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The Pilot has been monitoring all of your choices, Commander. He is well pleased as am I. He agrees with our plan as to Davies, the Osiris stated.

Did Jace ask to know what I was doing or did you just inform him? Khoth felt slightly hurt that Jace’s claim to trust his judgment was tainted by “looking over his shoulder”.

But that hurt went away as the Osiris admitted, He… repeatedly told me not to tell him your progress.

But you insisted? Khoth cocked his head to the side.

I kept it as a live running feed, the Osiris stated.

Khoth let out a bark of laughter which had all of the recruits’ heads snapping up and in his direction. He quickly coughed and became stone-faced once more. In a way it was not funny as it showed the Osiris ignoring Jace’s orders yet it was such an Osiris-like thing to do. Passive-aggressive yet necessary. He was glad that Jace hadn’t wanted to keep an eye on him, but he was glad that Jace approved of his choices so far.

Davies would need watching though.

“You have excellent experience, Davies,” Khoth stated.

“I’ve seen a lot of war,” Davies agreed. “But this war with the Khul is something new for me. Something… better.”

Khoth lifted an eyebrow. “How so?”

Davies gave an almost sad smile. “I know I’m fighting for the good guys.”

But do you if you’re reporting to Intoshkin? Khoth thought. Yet he likely sees working for Intoshkin as insuring humanity’s future and safety.

When Davies’ tag turned green, Khoth felt the man relax slightly. It was something few would have noticed. But Khoth knew what to look for. And the Osiris was showing him the man’s vitals.

Khoth kept going through the recruits. When he came to a pilot, he immediately wanted to see Jack’s assessment of the man or woman. He could tell just how carefully Jack spoke of each pilot, which were the ones to keep and which were the ones to reject. The red tags were shuffled off to a waiting dropship that immediately took them back to Earth. Khoth did not want them to stay and feel humiliated or hopeful that he would change his mind.

He was also seeing a pattern to the people that General Intoshkin had chosen. Khoth knew that the general would be surprised in some instances at who he chose and who he rejected. Those who rigidly followed the chain of command were ones that Intoshkin had given high marks, understandably, as from his position that was most important. But Khoth looked for how they worked within a unit with their immediate superior and their fellow soldiers. He kept in mind Jace’s desire to have people in the ranks who would not leave their fellows behind, but Khoth also chose a few people who could make the hard decision. One of those was Dr. Miranda Kerr.

Dr. Kerr was a forty-five years old psychiatrist with olive toned skin and green eyes. From a young age, she had raised her brothers and sister after her mother’s early death of cancer. Her father had to work two jobs to keep the family from financial ruin. Khoth did not understand why humans allowed people to be in such precarious positions. Why was there no help for them? How many good and brilliant people was humanity losing for a simple lack of social safety net? But there hadn’t been.

Dr. Kerr had to help herself and her family. She’d managed to keep her younger siblings in school and out of trouble until she was eighteen-years-old then she had joined the military to obtain funds to go to school. She hadn’t intended to become a psychiatrist, but after seeing the devastation that war caused on her fellow soldiers, she determined that the best use of her talents.

She’d seen the Khul in action. She had been visiting the base to develop protocols for soldiers and civilians alike for alien contact, both with hostile and non-hostile species. Then the Khul had attacked. She was trapped in a car when her driver had been killed. She had managed to open the car’s back door, roll out, and dash from the vehicle. She’d taken shelter in a nearby home. Like with what had happened to Walter’s home, the Khul had surrounded the house, intent on taking the humans inside prisoners.

While Dr. Kerr had a weapon, it was a simple human gun, which she had already seen had no effect on the Khul. She was trapped in the house with two children and their grandmother. As she had seen the glass shatter and the Khul start to swarm the building, she had made a decision. She wouldn’t let the others be taken. She vowed to kill them to stop that. She had been ready to make that choice a reality when Jace had initiated Metal Rain and the Khul had met their end.

“Dr. Kerr, you’ve seen the terror and destruction the Khul can do yet you are here,” Khoth said softly.

“Exactly, that’s why I’m here,” she said, her voice slightly husky. “Considering what the Khul can do to a person if they are captured, there will be intense stress. Even the wonderful parts of taking to the stars and meeting new species will cause anxiety for all to some degree. I’m here to help people deal with that.”

Khoth nodded. “I see. Welcome aboard, Dr. Kerr.”

She smiled and nodded as her tag went green.

At that moment, a dropship entered the hanger bay and Gehenna ran into the space, metal arms waving above her head like giant flags, making a sound similar to a train whistle. She jolted to a stop beside Khoth, putting her metal hands together in front of her chest with a clank.

“They’re here! They’re here, Khoth!” she yelled excitedly as the gangway came down.

“You mean Dr. Isa and some of the other civilian crew?” Khoth asked.

She nodded vigorously. Khoth noted that the recruits were all staring at the Terminator with interesting expressions ranging from awe to a kind of perplexed horror.

“I have been interviewing crew members all morning. I am surprised you were not here for that,” he said, gesturing towards the many interviewees still left to go.

“Oh, I have been! I’ve been greeting them in their quarters,” she told him.

“Ah, how did that go?” he asked.