“All right,” Lauryna said, “so how long will this work for?”

“With the power we’re using? About thirty minutes, forty-five, max. But that’s enough to confuse them,” Bres Gdiordo said. She was wiped out, and clearly exhausted, but she was still exhilarated by the idea that this might just work.

The Captain’s idea was a good one, and even though it had meant giving up on replacing some parts, which meant giving up some speed…well, speed wouldn’t do them any good if they got the engines up and running after they’d blown themselves up. Besides, Crewmate Jacint thought that there was enough spit and bailing wire to hold the engines together even without a replacement inverse coupling vertex or a phase baffle. He was pretty sure they could hit warp 5.7, and that would have to be good enough.

“There is, however, one issue that’s going to be a problem, ma’am,” Crewmate Nenca said, rubbing his hands together nervously.

“What’s that?” Lauryna asked.

“We’re going to need someone to pilot it.”

Lauryna looked at Nenca, and blinked. “What about fly-by-wire?”

“No, they’re right,” Crewmate Florem said. “If we send control information, it’s gonna give position away immediately.”

“A.I.?” Lauryna asked. “No, never mind, A.I. has its own set of problems.” She looked down. “We’re also going to need someone to run the program, aren’t we?”

“Well, yes ma’am,” Gdioro said. “But I’ve volunteered for that.”

Lauryna looked at Bres for a long moment. “You’re sure, Crewmate?”

“Yes, captain,” Gdioro said. “I am sure.”

Lauryna nodded. “Prepare for launch, we’re gonna hold on as long as we can. We’ll find a pilot.”

“Aye aye, captain,” Gdioro said.

“Crewmate Gdioro?” Lauryna said.

“Captain?”

Lauryna saluted. “Good hunting, crewmate.”

Gdioro returned it. “Same to you, captain.”

Lauryna let go of a heavy sigh as they left engineering. “Niseu, have all qualified pilots assemble in the shuttlebay.”

“Captain, I didn’t say anything back there, but are you kidding? You know what their odds are. This is a death sentence!”

Lauryna stopped dead. She waited for her XO to walk a few paces, then walk back to her. She didn’t have to say anything.

“Of course you know that, ma’am,” he said, quietly. “I’m sorry.”

“If I could think of any other way – any at all – I would, Niseu. But I can’t. And if I could volunteer myself, I would….”

“But a captain’s place is on the bridge.” Niseu looked at her. “Captain, I –”

“Request denied,” Lauryna said. “We need the XO on the bridge as well, Crewmate.”

“Understood. I’ll have the qualified pilots assemble in the shuttlebay.”

“Good. Dismissed,” Lauryna said, and turned to head to the shuttlebay. Part of her wanted to scream, to throw things, to pound on the walls. That wasn’t the part that terrified her, though.

The part that scared her was the part that was going through the pilots, turning them over. Who was good enough to pull this off, and yet an acceptable sacrifice?

And of course none of them were, but this was the only chance. Sacrifice two more officers, and hope they bought them time.

“Gwenn to Icarta,” she said into her commlink.

“Icarta, go ahead captain,” came the reply. “Already know what you’re asking. It’ll have the power of approximately sixteen missiles. We could get more if we had more time….”

“It’s enough,” Lauryna said. “It’s enough.”

Fifteen minutes later, she faced four officers, knowing full well what she was about to do.

“It is the ship’s only chance,” she said, softly. “And we have to take it. I will assign a pilot to this mission, but because of the nature of it, I will ask for volunteers; I want you to know a failure to volunteer will not be held against any….”

She nodded, as four hands were raised simultaneously. “Those are my pilots,” Florem said, with almost a smile.

“Captain Thop, Captain Tam, and Crewmate Glennon would be gorram proud of all of you,” Lauryna said. “I know I am.”

She sighed. She had decided that she would allow fate to make the choice; she was not ready to be the arbiter of death. Not yet.

“On my pad, I have loaded a random number generator, each of you….”

“Begging your pardon, captain,” Ciar Alyias said, “but there’s only one choice here. Me.”

“Ms. Alyias….”

“No, please, captain…I can pilot a shuttle. Not great, but good enough. And I can read a scanner really well. But if this works right…captain, Ms. Krale, Ms. Marusic, and Mr. Nenca can all help this ship get home. So can I…but not on this ship.”

There was silence in the shuttlebay.

