Is it too early to say that "Qaboos" has unexpectedly reached the end of the line? Or been accidentally derailed?

Frankly, this whole situation is a train wreck for his side...

I think Occam's Razor says that Pete simply didn't intend for there to be a sound associated with the gun firing, rather than Nash shot two different targets before the sound of the first shot carried over. Nash is quite good, but that sounds more supernatural than good. More likely, Pete lacks the encyclopedic knowledge of firearms that some of the forum members apparently have and simply thought that either a silencer or the distance (or a combination of the above) would be sufficient to obscure the sound of the gun firing. That or he simply forgot to write a sound effect for the gun. I'd find either of those options more likely than that Pete was actually trying to demonstrate Nash's incredible speed via the absence of a sound effect, especially since there is still no sound effect after people have had time to take stock of what has happened. If Pete were trying to demonstrate speed by leaving out the report of the gun, he surely would have put that sound into one of the later panels.

Poor Qaboos! :o He always seems to get the short end of the stick in these things; he got shot the last time we saw him too, fourteen years ago. In fact he has always seemed to give selflessly while getting nothing in return. It makes me wonder what Will did for him to earn such loyalty.

Uh Pete, I think you meant appearance, not apperance... (ref links)

I know Nash has often sided with the bad guys and has never been anything like a good guy, but in my view, this one action still clears the slate for now. Saving Zoe is worth a whole lot of karma points, both from a save-the-world perspective, as well in as the more personal feelings of us fans.

It also occurs to me that Nash's allegiances have never been clear for as long as we've known him. He was working with Naaaw, but that doesn't mean he's really sided with Chilus' cult. We don't know for sure who he's radioing. So there might be yet another group involved, and things even more complicated.

All I do know is that he's protecting our Zoe, which for now puts him on the side of angels. Where he'll end up is anyone's guess, but I have a suspicion his actions are going to prove pivotal one way or the other.

LB

As usual :)