Casina awoke some time the next day to find herself alone in Dammen’s vast bunk, with a fiendish hangover.

Groaning and nauseous, she left the bunk and stumbled into the shower chamber. When the warm mineral spray doused her sufficiently, creating a white mist about her, she shivered as thoughts of her previous day’s meeting with Dammen flashed through her mind. After her first bottle of T’lia Sh’kur, she remembered little of what had transpired between them. She only hoped that Dammen was no longer upset with her. Later, it was with some uncertainty that she managed her way to the upper deck in search of her husband.

The bridge...