Two Days Later

“It’s nice to meet you,” the boy said, shaking Izzy’s hand.

“It’s nice to meet you…Ryan, you said?”

Alex had been kind enough to escort Izzy into the city. Not that she didn’t think she could get there on her own – Atlantis wasn’t exactly big. Or at least, it didn’t used to be. But Alex had insisted, as he had to pick up his son from school anyhow.

Alex had to pick up his son. From school.

Ridiculous. At least he still hadn’t married Rixie, that hadn’t changed – though Izzy thought that was mostly a technicality at this point.

“Yup. So you know dad?”

“She’s known me a long time. Since before you were born.”

“Why haven’t I met you?”

“I sleep a lot,” Izzy said sardonically. “I can’t get over this,” she said, looking around the burgeoning town.

“Changed a bit, hasn’t it?” Alex said with a grin.

Atlantis had indeed changed quite a bit. Indeed, the city itself had moved a few kilometers east of the original Atlantis, which was mostly redeveloped, save for a central square that had been preserved as a historical site.

Atlantis was roaring ahead. When last she’d been here there were maybe 70,000 people. Now there were over 350,000 – about the size of St. Louis. It helped that the population had, for the most part, been life-extended – nobody was forced to, but most chose to when given the opportunity. Izzy wondered if she would; she kind of doubted it. She’d already been hurtled into the future.

She wasn’t sure she liked it very much.

The city itself was an industrial town now, full of factories cranking away. They were better factories than their comparable Earth counterparts – the Avalonian government had adopted a policy of working with Titan technology while still developing things in parallel. They were using titan energy to drive the plants, but the plants themselves were designed by Avalonians. That meant the occasional workplace injury, much to Nick Archer’s consternation, but it also meant that they’d developed a very novel spin on the assembly line. A few horseless carriages had been produced; more were certain, very soon.

“It has,” Izzy said. “Of course it has.”

“So what are you planning to do here?”

“Hmm? Not sure. Darren said that he’s Secretary of Defense now, so I’m not sure about being a soldier under his command.”

“Eh, Darren’s fine. It’s Lysis you have to watch out for.”

“I like Lysis!” the eleven-year-old-boy — well, he appeared to be elevenish — said from Alex’s side.

“We all like Lysis. You just have to watch out for her. You have to watch out for your mom, right?”

“She says I have to watch out for you,” Ryan teased.

Alex grinned. “As usual, son, your mother is right. And if nothing else, Iz, Rixie’s is always looking for good employees.”

“That’s good to know,” Izzy said. She sighed. It hadn’t occurred to her that she’d need a job if she moved to Avalon, though why that hadn’t occurred to her, she couldn’t say.

Alex led them around a corner to the large Hall of Avalon, which sat at the end of a lovely square, which was centered with a memorial to the dead from the Avalonian Civil War. The new Avalonian Flag flew over the hall; Alex guided Izzy up the steps and around a corner, and into the wing that housed the defense ministry.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Carey,” the officer at the front desk said. “Good afternoon, Ryan.”

“Afternoon, Ilklokagos Xanthopolous,” Ryan said.

“Hi, George. Is your dad around?”

Izzy looked at the young man, and her jaw dropped. “George…Georgie Xanthopolous?”

“Sorry, ma’am, do I know you?”

Izzy shook her head. “You were just a little kid…how are you a grown-up?”

“March of time, I suppose. You know my parents?”

Izzy chuckled. “I’m your godmother,” she said.

George broke out in a very familiar grin. “Aunt Izzy? Dad didn’t tell me they woke you up!” he said, getting out of his seat and racing around the desk to give Izzy a bear hug. “I was just little when you got sick. I remember crying for three days.”

“It was four, and show some decorum, Mr. Xanthopolous,” a gruff man said.

“But dad, I –”

“That’s me sayin’, get out of the way, I’m cutting in,” Darren said, and he pulled Izzy into a hug not dissimilar to the one his eldest son had just completed.

“Good to see you, Corporal,” Darren said. “We was damn worried we wouldn’t get to again.”

“Sarge….” Izzy stammered. When she recovered, she said, “That’s more emotion than you’ve shown me in my life, Sarge.”

“Well, consider it 45 years’ worth, Corporal. Don’t expect much more anytime soon.”

* * *

“You’re bein’ a got’damned moron is what you’re bein’. A got’damned fool.”

“Blow me,” Izzy grumbled.