Lauryna stepped in front of Alyias. She had to admit, part of the reason she had gone to the random number generator was that cold calculation kept landing on the junior officer, a xenobotanist and xenobiologist, twenty-eight months out of the Academy.

“Ms. Alyias, you make a persuasive case. I agree. You can help get this ship home. Report to Crewmate Gdioro.”

Lauryna held out her hand, and Alyias shook Lauryna’s wrist. “Captain…tell my parents I loved them, please.”

“Ms. Alyias, I will tell them that. And I will tell them that they should be very, very proud of their daughter. Good hunting.”

Lauryna let out a sigh. “All right,” she said. “We have one hour until we try to bring engines online. Crewmate Florem, Ms. Krale, with me, we’re heading to the bridge. Mr. Nenca, Ms. Marusic….”

“Captain,” Andonesia Marusic said, “we’re…are we really going to let Ms. Alyias go?”

“No, Ms. Marusic,” Lauryna said. “We will never let Ms. Alyias go.”

* * *

Ninety minutes later, they were hailed.

Lauryna sat back in her chair. “Ms. Riases, vox.”

“Captain Thop, you are annoying me,” a voice said.

“You killed Captain Thop,” Lauryna said. “And Ammera Tam. And Tanan Glennon. And Drrntr. Come back to kill me too?”

“Crewmate Gwenn! Or should I say, Captain Gwenn? I am sorry for your loss. Truly, I meant what I said. Captain Thop did not have to die, and neither do you.”

Lauryna nodded. “I know that,” she said. “Fifteen members of my crew are dead. We have managed to restore very limited warp power, but it isn’t even enough to destroy this ship.”

“Surrender, then,” Natask Aurrol said. “Your captain killed 61 Drazari. That’s 76 dead between us. Bring your ship up, and we’ll tow you to Tkakh.”

“I made a promise,” Lauryna said. “I can’t surrender. But I will bring the ship up. You will have to disable us.”

Aurrol chirped – what passed for a sigh among the Drazari. “I am sorry, Captain. I had hoped to share a glass of royal berry whisky with you. Well, perhaps we still shall. We have five ships closing on your position. Do everyone a favor. Stay grounded.”

“Can’t do that,” she said. “Execute Attack Plan Gwenn-One.”

Aurrol saw the Tez rise from the surface of the moon and come screaming up toward them. Ze could see quickly that they were not lying; the amount of power they had was barely that of a shuttlecraft.

“Prepare to fire,” ze said, but the gunners didn’t have to. The ship reached just short of orbit, and turned back toward the ground.

“Interesting. That would do it. Tekla, tell the Sovrits and the Telamarg to grab that ship – they mean to crash-land.”

The two ships nearest the vessel broke off into pursuit. It wasn’t difficult; the cruiser Sovrits got them in a gravitic beam, and pulled the ship aboard. As it was set down in the shuttlebay, Aurrol received a transmission.

“Natask Aurrol, there’s something odd going on,” the Natask of the Sovrits said.

“What is that?”

“Well, it’s the ship. Power readings are off.”

“They said they had lost most power. It is not a concern.”

“It is not that, Natask. The mass readings…we pulled it in too easily. There’s something wrong, they’ve…no…it’s a trick! It’s a shuttle! Natask, it was a holo….”

At that moment, the Sovrits exploded spectacularly

“Now!” Lauryna cried, and the Tez lifted vertically a hectounit, and went to thrusters full.

The bow of the Sovrits tumbled into the Telamarg, blowing a hole amidships and knocking it out of control, as the Tez gained altitude. Once they were just at the edge of the gravity well, they kicked in warp drive, as the Telamarg spiraled downward. Within a few minutes, the wreckage of both ships impacted on the frozen moon below.

“Did we get a heading?” Aurrol barked.

“They made three turns, Natask. And then…and then they were gone.”

Aurrol stood, flapping zir wings in anger. Ze had not thought it when he met her, but truly, Captain Gwenn was almost Drazari in her thinking.

Almost.

“There is one place they can go,” Aurrol said. “We will get there first.”

* * *

“If we can hold this speed, we’ll be to Drazari Limit Star Six in 63 hours,” Niseu Florem said.

“We can hold this speed. The question is whether there’s a better place to try to punch through,” Lorm Jacint said. “Captain?”

“No,” Lauryna said, quietly, looking around the temporary briefing room. “There aren’t any decent systems within twenty light years of the border. That’s why it’s the border. But there’s a last-chance station about half a light year from Limit-Six. We can’t assume they won’t pursue us into Imperial territory.”

