She didn’t seem overly affected by the way he looked her over. It was one blessing of being what she was. She was accustomed to being examined and sized up, usually in the most dispassionate way. Or with a scorching criticism coming on the end of it when she thought about the Commander. Mediocre, not worth talking to, abysmal scoring on her tests.

What he said after that took her by surprise as her eyes widened in shock. “There’s… nothing to forgive. I’m flattered that I’ve adapted well enough that I could pass as a human to someone who didn’t know me.” Her expression softened a bit as she gave him a tiny, hesitant smile. “We were created in the image of the humans after all.”