Once they had successfully initiated the jump, Solae unlatched the restraints on her chair's harness. "It will take some time to reach the end jump point," she told her passengers so that they were not alarmed by her apparent abandonment of piloting duties. "Let's see what is packed in our crates and get rooms set up for the three of you," she continued as she assumed leadership of the quintet. She knew that her soldier paramour would defer to her judgment and, furthermore, she would not impose on him to sort out living arrangements while he was still injured. He had already done too much. Criestia would be furious if she saw how he had physically taxed himself dragging their cargo onto the ship with the Syshin.

"Where are we going, mistress?" Dasin asked. The duchess was quickly learning it would take her alien companions longer than it took Rosaria to grow accustomed to referring to her by her first name. This was a period of drastic changes to the Syshin's lives. If the most difficulty they faced was an insistence of adhering to titles, then she would consider this social experiment a success.

"We're headed towards Kaldorei space," Solae remarked casually as she stood and walked back towards the hold where their crates had been stored. "Have you ever heard of the Kaldorei?" she inquired once she saw that Dasin and Yarue were following her. Rosaria did so more reluctantly; this was her first time traveling among the stars and she was briefly distracted by the fantastic view they had during quantum travel.

"We have not," Yarue affirmed.

Solae had suspected as much. The history of humans and Kaldorei was but a footnote that was deemed not to be of significant importance to teach to anyone beyond the nobility and military. Peasants were generally unaware of the race- the proven superiority of the Jeweled Armada was too humiliating for the empire to recount to the general populace, and it was not necessary to warn citizens that would never encounter their borders, much less the enigmatic creatures themselves. The Syshin that were enslaved were poorly educated on a whole. What was passed to them was largely from their fellow kin, such as cultural customs, rather than academic knowledge. Furthermore, before they had meant humanity, the Syshin had not been technologically advanced enough to venture beyond their planet.

"They are not human," she told them as she leaned over a crate. With Yarue's help they unsealed the lids of both crates and set them to side. "We don't know too much about them except that they are stronger than humans," she said, then swapped to Syshin to elaborate since she didn't know a way to convey what she meant in the common tongue. "[i]When we met them hundreds of years ago they destroyed the humans that attacked their people, and the nearby human worlds in retaliation.[/i]" This shocked both Syshin men whose eyes went wide at the revelation in the universal expression of surprise. "A treatise was signed so we are no longer at work, but they do not let humans inside their territory."

"Then why are we going there, mistress?" Dasin asked skeptically.

"Because I believe they will give us a place to rest and recover," the diplomat began slowly, "and because I believe it is our responsibility to right as many wrongs of our predecessors as is possible. Humans were- and are- arrogant, entitled, and cruel. That is what we showed the Kaldorei and that is what we showed the Syshin. But humans can also be compassionate, humble, and kind, and that is what I want to be our legacy. I want to prove that the Syshin deserve a greater place in the galaxy, and to prove to the Kaldorei we have grown into better people than our ancestors."

This answer stupefied both Dasin and Yarue, who were not quite sure how process the bold proclamation. Rosaria just stared at her benefactor. None of them knew how to handle the linguist's proclaimed benevolence. She had neither sad nor done anything to betray her ambitions, but they had grown accustomed to capricious malevolence as a result of being imprisoned by Thorne and subjected to her employees and/or clientele, and Solae was such a stark departure it was a challenge to accept they belonged to the same species. For her part, the duchess understood their suspicion. She was determined to prove herself. Grandiose goals required patience.

"I see Ten had packed everything we asked for and then some," she laughed aloud as she dug through the cargo. There was clothing for herself and Rene, including the garments they had worn during their visit with him and a few new pieces he had selected, including a salacious piece of lingerie she kept hidden from the view of the others. There was attire for Rosaria and the Syshin as well, but the criminal mastermind had clear favoritism. In addition there was a wide array of food stuffs for their journey, medical supplies, weaponry, armor, linens, and everyday sundries such as soap, high quality brushes, and vitamin supplements.

"Rosaria, would you mind helping Rene find something suitable for us to eat? Dasin, Yarue, will you help me set up some beds for tonight?" Solae hauled out the linens and walked off before anyone could protest their assigned tasks.

With the help of her larger and stronger bodyguards, the former marquise changed the sheets on a bunk in the empty crew cabin for Rosaria's use, but she was determined to not force the girl and Syshin to share quarters. The slavers that had operated the Bonaventure before it was "liberated" had a small enough crew that they had converted the second crew cabin into a storage space. The trio cleaned out this improvised storage room, set two mattresses onto the floor at Dasin and Yarue's insistence that was their preference, and similarly dressed them in linens. Solae had been worried their feet would hang off the end, but this was lavish accommodations compared to what they had prior: soft fabric sheets, pillows, and a private chamber for their exclusive use.