more noise and applause as Alan led the way down towards the "White" bay north of the settlement. The dry terrain turned into a small cloud of dust as the Alphans trekked down the hillside to the rocky bottom of the bay. There had no doubt been a time when the lake, named Lake Bergman, extended this far west, but the body of water had long since retired to a basin five kilometres away. The lake was currently little more than a widening of the Bergman river, but estimates showed that the basin would be completely full after the Winter. Tony only hoped that the lake wouldn't overflow at that time; even though the Area 3 base was being constructed to counter flooding, he didn't like the idea that the Alphans might be underestimating Loki's unfamiliar natural forces.

There was nothing to worry about at this time of year, however, and the wedding party spread out onto the dry, flat area at the foot of the cliffs. Tony could see the tunnels Pat Osgood and his team were excavating in the white stone of the cliff side. It was no wonder some of the British were calling this place "Dover"; the cliffs did look remarkably like the chalk cliffs which had made the tiny English ferry port so famous. Fortunately, Dave Reilly had carefully studied the geological composition of these particular cliffs and declared them to be far stronger than friable chalk. The rock they were made of was dubbed "Lokian marble" for the moment, until someone came up with a better name.

With the sun setting behind the cliff, the area was in darkness, but the engineering team had set up bright lamps along the foot of the hill. They cast eerie shadows on the cliff face.

"What's going on?" asked Maya, frowning as she looked down one of the tunnels. "What are we doing down here?"

"This where you're spending your wedding night," announced Alan proudly. "The very first people ever to sleep in the base at Area 3. Assuming you get any sleep at all, of course."

"Is it safe?" asked Tony. He had heard about the plan as soon as everyone in the savvy was drunk enough to tell him, but he still had some reservations about spending the night in a cave.

"Is it what?" exclaimed Pat Osgood, coming to join them. "That tunnel there is the first step towards a base that will last for decades!"

Standing beside him, his wife Michelle nodded vigorously, while their daughter lay asleep in her arms. "Pat is very good with tunnels."

Tony wondered if Michelle was drunk enough for that to be a dirty joke, but then decided it probably wasn't. He was pleased to see the Osgoods in a good mood. Ever since he had announced that Alan would be the best man at his wedding, Tony had felt some measure of coldness from Pat and Michelle. He had been the best man at their wedding, and they had possibly hoped that Tony would call on Pat to return the favour.

"Yeah, well, if Pat says it's safe, I'm ready to believe him," he said cheerfully.

"Go on, get inside, the pair of you," Alan ordered, slapping Tony on the back. As an afterthought, he also wrapped his arm around Maya and kissed her on the cheek, before pushing both of them towards the tunnel. "Go on!"

Tony and Maya obeyed to the sound of the inevitable cheering. The tunnel was well lit and spacious, but its white surface was still rough and it echoed with the sound of the ventilation system. After a dozen metres, Tony reached a metal door and pushed it open to reveal a larger room. Maya followed him in and laughed when she saw the room's decoration.

"Oh, now I really know that Alan is mad!"

"I doubt Alan is the only culprit," said Tony with a grin.

As could be expected, the main feature of the room was the bed. The bedding was standard issue and Tony knew for a fact that nothing else was available. He grinned at the thought that Alan would probably have preferred to lavishly decorate the room in red satin. The decorators had made up for this lack of materials by sticking paper hearts on the walls. Tony recognised these, having seen them at someone else's wedding on Alpha, but he nonetheless appreciated the gesture. Someone had painted a cupid on the wall above the bed and there were two rose bushes from Hydroponics on either side of it. Above the cupid, a banner made of recycled computer paper proclaimed "GOOD LUCK TONY AND MAYA".

Aesthetically speaking, the effect was undoubtedly tacky, but Tony was touched. Looking at Maya, he could tell she was similarly impressed. The couple stood in silence for a while, looking at each other. Then Maya's eyes drifted away from Tony and seemed to focus on something behind him.

