Chosen (HMCS Borealis Book 2) by S.J. Madill

sliding by as the ship raced through space.
    This ship.   The ship that had found her in that escape pod.   She'd never met a human before, and then she'd been rescued by them.   The humans, and their Captain.   The one who had become a part of her life, whom she now called Feda .   She smiled to herself.   He still didn't know how the Palani word translated, but he'd come to know what it meant.
    Her reflection in the window smiled back at her.   The white of her face, relaxed and calm; the blue of her hair, gathered neatly about her shoulders.  She wore the diaphanous blue and white robes of a Tassali, and underneath, the gleaming white of her form-fitting coldsuit.   Through meditation and occasional use of the coldsuit, she could keep her body temperature at twenty degrees Celsius.  That was far higher than the usual nine degrees of the Palani, but still below the human norm of thirty-seven.   She could match human temperature for short periods, through intense meditation and some help from drugs.  For her Feda she had often done so, but it was difficult, and they had agreed there would be no intimacy while aboard the ship.  As he said, it was to be 'strictly business'.   But that was difficult, too.   Very difficult, at times.
    She let out a yawn and turned back to her desk and the datapads spread out before her.   One of the new crewmembers belonged to a subset of Christianity called 'Finnish Lutheran'.  As the ship's chaplain, she intended to learn everything about it, to better understand the crewmember's spiritual needs.
    No sooner had she picked up a datapad then there was a chirp from the door console.   She glanced at the clock.   Her Feda wouldn't be off duty for another five hours.
    "Who is it?" she asked.
    The console beeped at her.   It still had trouble understanding her voice sometimes; apparently, her harmonics were too complex for the computer.   She leaned forward and tapped a button on her desk console.   "Please come in," she said, releasing the button.   As the airlock cycled, she gathered up her datapads and cleared the desk.   The temperature difference between her cabin and the rest of the ship was only a few degrees, so the airlock finished quickly and the inner door opened.
    "Ah," she said.   "Sub-Lieutenant Tremblay.   How nice to see you."
    The young officer blushed, his face reddening.   He pulled at the cuffs of his jacket as he stepped forward.   His eyes met hers, and he looked away.   She knew how most of the crew — male and female — looked at her.   Not in an inappropriate way, not any more, but as an exotic outsider.   Some stared, some averted their eyes, while some had eyes that wandered.   But they all had the same curiosity.
    "Tassali, ma'am," said Tremblay.   "Is now a good time, ma'am?"
    She gestured at the cabin's other chair.   "Now is an excellent time, Sub-Lieutenant.   This is a lovely surprise."
    He moved slowly, his arms stiff against his sides.   "Thank you ma'am," he said, taking the offered seat.   She watched as Tremblay sat an arm's length from her, clearly self-conscious about being so close.   He fidgeted in the chair, sliding it back a few inches on the floor.   She leaned back, crossing one leg over the other.   It was a gesture she'd seen humans use, usually to indicate a level of comfort.
    Tremblay didn't seem ready to speak, so she started instead.   "We're heading home a bit early, but nevertheless we're coming to the end of your first deployment.   It is a large step in your career, isn't it?"
    The Sub-Lieutenant seemed tense, like a coiled spring.   "Aye, ma'am."
    "What are your impressions, Mister Tremblay?"
    "Well, ma'am, I guess I'm surprised by a few things."
    "Oh?   What sort of things?"
    "Well," said Tremblay, glancing at the wall as if for answers, "I'm surprised at how casual things are.   I mean, some things are strict, like watch times and the like.   But other things seem really relaxed,