"All the colors, they're layers of gas and dust, the red is the dissipating molecular sh.e.l.l of the star."

Reah's voice was detached, clinical, sounding like a professor lecturing to an apt pupil. "There is a thin transition between the ionized region of the star and the otherwise invisible atmosphere. Most of the stars we've visited are more impressive. The b.u.t.terfly of the bipolar planetary nebula M-two-nine, the Cats Eye, the Hourgla.s.s, the central stars of the Cotton Candy Nebula and the Silkworm Nebula, stellar pinwheels, globes within globes. This one is rather mundane. Once a star starts to die, it takes about thirty thousand years. And the closer a star is to death, the more amazing it becomes." The last was said with a tinge of reverence, the first real emotion Luis noted in her voice. "All their lives stars wage a war against gravity, the crushing weight of their outer layers struggling against the core. When they start to lose the war, the outer layers press against the inner ones, and in the process the stars exhaust their supply of hydrogen. Their cores contract, becoming denser and hotter, becoming first red giants, then white dwarfs. Then they go supernova, exploding with a light a million times brighter than they were in life. And in dying, they breathe life into s.p.a.ce."

Reah fitted the helmet on her suit, but flipped up the faceplate so she could still regard Luis. "Decaying stars, the ones that go supernova, throw off iron and oxygen. The small ones spit out carbon, like this one is starting to do. So in essence, humans and animals, plants, much of what is on Earth and other habitable worlds is made of dying stars. We are Stardust." She laughed lightly. "But then you already know all of that, don't you, Luis? That's what you're here for. That's why you paid so much for this ride."

"What we're all here for," he returned. Luis was sweating, not from the company or his ever-present nerves, but from the temperature. Despite the refrigeration of the ship and his flight suit, the heat was becoming more intense as they neared NGC7078. s.p.a.ce was cold, but not this close to a star, not in this ship, so large it had as much gravity as an asteroid. He extricated himself from the chair and squeezed by Reah as she flipped her faceplate down. He didn't see any sweat on her face.

"Dad's waiting for you," she said, her soft voice barely audible through the tinted mask.

Luis made his way through a narrow corridor, pressing his face against the walls every few yards. The walls were supercooled, and thus provided some relief, He tried to wipe the sweat away from his forehead, but it was a futile gesture. Should've railed against the Colonies' latest style, he thought, not shaved his head and let his graying hair soak up some of the water. Or perhaps he should've rethought this whole venture. He caught himself when the ship lurched, swinging around. A moment later and hewas in one of the ma.s.sive bays, a dozen suited men in front of him, all overshadowed by ma.s.sive pieces of equipment they were inspecting and adjusting.

Luis purposefully strode toward the tallest man, the only one not wearing a helmet. "Sean..."

"Captain Melka," the figure corrected. The man was like his daughter only in that he moved gracefully.

The captain towered over Luis. He was large, but not heavy, with long limbs, the thick muscles of which were hidden by the suit. His skin was dark, like oiled walnut. Caucasian, Luis knew the captain's skin had been darkened by his close exposure to dozens of dying stars. There were minute traces along his cheeks where sun blisters had been surgically removed, but for the most part his skin looked like smooth leather. His long black hair was tied at the base of his neck with a cord studded with tiny meteorite fragments. There were only spa.r.s.e strands of silvery gray on the sides and peppering his short beard and bushy eyebrows.

He could have easily pa.s.sed for fifty, Luis was certain, though he knew Captain Melka had recently celebrated his eightieth birthday. Perhaps living away from Earth, Mars, O'loth Four, and even the Dartmoth Colonies contributed to his and his daughter's youthfulness. Living away from the pollution and the press of people riddled with germs, away from planetary gravity and man-generated radiation. Luis envied the captain his longevity, but he wouldn't trade lifestyles to gain a few extra decades. Everyone eventually died.

Even the stars.

There were only a few wrinkles at the edges of the captain's unblinking eyes. Luis tried to look away, but found himself held by the old man's stare, as if he were caught in a vise. Those eyes were a milky blue, like Reah's, but where hers were placid and practically emotionless, the captain's were wide and wild.

