They had all been surprised when they got the word Dauntless was headed to Archellia, but none more than Lieutenant Sam Carson, engineer and native Archellian. Carson had only been with Dauntless for five months, but he liked to think he’d made many friends among the rest of the crew. He’d been the victim of a few practical jokes when he’d first arrived, a fate his earnestness had made inevitable. But he’d taken it well, and within a few weeks he was knit into the fabric of Dauntless’ engineering team as though he’d been there for years.

The news of Dauntless’s destination had been doubly opportune for him. Carson was not only going home…his wife was pregnant with the couple’s first child. He hadn’t known about it when he’d shipped out to join Dauntless’s crew. Indeed, with the difficulty of communications along the border, he’d only found out a few weeks before Dauntless was ordered off the line. And now the ship was arriving in plenty of time for him to be there for the birth.

“It’s such an honor to serve with someone so important, isn’t it, guys?” Billings grinned at the half dozen engineers and technicians working alongside Carson. “You’d think having a good pal of the fleet admiral on board would be worth something. Better rations, at least.”

The group turned and looked over at Carson, spitting out a wave of affirmative responses.

“I’m going to miss you all, I really am.” Carson smiled broadly, though there was a touch of sadness behind it.

Dauntless would be on Archellia for a month, perhaps five weeks, depending on how quickly the base’s maintenance team could complete the battleship’s refit. Then she would be on her way, presumably back toward the front, to join one of the battle fleets massing behind the border. But Carson wouldn’t be with her.

Carson had considered asking for a transfer when he got the news about his wife’s pregnancy, but he’d hesitated, not wanting to desert his new shipmates on the eve of war. But Captain Barron himself had gotten the news and intervened. He’d called Carson to his quarters, told him he was one of the most promising young officers he had ever seen. Then he’d told him there was a posting available at the fleet base on Archellia. He’d offered it to Carson then and there, and Carson had accepted, though not without some sadness about leaving his new comrades so soon.

“It looks like everyone’s having a grand old time here. Isn’t that nice. Can I assume today’s maintenance roster is complete already?” It was a low-pitched growl, one that would have been gender-indeterminate if everyone on Dauntless didn’t know the roar of the ship’s chief engineer by heart.