The revelry had long-since spilled from the Equator ring to the halls around it. Meeting rooms became impromptu party rooms; one empty storage hall became a dance hall, with drones carrying mirrored balls and lights weaving overhead.

But there was no violence, no vandalism, no damage.

Listening in on the Response teams responsible for security, Pirra was pleased to hear that so far the worst thing that had happened was a sprained wrist when someone had tripped. They had already been treated and returned to the party.

Just another story for Darkeve, along with the many that would never be told; triumphs chalked up to the goodness of spirit people brought to the day, and every failure chalked up to the ghosts of the Dark.

The parade and its events had broken up a little while ago, and with that Iago had told her he had best get home.

"I promised Cass we wouldn't be out too late," he told her, smiling lopsidedly. "So I need to go find Elliot."

"Awww, that's too bad. I mean, I understand," she had told him. "But this was fun."

"Yeah, it was nice to spend time together again," Iago said.

Iago had been a stranger for too long, she thought. For a time tonight it almost felt like it had when she'd first come to the Craton and become his lieutenant.

They had quickly become friends, and after a few missions, they had each showed the other their mettle. He had been senior, with more experience, but they'd always been closely matched in every other way.

"Does Elliot have class tomorrow?" she asked, strolling along with him still as he searched for his son. The boy had gone off a little while ago to find Hannah to give her the treat he'd gotten. Pirra still thought it was cute.

"No, nothing like that. But for Cass's faith this isn't a day for celebrating," Iago told her. "So after this we're going to go spend some quiet time with her."

"Oh," Pirra said, a little surprised. She shouldn't be; differing groups having different ways of celebrating certain holidays was not weird for her people, either.

"There he is," Iago said, spying Elliot through the crowds. "Hey, have a good night! Tell Alex I hope he feels better soon!"

"I will!" she chirped after him, waving a farewell.

Leaving the main Equator ring, Pirra weaved her way through one of the halls leading to the elevator back down into the Craton proper.

The hallways had many people in them, many loitering and still talking or drinking. One young couple were even necking wildly just outside the elevator.

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She stopped behind them, making a trill that got people's attention every time.

Startled, the young couple looked back to her.

"Get some privacy," she said, holding up her badge.

They hurried away, and Pirra watched them a moment, amused, before heading into the elevator.

Riding it down into the ship proper, she tried to feel the subtle turn as the elevator rotated to return her to the gravitational orientation of the rest of the ship.

It was about three seconds after the elevator began moving, but even knowing that it was hard to feel.

The elevator stopped, the doors opened, and she was startled to see Kessissiin standing there.

He was just as startled, his crest rising a few inches in alarm, pupils narrowing.

"Lt. Commander," he said quickly, snapping to attention. "I did not expect to run into you."

"It's fine," she said, hoping that her human hat hid her own surprise at least a little.

She felt oddly annoyed to have run into him here and now. She knew that half of Squad One were working security for the event, even knew that he was one of them. Most of the time, to bump into a member of her squad when she was out of uniform and they were on-duty was not an issue, but in this case it bothered her. She didn't know why.

She stepped out, and he fell into step next to her.

"Thank you for allowing me to work this event," Kessissiin said. "This is the first time I have experienced this human holiday. It's been . . . enlightening."

Pirra thought she could hear the disapproval in his voice. Granted, this was a rather wild party, but Dessei traditional holidays were very restrained affairs in general. Their tempers flared easily enough that they had to be. And Kessissiin was from a very traditional culture and family, she knew.

"Human holidays are great," she said. "This is among their most widely-celebrated. Even though it started as a spacer holiday, it has since spread even into their terrestrial populations."

"Really," Kessissiin said, clearly uninterested in the history lesson.

"Yes. It's hundreds of years old."

"Only hundreds?" he asked. The question could have been rude; it was hard to tell from his tone. His body signals were too controlled at the moment to give more context.

"Yes," she said. "Not nearly as old as ours, but still quite old."

"It does not compare to Emahha, certainly," Kessissiin said.

"Well, few things do," Pirra replied. "A nine-thousand year old holiday is hardly a fair comparison."

"True," he admitted, seeming mollified by this admission of apparent holiday superiority.

He glanced at her again. "I admit, though, that I am surprised to see you celebrating it."

"When among another culture it's a good idea to take part in their ways. There's even an old human expression to that effect; 'When in Rome, do as the Romans do'."

Kessissiin stopped now, looking at her costume. "Still. Why dress up as a human hero? You could have picked any from our history. You could easily have been Ymssa or Ninneh, for example."

Pirra was almost flattered at the choices; both figures were warrior queens known for great beauty, and were widely popular. But she did not want to accept or reject that compliment.

"This isn't really a human hero," she said instead, looking down at her costume. "She was actually a criminal."

"A criminal?" Kessissiin echoed, surprised again. "Why would you dress as a criminal?"

"Well they don't carry a lot of mystique to us, but to humans some of them were considered very interesting and memorable. Bonnie for example-"

Kessissiin looked away, then back to her. "I do not mean to be rude, Lt. Commander, but your fascination with humans seems to border on . . . unhealthy."

Pirra was taken aback. "What?"

Kessissiin gestured to her outfit. "You are celebrating their holidays, ignoring your own history, idolizing their criminals?"

"That is my business," Pirra replied sharply. "And not yours."

"It is true that you may do what you wish," he said carefully. "But our actions do not exist in a vacuum. You are highly regarded in the Republic - a public figure for a variety of reasons. Did you know that your every mission is reported on widely by our news agencies?"

She did not actually know that. "I'm not that extraordinary," she said carefully.

He pressed closer. "That is itself a terrible thing - you do not even know that our people love you. They look to you as a role model. And . . . well, I do not judge you for your costume, but what will they think? However humans view criminals, we view them as the villains they are. How will our people feel to see their hero dressing up as something so terrible?"

Pirra stepped back, suddenly feeling unsure.

She wanted to dismiss his words, but he actually had a point.

"On top of all of this, you married a human," Kessisiin continued.

"There's nothing wrong with that," she said, her confusion and concern suddenly bursting into anger.

"It is not wrong, no. But what kind of message does that send to our young?" he insisted.

"You are out of line," she said. "Return to your duty!"

Kessissiin snapped to attention. "Do not worry," he said. "I know my duty."