Kirie brought him lunch.

A Starka cadet came with her.

She bowed deeply, ears flattened, plainly nervous.

" Commodore General, sir, I, um, this is the first time we've talked, but-"

" Ah, Neda ban Siyra, right? From the liberated territory of Thrace? Is there someone you need?"

She stood up straight, tail poofed out.

" Liutenant Honda said she knew you, so I asked to talk to you, so... Because, I wanted to, you know..."

William took a bite of his salad.

" I know?"

He was secretly relieved that she seemed like a normal girl, not an inscrutable block of ice.

" I wanted to thank you for the liberation of Ther- Thrace, and associated charitable efforts," she said, voice stiff. " Because of the strategic actions taken by you as a captain during that conflict, Thrace became a part of DASS territory, and I was able to enlist. And so I'm. I'm very grateful. To you."

He blinked, looking at her. Kirie seemed like she'd heard the whole ramble before.

Well, getting recruits from Thrace wasn't a bad thing.

" Hm. That's certainly very thoughtful of you. Do you want the rest of this salad? I'm not very fond of Silurian vegetables."

Kirie suppressed a laugh, but Neda accepted it with a great deal of gratitude.

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