Dan went a bit quiet. In all the years he had known Lucy, and what was it? oh! it must be all of thirteen years now (probably more since they'd been travelling at the speed of light!) and in all those years he couldn't remember Lucy initiating a single sexual act. In the early years, he would sometimes lie awake at night, waiting to see if she would start, but he finally gave up. She was always perfectly happy to make love - but he had to make the first approach. He'd always assumed that was just how she was.

'Hey! Jailer!' The Journalist was yelling out of the bars.

'The! Is that you?' Lucy's voice came from the cell down the row.

'Lucy!' cried The Journalist. 'Pipes of Pangalin! I want to screw the arse off you!'

'STOP IT!' screamed Dan, and he threw himself at The Journalist. The two of them rolled around the sodden floor of their cell, with Dan punching and kicking and The surprised Journalist trying to defend himself.

'Dan! DAN! Is that you?' Lucy was yelling. She could hear them fighting. 'Stop that! We've got to save our strength! We've got to get out of here!'

'Lucy's right!' The Journalist panted, and suddenly the fight went out of Dan. Suddenly he found himself wondering why he was so jealous.

'Why did you attack me?' asked The Journalist.

Dan was just about to explain about the history of sexual mores on Earth, but he stopped himself. 'Look!' he said instead. 'Let's call a truce. Just don't talk about sex for the rest of the day, all right?'

'If you'd rather... But don't worry about me. I'm not shocked by the laxity of your Earth morals...'

'Just shut up about it for a few minutes!'

'OK!' replied The Joumalist.

'Now,' said Dan. 'Suppose you tell me everything you know about this Starship that we're all stuck on, and then maybe together we can figure a way to get off it.'

'Dan! I love you!' shouted Lucy from her cell.

'I love you too!' Dan shouted back.