There was something dangerous and uncertain hiding behind them, madness perhaps, a keen intelligence.

They filled Luis' vision and rooted him to the bay floor.

"Captain. Yes. Captain Melka. Sorry, sir," Luis finally managed "I am..."

"Late," Melka finished. "With my daughter again. No matter. We're not in as much of a hurry this go 'round. No sign of pirates."

"Pirates, Captain?"

The eyes narrowed and menace flickered behind them. "I've been plagued by them the past two years. I thought you knew. Mining companies trying to profit from my expertise."

Luis nodded. He remembered some mention of raiders in the bar at the s.p.a.ceport, but he hadn't paid much atten-tion. He was there only to talk Sean Melka into doing a little mining for him. Melka's fee was extraordinary, but Luis' family had the money-and would gain much, much more if this endeavor was successful. Luis explained he was looking for a certain type of star, and Melka knew how to find just what Luis wanted. But Captain Melka wouldn't tell him where they were going-not until moments before they left the port. And until Reah called it NGC7078, Luis didn't know the star's designation.

"I don't tell anyone where I'm going anymore," Melka had explained. "No flight plans. I don't even tell my crew. 'Sides, none of them have families. They don't need to be calling anybody." He pointed to his forehead. "Only I know the course up front. That way there're no leaks."

Luis learned during the voyage that while it takes a long while for a star to die, there are a few key and relatively brief points within that time frame when it releases the purest of substances, including high-grade neutrinos, bringing top dollar to those with the equipment and the courage to gather them. And at otherprecise stages, previously unknown elements were also belched out into s.p.a.ce, these being the most sought after of substances. Miners could name their prices for these on Earth or the Dartmoth Colonies or sell them to the highest bidder at public or clandestine auctions. And Captain Melka, who had made a fortune several times over, and who had a few elements named for him and his daughter, was known for mining stars at just the right time. Apparently it was that knack and knowledge that caused the "pirates"

to follow him rather than pursue their own planetary nebulae.

Lewis listened as Melka explained that they plundered his finds after he left a star to reach a port and drop his first load of cargo, raping the gases and particles so his return visit was like drilling for oil in a near-dry field. Once they were so close on his proverbial heels that he wasn't even able to fill his holds a first time. They chased him away with their lasers. Melka's ship was only lightly armed; weapons cut down on cargo s.p.a.ce. The captain said he had been pestered thus only a handful of times. But it was apparent those times had birthed the suspicions and unease that now plagued the old man, perhaps contributing to that mad glint in his eyes. Melka's was not the only mining vessel so opportunized.

Indeed, the larger operations were more frequent targets. But perhaps those few who had discovered Melka's routes, these "pirates" as the captain called them, profited more than the ones who chased other miners.

The old man knew more about dying stars and mining them than Earth's greatest physicists and astronomers. All that priceless knowledge stored away behind those wild, mad eyes.

"Pirates, yes," Luis said. "I understand your concern. But..."

"You should be wearing a helmet, DeBeers." Captain Melka put his own on, pushing his black hair up inside and locking the rim in place. The faceplate up, his eyes still held Luis.

"I misplaced it," Luis said. "Somewhere. When I was walking through the ship."

The captain made a gesture, and a spare helmet was brought for Luis.

"Are you certain you wish to join us, DeBeers?"

Luis nodded.

"Out there, boy?"

Another nod, more p.r.o.nounced.

"The heat can be crippling." There was no trace of concern in the voice. The captain spoke evenly and matter-of-factly. "It has overcome veteran miners before. And you are certainly not a miner."

"You've been paid well. I want to be part of this. All of it."

A hint of a smile crept across Melka's face, then it was quickly banished. The faceplate was slapped down. Another gesture, and the dozen miners in the bay moved toward the great doors. They looked to Luis like squat, farcical land-birds in their bulky suits. Luis realized he looked the same, perhaps a little squatter because of his sedentary build.

