“I probably shouldn’t say anything,” Shall said, “but I’ve been monitoring your vital signs, per Stephen’s orders, and there was a definite increase in your heart rate, pupillary dilation, diaphoresis, and breathing when you were talking to Callie, indicating a state of arousal–”

“Shut up,” Elena said. “I want to go for a walk. Do they have anything resembling street food on this station?”

“Hmm, yes, though it’s hard for me to offer recommendations, as I don’t eat. There is a gyeran-bbang stand that Ashok raves about. The eggs aren’t real, of course, but I’m told it’s quite convincing–”

“Really? I haven’t had that since I visited my grandma as a kid, before the avian cholera. I love the future. Apart from the murderous aliens. Take me to the egg bread, Shall. Why do they call you Shall, anyway? And why doesn’t the captain ever call you that? And why is she always pissed off at you?”

“That is a long and in some ways sad story, Elena. Some of it I’m forbidden to tell you. For now, let’s talk about the station instead. I think you’ll be impressed…”

After she left Elena’s quarters, Callie put her back against the wall of the corridor, closed her eyes, and exhaled slowly. Oof. Elena was wearing a simple form-fitting coverall with the words White Raven written in script across the back, just a spare bit of crew garb they’d had on hand, but the front zipper was pulled down far enough to offer a tantalizing display of cleavage that Callie very consciously and steadfastly avoided noticing. She was in trouble here. The worst part was, she was excited about being in trouble. Elena was from five centuries in the past, but she was snappy with the banter, and hadn’t there been a couple of looks there, or was Callie just imagining?

Obviously just imagining. Or else it was an artifact of the situation. Elena had been through a trauma, she was alone in a strange land, and Callie was the first person to show her any kindness. The first to show her respect, too, and let Elena know she still had agency and could make important choices about her own life and future. If Elena felt any fondness for Callie, it was the fondness a drifting spacewalker feels for the first passing tether they can grab onto.