It turned out that the tank room was off of the Medic Lab, so Tierney visited with Nelle. The female First Tin Protection Officer arrived while they were talking. She was nice enough, but Tierney didn't think putting her short list of suspects on the record was a smart idea, so the meeting was mostly just a recap of what they both already knew.

Obviously the VP was behind it. He was the only one with a direct interest in Nelle's death, and Tierney was the President's most loyal defender, so it had to be him.

But how could he sabotage her room controls? Did he have a conspirator on board the Irral? Why would the Relicans care who was the leader of a country that hardly existed anymore? Was it possible someone else had done it?

The only Relican Tierney could imagine doing anything like this was Rasmus, but he didn't seem to want her dead as much as naked... and under him. She had stood up to him -- maybe she'd wounded his pride more than she realized? But that didn't feel right either. Could it simply have been a genuine malfunction?

Because she didn't have any personal belongings, Tierney didn't have need to go back to her old room. The Protection Officer brought her first to the nutrient supply, since nearly an entire day had passed since she'd last eaten, and then to the new room, which was identical to her old one. Waiting for her, however, was a wonderful surprise. The three suitcases she was allowed to bring with her on the cart had been conveyed to the Irral.

Tierney called and thanked Commander Arrat, then immediately changed into her own clothes. The scrubs that the Relicans had provided had been surprisingly comfortable for something made out of metal, but wearing her own t-shirt and jeans, not to mention underwear and a bra, made her feel like a real person again. And that hot oil bath had made her skin feel amazingly soft and smooth -- even better than a day at the spa.

With more reverence than she ever dreamed she'd hold for a hair brush, Tierney pulled it out of her luggage and ran it through her now thick, silky hair. It felt so bouncy and light that she almost left it down, but decided instead to braid it around her head and up into a bun. She wanted Tausson to be the first person to see her new glorious hair tumbling over her shoulders.

Tausson.

The thought of him made her recall the commander's warnings. Should Tierney give up on him? Was she being selfish, forcing him to live by her standards, all the while putting him in jeopardy?

A chime sounded above her, though she couldn't tell where it was originating from, followed by Hoff's voice.

"Kulu matha shunalmazafi saf jara meja vi ta simalma."

Was this some kind of alarm?

He sounded too calm to be announcing an emergency. The chime and the announcement repeated twice more, and Tierney heard voices in the hallway. Opening her door, she saw a bunch of Relicans heading in the same direction. Not many of them were smiling, but they were all proceeding at a leisurely pace. Since nothing seemed to be wrong, Tierney figured someone would notify her if she was needed. She was about to go back in her room when someone called her name.

"Miss Dawson!"

Lutari was with another Relican following the crowd, but she left her companion to stand with Tierney.

"What's going on?"

"We've all been ordered to the assembly," said Lutari, looking unconcerned. "I'm not positive, but someone said Comma--" She cut herself off with an eye roll. "Tausson, I mean, is giving his statement of regret."

"Regret? For what?" Was he going to admit that they made love? She'd told the Protection Officer that nothing happened, that he'd only stayed with her that last night on Earth as a comforting presence because she was so frightened. Would she be exposed for lying? Would Tausson be exiled? Imprisoned?

"His insubordination," explained Lutari. "Come on."

"I can go?"

"Of course. It's going to be broadcast in all the ships anyway, including the cart." Lutari started walking and waved her on. Tierney grabbed her sneakers and joined the steady stream of Relicans.

"Can I ask you a question that's been bugging me for a while?" asked Tierney. "I was always too distracted by work to ask when I was with Tausson or Commander Arrat back on Earth."

"I suppose," said Lutari, eyeing her warily.

"How is it you guys are all able to understand me? Your translators are for me, but they only interpret your words, not mine."

"Oh, that," said Lutari, visibly relieved. "We all have implants." She pointed at her ears. "Our mechasuits power them, and they feed us a translation directly into our auditory sensors. If I didn't have this on," she added, gesturing to her uniform, "I'd have no idea what you're saying right now. They can be adjusted to be powered off of the electricity in our bodies, but they're faster if used in conjunction with the mechasuits."

