So he graciously passed the torch to me, his brother, and I took hold of the project with both hands. I saw the opportunity for something different than what Josh’s stories do for the universe of the Spineward Sectors, and after a few weeks we had the outline for what Middleton’s Pride would eventually become. Then came the work of putting fingers to keyboard, and now after roughly a year of work, the trilogy has concluded in the precise fashion I had originally envisioned for it.
But this is obviously just another beginning for the now-disparate members of the Pride’s crew. For Middleton, Fei Long, and those who remained aboard the Pride instead of transferring to the Slice of Life—all save Sergeant Russell Gnuko, of course—they find themselves in a foreign patch of space nearly on the opposite side of the galaxy from their homes, aboard a strange vessel which they came to be upon under even stranger circumstances.
For Sarkozy— erm, make that, McKnight, Lu Bu, and Doctor Middleton, they have the unenviable task of finding their way back to Fleet HQ without being discovered. But even if they do make it back, it’s anyone’s guess how Admiral Montagne will receive the protégé of his most unpredictable ship commander.
It was a bittersweet thing for me, as an author, to send the Pride of Prometheus to her end. She’s been as much of a character in this story as any of the humans, Sundered, or Droids we’ve come across to date, and that’s why I named the trilogy ‘Middleton’s Pride.’ It was as much about her last mission to protect and serve the citizens of the Spine as it was about the people who called her home for that mission.
I suppose that, in a way, Middleton’s relationship with his first command was much like anyone’s first, meaningful relationship. It taught him more about himself and his own limitations than he could have ever predicted, and hopefully he’s grown as a commander for his time aboard the old Hydra— erm, make that ‘Hammerhead’ class Heavy Cruis—erm, make that, Medium Cruiser. Darn those activists and politicians…
So if you’ve enjoyed the ride thus far, strap in and get ready for the next entry in the Spineward Sectors’ non-mainline (they’re not spin-offs, darn it!) novels, because we’re just getting started!
Yours for as long as you’ll have me,
Caleb Wachter
Against The Middle Page 45