“That could provoke a war!” Jacint said.

“And that’s exactly what Aurrol wants!” Lauryna barked. “The whole reason we aren’t dead, aside from the sacrifice of our crewmates, is that they haven’t wanted us dead. They want us intact – more or less. If they’d wanted to blow us out of the sky, we would have been long ago.”

“Aye, ma’am.”

Lauryna shook her head. “Crewmate Jacint, my apologies,” she said, after a moment. “It was not fair for me to dress you down like that. It’s a fair point.”

“It’s okay, captain,” Jacint said. “It was my fault – I shouldn’t have been questioning your orders.”

“You can always question in this room,” Lauryna said. “I want my senior staff to feel free to question in here. That’s how Captain Thop ran things, and it’s the right way to do it. You do not owe me an apology for worrying about this ship, Crewmate.”

“Aye aye, ma’am,” Jacint said. “Thank you.”

Lauryna sighed. “As to your point…I expect that we will be attacked whether we cross the border or not. And given our condition, if they can track us down within a few light years of the border, they can probably drag us back over. But the second moon of the second planet of Double-Zhe 13 Double-Zhe has some armaments, as well as emergency survival shelters. If we can get there, we can land, fortify our position, and wait for rescue.”

“How do you know that?” Niseu asked.

“It’s in the captain’s briefing,” Lauryna sighed.

“Ah,” the acting XO said. “Well, captain, that makes perfect sense. Are you sure they won’t expect us to cross there?”

“They probably will, but the truth is that most of the vectors we choose let them pursue us into Imperial space with impunity. At least this gives us something more to fight with if we can get there.”

“Good point,” Niseu said. “And we can’t play the ‘but what if if they know we know they’ll be there’ game.”

“Exactly,” Lauryna said. “Again, nice job everyone. But we’re not safe at home yet. Dismissed.”

The department heads filtered out, but Crewmate Florem held back a moment. “Captain,” he said, “when’s the last time you slept?”

“Hmm? Before we got to Kleetakh.”

“What I figured. Captain, you need about 30 hours of sleep, but as your XO, I’ll settle for 10.”

“Niseu, I….”

“Captain, I can get Dr. Krktll to order you to bed. He’ll demand you take the full thirty.”

“Mutiny, eh?” Lauryna said, with just the barest hint of a smile. “I’ll take ten hours, but if anything happens….”

“Believe me, captain, we’ll call you to the bridge.”

“Good. That said, I’m not worried about you, Niseu. You can handle things.”

“No, ma’am,” Florem said. “I couldn’t have done what you did, back there. Couldn’t have let two people sacrifice themselves so we could live.”

“Yeah, you could. If you had no choice,” Lauryna said. “You passed the CLO test. You know what you have to be willing to do. But that doesn’t mean it sits right.”

“Aye aye.”

“All right,” Lauryna said, getting wearily to her feet. “Call me in exactly 10 hours. Crewmate Florem, the ship is yours.”

“Aye, captain,” he said, heading for the bridge as Captain Gwenn headed for her quarters.

Lauryna had expected to have trouble sleeping, but she was so exhausted that she fell to sleep almost immediately. Not that her dreams were pleasant. They were filled with chaos, and destruction, and fear. But she woke ten hours later, right on schedule, and though she didn’t feel like it, she willed herself to sit up.

“Oh, gods,” a small voice called.

Lauryna looked down, and saw Thio lying on the bed in the shadow of the pillow, in a position that suggested he’d been knocked there by her.

“Thio…first, are you okay? Second, why are….”

“I am, and I’m sorry, captain. I was lonely, and tired, and I came in here, and I fell asleep on the pillow. I was…I didn’t mean to bother you.”

“It’s okay, Thio. Really. Just…be careful. If a Titan doesn’t know a human’s around, it can get dangerous. I’d hate to think what would have happened if I’d rolled over on you.”

“I know. Captain, is there anything I can do to help?”

“No, Thio. I appreciate the offer, though.”

Thio nodded. “Lauryna,” he said, quietly, “are you okay?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“You seem sad. Maybe it’s just that I’m sad.”

“No, Thio, I am sad. I’d be sad if it was just Ammera who’d died. I want to cry all the time right now, just for her. And for everyone else who’s died. Especially the two officers who died to save this ship yesterday.”

She sighed, and looked at Izzy. “I remember her talking to me about combat, and me blowing her off. And then me almost getting us both killed. But Iz, I don’t think either of us ever understood this part of it.

