Dad -
The kett aren't what we thought they were. Scavengers, slavers, conquerors - we've seen those before, we know how to deal with them. This is different. They don't just take people, they take people and turn them into them, stealing their minds and bodies and strength. Jaal's been fighting kett for years to avenge his family, his father, but one of those kett he's killed may have been his father. It's horrifying. We used to worry that the other arks were lost or destroyed - but it could be so, so much worse. We need to find them. Even "Meridian," whatever it is, doesn't seem so important now.
And I'm worried about Nettie. What we saw inside that base did something to her. She wouldn't talk much before, not seriously, but now she won't talk about anything at all except weapons and armies and driving out the kett. Lexi's doing her best to be our team psychiatrist as well as our team doctor, but Nettie's not having it. She says she's fine. If twins could really read each others' minds, this would all be so much easier...
And then there's Jaal. Jaal is - something. Something like a friend, and a teammate, and a brother, and a - man. Am I attracted to him? Why is that question so hard to answer? I do like being around him, and I know I can't stop looking at him. Even on Aya, that first time, I couldn't stop looking. Staring. Like I was some kind of animal fascinated by his eyes and his hands and the movement of his rofjinn. Like an idiot. Is all the stress getting to me? Am I just lonely? Loneliness is not a good reason to hit on the new guy whose entire species you need to impress. Do I even have time for this between pathfinding and Nettie and... everything?
Dad, this job you gave me sucks. I need help. Why aren't you here?
- Griff