AN: Well, this took way longer than expected. This chapter has been in the work for months now, and I kept hitting so many blocks, I ended up re-writing the last couple of chapters too. So I really, really recommend re-reading the last couple of chapter to truly understand what's going in. I've worked so much on this that I can't even remember what the previous chapters looked like before I updated.

So please, re-read the last few chapters before reading this update. The changes made mostly entails Amelia and Arrow's discussions, to properly develop Amelia's thoughts and emotions going into this chapter.

And now, after literally writing this chapter since February, I can post it. Thank you all for waiting.

Date: 017.072.1789

Location: Royal Light Ship Legacy, Saxonite Pass.

My morning watch with Doctor Doppler ceased precisely at eight hundred hours and once it had ended, I watched him leave the bridge in wretched misery.

The four hours seemed to drag by far longer than usual, and were spent in silence with a good amount of distance between the both of us. The only time the Doctor approached me was to receive permission to leave the deck as our watch drew to a close. He looked dreadfully tired - and I rationed a guess that his poor humour was not truly due to rising so early. "Our watch is complete, Doctor." I said as the ship's bell finally struck. "You may go and enjoy your breakfast."

The Doctor bowed in my direction, then walked away without another word. My eyes followed his defeated frame as he retreated down the steps. He did not look back once and this, for some reason unbeknownst to me, made me feel rather…disappointed? No – guilty.

Pull yourself together, I scolded myself internally as I released the breath I had unintentionally been holding. This is what you wanted, is it not? Is this not how things should be? Remember what he said to you, what he accused you of being - is he really worth your forgiveness?

Thankfully, I was distracted from these depressive thoughts by the oncoming watchmen reporting for the watch handover. It was not long after they had taken their posts when Arrow arrived at the bridge, approaching me with heavy footsteps. "Good morning, Captain!" He greeted merrily and touched his tricorn hat.

"Good morning, Mr Arrow." I returned the compliments, compelling my voice to sound as imperturbable as possible. "Here for your report?"

"Aye, ma'am. My morning rounds have yielded satisfying results. All is well below and above deck. I take it we will be drilling the crew again today?"

"Of course! If we wish to get through the Oort Cloud at Epsilon without dashing this ship to pieces, then this crew are certainly still in dire need of a few more hours of practice! I hope to begin some exercises up in the tops at ten hundred hours. Until then, forgive me, but I must break my fast before I complete my own rounds." I replied with an enforced smile.

Arrow, for a brief second, seemed to falter upon seeing the tight expression stretched across my face. "Aye, ma'am. Ten hundred hours it is."

I moved to pass him and head towards my cabin when I stopped and I shifted closer to Arrow's side. My voice's volume dropped to a whisper. "And you sure there was nothing out of the usual?"

"No, ma'am. Nothing to warrant concern."

I simply nodded. Arrow is the far more experienced between the two of us and I have always trusted his judgement on all kinds of matters; if he suspected that there was something peculiar about the crew this morning, then he would surely be the first to pick up on it.

But just as I was about to move away, Arrow gently rested a hand on my shoulder.

"Ma'am," He began. "How…how was your watch with Doctor Doppler? I only ask because you seem…a little off."

"Everything went perfectly fine, Arrow." I met his eyes unflinchingly. "It was rather…quiet."

"Are you quite sure?" Arrow asked slowly and raised a suspicious eyebrow. For a man so large and intimidating, he can be surprisingly empathetic. I suppose it is the result of knowing myself for the entirety of my life.

But I had no energy to dig in my heels and resist his gentle enquires as I had the day before. To do so would surely only end in rising tempers and after such a long watch, I could not find the effort to exert myself with an argument. Instead, I sighed and averted my eyes at his questioning. "Well, Doctor Doppler did approach me to say that you had informed him of yesterday's events…and he asked me the strangest question. He was concerned that I would break our contract and quit this voyage."

"Ah, that may be part of my doing, Captain." Arrow grimaced. "I made an odd comment that perhaps we would not have to struggle with this insolent crew for much longer. I thought I did notice the Doctor pale at such an idea. I shall correct the Doctor's beliefs the moment I see him this morning."

"You shall not bother; I already informed him that I have no plans to do such a thing – at least not with him, the crew is another matter entirely. He seemed rather relieved at that. But…isn't it strange? After everything that has happened, you would think that he would jump at the chance for a different commander to take over."

"Perhaps you have done something to impress him so much, ma'am, that he believes it would be a mistake to leave your service?" Arrow replied a crooked smirk. "I wonder what daring feat that must have been?"

While I know that Arrow meant well by this comment, but it did nothing to soothe me. My mind instantly leapt to the commendations Captain Yearnshaw gave to my name in the Doctor's presence and how they must have left some kind of impression on him for him to bring them up during his apology to myself that evening – but the commendations were greatly exaggerated. If I told him as such – would his mind change once again? And if he did…then what?

My stomach plunged at such a thought, but Arrow did not seem to notice how I became deathly still and my eyes began to stare far off. He continued to answer my musings, and pulled me in with a rather strange comment:

"And, in that vein of thought, is it not strange that you would also wish to keep our contract with him, ma'am?"

"Hardly; you of all people should know how stubborn I can be, Arrow." I replied with a tilt of my head and began to whisper. "Besides – have you forgotten what our destination is?"

Arrow grunted. "If it even exists."

"Have a little faith, Arrow."

"Faith? I will have faith when I clap my eyes on our destination!" He chuckled, keeping his voice low so not to be overheard.

I could not bring myself to laugh, so instead I simply shook my head and faked a smile; my answer may not have betrayed my true feelings, but Arrow's observation that I had voiced no desire to cut my business with Doctor Doppler had come as a surprise. Why had I not considered that option before? And why, even now, did I still reject the idea – treasure or no treasure?

But upon viewing my subdued reaction to his little jest, Arrow's laughter wavered and his earlier worry returned. "Was…anything else said?"

I hesitated a little, pulling myself out of my introspection, and shook my head. "No – nothing was spoken after that. The Doctor spent the watch observing from the forecastle and I remained here on the bridge." I gave a slight shrug and pressed my lips tight together. "Everything was as it should have been."

Which, I loathe to admit, was precisely why I was so unhappy.


It has been sixteen days since our departure from Crescentia and despite some early hiccups, our progress towards our fabled destination has been growing steadily.

The Legacy herself is sailing along smoothly, without so much as a twist in her rigging. I could not ask for her to be in a better state. Our heading has been slightly adjusted this morning; now the bow is level with the absolute horizon, heading two-eight-zero-zero, following the McCollough Current as it begins to curve west towards Procyon Territory but we aim to leave its pull at Epsilon. For now, we follow it west-by-north-westwards, creeping ever closer to the edge of the Empire's territory and to our destination. Despite the McCollough current being one of the most vital and largest currents in the Empire, its part in the Saxonite Pass is rarely travelled upon (most of the trading traffic prefer to visit Saxonite itself rather than by-pass it and stop at Epsilon). So far, we have only passed one other ship – a trading vessel, painted black and yellow, by the name of Earl of Ibos. The merchant way of passing honours was performed and the ship signalled that they had no news to share; we signalled to them that they had fair weather, and continued on.

With good winds, a strong current, and an immaculate ship, I have had more time to focus on the crew.

Yesterday's incident with the weaponry had plagued my mind all night and when I stepped out onto the deck that morning to begin more rounds of drilling, I felt as though I had a lead weight sat in the pit of my stomach.

But I was surprised to find the crew had gone through a metamorphosis through the night.

During the exercises, I looked out for the usual glares of spiteful malice and found none. I kept my ears sharp for any sulky mutterings or complaining but only heard the groaning of the masts and fluttering of the sails. And, to my amazement, I found that it was not only the crew's behaviour that had undergone a spectacular improvement overnight; their work through those exercises had improved greatly from yesterday's efforts. They put far more precision into their timings, listened to my commands without question or confusion, and completed each and every order with a fine level of skill.