As they walked, Tierney noticed the dozen or so Relicans around them giving her and Lutari sideways glances. There was nothing sinister in their expressions, and if one of them caught her eye they were quick to give her a polite smile and look away, but the weight of their stares made her self-conscious just the same.

"How are you feeling?" asked Lutari, pulling Tierney out of her thoughts. "Everyone's talking about what happened to you. Trajectory is completely stumped as to how even the safeguards malfunctioned."

"I'm fine, thanks. Your doctor may not have the best bedside manner, but he saved my life."

"Yeah, hopefully this assembly doesn't take too long. Me and Inlan are scheduled for pairing, and the Senior Medic's always extra prickly when his schedule is messed up."

Tierney couldn't help but stare at the young Relican woman beside her who spoke of having sex on a schedule, with someone else watching, so casually.

"What?" asked Lutari, noticing Tierney's gaze.

Even though she'd brought up the subject, Tierney still wasn't sure if it would be okay to talk so openly about it. She chose her words carefully, not wanting to accidentally offend her.

"Have you or Inlan had any prior mates?"

"Inlan had one before me, but he's my first. You get paired when you turn eighteen, and the cycles are for two years or until you have two offspring. Our cycle will be over in four months."

"Do you have any children together?"

Lutari smiled proudly. "Twins! Usually you don't see twins without one of the grandparents already being a twin, so it was really unexpected. There was a big celebration at the birthing. Even though I know it's probably not going to happen again, it's nice knowing the possibility's out there."

She was so happy, that Tierney almost didn't want to keep pushing her about it. But she had to understand.

"What do you think about the actual... pairing process? Not the act itself," she added quickly at Lutari's sharp look, "but just having to do it every day, with someone watching you..."

"Inlan said you humans have an odd perception of pairing," said Lutari. They must have been getting close to wherever they were going, because the halls were starting to get more crowded.

"We definitely view it differently," said Tierney quietly, not wanting anyone around to hear what they were talking about, though Lutari didn't seem to consider the topic taboo and spoke at a regular volume.

"For Relicans, pairing is an honor and a duty. I figure once our population rebounds, in maybe another fifty to a hundred years, we won't have to be so rigorous about it, but for now we all do what we can to help our species survive."

"Are all mates as friendly as you and Inlan?"

Lutari smiled at his name. "I know he's a bronze, but he doesn't act like it." If Tierney was supposed to understand what that meant, she didn't, but Lutari didn't give her a chance to ask.

"We spend a lot more time together since we're Squad," she continued. "Back home, mates only see each other for pairings and hardly even talk to each other. And once the female starts gestating, the male is assigned a new pair in the interim, so they may only be together a couple weeks anyway. But when you're on the same vessel, and too far from home to get a new mate until the cycle actually ends, it's common for mates to become close friends. Like the commander and Tausson, for example. Everyone says they've never met a pair as close as those two are."

Someone bumped into Tierney from behind, and she realized she'd stopped walking. Rushing ahead to stay at Lutari's side, she said, "Tausson and Commander Arrat are...?" She couldn't bring herself to say it.

Lutari was standing on her tiptoes and scanning the crowd, so she didn't notice Tierney's distress. "Yeah, they're mates. Didn't you know? Ah -- there he is!"

Tierney couldn't see over the tall Relicans surrounding her, but she figured Lutari was talking about Inlan. Allowing herself to be pushed along with the flow of bodies, she muttered, "No, I didn't know."

But I should have.

It was so obvious now! When Tausson had spoken of the commander, it had been with such respect and warmth, but Tierney had interpreted it more as a brother/sister relationship, not husband and wife.

And Commander Arrat had seemed so sad when it was clear Tierney and Tausson had engaged in unsanctioned pairing. Was she in love with Tausson? She hadn't seemed jealous, but then again she did seem good at hiding her true feelings. Did he love her too? Was Tierney just a distraction?

