You know, tales about the dude who got vaporized in a plasma accident in the engineering section, or the fella who got turned into a blob of weird space jelly

still got recruits signing up in droves. Yes, indeedy – the stories were far more interesting than his – took a load of ore to Gorda, took a load of mining equipment back to Tordrazil. Took a load of Florpavian Flame-birds to a zoo on Deanna, took a l

stable than the male – chemically stable, that is – perhaps similar to most other species. The male birds, on the other hand, just tended to hiccup and then explode unexpectedly. As a result

ngements (matchbox and postage). He also made a mental note to stay as far away from Florpavian Flame-birds as possible in future. The more uneventful his job was, he'd felt initially, the safer it was going to be for him. Well, so far,

e, he couldn't think of anyone. Well, except maybe the crews of other Bannor class ships. A few more years of this lark and he would be

ng before he would start talking to the potted plants on the rec-dec. Trouble was one of them would actually talk

outside. Even through triple layers of alloyed plasti-steel, it reminded him of an ant's view of the inside of a shower nozzle. They were about to enter

tering – the – Ramalama - System. (Pause) E–T-A – De

into view. The swirl of multicolor cloud patterns created the impression of the last w

er heart. A bit stuck up, though – kept pretty much to herself, didn't talk much. Cute platinum blonde type, figure any m

the whole trip. Potted plants were arranged on a stand in a semi artistic manner in an attempt to create an atmosphere conducive to relaxation. There was a little fountain lost somewhere among the cluster of

, the less excitement there is, the longer you're liable to stay alive. These thoughts looped through her mind like a roller coaster as she watched the stars settle back into the inky black curtain of space through the large