"Do you suppose that's the bathroom?"

Turning, Tony noticed that a section of the room was cordoned off with a curtain. He went to peer behind it and found a portable chemical toilet and a small water unit. There were three towels piled up in a corner. "Yup, this looks like a bathroom to me. No shower, though, and I bet the water only comes in room temperature."

"Oh well, we've got a bottle of whisky to warm us up," said Maya.

"Whisky?" Tony left the bathroom and came to join Maya. She was sitting on the bed with a plastic flask in her hand.

"At least, I think it's whisky," added Maya, waving the open bottle under Tony's nose. "I found it standing on the floor with this red ribbon around it."

"Yes, I'd say that's whisky," he agreed, taking the bottle from her and tasting from it. "They probably left it here to symbolise a bottle of champagne. Ugh. You'd think the Catering Service had better things to do than make this rotgut. Still, I suppose it's better than nothing."

"Better than your beer?"

"Different," was his verdict. "Anyway, I shouldn't be drinking."

Tony sealed the flask again and stood it on the floor beside one of the rosebushes. He took the opportunity to remove his shoes while he was bending over. As he straightened up again, he saw the glint from the wedding ring on his left hand and smiled. He leaned towards Maya.

"I need all my strength or Alan will be disappointed," he said suavely.

Maya laughed gently and ran her finger coyly along the zip on Tony's shoulder. "Do you suppose they're listening?"

"I don't think they would dare," Tony assured her. "But I'm sure I'll be asked to give them a full account tomorrow morning... they won't get it of course."

"Of course." Maya caught the slide on Tony's zip and pulled it slowly along to his arm before stopping. "Oh, I nearly forgot. I have something to show you!"

Puzzled, Tony undid his zip completely and removed his tunic. Then he watched as Maya pulled up her wedding dress to reveal her legs. She was wearing her duty boots, but no tights, as the last pair of nylons on Alpha had long since laddered and been chucked out. The wedding dress was dusty from the walk down the hill and Maya brushed off her legs before showing Tony her surprise.

Tony leaned over for a closer look. He was surprised.

"It looks like a tattoo," he said finally.

"It isn't. It's henna. I was talking to some of the operatives, well, Alibe and Yasko specifically, and Alibe said that African and Indian women use henna to decorate their bodies for a wedding."

"It's usually just for their hands, though, isn't it?"

"Yes, but Giovanna Donatelli gave me the mixture and said I could use it for anything. She showed me some nice patterns; apparently, she learned to do these motifs when she was living in her husband's country. Rachid Habibi is from Africa, isn't he? Anyway, she said it would wash off within a couple of days, so I thought I might as well use it. I wanted to do something special for tonight."

"So you decided to paint a little sun on your thigh."

"It was the first motif that came to mind. Do you like it?"

"I think it's gorgeous." Tony kneeled on the floor to get a better view and then kissed the little black sun, feeling the raised motif on Maya's soft white skin.

Maya leaned back on the bed; glancing upward, Tony could see her smiling face beyond the folds of her rolled up wedding dress. She was still wearing her veil and she looked the very portrait of a happy young bride.

"God, I love you," he whispered, pressing his cheek against her lower stomach.

"Oh, I love you too," she said gently. "I kept looking at you today and thinking how right this all is."

In spite of his comfortable position, leaning on the bed with his face against Maya's underwear, Tony was intrigued. "Why wouldn't it be right?"

"I've sometimes wondered... There have been times when I've asked myself if I should be involved with someone from a different species. I wondered if it was 'right', assuming there's any right or wrong in this universe. I used to ask myself if I shouldn't be out there looking for my own kind rather than trying to adapt to human life..."

"That's a lot of questions." Tony decided he was not in a good position for a serious conversation and started to get up. Maya hooked one leg over his shoulder and held him in place.

