I swore quietly under my breath, mind immediately flashing through the running tally of ship operations that were running sub-par or that would need servicing in the immediate future.

The results were not good, but ultimately I couldn’t say that there was any overriding reason why we couldn’t, or shouldn’t, obey the order. All the cannons were fully functional, and given the complexity of the engines, they were working as well as one might expect them to at any given point in a journey.

I took a deep breath and entered Firus’ quarters, handing him the transcription silently and standing with hands clasped behind my back while he read it and reread it in total silence. I rather expected him to explode in a fit of rage, so it was an odd development when he locked eyes with me and simply asked, “Can we do it?”

I nodded solemnly, giving no hint of my uncertainty. Firus sighed deeply, as if he’d been expecting all of this, and waved me away. I closed the door behind me quietly, leaving him to his thoughts.