“But that’s a discussion for another day,” Lauryna said, standing up. She hadn’t taken her duty uniform off; she pulled on her boots and pulled her hair into a pony tail, that being the easiest thing to do with it at the moment. “Thio, thank you. Stay safe.”

“Yes, ma’am. And captain…I think it’s good that you feel sad about them.”

“I do too, Thio,” Lauryna said. “If I ever stop feeling that, I should resign my commission.” She laughed ruefully. “Of course, if we don’t get home safe, that won’t be a problem.”

* * *

Lauryna had immediately ordered Florem to bed as soon as she got to the bridge; he didn’t argue it. He was almost as tired as she was. The crew kept busy replicating armaments until they ran out of materials to make missiles; they were down to about a third of a full spread, which might not be enough, but frankly, at this point, there was nothing left to do but take their chances.

He returned after his own ten hours of sleep, and slid into the helm. The bridge was quiet. There was no panic, no fear. Just anticipation. Anticipation of what was to come.

As the blue-white giant grew brighter, Lauryna began to wonder if they’d maybe gotten away clean. If perhaps Aurrol had given up the chase. The Tez had destroyed two ships and incapacitated three others. Maybe ze had decided it wasn’t worth the trouble – that the battering they’d taken and Aurrol’s double-cross would be enough.

She’d almost started to wonder this when a corvette appeared on an intercept course.

“We’re being hailed,” Riases said, as the Tez barreled at full speed toward the border.

“Two more ships in range, captain,” Icarta called. “One corvette, and a cruiser. Both show markings of ships we’ve engaged with.”

“Crewmate Florem, come right, zero-seven-four-mark zero-one-zero. Head directly at the cruiser.”

“Aye, captain.”

“Captain, they’re hailing us again.”

“Ignore them. Icarta, prepare counter-measures.”

“Aye, captain.”

Lauryna looked at the projection of their course. They were minutes away. They just had to evade their pursuers for a few more minutes, and then, if nothing else, they’d die at home.

Lauryna watched the tactical setup. They were being driven toward the Ivvang – it had to be the Ivvang – by the two corvettes. “Okay, helm,” she said, calmly. “Stand by to reverse course.”

Florem actually laughed. “Hell yes,” he said. “Sorry, captain, I mean to say, aye aye.”

“Steady,” Lauryna said. They were maneuvering at high speed toward a carrier. They were seconds away from a direct hit.

“Steady,” Lauryna said again. “Steady….”

The carrier backed off, ever-so-slightly.

“Now, Crewmate Florem, now!”

The Tez turned hard to dorsal, and almost skimmed the Ivvang as they executed a perfect turn, leaving the corvettes and the Ivvang to try to catch up.

“Fire everything we’ve got,” Lauryna said.

The Tez loosed its arsenal, and it was enough to stagger one of the corvettes. But the Ivvang and the other kept coming.

“Captain, they’re closing,” Icarta said. “They’ll be able to catch us before we reach the border.”

Lauryna could see that, not that she wanted to. Because seeing that meant that they were not going to make it. They had almost made it home – but not quite.

“Options?”

The crew looked around. Lauryna sighed. “Crewmate Jacint…begin procedures to overload the warp drive.”

“Captain?”

“We’re out of options, and out of weapons.” Fitting that it would come down to the warp drive. “We need to prepare to self-destruct.” Funny, Izzy always asked if they would eject the warp core. She’d said it seemed to happen every other week on “Star Trek.” Lauryna always found it silly. Why on Archavia would you ever….

Lauryna stood up. “Crewmate Jacint, when the warp cor hits critical, I want you to eject it.”

“What?!”

“Crewmate Florem, you remember the theory that you could ride the spatial distortion of a warp field if you were out in front of it?”

Niseu looked back at Lauryna. “You’re kidding.”

“Can you think of a better option?”

Florem grinned. “Well, we’ll know where the blast is coming from. But this is probably a one-in-four shot, captain.”

“It’ll work,” she said. “It has to.”

“Ms. Krale, take the helm for a moment. Crewmate Jacint,” Florem said, pulling up a comms screen. “I need you to eject the core on a precise vector at a precise point, or else we are going to be destroyed. Got it?”

“Aye, sir…I hope.”

Florem’s fingers danced over the keys, and he forwarded the file. “All right, Ms. Krale, I’ll take the helm,” he said. He looked over his shoulder at Lauryna Gwenn, and nodded. This would almost be fun, if they didn’t die.