"Don't worry, the answer is simple," she said with a tender smile. "I don't think I could be happier than I am now. If I hadn't met you, maybe living with the Alphans wouldn't have had the same appeal. But since I have met you, and I know I can't live without you, there's only one possible conclusion. This is right. As right as it can be."

Tony grinned and turned his head to kiss Maya's knee. "Well, I'm glad you realise that after twelve years of us living together." He wondered what had brought on this sudden bout of reflection.

Maya disengaged her leg from Tony's shoulder and sat up straight on the edge of the bed.

"Oh Tony. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say I was having second thoughts or anything silly like that, or even that this is what I've been thinking about these last twelve years. It's just that I know this ceremony today means a lot to humans, more than my announcement in Main Mission two years ago, and it made me think about us." She shook her head and removed her veil. "I'm being silly."

"No, it's a valid point," said Tony thoughtfully. "I must admit it's occurred to me too that you could be happier with your own people. It's like when I get together with what's left of Alpha's Italian community; there's always a connection to your roots somewhere. Even if you live a perfectly contented life in a completely different environment, it sometimes feels really good to meet people who look like you, who speak your parents' language, who grew up with the same things you did. There are many areas where I have more in common with your friend Giovanna Donatelli than, say, Alan or Bill, even though they're my close friends and I barely know Giovanna. But you don't have any other Psychons to talk to. There have been times when I've wondered how that must feel for you, and I've asked myself if I... yes, I suppose I've thought the same thing you said. That if you hadn't met me, you might have moved on. Maybe hitched a ride with Taybor or someone."

Maya laughed. "Surely you don't believe that it was only your good looks and charm that kept me on Alpha!"

"Well, I suppose you'd have missed John and Helena," admitted Tony. He was still kneeling on the floor; with Maya's dress rucked up, he had an excellent view on her underwear. The conversation was losing its interest.

"Ah, now you're talking. John and Helena are excellent reasons for me to stay on Alpha," said Maya slyly. "I owe both of them my life several times over, after all, and that's worth far more loyalty than good looks and charm. Appealing though those might be."

Remembering the bedraggled face and greying hair that had greeted him in the mirror that morning, Tony scratched his cheek nonchalantly and put on a dubious expression. "Well, the good looks are fading, but I'm still working to keep up the charm."

"Oh, as far as I'm concerned, you're worth everything minute of it," she said seriously, before returning to a lighter tone of voice. "And look at my reward for putting up with you for so long --" She let her voice trail off and gestured grandiosely.

"What, a wedding night in a cave?"

"No, dingbat, a whole new life on a new planet," she exclaimed. "If I had 'hitched a ride' with some passing alien, I would have missed this golden opportunity to force whole new generations of human children to tremble in fear before me!"

"Oh that. I'm sure you'll teach them proper respect soon enough." Tony looked at Maya's underwear and grinned. "I still think we could concentrate on the wedding night part, though."

Maya nodded approvingly. "I was rather hoping the henna might inspire you. It's not the only drawing I did, you know," she said, putting on a sultry expression.

Tony liked the sound of that and decided he could probably find out where the other one was himself. He winked at Maya and leaned down to kiss the henna tattoo on her thigh. She was too close to the edge of the bed for him to do this comfortably so he indicated she should move back. Once she did, Tony was able to lean against the bed, in between her legs, and concentrate entirely on the work at hand.

Since he had all night to find the other henna drawings, Tony chose not to search straight away. Instead, he kissed his way up to the fold of her hip, a particularly sensitive part of her body. Maya laid her leg sideways on the bed to expose more of her skin to his lips. She shuddered as Tony pulled down her underwear to kiss her lower belly, and then helped him as he pulled the garment off completely. He could hear her breathing increase as he stroked her leisurely, enjoying this opportunity to caress her intimately and watch her reactions at the same time. When he knew it wasn't fair to tease her further, Tony leaned down and placed his lips where his fingers had been.