When the doors opened, the chilling protection of the ship vanished and a wave of profound heat washed inside. Luis found himself gasping and reeling, struggling to stay on his feet as the miners trudged by him and out into s.p.a.ce, tethered to the ship by umbilicals. A line had been attached to Luis, too, though he couldn't remember who'd done it. Couldn't for an instant remember why he was here. Could only think of the heat, which seemed to have a presence. It was a thing alive, threatening and smothering, a terrifying invisible monster that with each breath Luis took made him tremble. His lungs felt dry, and he couldn'tswallow. Sweat streamed down his face and evaporated, only to be replaced by more sweat. His eyes burned and he blinked, but there were no tears to soothe them.

"Are you sure you're joining us, DeBeers?" This from Captain Melka, who stood poised by the door.

Luis heard him plainly, despite the suit and the meters that separated them.

"DeBeers?" The voice was coming from inside Luis' helmet. He nodded and slowly moved forward, each step difficult in the heat.

Then for a heartbeat the discomfort was disregarded, as Luis stood at the door and stared out at NGC7078. The plume had grown to fill s.p.a.ce, blindingly breathtaking. The red-and-pink mist, the blue haze was gone, there being no filter on his faceplate to see the particles. There was only the immense brightness, which was repressed by the visor to prevent the miners from going blind. Luis gaped in utter amazement. The star had seemed so small on the view screen, and now he couldn't see it all. The miners were silhouetted against it, black drops of ink on white paper. One was motioning for him to move.

He considered retreating into the bowels of the ship. Luis DeBeers did not have to join the miners, could find some small window from which to watch them. It would be safer, the heat not so suffocating. And yet his family had paid well for him to be here, for the captain's services.

So bright.

He took a step out, expecting to fall as if he'd stepped off the roof of a tall building. Instead, he floated, away from the ship and into the oven of s.p.a.ce. He remembered to use the controls on the suit, steering himself toward the largest figure, Captain Melka. Despite those unnerving eyes, Luis found comfort in being near the big man. He fumbled with the refrigeration panel, turning the cooling gauges as high as the suit allowed. The meter indicated a change in temperature, but he didn't notice it. There was only the monstrous heat.

Behind him, the equipment was guided out-by a dozen more miners who had come down into the bay.

Fully half of Melka's crew was out of the ship now, all hovering around equipment that was being unfolded and positioned. It looked like huge, delicate insects, with net wings for collecting particles, cones and cubes that would draw in gases, spindly hollow legs capable of absorbing neutrinos. Few miners had the equipment to contain the latter.

Luis didn't understand precisely how the equipment worked, knew only that it did work, as evidenced by Captain Melka's impressive credentials. And he knew that it was more expensive than the ship that hauled it from dying sun to dying sun. The mining gear was able to withstand the heat-stress of a star for short periods, as were the suits. Luis was told he would hear a chime when it was time for him to return to the ship for a "cool down," which would help preserve the suit and himself.

There was more equipment on the ship that would store the collected elements, computers that would record amounts and purity, gather data on the star's death throes. Information was also marketable.

Drones were gliding about, aiding the miners in nudging the equipment closer to the sun, black against white, everything looking like hieroglyphics on a wall in front of Luis. He guided his suit closer, still staying out of the miners' way. That had been part of the agreement he'd made with Melka. Watch, but don't touch. Ask questions, but not too many. Pay your money up front and treat the captain with respect.

Distance was difficult for Luis to judge, so he pivoted about in search of the ship behind him, not wanting to travel too far from it.Nothing. Only a solid sheet of black. The ship had vanished.

Fear hammered in Luis' chest and his breathing became even more ragged. Sweat streamed down his face and into his eyes, as he feverishly felt about on his control panel for the comm switch so he could notify Melka the ship was gone-fleeing from pirates, perhaps. It was gone and they were lost and would die, boiled so near NGC7078, and...

There. An angular grayness started to intrude in the black, and pinp.r.i.c.ks of light emerged all around it.

Luis swallowed his panic and took a few deep breaths, the calming act seeming to sear the depths of his lungs.

So hot.

He reminded himself that his suit's cooling capacity was at its maximum, though it didn't feel like it.

