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him. “Yes, sir! I will obey as ordered, sir.” He relaxed into his typical slouch as Jacob walked past him. After a couple lanky strides, Isaac had already caught up, grinning like a loon.
    Jacob sighed. “You know, you probably would have made Lieutenant Commander if you didn’t keep up that act.”
    Isaac chuckled to himself. “True, but then I would have to worry about the kind of nonsense so-called superior officers have to deal with, like our dear Captain Upshaw. Much better to stay at a spot where all I have to worry about is shooting things.” He shot Jacob a sidelong smirk. “And how is the dear Captain doing? Has he reformed you into the ideal ship captain yet?”
    “Don’t remind me.” Jacob shook his head. High Admiral Nivrosky had not needed to consult the opinions of Central Command with regard to Jacob’s promotion, but he had been convinced that a brand new captain with little formal training had needed a sort of chaperone. As a result, Captain Upshaw had been assigned specifically to review his every command decision, and given that Jacob had spent less time reaching captain than Upshaw had to reach lieutenant, their relationship was not a peaceful one.
    Deciding that he had been brooding on the matter for far too long, he turned to Isaac. “So, have you heard from Laurie at all?”
    “Recently? Sure, every day.” Isaac smiled again; his joy this time was far less motivated by mockery. His pleasure likely came from contacting his wife far more frequently than regulations allowed; his hacking skills had probably helped out with that. “She says Leon’s doing well on the Beagle . The crew over there loves him, but that’s probably what we would expect out of a Nivrosky.”
    Jacob shook his head. “I still have trouble not thinking of him as Leon Taylor, fellow ensign.”
    Isaac smirked. "You mean rather than Leon Nivrosky, heir to the proud military tradition of Alan Nivrosky?" He snorted. "Our formerly humble ensign isn't any different than before. A little stiff, formal, and plenty annoying, but a surprisingly good officer in spite of it all. You know that."
    With a glance at the lanky ensign, Jacob smiled. "You know, I've heard similar things about you occasionally." He gave his friend enough time to look mortified, and laughed. "Of course, rather than stiff and formal, I believe they used the words 'undisciplined' and 'abrasive' instead."
    He watched as Isaac's smile returned. "Well that's all right, then. We are what we are, after all."
    Isaac shrugged easily. Jacob shook his head; his friend had been getting—and ignoring—hints like that for months now, and he obviously had no intent of mending his ways. He sighed.
    Isaac glanced at him. "Now what are we sounding so down about, Jacob? Did Uptight Upshaw really ride you that hard?"
    Jacob kept his eyes on the hallway ahead. "He felt I was throwing away the lives of my crews by going after the Odurans the other day. That I was failing in my responsibility to make their sacrifices worth something in the end."
    "Ouch." The Gunnery officer fell silent for a few moments. "You alright?"
    Jacob sighed again and glanced at Isaac. "I don't know. In Reefhome, against the pirates, it was all pretty clear. If we didn't fight the Telosians, we were dead. If we ran or avoided combat, they would have destroyed or enslaved a bunch of helpless colonists. The consequences were clear, whether we wanted them or not."
    "Now we can fight the Odurans and lose ships and people. Or we can ignore them, and maybe they'll only hit a few freighters. Or maybe it’s a passenger liner. Or maybe critical war materials." Jacob barely resisted the urge to punch the bulkhead. "How are we supposed to know when it becomes worth it? When is it an acceptable time to risk people's lives, and when is it a foolish gamble?"
    Isaac blinked and shook his head. His answer came slowly. "That's a hard one to answer, Jacob. I don’t envy you the need to choose.” He cracked a smile.