The battle was over by the time Aria landed in the hangar. She witnessed the Quillian battlecruiser blinking away, taking all its forces with it. This brought her great relief to know that Chron’s world was safe again.

Her good feelings were short-lived. Upon her first step off the shuttle, the Captain stood waiting for her. This was most assuredly not good.

“Take her into custody,” he instructed the security guards present. He noticed their native garb, most definitely not camouflage suits but authentic grass and hide. “What the heck are you two wearing?”

“Wait, what?” Aria said. “But Captain, let me explain!” She did not resist as Security handcuffed her. “I know I shouldn’t have, but I…”

“...but she had no choice, Captain. I made her do it,” Hansel said, struggling in the arms of the guards holding him still. “I blackmailed her into obtaining a shuttle, flying me down to the surface, and protecting me while I conducted unlicensed research in hopes of uncovering something that would help my career in the Federation.”

“What are you doing?” she whispered. “This could end your entire career.”

“Let me just do this.”

“You don’t owe me anything!”

“I know that, but I feel like I should. Please, trust me. After everything you did down there for those people, for me, you don’t deserve this.”

He stepped forward and presented his wrists to be cuffed. “She was an exceptional escort, save for all of the complaining and constant rule lecturing about how what I was doing was wrong and that I’d never get away with it once we returned and she reported me. It appears you did not give her the chance.”

The Captain stared at them skeptically. With a wave of his hand, Aria was uncuffed. “Very well. I’ll work with that confession for now. Take just Dr. Heinrich to the brig until we figure out what to do with him. Escort the Lieutenant to my office and watch the door until I arrive.”

Aria followed Security to the Captain’s office. They unlocked her cuffs and watched her walk inside. The door locked behind her. She took a seat by his desk and stared out the starport waiting for interrogation. The planet was beautiful from up here. She knew she would sleep well knowing all the wonders down below belonged to Chron and his people again.

The door opened and shut. “Aria,” the Captain said as he walked past her and sat down at his desk. “Is what Hansel said true?”

She recalled his last words. He was taking the blame for her and this would only work if they cooperated. She did not think it was right, but for once in her life she decided to trust him. “Yes, sir. Just as he said.”

His stare pierced through her. “I’ve reviewed the security footage and spoken to the crew in the hangar.” He picked up his datapad. “The reports all seem to make sense if I look at it from that perspective. Do you mind if I ask what it was that he had on you?”

She shifted uneasily in her seat. “I...uh…”

He reached under his desk and flicked a switch. “I just turned off the recording systems in this room. There'll be no digital record of whatever you tell me.”

She scanned the walls. The standard microphones could still be listening. There was no way to actually tell. But the Captain was not a liar. Not like her, apparently.

Sensing her hesitancy, he asked, “Can I take a guess? Is it about your violent outburst in his division the other day?”

Her cheeks began to burn. That was as good as anything she should fess up for. “I...I don’t know what to say.”

He raised his hand. “A simple yes or no will suffice.”

“Then, y-yes.”

The Captain sighed. He flicked the switch below his desk again. “Very well, Lieutenant. I suppose we may never know exactly what he was trying to hold over you, but maybe in time he’ll spill the truth. I think you’ve experienced a lot of trauma in the last few days. In addition, there is the matter I told you to seek counseling for a couple of days ago. I want you to return to Doc and get yourself a full mental exam. If you can do that, this’ll be the last we speak of this.”

“Captain?” she asked. It seemed she was being let off lightly although that was beyond standard protocol.

“I am taking into consideration your many contributions to this crew and the Federation. Accept this. Is that understood?”

“Yes, sir?” She hesitated to move. This was playing out very differently than she expected.

“Good.”

She just stared.

“Get up, soldier! Either get back to work or take some leave time!”

Aria jumped from her seat and saluted the Captain. He dismissed her.

She ran immediately to the brig. There were two guards in front of the door.

Despite being quite rattled herself, she mustered what courage she had left and approached them. “I’m going to go in and interrogate the doctor.”

