More a long sound of terror and pain that was abruptly cut off. . . as if something had been clapped over his mouth. Or stuffed into it. Dex fell silent. The moon was high in the sky. Half of his third drink--an almost unheard-of.

Commander continued as if unaware of Maxine's reaction to his disclosure. "His name is Albert and he heads a team of computer auditors-some of the best I've ever worked with. " "Computer auditors " Maxine echoed tonelessly. "Yes. I highly recommend him if you ever feel the need to have your central computer's programming checked. " Phule locked eyes momentarily with his rival. "I know you'll find this hard to believe.
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Watched him from the corner of his eye while pretending to study the instruments. Piranha was a sweet little ship. Alex had flown her once years before and considered her the best of the three remaining scoopers. Maybe that was just Final Trip nostalgia. Maybe he would have felt the same about whichever ship he flew on his last dip; but he would shed a special tear for Piranha when they retired her. The scoopers were twenty-two years old already and while there was not much wear and tear parked in a vacuum screaming through the Earth's atmosphere like a white hot banshee did tend to age the gals a bit. Jaws was already retired. Here was Gordon at nineteen just getting started; and the ships at twenty-two were ready to pack it in. Life was funny. Alex ran a hand lightly across the instrument panel. Scoopships were pretty in an ugly sort of way: lifting bodies with.
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