I was begrudgingly impressed. It seemed that my threats of cutting their employment had hit a nerve – but still, I was suspicious. I knew I could not trust this seedy band of scoundrels and refused to be lulled into a false sense of security with their sudden improvement.

Not only this, but they certainly seem to be kissing my boots today. I have received far more salutes and well-wishes from them in this one single day than I have this whole voyage so far. Yes – I had certainly lit a fire under their backsides yesterday – and all this good behaviour was an attempt to mollify my fury but if anything, it has unsettled me. I could not return any of their marks of respect warmly when I knew that their honeyed words are a sham. If anything, I find them all disturbing.

Perhaps I am simply paranoid after yesterday's events, but I cannot help but feel uncomfortable about the painstaking efforts the crew are throwing themselves into to improve their image in my eyes.

I kept these thoughts to myself for most of the day, waiting for the moment Arrow and I would be alone in my cabin that evening to address them. Arrow is always full of wisdom and I knew that he would either calm my worries and banish any disquieting thoughts from my mind, or he would confirm them and my instincts would be correct and I would henceforth be on alert and guarded. Thus, I decided to wait until our prearranged evening of cards to broach the subject. I was looking forward to it; it would be a chance to unwind, to shed the misery that was pursued me these past few days, and with the two of us alone, I would be free to voice my concerns about the crew so the matter would be addressed there and then.

Or it would have been, had it just been the two of us in my stateroom that evening.


It had all started innocently enough.

I was waiting patiently in my stateroom, my supper of potted beef and pease pudding had long been concluded and the half-empty dishes spirited away by Mr Hawkins. My samovar was filled and boiling along happily in preparation for my guest. I busied myself with retrieving my pack of cards from my dresser – a battered old set, stored in a square tin that has been dented from years of use - and I was just about to arrange the teacups on the sideboard when Arrow's brisk knock could be heard at the door. I did not hesitate to answer and swung the door wide open with an expectant smile.

"Arrow, I hope you are prepared to-"

My playful jesting quickly vanquished when my eyes beheld a lanky candid shrinking away from my door and half-hiding behind Arrow's broad frame. My ears set back on instinct. What was he doing here?

"Doctor? Mr Arrow?" I said gravely, quickly dressing myself in my usual Captain's fa?ade. My mind instantly leapt to the crew - was there something afoot? "Is there a problem?"

"No, ma'am," Arrow answered surprisingly nonchalantly and he stepped past me as though there was nothing unusual. I slowly raised an eyebrow and watched him waltz into the room, my suspicions slowly mounting. If there was no issue, then why was Doctor Doppler currently at the threshold of my cabin?

Arrow, upon seeing that I had not moved an inch, finally decided to clarify. "But I took the liberty of inviting Doctor Doppler to play cards with us tonight. I thought it would make a nice change – and the Doctor admitted he did not have any plans, didn't you, Doctor?"

My face began to burn.

The Doctor cowed away from the threshold when he saw my claws naturally extend and sink into the wood of my cabin door. "Well…uh…I, um, I had hoped to-" He began to protest but his voice seemed to wane in strength with each second he remained under my furious gaze. In truth, it was not to him where my anger was directed; it was at Arrow, who was supposed to be my support, my friend, and yet he dared to slyly go behind my back and invite the man he knew I was purposefully keeping at a distance to play cards?

The Doctor swallowed visibly. "We-we-we're supposed to be passing Saxonite tonight and, well, I had-"

"Don't let us distract you from your observations, Doctor," I interrupted quickly after finally finding my tongue. Yes, I thought. Make an excuse and refuse the invitation. "Saxonite is so beautiful from this distance, and on such a clear night as tonight – I am sure that an astronomer like yourself would loathe to miss this chance to see it in person-"

"-Then we should all take a break to view it." Arrow declared before the Doctor could even open his mouth to reply. He had been carrying on as usual, ignoring the Doctor and I, was in the process of removing his faithful hat and coat. "The Captain speaks the truth; I am sure that even all of the crew will be above deck tonight to take the opportunity of seeing Saxonite on such a tranquil night of spacing. We shall take a break later to appreciate the view - but until then, we have enough time for a few rounds of gin rummy. Doctor, do pull up a chair!"

The Doctor did not move; to enter my stateroom, he would have to move past me and he was eyeing my claws very warily. I do believe he decided not to risk getting any closer to them - a wise decision, I must confess, for Arrow's interfering had bridled me so.

My mouth became a grim, thin line. "I did not know had such an interest observing celestial bodies, Arrow?"

Arrow turned in his chair and met my gaze challengingly. "True, Captain, that unlike you and the good Doctor here, I do not have as much as an appreciation for seeing the sights. Perhaps the two of you would prefer to observe Saxonite together and I shall stay here and wait for your return?"

I bit the inside of my cheek and replied flatly, "That won't be necessary."

"Then invite the Doctor in, Captain. You are not about to turn him away, are you?"

I clamped my jaw shut and cursed Arrow a thousand times in my mind. He had purposefully put me in such an awkward situation. Every inch of my mind was screaming to do it - and as a consequence, be branded as cruel by the one person whose opinion I valued above all others. Additionally, the thought of the Doctor standing alone outside my stateroom, the door slammed in his face, was enough to cause a sincere ache in my chest. Since when did this man deserve my sympathy?

And yet he looked so pitiful last night when I had expressed a desire to be away from him – and I myself was so dismal as a result - could I really inflict that level of misery again?

I could not – and Arrow knew that. He must have read my face that morning and saw that I was being resolute in my behaviour, continuing to inflict unhappiness on myself. And so, he enforced a situation that I could not refuse - the absolute scoundrel!

And so, I begrudgingly came to a conclusion. My claws retracted, I looked away from Arrow's challenging stare, and moved aside. "Of course not; do come on in, Doctor."

The Doctor blinked in shock and, for a moment, remained as still as a statue before remembering where he was. He stumbled into my stateroom with all the elegance of a lumbering bullyadous, tripping over his own feet in his hurry to quit his dawdling before either Arrow or I made a comment about it. He blundered his way over the threshold and I closed the door behind him, sealing myself to my own doom for the evening.

"I…I hope you know how to play gin rummy, Doctor?" I asked as we both took our seats and I began to shuffle the deck with stiff movements.

"Oh-oh…well, I have heard…but…er-no, no, I do not – I must admit, I have never really played many card games before…" The Doctor answered has he began to remove his red coat and hang it on the back of his chair. I kept my own coat and gloves on; he and Arrow might be hoping for a relaxing evening of cards, but I was in no such mood to unwind now.

"No matter," I replied. "I am sure Mr Arrow and I can teach you."

At the mention of his name, Arrow looked up and our eyes met. I took the opportunity to glare at him – the Doctor was too busy fumbling with his coat to catch me narrow my eyes at my traitor of first mate. Arrow was unmoved.

"It is a rather simple game to understand, Doctor," He commented, turning away my from glare, and from there delved into a detailed explanation of the rules of gin rummy. The Doctor followed along, nodding his head occasionally, as I dealt out the hands in silent fury.

My mind was racing with ferocious insults. I wanted nothing more than to sulk like a child but that was far too beneath my level. It was not until my teeth began to ache from the insistent grinding that I finally decided on a course of action: I opted to engage in as little conversation as possible and to let Arrow do all the heavy-lifting with entertaining our guest. After all, he had invited him - it was the perfect price to pay for his insubordination. Nevertheless, I would be polite and civil with Doctor Doppler. I did not believe it was his design to spend the evening trapped in company - no, this was all Arrow's scheming - the Doctor, I imaged, would have preferred to be out on the deck all night observing the stars and must have been strong-armed into this arrangement. Why would he ever chose to be trapped in a room in my unhappy company unless he was pressured into such a situation? This thought only infuriated me more at Arrow's audacity to orchestrate this affair, and I began to chew down on the inside of my cheek harder and harder.