She wanted to turn around, run back to her room, but there was no way she would get through the tight crowd. Without really seeing where she was going, she was pushed through a doorway.

They entered a room that wasn't very wide -- maybe fifty feet across -- but far taller than Tierney had imagined this ship to be. Countless catwalks spanned the space at different heights, while others ran along the walls, and every bridge and stair was filling or already full of Relicans. Tierney was relieved to be at the bottom of this immense cathedral -- just looking at all those people standing high above her was enough to make her feel dizzy.

Most of the people who walked in with them went up to one of the catwalks, but Lutari and Inlan, who had managed to slip back and join them, led her to stand at the edge of a large white circle that had been painted in the center of the iron floor.

"This is where he'll be," said Inlan. "We want to be close by so he can see that we'll support him until he brings home the bacon."

Tierney shot him a confused smile.

"Not right either?" he said with a grimace.

As Tierney shook her head, Lutari said, "Yeah, he was just trying to save your leader. It was a brave thing to do."

"It was a stupid thing to do," came another voice.

Rasmus appeared behind them, sneering down at Tierney. There was no way she was going to stand beside him for however long this ceremony was going to last.

Leaning in to speak softly to Lutari, she said, "I think I'm going to go back --" But before she could finish, another chime sounded, and the entire space went eerily silent.

A door on the ground floor opened, and Chief Raleth, in a dark red mechasuit with a matching cape flowing behind him, strode out. As tall as Tausson but with a slightly slimmer build, the Chief's brown hair was streaked with gold. At first glance it looked like dye, but it was too concentrated around his temples, and Tierney guessed that was the bronze Relican equivalent of going gray. She had never officially met the Chief, and had seen him only once before, when he had relieved Tausson of command after an anti-Relican human set off a bomb on the cart. But even from that quick interchange, she had learned a lot about the man who controlled the entire Relican Squad fleet: he was decisive, impatient, supremely confident, and very intimidating.

With his head held high, Tausson followed behind the Chief, and Tierney's breath caught at the sight of him. It hadn't even been two full days since they'd last been together, but now she realized how grueling that time had been without him. Being on this ship, surrounded by Relicans but without the one she loved by her side, suddenly seemed impossible to bear.

Tausson kept his eyes firmly locked on the back of the Chief's head as they walked straight towards the circle. When they stopped in its center, he stood with his back to her. A screen flickered into existence, hovering in the air high above their heads and showing an up-close shot of Tausson and Chief Raleth, who was now using both hands to perform the traditional Relican greeting gesture.

"Earthans, Relican Squad," the Chief began, his voice carrying easily in the vast, metal space. His translator was speaking in English for Tierney, but Lutari had explained that when this was heard on the cart, each culture would hear their own language through their sightscreen panels.

"I am Chief Commander Raleth of the Relican Squad. Tausson Corwin, former commander of the Cosmic Vessel Irral, is accused by his commander of breaking communications protocol after the destruction of the Eklan and his apparent death, direct insubordination against a commanding officer, attempted evasion from the Protection Officer, mechasuit-enhanced assault of the Protection Officer, and suspected malign acts during an extended absence on Earth."

Tierney felt her body go numb. Every charge levied against Tausson was a blow to their relationship. There was no way he would be able to keep his promise that they could be together. How could they, if he was in prison?

"For sentencing," continued the Chief, "Commander Arrat has taken into consideration the successful rescue of one of Earth's most powerful leaders from certain death, sparing her people untold grief and chaos. That act partially counterbalances the direct insubordination, with the remainder to be paid with a public statement of regret, one week's isolation, and one week's Scrub duty."

At her side, Inlan let out a breath of relief.

"Is that good?" Tierney whispered in his ear.

He nodded and said, "It's no red herring, but it's fair." At her head shake, he scrunched his face in playful frustration at once again getting it wrong, then returned his attention back to the Chief.

