I was relieved, incredibly relieved that the Commander had returned unharmed. From the sound of it the combat down on the planet below was very manageable, although it did heat up near the end. Still, that situation could’ve gone terribly wrong.

I sighed. At least it was over now, so I could concentrate on trying to house our new guests. We didn’t currently have any bedding that was big enough for them, so our engineers had quickly gone to work to build some field beds that would fit.

“Ah, XO, how’s the housing going?” It was the Commander’s voice.

I turned around towards her, she still had her armor on, although she did take off her helmet already.

“We are working on it.” I nodded. “Shouldn’t you change out of your armor?”

“I just got back from the infirmary.” She replied. “We…”

“Wait, did you get hurt!?”

“No, no, no. I dropped off the garrison Commander there. Doctor Winter is checking their biology to see if they can breathe on the ship.”

“Ah…”

“Were you that worried about me?”

“Well… of course… who wouldn’t be.”

I swear I could see the Commander’s cheeks redden a bit, but she quickly moved on with the conversation.

“Everything went fine, so you can relax now.” She put her hand on my shoulder. “That being said, I will be right back after I get out of my armor and have taken a quick shower. Just keep doing what you are doing. You’ve done an amazing job.” And just like that, the Commander walked off again with a smile.

I hadn’t really done that much except for directing the returning shuttles for evacuation…

We’d taken our distance from the planet so we could get a better overview of the star system, since we didn’t want to get ambushed again.

After the initial rush caused by the new arrivals, things had also calmed down on board. I had just received a message from the engineers that the field bedding had been constructed when the Commander finally returned. Her hair was clearly still a bit damp from having showered. But she didn’t seem bothered.

“Welcome back, Commander.”

“Thank you.” She smiled in return. “So how are the beds?”

“They were just finished.”

“Great.” She nodded. “I think we can house them in the corridor that goes to the storage room. That hallway is heated, and they have easy access to bathrooms and such.”

“What about food?”

“According to medical assessment, their bodies are adapted to a primarily vegetarian diet.” Ellie replied to my question. “We can reproduce fruit and vegetables found in their digestive tract with the food synthesizers aboard.”

“That answers that.” The Commander smiled. “Have you gotten news about their atmospheric needs?”

“Their bodies are used to a higher concentration of O2 in the air and a slightly higher gravitational force of 1.5G’s. Doctor Winter is currently researching a drug to enhance oxygen intake. As for the gravitational force required, they will need to exercise daily to maintain bone density. ”

“Alright, that’s not optimal, but that was to be expected.”

“Should we look for a planet for them?” I asked.

“I’m not sure.” The Commander shook her head. “We should ask them what they think is best. I don’t want to just drop them on the nearest planet without their consent.”

“That makes sense…”

“But let’s let them settle in first and calm down for a while. They’ve gone through a lot.” The Commander put her hand on my shoulder and gave it a very light squeeze.

“Yes, Commander.” I gave her a nod.

After my shift was over, I decided to go to my room to relax for a bit. The day had been incredibly stressful and I had developed a slight headache because of it.

I got a painkiller from my bathroom’s cabinet and swallowed it down with a glass of water, after which I got out of my clothes, into my pajamas and plopped myself down on my bed next to my shark. I had put a beret on its head and was looking as cute as ever.

“That was a tough day, Sharky.” I spoke to it and pulled it against me. I breathed out into it’s incredibly soft fur. “Who’d have thought we’d meet a sentient alien race I’d never heard about before…”

Sharky remained silent.

“Mhmm, I know, right? So unexpected.” I sighed into its fur again. “But I’m happy the Commander is safe… I honestly wouldn’t know what to do without her.” I felt a blush coming up, but the sound of knocking on my door quickly halted that. I was so surprised by the sudden interruption that I almost rolled out of my bed.

I then quickly walked over to the door. “U-uhm, who is it?”

