I could see he was self conscious about all that had been done for him. I understood it.
“No one aboard would change a thing that we did,” I continued.
Piett cleared his throat a little.
“Well. What can I say to that but— thank you?”
He held out a hand and I grasped it.
“It was a pleasure. I only wish we could have saved more people,” I said. “I would remind you as well, Lieutenant, that it was you who battled to survive as well. We all could do only so much. The rest was in your hands. Stubborn, aren’t you?”
He laughed a bit then.
“So I’ve been told.”
“Shocking,” I remarked.
“You don’t have to agree so readily, sir.”
He quirked an eyebrow at me then, and I saw a man with a sense of humor, and that certain… something. That spark of life— of drive and passion. Here , I thought, could be a friend.
“My name is Max,” I told him. I saw the uncertainty in his eyes.
“Ah…you’re also a superior officer, Colonel.”
I grinned and crossed my arms.
“Oh yes. And don’t you forget it. But I’m army. And you’re a naval man, I’m told. So—-not really a protocol issue.”
His mouth quirked upward again.
“Not really sure that is how it works, but ah, thank you. I’m Firmus.”