“I’m sorry.”

“It happens. I’m not the only one, although most of the others didn’t make it past thirty. As long as I take my pills, it isn’t too bad, but some days—” Nielsen winced. “Some days, the pills don’t do much of anything.” She picked up her pillow and wedged it behind her back. Her tone was bitter as arsenic: “When your body isn’t your own, it’s worse than any prison.” Her eyes flicked toward Kira. “You know.”

She did know, and she also knew dwelling on it wouldn’t help. “So what happened after you got laid off?”

Nielsen drained the last of her tea in a single gulp. She put the empty cup on the edge of the desk. “The bills started piling up, and … well, my husband, Sarros, left. I don’t blame him, not really, but there I was, having to start all over again at sixty-three.…” Her laugh could have cut glass. “I don’t recommend it.”

Kira made a sympathetic noise, and the first officer said: “I couldn’t find a job that suited me on Venus, so I left.”

“Just like that?”

The steel inside Nielsen came to the fore again. “Exactly like that. I spent some time moving around Sol, trying to find a steady position. Eventually I ended up at Harcourt Station, out by Titan, and that’s where I met Falconi and talked him into bringing me on as first officer.”

“Now there’s a conversation I would have liked to hear,” said Kira.

Nielsen chuckled. “I may have been a bit pushy. I practically had to force my way onto the Wallfish. The ship was a bit of a mess when I arrived; it needed organizing and scheduling, and those have always been my strong points.”

Kira toyed with the extra packet of honey she’d brought. “Can I ask you a question?”

“It’s a little late to be asking for permission, don’t you think?”

“About Falconi.”

Nielsen’s expression grew more guarded. “Go ahead.”

“What’s the story behind those scars on his arms? Why didn’t he get them fixed?”

“Ah.” Nielsen shifted her legs, trying to find a more comfortable position. “Why don’t you ask him yourself?”

“I wasn’t sure if it was a sensitive subject.”

Nielsen stared at her with an overly direct gaze. Her eyes, Kira noticed for the first time, had flecks of green in them. “If Falconi feels like telling you, he will. Either way, it’s not really my story to share. I’m sure you understand.”

Kira didn’t press the issue, but Nielsen’s reticence only increased her curiosity.

After that, they spent a pleasant half hour chatting about the intricacies of living and working on Venus. To Kira, the planet seemed beautiful and exotic and dangerous in an alluring way. Nielsen’s time in the publishing industry there had been so different from Kira’s profession, it made her consider the vast array of personal experiences that existed throughout the League.

At last, when Kira’s cup was empty and Nielsen seemed in relatively good cheer, Kira stood to leave. The first officer caught her by the wrist.