Alien
Marko Susimetsa
Lisa
Gaz Bailey
Darren Grey
Alastair Kelly
Fred Burbidge
Nicholas Hansen
Allen Farr
Ramon Marett
Alex GS
Chonty
Dung Beetle
Paula Rose T

Crossing the Line
The Comet's Trail
A Question of Intelligence
The Easy Way Out
The Maledict
Children of Zeus
Pinacotheca
Blood is Thicker
Beyond Civilization
Cat's Cradle
Nature's Way
A Game of Death
Mission (almost) Completed
Research Purposes
Ode to Betty Cole

‘To it, through it, past it,’ the woman smiled. ‘Don’t tell no one, but I got as far as the Formidine Rift, not many folks can say that! No one has gone past it and lived to tell the tale.’

‘The Formid …?’

‘Edge of the galactic arm. Take a line from Reorte to Riedquat to the edge of the arm and … keep going.’ The woman grimaced. ‘Stars thin out, you can see the whole galaxy just hanging there. I took a fancy to going exploring after I lost …’ she paused, a sadness creeping across her face, ‘… had some time to spare. Quiet for the most part, until …’

‘I don’t suppose you’ve heard of the Tionisla system?’

Salomé shook her head as the woman continued reminiscing.

‘Pity. It’s a long way from here. Commissioner Hughes gave me the Crossed Dagger you know, damn stupid ceremony that was.

Epilogue

Rebecca Weston found worthy of Elite Combateer status, this date, Galactic Year 3152. Decorated for extreme valour in the Thargoid War of 3151, twice commended for bravery under fire. Awarded the Tionisla Crossed Dagger and Galcop Congressional Medal of Honour for her defence of the Coriolis station there, in which she single-handedly destroyed five Thargoid warships, incredibly without being injured.
<...>
“Thank Randomius Factoria for Rebecca; she’s our guardian angel. She will never be paying tax or landing charges on any of our stations again, that much I can tell you!” – David Hughes, Tionisla Orbit Commissioner.

‘My ship was a real beauty. Damn, I miss that ship.’ The woman coughed briefly.

‘What ship was it?’ Salomé asked the obvious question.

‘Cobra you know, Mark 3 …’ Salomé didn’t understand much of what the woman was talking about. ‘… with the outrigger thrusters? It was an Apocalypse engineering special. Hardly see them now … proper old school ship … wouldn’t have slipped the bounty hunters without it … not like these modern designs.’

The identity of the Commander in question is not known, but the ship was identified as an antique Cobra Mk III with the unusual hull registry of 'Cor meum et animam'.