The ability to make fire at will. It allowed us light to see in the darkness, warmth against the cold, a tool to cook our food.’ He gestured vaguely in the direction of the Delta’s engines. ‘Fire is what eventually led to travel across the black beyond, the ability to start a new life on a New World.

But, somehow, Wilf knows. Somehow, Wilf always knows.

Superior numbers versus superior firepower. A recipe for unending slaughter.

No one escapes from a war. No one. Not even the survivors. You accept things that would appall you at any other time because life has temporarily lost all meaning.

Life ain't fair. It ain't. Not never.

How do you know yer alive if you don't hurt?

Schooling ain't life." "Ain't it?" she says, her eyebrows raising in mock surprise.