"We all have something in our natures to overcome," says Tars. "I have no doubt you'll find a way to see this done. You have a knack for that sort of thing."

He clasps her hand with one of his own. "Return the favor for me one day, and we'll call it even," he says. "I have no doubt there'll come a time when I'll have to knock at the gates of Helium with questions of my own."