Cabin fever’s an extra risk when you have three different parties on board who hate each other, not to mention the stowaways. So to take the edge off, our heroes get ready for the traditional Movie Night on the Starship.

The conferences between the Immortal and Iric Desnaray continued, with minute fencing over troop dispositions and strengths, and debate about timetables, which told Jehen that they’d decided the matter was sufficiently profitable in prospect to put aside their philosophical differences for another day. After they’d eradicated the common enemy, they could turn on each other, which would be scant comfort to the dead.

About two weeks out, the usual onset of Aboard-Ship claustrophobia and interpersonal drama amongst passengers, Ferenc set himself with a will to the task of curating an evening’s entertainment from his collection of Karis vid-dramas. He’d fallen in love with them at the Academy in spite of their scientific and historical solecisms, in spite of the ridiculous plots, and the other thing.

“These are supposed to be about the far future,” Jehen said, “but I think it’s really weird that all the main characters look like Karis aristos.”

“Nicely mixed cast on this one,” Ferenc said. “There are three actors who could be Temn’s twin brothers, another who might be an Iskra.”

“None of them look like they’re from Sarronny Dome,” Yasmin had said, back at the Academy, and now. “What, are we not there in the glorious future of interstellar travel? We sure seem to be minding the shop just now.” A real edge in that one.

“Here’s the Piter series. The gentleman detective.”

“Oh, I always figured those out well in advance of the end,” Yasmin said. “And I’ve seen all of them.” On the other hand, Yasmin always figured everything out well in advance of anyone else. In another life, she might have written such things herself, if Sarronny cadets were allowed any other course but the Road of the Stars. Who knew but that one of her process-threads might be doing that very thing right now, while another played five-dimensional chess with the Ship’s AIs.

Only one process-thread to play chess, Yasmin said. It kept the game fair.