The painful tension in Tierney's shoulders loosened slightly at Inlan's assurance. Maybe this wouldn't go so terribly after all. Commander Arrat wouldn't sentence her own mate to death, would she?

"The accusation of malign acts has been withdrawn, after testimony was given in defense of the accused," announced the Chief, "and the protocol violation will be balanced by mandatory retraining."

Still standing slightly behind her, Rasmus scoffed at the obviously light punishment. Then she felt his breath on her ear as he whispered, "A night spent with a bronze isn't so easy to forget."

Fighting the urge to snap her elbow back into his gut, Tierney tried instead to edge away from him. But those who had stayed on the ground floor of the huge room had all crowded around the circle, and she wasn't able to get very far.

Chief Raleth stepped back and motioned to Tausson, who took his place at the center of the circle. Even at such a vulnerable moment, he stood straight and proud, his uniform clinging to every bulging muscle, his silver skin shimmering in the light.

"Relican Squad and Earthan voyagers," he said, his deep, unearthly voice speaking his own flowing language, while his translator echoed his words in that flat, emotionless tone. "I am Tausson Corwin, former commander of the Cosmic Vessel Irral. I stand before you accused of direct insubordination. My commanding officer gave me a direct order, and I knowingly disobeyed that order."

He wasn't using a prompt or any index cards, and unlike Chief Raleth, who had remained fixed in place with his eyes straight ahead at wherever the camera was, Tausson paced the circle as he spoke, casting long looks at those around him. His eyes swept across the floor, and when they met Tierney's, his breath hitched as hers had when he'd first entered.

Rasmus moved closer to her, his arm rubbing against hers, and Tierney glanced up to see him sneering at Tausson. The fire in Tausson's eyes was immediate, and she could see him struggle to keep his composure.

"Although the ultimate outcome was beneficial," he continued, slowly turning his back on Tierney and Rasmus, "that does not excuse my behavior. Every Squad member knows the prime rule: loyalty to command is loyalty to the Squad." Everyone in the large chamber joined him in speaking these last words, and they echoed around the cavernous space.

"I especially, as a former commander, am aware of the harm I have inflicted on not only my commander, but on my crew, the Squad, and our mission. It is with great shame that I stand before you today."

He had circled back around, and for a fraction of a second his eyes met Tierney's, but even in that brief moment, she could see the sincerity of his statement. "I should not have disobeyed the order. I regret my actions."

Tierney couldn't help but wonder if he was referring not only to rescuing her, but to being with her at all.

Maybe he wishes he'd never met me, she thought with despair.

The populace of the Irral, in one strong chorus of voices, replied, "We forgive your actions."

Thinking that was it, and anxious to escape the unwanted presence of Rasmus, Tierney started to move away, but then Tausson turned and looked straight at her.

No. He wasn't looking at her. He was looking at Rasmus.

"I also broke two more prime rules," he said, "mechasuits are for defense, not offense; and honor your Squad as family." The last word was clearly difficult for him to say when addressing Rasmus, but he got it out. The Protection Officer grinned, enjoying Tausson's humiliation.

"As such," continued Tausson, "the victim of my crimes will grant me the sentence he deems fit."

Lutari gasped, as did several other nearby Relicans. Rasmus pushed against Tierney, making his way into the circle.

He's going to sentence Tausson?

Tierney felt sick. Rasmus hated Tausson -- that couldn't have been clearer. How could he be in charge of deciding what was fair punishment?

"Squad brothers and sisters," said Rasmus, his arms up as he addressed the entire fleet, "our former commander honors us with his regret. And while the indignity he inflicted upon me has pained me deeply, I accept his sincere apology."

He placed a hand on Tausson's shoulder. Tausson's jaw clenched, and Tierney wondered how hard Rasmus was squeezing.

"My sentence, if the arbiter deems it fair, is..." He cast a long, sly look at Tausson. "... the blood walk."