"We had a lot of discussions of theory in study groups during school," he said. His eyes took on a slight distance as he reflected on days in school. "A ... several brilliant minds in the same room, there was bound to be outlandish speculation," he continued. "Especially when so many of them were from different planets. Different backgrounds."
He smiled a little and let Allison direct him into the booth. He rested his hands on the table after tucking his bag between himself and the wall of the booth, disinclined to leave it somewhere it might be snatched.
"Not ... no. We were ... seeing each other. Dating," he said, though even that wasn't quite right. How did you date on a ship, after all? But they were together, and that was what mattered. "It's ..." He exhaled softly.
"I was a doctor at a hospital on a core planet. I graduated in the top three percent of my class. Was a very gifted surgeon. And ..." Simon gazed out the window, watching the snow for a moment. "And then I found out that my sister wasn't at school. Not a real school. She was being ... hurt. Experimented on, by the Alliance. People who wanted her for her brain."
He lapsed into silence, reflecting on everything that had happened in regard to River. "I gave up everything to get her out. To free her. We ... were fugitives. I had no money. My accounts were frozen. My parents wouldn't help us. I had nothing but her, but ... she was all I needed."