Even with a different captain, life had changed little, reflected Moya Artel. She dusted off the sabre she'd reluctantly decided to display. From a pocket on her long-ignored duffel, she drew three gaming dice and set them carefully on the table. Though not of any particular value, they held an obscure fascination for her, althoughshe found them difficult to roll properly. She had resigned herself to the fact that she would be very alone these weeks, or however long it took for another Marine to appear. She claimed to herself that it did not matter, that she had things to keep her occupied, but when there were no drills to hold, no weapons to practice with, no one to spar with, she did feel alone.
For a break in the monotony she "broke open" her orders. They described the planet well, but she had the distinct feeling something was being left out of them. Something that was of extreme importance. She did not have the authority to demand an explanation, but was relieved to see that she would be going along on the away mission. They could hardly leave her off, when her reason for joining the crew was for this type of situation. She allowed herself the brief hope that her new ship's captain would fill in the blanks on her orders, but did not believe he would.
She fingered the dice lightly, lifted them in one hand and cast them. They rolled to a halt - 272. The numbers meant something - she felt it as surely as she'd felt the strangeness of her position onboard the Knight. She made a mental note, not bothering to ask the computer. The numbers would be revealed. When they were, she would be there and be ready for whatever happened. The captain might have changed, but the ship was the same. She was oath-bound to the Knight. She would help protect it.