This was a special moment. Nothing mattered except the expectant look in her eyes and fulfilling her expectations. Tony was lost in her desire, his own almost forgotten as he applied the kisses and caresses which he knew she liked the most. There was something unique about the selflessness of this act, when she was the one receiving gratification and he was the one who revelled in her pleasure, drunk on her moans and her taste and the touch of her hand in his hair. This was the moment when he could worship her completely, submitting to her desires, making himself a mere tool for her pleasure, and yet becoming the complete master of every sensation that coursed through her beloved body. Then, when she could stand no more, he heard her cry out and he felt her hand grip him and then finally relax as the aftershocks subsided. The mild pain of her nails in his shoulder brought him out of his worshipping lethargy and seemed to reawaken his senses.

The moment was gone. She ceased to be the goddess and he ceased to be the master. They were Tony and Maya again, mortal lovers seeking that momentary sensation of immortality.

Maya leaned up on one elbow and ran her hand through her hair. She had that bemused expression again, as if after all this time she still didn't really understand where all those sensations came from.

"I think you're getting better at that," she said finally.

Tony laughed. "Years of practice. Do you want some whisky?"

Maya wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Isn't there any fruit juice or something?"

"Not that I see." Tony shrugged his shoulders and stood up. He was aroused, but one of his legs had gone to sleep. Deciding that his leg and Maya's thirst were more pressing than his desire, Tony shook his leg awkwardly before heading for the bathroom area. "You wait right there, honey, I'll go and get you some water."

When Tony came out of the 'bathroom', he found Maya lying lengthways on the bed, propped up on the pillows under the cupid. She had removed her boots, but she was still wearing the wedding dress. Tony paused to admire the sight of his lovely wife in her bridal gown, her long red hair tracing delicate tendrils on the white fabric. Maya looked as fresh and beautiful as Boticelli's reclining Venus in the painting Venus and Mars. Tony wondered if he would look as out of place lying beside her as Mars did in the painting.

"Ah, Madame," he announced, putting on a French accent. "Champagne for ze beautiful lady."

Maya smiled politely and rolled her eyes as he handed her the mug of water. Tony tossed the towel he had brought onto the foot of the bed and then started to undress. His trousers were dusty from him kneeling on the floor, so he turned away and shook them out. Everything at Area 3 seemed to be covered in dust in this season; there was quite a little beach of grit forming at the foot of the bed. Once he had removed all his clothes, Tony carefully laid them on top of his suitcase to keep them out of the dust.

Turning back to the bed, Tony found that Maya was now lying on her front, spread out diagonally across the bed so that she could look at him.

"You know, I think you don't look bad for a 48-year-old," she said, narrowing her eyes critically.

"Not bad? I'll have you know I'm as fit as I was at Breakaway! Well..." He looked down at his hairy chest and stomach. His skin looked grey and unappetising in the artificial light of the cavern. Not that Tony had ever been a great fan of his own physique. "Give or take a few kilos. And I'm pretty positive I'm getting hairier as I get older."

"You are," agreed Maya. Careful not to get tangled in her dress, she knelt up on the bed and ran her hands down Tony's chest. "From a scientific point of view, it's fascinating to discover that human males gradually regress to a primitive, ape-like state in their old age."

"I'll give you primitive and ape-like!"

Tony pushed Maya back on the bed and pinned her down, straddling her waist to keep her still. "First, I'm not old. And second..." He tried to think of a point he wanted to make with he hadn't already made. "Second, it's a well-known fact that apes will eventually conquer Earth and develop into a species more advanced than the human race."

Maya guffawed merrily. "You've been spending too much time watching movies. But if apes are so great, I can easily arrange for you to meet one right now --"

"No! You do that and I'll divorce you first thing in the morning!"

