"You don't think I know that?" Of course he does, how can he not? While Herc might have had longer actively piloting, Stacker was there from the start. Went over the material and risks from the beginning. Was the one who helped make the program actually succeed at the beginning, who had reported on it to his superiors at the time.

The wound has to be fresh for Herc; but Stacker was the one who helped make the decision. He willingly died with it, but now, apparently, he has to live with it, too. He had nothing to do with Herc's wife's death, but everything to do with his son's.

He snaps to something else. "What happened after?"