Ophelia looked over at her guest. She scampered over to him and gave him a sidelong glance. “What’s got the bees all stirred up?” she asked.

He blinked and looked at her with furrowed brows. “Sorry,” he said. “What?”

She laughed and waved at her head. “You’re thoughts are buzzing around, like a hive of angry bees,” she said. “What are you thinking so hard about?”

“Ah,” he said. He shook his head and then nodded out at the expanse of space outside the ship. “Just wondering how the ship moves.”

“Star drive, at this point,” Ophelia said. She smiled at him and shrugged. “I don’t understand all the details, but it uses the ambient power of the universe as an energy source.”

He nodded. “Star power,” he said, a faint smile touching his lips.

Somehow, Ophelia got the impression that he was making a joke. She didn’t understand it, but she laughed anyway. She was gratified when he gave a small chuckle. “Star power, indeed,” she said.