(( Simon says: ))<br/><br/>Being a good Episcopalian from a core planet, Simon had been brought up in an environment where men (and women) of the cloth garnered a certain automatic respect and trust.  He'd found that the further he got from home, the easier it was for someone of lesser qualities to become ordained by any of a number of religious organizations calling themselves churches.<br/><br/>Likewise, those from the core who couldn't quite make it as religious leaders at home could find all manner of pseudo-religious work in climates where the population was, shall we say, less sophisticated.  Of course that was a moot point, considering the man's accent.  Not too heavy, but definitely not core.<br/><br/>So, perhaps the "Shepherd" was legitimate, perhaps not.  Not being present for their earlier conversation, Simon wouldn't even know if any kind of relationship existed between this man and River prior to her turning to speak to him at the ramp of the ship.  Perhaps his intentions were dishonorable, or perhaps he just saw in River someone with whom he felt compelled to share the Word.<br/><br/>Simon would probably have given the man the benefit of the doubt had the word "son" not entered the equation.  Granted, Shepherd Book would often call "son" but it was always said with a less offensive tone. And since Book was older than Simon's own father, it seemed reasonable to grant him certain liberties this man wasn't going to be given.<br/><br/>Simon straightened up and puffed out his chest just a little, though perhaps not realizing he was posturing.  "I'm not sure whether there's a problem or not.  I just saw you were following my sister and ...."  then he trailed off, but not because he didn't know what to say.  Indeed, he just had a moment of inspiration ... "Is there a problem on your end ...<em>son</em>?"