“Were you planning to wake sleeping beauty?” Ky asked. “Or were you waiting for a prince?”
I would have expected that the big attack was coming from the mercenaries, but it didn’t. This chapter shows that there’s some down time between when the merc cruisers get in range and as the Glennys moseys off into space. We see the crew eat, talk about the quality of such food, go to the rec hall, share some stories about their past, then Ky gets some sleep, oversleeps some, and we’re back at it again, now Ky wants to contact the mercenary ships and see what’s up, after all, they still have to get out of this jam somehow and can’t jump.
If I wrote this, I wouldn’t have taken this tack. I would have, like a lot of writers, probably continued on with the action build build build build until it became overwhelming. But… I see the merit of taking the time out chapter here just as I was getting amped up as a reader. It reminded us of characters, and also connected me to crew characters I hadn’t gotten to spend background time with yet. It also had a side effect of feeling realistic. I haven’t been in combat myself, but I imagine that like many tense things, it’s a lot of waiting, a flurry of craziness, and then more waiting if you come out of it alive. The book holds a bit more authenticity here because that feels very real.
Right before that though, Ky checks in with all the stations, gives orders, gets status updates, solidifies herself again as a good Captain. I trust in Ky at this point, as much as her crew does. Love that!
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