"And often," Arrow began to conclude his run-down of gin rummy. "The Captain and I bet that the loser of the first game makes the tea as a forfeit. Do you drink tea, Doctor? I have often seen you with a cup of coffee in the wardroom but I cannot recall if I have ever seen you with tea?"

"I, uh, I usually do not b-but I won't turn it down." The Doctor cleared his throat awkwardly. "I think I have only ever had it the once."

"Oh yes, I remember – I do believe the Captain brought you some tea? While you were spacesick on the Magellan Bridge?" Arrow added innocently.

His question was met with an awkward moment of silence. The Doctor inspected his cards intently. "Yes," The Doctor replied with a squeaky voice. He cleared his throat to correct this. "Yes…it was…very nice…"

He was not the only one to recall the moment with discomfort; my own cheeks began to feel enflamed, remembering the shock and amusement on Arrow's face when he found me lurking outside of the Doctor's cabin with that blasted pot of tea. But then, I also remembered how pleasant I found that afternoon to be, spent in the Doctor's company in the wardroom…

I did not like what Arrow was trying to provoke here, so I quickly intercepted and changed the conversation. "If you prefer coffee, Doctor," I said, unclenching my jaw. "I am sure Mr Arrow will be happy to make you some when he loses."

Arrow chuckled. "Are you so confident in your cards, ma'am?"

I shot him a flinty look. "We shall see."

Unfortunately, Arrow did not lose that first game – I did. I was too furious with Arrow's impudence to concentrate on my cards and as a result, I made pathetic mistakes. By the time Arrow and Doctor Doppler revealed their melds, I threw my cards down on the desk and left my seat without so much as a glance at their faces. "Two teas and one coffee, then. Do you take milk and sugar, Doctor?"

It was fine – serving the tea and coffee gave me an excuse to remove myself from the table and their presence. I had purposefully over-sweetened Arrow's tea as a small act of revenge – it was a petty move but so was inviting the Doctor to cards in order to force us into each other's presence – and I must admit, seeing Arrow grimace as he swallowed his tea made me feel a little victorious. I raised a challenging eyebrow when he looked at me with thinly veiled disgust, but Arrow said nothing in retaliation – but he did not finish his cup.

Served him right, I say.

The evening passed with the sluggish pace that accompanies times that one does not enjoy. Very little conversation was said despite Arrow's attempts. He tried his best by telling the Doctor about how we often meet for such games as a way to entertain ourselves during long voyages, but I did not engage and the Doctor did not seem to have much to say in return. Meanwhile, the Doctor turned out to be a rather good card-player. There were some early teething troubles (his cards kept slipping through his fingers and revealing themselves) but he got the hang of things in the end. He is a quick learner indeed and, I must admit, a man of many hidden talents despite his obvious clumsiness.

Even Arrow commented on this when after a few games, the Doctor showed his melds to reveal that he had indeed won again. "Why, Doctor," Arrow exclaimed. "Are you sure you have not played gin rummy before? You play as easily as the Captain and I do, and we are well-practised I can assure you."

The Doctor had the good grace to blush at this praise. "No – no, I-I have never played this game before. To be honest, I can't recall the last time I ever played a game of cards. My university days, perhaps? I am not sure – but even before then, I never really played with cards."

"Not even the odd game of beggar-my-neighbour as a child?"

"No, not even that – my parents preferred for me to play more logical or educational games." The Doctor said shyly and began to rub the back of his neck. "They were always encouraging me to play with chemistry sets or chess boards rather than packs of cards."

"Chess?" Arrow turned his head. Even I looked up at this in surprise; through all our conversations together, he had never mentioned anything about chess before. In spite of myself, I was intrigued. "You are more of a chess player, then Doctor?"

"Yes – I was part of the University of Montressor's Chess Society while I studied there. I have never really been one to socialise but it was a rather fun way to fill the gaps between my lectures. The Society had a tournament every month and sometimes we played against others outside of the University – guests from Crescentia, some of the local gentlemen's clubs, and-" The Doctor elaborated, and babbled on quite happily, but when he saw that he had caught my attention, he shrunk back into his shell. "But…that was a long time ago. I haven't played competitively since."

In retrospect, it should come as no surprise that a man such as Doctor Doppler would be interested in a game of logic and tact like chess. People of high intelligence often gravitate to such a recreational hobby; I myself was an avid player as youth. My grandfather and I would spend hours playing in his study and when I was sent to boarding school, some of us students would gather in the recreation room to challenge one another. Even at the Academy, we would sometimes play speed chess in the mess although we never went as far as organising tournaments. It was seen more as a way to pass the time or to make bets over than to exercise one's mind with a puzzle.

But I was rather surprised that the Doctor admitted he had played competitively in the past. However – Montressor, while a large planet, is one populated with labourers rather than scholars and I doubt that the Doctor had much competition. The man has picked up navigation so quickly, I am confident that he had no issue slaughtering half a dozen players on the chess board in one sitting. He is rather intelligent, after all.

"Well! What a coincidence!" Said Arrow while I mused on this new information about the Doctor. "That is another thing you and the Captain have in common! The Captain was an excellent chess player in her school days too! Her father and I-"

"Arrow, please!" I interrupted with alarm. My mouth had suddenly gone dry at the mere mention of my father – and right in front of Doctor Doppler! I flashed Arrow a furious glare as a warning and desperately tried to reign in my panic so it would not leak through in my voice. "I am sure the last thing Doctor Doppler wants to hear about is that nonsense!"

Arrow wisely closed his mouth at this, but the damage had already been done.

"You…you play chess too, C-Captain?"

I stopped glaring at Arrow and met the Doctor's eyes. It was the first time I had properly looked at him that evening – and I noticed that he had brushed up rather smartly for this gathering. He had polished his spectacles, there was not a hair out place on his head, and I am sure that he was wearing a new cravat (this new one was a more powdered blue, rather than the typical fawn one he had worn previously). However, what was more apparent was the timid look in his eyes. For a moment, I had wondered if I had finally succeeded in my attempts to alienate him and the Doctor had reverted to cowering in company, but then I realised that I had been staring and stalled in answering his question.

"A long time ago…" I echoed the Doctor's earlier words hesitantly. "Chess sets do not keep well in space – they take up so much room in a spacer's chest and pieces are lost more often than not. But, as Mr Arrow said, I used to play, but I have not had the chance in many years. I gave up trying to haul a chess set around with me when I started spacing and instead reverted to keeping a pack of cards as they are far easier to keep intact. Although, this set has surely seen better days."

I made a point of holding up one of the cards, which had scuffed edges and creased lines where a corner had been bent, before I dealt it into my own hand. With the cards dealt, we each picked up our own piles and began to organise our cards.

"I never got on with the game myself." Arrow added and held up one of his enormous hands. "I have always found it rather difficult to move the pieces without knocking the rest over."

"Come now, Arrow, when have you ever been anything but graceful?" I said rather cheekily. Arrow did not rise to the jest and instead, chuckled and returned to reorganising his cards.

For a little while, nothing was said and the game continued. While we played another round, the Doctor kept throwing hopeful little glances my way – clearly, he was gathering up the courage to say something. I kept quiet and avoided his gaze as so not to encourage him.

"Actually…" He coughed up eventually as his turned passed. "I – um – I-I-I have brought…ahem, I have brought a set with me."

"Of cards?"

"N-no…a chess set." He blushed hotly and returned his eyes to his hand. "I-if you ever wanted to play, that is."

I kept my eyes low and threw down a deadwood card. It was a rather personal invitation – Arrow had just admitted that he did not play, and so we would only have each other as opponents. Why he would want to engage myself in a game of chess, I do not know - but what I did know was that nothing good could come about of it.

"Not particularly," I answered flatly. "It has been so many years, I doubt I could even remember how to play. I am sure neither of us would find it very entertaining."

My rejection of this invitation hung in the air. "Oh." The Doctor said softly and pressed his lips together slightly in a meek attempt at a smile, but the disappointment was clearly reflected in his voice. "Not to worry."

