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“If they’re even fro a short straw toa sip

“Well, for some of us there’s only one,” Anna replied, then asked the waiter for tea When he’d left again, she said, “It calls into question the entire concept of Grace Well, not entirely, but it cos that ent Does that mean they have souls? They invade our solar systes ould consider sins if ere doing them Does that mean they’re fallen? Did Christ die for the the protoraroup of workers in civilian ju area and sat down They ordered food fro themselves Anna let them distract her while her mind chewed over the worries she hadn’t let herself articulate before today

“And, really, it’s all pretty theoretical, even to me,” she continued “Maybe none of that shouldit will That toher drink, which Anna knew fro the conversation seriously “Have youher to continue

“Cortez acts like he’s in charge,” Anna replied Her tea arrived and she blew on it for a while to cool it “I guess I should talk to him”

“Cortez is a politician,” Tilly said with a condescending smirk “Don’t let his folksy Father Hank bullshit snow you He’s here because as long as Esteban is in office, Cortez is a powerfuland pony show? This is all about votes”

“I hate that,” Anna said “I believe you You understand this all better than I do But I hate that you’re right What a waste”

“What would you ask Cortez for?”

“I’d like to organize soroups Have the conversation”

“Do you need his perht of her last conversation with Nono and laughed When she spoke, her voice sounded thoughtful even to her

“No,” she said “I guess I don’t”

That night Anna akened fro her bones break as the gravity crushed her, to a blaring alarm It lasted only a few seconds, then stopped A voice from her comm panel said, “All hands to action stations”

Anna assumed this didn’t mean her, as she had no idea what an action station was There were no more alarms, and the voice from the com startled out of her night wide awake and jue to Nono and Nami, and then put on some clothes

There was very little traffic in the corridor and lifts The h to her relief, not particularly frightened Just aware Vigilant

Having nowhere else to go, she wandered into the officers’ lass of milk When it arrived, she was stunned to discover it was actual milk that had at so on this civilian “dog and pony show”?

The only other people in the mess hall were a few military people with officers’ unifor coffee and sluhter A dozen netic chairs at their sides Wall displays scrolled inforibberish to her A row of cutouts opened into the galley, letting through plates of food and the sounds of industrial dishwashers and the s too near the kitchen in a very, very clean restaurant