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Then she walked away and left me standing there alone at the airlock.
    #
    We made it the next two days without further problems. Before Lady jumped for Fagin, I held a brief service for Dingo, going over the standard burial in space service and saying some things that were true, like he’d been one hell of a sailor, and some things that weren’t so true, like he’d also been one hell of a human being. But the saints expected praise when we sent them a new spirit and Dingo deserved whatever boost I could give him.
    The burial capsule dropped back toward Carnavon as we accelerated to jump. In time, Dingo’s body would be cremated in the fires of that sun. There are worse grave markers.
    It’d be a long run to Fagin, with nothing to do but hope nothing else really important broke. I briefed Captain Weskind again. She told me we just needed one good run. I agreed. It looked like we might finally be getting that first good run.
    I took Dingo’s watches on the bridge. The other qualified watchstanders were stretched thin enough as it was.
    That’s where I was one ship’s night when Halley Keracides came to see me. “I thought you could use some company.”
    I let my skepticism show. “That’s the only reason you’re here in the middle of the night?”
    “No.” She sat down and stared at the displays for a long time. In jump space, they’re mostly blank. Whatever’s out there doesn’t register. There’d been a time when I’d whiled away boring night watches thinking about what I’d do if something ever did show up on the displays while we were in jump. But nothing ever did, and there were a lot more likely to happen things to spend my time worrying about, and after a while I stopped thinking about it. Halley finally looked back at me. “We need to talk. About what happened to Third Officer Dingo.”
    I nodded, trying not to look angry or defensive. “Talking won’t make it not have happened.”
    “Kilcannon, you know as well as I do that running a ship with systems this old and in need of repair is just asking for more accidents like the one that killed Dingo.”
    I kept my voice level, somehow. “It’s been a real long time since anyone died on the Lady .”
    “I know. I checked. And, frankly, given the shape this ship is in that means you’ve been doing an incredible job.” Halley paused while I tried to absorb what seemed to be an unexpected compliment. “But no human can beat the odds forever. Not when the odds keep getting longer. Skill and hard work and determination can keep a ship going for a long time even when she’s only held together by spit and prayers, but sooner or later the saints get tired of staving off disaster and let the worst happen.”
    I waited to see if she’d say more but she seemed to waiting for me. “What do you suggest I do? This run should pay out well. Well enough to springboard us for an even better run. That’ll pay for a refit. Not a great one, but good enough.”
    Halley leaned forward, searching my face for something. “Kilcannon, a ship’s only got so much life in her. Lady ’s old. You can’t make her new again for any sum of money you’re ever going to see running cargos on the fringes.”
    “She doesn’t need to be new again.”
    “Okay, you can’t make her safe again. Not really. Not for any sum of money you have any realistic chance of generating on cargo runs.”
    “One good run. That’s all we really need.”
    “Do you really believe that, or are you trying to believe that?”
    I ignored her question. “Then we’ll fix Lady up and she’ll keep taking care of us. That’s what Captain Weskind always says. Take care of the ship and the ship will take care of you.”
    “Captain Weskind.” Halley shook her head. “As far as I’ve been able to determine, she hasn’t left her cabin since I came aboard.”
    “She’s busy.”
    “Does she really know what shape the ship is in?”
    I hesitated and I could tell Halley Keracides noticed.