"I think that's all a lot of people want. But here we are," she gestures at the ballroom, and by extension the ship around it. "Who knows what we're going to be asked to do in the future. Reassemble our universes from scratch, maybe. And wouldn't it be tempting to just leave a few pieces out?"

She stiffens for a millisecond at the sight of the blood, then relaxes. If Howard looked more like one of her species, she might have reacted more strongly. But of course he wasn't trying to be seductive. That wasn't Howard's way.

Instead she conjures up a pad of gauze, suitable for applying pressure. "Here," she says, offering it. "You got your lip. If you injure your mouth, you might have to slow down on your eating. And we wouldn't want that, now would we?"