Tony was smiling, but the mere suggestion of Maya changing into anything while they were in bed was enough to send shivers down his spine. She had done it in the past, as a joke early on in their relationship and then later to annoy him when they had had an argument. But Tony knew she was aware that it was something he absolutely could not tolerate. He had come to accept her transformations in their everyday life; she needed to exercise daily in order to keep her abilities, and there had been many times when her metamorphoses proved useful in their work. But that was as far as Tony was willing to go. He had occasionally overheard some male colleagues speculating as to the possible sexual applications of Maya's abilities; it usually took all his self-control not to go over and belt them, but Tony knew a lot of Alphans imagined his sex life to be more varied than their own. But the truth was that the only creature Tony wanted in his bed was Maya herself, not the facsimile of some movie star or one of their Alphan colleagues.

He realised neither of them had spoken for a while. Maya was lying on her back, her hair disarrayed into a multitude of bright rivulets on the silvery sheets. Tony was still straddling her, naked, his hands holding hers pinned to the bed. Looking down at her inquisitive expression, he suddenly remembered her wanton moans of not so long ago and felt a wave of desire run through him. Letting go of her hands, he bent down to kiss her mouth.

Tony briefly toyed with the idea of continuing their conversation before succumbing to passion, but Maya had wrapped her arms around him, so he deepened the kiss instead. He manoeuvred himself into a more comfortable position, stretched out and half lying on Maya, and enjoyed the feeling of the polyester wedding gown against his skin, transmitting the warmth of Maya's soft body. The thought of what lay beneath the material made him dizzy with excitement; he ran his hand down Maya's side to her hips, looking for the slit which he remembered on the right hand side of her costume. His fingers soon felt bare skin and he slid them under the dress, automatically finding the curve of her inner thigh again. Tony suddenly gasped as she touched him in return; he hadn't even noticed her moving her hand. The pleasant but unsatisfying sensation made him groan involuntarily.

"Naktansemasdi orsk," she murmured gently, still stroking him, her eyes locked with his. Maya sometimes spoke to him in her language, especially when she was aroused or feeling particular tenderness for him, and although he didn't understand the words, he always understood the meaning. She was telling him that she loved him, that she wanted him, that he meant everything to her.

"Anch'io ti voglio bene," he responded with a grin. Maya laughed; it was their private joke, speaking to each other in their respective languages, united by the fact their only common language was foreign to both of them.

Tony moved to place his body between her legs but Maya pushed him away and started to remove her wedding dress. "I should take this off," she said in a half-whisper, perhaps afraid to break the spell if she spoke any louder. "It isn't mine. I wouldn't like to dirty it."

"I was wondering where that came from. It's one of those polyester sheets from the Medical Center, isn't it?"

"Something like that." Charged with static electricity, the garment crackled and sparked as she pulled it off. "Remind me to tell the Chemical Laboratory never to reproduce 'polyester'," said Maya, trying to smooth her hair.

Tony wasn't listening anymore; he was too busy enjoying his view of Maya's naked body. Her skin, which contained no melanin, was far whiter than the dress she had just removed and devoid of any of the moles and freckles which marked Tony's own body. Maya had none of the wiry body hair characteristic of humans; the fine hairs on her skin were white, nearly invisible to an inattentive eye, and formed a down that was soft to the touch. Her navel was flat, forming a star-like scar on her belly; either the result of natural evolution or simply a different procedure at birth, though Maya had had no idea which when Tony had asked. Tony remembered a time when the alienness of Maya's body had disturbed him, making him hesitate when he wanted to make love to her. But that was over a decade ago and by now, her Psychon body was as familiar and precious to him as her pretty alien face.

Tony smiled as he saw the pattern of a little moon on her left breast. So that was where the other drawing was. Even in the days when Tony had had reservations about Maya's navel and hairless body, he had loved her breasts. He had never been one to admire the large bosoms common among his compatriots; too often, they were a sign that the young woman would eventually become overweight, the rest of her body growing to match her breasts. Maya's breasts were perfect, small and neat, like two oranges covered in white skin and tipped with pale pink tips.