Rather, it felt like he was a lobster being cooked alive in a pot of water. A fat, squat lobster who could barely breathe. His chest ached.

The gray took on more features, became the ship he'd feared had vanished. Not lost, he thought after a moment more. A considerable measure of relief filled him. The light of NGC7078 had been so bright that when he looked away from it and toward the ship he had seen nothing at first. Only the black. Despite the visor it had taken his eyes a few moments to adjust. The ship was coming more into focus now, gunmetal gray against the ebony velvet of s.p.a.ce, distant stars sparkling all around it. Luis forced himself to relax.

The ship looked ma.s.sive and uninteresting, not at all like the others in port that had the vague and elegant forms of birds and turtles. But those had been pa.s.senger ships. Melka's ship, the Mire, was strictly a mining vessel, a series of huge, segmented boxes that gave it the appearance of an ancient Earth freight train. There were eight boxes, essentially cargo bays, all looking the same, no apparent engine or caboose. Only by inspecting it closely could Luis see a narrowing on one end, which he knew was the bridge. Was Reah watching them? Could she tell that he had panicked? He hoped that she instead considered him brave, a groundling with the guts to join the miners on this, his first real trip into deep s.p.a.ce. Perhaps she would take a short leave with him after this expedition. She had brushed his leg on the bridge. He could ply her with beautiful, cut diamonds to tempt her. They could get away to someplace cold, someplace with mountains and snow. Would she like that?

Thrusting aside musings of what he'd come to think of as his pale China doll, Luis carefully maneuvered his suit around to face NGC7078 again, floated a few dozen meters closer, and did his best to endure the heat and the bright light as he watched the men hover about the equipment. Luis suspected drones could have managed all the work. But the miners claimed the robots were incapable of understanding the nuances of positioning some of the filter nets and reading if collection was truly functioning at one hundred percent.

Time blurred as Luis watched, uncertain if a few minutes or several hours had pa.s.sed. He was breathing shal-lowly, finding it, less hurtful, was concentrating on the scorpionlike piece of equipment that was gathering what he wanted in an effort to not think about the heat. He barely heard the chime in his helmet, and realized it had been sounding for a while, as the miners were all returning to the ship, one motioning for him to do the same. He maneuvered about, saw the blackness again, and waited until one of the miners pa.s.sed him. Following that man toward the blackness where Reah waited, Luis found the bay doors and was tugged inside.

Several minutes later his helmet was off, and he and the other men were greedily swallowing water to replenish what their bodies had lost to sweat. Tubes were connected to the suits, refilling the coolingsystems, drying out the sweat-soaked linings. Drones were inspecting the suits and equipment for heat damage. One miner was shrugging off a suit that had been sun-marred and was searching for another.

Captain Melka was watching Luis. "Congratulations, Mr. DeBeers."

Luis c.o.c.ked his head.

"You basked in the sun without crumpling. I had expected to be hauling your unconscious carca.s.s back here and tossing you in the medtent. For a land-bound, you have mettle." Then Melka was gone, disappeared behind the rest of the equipment that was being hauled in.

Luis had resolved that would be his only trip out of the ship. Once-just to have done it, to see the operation close-up, to have something to tell the family about. To impress Reah. But Melka's words had challenged him. He decided to see it through for the rest of the week, unless he succ.u.mbed before that-and he prayed that wouldn't happen. He rested his face against a cooled wall and waited. Four hours later they were cleared for another trip.

Time became unimportant, days and nights having no meaning next to the dying core of NGC7078. Luis worried at a sun blister on his cheek as he sat in the hold, inspecting some of the material the scorpion had retrieved for him. A hint of fragrant spice in the air caused him to look over his shoulder. Reah had entered the bay and was studying him.

"I wanted to see," she said, her voice sounding softer than usual in the cavernous hold.

"The diamonds your father mined for me?"

She nodded.

Luis happily gestured her closer. Spread out in bins in front of him was a collection of smoky crystals, ranging in size from that of a pea to a big man's fist.

