If there was ever anyone who loved parties, it was Dawn DeMarco. She grew up on a colony world devoted to hosting the best formal balls, and her family had been at the pinnacle of that constant contest between Great Families. Her name could open the most prestigious doors, even when the events were closed to outsiders. And someone with her pedigree was never an outsider. Families all over known space would kill, or at least seriously maim an expendable minion, to get an attendee like her in their home, and she could bring as many plus ones as she wanted. Jesse was almost always one of those plus ones, and she became very diligent at making certain he enjoyed them.