[Steven Lyle Jordan]

"Yes, there she is! Tirri, I'd like you to meet our guest."

"Oh, hi! You're Steve... the writer guy! Nice to meet you!"

Pleasure's all mine. What are you doing here?

"Just servicing this boom. It was acting up on Shura Dva, and this is the first chance I've had to service it. It dropped a crate, and... well, I don't want to get into that right now."

You don't want your client to know one of their crates was damaged?

"No... it's a spoiler! Duh! Aren't we supposed to be avoiding spoilers?"

Ah, of course! Quite right, let's skip the crate. So, you run this entire cargo bay. It's massive!

"Oh, yeah, we can hold a lot of cargo. I mean, we're not a Valley Forge-class freighter, but we have a lot of space. And this is just the main bay... we have smaller bays above this, on the next level, for more sensitive supplies, and things that need customized atmospheres."

Could you carry animals and livestock in here?

"Well, yes, I suppose. Were you planning on bringing some?"

No... just asking. Uh, you haven't seen any stray dogs around here, have you?

"Sorry."

Never mind... I'm sure they'll turn up. Tirri, you're one of two crewmembers on-board who are not baseline-human. Does that ever present any problems for you?

"My husband's a baseline-human, you know. In fact, some of my best friends are baseline-human."

But seriously...

"Seriously, no, not usually. Although I had my own... issues on Shura Dva. That place was just not conducive to my health and welfare! Was it, Carolyn?"

"I'll say! Another good reason we were glad to get out of there!"

"Anyway, there's no one on this ship with any prejudices or preconceptions about Avians, or any other race, for that matter. Well... maybe Mark, the things I've heard him say about Lokians. And, of course, none of us like Spiders--I mean, Raians. But they mostly want to wipe us out, so that goes without saying."

Right. Your feathers... well, compound follicles... are really fascinating to look at, if you don't mind my saying so. It sort of... drifts about on the breeze a bit, it's very hypnotic. If you don't mind my asking...

"Yes, there's feathers down there, too."

Whu--No! (Why does everyone think I'm gonna ask stuff like that?) I was gonna say: On your home planet, did your feathers serve any purpose in helping you to get around?

"Oh, no. From what I understand, the compound follicles were a by-product of the genetic alterations done to Avians, not a desired trait. Avians use flying rigs to get around, which is why we were bred like birds to be lighter, and more comfortable in open space. But the feathers do serve a useful purpose: They're great insulators, better than regular hair, or even fur."

I see! And speaking of seeing, I imagine your larger pupils make it easier to see greater distances?

"Well, mostly to see better detail. For instance, if you look over there at that red crate... see it? I can read the label on the bottom left corner from here."

What label?

"There... the bottom left corner. It says 'This end up'... oh. I guess I should fix that."

"Good idea! And while you're doing that, I'll take Steve upstairs, and see if we can't find Angel."

"Okay, have a good tour! See you later!"

And you...