Excerpt: PANDORA'S HOPE

The Buvah’s rarity in Space-Corp was one detail that the entire ship had taken for granted, and one for which the key members of the crew could have been better prepared, had Nora read all of the information Corporate had sent her. As Suxie learned, the Buvah were bi-gendered and bisexual people; Jocar had adopted the female gender since childhood but her sexual preference was other Buvah. When among humans and other hetero- and homosexual beings, however, Jocar preferred the company of females. Females had the Buvah feminine features she found attractive, although her mixed anatomy proved too strange for most of the human women she had tried dating. Suxie was definitely not human, and she was perfect.

Nora was able to spot the relationship the next time she saw them together, the way they looked at one another betraying them both. The two moved with that new-fling euphoria, the state between two highly compatible bodies in which a simple glance can still the senses and throw the mind into dream. Nora thought about all the times in the past when she and Robert had looked at one another in that same way. She had allowed it to cloud her judgment once or twice, and she could only hope that Suxie or Jocar might not allow themselves to get so distracted. They remained professional and completed their tasks, so Nora saw no reason to acknowledge or intervene on their private affair.

It was nice to see Suxie happy. Still, there as something Nora didn’t trust about Jocar. She felt strongly that the new officer was keeping something from her, and her gut told her the new crew member was possibly gunning for her job. She was pleasant to work with, but she did take many notes, notes that were most assuredly headed for Corporate. Nora hoped Jocar was not using Suxie for more information on Pandora’s Hope’s colorful past, and she could only guess at what Jocar’s First Officer’s Report would look like.