The two days on Avalon had not been the mind-clearing trip she’d hoped it would be. Part of that was because there was no real way to get past the fact that 40 years had passed her by. But most of it was because Darren Xanthopolous was not one to let Izzy sulk, no matter how much she wanted to.

On one level, Izzy appreciated it; Darren had aged a bit more than Lauryna, but though his hair was gray at the temples, his demeanor was exactly the same as it had been when she’d last seen him.

Right now, she wouldn’t have minded if he’d mellowed out a bit.

“That girl’s done nothin’ but love the hell out of you these last 45 years,” Darren continued. “She carried you around like a got’damned cross and a crown o’thorns. Can’t tell you how many times she told me you’d wake up hating her, and how she couldn’t bear it, and I told her you’d forgive her, ‘cause I thought you had more got’damned sense than you apparently have.”

Izzy looked at him sullenly.

“She made a decision that damn near broke her, Corporal, so you could sit here grousing about it. And if you had half a brain, you’d know that. You’d know that it wasn’t some Titan claiming she owned you just to own you. It was a wife telling the doctor to operate on her half-dead, half-crazy husband, despite him saying they should just let him die. She saved your got’damn life, Izzy, and this is how you repay her?”

“You don’t understand.”

“I don’t understand what it’s like to be owned? Missy, I had to live with fucking Lyroo Prenn. Your ‘owner’ had Doc Geen save your life. You think Lyroo would have cared about freezing me? Hell no.”

“That’s not it, Darren. You don’t get it,” Izzy barked.

“I get it fine. You’re mad she ignored you.”

“No, I’m not,” Izzy shouted. “I’m not mad at her! She did the right thing! God damn it, she did the right thing.”

Darren looked at her in surprise for a long moment. “Then why….”

“Because she’s outgrown me,” Izzy said. “She doesn’t need me. I teased her and I made her life tough and occasionally when she needed someone to talk to, she’d come to me and talk to me and I’d help her through the tough parts. She was a kid, she needed me.”

Izzy sighed, and covered her face for a moment. When she pulled her hands away, her fingers pulled her tears across her cheeks.

“She doesn’t need me anymore, Sarge. She’s doing just fine on her own. She has to worry about me…it’ll just make it harder on her. She’s on track for Captain, you know. Won the Imperial Clade, got forced into command, saved dozens of lives. Someday, she’s gonna have her own ship. I’m just gonna get in the way. The human she has to worry about when she should be worrying about the crew.”

Darren sighed, and ran a hand through his hair. “You’re a gorram idiot, Ibanez. You think she doesn’t want to worry about you? She worried about you every day for forty-five years.”

“She shouldn’t have,” Izzy said. “I’m not worth that. Red…she’s amazing. I had no idea how amazing she could become, Darren. I watched her…she scared Drazari officers into dropping their disruptor coils and missiles just by casually mentioning her name. That was it. Her name, Darren. She deserves someone…someone who can support her, who can help her. There’s nothing she can’t do, Darren, and I…all I can do is hold her back.”

Darren shook his head. “You’re an idiot, Ibanez. I don’t know what you think you do for her, but it sure as hell ain’t holdin’ her back. I just hope you come to your senses before she moves on.”

* * *

Two Days Later

Izzy sat in a café by the subway station, watching the people come and go.

She was debating what to do next. Another two days on the ground had made her realize that she really didn’t like sitting in one spot. She didn’t want to settle down, work at Rixie’s, meet a nice girl and buy a house. She wanted to explore.

Yes, Avalon was huge, and she could spend her whole life exploring it and not see it all – but the universe was so much bigger. She hadn’t realized how much she loved traversing the stars, seeing new places, exploring new worlds….

The subway ran up to the mountain, and stopped at the spaceport there. When it had first been built, it had been used to shuttle humans discreetly between Tayas Mons and Atlantis – but the need for subterfuge had long gone away. Now, it was used by the humans to get back and forth from Atlantis to the mountain and the spaceport, and a new line allowed them to get around Atlantis itself. One rail line was already running to the south, all the way to Napata; it would soon be connected to Wanderer’s Bay. Another ran out to Minas, and would soon be extended to Rosetta. Indeed, there were discussions about extending them after that, connecting to Ostia and Palatine and Aventine, the three countries on Avalon that weren’t under Atlantis’s jurisdiction…though all three had begun to move toward a rapprochement with the Avalonian government, especially as Atlantis continued to drive ahead technologically.

