She waited.
The corner of his mouth pulled up. “I can do it.”
She tried to give him a grateful smile, but her face wouldn’t listen. It wanted her to scowl, to grit her teeth, to glower in defiance. Cavalon grinned in response.
Adequin turned to face Jackin. His worry had faded, his brow smooth, dark brown eyes wide and clear. He now looked … anxiously impressed.
“What do you think, Jack?” she asked quietly. “Want to be a CNO again?”
He didn’t respond at first, pressing a hand to his forehead.
She lowered her voice to a whisper. “I don’t know what’s going on with you and the Mercers … but if you have some vengeance to pay the king, this could be your chance.”
“Rake, void,” he breathed. “That’s mutiny.”
“I know.”
He turned to stare back at where Griffith lay, and his hardened features softened.
She swallowed down a lump, praying to the void that Jackin would be on board. She needed him.
After a minute, his hand dropped away and he gave a deep sigh. “Just tell me the plan, boss.”
“First, we save the Sentinels.” Adequin let out a long, heavy breath. “Then we take the fight to the Core.”
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thank you …
（In order of appearance-ish）
??Mom and Dad, for instilling in me a love of books and science fiction, respectively.
??Jessie, for being the most supportive sister ever, and DJ, Skyler, Dawson, and Lincoln.
??Matt Olson, who acted as a sounding board for this story in its infancy, and who has always blindly believed in my creative endeavors more than I ever could myself.
????And for introducing me to Battlestar Galactica.
????And for showing me what a true friend is. I have been changed for good.
??My husband, best friend, and all-around favorite human, Dave Dewes, who encouraged my initial interest in fiction writing by challenging me to tackle a short story—because when I couldn’t figure it out, I tried a novel instead.
????And for being the only person to have inspired a character in this book, whether I realized it at the time or not.
????And for being able to make words rhyme, because void knows I can’t.
??Ember, Arya, and Sylvanas, for keeping me sane.
??All my critique partners and beta readers on Scribophile and BetaBooks, for their invaluable feedback and support. Especially …
??Dave Hollis, aka Hollis-bot, for his impressive ability to mimic human emotion and generate an endless trove of thoughtful, constructive, spot-on feedback. He’s impacted this book and my writing more than he knows.
??Tullio Pontecorvo, who made me realize how hard I’d channeled my inner Commander Shepard, and reminded me how that’s never, ever, a bad thing.
??Tina Chan, for her keen ability to search-and-destroy my gratuitous prose flaws, and for studying engineering so she can be my Cavalon during the AI uprising.
??Rebecca Schaeffer, who first introduced me to the Big Scary World of Publishing, and has been a steadfast beacon of advice and sanity ever since.
??The Landing Eagles, Marco Frassetto, and Francesca Tacchi.
??Margaret Bail, for believing in this book, and somehow delivering it into the hands of my dream publisher.
??Tricia Skinner, a tremendous cheerleader, advocate, and most venerated Sith Lord.
??My editor, Jen Gunnels, whose keen insight not only made this story light-years stronger, but has made me a better writer.