It took three weeks for Hector to build up enough energy for his trip home. He could have left after two weeks, but he didn't want to be stingy with his first trip home. The couple weren't willing to part with any of their crops until he had something to trade, but they let him take as many apples as he could carry. Which led to him creating his transit sphere beside one of the twisted trees and picking the thing absolutely clean, throwing tiny apples into his sphere while grinning like a fool.

Calling Liam and Angie friends would be a stretch, but they got along well enough. Their 'thing' was vocally and brazenly plotting to screw each other over in their business arrangement. What made it particularly fun was that no matter how unfair any deal was, it would still be ridiculously profitable for all involved.

At the beginning, Hector had spent a couple of nights awake listening just in case one of them snuck off to report his presence. Those fears lessened over time as they became increasingly unlikely. The economic value of their trade could not be overstated. Not only was Angie getting enough food to feed them for a year, she had a shopping list that included new pots and pans and plates and cutlery. Liam wanted firewood in exchange for all the stone.

They'd fed him well enough, letting him eat a share of whatever their meal was each day. Angie didn't have a whole lot of variety in her cooking, owing to the limited ingredients available, but she made good use of what she did have. What Hector considered her signature dish was hard-boiled eggs crumbled over top of mixed vegetables and seasoned with a spice mix she categorically refused to disclose the ingredients for. Hector assumed it was because she wanted to sell the seasoning mix, but Liam explained it was a family secret that not even he was allowed to know.

"Look at him go," Angie commented, arms crossed and shaking her head as if in disgust. The smile proved it was all a performance.

"Sure is happy for some wormy apples," Liam agreed.

"Of course I'm happy," he shot back. "I'm not eating them myself. I'm selling them to desperate rogues on an unempowered world. I'll bring you back the biggest, sweetest apples you've ever tasted."

Angie was quick to counter. "Apples ain't on my list. Got some right here."

"They will be free," he clarified.

"Then I'll take two bushels."

Everyone laughed at her instant change of heart. Hector had never been the type to have a side hustle in the past. He always had one job that he did well; as a kid mowing yards and shoveling snow, he refused to get a paper route like one of his friends because he reasoned he could just increase his efforts at his primary business.

This new entry into smuggling was a strange departure from the trend of his overall life, but he'd been doing a lot of new things since leaving Earth. Hell, if he could do live appearances as a reality television star, he could do just about anything. And coupled with all the credits he would earn from bringing back food filled with cosmic energy, Hector would also have the pleasure of seeing his neighbors in Tian Tower growing stronger.

Hector studied the state of his transit sphere, about a third filled with the apples. He hoped he wouldn't smash them too bad when he hopped inside. "It will take me a few weeks to get enough energy to come back. Make sure you have space cleaned out to hold everything."

"Aye. Go fetch my new pans, merchant."

He hopped into his sphere, closed it tight, and traveled between universes.

Were the apples properly stored in some fashion, he would enter Union Central in respectable fashion. As it was… better to ask for forgiveness than permission. No one should freak out too much when they saw what he was carrying.

The weld irised open to reveal a wall of curious faces. Hector waved to his neighbors. "Hello, everyone! Good to see you again. Now if you don't mind, I have a special delivery for the cafe. Stop back later for apple sauce or whatever they make with all of this."

Of course that did not get anyone to stop crowding him. Hector sighed and climbed out of his transit sphere. He barely had his first foot down when Riley tackled him. "Hector!"

"Hey, Riley. Good to see you again." He held her tight to his side.

"I got your message!"

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At one point in time, he would take her simple expression at face value. Now he knew better than to believe Riley anywhere near as simple or naive as she presented herself. She was acting excited that he'd finally responded to the message she sent months ago that simply said 'hi'. Hector suspected that was really just her way of assuring him that the tension from when he left on the Eden task force was forgotten. Here she was, silly little Riley, just happy someone sent her a message.

