Among the least of her new skills was to slow her gait to what she considered a near standstill. It irritated her captors, several of whom were leading her yet again to Mashkith’s cabin, to scurry to keep pace with her. She cast a rueful glance upward, where long lines of empty bolt holes showed the one-time mounting points of suspended ceiling rails and hooks. Oh, to swing freely around and around Harmony‘s grand circumference. For an instant, the thought made her feel young again. They eventually reached their destination, and a guard knocked timidly. She entered unescorted. “My greetings, Foremost. Thank you for seeing me.” Her voice rasped. Sulfurous fumes inevitably leaked under the edges of her breathing mask, and she had been spending more time than ever in repair teams. She settled into a low chair, in the near eye-to-eye position Mashkith demanded. “Water?” he offered. She blinked at the unexpected, albeit minor, courtesy. Progress on his undisclosed-to-her plans evidently outweighed any concerns he might have about the ship’s ongoing ecological decline.
