That was lovely. One of the things that always appeals in your short stories is the glimpse of background events that wouldn't fit into the main narrative flow of the novels. I enjoyed seeing what Anthora and Ren Zel had been doing prior to their re-appearance in Ghost Ship. I left a donation through the site in honour of both "Kin Ties" and "Intelligent Design" which, despite flying under the "free Baen read" banner should also be acknowledged.