"Career Counseling" by Brooke Barker -- "'You say you're not afraid.' He slapped her face, the sound shockingly loud. 'Still not?' Understanding the test, she kept her hands at her sides and her head up. He slapped her again, and this time her nose began to bleed."
"Asphodel" by Misha ** -- "Jenna didn't have time to be puzzled. She managed to kick free of Avon's hands. Then she had Tarrant down, her hands wrapped around his throat. I could kill him, she thought. I've crushed windpipes before."
"Beginnings" & "Proving Flight" by P.R. Zvejnieks -- Two linked stories featuring Veron Kasabi. "Veron had been flattered--she was seldom given a solo assignment--but now she was wondering if she'd been utterly daft to accept. She'd spent the last two days hanging around crowded bars, breathing badly filtered air and having absolutely no luck finding this Bek person."
"Nobody Lives Forever" by Susan Riaz -- After the fiasco on Terminal, Servalan has lost her power, her presidency and her safety. In order to regain these, she must take a new identity, but who is to say she never thought of that before...
"Streetcorner Girl" by Loulou Harris -- A story about Soolin's youth on Gauda Prime, narrated by a young observer to the culminating violence. Inspired by one of Jorge Borges's most popular stories of Argentinean gauchos.
"A Candle in the Dark" by Neil Faulkner -- "What are we going to do with you, Cally? We can't keep pulling you back here for the rest of your life." At 16, Cally wasn't a Good Auronar by anyone's reckoning and it looked like her time on her homeworld was about to run out...
"Reminiscences From the Pit" by Vega -- How did Jenna come to meet Largo on Callisto and what was she doing there? Why did she risk one last visit to Mars?
"Vi Et Armis" by Alicia Ann Fox * -- Avon tested his restraints...He was securely attached to the bed..."All right, Dayna, you've won. I'd like a teleport bracelet. And my clothes."
"A Scale of Violence" by Judith Proctor -- After Gauda Prime, Soolin is tortured by a man she eventually realizes is Gan. What has happened to the gentle man whom Vila described as his friend? When Soolin discovers the truth, she has to handle more than just her own desire for revenge.
"Early Days" by Marian Mendez --Doubly plagued with amnesia and an obnoxious computer expert who at least claims to be on her side, Cally attempts to destroy a new Federation weapon and get both herself and her unwanted companion out alive.
"Assessments" by Twisted Sister* -- Soolin is ready for a night on the town. Will a large curly-haired man be the right person for her to celebrate her new job?
"Psychotherapy" by Lexa Reiss -- "She had survived the deaths of her clone-children, she had survived the revolution on earth and Bartolomew's coup attempt. She had always survived, always found a way to win, and that was how it would continue to be. For the first time in her life she didn't quite believe it."
"In the Blood" by anon -- "'No, please! They were right, I am a drunk! My blood's mostly alcohol, ask anyone!' Desperation mangles his speech, distorting it into a tremulous rush. 'You don't want a tipsy mutoid on your hands, do you? She might go mad! No telling what she could do when she's under the influence!'
* Indicates stories with explicit heterosexual adult content. ** Indicates a story with explicit female/female adult content. All other stories are gen.
Page count: 190 pp. Order from Maverick Press, 2580 I-25 North, Pueblo, CO 81008-9614. Make all checks payable to Jo Ann McCoy.