Marcus looked at the girl again. He had thought she looked new. There were several people around Mirage that he had never met, and he hadn't been certain that she hadn't been one of them, but her comments confirmed that she had just arrived. At least she had been met by someone (he wondered who), but Marcus wasn't surprised that she hadn't believed everything the other man had told her.
"Well, if he told you that you have been kidnapped by a sentient planet that is holding us here for its apparent amusement, then he was not teasing you. I'm sorry if the news comes as a shock, but at least you have company. Personally, I think if we all work together we can find a way out of this business and back to our own worlds. May I introduce myself? My name is Marcus, I am an interstellar Ranger, and no, I'm not kidding. May I ask your name?"
Marcus got the feeling this young woman was someone of importance where she came from, or at least of a privileged class or caste. She had a well-trained way of carrying herself, and a certain gravity to her manner that most people did not develop until later in their life.