(Dheto manages not to chuckle when the dragon says 'possible exception of Saru' but it is a pretty close thing.)

"Yes, Ma'am, I'm sorry. And I do think that you can probably help her, just - carefully, please. She's much more fragile than she seems, right now."

"Thank you for your counsel in this matter." Culamine smiles. "Deskyl is lucky to have you."

"Thank you, Ma'am."

"It's - she's modified her sword. And a Sith's sword is generally the most important object in the world, to her; a Sith will die before giving her sword up, and they never have a setting that's anything other than lethal. And she's modified hers to default to a nonlethal setting. That would be almost suicidal, where we're from; to draw a metaphor, it's almost like she's cut off her hand. But I'd be less worried if she had cut off her hand; this wasn't an impulsive act of passion, it was premeditated."

“That is worrisome.”

The human’s emotional sacrifice also impresses Culamine, but she will not say that aloud until after anxiety and trauma have been dealt with.

"Yes, Ma'am," she nods. "She's still taking her responsibilities seriously, and acting normally otherwise; I don't think she's a danger to herself, at least at the moment. But I've never seen her this upset; I don't know how she'd react to a suggestion that she's right to distrust herself coming from someone she respects."

"Then she will receive no such suggestions."

"Thank you, Ma'am."

She signs something to Deskyl, receives an acknowledging nod, and returns her attention to the dragon.

“You won’t be stuck out here for much longer. My sisters are convening to discuss the situation and, I believe, will elect to release you to the Unpledged Holdings. Saru won’t be happy about that, but she won’t let vengefulness cloud her judgement. Despite her reputation, she is...”

Culamine pauses as though catching her breath, though of course she doesn’t need to.

“...well, she is a dragon. She has priorities higher than self righteousness or pride.”

This news leaves the Sith calmer in some ways; tenser in others.

    "Thank you, Ma'am."

“I am headed to her lair now, to counsel her towards moderation and to reassure the vassals that the two of you rescued.”

“I will see you again after my sisters and I have reached a consensus. Do you have any other questions or requests before I go?”

    "Just one, Ma'am. Your vassal Nilam Sakshi was staying in the cloister at the time, and didn't see the incident itself but did see the body and Saru's reaction, and was fairly upset by both; please check on her, and let her know that we're okay."

"I'll do that."

Culamine takes flight: using just the jets at her wingtips, initially, but then switching to her main engines once she's a safe distance away from them.

The dragon shines brightly in the periphery of Dheto's sensor array for a while after, but her winged outline fades to a mere pinprick with distance.

Deskyl doesn't watch, but turns back to Devika as soon as Culamine turns to go.

    "It's all right. Culamine isn't going to hurt you."

I don't know if I can be hurt.

I don't know if there's an I to hurt.

"I'm okay."

She snuggles up again.

    "Is there anything you want to do once we reach the holdings?"

I don't know. I don't know. I don't know.

"Just the usual, I guess. Hot meal, shower, maybe log some hours in VR..."

    "We haven't seen VR yet, what's that like?"

“Same basic technology as what’s used in these cockpits. Immersive, panoramic holographic display, and... and I just realized I never want to do VR again?”

    "That's fine. Deskyl might start some kind of art project; maybe you can help her with that, if you don't find anything else to do."

"They had a hologram of Adita. They told me she was my best friend. I could tell, when it was happening, that it wasn't real..."

"...but when I woke up in that hospital bed with the flesh and blood Adita Kaur standing next to me, it felt like I'd seen her before. It felt like I'd known her my whole life."

    "Whatever it is that they're doing, it needs to be stopped."

"Yes. Yes it does."

A sudden change comes over Devika. She can't quite place, at first, what it is about what Deskyl just said that's making her feel this way.

And then it clicks.

Deskyl just stated a Mission Objective.

    "We'll figure it out. It's more important than figuring out their motives, anyway, they won't take another station trying to get her if they know she's not on one."

 "They? You mean the United Colonies?"