"Is that a threat?" Todd purred, leaning down to look at her "Should I sleep with a knife from now on?"

He did anyway, when he slept in his coat. Years of betrayal by his shipmates had taught him you could never be too careful.

Being commander was a very stressful job. While Queens had the final say, you ran everything. It was like being mayor of a city and you had to double check everyone's work from the plumbers to the power station. Todd was only as good as he was at it thanks to doing it for so long. Most commanders didn't have half the rank time he'd logged.