“We are being hailed, captain.”

“On vox,” Lauryna said. “You’re too late, Aurrol.”

“I can see that,” Aurrol said, as a disruptor hit them. “You think you’re quite clever, Captain. But the border is well-monitored. We’ll get a war out of this, one way or another.”

“Maybe,” Lauryna said. “But you won’t be around to see it. Crewmate Florem?”

“Steady…steady…now!”

The warp core dropped out the back of the Tez. The ship immediately began slowing, but Florem expected it, and changed their vector, kicking in full gravitics as the engine blew.

Lauryna grinned. ”I have taken a part of your life, Natask Aurrol,” she said.

The explosion reached the Ivvang just milliseconds later. It did not disintegrate the entire ship, but the damage it did was tremendous. Aurrol had just enough time to curse Lauryna Gwenn, before the catastrophic failure of the Ivvang’s warp engine destroyed the rest of zir ship, as well as the corvette on its wing.

The distortion wave hit the Tez like a tsunami against a cork. It was flung forward, bouncing and rippling and stretching.

The wave carried the ship over the border, and then it broke.

The Tez Magilna was tumbling bow over stern, pinwheeling chaotically as it left the warp field behind. Finally and mercifully, Florem regained control and righted it.

“Sitrep!” Lauryna Gwenn called.

“We are in Imperial space,” said Icarta. He looked up. “All hostiles have been eliminated.”

Lauryna nodded, and hit the internal comm button. “All hands, this is the Acting Captain. We have reached Imperial Space and our pursuers have been destroyed. Damage control teams, begin sweep. Gwenn out.”

There was a cheer from the bridge and around the ship, but Lauryna didn’t join in. She nodded, instead, to her XO. “Nice flying, Crewmate Florem.”

“Thank you, captain. Emergency warp is coming online, at best speed, we’re about a day out of our destination.”

“Excellent. Mr. Icarta, instruct Decanus Thynesi to focus relief efforts on injuries rather than systems, Niseu, contact engineering, authorize them to draw emergency power from the disruptor banks if necessary. Ms. Riases,” Lauryna added. “Message to Delta fleet command, red code seven. Tez Magilna in Imperial Space, on emergency warp, heading for base at Zhe-Zhe-One-Three-Zhe-Zhe, request emergency assistance. Alert: subject of mission was on Drazari side, aborted. Signed, Gwenn, Lauryna, Captain, Acting.”

“Message sent,” Riases said. She waited but a moment, before she said, “Incoming communication, ma’am.”

“On vox,” Lauryna said.

“Crewmate Gwenn,” the voice of Navarchos Abaementos said, “this is Delta Fleet Actual. It is good to hear from you…but I am a bit concerned that I am hearing from you, specifically.”

Lauryna smiled sadly. “Navarchos, this is…this is Tez Magilna Actual. I regret to inform you that Captain Toremalia Thop, Acting Captain Ammera Tam, Senior Crewmate Second Class Tanan Glennon, Senior Crewmate Second Class Bres Gdiaro, and Junior Crewmate Second Class Ciar Alyias have all been killed in service to the Empire. We have several other injuries, including Acting Captain Drrntr, though fortunately, she is expected to recover.”

There was a pause – not a long one, as Toesta Abaementos was not new to this – before the transmission resumed. “Captain Gwenn, please express my deepest condolences to your crew. I am dispatching the Anaktaesi and the Martyaxvar to your position to assist in your recovery; however, maintain your course until you hear otherwise.”

“Aye, Navarchos.”

“And we understand the second part of your communication to mean that this is due to the actions of Natask Aurrol.”

“Aye, Navarchos.”

“Understood. Please transmit logs at your earliest convenience, coded Kapezhe-4. Also, Captain?”

“Yes, Navarchos?”

“I hope you killed the double-crossing turncoat.”

“We did, Navarchos. Took zir entire ship.”

“Good. It doesn’t make it even. Not by a long shot. But it’s a start. We’ll see you very soon. Aementos out.”

“Aye, Navarchos. Tez Magilna out. Ms. Riases, prepare our logs for transmission. I’ll have one more entry, obviously.”

“Aye, captain. Captain, damage control and recovery teams report no significant damage other than the loss of the warp drive. A few injuries, but all minor. Engineering reports six days of emergency power, even without the disruptor banks.”

“Excellent news, Crewmate,” Lauryna said.