Carey Station was therefore a hub of activity, and a good place to people-watch, and to think. (And yes, Izzy had teased Alex about the name; he had sighed, and told her that President Velos had basically given him an ultimatum: either join her cabinet, or accept the honor of having the train station named after him. Alex had taken the station.)

But that was neither here nor there. Izzy was sitting in the café because she couldn’t take Darren guilting her anymore, couldn’t take Alex trying to explain everything that had happened in her long sleep, couldn’t take another revelation about…everything. She picked at her open-faced sandwich, kept a wary eye on her tea, and brooded.

She was so deep in her funk that she barely noticed the man staring at her.

He was thin, but handsome, with a full beard, slightly disheveled hair, and simple wireframe glasses perched on his nose. He was looking at her as if he’d seen a ghost.

“What?” Izzy barked, snapping the man out of his reverie.

“Sorry,” he said. “I…that was rude. You just…you looked like someone…well, I didn’t….”

The man sighed. “I apologize, it’s a long story and a strange one. You just look like the girlfriend of a friend of mine, that’s all.”

Izzy chuckled. “Well, I doubt that very much. Not unless your friend is really old, and travels in space.”

The man’s jaw dropped. “Gorram…it is…it’s you, isn’t it?”

Izzy glowered. “Look, I’m having a rough half-century, so could you cut to the chase?”

“You’re Izzy.”

Izzy stared at him.

“Izzy Ibanez. You’re…you’re Captain Gwenn’s girlfriend. The one who was frozen.”

“She’s not a captain,” Izzy said, “just an ops officer. And I don’t know as…we’re kind of on a break. So are you a hologram?”

“Would I be stopping for tea if I was?” the man said. “I was on my way home, but Jaya will understand. Please, may I sit down? I know you’re upset right now, but really…I do at least want to say hello.”

Izzy shook her head, but gestured to the seat across from her.

“So what’s your deal? You a pet on the Sandava?”

“On the Tez Magilna,” the man said. “Lauryna helped convince Ammera that I was something more. Thio Smit,” he said, reaching out a hand. Against her better judgment, Izzy took it.

“So who’s Ammera?” Izzy said.

“She didn’t tell you?”

“I didn’t hang around long after she unfroze me.”

“How long….”

“Seven years.”

Thio blinked. “Gorram. So you…you can’t have been awake for long at all, then.”

“Six days, give or take. You can appreciate my not being very interested in hearing how much the universe has changed in my absence.”

“Yes, I can,” Thio said.

There was a pause; it took Izzy a few moments before she erupted. “So? Is that it? You’re just going to say yeah, and not badger me with information I don’t want? Come on! Tell me how Earth has joined the Hive, and how the Navarchos Imperii is a Dunnermac! Tell me that the Martyaxvar reached Andromeda! Tell me how black is white and up is down, it’s what everyone else is doing.”

Thio cocked his head slightly. “Would you prefer I did?”

“No! No. Maybe. I don’t know,” Izzy said. She was quiet for a bit, before she asked, “Who’s Ammera? Your owner?”

“My best friend,” Thio said. “And at one point, yes, my owner. She was on the Tez at the same time Captain Gwenn was.”

“Where is she now?”

“Dead. She was the Tez’s exec. She died during the Tkakh Incident. Told Lauryna to take me here, right before she sacrificed herself to save the ship and its crew.”

Izzy looked down at the dregs of her tea, feeling even worse than she already did. “Damn. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. I mean…it wasn’t for a long time. It hurt like crazy. Still does, in that achy, scarred-over way. Especially as I loved her…though she didn’t feel the same way. Which is okay, really. I mean…she was my friend. If not for her, and Captain Gwenn, I don’t come here, I don’t meet my wife, I don’t have my son and my daughter. I just wish she could have been at the wedding.”

Izzy was quiet for a while. “Lauryna didn’t tell me about the…whatever incident. Said she couldn’t.”

“Right, she’s an officer. I’m not. Tez Magilna escorted a Drazari double agent into Drazari space; ze turned out to be a triple agent, brought seven ships total against us. Ammera’s actions damaged two; Captain Gwenn’s destroyed five.”

“Runabouts? Corvettes?”

“Four corvettes, three Sekhads. All three Sekhads were Lauryna’s kills. Well, with an assist from Crewmates Gdioro and Alyias.”

