As Cobb followed Synthi-er out of the turbolift and along the corridor that led to the Counselling Centre, she might have noticed him lagging behind somewhat, like a small child on their way to school. He’d avoided this deck until now, for several reasons. One, he’d considered this very much the Counselor’s domain and had no desire for a discussion on how the colour of the walls aided one with achieving zen-like peace, or how the scatter cushions on every single bloody seat were strategically placed to invite an atmosphere of tranquility and openness. And two, he’d been making every effort that he could to distract Synthi-er from the fact that he hadn’t yet allowed her to rummage amongst the debris of his thoughts as part of his damned psyche assessment!

And now, because clearly the gods felt that wasn’t nearly enough discomfort for Zachariah to face, he had to come and talk to the child. Not that he had any issues with this particular child…yet. But when he couldn’t preface a meeting with a few measures of whiskey then he usually found his conversational skills…lacking. But, duty was duty and he had pledged to Casela that he would protect Gen from harm. He just hoped the child wasn’t going to be a bloody pain in the ass about it.

• Captain (and grumpy old sod) Zachariah Cobb