"I know exactly what you mean. And really, I should be apologising; I'm the one who got you to rake all that stuff up," Una said. "As for keeping busy—" She took a long drag off her cigarette and laughed a little.

"It's a bit like what you said about hearing battle stations calls. I'm used to coming and going as I please, moving from one war zone or crisis to the next, the more hopeless the cause, the better." She took a significant swig off her drink and winced a little at the burn. "But I've none of my usual resources or outlets, and all my experience with travel across the multiverse does me precious little good here. So apart from reading an epic poem-cum-philosophical discourse from the eightieth century, I've mostly been finding ways to complicate my life." A deeply self-deprecating little grin.