"Huh," Hull said. "A Solonite."

Lael said, "A what?!"

"They mine the Solon Plexus." Hull said. "It's a fissure in subspace and they're able to garner energy from it from mining the asteroids around it. They get pretty messed up from it and even those suits don't give too much protection.

The Solonite made a clicking sound.

"Hello," Hull said and waved to the Solonite.

The machine stopped walking and leaned over to face Hull. Its speaker began to spin and there was a quiet hum as it spoke. "We. Require. Another. Suit."

"Take a look around," Hull said, "We're not exactly open for business right now, pal."

"We. Can. Pay. With. Energy."

Hull thought about it. She looked to Lael, back to the Solonite and nodded. Hull held up three fingers. "Three standard reactors."

"Two." The Solonite said firmly.

"Take the order request to Scramblon," Hull said. "I don't have time to barter."

"Scramblon. Will. Not. Make. The. Suits. Without. Massive. Upgrade."

"Probably the best thing for you," Hull said.

"Maybe." The Solonite said. "But. Far. Too. Expensive. And. Not. Maintained."

"Look," Hull said. "I don't know how much they're asking, but constructing a suit for you is a very detailed, very complex thing. I can do it faster and better than anyone, but I have to refuse work while I work on yours and while I'm not greedy, I need to be compensated for my time, so three reactors worth is my cost. You know my work, you know my quality, you make the call."

The Solonite stood motionless for a long moment while Hull puffed away. Lael watched with curiosity.

The speaker began spinning again. "When. Can. It. Be. Done?" The Solonite said.

"A Week from today," Hull said. "I'll need a three-dimensional copy of the wearers face to fashion on the chest and their DNA code."

"Fair. Enough." The Solonite said. The large clunky machine made a wide turn and lumbered its way down the corridor.

"That'll get the drydock repaired," Hull said, drawing a cigar from her coat pocket.

Lael leaned over. "Aren't we a drydock?"

"And?" Hull lit her cigar.

"Well," Lael said curiously, "Those aren't starships."

Hull puffed on her cigar. "For them, they are. They live in them, travel in them and require them to perform the same tasks a starship can do, so much so that even Scramblon has them classified as a class of starship."

Lael looked confused "Why not just use a starship? What do they need those bodies for?"

"Window," Hull said.

Lael walked towards the window.

Hull said, "The Solonites are energy miners, they mine only from the most powerful outlet of energy in the universe."

Lael paused and looked out the cracked window. An infinite expanse of twinkling Darkness.

Hull watched her for a moment. "Down."

Lael looked down. Her voice raised an octave. "What the hell!"

Below the Katanga Bay was a swirling purple whirlpool.

"Tyranus' Eye," Hull said.

Lael continued to stare. "That's..."

"Yeah, kid," Hull puffed on her cigar. "That's a black hole."