His eyes cut to me and my skin prickled at the reminder of how they had looked when he was angry. “I’ve reviewed the ship’s map.”

I rubbed a tired hand over my face. It was barely lunchtime of the first day and I was already ready for a break. Only fifty-five and a half days to go. “Do you have any questions?”

“No.”

I held on to my remaining patience with both hands while Eli and Anja pretended to be busy at their terminals. I knew they were pretending because Starlight was flying under autopilot and didn’t need their input.

Summoning every shred of civility I had left, I asked, “Did you need something else?”

Torran tilted his head a fraction of a degree. It wasn’t enough to notice normally, but when he focused on something, he stood so still that every movement was magnified. “No.”

Civility snapped. “Then why are you still on my bridge?”

He frowned and glanced around as if he were looking for something, and suddenly I understood. He was used to being in control, and a captain’s default position was on the bridge.

I’d spent hours and hours staring out at the black for no reason other than I liked sitting at my terminal. With a tap, I could verify that everything was working as expected. I knew that the ship would alert me at the first sign of trouble, no matter where I was on board, but it wasn’t the same.

And I also got antsy when I was on someone else’s ship.

I took pity on him. “Come on, I’ll show you where we store food in the galley and then you can help me with dinner prep. Usually I don’t start this early, but I’m making lasagna tonight and it takes a while to assemble and cook.”

“Please tell me you’re going to make enough for leftovers,” Eli pleaded, proving that he’d been paying more attention to the conversation than he’d let on.

I grinned at him. Lasagna was one of his favorites and we hadn’t had it in a long time because some of the ingredients were expensive and highly perishable. “I’m making two giant pans. There should be plenty for leftovers.” It would take me a while to dial in the required amount of food for the additional people on the ship. Until I had it right, I would err on the side of too much.

Eli looked between Torran and me. “You need any help?”

His meaning was clear, but we’d all have to get used to being alone with the Valoffs. “No, thanks. I’m going to put General Fletcher to work. We have a few hours until the first wormhole traversal. Stick to your usual duties until I update the roster. And keep an eye on the ship while I’m busy.”