“She has a point.” Portia was surprised to hear herself speak up, preempting Horatio’s reply. “Our calling is to protect our world, our people. If we become part of a Starfleet crew, don’t they become our people? Don’t we have a responsibility to fight for their safety?”

“Ohh.” Benedick blinked at her, his mouth open and rounded. “That is a good point.”

Horatio remained adamant, shaking his head. “That’s not what doctrine says.”

“The doctrine wasn’t written to cope with this situation,” Portia countered. She gestured toward Desai, who was listening silently but with intense interest. “It’s like the professor said—we’ll face situations without precedent. We’ll have to decide what’s right as we face them.” Portia looked around at the group. “And what feels right to me is fighting to protect my people. Whoever my people are.”

After the study group let out, Horatio pulled Portia aside. “What you said in there was unwise.”

She pulled her arm away. “That’s not for you to say. And the professor said we were free to voice our thoughts.”

“Others have that freedom, yes. We have to be more careful.” He looked around at the other students filing out, including Vekal, who still peered at them warily as if expecting them to go berserk at any moment. “We are feared for what we represent. We must prove to them that we are not a threat. That we are not here to be warriors.”

“You heard Zirani. If we refuse to fight even in defense of our shipmates, that makes us a threat too. We need their trust, not just their lack of fear.”

Horatio shook his head. “You’re striking a dangerous course, Portia. There have always been those outside Arcturus who wished to exploit us as warriors. Half the invasions the Warborn have defended the motherworld against have happened because we existed. Because outsiders wished to corrupt our sacred purpose for destructive ends.”

“You think Starfleet is destructive?”

“I think we are a temptation they could succumb to, if we allow them to think it could happen. Please, Portia, do not encourage them to see us as fighters.”

“I don’t know what else I can be—for them or for myself. If it’s right to fight for Arcturus, can’t it be right to fight for the Federation?”

“It can be right for others, if that is their choice. It is not a choice we have. It would open a door that might never be closed again.”

She held his eyes. “Then how can we make this work? What are we even doing here?”

“We are following orders. We’re serving our creators.”