She tugged off a glove and picked up a chunk. "I've seen diamonds. In the commons in s.p.a.ceports."

"Those would have been cut."

"They were clear like ice. From Earth mines. I found them..." She poked out her bottom lip as she searched for a word. "Mesmerizing. I almost bought a diamond necklace once."

"What stopped you?" Luis wanted to say What stopped you, since you have a fortune to spend?

She shrugged her narrow shoulders. "Who would see it under this suit?"

Luis drew his lips into a thin line, decided to change the subject, but only just a bit. "They're mined on Earth mostly, but they're not from Earth. Not originally. Diamonds are from the stars, though a lot of geologists still argue that point."

She sat next to him on the cooled tile floor, her leg brushing against his. Reah was still examining the crystal.

"Black diamonds," Luis continued, "What you're holding are called carbonados, made of s.p.a.ce carbon.

Stardust. Dying stars release stars into the solar systems around them. Some of them release carbon that is embedded into meteorites, which strike planets and embed the chips there. It's the extreme heat and pressure that transforms that carbon into diamonds."

"The conditions that exist here," Reah said.He nodded. "Geologists know that many diamonds on Earth are more than three and a half billion years old. That means the carbon in them predates animal and plant life by nearly three billion years. Proof, really, that diamonds weren't created on Earth. They really are Stardust."

"And you have further proof here." Reah replaced the crystal and selected another.

"I don't care about the proof."

"Just the diamonds," she stated. "The Stardust."

"There is nothing more brilliant in the universe than a cut diamond, especially black diamonds like these.

Not even the stars come close. Not even the dying ones. The way the light hits their facets, bends and reflects, creating a rainbow. No other jewel has the l.u.s.ter of a polished diamond. So rare and precious."

"And so valuable."

He nodded. "Maybe as valuable as any new element your father might be discovering this trip."

"Your family..."

"... has been involved with precious gemstones for centuries," he finished with a considerable amount of pride. "My great-grandfather is the one who suggested that diamonds came from s.p.a.ce. He theorized that chondrites, that's a..."

"I know what a chondrite is. A cla.s.s of meteorite." She set down the crystal and studied Luis' face instead. She saw excitement there, his breath coming faster as he explained his pa.s.sion and heritage.

"A chondrite is filled with an incredible concentration of tiny diamonds. They're seeds, essentially. When they crashed into Earth in ancient times, the chondrites planted these seeds, and larger diamonds grew around them. The volcanoes thrust them close to the surface, where people discovered them. They discovered diamonds on Mars, too, though the deposits were mined out quickly."

"And now you've a new source and a new way to mine them."

"Exactly."

"And you'll be richer."

Luis' shoulders sagged. "Money's not what it's all about, even though it sounds that way. If it was just about money, my family would make synthetics. We did it late in the twentieth century. A machine, small-only thirty-five cubic meters. It squeezed a diamond shard, nearly a million pounds of pressure, and cooked it at about fifteen hundred degrees centigrade. Add a bit of graphite and some other catalysts to stimulate carbon grown around the shard. A couple of days later, you've got a diamond approaching two karats. You could tell the difference, of course, but not with your eyes. It takes a good jeweler's scope. People bought them, paid about as much as for a natural stone. So it's not money."

"What, then?" She had moved even closer, raised her small hand and wiped at the sweat on his forehead.

"Pursuit," he said after a moment. "Of the purest diamonds. The largest."

She drew her hand back and stood, attempted to smooth away the folds of her suit. "We're a bit alike, you and me. You into diamonds because of your family, just like I'm into sun-mining. Rich, and getting richer. And all in pursuit of the next, glorious find.""Its not about the money." He didn't hear her leave, she was as quiet as a cat. However, he heard the chime echo through the bay telling him the cool-down period was over and it was time to venture into the oven again.

They'd mined NGC7078 for five days before the pirates came.

Reah was shining, displaying crack piloting skills as she guided the huge and bulky Mire away from the dying sun and the three fighter ships laying a line of laser-fire behind it. There was a big mining ship behind them, moving into the position vacated by Melka's ship.