Through Time, Darkly

[Vogel]

Cooped up, probed, the works. Typical, expected, disconcerting.

The promise of being able to leave whenever he wanted was nice, but in truth the ex-Lieutenant knew that the only thing that really ensured this was his weapon. There were no laws to be enforced in his favor, and the word of one person was easily betrayed. In the grim reality he had grown up in, it was readily apparent that force was the sole power available to any man, let alone any soldier.
And the Coalition had more force.

Doyle looked down at his feet, as if studying the rivets in the floor with the eye of a curator, before looking back up, returning Denises direct stare.

I get it, he started, But for both our sakes I hope youre telling the truth.

A harsh implication; really his situation was more dire than theirs as far as he could tell but the ever-present sidearm on his hip stood as judicator.

I dont think I need to tell you how messed up this all is, or how scared out of my mind I am. But frankly in the past few weeks Ive gone through more stuff than Ive ever thought possible.

His expression hardened; memories of your entire home system exploding before your eyes tended to bring down spirits.

Now I just want answers. Do what you need to do, and Ill do what I need to do.

The movement of the woman with the helmet still donned caught his attention. Shifting his weight, Doyle glanced over and saw that she was moving steadily, if cautiously, towards his fighter.

By the way, he half shouted, Try touching it.

Jaxs parting comments sprung to mind.

Ill bet you every Alliance credit I dont have that its cold to the touch. Real cold.

Almost painfully cold. But not to him. One more thing he needed an explanation for.