“Who are they? Pilot? Weapons officer?”

“Engineer and a botanist. Ran a suicide mission. A very successful one. Captain Gwenn planned it, they volunteered to go.”

Izzy looked down. “She said she sacrified two crew…I thought she meant two died. Not that she sent them to their deaths. Damn.”

“She told you – not that you’d remember it – that you’d tried to warn her about combat, and she’d almost gotten you both killed…but that neither of you had understood what it was like to sacrifice a crewmate, not like that.”

“Hell, no,” Izzy said. “And it wasn’t her fault.”

“Of course not, she did what she had to do….”

“No, I mean…it wasn’t her fault. She didn’t almost get us killed by the Insectoids. I did.”

Thio chuckled. “She told me about that. You volunteering yourself as lunch for an insectoid to save her skin. And her bluffing like crazy to save yours. You made a very good team.”

“Yeah. We did, once upon a time.”

“You did even when you were in cryostasis,” Thio said. “She talked to you constantly. Said she knew what your answers would be, even if you couldn’t give them. Said she missed talking to you more than anything.”

“I wouldn’t know,” Izzy said. “For me, it’s been five days. For you, for her, for everyone else, it’s been half a century.”

“I’m sure that’s a tremendous adjustment to make,” Thio said.

“You don’t have a clue,” Izzy said. “Not a fucking clue.”

“True enough,” Thio said, rising. “So, are you staying on Avalon?”

“Don’t know where else to go,” Izzy said.

“Well, drop by sometime,” Thio said. “Not a lot of people on the planet who have experience on a capital ship, especially not my height.” He dropped a business card on the table. Izzy picked it up.

“You’re a shrink?”

“Ha! Nick Archer told me about the meaning of that word in English. No, not a shrink. We’re small enough,” Thio said. “I’m a therapist. And no, I’m not looking for patients. I’m too busy as it is, and know too much about you to treat you fairly.”

“You’ve barely met me.”

“Like I said, Lauryna Gwenn talked to you constantly. I felt very much like I got to know you from her side of the conversation.”

“Yeah, it was just her side. I know Lauryna said she was talking to me…but she wasn’t. I wasn’t really there. And she’s changed; guarantee the me she’s talking to isn’t me anymore.”

“Probably not,” Thio said. “But I don’t know the you she’s been talking to of late. I know the you she was talking to back on the Tez. That was five years ago. And while you’re understandably upset…I think she knows you pretty well.”

“Fine. If you know me so well,” Izzy said, “what am I feeling? Anger? Bitterness?”

“You’re terrified,” Thio said. “And you’d be crazy if you weren’t.”

Izzy took a deep breath, and rubbed her eyes.

“I don’t know what to tell you. I’m not saying you’re wrong. I can barely imagine what you’re going through. And being scared is good. Just…try to make sure you’re scared of the right things.”

Izzy looked down as Thio started to walk away. She called after him, “You’re not going to say I should get back with her?”

Thio turned, and smiled. “Now that would be presumptuous. That’s the sort of decision only you can make. I’m serious, stop by if you stay on Avalon. If nothing else, Ammer and Daphne would love to meet someone else from Earth.”

Izzy watched the man go, and pocketed the card. Idiot. How obnoxious.

How dare he show up out of the blue and be absolutely right?

* * *

One Day Later

Izzy had her eyes on the brilliant dot of Valhalla, hanging high in the sky. Lauryna was up there. For another hour or two.

She shook her head. She had to let her go. Maybe for a while, maybe forever, but…she couldn’t pretend nothing had happened in her absence. She couldn’t pretend it was all going to be okay. Thio was right, she was scared, and he was right, she was right to be.

Still, her eyes stayed fixed on Valhalla, and she felt sure they would for long after Lauryna departed.

“Call for you, Aunt Izzy,” said Harry, walking into the backyard.

“Huh?” Izzy said. “Who is it?”

“It’s an Avartle,” Harry said, handing her the pad.

Izzy squinted, took the pad, and opened the call. And gasped.

The Avartle woman on the other end of the line was old, her fur streaked with gray. But she was instantly recognizable.

“Engine-Fixer!” Izzy said.

The Avartle twitched her tail. “It has been a very long time since I used that designation, Human-Friend.”

“I know,” Izzy said. “It…doesn’t feel like it should be.”

“I am sure it does not,” the Avartle formerly known as Engine-Fixer said. She moved a bit slower, a bit stiffly, but she looked very good for the Avartle equivalent of 120.

