My full name is Esther Natasha Svensdotter.

— 1 —

Homecoming and Housekeeping
There is no land uninhabitable or sea unnavigable. —Robert Thorne

MY FULL NAME IS Esther Natasha Svensdotter but if you want to live you’ll call me Star. Star is what Esther means, it was the first word I ever said, and when I’m feeling romantic I like to say that among the stars is where I live.

It was the first day of the new year and ten minutes out of LEO Base the gee forces on the Ted Taylor Express were discouraging to both my stomach and my disposition. I moaned a little. No one in the cockpit paid me any attention. I moaned a little more.

Crip, the lean, graying captain of this happy ship, turned from his console to give me an unfeeling grin. “Happy New Year, Star.”

I opened my eyes with an effort and gave him what I hoped was a damning glare. “Yeah, right, you asshole. Welcome to the twenty-first century.”

Dana Stabenow. Second Star (Kindle Locations 32-35). Gere Donovan Press.

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Chatter science fiction second star sf star svensdotter