I'm kinda like Jake in this little saga--just a bystander, so to speak. I'm another person who's known Sinbad sh'en Singh since he was a kid. Heck, he was still a kid when he met that Talltrees female--only twenty-nine to her thirty-one--but he'd lived so much and she'd barely lived at all, so he seemed a decade older.

I was sittin' in the Blue Owl nursin' a red beer that day she came in askin' for Sin. The bartender didn't want to send her to the Asteroid because he knew how Sin felt about Terran females. I was rude, no two ways about it. I looked her up and down, took another swallow of my red beer, and told him I'd like to see how much was left of her after he finished! I didn't think about how much might be left of him! She looked so innocent! How was I to know?

By the way--Saydee's the name...hookin' the game. I'm a prostie, been doin' Social Work (and I don't mean the Federation Welfare kind) since I was a kid and I'm one of the best, if I do say so m'self! I'm one of Jake's girls and Jake handles nothin' but high-class material, let me tell you. Sin was one of my Regulars--I had a big soft spot in my heart for that overgrown, feline lug and he had a likin' for big, voluptuous Abydian females with blue-white hair--until that little Natural came along and knocked those long, handsome legs of his right out from under him!

The next time I saw Mistress Talltrees (guess in view of the relationship we now have I should her Andi but I'm bein' proper), was when Sin asked me to help disguise her as a prostie so he could get her out of Old Town unnoticed. Was that ever fun! Naturals don't wear make-up--their religion teaches against "paintin' thyself to lure the desire of men," or some such drek--and it was all I could do to keep from laughin' out loud as I applied the heaviest and loudest face paint I could find--and the most provocative clothes--to that naive, little Natural body and face! Oh, ho, was that fun...!

Then, they were gone, and we heard nothin' directly for over a year--just that Sin was followin' Andi's husband, trying to catch up to his ship, that he'd gone to Ludsa, Prince of Vercingetorix-2, for help, and nearly gotten killed, then...nothin'.

When Sin came back, he was real sick-- mesothelioma pneumocosis asbestosis will do that to you--but you could see his heart had been torn out and ripped into little pieces and I knew she was the cause. He spent a lot of time in the Asteroid after that, drinkin' and tokin' and we spent a lot of time in one of Jake's rooms, but we didn't do what everyone thought. Sin loved Andi and, even dyin', had this weird idea of fidelity to her, so our days in Jake's rooms were spent with him talkin' about her--I really got tired of hearin' 'Andi this" and "Andi that"--or nappin', and me watchin' holovids! He paid me the standard rate, anyway--so there!

I was with him the day that kid Cash showed up, wondered why he hustled me away so fast and was really curious about why he left with the kid. When Jake explained what he'd guessed, I felt I'd lost somethin' really precious.... Okay, I admit it! I had this thing for Sinbad sh'en Singh that went past the usual socializer-client relationship and I think he had a few unprofessional feelin' for me, too--but they weren't strong enough to keep him from goin' back to her....

So, he's gone and I'm sittin' here in the Asteroid and it's nearly seven o'clock and time for the boys from the Federation Navy and the Merchant Marine to come pourin' in and Jake's just told me Sin's gettin' out of the Brotherhood. He's going to become Law-Abidin', can you believe it? Because of Andi.

I'm happy for him. Hope, for his sake, it works out....

(Sinbad's Last Voyage is the first novel in the series The Adventures of Sinbad, released as an e-book and paperback by Double Dragon Publishers. It has also been made into an audio book in abridged form by Books in Motion. Sinbad's Wife is scheduled for publication in June, 2008.)

I suppose when it comes right down to it, everything that happened is my fault, but at the time, it seemed the only thing to do.

My name is George Windrider, Spirit Leader of the California Naturals and godfather to Andrea Talltrees. I remember when Andi came to live with the Talltrees, a frightened little blonde moppet of two, crying for her mother. Vicente called us all together and informed us that from now on, the child was to be considered his own and no Federation social worker was to be allowed near her! I watched Andi grow up, fall in love with Tran, give birth to Cash, and lose everything when Tran was arrested as a spy.

I knew he'd be taken to a secret intern camp. I'd been outside the Valley, had been a guard at a camp in another war, and I knew what might happen to him there. That's why I suggested Andi go to Sinbad. The Felidan and I had a history--more than even he knew--and it was a big shock to him, years later, when he actually found out why I sought him out. Never mind, that's a story for another day....

Anyway, no sooner than I had told Andi to find Sinbad, then I had second thoughts. I knew Sin hated Terrans--especially the women--and I certainly didn't want my little Andi hurt by that creature, even knowing everything about him that I did. Andi, being the hard-headed little lady she is, went anyway, found Sinbad, convinced him to help her--I never knew how--and, when Tran escaped and the Marshals came after her, Sinbad was the one who rescued her and kept her safe. I was grateful to him for that, but hated the fact that he made her break the rules of our following by taking her off-planet. We don't believe in using vehicles that fly--through either air or space, you see.

I helped watch over young Cash while his mother was gone, was overjoyed when she returned, listened anxiously while my wife, Goldie--the Naturals' midwife--agreed to deliver Sinbad's son. How I wanted to tell Andi what I knew, my secret, about children fathered by desperately ignorant young men who never knew what they'd done.... Again, I'm talking out of turn....