He was not the only one left feeling disappointed – had he asked me a few days ago, prior to his insult towards me, then I probably would have agreed heartily. Chess was one of my fancies as a youth and I would have enjoyed to play it again, especially against such a worthy opponent. But circumstances being what they were, I refused – and I felt a small twang of guilt at this. I was scolding myself for this culpability I had felt, when Arrow suddenly threw down his cards.

"Well, I for one fancy a change." He declared as the Doctor and I looked at him with wide eyes and raised eyebrows. "I have grown rather tired of card games. Chess would be a rather nice change, don't you agree, Captain?"

I blinked in shock and looked at Arrow incredulously. "But you do not play, Arrow? How could you possibly be entertained-"

"I am sure that watching the Doctor and yourself play will amuse me enough. Aren't you bored of playing the same game of cards over and over again, Captain?"

"No, actually, I am not." I said sternly and dropped my own cards onto the desk. "But if you feel that jaded of gin rummy, then perhaps we could play whist instead? I am sure we can find some way to make it work with just us three."

"I would much rather watch you and the Doctor play a few games of chess. I find whist rather tedious." Arrow insisted, and I was quickly growing suspicious that this was another part of his ridiculous plan to mediate between the Doctor and I. "You used to be a very talented chess player, and I am sure the Doctor here-"

"I have just said that I do not remember how to play."

Arrow looked at me squarely; clearly, he did not believe me. "I have no doubt that you will pick it up again rather quickly."

I scrunched up my nose and bit back a furious hiss, but I did not drop Arrow's gaze for I had reached my boiling point. This needed addressing immediately. "Fine then." I snapped acidly. "Doctor, go fetch your chess set."

The Doctor, who had slowly been sinking in his chair during this exchange, squeaked like a rodent when I mentioned his name and was out of the door in a flash; so quickly, in fact, that he forgot to retrieve his coat. The moment he vacated the room and my cabin door shut, I turned on Arrow and unleashed the fury that had been building up all evening.

"You are despicable!" I spat out venomously. "Seriously – what the Hell do you think you are doing? If you wish to be a mediator, then by all means visit the nearest embassy and ask if they will take you on as a diplomat, but do not play these games of yours on my ship! It is insolent to say the least!"

"I mean no disrespect, Captain-"

"No disrespect?" I cried in disbelief. "Then tell me Arrow, what is it that I am meant to find respectful about inviting the man – the man that I have explicitly stated that I am trying to distance - to play cards? You know exactly how I feel about Doctor Doppler – I have told you multiple times how uncomfortable I feel about him – and yet you have gone behind my back to orchestrate this contemptable convene! You have betrayed me, Arrow!"

To this, Arrow frowned. "I would never betray you in any sense-"

"You have done so this very night! You have connived to bring the Doctor here despite knowing that I do not want to speak to him any more than is necessary – or have you not listened to a damn word I have said these past few days?"

"I have listened to you, ma'am. I have listened to every word you have said, read every expression in your face – and it is clear to me exactly what is going on here." Arrow grumbled in return, his voice like a rolling thunder. He stared me down with a paternal sense of anger in his scowl. I bridled instinctively; my nose was now scrunched and my teeth threatening to bare themselves. "I saw the photograph on your desk yesterday. I know that you have been thinking of your family recently-"

"You have no right interfering in my business like this!"

"-Trying to exercise your mind, abstaining from eating, pretending that you are unaffected when you so clearly are. We have been here before - five years ago. So let us get to the crux of that matter: why do you still believe yourself to be a source of shame for your family?"

My cheeks burned. "What does that- why would you ask- I-" I looked away and crumpled in my chair, lifting a hand to cover my face as my protests died on my tongue. "Because – because look at me, Arrow!"

Arrow's scowl melted away. "I don't understand, Captain – I see a decorated officer, a bright and intelligent commander, an honourable leader-"

"Well that is not what I see!" I interjected, my voice now very thick. The old wounds that had been re-opened with Doctor Doppler's cutting remark were now oozing for all to see. "I see someone chased away from her command, who had she not quit first, she would have been dismissed for endangering her crew by wasting ammunition – dismissed, Arrow! What makes you so sure Father would not have thought me as capricious as those in the Admiralty do?"

"Captain, do you really think so little of your father? He loved you, Amelia, you were his pride and joy-"

"Precisely! When I was an officer, when I was quickly climbing the ranks of the Navy – Father was proud of me then. I have always striven to be like him, Arrow, to be like you – the finest of spacers! And look how far I have fallen – hounded out of the Navy for my actions, forced to work as a for-hire, nothing more than a mere reserve! Labelled as flippant and disregarding my crew's very lives – by a landlubber of all people! Do you truly think Father would be proud of me now?"

"I do." Arrow replied firmly.

I asked incredulously, "How can you be so sure?"

"Because I am here." At this, Arrow reached out a large hand to envelope my own. Despite my anger with him, I did not pull away from his comfort. "I was disgusted by how you were treated and your father would have been too. He would have seen the injustice that had been done, and would have been proud to see you stand firm to your beliefs - because that is precisely why I am proud of you now."

This took some time to settle in. Tears of humiliation were brimming my lids, and I slipped my hand away from Arrow's to wipe them away. "That's not enough…you can't be sure…"

"Is…is this why you have been so upset by Doctor Doppler's remarks?" Arrow asked gently, his voice lowering to a whisper although no one was near. I could not look at him; my hand concealed my face as I tried to collect myself. The Doctor could return at any moment and the last thing I wanted was for him to see me close to tears once again.

My head nodded stiffly and began to talk slowly. "You were right before, Arrow, I do quite like the Doctor. Despite our initial squabbles, I had more recently found it pleasing to be around him. You saw how well our conversation went at dinner, how I found some excuse to engage with him again the next day, and I find his work with the Astro Met Office to be rather admirable. I thought that perhaps…perhaps because he had shown an interest in my career, he was beginning to grow a similar respect for me. He was so amiable and then…then…"

I gave a sigh and shook my head. Arrow waited in patient silence. "He could not have said anything worse to me – and if the Doctor's opinion of me can change so sharply, then it is entirely possible that Father's could have too. If he believes that I do not take my responsibility so seriously, then what's to say Father would not look at my actions all those years ago and come to a similar conclusion?"

"If I may, ma'am, Doctor Doppler is still a stranger – no matter how amiable he is. Your father was your relation; it would take a lot more for him to ever disown you in such a way." Arrow gently reassured. "There are many more factors that differ the situations – Doctor Doppler is no spacer and does not understand such matters, where as your father would have seen how much care you hold for those under your protection. In addition, Doctor Doppler spoke out of anger that day and I believe his mouth ran away with him."

"No, Arrow, I believe he meant what he said. That is what has shaken me – I had helped him with his spacesickness after our spats, and yet he still viewed me as more concerned about my pride than of other's safety. If his opinion can change despite what was obvious, then who is to say Father would not have rejected me for losing my place in the Navy?"

"Your father and Doctor Doppler are two very different men, Captain."

"I know that, and yet I am still concerned by it all – how easily the Doctor accused me of being like those imbeciles in the Admiralty." I replied softly. A headache was approaching; I began to massage my temples to try and dissuade it from growing any stronger. "But you are right, Arrow. I have found myself missing the Doctor's company, but when he is in my presence, I find that I am pained by constant reminders of how pleasant it could all be…if only he hadn't lost his temper that day."

"Then…why haven't you allowed yourself to forgive him and resume this amity between yourselves?" Arrow enquired gently.

"And let myself be so affected by him again?" I shook my head. "No civilian, no financier has been able to hurt me with their words like Doctor Doppler has. Even now, when I see him, I find myself often recalling those atrocious words. If do forgive him and lower my guard again, then what is to stop him from changing his opinion of me once more and dealing another low blow?"

"The Doctor has been remorseful for his insult towards you. He regrets it most dearly – I saw this myself that very night."

"Are you so sure? He never came to me to apologise until after those exaggerations from Captain Yearnshaw-"

"Exaggerations?" Arrow interrupted with a frown.

