Despite the drunken night being a real risk to Shiva's position on the team, it turned out not only to be worth it, but a cherished memory. The team felt like friends to her now, even the no-nonsense Shuo. Additionally, she was surprised how well Telmeck seemed to take finding out about her criminal history. It was a little easier to relax now.

When Shiva woke up the next morning with arguably less of a hangover than the was expecting, she sighed and laughed slightly to see Shuo spread across the carpeted floor. She sort of wished she hadn't fallen asleep on her cot so quickly, else she might have been able to help him into his bed and prevent the inevitable aches he would have.

As was expected, the rest of the journey back to Pax was business as usual. Shiva kept up her training regime and spent much of her spare time reading. There was occasionally time for socialising, but they were far from on a holiday, so her teammates were more often than not as busy as she was.

The day that the ship reached Pax was the same day that everyone in the team was to be called to a meeting. It sounded like a formal debriefing more than anything. Shiva had spotted Shuo laying out his ArmSpecWar dress uniform for the occasion, so Shiva decided not to make the same mistake as last time. Her dress uniform was far less decorated and certainly displayed a lower rank than Shuo's, but she kept it as prim and polished as any soldier.

Shiva emerged to meet the others in short order, brushing off one last ball of lint from her sleeve as she walked. She took a deep calming breath in anticipation. "Alright, time to be formal."