One guard said, “The Chief didn’t send word about anyone meeting with…”

“The Chief of Security answers to me. Just don’t bother me while I’m inside.” They did not give her any more trouble as she knocked on the door and stepped inside.

“Aria.” Hansel sat at a desk with his datapad. The room, with its steel bars, was cold. This was not the warm, welcoming reception she hoped for them, but then again how would anyone know what they achieved?

She closed the door behind her. There was no second chair so she leaned herself against the door and slid down to the floor.

“I hope you didn’t come to change my mind. I’m going to follow through with this.”

“Why? We both committed to this.”

He smiled reassuringly. “On the way back up, I did the math. You’ve built a whole career for yourself. A lot of it provides hope for a whole lot of other people out there.” He looked up at the ceiling. “I never would have told you this before, because I feared it’d go to your head, but I hear what the grunts say about you.” He turned back to her. “They look up to you. Your leadership and organization skills are as remarkable as they say.”

“Cut the fluff. What’s this math you're speaking of?”

He chuckled. “Always to the point. Well, I figure the military isn’t as forgiving as the science world. I'm not sure your professional career would survive a reprimand of this magnitude.”

“So you say. But after word gets out that we fought off the Quillians on the surface, I might be seen as a hero again,” she said with a slight smile.

He shook his head. “Unlikely. No one will probably ever know what we did on the surface. Our shuttle and all its surveillance equipment were destroyed along with our uniforms which could have recorded our vitals to support our story. There is literally no evidence of the good deeds we did after the crash.”

“Well...what about…” No, she thought. She already knew he was right. “Okay. But what about you?”

He stared at his datapad. “Oh sure. I’ll get blacklisted for a few years merely as a formality to appease the military-minded bureaucrats, but I’m betting I’ll be back in someone’s employ before long.” He cast a devious smirk. “It might even be sooner if word gets out that I’m a rebellious scientist willing to risk my life for cutting-edge research.” A nervous laugh sounded strange. “Can you believe it? If I play my cards just right, I might actually come out ahead!”

Aria smiled solemnly. “You certainly are cunning. I want to thank you for coming with me. I wouldn’t have been able to do all that without you.”

“Perhaps,” he smirked. “But any role I served was in concert with you.”

“And...” she stood to her feet. Several steps later, she was at his side. “I had you pegged wrong all these years. I think we started off on a bad foot and it just snowballed out of control.” She placed a hand on his.

He did not pull away. Instead, he just stared at it.

Aria swallowed hard and uttered a series of words she thought she never would. She wanted to say I think maybe I’d like to give a part of our past another shot.

But no. It was wisest for us to observe and follow all pertinent rules and regulations regarding officers of the military and relationships with their crew members and distinguished guests.

She was disappointed with the situation. She left him without a word and returned to her quarters to rest for the rest of the day.

That night, she wondered if she would ever truly connect with him again. Who knew where the next few years would take them. It was unlikely they would ever be assigned to the same vessel and that saddened her.

The entire situation frustrated her to no end. As she laid in her bed trying to sleep, she found it a futile task. Instead, she dressed herself and left her quarters for the ship’s canteen.

She took a seat and ordered drinks from the bartender. “Give me my regular, two doubles on the rocks, please.”

“You got it.”

“Wait!” She caught the bartender before he poured. “Actually, make it just one. I have something to celebrate, but I’m trying to be more responsible.”

He nodded. “There’s a lot of reasons to celebrate tonight.”

“Is that so?”

“That’s right.” He handed her the drink. “We survived that space showdown, kicked those green-skins off the planet, and…”

She was curious if somehow word of her triumphs on the surface had somehow been discovered. She leaned across the counter. “Yes?”

“And that beautiful, wonderful new order. Why, half the ship is probably knocking boots right now.”

She shook her head wondering if she had misheard. “You can’t be serious. Did you just say there’s been a change to the fraternization policy?”

“That’s right. Tonight a couple of the med techs were sharing that some Federation psychiatrist submitted an emergency report to the Governing Medical Board. Apparently, it exalted the benefits of some new sexual therapy. I believe it’s treating some sort of mental health pandemic.”

