Vimes narrowed his eyes. "I'd ask how old you are, but apparently they teach kids to fight young here." Not that he could complain about that too much; he himself had been a member of a street gang, as a boy. "Anything you can do? I doubt it, unless it's also common for young girls here to carry about their person packets of Pantweed's Slim Panatellas. Or a bacon sandwich." On reflection, he added, "I'd also settle for a drink."

Something about what was just said sticks in his mind. "You said we're heading to a planet? What d'you mean by that?"