She looked between father and son, chuckling as Diondre laughed and rolled his eyes, throwing a napkin at his father. “I’ll just bet that birdie i...s a pain in my ass!” “How old will you be?” Sammi’s quiet question surprised him, and he sat back and looked at her, lips still wide in a smile. “Twenty-five.” As Sammi’s brows arched, he added, “I graduate next year, and will probably be drafted into the Major Leagues, the way my agent is talking.” Sammi nodded, her lips lifting slightly as she. " I covered my eyes to blockthe daggers of sunlight that were stabbing my brain.She turned the coffee machine on and placed a pod in it's waitingmouth. Even the sound of coffee streaming into the cup was likefingernails on a chalkboard. She placed the coffee in front of me. Idrank in its wonderful aroma."So let's start with why you're wearing an expensive dress and makeup?"She sat down next to me. "I thought you hated the idea of wearingmakeup." Then as an afterthought she added, "It looks very. Seated upon the throne was a figure that was bisected by the center of the gate, whose features had been left deliberately vague. There were hints of hooves and tubes and curved things that might have been horn. The only thing I could see clearly was a single raised hand, like he was signaling for an Uber.The guards at the gate were a pair of inky blotches on the skein of reality that should not have been. So, you know. Par for the course.One of the hideous masses of pure darkness stepped. Stahl sighed. “I know, son. Complete overkill and useless too, but I was not consulted.”Roy knew it was a Lister class, from some GalNet program he somehow remembered, but that was about it. He also had no idea how to properly respond and interact with undoubtedly the most famous military hero in Union history.Two marines in heavily customized battle suits stood by the boarding ramp. Both looked relaxed and very alert at the same time. The one to the left was human, had a very pronounced nose,.