With Maya now sitting up on the bed, Tony didn't have to bend over far to kiss the little black moon. He then cupped Maya's breast to bring the tip to his lips; he felt Maya slip her hand into his hair, as she always did when he was sucking on her breasts. After a while, Tony turned his attention to Maya's undecorated right breast and then finally worked his way up her chest, onto her long white neck and to her lovely face.

Her eyes half closed, Maya put her hands on Tony's shoulders, stabilising herself as she shifted her position to straddle his lap. This moment always required some concentration, since humans and Psychons weren't designed to have sex with one another. But after twelve years, Tony knew exactly the angle to use and how fast to go. He watched with satisfaction as Maya closed her eyes and bit her lips, her hips rocking against his. Following her example, Tony closed his eyes and rested his head momentarily on her shoulder. He couldn't remember if human women were this soft and warm, but he did know one thing. Nothing could compare to making love with the woman he adored.

Tony was sure that sex was becoming more exhausting as he got older. He lay still for a moment, waiting for his breath to come back and his heart to stop beating as if it wanted to jump out of his chest. He turned and smiled at Maya, and then he pulled himself into a sitting position and leaned over to get the towel. As he placed it between Maya's legs, he noticed that the towel had several tears, each repaired with a line of careful machine sewing.

"Thank you, husband," said Maya, stretching out luxuriously.

"You're welcome, Mrs Verdeschi." He lay down beside her again. "I really hope Shermeen is going to find a suitable source of material soon. The shortage is getting ridiculous. Cloth is getting so rare these days that I'm surprised we're not using it as a currency and fighting wars over it by now."

"Oh, I'm sure Shermeen will find something," said Maya confidently. "We're suffering from a lot of shortages and problems right now, but we'll get over this stage eventually. The problem is that we're caught in a vicious circle. We have increased our population, so we need more of everything. We have the resources, but we don't have the manpower and machinery to exploit them yet. And without the resources, we can't increase our population or construct new machinery. Still, it won't last; as time goes on, we'll build more machines and when the children grow up, we'll be able to exploit the resources as we need them."

Tony wondered why Maya's brain was always up and running instantly after they made love, while his took a while to recover. He thought about the population increase, mentally picturing the children who had been playing on the cliff that afternoon. As a child, Tony had wanted for nothing; his parents were reasonably well off and he lived in a prosperous area of a prosperous country. He reflected that his good fortune was due largely to the date of his birth; his parents, born in the same area thirty years earlier, had spent part of their childhood starving -- Italy was not a good place to grow up in during World War II. Tony wondered if Alpha was such a good place to grow up in either. Limited living space, rationed clothing, boring food; Tony hoped Maya was right, and that conditions would improve before the children became aware of them.

"Hmm, these kids aren't going to have much of a childhood," he said. "With all these shortages and the lack of labour, I suspect they'll have to grow up quickly, poor things. Considering how old we're all getting, we'll have to move fast to teach the next lot what we know."

Maya shrugged her shoulders. "If there's nothing for it, then that's the way it will have to be. The children will be very useful additions to the Alphan workforce once they're old enough. Their small size might actually be an advantage for certain types of work."

Tony was disturbed, but not particularly surprised, by Maya's callous assessment of the situation. He immediately had visions of wiry little boys crawling in airless mineshafts or climbing up chimneys in Victorian England; the tiny fingers of Third World children frantically manufacturing cheap goods for the West; the blank eyes that stared out of the small wizened faces of factory workers or farmers or soldiers or prostitutes who had lost a childhood they would never get back. Compared to generations of children born in another time or another place, Tony knew he had been lucky. He had grown up in a society which could afford to let its people be children without responsibility right into their twenties. Maya was right: the Alphan children probably wouldn't get that privilege.