“It’s good to see you,” Izzy said, after a moment. “Given how long I was asleep…I’m lucky I got to.”

“I am grateful I have lived long enough to, Human-Friend. And I am pleased to see you well.”

“I’m…Harry, can I talk to my friend for a minute alone?” she asked.

“Fine, fine. Just bring the pad back in,” the teen complained, though he did so with a smile.

Izzy turned back to the tablet. “Sorry, Avartle-Friend,” she said. “I am…I’m not well at all.”

“Oh?” the Avartle said. “Why not?”

“The whole universe moved on while I was sleeping. Lauryna’s an operations officer, you’re retired – I hear you’re a great-grandma now.”

“I am. First-Son-of-First-Daughter is an engineer in the fleet.”

“See? That’s…your grandson shouldn’t be in the fleet! That’s crazy! And I….”

She sighed, and looked around. “I just don’t feel like I belong anywhere. The Gyfjon was my home, and I used to fit there, but now….”

“Why is it no more? Does Gyfjon-Operations-Officer no longer want you to stay on the ship?”

“No, I think she does, but she’s being foolish.”

“Why?’

“Because – I know it’s been a long time for you, but you gave me the designation ‘Troublemaker.’ And as much as I complained, it was accurate. I caused all sorts of problems, but Lauryna was a junior officer, and she was okay with it, and she didn’t have to run a ship, she didn’t have to take care of the crew. She had time to keep me in line. But now…I’ll get in the way. She doesn’t need me, Avartle-Friend. And if I go back…I’m just going to be a relic of a past she’s outgrown.”

Avartle-Friend tilted her head, and shook her tail from side-to-side.

“Don’t tell me I’m an idiot, you know it’s true,” Izzy groused.

“You are an idiot, and of course it’s true. You are a troublemaker. You are also a true friend. The entire ship felt empty after we left Moon-Designation-Ibanez.”

Izzy blinked. “Ibanez?”

“The Imperial Designation of the moon. Captain-of-Gyfjon and First-Officer demanded it. Navarchos-in-charge-of-Gama-Fleet supported it as well. You explored it. Though we do not feel the need for names, we know you view that as an honor. And so I supported it as well.”

“Nobody told me.”

“Dunnermac-Doctor says you have not wanted to talk much. He says that is understandable.”

“I don’t want to cause Lauryna trouble,” Izzy said. “I know, she’d take me back, because she feels guilty and…maybe she should, a bit, but I don’t…she doesn’t need a troublemaker around. And I don’t want her to take me back out of guilt.”

“Gyfjon-Operations-Officer will accept the trouble to have you as her partner. I missed you, Human-Friend, very much, and you were my friend only. You were her partner. For her…she has been sad for seven years, Human-Friend. I cannot believe that she is not still sad. She loves you; any amount of trouble is worth it.”

Izzy closed her eyes. “Avartle-Friend…it’s been so long. Even the way Titans view it…it’s seven years. She loves the memory of me, and I…I love who she was when we were together. So much it hurts. And it was just a few days…for me. No time at all. But if I go back…what if we can’t make it work? What if she’s changed too much, and I’ve stayed the same too much?”

“Do you want a guarantee of success? That is not the Human-Friend I remember. I remember you foolishly encroaching where you should not, because you were unwilling to be afraid.”

Izzy looked back up at Valhalla. “I was an idiot.”

“Yes, you were. And it served you well. Do not stop now.”

Izzy looked back to her friend, and back up to the station. “Avartle-Friend…are you on Homeworld-of-the-Avartle?”

“I am. And I am healthy, and well. I expect to live several years more, and I expect you to visit me when your ship next lands.”

“I will. And I’ll call you soon, probably tomorrow. I would like to talk longer,” Izzy said, looking up at the sky, “but I need to go quick, or I’m gonna miss departure.”

“I remember your human saying, ‘seize the day.’ Call me when you are safe aboard the ship, Human-Friend.”

“I will, Avartle-Friend. I will. Thank you,” she said closing the connection. She stood up, and quickmarched into the house.

“Sarge!” she shouted.

“’M here, what ya want, corporal?”

“I need to get to Valhalla as quickly as possible. How do I do that?”

Darren blinked. “You come to your got’damn senses finally?”

“No,” Izzy said. “I’ve lost my goddamn mind. But they lead me to the same place. And the same person.”

