Every time Zouichi visits, Eva's reminded of how he picked her broken flowers up off the ground delicately, as if they were still fragile in death; she still remembers being surprised by that. Ten years later she always thinks back to that and feels silly, since Zouichi seems so at peace and now, practiced, taking care of the blossoms. "Thank you. The new seeds I got at the last shore leave seem to have taken so well I might need to be on alert for an invasive species, but as long as they don't start crowding out my tulips it should be fine."

She gets up off the ground, making an exaggerated, mock old lady groan as she does so. She's pushing sixty now, making her one of the oldest humans on board, and she abuses that manipulative elderly power for all it's worth. "I haven't seen you in a few days. Have you been well?"