Jim squeezes her wrist. A tick beyond platonic, it could seem, but not in the direction of romantic; there's something bonding by default about being a starship captain out there in the unexplored black. Their own minority statistic, a unique and challenging psychological profile. Nobody gets it but them.

Lose-lose situation, she says.

"Not every win is an instantaneous one." It's a while before he speaks up, thinking on his own hard lessons, including the sort he's just plain old refused to learn. "Not every win feels good. You got up again the next day, and went back to work."

And when work is what she's had to deal with, it's a hell of a feat. Nobody gets it but them, but even within their fraternity, not everybody can handle it. If her ship had to be lost, then she had to be captain, and maybe that's the win.