Guilty conscience.
“You regret leaving
the fleet.” For me.
Almon scowled at
him, perhaps guessing Joseph’s suspicions. He turned his back, hiding his face.
“I’m getting too old for that shit. Even with the war over and Bi’iis contained, I can’t keep tearing around the galaxy. After almost fifty years,
I’m due some time to relax.”
Almon was not that
old for a Kalquorian. It made Joseph wonder if he’d been wrong about the
reasons the Nobek had quit.
What if it had
nothing to do with some weird fixation on paying Joseph back for saving his
life? What if Almon left the fleet because of the trauma and blow to his esteem
after being taken a prisoner by Joseph? Was Almon’s weak excuse of age covering
for him feeling he’d lost his sense of self? A feeling of weakness?
Joseph didn’t want
to believe he was at fault for Almon’s lesser career decision. But it had been
on his watch, in his brig, that Almon had nearly been beaten to death by
Joseph’s crew. How much had it taken out of the Nobek?
Tentatively scheduled for release November 2018
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