Silas Noble's disappearance was the best and the worst thing that could have possibly happened. Now, Jade was the Captain, but rather than feel any pathetic, selfish elation at all, all Jade could feel was bitterness.

She had wanted the control, but now that she had it, she felt as useless as ever. When someone called her Captain Harris, she couldn't help but remember that she was just a hurt and broken girl trying desperately to fill her father's shoes. She didn't think anyone else realized what a mess she'd made, but she knew it was there, growing.

Grinding her teeth, she organized the map chest in the Navigational room. It was technically Rafaele and his scrawny little apprentice's job, but that didn't matter. Jade wanted to keep herself from feeling restless. She'd do anything busy.

She filed away some of the miscellaneous maps. They had gotten a little mixed up, so she arranged them back into a way that made sense. The regional maps together, some of the land maps that they had stashed away went in the very bottom. The locked drawer caught her eye. Maybe she could have another look at that blueprint. Maybe it was meant to tell her something. She fingered the key in her pocket and opened the drawer, revealing the blueprint. She ran her finger across it, tracing over the hidden mechanisms and the length of stairs.

The door creaked open. Jade quickly closed the drawer and locked it up. She looked over her shoulder. Sabik closed the door behind him. Barely acknowledging him, Jade raked her tongue across the roof of her mouth. Her mouth was feeling dry as if all of a sudden she just didn't know what to say. His hair was frizzy, his skin shiny. His eyelids were a dark, dull color. Jade looked back at the drawer and started organizing more charts. "Good afternoon, Doctor." She paused. "You look terrible."

He said nothing, only moved across the room. Jade sighed. It was hard to concentrate on organization. He put her on edge, so when he took a deep breath, Jade turned to him, fast enough to surprise him. He placed his hand on the work table, stopping it from wobbling on the moving ship. "You are on the night watch, no?" he asked.

"Yes, but I don't sleep during the day. It makes me disagreeable."

"Disagreeable," Sabik pushed his tongue into his cheek like he was feeling the word. "That would be a great tragedy for you, I am sure."

Jade scratched her forehead, closing her eyes in resignation. "You came here looking to get into a fight."

His face twitched the tiniest bit, his eyebrows settling in. "This room," he said, looking around at the walls and the ceiling. "Your uh, ibbatah...your...how do you say it?" He pressed on his head.

"My what?"

He waved his hand in front of his mouth. "Ibbahtah, ibbahtah! Ah, chiiyi." He ran his hand across his face, sighing. "Leon Harris."

"My father?"

"Yes. Yes, thank you." He moved around her, forcing her to turn around. He examined a painting on the wall of rolling hills under a star-filled sky. "Your father—he had his fun with this room."

Jade paused. "Are you okay?"

"I am not a native Tranan-speaker." His eyes narrowed. "I am fine. Just stupid, hm?"

Jade stepped back, crossing her arms. "Extraordinarily." The room was different. It was the only cabin that seemed like it didn't belong to the modest Coronis, but more like it was stolen from Fairburn's vessel. The walls were papered in a royal blue and gold paper. On the ceiling, there was a little chandelier made out of wooden balls painted to look like planets—one of her father's proudest late-night creations. Jade cleared her throat. "He liked the stars. But I really don't want to talk about him."

"Do not shut me down. I was just beginning with you."

"What do you want?"

"The first day I came here, you told the small infected rope climber—"

"Oliver—you can learn his name."

"I could." Sabik looked away from her, pulling at a loose thread on his tunic. "You told him that you did not have enough money to afford his medical care."

"My financial situation is none of your concern."

"When you promise the entire crew that you will pay their salaries, then I do not think we have the luxury of waiting for the gods to judge you."

"We?" She asked, leaning against the map chest, her arms still woven tight around herself. "That's an interesting word."

He stiffened and moved away, the space between them growing. "Uraa have mercy," he muttered.

Jade had no idea what he spoke of sometimes, between his colorful collection of Jhataran curses to his pantheon of Gods. "I'll pay them. I sold our last trade cargo. Also, I understand that my father gave one of us a decent sum of money."

Sabik huffed, rolling his eyes up. He paced across the room again, tapping his palm against the table as he passed. "My tuition?"

"Yes. I'd like that back."

He stopped walking and laughed, his eyes creasing genuinely. His laugh was deep and warm. Rare. Jade didn't think she'd ever really heard it before. She narrowed her eyes more. He stopped laughing and drew his head back. "You are being serious?"

"Indeed."

"Harris, do you understand how education works?"

She stood straight up, her face burning with frustration. "Of course, I understand how it works. I may not be educated but—"

"I cannot return my education," he said. "Logical, yes?"

"I don't—I obviously don't—I know you can't just return it." She stammered, clenching her teeth. "You're still paying everyone, seeing as you stole from my father."

"Chuuk! Daarwah, Harris!" He pressed his fingers into his forehead, leaving pale imprints from the pressure when he pulled away. He took a deep breath. "Your father willingly paid for my education with the stipulation that afterward, I would devote my time to finding a cure for Naqi and Minkar."

Jade drew back, slamming her heel into the map chest. She needed money. If her father had left her any instead of donating it all to Sabik, then she wouldn't be in this situation. "Fine. I made a mistake. I covered my ass, your ass. We can't do anything if we don't have a crew. But a mistake? Huge!" she admitted, biting her tongue. "Happy?"

"You are expecting me to do something about it?" he asked. "You have alienated me. If you wanted someone to help fix your problems then you should have—"

"Your ego is tremendous," The red rose in her face along with the pitch of her voice. "I want nothing from you."

"Really?" He paused, anger still pasted onto his face. "That is fantastic news. Nor do I expect payment from you at the end of this."

"I don't need—"

"Pity?" he guessed. "I have no pity to give you. Your father already paid me." He exhaled, his breath hitching. He walked to the door and pulled it open.

Jade stepped forward. "Don't ever come to me looking for a fight again. I'm not afraid to put you in your place."

He turned around, pushing his stringy hair out of his tired face. "I never craved a fight. You are mistaken about me," he said. "Lying to all of these people will cause problems for you in a few months. Think of that."

"Oh, Doctor. You are a dear to be so thoughtful." She walked towards him, but he didn't move. She pressed her palm against his chest, forcing him out of the door. He steadied himself on the doorway.

"Harris—"

"Piss off."

He scoffed, "You-y" He pressed his fingers into his head. "Ah, Wah biyaan paht—like that."

Jade gripped the door, ready to close it, only stopped by the sour look on his face. "Bad at Traneese, is that it?"

"Al...ee...I—I have a migraine. You make me ill," he glanced at her one more time before leaving. She closed the door but couldn't concentrate on the maps. She locked the door and paced back and forth, stampeding her anger away.