The continuation of my 2026 New Years resolution.
Little bit of recap at the start, though this one likely isn't a candidate to be rewritten into full dialog for Draft Two. Though who knows, my alpha reader who gets these things a week ahead of the rest of you only just now noticed Wrecked speech pattern. Which is understandable when the guy only has one line per chapter, so giving EVERYONE more time to speak is a good thing.

This chapter is a bit on the short side, not quite passing 3000 words. That's because I realized that reaching my intended ending for this chapter would have put me at WAY over 3000 words. How much over? Next chapter ends where THIS chapter was planned to end, and it is over 3000 words.