The next morning came too early. The ship had alerted me three times during the short night. The first was right after Torran and I had returned upstairs to the crew quarters. The Valovian general had left his room and walked a lap of the ship. He did not try to enter the bridge.

Later, Chira had gotten up in the middle of the night to visit the garden. I’d fallen back asleep waiting for her to leave, and the ship hadn’t alerted me again, so I assumed she was still asleep in the arbor.

And a few minutes ago, Varro had headed for the galley.

I started my day early, but not this damn early. However, now I was awake, and my alarm was set to go off in forty-five minutes anyway. I dragged myself out of bed.

Luna made a disgruntled noise and curled more firmly into the covers, tucking her nose under her tail.

I chuckled at her and then dressed in workout clothes. I pulled my hair up into a long ponytail. I might as well get some exercise in while the gym was empty.

On my way downstairs, I stopped by the galley. Varro sat at the table, staring into the distance. When he heard me, his head jerked up.

“Good morning,” I said, fighting to keep my voice neutral.

“Good morning. Did I wake you?”

I shook my head. “I’m on my way to the gym. Just stopped by for water.”

We had a shared stash of reusable water bottles, so I pulled one from the cabinet and filled it from the chilled water faucet. Behind me, Varro remained silent.

I capped the bottle and moved to leave the room. I was steps from the door when his voice brought me to a halt. “Captain Zarola, may I ask you a question?”

I turned back to him. “Yes.”

He swallowed. “How do humans apologize for words that hurt?”

“Telling the person you are sorry is a good first step. Take responsibility for your actions, and promise to work on doing better.”

“What if that doesn’t work?”

I settled into the chair across from him. “Are you talking about Kee?”

He nodded.

“Did you say, ‘I am sorry,’ or did you try to weasel out of it?”

“I told her that I didn’t mean any insult.” He ran a frustrated hand through his hair, tousling his curls. They softened the hard lines of his face. “She is still angry.”

I sighed. “You might not have meant to insult her, but you still did. You hurt her feelings. You have to own that. How would you apologize to another Valoff?”

“I would say lota chil vetli and if the insult was grave, I would bring them vosdodite, an apology gift.”

“Are you sorry that you hurt Kee’s feelings, or are you just trying to apologize because General Fletcher ordered you to?”