ature bleated in the distance, taking a few awkward steps on its thin little legs. The red-horned wildebeest were strange animals, things that belonged in the lab they

d vulnerable. So... square. Just like Jenny. Except that she didn't fall over so easily. (Wee-eell, he guessed that depended on how much – what was it called – beer she'd consumed?) No corners on her either. She was soft and warm – not cold and hard like Ruminarii females, who would arch their backs and hiss at him when aroused – violent things that would scratch and bite in the heat of passion – and alwa

ing across the ranch toward a hilly area over yonder. The fact that it was whistling a tune he didn't recognize and had paused to cheerfully say 'Good Morning' to him hadn't hel

he had been trying very hard to get to grips with. Good meant bad, but Good was not Evil. So it was good to be here, not bad. And Evil was bad. But of course it was

rs – he no longer had an overeager First Officer lurking over his shoulder waiting for an opportune moment to remove him from the realm of the living, was a bonus! Out here he was at ease. He could think out here, really think, basking alone in the sunny silence. He plucked another flower, one the grazing wildebeest had m

arii invasion, nor any sign of an enemy fleet or movements whatever. Well, never mind, he consoled himself – at least he and the crew had got two months' worth of visits to Deanna, and face it – a lot of free time goofing off. ISS Antares had been posted to watch the colony till further not

t reminded him simultaneously of both human ingenuity and stupidity. It was a dark gray oval blob, made of durastress alloy. It looked like it was shaped to be held by a human hand and had a small display and a control panel on top. The company that made it, had pitched the concept to the military a hundred years ago, believing it was a perfect compromise between functionality and economy. It was a blaster, a sensor and a com-link, all combined into one device. This allowed members of starship mission teams to always have one hand free to operate other devices under most conditions. It seemed a sound idea, and would'