"cressey, can you hear me?"

"yes, i can hear you. who is it?"

"it's captain mackley. i've come to see you."

"well—thanks, captain."

"you got the outspacer, cressey. i thought you'd like to know."

"frankly, captain, i couldn't care less. but thanks for telling me, anyway."

"it means a lot, cressey. there were a lot of people's lives riding with you."

yeah, i'm a hero. i'm a hornetman.

"thanks, captain."

"was it pretty rough?"

rough? like birth and death and all of life, rolled into minutes.

"no more so than i expected, captain. pretty much routine. routine for a hornetman."