Khaleen decided not to tell Silas and Violet about the argument. If she was going to get expelled from the ship, and she strongly suspected that she would, she could at least avoid getting them caught up with her. They were cooperative and helpful; the Ark needed people like them. But the opportunity to talk to them never presented itself. Silas stumbled back to the room late and was asleep before his head hit the mat, and Violet appeared after him, staying only long enough to wash and inform her cousin that she would be spending the "night" at the infirmary. So when the next day began, the only one who knew about her argument with Algrim, she believed, was Algrim.

It was around the middle of the second watch. Khaleen was alone in her cousins' room when she heard footsteps in the hall. A moment later there was a tap on the door.

"Enter," she called.

She rose to her feet as Algrim stepped in, followed by three officers: Davitheen, Versang, and another she didn't recognize.

Khaleen vaguely remembered a story her father had told, about a Roman emperor who was stabbed to death by his own senators. This, she realized, must have been how he felt. She braced herself, wondering if she'd have time to ask them to let her cousins stay on. Algrim cleared his throat.

"Khaleen, allow me to introduce to you Hodhshi, chief of engineering. I believe you already know Davitheen and Versang." Khaleen nodded, wondering when the blow was going to come. "Hodhshi will be advising you on the technical matters of the Ark, Versang on the health of the crew, and Davitheen – "

"Whoa, wait. What is this?"

"Daily report," Algrim replied. "You requested to be kept informed, I believe."

"Ah– yes, I did."

"Very well then. Your officers will attend you and bring you up to date every day at this time." Khaleen nodded and made a mental note to have the place tidier next time. Algrim continued. "I… gave some thought to what you said and have come to understand that you were correct. We were wrong not to begin these reports earlier." The captain looked a little sour and met her eye reluctantly. She wondered who had strong-armed him into apologizing.

Formalities done, Hodhshi stepped forward to begin his report. He left his mask in place; in fact, all the officers but Algrim were masked. Khaleen didn't ask him to remove it when he spoke; they seemed to be following some kind of protocol of which she was only dimly aware. As the engineer began, Khaleen was nearly bowled over by the stream of technical terms and jargon. Some of it she recognized, but not nearly enough to understand what he was talking about. Finally, he stopped.

"Do you have any further questions, my queen?"

"Uh." Khaleen struggled to collect herself. "Ok, just to recap. What happened yesterday, the… coolant failure…"

"The failure of a coolant vessel in the reactor drive core."

"That. Yes. Is that something that's likely to happen again?"

"No. We slowed the drive core and have been making repairs to the coolant vessels."

"No, I mean, are there other weak spots, not just in the coolant? Other places where we might have a problem in the future?"

"Well – yes." He began to list off the things that might fail. "The landing mechanisms were damaged in the battle, as was maneuvering. There's hull damage on multiple levels, the gravity drive has been under a great deal of strain, air circulators need to be checked, as should the main reactor containment vessel…" The list went on. Khaleen glanced at Algrim; he seemed to be trying hard to keep his expression neutral.

"So, what do you need? What can I get you?"

Hodhshi shrugged. "Therium-steel alloy, hull plating, and a beryllium ion engine core. And about a thousand more personnel."

Khaleen had no idea what half those things were. "I'll see what I can do."

Next Versang stepped forward. It was much easier to understand him; Khaleen guessed that he was consciously toning down the technical jargon for her. Of the three injured crewmen, one had been released. The other two were in stable condition; Versang was keeping them under observation, but hoped to release them that day.

"Violet has proven herself these past few days," he added. "With your permission, I'd like to begin her formal training as a surgical assistant. Perhaps eventually we can even train her as a surgeon in her own right." Khaleen swelled a little with pride.

Last of all Davitheen stepped up. His report concerned the state of the crew and the current mission. Morale, it seemed, was running low; Khaleen had expected that. But when he stated that the temporary loss of the crewmen in the infirmary had interfered with the running of the ship's vital functions, she stopped him.

"Wait – so two guys go down and suddenly we're having problems with basic maintenance?"

"We are severely short-handed. Two men is a significant portion of the crew."

"How many are we supposed to have?"

Davitheen cocked his head. With his mask in place, it was impossible to make out his expression.