She’d done it. She’d gotten them home, safe and in more-or-less one piece.

She didn’t feel happy about it. But given the cost, she supposed she shouldn’t.

* * *

Four days later, the Anaktaesi arrived at Jutuneim, the Tez Magilna in tow.

Sickbay was largely empty; those seriously injured had been transferred to the Anktaesi. In about the only good news Lauryna had received in days, Mr. Diophon had survived, and while his full recovery was not assured, it was at least possible.

Lauryna was very much hoping not to lose another member of her crew. Silly, really – they were Captain Thop’s crew. She’d just borrowed them. Something she made sure to emphasize to the crew, to brass, to everyone.

But borrowed or not, they were hers for the moment. And if tomorrow, they became Drrntr’s, or someone else’s…she had done what had to be done to get them to someone else.

“You’re sure you aren’t feeling up to taking command yet?” Lauryna had asked Drrntr, who was quite obviously fully recovered.

“I am absolutely incapacitated! Not nearly so mighty as my executive officer! Besides,” and Drrntr roared this last bit, even by Ler standards, “Captain Gwenn has earned the chance to reach base as this ship’s captain!”

There had been shouts of agreement from those officers in hearing range. Lauryna had chuckled. “I am honored, powerful LerDrrntr! And I look forward to fighting alongside you again!”

Now, she sat in a comfortable room on the Aspis, across from Navarchos Aementos, Captain Solis, and most daunting, Navarchos Imperii Oren, who had traveled to Jutuneim to meet the crew of the Tez.

“Captain Gwenn,” Oren said, “I am quite impressed.”

“Captain Thop’s crew performed well,” Lauryna said.

“Yes,” Ceme Oren said, “his crew – and your crew – did. But still, you should not ignore your contributions. You made some brilliantly unorthodox decisions, captain. You make different decisions, we aren’t talking today. We’re either preparing for war, or mourning 34 more officers than we have to.”

“Ma’am…I am a little concerned,” Lauryna said. “I know war was Aurrol’s aim. I’m worried that we may have given to zir, despite everything.”

“No,” Solis said. “Ze had grand plans, but those grand plans didn’t involve a single Imperial ship taking out three cruisers and two corvettes. Intelligence suggests that whatever interest the Drazari might have had in war has pretty much dissipated. They thought they could go toe-to-toe with us. You showed them different. And that suits us; the Drazari should be less bellicose after this is done. It wasn’t how I expected things to go, but I am quite satisfied.”

“Now,” Aementos said, “I do regret to inform you that you will not be remaining in command of the Tez Magilna.”

“That’s not a problem, ma’am,” Lauryna said. “I didn’t really expect to be. For one, Captain Drrntr is ready to take command.”

“Indeed. And she will not be in command either, not, long-term. She will be taking over as the executive officer once the ship is repaired, which could be some time. In my communications with her, she has indicated a strong desire to have you remain on as operations officer, and I understand that…but frankly, Crewmate Gwenn, we have more experience in matters such as this than we’d like. It becomes awkward for an Acting Captain to slide back into a subordinate role after something like this. Not so much because of the officer – I know you would do your duty, take orders, and show respect to your superiors. But the crew – they tend to keep looking to the person who brought them safely home. That’s neither fair to whoever we put in command, nor to you.”

Lauryna frowned. She didn’t want to leave the Tez. But she understood. Aementos didn’t want her to leave it, either. What they wanted wasn’t important. Their first duty was to the ship, and the crew.

“Navarchos, I will be honored to serve wherever I am assigned.”

“The answer I expected. Crewmate, I am making your brevet to Senior Crewmate Second Class a permanent field promotion, and I’m giving you the next four months off. The Sandava is currently undergoing refit at Tantalus. You are to report to Tantalus on the first day of the new year; you will be serving as the Sandava’s Operations Officer and Chief of Communications.”

“Thank you, Navarchos.”

“Before we dismiss you…one last bit of business, while I can still call you captain,” the Navarchos Imperii said. She pushed a small box across the table. Lauryna stared at it; she could recognize from the outside what it contained, but she could hardly believe it. Opening it, she was shocked to see a heavy gold medal with a design of interlaced triangles, attached to a green-and-black ribbon.

“Needless to say, this is not the only award you’re receiving for your actions, Captain Gwenn. You’re also receiving the Grand Navarchos and Gold Starburst, and I have recommended you for the Imperial Clade. You can be assured you’ll at least receive the Order of the Emperor. This award, however, is the highest award I can personally give you, and you have earned it in full.”

