The Captain made no stop-offs en route to the bridge, beelining to navigation thereon at as brisk a pace as he could manage while being sure the girl would keep on his heels. It wasn't that he felt a need to rush exactly, it just had him on edge, that something he couldn't place.  On the surface all was well enough: he nodded to River's query, even gave her a little smile to brush it off as he said, "Not much as could've happened to go better," but he couldn't shake the nerves underneath. He could, however, ignore them. He'd worked through worse anxieties. "Set us up a route to Beaumonde. We've a stop to make just the other side of the market here for cargo pickup, then we head that way. Quieter would be better. I've no special need to chat with anyone on the way, Alliance or otherwise, and just as well like it if they'd stop to see us either."<br/><br/>He stopped then, hand at rest on a blank panel. "How did you come by a shepherd on your own out there? No offense to your brother's intent, I can see he cares for you plenty yet, but I've seen you turning to a right young lady here on my very ship, one with a mind works like it's not a gun and everything. So what possessed you to go off alone and bring a stray home? If it's for me, honest, I don't need no pets. Got no time to look after one and he doesn't look housebroken anyway."