It's strange, being so close to someone. You start to pick out details you might never have noticed; a mole here, a dark speck in the eye there, a crease where CT's nose wrinkles. Ordinarily, she and her crew stuck to their quadrants, thoughts trained on tasks specific to them; on lives they never bothered much to share. Lights too-dim obscured their features. Cryo-pod doors sealed them away.

You make peace with it after a while. This is my job. This is my station. These are my crew, but that's all they'll ever really be.

Now, she doesn't know what to do with herself.

"I want to say— thanks, for dragging me out here. I know I started things, technically, but... This is nice."