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yesterday?”
    “Indeed I did. It seems like a sound approach. We do not, after all, have any idea what Nova is up to. In fact,” Jeremy grimaced, “the only reason we think they’re up to something is because of the delaying tactics their Ambassador is employing. I spoke briefly with Col. Pilgrim yesterday and he assured me that his team would analyze the low-priority targets so that all eventualities are covered.”
    Rys let out a covert breath of relief. “Understood, sir.”
    “He’s requested a contact point for each team so that they can keep each other updated. I wasn’t sure who you wanted to designate.”
    “Gremlin is my analyzer,” Rys admitted frankly. “I’d like to be cced on it, though. I think I speak for my brother captains as well on this. Everything can be forwarded to our computer geeks first.”
    Jeremy nodded in understanding. “I’ll forward you the man’s contact information so you can set it up.”
    “Yes, sir.” Before that, though…he rather stank. “I think I’ll grab a shower. Do you need my assistance on anything today?”
    Jeremy waved a hand, negating this. “I’m just going to my office to get caught up on some paperwork. You’re free to shop and look around to get your bearings today.”
    Rys nodded and went to take a quick shower. On his way up the stairs, he composed a quick email to everyone in SF01 alerting them to the new developments and requesting that Gremlin set up a good information relay system. With that done, he grabbed a clean set of clothes and went for the shower. His standard two-minute shower plans evaporated with the steam when he realized that water on Bijordan actually got hot. He spent ten sacrilegious minutes under the scalding spray before he managed to drag himself free of the hypnotic massage.
    Dressed in his black fatigues and black shirt, he dug around in his med kit for the tube he needed. It always seemed to wind up at the bottom of the bag for some reason, probably because it was small and cylindrical in shape. Ah! There it was.
    Rys had done this so many times over the past two years, he didn’t even need a mirror anymore. He just lifted the bottle to his eye, placing it in the corner, and carefully squeezing out a few drops of solution.
    There was an unexpected rap at his bedroom door, followed by Sara’s voice. “Rys, what would you like—” that startled him. His hand jerked in reflex, which accidentally poked the sensitive edge of his eye. “Ow!” he hissed in pain, angry at himself for such a dumb mistake. He instinctively dropped the tube and clamped a protective hand over his right eye.
    “Oh, I am so sorry!” Sara exclaimed, advancing toward him when she understood what happened. “Are you all right?”
    “I’m fine, give me a moment.” Rys blinked gingerly, wincing at the sharp pain in his eye.
    “Here, let me see that,” she insisted, trying to brush aside his hand.
    “No, really, it’s fine,” he assured her, reluctantly lowering his hand from his eye. “My hand just slipped when I was putting my med drops in.”
    “You didn’t poke yourself in the eye, did you?”
    If I had, it wouldn’t have hurt. “No, it was just the corner of my eye. But the discomfort is fading; it’s really not a problem.”
    Sara peered at his eye doubtfully. “Everything looks okay. What is that medication for, anyway?”
    “Oh, it’s a moistening solution.”
    She picked the small bottle from the floor, where he had dropped it, and looked at it carefully. “This doesn’t look like a regular bottle of eye drops.”
    Rys could tell by her expression that this was something she hadn’t been read in on. Just what had Jeremy told her about him, anyway? Obviously, whatever it had been, he hadn’t provided her many details. “No, regular eye drops wouldn’t be helpful in my case. That is a special solution.” Seeing her confusion, he gentled his voice. “Sara, my right eye is not organic.”
    She froze, the hand holding the