Kinnit swam through unconsciousness. The world was becoming more real to her now. She could see light, faintly hear sounds. She could feel herself breathing, slowly and deeply. With wonder, she realized that she was breathing without pain.

Sounds clarified as she drew closer to wakefulness. The gentle ping of the sensors spiked to a frantic beeping as they detected her consciousness. This was followed by the sound of a clattering bang, like a folding metal chair hitting the floor.

Her eyes opened and took in the interior of the biopod. It was a pale cream color, and she floated in the air, rotating gently. She giggled at the thought that she'd been spinning around freely for... well, probably a couple days by now at least.

As she spun, a small oval window came into view. She looked out, and saw Admiral Stonefist gazing in at her.

She nearly didn't recognize him-- his face was haggard, with a three-day stubble on his normally clean-shaven face, and heavy bags dragged at his eyes. But what really alarmed her was his expression.

It was a potent mix of fear, relief, and hope, such as she'd never seen on another person.

As her eyes met his in shock, she watched him regain control of himself. The walls came up, his expression flattened, and he was Admiral Stonefist again. Scruffier than usual, more unkempt, but no less the Admiral of the Ninth Fleet than ever he had been. So much so that she immediately doubted what she'd seen.

He turned and barked an order, muffled by the biopod, and medics rushed in. They checked dials, reviewed charts, and argued until Grimthorn barked again. They nodded meekly and began the opening procedure for the biopod.

First, the ship's gravity was slowly re-applied to the pod, and she sank into soft layers of supportive blankets. Then the biopod was cracked open with a hiss. The old, familiar machine-oil smell of the ship crept in.

Two medics lifted the lid of the biopod and carried it away, and she lay vulnerable beneath Grimthorn's gaze. He gave the briefest flash of that terrified expression again, gone too fast to be sure.

"How is she?" he asked roughly.

The exasperated doctor waved his hands.

"You saw the charts as well as we did. You've been in here more than any medic. She's fine. If the biopod worked at all, she should be in perfect health."

Admiral Stonefist held out a hand to help her out of the pod. She accepted Grimthorn's hand, and stepped out.

"How... how long was I asleep?" she asked.

"Three weeks," Admiral Stonefist said curtly.

Her mouth dropped open.

"How long will she need to rest before she can return to duty?" he asked the medic.

The medic shrugged.

"Up to her, really. It may take a few days for her sleep schedule to correct itself, but medically she's fine."

Grimthorn nodded and turned back to her.

"Kinnit... how are you feeling?"

She took a deep breath.

"I feel... good. A little tired. And I'd like to be wearing something besides a hospital gown."

"Ah-- of course. Sorry. We'll get you a sealed med transport to your quarters so you can rest."

Admiral Stonefist barked more orders. He turned and saluted Kinnit.

"Rest up. And when you're ready to return to duty, let me know. We need to talk."

---

Kinnit arrived at Grimthorn's office early the next morning. She walked in and saluted. His eyebrows rose. He stood.

"Kinnit! Should you be up already?"

She smiled.

"I'm fine, Admiral. It's very kind of you to be concerned, but I actually feel... really good." She held up one arm as though flexing a muscle. "Better than usual, actually. And I'm anxious to get back into it!"

He let out a breath of relief.

"Well, first things first." He fetched something from a drawer and came around his desk. He laid a holstered blaster pistol and a wallet on his desk. "Put these on."

She gasped. She picked up the blaster, admiring its heft, and flipped open the wallet. A badge inside lit up, projecting a tiny hologram of her face. It was an older holo, from her Academy graduation, in which she was smiling broadly.

"I don't understand, sir."

He turned away from her and looked out the portal. He began speaking quietly.

"How much do you remember of... that day, Kinnit?"

She grinned uncertainly.

"Not much, to be honest, sir."

He nodded.

"You'll be fully debriefed later. But I'll give you the short version now. A Qhall assassin managed to board the ship. We're not sure how, yet. The investigation is ongoing." He took a deep breath. "You saved my life, Assistant Kinnit. I've watched the security footage. You didn't even hesitate. You immediately threw yourself in the assassin's path. And paid the price for it."

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He shook his head.

"Among other things, I've put your name in for an Imperial Medal of Valor."

She gaped.

"A medal? But sir, I--"

He held up a hand to silence her.

"Your actions were heroic. There's simply no other way to describe it. And heroes get medals. Or at least, they should. So I'll hear no more about it.

She nodded meekly.

"And these?" she asked, holding up the gun and badge.

"One thing you will learn, Assistant Kinnit, is that the reward for doing a hard thing is more opportunities to do hard things. You were aware when I was not. You acted when I did not. Your eyes saw danger while mine were blind."

He turned toward her.

"Kinnit, I want you to be my bodyguard."

She knew better than to "But, sir!" him again. But her mouth made a small "o" of shock.

"I tried to get you ranked as a bodyguard," he said, "but there were... issues with your status. So I had the Master-at-Arms deputize you. You're now part of the Military Police on board this ship. As such, you can be armed around the clock. You can protect me. And yourself."

"I... don't even know who would want to k-kill you."

"Take your pick. Start with most of the universe. Including about half the Imperium."

He shook his head and became serious. He turned toward her and laid a hand on her shoulder.

"Thank you, Kinnit. There is nothing I can do to adequately express my thanks. But I am going to do my utmost to try."

He looked directly into her eyes for a long moment, then suddenly turned away, clearing his throat.

"Do you have any questions, Assistant?"

She stood there, stunned for a bit. Then she slowly belted the holster around her waist. She opened the wallet and slid the back of it through her belt so the badge hung from her waist. She straightened and saluted firmly, her eyes filled with a flame of pride.

"It is an honor to serve the Imperium, and an honor to serve you. All hail the Imperium!"