Darren nodded, and picked up his tablet. “Poobah, hey, it’s Darren. You take off yet? Damn it…nah, have someone who needs to get to the Gifferjiffer before it launches. I thought you said you were docking? Princess, you don’t hafta…yeah, it’s Izzy.”

Darren grinned. “Priscilla, you are a true romantic. We’ll meet you at the pad.” Darren closed the call. “All right, grab your stuff.”

“Wait…who was that?”

“Pryvani Tarsuss. I said grab your stuff.”

“She was docking?”

“Hell, yes, she was docking, now she’s coming back for your sorry ass! Grab your gear and fall out, Corporal!”

Izzy grinned. “Yes, sir!”

“Gah! Drop the got’damned salute, I work for a living.”

“You’re SecDef. You don’t work at all. Ain’t that right, Lysis?”

“It is, Izzy,” said Lysis, who had grabbed Izzy’s satchel herself. She pulled her into a hug. “Come back when you can.”

“Too many nephews and nieces. I have to,” Izzy said.

* * *

“We are clear Valhalla Control, sir,” Lauryna said. “We have handshake with Vorsha Control. We’re cleared through Vorsha and Azatlia Space.”

“Very good, Crewmate,” Aerti said. “Ms. Gwenn, you’re relieved for the balance of the shift.”

“Sir?”

Aerti turned back to her, and gave her a pained look. “I can only imagine, Lauryna. Ms. Calic can handle things for 28 hours.”

Lauryna sighed, and nodded. “Aye, sir. Thank you, sir,” she said. “If you need me….”

“If we need you, we’ll call you, just like we always do,” Lemm said. Lauryna was surprised to see that her expression mirrored the captain’s. “And you’ll come, as you always do.”

“Aye, ma’am,” Lauryna said, standing and coming briefly to attention, before departing the bridge.

She walked to her quarters slowly. She didn’t want to get there and have them be empty. She was used to Izzy not answering her. But not being there, not being present, if suspended….

Lauryna didn’t know if the concept of “soul” had meaning, but she definitely had felt Izzy with her during her long slumber. She didn’t know how she would handle the absence of her spirit.

Lauryna keyed in the code, and the door opened.

“You’re back early,” a small voice said.

Lauryna jumped, and for a second, she did not dare look to where the sound had come from, as if looking would destroy the illusion. But there she was, standing on the table. “Iz…Izzy? Is…you….”

“I’m sorry, Red,” Izzy said. “I’m not sure I’m good enough for you, but if you’re willing to….”

She didn’t get the rest of the sentence out, because Lauryna had plucked her clean and pulled her to her chest, holding her firm, but loose enough to not harm her. She stumbled into a chair, and sobbed for a minute, with joy and sorrow – and she could feel her best friend doing the same. When finally she recovered, she said, “I’m so sorry, Iz. If I could do it over….”

“You’d do the same thing. You were right, Red. I’m not going to promise never to complain…but even then…I knew you were right.”

Lauryna clung to Izzy desperately. “I wasn’t right. There wasn’t a right. There was only wrong.”

“Then you were the least wrong you could be,” Izzy said. “I just hope you can forgive me.”

“For what?” Lauryna said. “For having doubts? For being afraid? Iz, I told you, I knew you might. I don’t blame you. It was so much to take in, so fast….”

“That’s not it,” Izzy said, “But yeah, that too. No, Lauryna…I was wrong about you. I never thought you’d end up third in command. You were smart, you were gorgeous, but this? Red, I feel like I got slapped upside the head with just how amazing you are, and I…well, I don’t know why you’d put up with me, you don’t need me anymore, but if…if you want me around….”

“Oh, gorram, Iz, do you know how weird I still think that is? I needed you to talk me down back when I was taking linguistics tests, I never would have made it this far if you hadn’t pushed me back then, if you hadn’t told me I was good enough. Only reason I didn’t fall apart was that I always remembered that. And why wouldn’t I want you around, you idiot? I’ve carried you with me for thousands of light years. I…I just….”

Lauryna sighed. “I missed you, Izzy. So much.”

“I didn’t have time to miss you. But I missed too much. I don’t…I’m not….”

Izzy looked up at the chin of Lauryna, and leaned her head against her friend and lover’s chest. She was still immense, twenty-plus times Izzy’s height. Lauryna’s fingers were still as long as Izzy.

