“Yes, I’m aware of the rationale.” Nielsen took a sip of water. “When I joined the Wallfish, I didn’t think I was signing up for combat, chasing alien relics, or expeditions into the unexplored regions of the galaxy. And yet here we are.”

Kira tipped her head. “Yeah. I wasn’t looking for any of this either.… Aside from the exploration.”

“And the alien relics.”

A smile forced its way onto Kira’s face. “And that.”

Nielsen smiled slightly also. Then she surprised her by saying, “I heard Sparrow put you through the wringer this morning. How are you holding up?”

Simple as it was, the question softened Kira. “Okay. But it was a lot. It’s all a lot.”

“I can imagine.”

Kira made a face. “Plus, now…” She half laughed. “You’re not going to believe it, but—” And she told Nielsen about the return of her periods.

The first officer made a sympathetic face. “How inconvenient. At least you don’t have to worry about bleeding.”

“No. Small favors, eh?” Kira raised her glass in a mock toast, and Nielsen did the same.

Then the first officer said, “Listen, Kira, if you need someone to talk with, someone other than Gregorovich … come find me. My door is always open.”

Kira studied her for a long moment, gratitude welling up inside her. Then she nodded. “I’ll keep that in mind. Thank you.”

5.

Kira spent the rest of the day helping around the ship. A lot still needed doing before they went FTL: lines and filters to check, diagnostics to run, general cleaning, and so on.

Kira didn’t mind the work. It made her feel useful, and it kept her from thinking too much. She even helped Trig fix the damaged bed in her cabin, which she was grateful to have done, knowing as she did that—if all went well—she would be spending months there on the mattress, lost in the death-like sleep of the Soft Blade’s induced hibernation.

The thought frightened her, so she worked harder and tried not to dwell on it.

When ship-evening came, everyone but the Marines gathered in the galley, even Sparrow. “I thought you had surgery,” said Falconi, glowering at her from under his thick eyebrows.

“I put it off until later,” she said. They all knew why she wanted to be there. Dinner was their last chance to spend time together as a group before going into FTL.

“That safe, Doc?” Falconi asked.

Vishal nodded. “As long as she does not eat any solid food, she will be fine.”

Sparrow smirked. “Good thing then you were the one cooking tonight, Doc. Makes it easy to wait.”

A shadow flitted across Vishal’s face, but he didn’t argue. “I am glad you are safe for your surgery, Ms.,” was all he said.

A text popped up on Kira’s overlays:

<Sparrow told me about your session together. Sounds like she worked you over pretty good. – Falconi>

<That about sums it up. She’s intense. But thorough. Very thorough. – Kira>