Far on the other side of Stuck Station, Riox rematerialized in an empty hallway and tried to compose himself.
He had been scared before. A soldier sees frightening things in war.
But there were only three times in his life that Riox would have said he’d been truly terrified.
The first was when an invasion force executed his entire battalion in front of him. The second was when he had been trapped alone on an alien world defending a small orphanage.
And the third was when Trak detailed his tour of duty.
Riox, you need a stiff breath, he thought. He inhaled deeply.
That's better.
"You know," Riox said, "there was something else I was supposed to tell him ..."
Something about not watching something ... he thought. Drat. It was important!
He fought to keep the thought, but it was a losing battle.
Already Riox felt the memory of his meeting with Trak already fading.
But, before it vanished completely, he had one last thought on the subject.
Anderson’s going to have problems with that guy.
"A stiff breath"? He gets drunk on air! That's why he's always intoxicated.