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Todd smacked his fists against the door. “Come on, Pulsie! Let us out.” The voice of the Impulsive answered, “Sorry, Todd. I’m not authorized. All guests are confined to quarters for the time being.” “Tell us what’s going on—I command you!” Ellie’s mother said. The...

“Ellie,” her father said for the third time, “this is not a criticism of your lifestyle.” “It certainly feels like it!” she retorted. “Nor is it of Todd,” her mother asserted. “It’s just that once the infatuation cools…” “This isn’t just infatuation!” Ellie yelled,...

In her quarters, Ellie was ready to commit some murder herself. How dare her parents just reject Todd without even getting to know him. But, oh! They had—in their own ambassadorial way. She should have known they’d investigate anyone who’d dare to fall in love with...

Forty minutes and several compressed ribs later, she stood before Todd in a traditional Chatwayan dress, with all the poofs and flounces and a girdle that was a size too small by human standards. The collar was three layers of stiff fabric in accordion folds that...

Indeed Gregar’s voice could be heard above the general low chatter of the room. He had the Tortugan ambassador cornered and was demanding to know how he intended to vote. Commander Smythe was trying to intervene with little success. Her father sighed. “We’ll be just a...

Half an hour later, Ellie left Todd to get ready. She gave him strict orders not to select Chatwayan formal dress; she didn’t think she could see him in jodhpurs without laughing. “You’re from Europa. Wear something Europan.” Then she left to go “stand on her head,”...

They did not lose the ship, although Lt. Cruz had a lot of fun trying. When Commander Deary called the bridge to declare that his engines “couldnae take it anymore,” Tonio obliged by taking them from Warp 10 to 1 so quickly that the other ship overshot. He put them...

Todd was grinning as he took readings of a particularly tricky nook in engineering that required precise cleaning. Unlike his fiancé, he’d gotten a full night’s sleep, albeit on Lt. LaFuentes’ couch, and had a leisurely breakfast alone while he went over requests for...

At 29 minutes and 48 seconds, Ellie stepped onto the bridge of the Impulsive. On the viewscreen was an image of the immediate space before them, with a tug ship applying tractor beams to the stranded luxury transport, Immaculata. If only their engines had lived up to...

If you didn’t know that the ambassadors, though human, had come from an alien planet hundreds of light-years from Earth, you might have thought they’d stepped out of a time machine. Ellie’s mom, Ambassador Natalie Doall, wore a regal floor-length gown with ruffles and...

Captain’s Log, Intergalactic Date 677061.95 The Impulsive has been called to the Parada system, where the Union transport ship, Immaculata, is dead in space after a malfunction of their warp drive converter. Naturally, according to its captain, they were scheduled for...

Captain’s Personal Log, Intergalactic Date 677061.20 Finally! Our janbots have arrived. I’ll be so glad not to clean my own toilet. As a bonus, it looks like we’ll be keeping Todd Ahndmor for a week or so as he runs them through their paces to make sure they’re fully...