A small gasp escaped Purna as she took a step backward toward the steps to the lower deck, but as she turned, her father stepped through. She took in the fact that he wore an impressive Trimcommoly uniform covered in medals that she had never seen before and a thundering applause erupted from the child watchers in the balconies above the ship and intermingled with the sounding of several dozen crisp trumpets raised beneath the arch.
Mukesh placed a hand on Purna’s shoulder and raised a hand to the admiral’s pin on his lapel, amplifying his voice throughout the cavern. “It is good to be home, to once again walk among the stars with the Children of Meru.”
