Oh c'mon - you weren't going out on a limb! You've been the one who conscientiously asking Gene and I about all the details of our universe. With all the familiarity you have with what we've created you'd be the least likely to go out on a limb. :)

But I was! I had no idea...

1) of Amy's actual rank in the FEDF (or of which branch she was in), so I made her a lieutenant of the Navy.
2) if the 101st Battalion would actually engage a group of teenagers in a wargame, no matter what their nationality.
3) if NightClaw was indeed married or had kids, so I created Sarika's sister out of whole cloth and designated her as NightClaw's wife.
4) if Sarika did indeed have a sister.
5) if "Leln" was a word in Sarika's native langauge (never mind what it meant or its actual usage)
6) what Mack Sr.'s or NightClaw's ranks would be when Eugene is 16
7) what careers PJ and Bee would choose
8) if QT was seperated from her husband/mate (notice his absence)
9) whether or not Mack Jr. would be married by the time Eugene was a teenager

Albert can tell you I got Seyton's name wrong (I asked him about Seymour in an e-mail while writing about this chapter).

The main reason I sent you the chapter was to see if I was "coloring in between the lines" or if something was already there. (For example, if you already had NightClaw's family in mind or if he was actually single.)

I think what CW meant is that, having been as careful as you have been up to now in making sure your stories have been authentic to our universe, you were simply just as careful this time too. You may have asked a lot of new questions, but you wouldn't have written it until you had the necessary answers. Buisiness as usual. :)

I see what you're saying. But it certainly felt like I was doing so. Indeed, either of you could have asked me to rewrite that entire section (notice that I adjusted Seyton's interaction with Gene.)