"Sir Rene," Mia cooed in a characteristically inappropriate smoldering tone. "While Duchess Falia is capable of resting in her own room, her mental faculties have been temporarily medically compromised by the medication administered to help relieve pain, reduce inflammation, accelerate the healing process, and improve circulation. I regret to inform you that Duchess Falia should wait until the dosage of such prescriptions can be safely reduced before she should make any major decisions. Legally she can not enter into contracts, verbal or written, at this time." Half of what the AI said sounded like a scripted portion of her program that was dictated by a group of consulting attorneys that had thoroughly reviewed the code. Given how widespread electronic assistants were it was not all that surprising, but the fact she sounded slightly like a worried motherly figure was odd. The attachment Mia had to her mistress was unusual to say the least.

"So... she's drugged up?" Rosaria bluntly asked for clarification. Dasin, who had received the ship-wide alert that Solae had woken up, was wandering into the room from where he had been down the hall. Yarue was nowhere to be seen. Though the two Syshin were roughly the same age, same species, and had the same experience under Thorne, they were by no means identical. While Dasin was a little groggy from being woken from his nap, he was not quite as exhausted as his companion, who was still dead asleep.

"Your assessment lacks the nuance of the situation..." Mia began.

"Yes, I'm drugged up," Solae admitted. It wasn't as if she couldn't tell. She was aware of her surroundings, yet they were surrounded in a slight haze, and the fact that her legs didn't hurt was as clear a sign as there could be that the medicomp, via Mia, had given her something to make her condition manageable. Normally she wouldn't advocate for ignorance, but she wasn't sure she wanted to know what potent cocktail was running through her system.

"Dasin can help me put the solider in the medicomp," Rosaria volunteered, earning her a curious look from the male in question.

"I thought that Rene said he would..." Dasin interjected, confused why he had been suggested without the polite gesture of asking first. He was beginning to think that all humans had a quite unattractive habit of ordering around what they perceived to be 'aliens' because of some passive superiority complex. The way he was commanded so casually left a sour taste in his mouth.

"Rene stinks. I mean I can smell him across the ship," Rosaria said, dispensing with approaching the subject diplomatically. "I can't lift the soldier myself, but Dasin is stronger than any of us except Yarue maybe. We can get her back into the medicomp while Rene takes a shower." At first blush it seemed like she was taking charge, or issuing an ultimatum, but it was really a plea for everyone to collect themselves somewhat before they began having serious conversations about what to do with the lovers, the Kalderi alliance, and subsequently Duke Tan, who was no doubt plotting their deaths from across the galaxy. Jumping from one crisis to the next without remembering for everyone to wash, rest, or eat meant that they were disorganized, unfocused, and not able to look at the bigger picture. They had to keep their heads and compose themselves if they wanted to strategize. Intuitively, Rosaria understood this, perhaps from all her years being groomed to be a criminal mastermind for once Thorne retired.

"That is a great idea," Solae sighed, finding herself unusually candid.

Dasin glanced between the humans and lifted his shoulders in what was his race's version of a shrug before ambling over to the unconscious soldier. With Rosaria's help, who had studied the armor somewhat, they began the delicate process of dismantling it to extract its patient. They had forged a sort of rapport. It was still too early to call it a friendship, but there was a sense of camaraderie, of individuals going through a crisis together. The teenager flashed him a smile when she thanked him for his assistance. She didn't say it aloud, but she was thanking him not just for their current endeavor; she would remember how he, Rene, and Yarue rescued her from the mudslide for the rest of her life. A brush of death that put things into perspective as they often did. In her defining moment, she had been shown that compassion and loyalty were not weaknesses as she had been taught, and that they could be found in living beings that did not look like her, act like her, or speak like her. She was beginning to truly trust.

"I miss trees," Solae sighed, "the trees on New Concordia. I think I dated Lord Armon because he had a beautiful garden. I was so happy to be on a world that had such a breathtaking landscape... and it mauled me. When this is all over- if it's ever all over- I'm going to see if the Falias have any homes with big gardens. I'll ask the empress for a garden with lots of trees and not so much dirt. She'll think I've lost my mind," the noblewoman laughed. "It will warm her up for when I discuss the Syshin, I suppose. Once she's sure I'm crazy, not too much will shock her."