"For starters, you're a good leader," she began with a small smile. "The way you interact with your crew, it speaks volumes of your true character. They respect you, and you look after them and take pride in them, like with the one who fought while injured in the arena, and your second in command. That goes a long way toward ensuring the strength of a team, or in this case a hive."

She moved a hand through the water, watching the surface ripple slightly with the motion. "You're also incredibly intelligent, and willing to adapt your ways to ensure the survival of your species. You took the gene therapy yourself, and you're working with humans to change the future of the Wraith and the galaxy as a whole. You're seeing the big picture, and that's important."

She finally shrugged and looked over at him again, smiling a little sheepishly. "And I trust you. If I were fighting for the future of my race, I'd want someone like you to have my back."

Because she'd been fighting that fight for her own race, and it all would have been so much easier to bear with someone like him at her side. But maybe she was completely off base and those things weren't important to the Wraith, or at least not to a Queen choosing her Commander.