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“Well, that’s good,” Anna said She’d been about to offer to pay for his treat how she’d actually do that She felt a moment of relief and sharoup? I haven’t had time to find them yet”

“Yeah,” Chris said with a chuckle, “I heard You’ve been doing commando raids while I’ve been laid up If I’d known they trained you guys to take down souped-up terrorists, I’d have paid more attention in church as a kid”

“I ran away from her until she had a seizure, and then I taped her to a chair Not very heroic”

“I’ into a pressure hatch, sacrificing an ar trapped in a compromised part of the ship I was unconscious at the time, but that doesn’t see shit they’d never do if they were really thinking about it”

Anna laughed at that “I’ve been thinking a lot about that exact thing recently” Chris relaxed back into his pile of pillows and nodded for her to continue

“Labels, Ithe aliens evil, because they hurt us And without context, hoe know?”

“Yeah,” Chris said “I lose a couple li combine, I’m an idiot I lose the saht door when the ship was daed, I’m a hero”

“Maybe it’s as si really i up our minds ahead of time what it will be”

Chris absentrimaced “Like?”

“We ca to the aliens first But this is the sa it destroy the Earth Why did we assu the first hu has slapped us down, taken all our guns away, but not killed us That shouldthis powerful could kill us as easily as it declawed us But it didn’t Instead of trying to figure out what itso we call it evil I feel like we’re children who’ve been punished and we think it’s because our parents are mean”

“They stopped our ships to… what? Pacify us?” Chris asked

“Who knows?” Anna said, shrugging “But I knoe’re not asking those questions Hus when they’re afraid, and we’re all very afraid right now”

“Tara died,” Chris said

Anna racked her brain trying to remember who Tara was Chris saw her confusion and added, “Short blond hair? She was a ain Her angry marine had died A whole future in which she’d worked with Tara to find out the source of her anger vanished Conversations she’d already had in her head, lines of questioning, the anticipation of satisfaction she’d get fro the marine open up to her Gone, as if someone had flicked a switch It was hard not to sympathize with Cortez’s view a little After all, the aliens had killed one of her congregation now