I love you Ava.”“I’m very flattered dear, but I think we had our time together. I’m too old now for that sort of thing.”I’d heard that bef...re; I’d learned not to argue about it, but to just wait for her mood to change.We got back to find a patient waiting; a local fisherman with a bad gash in his leg sat stoically outside.I helped him in and gave him an injection of anesthetic at Ava’s instruction.“My arthritis is acting up today.” She said to me, “You can do the stitching.”She’s been. . since you look at it every day. This is kind of a confession." What is it?"Now, let's pause right here. A myriad of thoughts were running through my head at this point in time.For example:"Why me? Ashley doesn't even talk to me much. What could the confession be?"I got the answer quickly."Chad... Becky told me you packing a little, huh?"I cursed to myself. Ashley was referring to her best friend, "The Sweetheart." I should have known. As close as you two are... I should have known. Shit. I. Now, however, it was so empty he could hardly bear to cross the threshold at the end of the day. It had been lovingly crafted, yes, but that was when he believed he would be sharing it for the rest of his life with Tarren. Beautiful Tarren. Visions of her bright smile and slender body filled his thoughts as he set about barring his doors and windows against the night air. How lovely she had been, so graceful and witty. It had been the cruelty of fate that had claimed her, a victim to the fever,. Further out, but too close for comfort, a loose cloud of red dots moved around the Gorz ship."Relay this feed to the fighter squadrons this instant!" Colin ordered the tech tensely, then punched the button for his command frequency."Green Leader to Green Five, we're sending you a new sensor plot. These Gorz have stealthed fighters that intel didn't warn us about. You'll have to deal with them before you can attack the battleship!" Crap! When did they show up! My sensors still show nothing!" the.