[Now there's a strange assumption - that because Ari's people have reached the stars, there must be no more bickering? She doesn't want to think about how many intercolonial wars there would be if not for the Tradelines settling disputes before they got out of hand. It also speaks to a very cynical view of humanity, one that Ari's not quite comfortable with from someone completely alien. There was far more to them than only that. Still, Ari can play the diplomat if she has to.]

I'm sure we're from very different sectors. [It's a safe assumption. Even on Tirva that they had left behind, there were only humans.]

[Seven needs some interpretation. Seven members of her family? Seven queens? Ari doesn't suspect 'seven of her kind' because a band that small wouldn't need a queen, and if Valdis were one of the very last of a dying people, she'd surely have mentioned that. She's about to ask, when Valdis abruptly changes the subject. Another time, then. She'll remember.]

Special talents? Flying a starship's about as special as I get. The usual military training - repairs and weapons and contract negotiation, all of that. I've never really had time for much else.