For a long moment, neither woman spoke.
Shae remained backed against her door.
Cassandra remained standing directly in front of her, arms crossed.
The bloodstain on Shae’s side continued to grow.
Neither of them acknowledged it.
Mostly because they were both focused on something else.
Namely, how spectacularly this situation had deteriorated.
And how quickly.
Finally, Cassandra pinched the bridge of her nose.
“Major.” Shae immediately straightened.
“Ma’am.” “Explain.” Shae considered that.
Unfortunately, the truth sounded very stupid.
Which was a problem because it was the only explanation available.
“I didn’t want to bother anyone.” Cassandra stared at her.
The silence that followed was so profound that Shae almost wished she’d lied instead.
“You didn’t want to bother anyone.” “Yes.” “You reopened a deep wound.” “Technically someone else reopened it.” Cassandra’s expression did not change.
At all.
Shae immediately regretted saying it.
“Not helping,” she muttered to herself.
“No,” Cassandra agreed.
“It is not.” Another silence.
Then Cassandra asked, “What happened?” The question caught Shae off guard.
Not because of the words.
Because of the tone.
The anger was still there.
But beneath it was something else.
Professional concern.
Shae sighed.
“The guy from the mess hall.” Cassandra’s eyes hardened immediately.
“What guy?” “The one who grabbed me earlier.” The Colonel’s jaw tightened.
“He approached you again?” “With two friends.” That answer did absolutely nothing to improve Cassandra’s mood.
“Let me guess.” “They wanted to teach me a lesson.” Cassandra closed her eyes briefly.
Of course they did.
Because apparently the crewman was not only foolish.
He was ambitious about it.
“What happened?” Shae shrugged.
A mistake.
The movement pulled at the wound.
She winced.
Cassandra noticed immediately.
“Don’t.” “Sorry.” “What happened?” Shae tried again.
“He swung first.” “I assumed he would.” “I warned him it was a bad idea.” Cassandra almost smiled.
Almost.
“And then?” Shae summarized the encounter.
The punch.
The attempted ambush.
The wall.
The kick.
The reopened stitches.
The unconscious men.
The third one fleeing.
By the time she finished, Cassandra was staring at her with a look that suggested she wasn’t sure which part irritated her most.
The assault.
The injury.
Or the fact that Shae seemed to view the entire event as a mild inconvenience.
“You fought three men.” “They were very motivated.” “Major.” “They were also not particularly good.” Cassandra exhaled slowly.
Very slowly.
The kind of breath someone took when exercising extreme self-control.
Then her gaze dropped to the blood again.
Enough was enough.
“Medical.” Shae immediately grimaced.
“Ma’am—” “Medical.” “I know where it is.” “Then start walking.” Shae sighed dramatically.
“You’re not even considering my side of this.” Cassandra actually laughed.
A short, disbelieving sound.
“Your side?” “Yes.” “I’m curious.” Her arms crossed again.
“Please explain your side.” Shae pointed toward the wound.
“Well, first of all, I was attacked.” “Correct.” “And then my stitches reopened.” “Correct.” “And then I was attempting to solve the problem.” Cassandra blinked.
Once.
“You call sneaking back to your quarters solving the problem?” “It was a solution.” “It was a terrible solution.” “It was a solution.” “Major.” “Ma’am.” The stare that followed lasted several seconds.
Neither woman looked away.
Eventually Cassandra lost the battle first—not because she was intimidated, but because she couldn’t quite believe this conversation was happening.
“You are the most difficult patient I have ever had.” Shae smiled.
“I’ve heard that before.” “I believe it.” Cassandra stepped closer.
Not threatening.
Not angry anymore.
Just determined.
“Listen carefully.” Shae’s smile faded slightly.
Because now Cassandra sounded serious.
Very serious.
“If you continue treating injuries like they’re inconveniences, eventually one of them will kill you.” The corridor fell quiet.
The joke disappeared completely from Shae’s face.
For the first time since Cassandra had met her, she looked genuinely thoughtful.
Cassandra continued.
“You’re exceptional.” The words were blunt.
Direct.
Undeniably sincere.
“One of the most capable officers I’ve ever encountered.” Shae looked surprised.
“And that means absolutely nothing if you’re dead.” Silence.
The statement hung between them.
Neither woman moved.
Finally Shae looked away.
Just briefly.
Which told Cassandra she’d hit something important.
When Shae finally spoke, her voice was quieter.
“I’ll try.” Cassandra narrowed her eyes.
“Try?” “It’s a work in progress.” A pause.
Then, unexpectedly: “My previous commanders usually cared more about mission completion than whether I ended up in medical.” The admission seemed to surprise Shae as much as Cassandra.
Neither woman immediately commented on it.
But Cassandra understood.
Suddenly, several things made much more sense.
The pain tolerance.
The willingness to ignore injuries.
The complete indifference toward her own wellbeing.
Those habits didn’t appear overnight.
They were learned.
Conditioned.
Rewarded.
Cassandra studied her for a moment.
Then nodded once.
“Well.” Her voice softened slightly.
“You’re on my ship now.” Shae looked up.
Met her eyes.
“And on my ship,” Cassandra continued, “I expect my officers to complete their missions.” A pause.
“And I expect them to survive them.” For the first time, Shae didn’t have a witty response.
She simply stood there.
Looking at her.
As though she wasn’t entirely sure what to do with those words.
Finally Cassandra pointed down the corridor.
“Medical.
Now.” The moment shattered.
Shae sighed.
“There she is.” “What does that mean?” “That’s the terrifying commanding officer I know.” “I was never gone.” “Debatable.” “Move, Major.” Shae finally pushed away from the door.
But as she started walking, she glanced back over her shoulder.
A small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth.
“Thank you.” The words were quiet.
Sincere.
And before Cassandra could respond, Shae continued down the corridor toward medical.
This time without attempting to escape.
Cassandra watched her go.
Then shook her head.
One day.
Major Shae Carter had been aboard her ship for one day.
And somehow Cassandra already knew with absolute certainty that this woman was going to test her patience for the foreseeable future.
The irritating part was that she wasn’t entirely sure she minded.