"Oh, it's nothing that new." Mar shrugged, sincerely unconcerned by what had transpired, at least as it related to him. "Disasters happen all the time, but we generally seem to set things right eventually. I don't need a secret to staying cheerful so long as I can keep bonking things to fix the world!"

Or maybe the secret was simply the gulf, the sheer disconnect, between those inner thoughts and what floated on the surface of his consciousness. That simply wasn't psychologically normal.

"Besides," he said, pleased that he'd gotten what he considered the perfect opportunity to do some of that earlier-promised flirting, "from what I see, this ship apparently has a very cute girl or two!"

Oh yeah, that was a winner!