Dismissing that thought, Tony lay on his back and looked up at the white ceiling of the cave. He could see the characteristic ridges formed by the tunnelling machine, and the occasional smaller marks of a chisel in the pale stone. Tony wondered if this place could ever become a permanent home to the Alphans. He knew John was against the idea of the Alphans manning the Area 3 base through the inhospitable seasons. The commander viewed Loki primarily as a planet to be exploited for its natural resources, its large areas of fertile land, the recreational possibilities it represented. But there was more to Loki as far as Tony was concerned. He was one of those who had pushed to construct a base on the planet sooner rather than later.

"You seem very thoughtful," said Maya, interrupting his musings.

"I was wondering if our descendants would live here," he explained. "I mean, permanently."

Maya shrugged her shoulders; she tossed the towel over the edge of the bed. "I don't see any reason why not," she said, lying on her side with one leg draped over Tony's. "We have the technology to construct a base that will withstand the extreme temperatures on the planet. Moonbase Alpha has survived temperatures close to absolute zero in interstellar space, and it evidently didn't suffer when it was subjected to temperatures up to 140°C when the Moon was orbiting Earth. Obviously, whatever base we build here will have to be able to withstand the turbulent weather conditions as well as the seismic activity when the planet cools down and heats up. But I definitely think it will stand a chance. We must at least give it a try."

"Yes, we'll have fun trying, if nothing else. I can just see it: a miniature Moonbase Alpha underground, like a giant rabbit warren where humans take refuge during the bad seasons. And every Autumn and Spring, the inhabitants will crawl out into the sunshine, bleary-eyed from their sojourn in the dark, to till the soil and fly their spacecraft and whatever else people will be getting up to in those days." He paused and laughed. "Hmm, I should get married more often, it seems to inspire me."

Looking at Maya, Tony expected her to say something about the wedding, but she surprised him.

"Maybe our descendants will gather in this room some day and tell stories of their glorious ancestor Tony Verdeschi."

Her statement puzzled Tony; why was she suddenly talking about him being someone's ancestor? Tony would have dismissed the idea, but she continued.

"I think we should try and have descendants, Tony."

It was just as well that Tony was lying down; he was so surprised that he might have fallen over otherwise. "What do you mean? If you're going to suggest I have it off with some human girl..."

"No." Maya's eyes were downcast. "I still think that solution would be simpler for you, but I know we've discussed this and you won't even consider the option --"

"Damn right I won't." Tony thought it was most indelicate of her to bring up this particular topic up on their wedding day. He hadn't wanted to have a child with Sahn when she had offered, and he had no intention of having a child with any other human woman, either.

"Well, I've been thinking about it," continued Maya, her eyes still averted. "And I've decided I'd like to have a child. You see --" She interrupted herself and sat up. "I'd like to try at least. Even if we don't succeed, I'd like to give it a try. Helena has been able to help a lot of couples who can't have children. She's even helped women who had no lover, like Nancy Blackmore."

"I wouldn't let Nancy hear you say she has no lover," said Tony with a chuckle. "I must say the idea of our butch friend Chris living in the same flat as Lionel the Fairy sounds like a recipe for disaster. I wonder how long that will last!"

Maya shrugged her shoulders and brushed back her hair. "What happens after the child is born is another matter. But the important thing is that the children exist. They'll transmit their parents' genetic material to future generations."

"Is that what you're interested in: transmitting your genes to future generations?" Tony smiled; trust Maya to view things so rationally.

"I suppose that's the real reason, an instinctive need to buy myself a little bit of immortality," she said. "But I... I just want a child. I know I don't get on with them; you saw how I reacted when Bill's daughter grabbed at me. But those are all other people's children. It would be different with my own. I feel this... yearning to carry a baby, to feed it and... I don't know. It feels really strange, because I never felt this way before. Maybe it's because everyone else has children, or maybe I've reached a point in my life where my biological clock is starting to tick." She looked at him. "So... What do you think?"

"I think if that's what you want, that's what you'll get," he said gently, tucking a wayward strand of her red hair behind her ear. "How could I refuse anything to such a beautiful bride?"