"Yes – I never indulged you in the details of that meeting in the waiting room because I was so humiliated by it all. Once he discovered Doctor Doppler had not heard of my reputation prior to hiring me, Captain Yearnshaw decided to humour the Doctor with some old tales from my career while we waited – the affair with the fireship, to be exact. And then, when Doctor Doppler apologised to me later that evening, his praise of me was rather overstated. It seems he has gone from viewing me as a heartless, unfeeling disgrace to some kind of perfect war hero from his books – both of which are equally untrue versions of myself."

"But you still found him to be contrite when he apologised?"

"Yes – but for the right reasons? I am not so sure. In part, I believe him to have only apologised because Yearnshaw fed him this idealised version of myself, of some valorous hero with a bright plan to save everyone's lives."

Arrow gave me a crooked smile. "That does not sound so overstated to me, Captain."

"I burned people alive that day, Arrow, for the sake of some prize money."

"Pirates, ma'am." He corrected my choice of words. "Pirates who would have slaughtered you all if given the opportunity. Saving lives at the cost of lives – it is the Naval way. And if I remember correctly, it was your prize ship you set aflame at the cost of your own share in the winnings."

"I still earned something out of it all – I got a promotion, remember?"

"After first being court-martialled for damaging your own command with intent."

"I was honourably quitted." I argued back. "I gained more that day than I lost. What need did I have for prize money? The promotion meant more to me than a few thousand pounds could ever."

Arrow, however, was not dissuaded from the original topic of conversation. "So," He said, leaning back in his chair. "There we have it – you do not believe Doctor Doppler's apology to be a valid one because his change of mind came from 'embellished' tales of your bravery rather than actual regret over his actions? And so you fear that if you told him the particulars of that event, he would revoke his apology for the incorrect reading of your character he made that day? That, my Captain, is where you are wrong."

My ears perked up, and my eyes leapt from the woodwork of my desk to Arrow. "What makes you believe so?"

"Because Doctor Doppler already expressed a need to apologise to you when I had approached him in the wardroom that very night. I had half expected him to apologise to you during your watch. Perhaps he was just taking the time to gather his courage, but he had already come to the conclusion that he owed you an apology before we even docked at Waystation Victoria. So, it cannot have been what he heard in the waiting room that day that changed his mind. He knew that what he had accused you of being was wrong, and spoken out of anger, and had told me as such during our conversation in the wardroom."

"But then why didn't he…" I swallowed, then shook my head. "What does it matter? I still do not want to run the risk of him insulting me so again. If I do forgive him and-"

"Captain…" Arrow said so soothingly. "Doctor Doppler will not dare to do such a thing again. He has learnt his lesson. And if you were to tell him everything about how you saved those ships that day, I am confident that he will not change his mind about you again. For your own good, Captain, let down your guard."


It was a very compelling argument.

A part of me was ready to listen to Arrow's advice and give in, to allow myself the company and small moments of pleasantry I had been craving since that fateful day. It would make living on this ship bearable again. I was tired of feeling so miserable.

But my stubbornness willed me to make excuses: the Doctor had wounded me, he had caused me to doubt myself, he had resurfaced my insecurities that had not reared their ugly heads since I was left unemployed from retiring. I would never forgive anyone else for such hurtful behaviour, so why should Doctor Doppler of all people get a free pass?

But Doctor Doppler could not be blamed for that.

That was not his intent when he accused me that day.

And, if Arrow was to be believed, then the Doctor had already seen the error of his ways before ever hearing those overstated tales from Captain Yearnshaw. But then why had he not come to me and apologised sooner? Was it that he really lacked the courage, or was he secretly clinging to some kind of belief that he was in the right?

For a while, these doubts lingered within me until, finally, I concluded on a plan of action. I decided that it was only correct that Doctor Doppler was told the full story about that part of my history he showed oh-so-much interest in during that wait at the Victualling Yard. His reaction to it would be the deciding factor: if he truly did not change his remorseful ways, then I would allow myself to show a rare moment of forgiveness.

But – if his attitude changed – if he seemed to go back on his apology - then it would be the final nail in the coffin.

The ball was in his court, and I would be blameless.


"I will…talk to Doctor Doppler, Arrow."

I finally spoke up after a long moment of silent pondering. Arrow's face lit up upon hearing this; he closed his eyes and said let out a long, held breath. "It will be for the better, Captain, for all of us. It has pained me to see you in such a depressive mood for this long. I could not let it go on any longer without interfering." He began to go on this small rant about how I was making the right decision, when I held up a hand to stop him.

"But don't you ever try something like this again. I mean it –I know you promised my family to always be there for me, but I am not a child anymore." I warned gravely, my scowl returning. "This whole plan of yours to force the Doctor in my company has not resolved anything, but only incited my anger."

Arrow did not waste any time in defending his actions. Instead, he took this with a solemn look. "I apologise for forcing you into such a difficult position, ma'am. You have my word – I will not interfere again."

"Good, and another thing - I do not appreciate you strong-arming Doctor Doppler into being here tonight. Your actions have been as unfair to him as they have been to me. You should not have pressured him to be somewhere he did not need nor want to be. Leave him to his star-gazing; you should apologise to him for misleading him here tonight."

"What makes you believe that I pressured the Doctor to be here tonight?" Arrow asked with a quirked brow and a slight musing to his voice.

I rolled my eyes. "Isn't it obvious? An astronomer like him would hardly miss the chance to observe Saxonite to play cards, much less with someone he knows can hardly stand to be in his presence!"

Arrow's dark eyes began to glitter with amusement. "Oh, I promise Captain - Doctor Doppler did not take much convincing to join us. Between watching Saxonite tonight or spending an hour here in your company, I had an inkling to which he would prefer – and I was correct."

"Don't be absurd," I scoffed. "Why would he ever prefer to be here tonight rather than out on the deck with a telescope?"

Arrow opened his mouth but did not have the chance to answer; at that moment, my stateroom door swung open to reveal a dishevelled Doctor Doppler, slightly out of breath and clutching a beaten leather case to his chest.

"I-I finally found it! Oh – I really should have knocked – err, but I-I"

"No matter, Doctor," I quickly put an end to his useless faffing, but my questioning gaze still lingered on Arrow. I could not imagine what else he had to say, but it was no matter – I simply had to wait until the Doctor was not privy to the conversation. Speaking of whom, I decided to turn my attention back to the unfortunate situation at hand. "Bring it here."

The Doctor approached and set down his case upon my desk. It looked rather like a briefcase but it had the completely wrong dimensions. The Doctor unclipped the silver latches and the case popped open; inside was chess set that looked almost as beaten as my pitiable deck of cards. There chips in the wood of the board, and the paint flaking in some areas of the pieces. A knight – I would later discover – was missing an ear.

"I should apologise for its state," The Doctor explained as he began to set the board, giving me the honour of playing white. "This is an old hand-me-down from my family. I thought it best to bring it along rather than risk damaging my finer set."

"A wise decision, Doctor," Arrow commented. "As the Captain mentioned earlier, it is very easy for delicate objects to be damaged during rough spacing."

"Precisely why most of the furniture around here is connected to the floor." I also decided to elaborate on the subject while I waited patiently for the Doctor to finish, my eyes averted to my folded hands to avoid making eye contact. "Unfortunately, one cannot do that with every single one of their belongings."

"N-no…that would be a bit of a hassle…"

The Doctor quickly finished setting up the board and I lifted my gaze to see that some of the pieces were a little off-centre and crooked for my liking. The overall state of the board could not be helped, but I reached out a hand to properly align some of my pieces. I must admit, I felt rather nostalgic once I ran my fingertips over the distantly familiar shapes.

With my pieces aligned and the Doctor once again in his seat, we began our game.

"I hope you do not mind playing black, Doctor?" I enquired politely as I moved my first piece – a simple pawn – forward.

"Of course n-not, Captain." He responded as he too made his first move. "As you said that it has been a long time since you last played, I-I thought it would be best…until you get the hang of it."

