“Comms, incoming. Single tone,” Glyta said. “We’re go.” “Any following data?” Shagda Olthympo asked. “Hold on, quick burst…’Eight Pick.’ Not sure what that means.” “Vidol’s playing it close,” Olthympo said. “Can’t blame her, but would be nice to know their condition.” “Whose condition, ma’am?” “We’re picking up eight people,” Utti Larasin said. “Not the three …

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Standing in the usually-soft but currently-calloused hands of Mpola Vidol would have once been completely bizarre, the stuff of pure fantasy. For humans working with the Empire, it was Tuesday. Ahek Uɉa had long-ago stopped worrying about it; indeed, she barely noticed it anymore. (It helped, she would always admit, that her earliest experiences had …

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The Flypaper flew casually through the Insectoid system, approaching Hive Prime on a precise vector that was laid out by an Insectoid behavioral algorithm. They had made it through the first two checks – their responses to standard queries from Insectoid ships had been accepted. They signaled they were carrying grubs in stasis, and had …

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“It was nice of Fredo to switch for the night,” Fatou said. “Yes, well, he may be trying to make a pass at Aram,” Hercule murmured. “Are you from the 21st Century? Just because he’s bisexual, that doesn’t mean he wants to sleep with everyone alive.” “What? Non, ma chère. Not that at all. Fredo …

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A few hours later, as the senior Acolyte officers – Col. Uɉa, Maj. Wilson, and Senior Crewmate Zery – met with the senior officers of the Bass, the junior Acolyte officers unpacked their gear and got settled in their new quarters. “It is not something to whip the cat about. I just think they could …

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It was becoming an eventful day, Vanser thought. To be fair, ever since Tau Ceti, every day was an eventful day. But even as eventful days went, this one was notable. Carva Lagvul had pulled him into his office about two hours before, and asked him if he would be interested in succeeding him as …

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