The young doctor hesitated briefly. The idea she—the lowest of the low as far as the Empire was concerned—might unburden herself to a captain of the Royal Navy seemed absurd. And she knew he would not necessarily be sympathetic. The people of the Commonwealth usually had no special love of the Empire, but they liked the idea of treason even less. The sort of things Sarah had done would ruin the quasi-independence of their status quo if it became widespread among them.<br/><br/>Still, as long as she left out the bit about Key, there was nothing she really had to hide. “You’re right, Captain—I’ve got a lot to deal with. Killed an orc, almost got killed by two of them, and I had to leave two critical but stable patients behind on the<em>Roger Young.</em>They never would have survived the acceleration of an escape pod.” In the long run, that was going to weigh on her most heavily—at least her PES interview would soon be over with one way or the other. “By the way, I’m sure you already know it but your medical staff is amazing—I didn’t lose one of my patients after we were aboard. Very professional work, and Dr. Sabha is someone I’d compare favorably to my very best colleagues at Mass General on Earth...” It was funny how sometimes the hospital seemed like it was lifetime ago, and yet other times the memories hit her so strongly it was like yesterday.<br/><br/>Sarah got back on topic. “But as for what’s troubling me the most at the moment... My LT, I guess he was very impressed by how I handled myself—and also concerned that as a private I would have no authority in a medical emergency—so he wants to promote me. Despite the fact that I’m PES and loyalty-flagged. I asked him not to at first, I didn’t want this trouble for either of us. But he insists its best for the platoon and obviously it’s my place to defer to his judgment.<br/><br/>“It’s just... the battalion PD will want to ‘interview’ me because of this, and the infantry politicos have a reputation for being just as brutal as the ones in Viability Centers.” She shuddered slightly at the thought. “I’m more scared of them than I am of the orcs. I don’t have anything left to hide at this point—they broke me, more completely than I could have believed. But the things the PD might do for confirmation that I’m not a threat...” She paused, looking down away from him and trying to blink back a few more tears. Once again she blushed. “I’m sorry...” Crying in front of friends or family was one thing, but Sarah could not believe she was doing so in front of a completely stranger. And who knew how he might react to her story?