"How very kind of you."

I glanced up from the board; the Doctor face tinged pink upon this small compliment. He did not reply (wisely, I believe, for if he had tried to his tongue surely would have tied itself into knots) and we continued to play - but it was not long until I spat out a mocking laugh in spite of myself. "Tell me, Doctor, do you mean to insult my intelligence with such a play?" I asked a little disdainfully.

The Doctor turned as red as a ripe apple and looked up in slight alarm. Arrow, who was watching the game unfold in silence, frowned. "What do you mean, Captain?" He asked as his eyes searched the board for the obvious offence.

"Our Doctor Doppler is attempting the Scholar's Mate." I smirked at the canid's audacity. "A very basic chess opening. See here – he has moved his bishop and his queen to attack my F7 square. One more move and he will have me at checkmate. Most novice players would fall for it immediately, and if he were playing against one, the Doctor would have won himself the game in a few moves. Alas, he is not and this opening is very easy to block. A bold move by you, Doctor, to try and embarrass me by finishing the game in so few moves."

"Well…" The Doctor cleared his throat awkwardly. "You did say earlier that you could not remember much about chess, so I thought…I-I did not mean to offend-"

"No offence has been taken, Doctor." I cut in sharply, moving my queen decisively to block his attempts to take the game. "The objective is to win, after all. I would have done the same."

The Doctor was still quite frazzled at my comment. He gave me a rather curious look before he reached out a hesitant hand to move his next piece, changing his strategy. Surely, he was incredibly puzzled as to where he stood with me; after all, I had suddenly changed my tune in the matter of moments. I had ignored him for the most of that evening after spending days saying very little to him at all, and now all of sudden, I was now complimenting his tactics. It would have been enough to leave anyone else scratching their heads in confusion – and this is was, in part, my intention, for his confusion gave me the early advantage during that game.

But the Doctor's overall prowess with the game soon shone through his social awkwardness. He won that first game after nearly forty minutes of play. He had cornered my king, and after much time attentively studying the board, I reached out and resigned.

"Very well played, Doctor."

"T-thank you, Captain," The Doctor thanked. "Would- would you like to play again?"

"Yes, I will indulge in another game." I answered. "I do believe it all coming back to me now, and I may have some tricks up my sleeve."

The Doctor looked up and met my eye. I did not look away; instead, I saw the challenging glint that shone in them, building with his confidence. I kept my face passive, but inwardly I was smirking at such a searching look the Doctor was giving. "Perhaps," he spoke after clearing his throat. "It would be in my benefit to play white this time?"

The corners of my mouth twitched, but I still refused to smile. "Perhaps." I answered indifferently. "If you are so afraid."

"I'm…not the kind of person to take chances."

"A pity."

Our toying talk was interrupted by a shifting to my left. I broke my firm eye contact with the Doctor to see Arrow rising from his chair, the floorboards creaking under his weight. "Bored already, Arrow?" I jested playfully.

Arrow chuckled. "No, Captain, but I do believe my legs would benefit from a turn around the room. Please, carry on. I shall observe while walking."

He did just that – the Doctor and I commenced another game, this time with my financier playing the white pieces, and Arrow circled the room in a slow pace. He often at times approached the table to observe a few moves, before turning to the window to stare out at the Etherium or to remove himself to the sideboard to make another round of tea.

The Doctor and I paid no notice of his movements, for we were both too invested in our game. This time, we both played far more aggressively; I made one or two surprising moves that caused the Doctor's mouth to gape open or for him to lean back in his chair and press a thumb against his lips. Once I caught him in a fork, and the poor Doctor spent nearly a whole twenty minutes deliberating which piece he would rather risk losing. I simply sat back and sipped my tea that Arrow had brought me, watching him squirm. Evidently, he finds it rather difficult to hide his true emotions and I could read the panic written across his face as easily as I could read a book. In the end, he chose to save neither. He instead moved his rook, placing it in a far stronger position, and thus cut off a route I had planned to take and hoped that he would miss.

Clever, I mused.

It was not much later into the game when Arrow raised his voice to interrupt our play. "Your samovar has run dry, ma'am." He said, approaching the desk once more. "May I leave for a moment to visit the galley and have it refilled?"

The Doctor seemed to falter at this. His hand had been half reached out to move a rook, but he hesitated and paused with his fingertips grazing the painted wood.

But I was too invested into the game to come to the same realisation as he did. I did not even lift my eyes from the board, too concerned with how the Doctor clearly aimed to pin my knight with his rook. "Of course, Arrow," I said impulsively. It was not until Arrow was out of the door did I finally notice that the Doctor and I had been left alone. My gut began to churn and I finally looked up. Sure enough, my stateroom was vacant apart from myself and the figure sat opposite me, who had bent over the board in a laborious attempt to appear so interested in the game.

For a few moments, we played in silence – both pretending in vain that we were oblivious to the fact that we were now alone. Neither of us spoke. The only sounds that echoed around the room was the gently tapping of our moving pieces against the wooden board and of our own breathing. It was tense; it was awkward, for a lack of a better phrase. Neither of us wanted to be the first to speak, although I am sure we both had much to say.

Finally, our game came to an end. To my great frustration, we had reached a stalemate. While I had still a rook, knight, and a pawn left on the board, the Doctor was left with only a single rook – and yet the Doctor positioned his only piece in such a way that if I took it, there was no legal way for me to take his King. It was incredibly unsatisfying – I had the decisive advantage and yet a mistake a few turns ago had thrown my victory away.

"A draw," I said bitterly and leaned back in my chair with a heavy sigh. "Rather disappointing, don't you agree, Doctor?"

"Well…I suppose it is better than losing."

"For you, maybe, but when one holds the advantage for so long, it is maddening to see it all thrown away in a single move."

The Doctor almost immediately began to rearrange the pieces once again. "How about another game to rectify it?" He asked but had already assembled half of our armies together, and he had asked with such enthusiasm that I could not refuse – even if I wanted to.

"I agree; I am afraid I cannot leave until I have reached a satisfying conclusion." I replied with a nod.

"And I imagine the only satisfying conclusion you will find is if you win?"

In spite of myself, a gentle laugh escaped from me. "Quite…"

We once again fell into a silence, and I found myself beginning to chew my lip. Arrow was purposefully taking his time in the galley, no doubt – most likely he wanted me to go through with my plan to talk to Doctor Doppler before I had the chance to change my mind once again. Strike while the iron is hot, I suppose. Nonetheless, it was still a difficult topic to approach, and I had to be tactful.

Talking to Doctor Doppler was beginning to feel like a game of chess in its own right.

Finally, I decided to bite the bullet so I cleared my throat and began just as I reached out to make the first move in our new round of chess. "I suppose, Doctor, that I owe you an…explanation."

The Doctor looked up from the board with a slight look of confusion. "An explanation, Captain?"

"Well, more like a story – the one Captain Yearnshaw had begun to tell before he was interrupted back at the Victualling Yard?" I replied with a half a shrug. "But I must warn you, it is not at all as glamorous as Captain Yearnshaw made it out to be. You see, Captain Yearnshaw has been out of the service for quite some time and now has a rather rose-tainted view of his past experiences."

The Doctor blinked in surprise, his gaze lingering on mine. "You – you don't have to, Captain, if you don't wish to." He said with some hesitancy, his voice dropping to a whisper. "I-I understand that you are rather private person…"

"No; I would like to finish the tale. I believe that Captain Yearnshaw's embellishments of my character has left a somewhat unfitting impression on yourself and I cannot let myself allow you continue under these illusion." I replied with a dismissive wave of my hand.

"Wh-what makes you think that I'm under some illusion?"

I cleared my throat. "Something you said when you…apologised for your previous actions…has stayed with me since. And I believe that it is only fair I should correct Captain Yearnshaw's erroneous praise of myself."

"It won't change my remorse." The Doctor said suddenly and firmly. "I know what I said was wrong, and-"

I almost faltered but I recovered swiftly. "Please, Doctor, humour me." I interrupted.