Her clear voice rang through his office. He saluted back.

"All hail!" he responded.

They stayed like that for moment. Then she smiled up at him with all her big wide mouth.

"Thank you, sir!"

He raised an eyebrow.

"There's nothing to thank me for. You've earned it all, and more." He dropped the salute. "Now, that's the easy part done." He walked back around his desk and fetched something else.

"Let's sit," he said. "We'll need to talk." He pulled a second chair up to the table she was using as her desk.

"I... well, let me start with this." He handed her the box. It was large enough that she had to take it with both hands. Curious, she sat across from him and opened it. When she saw what was inside her eyes lit up.

"Sir, is this chocolate?"

"The finest Terran chocolate. From the Belgian territory on Old Earth."

Her eyes gleamed as she took in the array of shapes and shades of chocolate in the box. Only her strong sense of decorum kept her from immediately stuffing one in her mouth.

"Kinnit, before the incident, I was treating you very badly. I said some very ugly things, and made your job so much more difficult than it needed to be. I... thought you wouldn't succeed. Wouldn't be _allowed_ to succeed. So I wanted to drive you out before you could get hurt."

Her brow crinkled, but her hand unconsciously crept toward the chocolates.

"Sir, with all due respect, that plan doesn't even make any sense."

He laughed.

"You can call it a stupid plan, Assistant."

"I took the liberty of adjusting the tone," she said with a sly smile.

He chuckled and shook his head.

"It _was_ a stupid plan. And I grossly underestimated you. Your determination. Your drive. If it came down to a battle between you and the universe, I'd have trouble knowing which way to bet."

He looked her directly in the eye.

"Kinnit, I'm sorry. I know it doesn't make up for all I did, but I'm sorry. I never should have treated that way, and I never will again. And neither will anybody else, if they know what's good for them."

"Like Lieutenant Voth?" she grinned.

He colored slightly.

"That's... between Lieutenant Voth and myself," he said. "But I'm sure the word will have spread. 'Assistant Kinnit is to be treated with respect from all quarters.'"

"Thank you, sir."

"Don't thank me. I was the jerk."

She leaned forward and laid her delicate, clawed hand on his large, thick hand.

"Sir, I appreciate the chocolates, and I accept your apology. But do you know what the worst part was? It was thinking that I wasn't doing a good job. It was thinking that I was failing you, and failing the Imperium, and failing my people. Please, sir, please tell me explicitly if I need to improve. Please don't ever make me wonder if I'm good enough."

Admiral Stonefist nodded tightly.

"I will. If you ever need correction, I will tell you. But for now, I couldn't ask for a better Assistant."

---

They spent the day hashing more things out. As the day drew to a close, he stood, and winced, favoring his wounded shoulder.

"Are you okay, sir?" she asked.

"Ah, the knife wound is acting up."

"You were wounded? Why didn't you say?"

"Yeah, the assassin had another knife. He got me good a couple times. The one in my back was too deep for the medics to seal up, so I just have to wait it out. They stitched me up and dressed it. I should probably let one of the medics have a look. They keep hassling me about it."

"Does it hurt?" she asked.

He shrugged, but only with one shoulder.

"Does it matter?" he asked.

She belatedly realized he'd been using his right hand for everything today. She frowned and "tsked" at him.

"When's the last time you changed the dressing?"

"I don't know. When were you put in the pod?"

"Admiral! You're supposed to change that _every day!_"

"I can't get at it. It's fine."

It was amusing to see him acting like a petulant child, but she was more exasperated than amused at the moment.

"Okay, let me see it," she said, standing.

"I'm sorry?"

"Show me where your wound is. I'll help you change the dressing."

"I don't know if that's--"

"Zzt. I don't want to hear it. Did they leave you any supplies for changing your dressing?"

He pointed to a bag on the counter of the kitchenette. It clearly hadn't even been opened yet. She fetched it, walked around behind him, and waited.

Admiral Stonefist sheepishly unbuttoned his uniform coat and laid it on the table. He sat there in his white t-shirt.

"Are you sure? It's likely to be--"

"Show me."

He carefully pulled his t-shirt off, wincing. She gasped as she saw his bare back. She had grown accustomed to the faint scars on his face, but his back was a horror show of scar tissue. Long, jagged scars, short thick ones that hinted at deep wounding, and a handful of round, puckered ones that were probably from blaster shots.

"That is... a lot."

"Lots of people don't like me."

"But... so much."

"If it makes you feel any better, most of the ones who put these here don't 'not like' me any more."

Kinnit suddenly felt that she understood a lot more about Admiral Stonefist's demeanor.

"Well sit up and let me take a look."

She put on gloves from the med bag and peeled off the old dressing.

"This looks-- are you sure you haven't been changing your dressing?"

"Not unless I've been doing it in my sleep."

She frowned.

"Well, it looks fine. By all rights you should have a raging infection. But it's healing well."

"That's what I said."

"I bet the medics hate you."

"Probably. They're welcome to get in line."

"Ulther protects fools, children, and Imperials," she muttered, cleaning and dressing his wound. "And he's got all three in one right here."

He grunted at her touch. Her annoyed expression turned to worry.

"Did I hurt you?"

"No, it's fine."

"Here, I'll put some numbing ointment on."

She medicated him over his protests, and finished applying the dressing. She peeled off the gloves and threw them away, then she marched around in front of him and put her hands on her hips.

"Now you need to change that every day, understand?"

He nodded, a little sulkily.

"Now are you going to go to the medbay tomorrow and let them change it, or am I going to have to do it again?"

His eyes shifted away.

"I think I'd rather face the Oryndrax."

She raised her eyebrows at him expectantly.

"I'll go to medbay," he mumbled.

"See that you do."