Daniel’s Grandpa stared at him in silence. They stood outside Classroom C12. Alliance guardsmen waited outside the classroom and the crowd funneled past them a few yards away. Len lingered a little ways away with his father. And Mr. Trotter talked with a sharply dressed man with an Alliance jacket. Daniel would have asked Len what rank the guy was but Len was too far away and Daniel didn’t really want to cross Len’s dad—they weren’t supposed to be speaking and Daniel was starting to feel a little mad at Len again for getting him into this mess.

“Where were you, Daniel Cotton?” his grandfather asked. He was using his full name so Daniel knew he was in trouble. “Where were you when you were supposed to be in class, young man?”

“We were out by the creek, grandpa.”

“And what were you doing?”

“We were just messing around—“

“And what does that mean—‘messing around?’”

“You know—“

“No—I do not. What were you doing? Exactly?”

“We were just hanging out. Just skipping class.”

“Daniel, that is not an answer. And believe me, son—those Alliance men—they know that is not an answer. And they will get an answer. You may think you can just brush past your old grandpa, but I am warning you—you are in for a rude awakening if you think you can snow those men.”

Daniel felt very scared at this point. He wanted to tell his grandfather everything but there wasn’t time anymore.

“You tell them exactly what you were doing, son. Exactly. In great detail. Because they will find out whether you tell them or not, Daniel,” his grandfather insisted and punctuated his comment with a severe stare.

The Alliance man walked over at a brisk pace. As he approached, Daniel could see his stars and medals.

“Mr. Cotton? Are you Daniel Cotton,” he inquired as he approached holding a clipboard.

“Yes,” Daniel replied finding his voice barely more than a grunt.

“Speak up, young man," the Alliance man insisted.

“Yessir—I am Daniel Cotton,” Daniel chirped.

“Yes—this is Daniel,” his grandfather echoed.

The Alliance man was now just a few feet away. He checked something off on his clipboard.

“Very well, Daniel. I am Inspector Reynolds,” he said, and then looked at Daniel’s grandfather. “And who are you, sir? A relation?”

“I am the boy’s grandfather, sir. His only relative, sir. I take care of him,” his grandfather replied in a tone of more military obedience than Daniel had ever heard from his grandfather.

“Well, Daniel—you would take care to emulate your grandfather, son,” Inspector Reynolds said taking some pleasure in his turn of phrase. “Not everyone has a military veteran in the house from which to learn. Sir, thank you for your service. And what is your name?”

“Adam. Adam Cotton, sir,” his grandfather replied.

Inspector Reynolds immediately entered Daniel’s grandfather’s name into his clipboard device and waited a moment, staring intently. A second passed and he looked up.

“Ah yes. Yes. Captain Cotton. Very good, sir. Well, as you have military experience I probably do not have to tell you that we are creating a database of information to assist us in pinpointing when the event occurred – the crash—and a wide web of information will be constructed from these eyewitness accounts. Now… Daniel was truant that afternoon—“

“Yes. Yes, it seems he was,” his grandfather apologized.

“Yes,” the Inspector said. “So, it is likely he saw the crash…”

Daniel nodded.

“Yes, yes. So we are just going to ask a few questions to better ascertain some details…” Inspector Reynolds continued.

“All right, “ his grandfather agreed.

“Yes, to get a better picture. I will be asking and be assisted by a telepath—“

“A telepath?” Daniel’s grandfather sputtered out.

“Yes,” Inspector Reynolds hesitated. “Yes, a telepath. I assure you it is a standard protocol in a case of this importance. We find that they are quite helpful in parsing out details that an interrogator—“

“An interrogator—?” Daniel’s grandfather was again shocked. “Is he being accused of something?”

“Pardon me—these are just terms, sir. We are just asking questions,” Inspector Reynolds said very slowly. “And this protocol is our most efficacious route to ascertaining and identifying certain data—“

“I just—I just—I don’t want some mind reader mucking up his brain—” Daniel’s grandfather said.

“I assure you, sir—things have changed a great deal since you served. I can understand your concerns. But our psi divisions have progressed remarkably. And this is the most effective way for us to obtain this web of information—“

“I just don’t trust those brain ops. I don’t think I agree with this,” Daniel’s grandfather asserted.

The Inspector stopped and looked at Daniel’s grandfather for a moment. He then looked at his clipboard and then back at his grandfather.

“Are you saying that you do not want to cooperate, sir?” the Inspector asked.

“I’m saying I don’t like the idea of a telepath in the… interrogation…”

A very uncomfortable silence followed. The Inspector looked at his grandfather and then at Daniel.

“This does not appear to be Daniel’s first truancy. I don’t know if you are aware of that?” the Inspector looked at his clipboard. Daniel once again felt the earth fall out from under him.

“And you no doubt know that these blemishes can affect Daniel’s future placement? I think it would be a good decision to cooperate. It would certainly reflect well on his citizenship.”

“And with something as important as his future at stake and your… uncertain judgment in this situation, I wonder if you are providing the best guidance for Daniel?”

“Is that supposed…?” Daniel’s grandfather started, but chose not to finish his sentence.

“It doesn’t mean anything… I am sure you are providing the best example for Daniel. Especially given your loyalty to the Armed Forces, Captain Cotton,” the Inspector continued.

Daniel’s grandfather swallowed something—it looked bitter.

“All right, let’s go,” Daniel’s grandfather said.

“Actually- just the boy, sir. Too many people can complicate things. Too many thoughts for the telepath. It can cloud things. You can wait here—it won’t take very long,” the Inspector said.

“All right, Daniel—you had better go with the Inspector. Tell him everything you know.”