Kate Townsend sat cross-legged on a raised platform overlooking the mineral lakes of Casperia Prime. Around her, the water shimmered with lavender and gold, reflecting the light of the system’s twin suns as native songbirds trilled in the distance.

She wasn’t here as a counselor. Not as the XO. Not even as a mother—though she missed Tess and Katie with every heartbeat. This time, she was just Kate. A woman who had survived the Dominion War, motherhood, and the responsibilities of command. A woman who deserved quiet.

She let the spa attendants drape her in silks and healing oils. Not because she believed they’d fix the chronic tension in her shoulders, but because she needed the ritual. A reminder that she mattered.

On the third day, she took a hover-paddle to a hidden grotto and read half a novel while sipping cool tart nectar from a fruit carved into a flower. A local historian joined her, sharing tales of ancient Casperia ruins. For the first time in weeks, she didn’t analyze his emotional tone. She just… listened.

That evening, wrapped in a flowing robe and soft sandals, she stood on the balcony of her villa. The ocean stretched endlessly before her, and behind her, silence pulsed like a heartbeat.

Her PADD buzzed. Chris. A message from her husband. She smiled. Not the tired, “I’m keeping it together” smile. But a real one.

“I miss you too. But I’m breathing again. Thank you for this.”

She didn’t sleep that night. She rested.