"Originally this Ark was manned by a crew of three thousand, plus eight hundred shock troops, although it could have held more. Currently, we're down to one hundred and three men, mostly engineers, medics, supply and maintenance…"

Khaleen gave a start. "Wait – a hundred guys left of three thousand? How are we still in the air? Or – whatever…"

Davitheen continued. "Ordinarily we could run an Ark with as few as fifteen men; however, damage from our recent battles must be repaired, and of course the maintenance needs of a ship this old are immense." Hodhshi nodded. Khaleen stared at the floor, trying to wrap her mind around what they were telling her.

"But it lasted this long…" she started.

"Well, yes," said Hodhshi. "While we were in stasis, most of the atmosphere was vented and we were in zero gravity. That preserves most components. But we were still adrift for almost a full cycle of the Kevethidheen, and when we awoke, we were… rushed," he ended lamely.

"We weren't supposed to need it this long anyway," Versang began, but then stopped. Davitheen bristled at him; everyone else's shoulders slumped almost imperceptibly. Algrim was the first to break the silence.

"It matters not." His look of unflappable calm was back. "We will do what is necessary to endure."

"Do we have what it takes?" Khaleen cut in.

"We will find a way." The determination in the commander's eyes might have cut a hole straight through her. Davitheen glanced between them.

"We've reassigned as many men as possible, and on-duty hours have been increased. Beyond that, what can be done, already has."

"The Commander is right," Versang added. "We hold on, we continue the mission."

"What is the mission?"

"To remain alive." Algrim answered. "To continue as long as possible, so that our kind will not die out." The others nodded gravely.

"My report is concluded," Davitheen said. "Have you any further questions?"

"Not now." Khaleen's head was spinning from the volume of information. Algrim dismissed the others. When they were gone he turned and regarded Khaleen coolly. She took a breath and blew it out.

"Some mission."

"And what would you do differently, Khaleen?"

She opened her mouth to respond, shut it, raised a hand, lowered it, turned away, turned back, puffed out her cheeks, and scowled. Then she pointed at Algrim.

"Tell Hodhshi I want a tour of engineering later today. Third watch, fourth, even – whatever time works for him. I want to see what's going on for myself." She stepped around him and headed for the door.

"And where will you be until then?" he demanded. She didn't turn back.

"In Malekith's library, learning engines."

Perhaps an hour and a half after the meeting, Algrim entered Malekith's old quarters to inform the queen that he had arranged her engineering tour. She was, as expected, sitting at the table, staring at a technical volume that he would have sworn was entirely above her level. She looked up when he entered.

"Oh, hey, it's you. Did you get that thing with Hodhshi set up?"

"Yes. Fourth hour, third watch. He'll send someone up to escort you."

"Tell him not to bother. I'll meet him on Stasis Deck 3. That's fairly close to engineering."

Algrim wondered where she'd learned that. "I'll see that he's informed."

"Oh – and when you get the chance, I need a report from Davitheen on people's schedules: who's doing what when, for how long, that kind of thing. And what their original specialty was." Algrim nodded. "And I need information on the Ark. Blueprints, schematics, the owner's manual – whatever you got. And anything you've got that has, you know, definitions of technical terms."

"Schematics of the Malekithas Heedra. Very well." He turned to go. Khaleen pivoted in her seat.

"The what?"

"The Malekithas Heedra. This Ark."

"I thought it was called the Ark."

"It is. That's the name of this particular Ark, because it was his flagship."

"The Might of Malekith." Khaleen frowned. "Wait, he named his ship after himself?"

"No. It's my Ark, and I named it after him when it became his flagship. I thought it would be a fitting tribute."

"Ah." Khaleen seemed to accept this. She turned back and was instantly engrossed in her reading again. Algrim stood for a moment and stared at her.

"What would you know?" He thought that his low tone and her focus on her book would preclude a reply; when she answered he was already half-turned.

"I hot-wired a car once, when we had to get Vi to the doctor." She was still staring at the screen. Algrim wasn't sure what she meant, but he guessed from her tone that it had been some drastic and complicated action.

"You really think you're going to help us?" he asked again.

"Don't know how yet, but I'm a quick study when my life depends on it." She sighed and turned away from her book. "Hey, look – I know you don't like me, and I know I don't look like much. But we're all we've got right now. You and me, we're gonna have to work together or we aren't gonna get anything done." She stood up. "So – deal?"

Algrim accepted the offered hand. "Very well."

"Sorry I knifed your table."

"I was informed that I deserved it." He turned to go. "Let me know if you find a course of action that I missed."

Khaleen was already back at her reading. "I will."