Why wasn't she with someone? Anyone who could do the talking for her? Even Pounce, her cat, would have been better than nothing. Her knees locked subconsciously, and she wasn't going to faint. ...Not yet anyway.

"A war? I'm. I'm not a soldier I'm a guardswoman! I..." It was really the only part of his comment she understood. Aliens? Universes even?

"I've never even been on a ship beyond a river boat!"