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not to blame for losing the war,” Bolivarr said with quiet conviction. “Our leadership, if you could call it that, lost it for us.”
    Finn sliced a hand through the air before any political arguments could start. “It’s freepin’ done. Over. The surrender is signed. Be grateful we’re here, alive, warm and well-fed.”
    “When do we eat again, Captain?”
    The grumbles changed to eager murmurs. They’d been grateful for the food he’d had sent down to them. “After the staff meeting. Food and drink for all. And it’s best you no longer call me captain.”
    “You’ll always be our captain, no matter what.”
    Looks of loyalty went around.
    “Aye, I will, in more ways than you’ll know. But we have a new captain—Admiral Bandar—and you will follow her orders as you will follow mine.”
    “Stone-Heart…” More grumbles.
    “We’ll follow her orders to the letter. As for bunks, that’s what we’ll sleep on for now—and like it. These aren’t thin, lumpy, bug-infested mattresses, you oafs. We’re talking luxury. A better night’s sleep than these skins. Hot food, new uniforms, comfortable beds—we’re moving up in the world, men and women.”
    Finn only hoped they could do so without losing who they were.
     
    H ADLEY SCRAMBLED to accomplish what Admiral Bandar had asked of her. The admiral’s instructions had been curt and to the point. She wanted her quarters set up before the staff meeting. Everyone was being ordered to stay on board the ship tonight. It was typical of her commander to do such a thing. When you served under Admiral Bandar, you were her crew. You never doubted you were part of a team. Hadley wondered how the admiral was going to handle the motley crew she’d inherited. Apparently forcing them all to share the same finite space was one way to enforce crew unity.
    Unity . Hadley liked the name. It was so much nicer than the rest of the ship names she’d seen, on both sides. Those nasty names were all posturing, in her opinion. Admiral Bandar needn’t be alarmed by her new ship’s name. The woman could command a toy bath boat and others would still steer clear out of deference or fear, depending whose side you were on.
    Hadley dumped her personal possessions in a heap in the center of her new quarters. She’d unpack later, after making sure the admiral’s captain’s suite was set up to her liking. She was out of the room and back in the corridor a moment later, hoping the crate she’d ordered sent to the admiral’s suite had been delivered.
    An unfamiliar artificial voice thundered out of the ship’s new comm system, echoing down the shiny new corridors: “Attention—all personnel. Call to quarters is in effect. All personnel will retrieve their personal items and proceed to their assigned quarters immediately. Attention—all officers. There will be a command staff meeting at oh-five-thirty standard ship-hours.”
    Hadley glanced at the digits glowing on her sleeve. That didn’t give her much time to finish setting up the admiral’s quarters. She hurried through the bustling corridors and almost collided with a group of Earthling officers on their way into the cargo area.
    One of them was Tango. Sleeves rolled up and holding a box under one muscular arm, the pilot circled his finger at all the commotion. “Do you know what we call this at home, Hadley?”
    She frowned at his use of her first name in public. “No, Major Barrientes—” she struggled with the pronunciation “—I do not.”
    “An ass-leaping-event, as in leap through your ass to get it done.”
    She put her chin in the air and ignored him. The Earthling pilot ran his hand over his short blond hair and laughed. “Man, there’s nothing like an impatient admiral,” she heard him say to his friends as he passed by. “They want everything now, now, now. They want to make their mark on the world.”
    Gods! He horrified her. He fascinated her. She waited until he’d walked by before she turned for