At the time that had seemed like a very long time to her. Now, as the end neared, it seemed very short. And what difference would it make? She could stay a year. Three years. Long enough to see him into the Nikkeldepain Space Naval academy—before leaving him to become affianced to the insipid Illyla. Deep in her heart, Goth knew that there was no point in staying on, as much as she wanted to. What had started off as something a young girl had said, without fully understanding its meaning, had become a lot more tangible as time passed. She'd said that she was going to marry Pausert when she was of marriageable age. She'd even toyed with age shifts. Over the last couple of years or so, as they battled the Agandar, and then Moander and Manaret, and then the Nanite menace, she'd gone from simply liking the captain to assuming he was hers. Still, the age difference had remained a barrier, making the whole thing seem rather abstract.But now . . . having encountered Pausert when he was her own age, she'd found she had a real crush on the young man he'd once been.
