Travis hadn’t come from a naval family. She had fought her way up from the streets of Hepheseus, the most notorious world in the Iron Belt, an industrialized hell whose ruling Oligarchs lived in orbital refuges to escape the sludgy waterways and dark gray haze that hung heavy in the sky. She’d never spoken of how she’d gotten the money to book passage off her native world, nor the means by which she had obtained the education to pass the Academy’s fearsome entrance examinations. And Tyler had never asked. Travis had become like a sister to him, and a best friend too…and they were a solid captain-exec team now, the best in the fleet, many said.

He’d had a passing impulse to pursue more than friendship and professional respect when they’d first met. He wasn’t above using the Barron name to supplement his own charms when sufficiently motivated, but it had never gone beyond a passing thought with Travis. Discipline had won out. Tyler Barron had a bit of a reputation in the bases and ports of the Confederation, one he had to admit was at least partially deserved, but he never let any of that come aboard his ship or interfere with duty. That had been his policy as a first officer, and he only redoubled his conviction as captain.

And it worked out for the best in the end.

That relationship was more important to him than any dalliance. Even one with a woman as striking as Travis.

He walked toward the hatch leading to the lift. “I will be in my quarters if you need me, Commander.”

“Yes, sir.”

He walked through the doors, taking a deep breath as they slid shut.

“Deck three,” he said softly.

He leaned back against the wall and let out a long, hard sigh. Dauntless had come back from her dangerous posting, and at least for now, his people were safe. His demand for a dangerous posting, his need to prove—to himself as well as anyone else—that he was as capable of facing danger as his renowned grandfather, hadn’t cost him any of his crew. War still loomed, and he wasn’t naïve enough to expect that his people would come through such a conflict unscathed. But at least none of them paid the ultimate price solely because their commander had felt the need to prove himself. Only now did he truly think about how he would have carried that guilt. He was thankful he didn’t have to.

Now, maybe he could actually get some rest himself.

Maybe.

*   *   *