sts gave Angus the story.

When they were done, he looked at her curiously, with a half-grin.
"Your name's a familiar one, lass."

Sue returned his smile. He knew who she was, but he didn't seem
inclined to spread his knowledge, if she chose not to reveal herself;
he got points for discretion. "It's a common enough name, sir. I
don't believe we've met before."

"No; I'd remember if we had. It's an honor now, though, and I'd be
pleased if you'd call me Angus."

"The honor is mine, Angus." Sue smiled at him again, briefly.
"Perhaps, under more formal circumstances, things would be different.
At the moment, though, I'm just an unlucky pilot."

"And so you are, lass." Angus nodded once, then turned to their hosts.
"Well, now, this is supposed to be a party. Tara, may I have the next
dance?"

"Indeed you may!" Tara--Sue guessed her to be Donal's wife--called
across the room. "Geordie, some music!"

Sue felt herself relaxing as warmth crept back into her, and she
automatically evaluated her surroundings. They were nothing like what
she was used to: a small living room, festively decorated but obviously
not rich--more homey, she thought, than anything else. Bookshelves
lined one wall almost completely, their ranks broken only by two small
windows and a holoset--on, but being ignored; she couldn't tell what
the program was. A five- or six-person table held food and drinks; it
looked too heavy to move easily, so this was probably the dining room,
as well. Wall decorations were mostly stitchery, though a crucifix
held a place of honor above the mantel.

Not a rich place, no. And the party talk around her, gathered in
fragments from the twenty or so who crowded the room, didn't contradict
that impression. This seemed to be a subsistence-farming culture
. . . here on Terra? Well, it was possible; talk of farm animals,
equipment, and markets, and canning, yes. Nothing of politics, or the
Empire, or the nobility, as was so common in the circles she was used to,
but the warmth and friendship here had value of their own. These people
might not have much money, but they couldn't be called poor.

Sue found herself pleased by that. It was people like these, after
all, who were the Empire's substance, its reason for being. It was
good to be reminded of that, from time to time. Imperial nobles and
officers had the trappings of rank, yes, but the underlying purpose of
that rank was to insure that Imperial citi