Two Five’s Adventure, Part 4

      The ventilation shaft reminded Two-Five of a broodmale’s tunnel: a tight fit for an adult Slash Second. He was flat on his long belly, crouching on his four legs, supporting his upper body with two of his four arms and holding the pouch...

Two-Five’s Adventure, Part 3

     Two-Five opened the pouch slung between his second pair of arms and removed a station map. The map did not mark the locations of the observation devices the humans installed at regular intervals along Tau Ceti’s outer ring, but he knew where...

Two-Five’s Adventure, Part 2

      “Hey now, what are you doing here, little guy?”       Two-Five’s inner eyelids snapped down as he turned his back on the grate. Looming over him was a large and hairy male in the uniform of a warrior for Earth...

Two-Five’s Adventure, Part 1

Curious about the Kekrax? Here begins the tale of one particularly adventurous specimen of this reptilian race, whose territory abuts Tolari space.       Two-Five of Four-Seven Slash Second scurried down the corridor of the station, tails held...

From the Cutting Room Floor, Part 4

As promised, the rest of the original opening to First Contact: Tolar was a patchwork quilt of independent provinces, a pastoral world of technologically-backward people, a pre-industrial culture of scholars and artisans. Earth’s partners in the Trade Alliance had at...