The voice from the speaker sounded tinny and mechanical, but Rosie had gotten to the point that she'd have recognized the Admiral's voice anywhere. Her words of wisdom did strike true. Still, the whole thing made Rosie nervous. But everything made her nervous these days.

She hung her head, staring darkly at her own hands. So say we all, said the Admiral, and that brought the weight of it down hard. Not unbearable, not impossible, but the growing pain in Rosie's stomach told her everything in the universe was where it was meant to be.

Even now, there was clarity in pain.

"So say we all..."