"Y-yes, Captain." He said softly. He closed his mouth and fell silent.

Thus, I began.

"Now – I believe Captain Yearnshaw had begun to tell you about our little victory on the Desolate Fields? We had been sent to the area to clean out a nest of pirates – they had swarmed to the area like flies to a corpse after some new trade routes had been established. I was serving upon the RLS Clemency at the time as a Lieutenant, and we had been capturing pirate vessels left, right, and center. Nothing impressive at first, just mere schooners and small ships. Finally, we had the luck to take a pirate galleon – one similar to the size of the Legacy – and our Captain decided it was time to cash in his chips. There were eight ships in total, and each ship was given a prize crew of fitting size and a commander to take them back to the nearest port to claim the prize money. I was assigned to the pirate galleon, Captain Yearnshaw to another smaller ship (he was a Lieutenant at the time too, but my inferior in seniority) and our little convoy left the task force."

While I told the tale of that fateful day when I won my commission as a Commander, we still continued to play our little game of chess. The Doctor was far too enraptured to truly pay attention to his moves, but I kept one eye on the board and the other on his face as I carefully and slowly recounted the story.

"We were three days of sail west when we spotted four ships on the approach. They were not naval ships – these were pirate frigates, larger and more armed than any of us were. They hunted us down while the other commanders and I were in frantic counsel on what to do. We could not fight; we were easily out matched. We could not outrun them; most of the prize ships had taken damage in the skirmishes when we claimed them and were not running at full capacity. We were at the risk of being captured, but more likely to be killed – pirates are not the most merciful of opponents, and do not follow any articles of war. Then, I hatched a plan – tell me, Doctor, do you know what exactly a fireship is?"

"I do – there have been a few in books I have read. They're ships set on fire and sent towards enemies to scare them." He answered, pushing his glasses further up his nose, rather pleased with a move he had made with his bishop piece.

"That is the conventional use." I said with a nod. "To spacers aboard flammable ships filled with combustibles, fire is the deadliest peril. Fireships have been used to destroy ships in ports, to cause panic and scatter a fleet's formation – but they are difficult to handle and are a great gamble to use. But if done correctly, they can be extremely effective."

"So you sent your ship on fire and sent it towards the pirates?"

"No – not exactly." I closed my eyes and looked away. "These pirates were too far apart for a fireship to work effectively. Even if by chance one left it too late to try and outmanoeuvre it, we would still have the other three to deal with. For a fireship to work, we would have to draw all four frigates close to a singular ship and hope they caught fire. A near impossible task."

"So…what did you do?"

Here, I took a deep breath. "I surrendered my ship. She was the largest, the best prize amongst them all. I knew that if I ran up a white flag, all four frigates would flock to her immediately. Pirates are greedy, selfish creatures; even if the Captains of the four ships had drawn some kind of agreement, there was no doubt they would squabble amongst themselves for the right to my prize ship. So that is what I did – I ordered all the ship's ammunition, paint, everything flammable and explosive to be stored in one room. We ran a line of rope from that room down the corridor and set it alight. We ran up a white flag, and evacuated the ship immediately."

"Sure enough, my prediction was correct – the four pirate frigates went straight to her to claim her. Our longboats had just reached Captain Yearnshaw's sloop when my prize ship exploded. I had never heard a noise like it; it was as though a hundred cannons had fired simultaneously. She was completely destroyed. Sparks and flames went flying in all directions. All four pirate frigates were caught in the blast. It was like a chain reaction: their rigging and sails went up in flames, their own armouries exploded like fireworks. They did not even have time to reach their own longboats. I watched from the deck of Captain Yearnshaw's prize sloop as those four frigates burned to a crisp, killing everyone aboard."

A long silence fell after that. I swallowed thickly, my ears set back in contrition, and risked a glance at the Doctor's face. To my surprise, it was void of any horror or disgust; he only looked mournful.

"But…but you saved everyone else on those other prize ships?" He asked gently.

"Yes, yes I did. Our prize crews were safe, along with the pirate prisoners we were escorting, and when we pulled into port, the commanders of each prize ship was paid a hefty sum as a reward – apart from myself." I sighed and moved a piece on the chess board. "But despite all that, I would not call my actions that day noble or valiant – no matter what people like Captain Yearnshaw believe. It was trickery, and all I sacrificed was some money, at the cost of many lives."

"But those pirates would have killed you." The Doctor frowned. "Your actions – at a minimum – were in self-defence. You had no other choice."

"I understand that. The fact that I had a self-interested desire to stay alive goes without saying, but even so, I do not enjoy hearing others talk about my actions that day with such…enthusiasm. Truly, I have no anger towards Captain Yearnshaw; his situation is a miserable one, and I cannot blame him for holding such events as fond memories. He was not the one who came up with the trick, nor was it his orders that caused all those people to burn alive that day. It was mine, and my responsibility alone."

The Doctor turned quiet. We sat in silence as he thought, until he moved a pawn forward, and rubbed his chin considerately. Seeing him thinking so in depth made my gut clench, for his reaction would be the deciding factor in how I chose to move forward: would I be forgiving, or would he condemn me as a cruel person who never gave their enemies a fighting chance at survival?

But then, finally, he spoke: "It…changes nothing, you know? I was…I was still in the wrong to say the things I did that day."

My breath seemed to catch in my lungs. "Even if I am hardly the honourable hero Captain Yearnshaw made me out to be?" I asked with an arched eyebrow. "Those pirates were never even given the chance to surrender. Some would say what I did was cowardly, or shameful."

"You still did not deserve to hear the things that I said. I misspoke out of fear and anger that day, and said things that I knew deep down were not true. You had already been kind to me, helping me with my spacesickness and all. It was very hypocritical to call you uncaring. I- I am still very sorry, Captain." The Doctor answered earnestly. He looked up from the board and met my eyes – and yet once again, I saw his own shining with a silent plea. "I know…I know you have not forgiven me, but please – do not doubt that I regret my actions. I still feel the shame daily, and…I wish I had not lost my temper. Nothing Captain Yearnshaw said, or anything you have done in the past will change that. I made a grave mistake and…I knew it from the moment I said it. I'm sorry."

My head felt as though it was floating ten feet above my shoulders. These were the words I had not even realised that I had been hoping to hear. All the past days of sincereness and contriteness from him had finally come to a pinnacle. He truly was his amiable, affable self again – and I dearly hoped that he would remain that way.

I allowed myself to smile a small amount. "Then now, I can take your apology in good consciousness…and in return, extend my forgiveness."

The Doctor sat straight in his chair, his eyes brightening with joy. "Really?" He exclaimed.

"Yes – really, really." I answered with an amused nod. "But I warn you, Doctor – I am not a naturally forgiving person. You should be rather honoured that I have found it within myself to do so. It will not happen a second time, I promise you."

"I don't doubt that." The Doctor sobered visibly as my tone became less teasing and more serious. "And I promise you, Captain, that I will not insult you so again. I-I have more than learnt my lesson."

I took his oath with nothing more than a nod, and so we continued playing. After a short while, the Doctor cleared his throat. I looked up to see him smiling shyly to himself. "For what it's worth, I-I think you are underplaying yourself. To come up with the that fireship idea and to somehow make it work, despite the odds – it was rather genius of you."

"But the honourable thing to do would have been to fought them head on, and given them a chance to surrender or fight for their lives."

"No – you won through tact. You said you were outnumbered and outgunned. To have fought them head on would have been suicidal, so you used whatever means to had to ensure your victory. A battle is a bit like chess, isn't it? And didn't you say that winning is the objective? You did what you had to, there's nothing shameful or cowardly in that. No wonder you are such a fearsome chess player."

For some reason, the Doctor's compliment brought a blush to my face. I looked away quickly and hoped fervently that he had not noticed. "You are too kind, Doctor, but, I wonder how you can call me a fearsome chess player when I have yet to actually win?"

