“We’re both bounded in a nutshell right now, aren’t we?”

“Indeed.” And his lingering sigh dwindled through the ship.

A sigil appeared on a display next to her; it was the first time she’d seen the ship mind represent himself with any sort of avatar. She studied the symbol for a moment (her overlays couldn’t identify it) and said, “Since you’re still up, shouldn’t you be the acting captain of the Wallfish?”

A chuckle like burbling water surrounded her. “A ship mind cannot be captain, foolish meatbag. And a captain cannot be a ship mind. You know that.”

“It’s just tradition,” said Kira. “There’s no good reason why—”

“There are most comely and toothsome reasons. For safety and sanity, no ship mind should be master of their own ship … even if the ship is become our flesh.”

“That seems like it would be terribly frustrating.”

Kira could almost hear Gregorovich’s shrug. “There is no reason in railing against reality. Besides, my charming infestation, while the letter of the law may say one thing, the execution of the law is often quite different.”

“Meaning?”

“In practice, most ships are run by ship minds. How else could it be?”

She caught a handhold by her cabin door, stopping herself. “What’s the name of the Darmstadt’s mind?”

“She is the most crisp and delightful Horzcha Ubuto.”

“That’s quite a mouthful.”

“With no tongue to taste and no throat to sing, all names are equal.”

2.

In her cabin, Kira dimmed the lights and lowered the temperature. The time had come for a winding down of mind and body. She would hibernate as soon as the Soft Blade would allow, but hibernation wasn’t her only concern. She also needed to practice with the xeno. Sparrow was right. Falconi was right. She had to master the Soft Blade as much as it could be mastered, and as with all skills, doing so would require diligence.

Over the course of the next three months, the Wallfish would drop out of FTL on at least six occasions to dump its excess heat. Each time would be an opportunity for her to push herself physically, as she had with Sparrow. In between, Kira would have to minimize her activity, but she still planned on waking once per week to work with the Soft Blade. That would give her a total of twelve practice sessions before they arrived at their destination; enough, she hoped, to make meaningful progress.

Whether or not the Soft Blade could pull her in and out of hibernation each week wasn’t something Kira was sure of. But it was worth a try. If the xeno couldn’t … she’d have to eliminate some of the training. Regardless of the heat she produced and the resources she consumed, it was crucial to minimize the amount of time she spent awake and alone. True isolation could cause serious psychological damage in a surprisingly short span. It was a problem for any small crew on a long-haul mission, and being entirely by herself would only exacerbate the problem. Either way, she’d have to keep close tabs on her mental health.…