You know, there was a time I'd have said that I'd never have survived being stuck out on the frontier. Now? I might not be good at it, but I'd get by. I've been through far worse, right? I'd just run the damn frontier militia and pay someone to sort out the plumbing. It'd be fine. I'd get to sign the founding Charter and they'd put my name in obscure history texts.

[It's not going to happen, but she doesn't worry about stuff like that any longer.]

See, I'd say that your powers were taken from you and you should absolutely demand them back.

But Oda didn't tell you? [She has to tell him now. She couldn't before; she'd had to seem hyper-professional, but that's so much less necessary here.] He and I used to... speculate. About whether Skulduggery had secret tentacles and that was how... you know. And then! [More laughing.] I was worried at one point that people would think I was with Oda, and gossip about it. [Obviously she never was, but she doesn't even feel the need to say that to Klaus, thinking he has to trust the both of them that far already.] So we decided that if anyone said anything to me about it, I'd tell them I was impressed by the tentacles. Just that, all serious spacer, and refuse to say anything else.

Now I almost wish someone had made a remark.