“It’s Eva.” Doctor Winter’s familiar voice rang out from the other side of the door.

I opened up for her.

“Ah, sorry, were you already in bed?” Eva was holding two big mugs which smelled like delicious hot chocolate. “I wanted to talk for a bit if that’s okay for you. Since it has been such a stressful day.”

“Uhm…” I looked behind me to my bed and then back towards Eva and the mugs she was holding. “I wasn’t really going to sleep yet…” I opened the door a bit wider for her.

“Are you sure? I can talk to you another time. It wouldn’t be very doctor-like of me to rob you off your rest.”

“No no no! I-it’s fine!” I nodded.

She smiled and walked in. “I’ll put the mugs on your table.” She then quickly sat down on one of my chairs. As it was the first time she’d been in my room, she was looking around, and I could tell her gaze locked on Sharky a little bit longer than on the other things in my room.

I followed and sat down opposite to her. I did feel a little bit cold because I was just wearing my pajamas but when I put my hands around the warm cup of hot chocolate milk, that was quickly solved.

“How are you holding up, Luna?” Doctor Winter asked after I’d taken my first sip from the hot chocolate. “Since you are quite susceptible to stress.”

“I’m… doing fine I think. But I’m happy everything turned out alright today.”

“And how was your first combat experience? This was the first time you’ve seen actual combat, right?”

“It went better than I expected it to.” I admitted. “But the Commander’s presence really helps… She’s very… skilled.”

“That’s true.” Eva nodded. “But there’s a little bit more to it than that, isn’t there?”

“W-what do you mean?” I was taken aback by Eva’s directness.

“It’s clear you like her, Luna.” Eva smiled and sipped from her mug.

“Well… I do like her.”

“Not like that… you love her, don’t you? Or at least you have feelings for her, right?”

“I…” I started blushing. “I don’t know…”

“What did you feel when Lauren told you she was going down to the ground?”

“I was concerned. I wanted her to be safe and return as soon as possible.” I answered her question.

“And what do you feel when you are around her?”

“I feel comfortable…”

“And…? Don’t you feel agitated as well. Like, your heart beats faster, you feel a bit nervous… things like that…”

“I guess so…” I nodded shyly.

“That’s love, Luna.” She stated.

“But I can’t… I really can’t…” I shook my head. It was completely wrong for me to be in love with the Commander. It’s just simply not done… A spy falling in love with the people she has to spy on… Even if I could… if Lauren found out…

“You can, there are no rules that stop you from doing so. Those rules were thrown out a century ago.”

“No, it’s not like that…”

“Then what’s the problem exactly?” Doctor Winter asked. She’d put down her mug so she could better concentrate on the conversation at hand.

“I just… I can’t… it’s complicated…”

“Is it because she told you about the reason why she decided to lead this mission?”

“No…” Once again I had to shake my head.

“Hmm… I see…” Eva nodded slowly and took her mug back in her hand. “You must have a pretty good reason if you are that adamant about it. So I will not push you about it any further.” She took a sip from her mug. “But, if you ever want to talk about these things, I’m always open. Apart from being the ship’s doctor I’m also the ship's psychologist.”

“Thank you… but I don’t think that’ll help at all.”

“The offer is always there for you, nonetheless.” Eva smiled. “But I do want you to ask yourself a question.”

“Hmm?” I tilted my head.

“You should ask yourself if it’s worth it to not live this life to the fullest of your ability… You should live for yourself. And since our time is limited, who exactly are you holding your own happiness back for?”

Eva’s comment made the gears in my head start spinning. -There’s my duty to the Conglomerate… but…-

“Well, I’m sorry for making the conversation this heavy… That was not really my intention.”

“It’s okay.” I nodded, still deeply in thought about what she’d just said.

“To make up for it...” She grabbed something out of her pocket. It was a deck of cards. “Want to play a game?”

“Yes please.” I could think about what she had said after we’d actually relaxed a bit.