“This is weird. And it’ll be weird. And we’re probably gonna have problems and confusion, and I’m gonna feel lost sometimes…but I guess it’s always been weird, hasn’t it?”

“In the most wonderful way,” Lauryna said. “And Izzy, if you feel lost, I will do everything I can to help you find your way. You always have for me. I needed you, and I still need you. I had too long without you, Izzy, and I don’t ever, ever want to go back.”

Izzy smiled, and leaned against her chest. “I love you, Lauryna.”

“I love you too,” Lauryna said.

They lay like that for a good long while, before Lauryna asked, “Wait…how did you get in here?”

“Sen. Tarsuss used a highly illegal code-switch to open the door. Not sure where she got it. She said she’s gonna have to have Tar-Neith Security make a pitch to improve the fleet’s code system.”

“Good thing she had that,” Lauryna said.

“Eh, I’ve climbed through the walls before. Just the other day. Watched you on the bridge. You were brilliant.”

“I was not. The Drazari just get nervous easily.”

“Yeah, when the great Lauryna Gwenn’s around. And I’ll probably build a back door, like I did in the old quarters. I mean, I used that just last week…or seven years ago, whatever.”

Lauryna chuckled. “Just before your remote mission.” She paused, and looked thoughtful for a minute. “I feel like an idiot saying this…but you were spectacular on that mission.”

“Until I got sick. And why do you feel like an idiot?”

“Well, that’s not your fault, that’s ours. You know how many times Commander Pir’s apologized to me over the years? Never should have let you take off the rebreather, things were clear for Titans, but you aren’t a Titan. But…Iz…you were gonna get more missions like that. Captain Bass had it planned. And more duties on the ship. I’m not saying you have to…you can hang out here all day, tell me what I’m doing wrong when I need to hear it. But if you want to….”

“I do,” Izzy said. “You’re ops now. You’ll have even less time to babysit me than you did before. Just promise me…wake me up after a year next time you freeze me. Just to check in.”

Lauryna laughed. “Iz, if you have to be frozen again, I’m being frozen with you,” she said.

“That’s fair. Then we’ll both be confused.”

“I like it. It’s a date,” Lauryna said, stroking Izzy’s hair. They sat like that for a few minutes, before Lauryna said, “Comms up. Gwenn to Bass.”

There was a brief delay, before the captain said, “Bass here. Lauryna, what’s up?”

“Sir,” Lauryna said, “I have the honor to announce that Ibanez, Isabel, Corporal has reported back to the Gyfjon, and reports fit for duty.”

There was a long silence. “Crewmate Gwenn,” Aerti said, finally, “Are you saying Corporal Ibanez is on the Gyfjon?”

“Evidently Sen. Tarsuss brought her back to us, sir,” Lauryna said.

“Corporal Ibanez?”

“Captain,” Izzy said, “If you can find a place for me….”

“Gorram right we can find a place for you!” Aerti chortled. “Crewmate Gwenn…do we need new quarters for Cpl. Ibanez?”

Lauryna looked down at Izzy, and Izzy grinned up at her. “No, sir. She is welcome to continue staying with me.”

“Very good,” Aerti said. “Crewmate Gwenn…I want you and Corporal Ibanez to report to the bridge tomorrow morning at first watch. And not a moment before. Izzy…welcome back.”

“Feel like I never left, sir,” Izzy said. “I mean that literally.”

“I know. That’s good. There won’t be any rust. See you in the morning. Bass out.”

Izzy nuzzled into Lauryna. “So,” she said. “I want you to know that whoever you had meaningless sex with while I was frozen, it’s fine. Really.”

“I didn’t,” Lauryna said. “Not once.”

“Oh, thank God,” Izzy said. Then, after a beat, “Wait – so you haven’t…for seven years?”

“I’ve…well, you were around for some things I did for myself…and at one point, I was working on a holographic version of you, but that felt weird….”

Izzy laughed. “I’m not sure whether that’s flattering or creepy.”

“Let’s go with flattering. But no,” Lauryna said. “I couldn’t cheat on you, Iz. So I didn’t.”

Izzy looked up at Lauryna, and swallowed hard. “Red,” Izzy said, “that’s just ridiculous.”

“It’s not ridiculous, it’s – oh!”

Izzy launched herself up, and pulled herself over the collar and inside the uniform of Lauryna Gwenn. Lauryna laughed, and leaned back. It had been seven long years. But oh…the wait was worth it.