Aria abandoned her drink. The game was different now. She had to ask him how he felt. She ran across the ship to the brig, but the guards were now absent. She opened the door and found the cell empty.

A passing officer noticed her peeking inside. “Looking to jeer at that pompous ass too? They granted him house arrest. You can find him in his quarters.”

She darted through the hallways and stopped in front of the two guards at his door. She saluted them.

“Scram. I’ll keep an eye on him for the next hour. Take a break.”

Probably also having somewhere else more fun to be, they departed quickly.

“Come back for another laugh at the dumb ass?” Hansel said from inside. The door slowly swung. “Yes, yes. I’ll be working for you in a year’s time. Or, if I had planned on throwing away my entire career, why not plan on doing so earlier so I wouldn’t have wasted so much…”

“Hansel?” Her excitement turned to worry.

His face came into view. “Aria!” His eyes were red, face flush. Had he been crying? “What are you doing here? You should be resting.”

“What is all this about you throwing away your career? I thought you said you’d be fine.”

Hansel opened the door. He stepped aside and waved her in. “You heard me grumbling, did you?”

Stepping through his threshold was a strange feeling. Just a week prior, she would have thought it crazy feeling comfortable walking into his private quarters. Yet she was being invited in and she did not hesitate.

As one of the few elite guests aboard the ship, he was afforded a larger-than-average living space complete with a separate living room and a large private lavatory. It was larger than the Captain’s, or so she was told. Tidy and symmetrical, the room was as bland as his personality. At least that was what she would have said just a day before.

A piece hanging on the wall captured her. It was a painting of the Lustrous Plains on Mars. Alas, a place she knew well. She had fond memories of visiting the National Park as a child together with her mother and father. Those were the good days, before he went off to war and she died. The scene in red, cream, and orange paint was of the gem-laiden quarry in the center of the park. Little silhouettes near the quarry’s ledge signified visitors admiring the sparkling treasure. She wondered if she examined closely enough, she would find herself gripping the guardrails with wonder in her eyes.

“Why do you have this?”

He slumped onto a couch. “What? Oh, that? That was like my second home. The boarding school was right off the property.”

This man had railed on her for years about being a Martian. He had held such superiority over her for that fact and all this time he saw at least a little Martian in himself too. Hansel was truly an enigma.

“Anyway, I just came here to…”

“Gloat?” He covered his face with his hand. “I wouldn’t blame you. You’ve finally had the last laugh, Aria. And you deserve it too.”

“No.” She plopped down next to him. “Don’t say that. I wouldn’t say...well, at least not anymore.”

He groaned, unswayed, arms flapping defeated onto the couch.

“Hey. Listen! I’m sure you’ll be okay. And I wanted to say I appreciate what you did in the hangar. It got me out of the jam.”

“Is that so? I suppose that’s good. Maybe a little bit of space karma will float my way.”

She placed a soft hand upon his. “You didn’t do that for karma, did you?”

His lonely eyes drifted toward hers. “Of course not. It’s just that after I saw you performing down there, you were incredible. You rose to the occasion, filled with bravery and compassion, and hauled my ass along the whole way. I realize that in a lot of ways my disdain for you may have been in some large part…envy. You really do have it all together. And thus, you deserve better than what they were going to do to you.”

She recalled the moment in the jungle when she lost her composure. She had almost gotten them killed, charging recklessly at the enemy like she did. Apparently he summed up her actions a little differently. That was sweet.

“All right. Let’s not get too mushy. I barely know this new Hansel, the one that I don’t want to smack in the face every day.”

He chuckled. Maybe becoming truly aware that their hands were now intertwined, an intimate act she had initiated, he glanced upon them with surprise.

“Aria, what are you doing? I don't know if you're thinking straight, but you are aware of the of the rules and regulations regarding the military and relationships with crew and guests? Anything like this is just a little dangerous for either of us right now especially considering my tenuous forthcoming position. It’s probably best if we stay professional regardless of what either of us desire.”

Aria planted a soft kiss upon his mouth. “They changed the rules,” she whispered in his ear.