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Torvax produced his datapad in front of her, pulled up with a page ready for her view. "Authorization form. Ready for your signature."

Reyna stopped walking and looked closely at the datapad, then over at Torvax. "When did you prepare this?"

"When you told me about the Aetherfin mission this morning. I've been working on it during your discussions with the Chiefs."

"You prepared the access authorization before Tavi even asked for it?"

"I anticipated the workflow."

"You anticipated that Tavi would run into problems, that he would need gravity controls access, and that I would approve it. Before any of those things happened."

"The chain of events was logical, Captain."

Reyna was impressed, but she honestly wasn't sure why. This was typical Torvax behavior. So she signed the form on the datapad and handed it back before starting to walk again. "Sometimes you terrify me, Torvax."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

The comment struck her because, the truth was, she trusted him completely.

"It was," she replied, pausing to give the words their due. "Anything else?"

"The Vryx situation in the Mess Hall kitchen has been resolved."

Reyna stopped walking again. "It has?"

"Maren Laith addressed it approximately forty minutes ago. She rerouted the secondary ventilation panel, extracted the Vryx without incident, and recalibrated the kitchen climate systems. Borran has been notified."

"Maren did it."

"Yes."

"Not Cael."

"No." Torvax's voice carried the same informational neutrality it always carried. But Reyna had known him a long time, and she could hear the footnote he wasn't adding.Cael did not do it because Cael does not do things that he considers beneath his attention, and Maren did it because Maren does things that need doing, and I have been documenting this pattern for some time.

"Noted," Reyna said.

"Indeed."

They continued walking.

By late afternoon,with the Vryx gone and the kitchen vents clear, Borran's ovens were holding temperature for the first time all day. Reyna knew this because Borran had contacted her one final time to announce, with a gravity that suggested he was addressing the Coalition High Council rather than reporting on baked goods, that the first batch of Gula Cakes was in the oven.

"The redemption batch, Captain."

"Congratulations, Borran."

"It will be my finest work."

"I don't doubt it."

"You will receive the first one."

"I appreciate that."

"Well, after Engineer Maren, of course."

"I would assume nothing else."