Chapter Seven: Ense et aratro (with sword and plow, which is to say, citizen-soldier, one who serves in war and peace)

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The first two chapters are here: http://www.fireflyfans.net/bluesun.aspx?bid=14482 three and four are here: http://www.fireflyfans.net/bluesun.aspx?bid=14503, five is here: http://www.fireflyfans.net/bluesun.aspx?bid=14520 and six is here: http://www.fireflyfans.net/bluesun.aspx?bid=14545

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Zoë reached the bridge before him; that wasn’t particularly a surprise, she’d aimed to, so that she could talk to him alone, both for privacy’s own sake and because he had always had less need to posture when he was alone with her. She stood behind the pilot’s chair staring out at the black. She heard him stamp up the steps, though he didn’t intend to sound angry.

“Zo, I honestly don’t know what I’m gonna do with that boy.” He sat into the pilot’s chair and looked up at her. “Been a sore point with me since day one, Zoë. She got shot on his account, and he didn’t hurry to fix her either.” It was clear that he was just gearing up for the larger part of the rant… this was just the pre-rant warm up venting. Zoë didn’t bother to look down.

“Might say he ‘had a legitimate conflict of interest’, Sir, what with him trying to keep his sister safe and away from cruelty we’ve known – and possibly some well past it - and as I recall that phrase saw a bit of use on that particular day.

“It did Zoë.”

“He wasn’t crew then, Captain.”

“There a plenty o’ days that boy still acts more like a spoiled child than a crew member.”

“You know that’s not true, Sir. In fact, I think your eye has a tendency to gloss over the crew member with the most history of acting like a spoiled child.”

He interrupted. “Now, Zo… even you told that boy to apologise.”

“Of course I did. There’s a fight, ain’t never gonna start to make up if one of them don’t apologise. That’s relationship advice from someone who’d time to make her one mistakes, and executive advice on crew relatio