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“The trick”

“If you can make them blush, they think you’re a hard-ass,” she said “My husband calls it theorse than the fear of battle Her body wanted to h the familiar halls The back of her mind shouted for action, movement, confrontation She paced the ship top to bottoh trivia about all the people she ence reports she’d read The mechanic, Amos Burton Implicated in several murders, indicted, never tried Took an elective vasectoata, the engineer Two rees Offered full-ride scholarship for a PhD on Ceres Station and turned it down Alex Kamal, pilot Seven drunk and disorderlies when he was in his early twenties Had a son on Mars he still didn’t know about Jaed the solar systee he caused An idealist The ood man too

She wondered whether any of it h to talk to without lag turning the conversation utterly epistolary was Souther, and as he was still putatively on the sa to face battle with the ships protecting her, the opportunities were few and far between

“Have you heard anything?” he asked fro the fking bobble-head so long”

“You’re asking him to turn his back on thedoes that take? When I did it, it was over inGet out of ht’ It isn’t harder than that”

“And if he doesn’t cohed

“Then I call you back and try talking you into going rogue”

“Ah,” Souther said with a half s?”

“I don’t like my chances, but you never know I can be dae Froround or whatever the hell you do out here where the ground doesn’t ”

“Be safe, Chrisjen,” Souther said, and vanished into the green background of a dead connection

Around her, the galley was eht come in She lifted the he her door closed before she gave her terminal permission to open the file

Arjun was at his desk, his formal clothes on but undone at the neck and sleeves He looked like a ht streamed in behind him Afternoon, then It had been afternoon when he’d sent it And itthe line of his shoulder

“So I understand froe that you may not come home,” he said

“I’ine, I find the thought … distressing,” he said, and then a s in eyes she noere red with tears “But what can I do about it? I teach poetry to graduate students I have no power in this world That has always been you And so I want to offer you this Don’t think abouton my account And if you don’t …”

Arjun took a deep breath

“If life transcends death, then I will seek for you there If not, then there too”

He looked down and then up again

“I love you, Kiki And I will always love you, from whatever distance”