I was there when Cash returned with Sin and the boy and I quickly beat a hasty retreat to leave Andi and Sin alone together. I took Cash to the barn, to finish the milking but he's standing in the doorway, watching the house as if he's expecting it to explode any minute....

With those two in close proximity to each other, it just might happen!

(Sinbad's Last Voyage is the first novel in the series The Adventures of Sinbad, released as an e-book and paperback by Double Dragon Publishers. It has also been made into an audio book in abridged form by Books in Motion. Sinbad's Wife is scheduled for publication in June, 2008.)

My Mom doesn't know I'm doing this and she'll probably blow her stack when she finds out but I think someone slightly removed from everything ought to put in a few comments.

My name is Acashi Daylin--or at least I thought it was until this war business started. My father is Tran Daylin, my mother Andrea Talltrees. Dad's an Albegensi and was one of my grandfather's farmhands before he married my mother. From all I can tell, it was what the old ladies around here called a "real love match"--and why not?--Dad's tall and handsome and...well, I wanted to be just like him! Oh, he's strict, but I guess a kid needs that, sometimes! Anyway, Grandpa gave them a farm, and they and I worked it. Made a pretty good living, too. Whatever.... I consider myself a Navajo--I look like Dad, tall and dark--and a Natural, part of the Naturals Cult, believing in not using anything that wasn't around during the time of our ancestors in the mid-20th Century. We also believe in Equality of All Species, and that once got us on the Federation's Suspect List. Since we also supply all the food for the nation, it also got us off just as fast, otherwise the American Sector would've slowly starved!

That was my place in life when the Albegensi-Terran War broke out. Then, my whole world just shattered. Dad was arrested as a spy, Mom wouldn't eat, wouldn't sleep. I tell you--I thought she was going to die! Our Spirit Leader, George Windrider, showed up, made her some blackberry tea, and sent her to Old Town to look up a friend of his--some smuggler. How George ever came to know a criminal, we didn't find out until much later, and was that ever a tale!

The day Mom left for Old Town was the last time I saw my mother for over a year. While Mom was gone, Dad escaped from detention and some friends of his put him on a ship headed for Albegensia. Mom was accused of engineering the escape and a Federation Marshal in a Search Drone showed up looking for her. She had to run, leaving me behind.

During that time, I lived with my grandparents, trying to ignore everyone's pity. Poor little Cash! Abandonec! Father and Mother fugitives. Poor child! I never believed what they said about either of them. I love my parents...still do...both of them!

Anyway, about eighteen months later, Mom reappeared. One of our neighbors, Eli Nighthorse--he's been sweet on Mom before Dad came along--found her walking along the highway one rainy night. For several days after that, there were Marshals swarming over our property, talking to Mom behind closed doors. She had to go to the old capitol in Sacramento to testify at a hearing. Then, she came home, called me into the kitchen, and said she had something to tell me.

I remember she sat there in one of the chairs my great-grandfather had carved by hand, wearing that weird-looking, shapeless dress she said some nun had given her. She looked so fat--my mother was never fat! Dad used to tease her about being so slim--"My sylph-like little Terran," he used to call her--but now, her belly was bulging out the front of that sack she was wearing. She told me my father wasn't coming home, I'd never see him again, and while I was trying to understand that, went on, in a totally toneless voice, "Cash--the man who helped me find your father...I'm going to have his baby...." I didn't wait to hear any more, just bolted--out of my chair, out of the house, into the field, to throw myself into the grass and burrow my face into its clear, sweet smell, as I burst into tears....

Sorry about that--it was a pretty big shock for someone to get...hey, I'm only 16...!

Anyway, after I had some time to think it over, I calmed down a little.

Our people are shunning Mom now, and me, too, to a certain extent, because I defend her. I've accepted the fact of the baby and I think I'm looking forward to having a little brother or sister--I think I'd like a sister, to help take care of, even if it does look like him, with cat's eyes, and red hair--God, what if it has a tail? Lately, I'm starting thinking about him, too...did he know about the baby and what would he do if he did? Personally, I think he loves my Mom. I know she still loves him. Sometimes, I hear her crying at night and calling his name. There's a rumor that he's back in Old Town, and I've gotten this idea. Only problem is, I think Mom's on to me. She's forbidden me to drive the Rover out on the highway. Says the Marshals might pick me up...fat chance of that! They're too busy chasing spies to bother a 16-year-old kid!

She's left the keys on the table--she's too big to drive now, being nine months pregnant--and I'm sitting here wondering what's to stop me from taking them. What if I went to Old Town and met this Sinbad sh'en Singh and told him about the baby and how Mom still loves him--what would he do?

I'm going to do it! I think I can make it to the highway before Mom finds out, and if all goes well, I just may come back with a passenger.... Wish me luck!

(Sinbad's Last Voyage is the first novel in the series The Adventures of Sinbad, [published by Double Dragon Publications as an e-book and paperback. It has also been made into an audio book by Books in Motion. The sequel, Sinbad's Wife, is scheduled for release in June, 2008.)

Toni V. Sweeney
Sinbad's Wife, Double Dragon Publications
Three Moon Station, The Wild Rose Press (Writing as Icy Snow Blackstone)