[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Wow, look at this bridge. For my MR friends, the bridge isn't so much like a bridge you might be familiar with... it's sort of like, um, a large interior office. There's a viewscreen on the far wall, where a forward port might be... but there are no windows here. It has these three desks, two of them side by side, and one behind them. Captain, this desk back here is yours, right?

"That's right, the Captain's station. That one is the support station, which is only occasionally needed. And there, at the pilot's station... this is Mark O'Bannon, my first officer and pilot."

Mister O'Bannon... pleasure to meet you!

"Call me Mark."

Of course! You can all call me Steve, by the way.

"So, you're the one in the Left Brane that's transcribing our stories into e-books! How in the world did you get here, anyway?"

I was given a MQRBDTMOT by a strange visitor. See?

"Looks like a key fob."

Oh... yes! Well, the MQRBDTMOT sort of sits between branes, and I call it with the fob when I'm ready to go back.

"I... see."

No, really.

"If you say so."

So... Mark, I've heard quite a few comments about the Martian appearance... the black skin and white hair, and all. Up close, it's very striking. If you don't mind my asking--

"Yes, it's black and white there, too."

It... Oh! No, no, I was gonna ask something else! (But I'm sure a few people will be glad you cleared that up.) uh... Knowing that your skin and hair color comes from your ancestors' experimenting with improperly-tested skin therapy treatments, do you or other Martians ever get any... I dunno, grief from other races about the bad judgment of your forebears?

"Oh, no... that kind of thing went away generations ago! It would be like criticizing an Australian for having ancestors who were criminals."

Good point. Mark, I understand that on this adventure, you met someone from your past. Can you tell us about that?

"Well, yes. I happened to meet someone who was aboard the scout craft I used to rescue a group of innocents from a battle zone."

That was the mission that cost you your Ranger career, wasn't it?

"That's right, it was. No big, though... I was just as happy to leave."

So how does that fit into the story?

"Well, the girl's name is Sharee, and she is now a member of the Oan Engineer's Guild. With her help, I managed to get involved with what was going on between the Engineers and the Cargans on Shura Dva... I'm not spoiling anything, am I?"

No, not yet...

"Ah, good. So, anyway, Sharee helps me to assist them with their little... problem, and save their terraforming operation. For now, at least."

For now?

"Well, they still have a lot of work to do, back there. But they've got a much better chance at it now."

And what happened to Sharee?

"Ah, that would be telling! Spoilers..."

Yes, of course... silly of me! So, how is working for Captain Kestral?

"Oh, this is a great job... some of the most enjoyable work I've ever had, really! 'Course, every now and then, it gets a bit stale. But when it does, something like Shura Dva comes up... or Lief's Planet... and we get a little excitement."

Lief's Planet? Tell us about that.

"Actually, you should talk to the others... I was sort of in the background through a lot of that, and they can give you more background on that one..."

"Mark's Being modest, Steve. If it weren't for Mark, we'd probably have died on Lief's Planet... or worse."

Worse? What's worse than dying?

"I'll tell you, while we check out more of the ship, and look for a few more of the crew. Come on."

Sure... whoa! Carolyn, is that--

"Oh, don't mind that, Steve. That's just the ship's remote drone. It hovers around and monitors things for the Mary, sometimes inside the ship, and sometimes outside. It's pretty quiet in hover mode, and until your ear gets attuned to it, it can sort of sneak up on you."

Neat! It looks like a smoked glass orb. I can see tiny lights flashing inside of it... but I don't hear anything. What makes it float?

"It has its own gravity field that it uses to propel itself. It just floats around the ship, doing its job."

Sort of like a ship's mascot, huh?

"Well... I tend to think of it as a remote independently-mobile sensory node and intercommunications tool... but I suppose you could call it a mascot, yes."

Mm. So, I'd guess there aren't any pets aboard, huh?

"Why? Did you plan to bring one?"

No...