When she woke up, the light white above was blinding. The entire length of her forearm was a deep swollen purple. She felt sick.

"Has the appraiser arrived yet?" A green light beeped.

"They've come, and they've gone." replied the computer. "They appraised the damages to be mostly superficial, to the order of four hundred and fifty-thousand Confederate credits, as well as another fifty thousand credits for your injuries," She stood from the table and walked to a medicine cabinet. "The appraiser offered to open a wrongful damages suit against the Confederation on your behalf." She paused her search for a painkiller and looked toward the nearest speaker.

"And? What did you tell them?"

"I told them I would wait for your judgement on the matter." She resumed her search.

"And what of the damages to the ship?"

"The damages do appear to be mostly superficial. I have conducted multiple diagnoses upon the warp engine, and found no signs of damage yet," She nodded and injected morphine into her left arm. In dead silence she prepared an arm sling and then a meal. Afterwards she walked through each room to check on its state, and was pleased to discover that most of the interior disarray was confined to the command room and her garden. It took some time to sweep with one hand, but soon the garden was restored to working order, with the remnants of several smashed vases now floating in open space. She lifted her chair back to its legs in the command room and sat in it, leaving the toppled bookshelf alone for now.

"Show me the warp engine," she instructed. A familiar green light blinked twice below the main monitors, which then displayed three separate views of the engine. She had put off this inspection, for if she detected a failure then it would mean abandoning this ship and thus her livelihood. If she didn't detect failure and it was present, it would mean total disintegration during warp. For several hours she sat still before the monitor, inspecting every inch of the engine block. When she was content with her inspection of the engine's exterior she would analyze one layer toward its interior, and when she reached the center she would repeat the process. The computer assured her for a third time that although a bullet had passed through metal shielding a mere eight feet from the engine compartment, not a single dust mote had passed through the engine's interior shielding. She reluctantly went to bed after thirteen hours of analysis, but she would find no rest. In the meantime the ship continued to repair itself.

She was still lying awake when a dull blue light began to shine from her room's white walls. Her eyes were bloodshot as she turned in her bed, then she sat up and stumbled to the kitchen where she injected more morphine. As she did, a sunken-eyed figure with frizzy black hair stood opposite her in the mirror. She didn't recognize it.

"Computer, set morning cycle to begin in three hours," she said after a moment. Immediately the lights dimmed to near-absence, and she stumbled and cursed back to her bed. This time she managed barely to sleep for a couple hours. When she woke again she went almost immediately to work on ship repair, spending the entirety of the day in this manner, even while eating. She slept much better that night. In the morning she ate and read, then took some time to tend to the garden. She arrived contentedly to the command room, and sat in her brown recliner.

"Contact the appraiser and authorize the opening of a suit," she instructed. The green light blinked. "How is warp engine cooling going?"

"It is proceeding more slowly than is historically typical," answered the computer candidly. "Cooling is expected to complete in fifty-four hours,"

"Disable engine kinetic shielding," she said casually. The green light remained unlit.

"This is inadvisable during repairs," replied the computer. Her eyes narrowed slightly.

"Then lower general kinetic shielding to minimal, and lower engine shielding to forty percent," The light blinked in deference. "Has the cooling estimate changed?"

"Yes. Expected cooling time is now forty-eight hours," She eased back into her chair and continued reading. She let the computer handle repairs for the rest of the day. After exercising, eating, and injecting morphine she decided to go to bed early, making sure to set the morning cycle back three hours before doing so. Soon after she was asleep, although she did not notice it, an array of checkered orange and yellow warning lights began to blink on every wall of her room. She awoke several hours later in shock of the sight; the computer didn't wait for her inquiry before speaking.

"Semi-critical warp engine damage detected. Stabilization attempt is underway." She sprinted to the command room in her pajamas, and ordered a view of the damage be displayed. A crack had developed in the main fuel pipe as the craft had cooled. It was quickly repaired, but not before fuel had dissipated out of the crack and ignited within the engine compartment. The fire was quickly suppressed, but power was briefly disabled to the warp engine's already-weakened kinetic shielding. Superficial scratching occurred upon the exterior of the engine, and during fire suppression more cracks had appeared along the primary and secondary fuel line. In response the computer had returned engine shielding to one hundred percent power and attempted repairs to the exterior damages of the involved components. She remained silent and still for a long while watching the monitors, then she stood.

"Report these damages to the appraiser. Then prepare to move the ship at non-warp speed. I want to see how the fuel pipe will hold up," She walked slowly to the kitchen and injected more morphine. She ate, but did not change clothes, and despite the news, she did not return her attention to the ship. She sat mostly in a concerned daze, worrying that she might have to manually repair the warp drive. In the afternoon she injected more morphine and began to feel very hot. When she removed her sling to shower she found that the bruising on her arm had spread into her hand and up past her elbow. She could see where the broken bone pressed upon her skin. Her mind and body were numb; hot water ran onto her back, cold sweat ran down her forehead; she pressed down on the bump and it disappeared back into her arm. She felt nothing.

The morning lighting didn't wake her for a few hours, though she couldn't recall going to bed. Her sling was gone, and it seemed a haze had settled between her and the world. The computer indicated she had a fever as she sat in the kitchen and injected morphine. It told her that she might be at risk of developing an addiction to morphine, but she didn't respond. She awkwardly swallowed several pills whose labels she could barely read and returned to bed. She felt well enough the next morning to make another trip to the kitchen where she ate before taking more morphine. She made an effort to stay in the command room for the day, and even managed to lift the bookcase back to a standing position.

"Status," she said tiredly.

"The repairs on the fuel pipe have held up during non-warp travel, and the warp engine seems to be fully functioning, by my diagnostics. In four hours it will complete cooling and be ready for warp to Porta Novae. The appraiser has opened a suit on your behalf at a temporary cost of two hundred thousand credits."

She nodded and drifted to sleep. Her mind drifted through time space back to Marsonovo. The city was framed in a vibrant neon glow; the streets were all empty. Luca stood opposite her, his face obscured in darkness. A rain crept up swiftly behind her and drowned the world in darkness. She woke up drenched in cold sweat. The ship's night cycle was about to begin. She stopped in the kitchen on her way to the shower, and held a hypodermic needle contemplatively in her hand.

"Computer," she paused, waiting for the green light to appear before she continued, "If you're confident that the ship is safe for travel," she hesitated once more, "then begin warp to Porta Novae," She stabbed the needle into her upper arm and walked to the shower. The water was running when she felt the ship slightly vibrate. Then came a total silence as the warp engine activated.

She sat down and closed her eyes, hoping that all would be well.