Allenby had to laugh, if a little ruefully. "We got a real team here, don't we? Man, if only the problem were that easy to solve we'd be all set." For her part, she could have done with having George de Sand or Rain Mikamura around. In fact, Zouichi had been one of the people she would have counted among the smart guys.

"Well, maybe if we just think of the puzzle pieces as a way to unlock the identity of who we need to punch and how," she said, raising a finger. "And it ain't like there's no brainy people left on the ship, despite the Daligig's efforts."