Lauryna looked at the Imperii’s Award, the highest military award an officer in the fleet could earn. “Navarchos Oren…I…really, if not for the actions of Ammera Tam, I wouldn’t be in a position to receive this. I….”

“Ammera Tam is my other recipient for the year,” Oren said, gently. “You both earned this because you thought of your crewmates, first and foremost. Many men and women have earned it for far less, captain.”

Oren stood, and Lauryna did, too. And the Navarchos Imperii, commander of the Imperial Fleet, Planetary Defense Corps, and Imperators’ Corps, saluted her.

Lauryna began to gather up her things as she was dismissed. She paused, for just a moment. “Navarchos Imperii, Navarchos, Captain…you’ve all lost people under your command, I’m sure.”

“Yes, we have,” Oren said.

“Have any of them died because of your orders? I mean, because you deliberately sacrificed them?”

Oren looked carefully at Lauryna, and for just a split second, the look on her face went from its default genial calm to haunted and haggard. She nodded, just barely. “You didn’t do anything wrong, Captain Gwenn. Every one of us would have made that choice. Every one of us has.”

“Thank you. I just…I know combat has gotten easier. It doesn’t frighten me, doesn’t make me sick, doesn’t make me fall apart afterward like I did when I was a JC3C. But this…does it ever get any easier?”

Oren looked at Abaementos, who shook her head. “No.”

Lauryna nodded. “Good.”

* * *

Three Titan Months Later

“I really can’t get over it.”

“A city full of humans? It’s pretty amazing, isn’t it.”

“No, you, Lauryna!” Thio replied with a grin. “I can’t get over seeing you like this.”

Lauryna laughed at the man walking beside her. Well, really, she and Thio were nowhere near each other. She was in the holosuite up in the Tarsuss compound, he walking through the streets of Atlantis. But the illusion was perfect; he looked like any Titan man she’d ever seen – blandly handsome, friendly, quick with a laugh…if someone met him like this, they never would think he was anything but an intelligent, capable person. Which was the point, she knew.

“You’re sure you don’t mind the imposition?”

“Mind? Aw, hell no. Friend of Izzy’s is a friend of mine, and a friend of Red’s is a friend of Izzy’s. ‘Sides, you seem like a smart guy. We’ll find something for ya to work on.”

“Thanks, Secretary Xanthopolous,” Thio said.

“Call me Darren.”

“Mind if I steal Crewmate Gwenn for a moment, Darren?”

Lauryna looked over her shoulder, and saw a tall woman approaching.

“Would it matter if I said yes, Trixie? ‘Course you can borrow Red. But don’t make her late for dinner. Lysis is cooking tonight, which means she’s bringing in dinner from your husband’s restaurant. So it’ll be actually good, even if you can’t eat it.”

“Alex isn’t my husband.”

“Right.”

“And we can eat just fine,” Rixie said with a grin. “He’ll make some for Lauryna, I’ll see to it.”

“I’m sure you will. So Thiosmit…you pick out a last name yet?”

“You know, Darren…everyone calls me Thio. I think I’ll just go by Thio Smit, if that works.”

“Keep it simple,” Darren said. “I like it.”

“What can I do for you, Imperator?”

“I just wanted to thank you, Lauryna, for bringing Ammera home.”

Lauryna nodded. She’d spent a good amount of time attending to unpleasant affairs. She’d visited the families of Crewmate Alyias and Crewmate Gdorio, presented each with the awards they’d earned – Martyr to Archavia, Order of the Emperor, Gold Flower, Gold Starburst. It didn’t seem like enough, of course, but she’d told them what she could – that their daughters, their sisters, their girlfriends had saved 34 people by their actions. That the thirty-four survivors of that mission would never forget them, not so long as they lived.

And then, along with Thiosmit – Thio Smit, that is – Lauryna had brought Ammera’s effects to Avalon, to formally give them to a representative of the Hoplites. Rixie would send Ammera’s medals and ribbons to the headquarters of the Hoplite order, where she would be recorded by the Tam Caste as another Hoplite who had died in service to the Empire.

“Did you know her?” Lauryna asked.

“A little. She was a couple years older than I was. A lot less of a troublemaker. But I remember her being damn brave. And obviously, she was.”

“She was,” Lauryna said. “And she was a good friend. I’m gonna miss her.”

