And suddenly, Krista was laughing again. This time, it prefixed no defensive barb; its source was pure joy. Here, in a battleship’s small dojo attached to the sickbay, deep in interstellar space, she had finally found love, with a beautiful alien who messed with her mind. Xie had turned to catch Krista’s eyes, and now she was laughing too, a sound like the tinkling of falling icicles loosened by a spring breeze.