Kalico stopped just past the hatch as First Officer Seesil Vacquillas jumped to her feet a half second before the rest of the command officers and banged off a crisp salute. For the occasion she and the rest wore their dress uniforms. A fact that brought a wry twist of amusement to Kalico’s lips. She was dressed in quetzal-hide cloak and boots, wearing a chamois shirt, though it was a finely tailored one, and, for Donovanian standards, intricately embroidered with quetzals interspersed with squash blossoms.

“As you were,” she called, striding over to the com chair. “Good to see you all, and my congratulations on your latest survey of Cap VII. Even for a gas giant, it’s a stunning planet. I’ve only skimmed your report so far; I’ll have to wait until my schedule settles down a bit before I attempt an in-depth read of the entire six thousand pages.”

That brought laughter from around the room.

“Seesil?” Torgussen asked, “are we ready for transmission to Turalon?”

“Aye, Cap.” Vacquillas turned back to her station, hands, eye movements, and slight nods cuing the system. “Supervisor? If you’ll focus on the dot, we’ll have photonic com linked to Turalon in just a couple of . . . Yes. Here we go.”

Kalico watched as Captain Margo Abibi’s image formed in the air before her. The captain’s familiar features, head shaved bald, knowing tan eyes, and thin-pressed mouth. That old, slightly amused lift of the left eyebrow actually brought a smile to Kalico’s lips.

“Hello, Margo. I see that you made it.”

Even as she spoke, Abibi’s expression went from professional to shocked. “Dear God, Supervisor! What happened to your face? I mean, how . . . ?”

“That’s Donovan for you, Captain. From here on out, I’m going to look like a jigsaw puzzle. Despite how it looks, in the end, the mobbers got the worst of it.”

Abibi shook her head. “Sorry, ma’am. My apologies for the outburst. I was out of place and shouldn’t have said—”

Kalico raised a soothing hand. “Margo, forget it. No offense taken. I have to say, it’s good to see you. Really good. I had every confidence that you would make the transition back to Solar System without incident. Not that I didn’t have some sleepless nights despite that. That you signed on for another trip? You’re one hell of a fine spacer, Captain.”

She could see Abibi’s tension drain away, that old wry smile bending the woman’s lips. “Glad to hear that, ma’am.” A pause. “I had some sleepless nights myself. Especially since I didn’t hear from you prior to Turalon inverting symmetry. I hoped it wasn’t just equipment failure.”