And finally, finally, Lauryna let herself cry the tears she’d held in since Tkakh. When, a few minutes later, she recomposed herself, she found Rixie smiling at her gently. The holodeck had been turned off; Rixie had spared Lauryna a public breakdown.

“I’m sorry,” Lauryna said.

“It’s okay, captain. I’ve been there,” she said, offering a hand. Lauryna shook her head; she hadn’t remembered sitting down.

“I’m not a captain anymore,” Lauryna said.

“Oh, you will be,” Rixie said. “What you did in Drazari space is already legend. They want you to get your feet wet on a Talanis class ship so they’ve got some options when it’s time to pull out the chair for you.”

“We were never in Drazari space,” Lauryna said.

“Of course you weren’t. And you didn’t blow Aurrol to bits, either, or save 33 other crewmates in the process. And I don’t know any of this, because of course flag officers don’t talk about classified events, especially with their retired friends.”

Lauryna chuckled. “Of course not.”

“Lauryna, you pulled off something that few officers in the fleet could’ve. They want to make sure you’ve got the right resumé, and once you do, they will.”

“Well, whatever they do is fine,” Lauryna said. “I’m not sure I’m in a rush to get back to command.”

“You’re a decent liar, but you’re not that good,” Rixie said.

She checked a readout, and restored the holos. They ended up in Darren’s front yard, just as he and Thio walked up to it.

“Cheating again, Trixie?”

“You would know, Darren,” Rixie said.

Thio and Rixie went in, and Darren did too. Lauryna paused.

“What’s wrong, Red?”

“Nothing, Darren. Just…wish Izzy was awake for this. She’d love to see you.”

“And I’d love to see her. But Doc Geen is a bright guy, and she has you watching out for her. Don’t know when it’ll be, but someday, you’ll be back here with her.”

“And if not?”

“Red, I don’t know what you pulled, but Trix says it was a million-to-one shot. Now, I don’t know who’s running the show up there, but do you really think they’d let you survive a million-to-one shot just to have Izzy frozen forever? I sure don’t. Now get in here. Alex actually makes a decent version of buffalo wings. And I know dang well he was already prepping something similar for you.”

Lauryna smiled. “Well,” she said, “how can I turn that down?”

* * *

One Titan Month Later

Lauryna stepped out of the shuttlecraft and onto the deck of the Sandava’s main shuttlebay. She immediately approached the officer who was waiting for her.

“Commander Los,” Lauryna said, coming to attention. “Senior Crewmate Lauryna Gwenn, reporting. Permission to come aboard.”

“Granted.” Commander Arna Los said. She was rather surprised that he did so in a Federation drawl. He extended a hand to her. “Welcome aboard, Crewmate Gwenn. Can I give you any help with your things?”

“No thank you, sir,” Lauryna said, her large pack slung over her shoulder, a smaller bag clenched tightly in her left hand. “I’ve been carrying them from Jutuneim, I can carry them a bit farther.”

“Good,” said the ship’s executive officer. “Looking forward to working with you. Captain Roror is en route, she wants senior staff to meet on the bridge at 3230.”

“Understood,” Lauryna said. “Do you need any help down here?”

“No, thanks, I’m just greeting the crew as they get here. Go, get settled and unpacked. Mr. Pisi?” Los called to a security officer on deck, “will you escort Crewmate Gwenn to her quarters?”

“Aye, sir,” he said. “You must be the operations officer,” he said to Lauryna.

“Yes, Mr. Pisi,” Lauryna said, extending a hand. “Lauryna Gwenn. Good to meet you.”

The security guard led Lauryna through the glimmering corridors of the Talanis-class ship. “It was almost completely gutted and rebuilt. I was on the Tuana Zanil before here, it’s a nice change from Magilna-class.”

“It’s got more space,” Lauryna said. “But I was on the Tez Magilna, and believe me, those ships are a lot more than meets the eye.”

“Aye, ma’am,” Pisi said. “That is true.”

Lauryna reached her quarters, and thanked the security officer, and went inside. It was less a cabin than a full suite – a separate bedroom and living area, even a small kitchenette. Not quite what senior officers had on the Gyfjon, but very close. It dwarfed what she’d had on the Tez Magilna.

If anything, it was a bit too big.

She walked into the bedroom, and dropped her pack, and walked to the dresser, and carefully – ever-so-carefully – removed a small cylinder from it.

She regarded it with a sad smile, and gave the cylinder a gentle kiss. “Izzy, welcome to our new home,” she said, softly.