Grick was stunned.

He could go home. The find he had made could send everyone in the ship home. He could go back to the dark, and the quiet, back to the cold embrace of the Father. Back to the great Giftstone Forges, the shining cathedrals in the deep, the million voices raised in song... he could be one of them again. Forgiven. The scar on his forehead twinged slightly. Grick could be forgiven.

But the captain would not allow it. Instead he would stray further from his divine mission, plunge deeper into the strange dangers of space. To declare war on the council, and in all likelihood die and never return home. Captain Ak'sel would do this to him. His friend.

Paxyntrotka, meanwhile, was outlining in exhaustive detail everything wrong with the Captain's plan, and she had some good points. Grick had no desire for conflict with Council forces, and he had even less desire to see the Captain injured. What was more, it wasn't entirely clear to the Child how any of this accomplished their (apparent) goal of finding the humans; it seemed like a lot of risk for no real gain.

Haltingly, Grick raised one of his arms in the air, the other pulled over his chest in a show of nervousness. "The ways of aliens are strange to me," he began, "but I do not know what we stand to gain by falsely turning against you, Captain Ak'sel. If our aim is to buy... weapons," he paused at the word, "There is surely salvage aboard the ship we could sell? Paxyntrotka or Venbee'Retintee or another could go to buy them, and us not be troubled with this illusion." He lowered his voice considerably and looked down at the ground. "That is, if we are truly set on this course of action."