The eight jobs of Mama Koi were legendary around the station, even though nobody knew what the sixth, seventh, and eighth were. She wouldn't tell you, just smile a little and say, "Maybe you find out someday." Nobody knew if that was a threat or a maybe-if-you're-good. Turns out the sixth job of Mama Koi was a little bit of both. The first job of ( Read more... )

"Your synapses are very sparkly," the G'klon trade ambassador told him very seriously. "Should you wish to discuss this opportunity further, you should reach us at our embassy." "Ah--thank you?" Ted said, not sure if he'd been complimented, threatened, offered a job, or all of the above. The G'klon were weird, not least because you could never tell ( Read more... )

She kept the phantom limb as a little reminder of a lot less pain. When somebody eyed the odd bulge under her sleeve oddly, or stared at the blatantly artificial hand, she'd move the phantom a little, and feel the twinge, and be grateful for her new arm. To hell with the starers. That was why she didn't go ahead and get a less useful but more ( Read more... )

He passed his hand over the cup after the customer had had one drink. The alcohol hit his system in a rush, and he swayed a bit on his feet. He put his hand over the glass of water he kept on the counter, and sent it back out. He didn't know what "it" was, just that he could pull a reverse Jesus trick. Well, and the other way around, too, but in ( Read more... )

The rain was reaching peristalsis when she heard the first strums of the future against her gillflaps. It was not what she'd expected, and she croaked in horror as she felt the future pulling her away from the spawning pond and towards the stars. She tried to cling to the tree limb, but the tide was too strong, and the spring rains pulled her away ( Read more... )

Where were you supposed to go to find a job when you were laid off on an asteroid that only *had* one main business? He stared at the big broadcast screen in shock as it sunk in. Bankruptcy. Laid off. No severance. No insurance. No ticket home. "Hey, want to start a bar?" his friend Roger asked. That was Roger, always thinking ahead. "I've got a ( Read more... )