He would accept the gesture in the spirit it was offered, but he wouldn't let himself forget that he owed her an explanation and an apology. If he didn't offer respect to the people who mattered most to him, then he couldn't claim to be cultivating that virtue.

"Want an apple? Straight from Tian."

Her eyes squinted slightly at him. "You were just supposed to be on Eden."

"I promised someone there I would kill an Ogre. Turns out Ogres are really hard to kill, so I dropped her on Tian. Since I was there, I entered a trade agreement between some nice farmers and our humble cafe." Hector squeezed her shoulder. "Sorry for worrying you. Again."

Riley responded by picking an apple at random. She scrutinized it a moment before taking a bite. "Not very good. Lots of cosmic energy, though."

Wayne shoved through the crowd. "Can I have a Tian apple, too?"

"Sorry, Wayne, the rest go straight to the cafe."

"I'm part owner of the cafe!"

"You'll have to clear it with Esther," Hector said.

Wayne grumbled and went to a computer terminal to page Esther. Meanwhile, Hector and Riley began carrying apples past the counter and into the employee only area. Hector glanced about as he made trips, curious about the forbidden space. There was a small kitchen, a storage room, a restroom, and an office. They piled the apples somewhat randomly since there were no open spots.

At some point, Esther arrived and began helping them. "How much is this going to cost me?"

"The price is you have to go into business with me," Hector said. "Import slash export."

They discussed what would be coming and Esther raved about the options. "Cabbage is packed with vitamin C, Hector. That makes it an excellent performance enhancer. It also has a high water content. Cosmic water is just temporarily infused, real water from Tian is superior in every way. And beans! Potassium, iron, magnesium, calcium, protein…. Lots of fiber, too, but the human body won't absorb that. Make sure to get some eggs! What about meat? Do you think you can bargain for meat? And real stone for our cosmic chamber!"

When there were only a handful of apples left, Hector let his transit sphere vanish. He pointed at the fruits bouncing along the floor. "Go ahead, everyone. Have at it." The crowd scrambled forward and began seizing apples.

Wayne was in the kitchen area when they turned around, throwing things into a juicer. Esther joined him. "Juice is a good idea. Then maybe add the leftover pulp to baked goods?"

"There is a lot, Esther. More than we can use. More than we can freeze, too."

"Rent cold storage?"

Wayne shook his head. "Much as I hate to say it, we're better off throwing out the pulp."

"You can't be serious. That goes against our entire philosophy!" Esther looked like she was about to have an aneurysm.

"You heard him. We're going to have real resources coming through here in a few weeks. With a fixed customer base, we can't drain them of funds prematurely."

Esther didn't seem to have heard the argument. "Applesauce! That will sell!"

Hector laughed. "Hey, Esther, can I take your employee out later today to shop for some trade goods? I have an order for cherry hard candy and chocolates and I don't like either of those things."

"Sure, fine. She can even stay on the clock since she's helping with purchasing."

Hector went to his floor to shower and change into more comfortable clothing, then collected Riley on his way out the door. "Before we get to the taste testing, Riley, I want to apologize."

"It's fine, Hector. Me and Darius talked about it. You are a man who goes on missions."

"That's right. But what I have to apologize for isn't that I risk my life sometimes. Like you said, that's part of who I am. I sometimes don't act like a good friend to you."

"Hector, you're the best friend I ever had."

He paused. As much as he wanted to get to his own point, that kind of statement deserved its own response. "Thank you, Riley. You are my best friend, too. That's why I'm sorry that I keep trying to bribe you with credits whenever you get upset."

Riley tilted her head. "Yes. That is really annoying. Stop doing it."

"I will. Though if you ever need financial help –"

"I know, Hector. But I don't need help. My account hasn't gone down at all since you left."

"That's great." Hector glanced back at Tian Tower. "Where is Darius, by the way?"

"He's off being the world famous Dungeon Master."

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