She let her mother—Natalia—help her dress, feigning ignorance at the buckles and ties that she’d spent nearly three years fighting with as a teen. Her mother, in turn, gave her a crash course on Chatwayan etiquette while she fussed over each ruffle and pull. When...

“So, I’m not in a hospital?” Her parents exchanged glances. “I assure you, Doctor Jorseen is very skilled.” “Oh, I’m sure! I mean, I feel fine, really. I’m just...trying to get oriented.” She glanced around, seeing the room in a new way, as someone’s guest bedroom....

Personal Log of Ellie Doall, Ensign, Intergalactic Date 676592, in my timeline, I think Next time I see the Big Rock Donut of Time, I’m going to give it a piece of my mind. As I thought back to my life, I realized the only place I would have met Jirek was at the...

Ellie raced down the corridor, instinct calling her to the bridge. Around her, everyone was hurrying to their stations and getting ready for battle, so no one noticed anything different about another blue-uniformed ensign. Thus, Ellie did not remember that, in this...

Soon, she’d filled a console with equations and specifications and gotten a tablet full of Ambassador Ellie’s musings on her miserable life—plus the cozy mysteries she never published. She started reviewing visual files, seeking a moment that would have changed...

Three hours later, Ellie had slept off some of the venom and painkillers. Her leg was mostly healed, with some tenderness and a scar the doctor assured her would fade after more treatments and rest. She wished she could heal the disaster she was in as easily. She’d...