Sparrow, on the Great Eastern Ocean, New Victoria, LHS 1140 24.5 megaseconds since the catastrophe They were twenty crammed in with the usual crew of Sparrow, and as bands went, they were not especially merry. A large part of their discontent stemmed from their change in status. A month

Borass Station, Gliese 581 24 megaseconds since the catastrophe Commodore Kel Haraldsdottir had the mother of all headaches. In fact, she could not have said how long it had been since she had not had a headache. She actually had her head examined, in the literal sense, just a few

Zephyr, Tau Ceti, 16.27.775 CW 23.7 megaseconds since the catastrophe One by one, the conferees returned, and one by one they stopped dead in their tracks and watched impossibility unfold in front of them. None were quite as piquant in their epithets as Espinoza had been. Karenski

Humanity's Hold, Sol, 4053.22.11 CE 23.7 megaseconds since the catastrophe The uproar in the council room went on for a few minutes, at least. Gianetta could not have given a rational accounting of the time. Despite having come freshly to the whole scheme, she was

Zephyr, Tau Ceti, 16.27.775 CW 23.7 megaseconds since the catastrophe Zephyr's boat bay was wide enough to accommodate two shuttles simultaneously, so an order was contrived whereby Karenski would come across a bit early. Donato would arrive just a little ahead of Josefilo as befit

Humanity's Hold, Sol, 4053.22.11 CE 23.7 megaseconds since the catastrophe Gianetta had expected the council to convene within a day or two of her uncle Neal being laid to rest. In this, she was not merely disappointed, but somewhat bewildered. In fact, the council kept

DSS Baldursdottir, in far orbit of LHS 1140 23.5 megaseconds since the catastrophe Legend had it that back when the original Outbound Project was vetting systems to send Dream of Spring, LHS 1140 was high on the list. It boasted a super-Earth as the outermost of two planets,

Zephyr, Tau Ceti, 16.25.775 CW 23.5 megaseconds since the catastrophe Elyah Singer once again awoke in a pleasant tangle of limbs, without an immediate memory of how she got that way. Memory returned faster, this time. Three-or-so megaseconds ago, she'd been hungover from

Phase Three, Sol, 4053.11.11 CE 22.7 megaseconds since the catastrophe Her name was Rowan Moran. On this particular day, at this particular hour, it was not a famous name. Even within Humanity's Hold, few people knew who she was. Her area of study was so