"You are certainly giving me a run for my money, Captain."

"Well, considering how well practised you are at this game, I am more than flattered." I said softly, my unease fading with each passing second. "And may I ask a question?"

"Of course?"

"You stated earlier that you have not played competitively in a very long time, so why did you feel compelled to bring a chess set aboard with you even though you had no guarantee of an opponent?"

Now it was the Doctor's turn to blush deeply. "Well, ahem, I still do play – just not against anyone. So, I-I just brought it to keep me occupied."

"You mean…you play against yourself?"

The Doctor met my eyes and gave me a shy, somewhat-embarrassed smile. "It's not nearly as much fun as with someone else but…I make do."

"But…do you truly have no one to play against?" I asked, somewhat sympathetic. At least I have never been forced into such a situation; I have always had someone around me to keep my company, even in games other than chess – Arrow, my family, classmates, fellow officers in the wardroom. "What about Mrs Hawkins? I do not mean to pry but – from an earlier conversation, I had assumed you both were close friends?"

"Who – Sarah? Oh, Sarah doesn't play chess. Besides, she's far too busy between raising Jim and running her Inn – well, she used to run her Inn."

"And there's…no one else?" I knew that I was treading into rather murky waters, caught between my own curiosity, and not wanting to be intrusive.

"No, no – I live alone. I have for many years. I used to play frequently with my parents but they're both…gone. And – and there's no one else around." The Doctor answered rather awkwardly and moved his hands around his body, unsure where to rest them. He finally decided to scratch his neck. "I, um, I live quite the bachelor's life I'm afraid."

I flinched inwardly, for I must have hit a sore spot. I had nothing to say in return, until a thought struck me. I claimed the Doctor's knight from the board and then spoke calmly. "I used to play against my grandfather until he passed away."

This caused the Doctor to look up sharply with his brown eyes as wide as plates. He grew frightfully still, as though the shock had frozen him in place. "Your… grandfather?"

"Yes," I nodded and smiled fondly at the memories of evenings spent with my grandfather in his study, playing chess near the fire, and pleading with my aunt not to send me to bed until our game had concluded. "My grandfather was my guardian for most of my childhood, and he was the one who taught me how to play chess. You see, my mother died when I was small, and my father was often away on deployment. Thus I spent most of my youth on my grandfather's estate. He was my main opponent, although sometimes I would challenge my father to game. We would play whenever he was home but those moments were few and far in between."

I left this new information to hang in the air until the Doctor could come to terms with what he was hearing: myself opening up about my history, a history I had guarded so fiercely in our past conversations. I just knew that he was frantically wondering in his mind what this all meant, and why I had decided now to be more liberal with the particulars of my life. This frantic thinking was clearly reflected in his eyes, which had yet to blink in over a minute. I watched him from under hooded eyes and waited, watching the blush colour deepen on his cheeks, until I dropped this comment:

"He is the man in that photograph you found in my textbook. You did no doubt notice the similarities between us, hm? Sans the facial hair, of course."

His reaction was exactly how I expected him to behave. The Doctor's jaw dropped. His king, which he had been moving, slipped from his grasp and clattered against the board. He stammered and coughed, his face turning an even brighter red. "I-I-I-"

"It's alright, Doctor," I tried my best to smother the smirk threatening to cross my face. "It was my mistake not checking my textbooks before I handed them over."

"But-but-but- but how did you know?" He gasped, the look of disbelief still written clearly across his face. "I thought I was so inconspicuous returning those books without-"

"I am afraid, Doctor, that it was rather obvious you had an ulterior motive to return those textbooks to me."

The Doctor sighed in frustration. "It was?"

"Exceedingly." I replied, feeling more confident with each move of a chess piece. "I knew straight away that there was something wrong with those books. You gave yourself away; I am sorry to say it but you are extremely easy to read."

"I wish I wasn't." The Doctor replied with conviction, a sulky scowl morphing his features. "I do believe that life would be a little easier if I weren't so – so –"

"Expressive? Well, I must admit that I disagree. Sometimes, being able to hide one's thoughts and feelings so effortlessly can work against oneself. But then again, there are times when-"

I suddenly moved forward my Queen and checkmated his King, cornering it with a pawn to block his escape. I grinned triumphantly.

"-the talent does come in use."

The Doctor looked down and said nothing. He blinked a few times, dumbfounded. Finally, after many moments of staring at the board with a face like a dead fish, he found his voice. "You distracted me."

"Ah, well," I said, still grinning. "You allowed yourself to be distracted. And you should know by now that I will use whatever tools I have in my arsenal to win. As you said: winning is the objective, after all, and I do care very deeply about results."

Another long pause stretched between us. I was beginning to wonder if I had offended the Doctor into an angry silence when he finally raised his head. To my delight, I saw a happy smile stretched across his face and enthusiasm shining in his dark eyes – something, I had not even realised that I had dreadfully missed.

"I haven't lost a game in over ten years!" He spoke so cheerfully, despite his loss, that it lifted my spirits as well. He took the defeat gracefully but then, to my great amusement, he made this ill-worded statement: "Tactful indeed! Very impressive mating skills, Captain!"

He had not even noticed what he had said and continued to stare at the board in amazement, while my eyebrows shot up to my hairline and I choked on my own breath. "A poor choice of wording, Doctor." I coughed out after finally finding my tongue.

"Hm – what? Uh – oh…"

Well, never before have I seen a man so dearly wished the floor to open up and swallow him.

His mouth moved but there came no sound, until finally he shrunk into his chair and crushed his face into his hands as his whole head (including his ears) reddened with mortification, moaning in absolute embarrassment.

But I only began to laugh.

It was at this moment Arrow entered the room, carrying a hefty jug of water. He looked partly astonished, partly overjoyed to see me laughing so untroubledly. A warm smile slowly grew across his craggy face. "Have I missed something amusing, ma'am?"

"Indeed, Arrow, indeed." I said through my chortling, but refrained from repeating the Doctor's words. The canid himself even peeked through his finger to shoot me a pleading look, beseeching my silence. I held my tongue, much to his gratitude and Arrow's confusion. "Victory is mine, Mr Arrow." I announced proudly. "And now my samovar is filled, I shall celebrate with a final cup of tea before our rounds."

"Of course, ma'am," Arrow replied. "But perhaps you would prefer to drink it out on deck? Saxonite was spotted a while ago and we have already drawn alongside her, though she is many miles away."

Saxonite!

We both had forgotten! The Doctor and I were both so swept away with the intense concentration that comes with playing chess that the nearby planet had completely slipped our minds.

Upon hearing this, we both looked at each other in surprise and leapt to our feet. "Oh, Doctor, my apologies!" I said as we both began to tidy away the cards and chess pieces that littered my desk. "I had forgotten-"

"So had I, Captain!"

"I do hope this won't affect your research in any way-"

"No, no! I merely wanted to observe – it won't matter so much – it's just how many times will I get the opportunity to-"

"I understand."

We scrambled to hurry and clean up the mess while Arrow lingered by the sideboard, making one final round of tea to take with us out on to the deck. We made it out just in time to watch the planet pass our starboard side: a brilliant planet coloured a deep blue, wrapped in the coils of various planetary rings. Saxonite's ring system is one of the most impressive in the Empire, consisting mainly of water and rocks, that stretches for miles and miles all the way around the planet's sphere. Against the dark sky and glittering stars, it glowed like a precious sapphire.

A beautiful sight, and one many of the crew had emerged from their repose to observe. I even saw Mr Hawkins approach the gunwale of the ship, staring in awe – but yet none of them held a candle to the Doctor's admiration for such a stellar sight.

He could barely tear his eyes away from the view before him, and while he did stare with a wistful smile on his face, he blabbered numerous facts about Saxonite and its system with the same level of enthusiasm as a child would display while in a sweet shop. Many times, Arrow could catch my eye over his head and we would share a knowing smirk. One or twice, I rolled my eyes – but in truth, I must admit - I was rather pleased to have the Doctor back.