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“Very well,” Hesho said. “I shall prepare tea for your return.”

“Prepare a bandage too,” I said, climbing to my feet. “I’m half-convinced he’s going to stab me for evendaringto ask.”

20

I didn’t just hyperjump into Jorgen’s room, like I normally would have. I didn’t even march up to his door and bang on it, like a proper warrior would.

I made an appointment.

With hissecretary.

Rikolfr was the same aide Cobb had used, inherited from Ironsides. He seemed to find my newfound rule-following nature as baffling as I did.

“An appointment…” the man said as I stood by the video-comm on the wall of my room. He looked through Jorgen’s schedule, which was written out in this big book instead of computerized. Rikolfr was old-school. “I can do tomorrow morning.”

“No, it needs to be today,” I said. “Is he still in the meeting?”

“He just got out. He has scheduled an hour to decompress and go over his notes.”

“Great, schedule me instead of that,” I said.

“But—”

“It’s fine.”

“Commodore Nightshade,” he said, “I don’t think you quite understand the purpose of appointments.”

“I called ahead,” I snapped. “The rule book says to call ahead. Book the appointment, Rikolfr, or I’ll push you out an airlock.”

He paled.

“I’d put you in a space suit first,” I said, rolling my eyes. “What do you think I am, a monster?”

“Uh…okay,” he said. “I’m sending him a note that you’ll be visiting him in five minutes—and that you wouldn’t accept my insistence that he not be interrupted—”

“Please note that I’m following protocol,” I said. “Write it down.” I growled at him until he did. Stupid man needed to see how difficult this was. I needed him to work with me.

Five minutes later, I appeared in front of Jorgen’s door and pounded on it with a warrior’s fervor. He opened it, tall and intimidating in his admiral’s uniform. And handsome. Why was he so scudding handsome?

He took me in for a moment, then sighed and stepped back, gesturing for me to enter. “Thanks for the heads-up.”

“Rikolfr was a pill,” I said, stalking in. “He acted like it was some great imposition for me to ask him to do his job.”

“His job,” Jorgen said, “is to make certain I’m not interrupted when I have work to do. There are exceptions for my command staff, however, if there is some emergency…”

I stopped at his table—which was scattered with notes and star charts. Strange, how much paper we had now that we could get it from the other planets. I turned back toward him and took a deep breath. “Rule 48b, subrule 18,” I said. “Officer turns herself in for discipline and demands demotion. I declare that I’m demoted back to lieutenant.”

Jorgen turned toward me, the door to his study sliding closed. He seemed…amused?

“I read the scudding rules,” I said, hands on hips. “And so I’m a lieutenant now. By the book, Jorgen!”

“You read the rules,” he said.

“Yup.”

“On military discipline.”

“Whole thing.”