"The primary objective was not present, sir. So I completed the secondary objective instead," I stated. Captain () nodded in understanding.

           "The girl wasn't there? Hmm…Intelligence reported that she would be there. I'll let them know to update their data." He looked right at me. "So about the girl you did pick up. How is she?"

            "She's clearly been traumatized by her recent trafficking experiences, sir. The bio logs I recorded clearly suggest that she was moved around multiple times before I found her. Considering that she's a Yggdrasil student, I think they wanted to be thorough in erasing traces. She's sleeping in my cabin now, sir."

            "Good. Only you, me, Chief Medical Officer Hannic, and certain elements of Command know that she has magic, and needs careful treatment. Officially, she's on the ship as an asylum seeker you took in, and her status has been granted. For now, she's currently your direct subordinate as a paid assistant." The captain chuckled. "For an assistant, she's the one getting assistance. Does that settle any initial concerns, Lieutenant?"

            "Yes, sir."

            "Good. Now about her magic. She was given extra amounts of a blocker. According to CMO Hannic, it's the type that needs to be administered over time repeatedly, otherwise the effects degrade. But otherwise it is very stable, and should start to disintegrate within 3 days. You'll be given equipment to deal with her magic. CMO Hannic tells me that it's a series of shots you have to administer to her, once a day, starting tomorrow until she can use her magic properly. The shots will only allow her to use a small part of her magic, just enough to see if she can do anything with it, but probably not enough to kill someone. Any orders regarding her, you will receive from CMO Hannic. Any problems regarding her, you report to CMO Hannic, who reports to me. Yes?"

            "Yes, sir."

            "Good. Any questions, Lieutenant?"

            "What are my current orders, sir?"

            "For now, you're off duty. Attend to her, go about your daily needs, the like. After we're done here, visit CMO Hannic for your equipment and further directions. Anything else?"

            "No, sir." Then I hesitated. "Actually…"

            "Yes?"

            "What happens to her now?"

            The captain shrugged. "Depends on what happens after she wakes up. After she wakes up, I'll have you tend to her for a bit longer, then resume your active duties. Once she seems stable enough, I'll have you report on her—we need her biographical info, any school and household info, any magic info, anything. But not as an interrogation—build a relationship with her. I'll review your reports and submit them to Command, then we wait for a decision from them."

            "Yes, sir."

            "Anything else?"

            "No, sir."

            "I don't think I need to remind you of the conduct a soldier must display?"

            "Ethical conduct sir."

            "Meaning?"

            "I won't sleep with her unless she wants it, and I won't harm her unless absolutely necessary." I paused for a bit. "I'll treat her like a sister before I treat her like a girl."

            "All right. Dismissed, Lieutenant." We stood up from our chairs and saluted. I pushed the chair in and exited the Captain's quarters. As the door closed behind me, I think I heard the captain chuckle, "Sassy kid."