If Tayrey looks slightly dismayed, it's only because she believes he's selling himself short, and she doesn't want that for him. He, like her, strove for excellence for many years, and she doesn't want to see him pushed backward. 'You can do better than being someone's apprentice,' she says firmly. 'You're qualified.' Her only frame of reference for apprenticeships is the teenage trainee officers shipside, and she certainly thinks he's past that.

'You'd make amazing profits if you managed to pull this place up the technological scale, but in the meantime - what about finance? Administration? Or... I'd bet you'd make a fine draftsman. Plenty of work needs the attention to detail without so many physical demands. Not like they're going to require everyone to be capable of handling firearms and running damage control.' Not like they did on a Tradeline ship, no matter what your job was.

'We'll work it out,' she assures him. 'There's got to be something valuable for you here, and you'll find it.'