Chapter 7

Gordon descended from Highland Scots and a few rebel Irish. He was big and raw-boned, with a hard, angular face that looked graven from granite in a crude yet not unpleasant way. Heavy, near-black hair grew thick on his body, almost a pelt, an inherited protection against the damp chill of a faraway homeland. He had fled the poverty-stricken world on which his people had been settled and found a home of sorts in the Uni-Fleet. Fifteen years now, shuttling from one remote planet to another as the Uni-Council solidified their empire and their hold on the known universe. He had lost contact with the remnants of family that still lived. The fleet was his family. It was enough—until the new captain took over his unit.