Overview

This story is a standalone. It mentions characters from Touched by Starlight, a story occurring four hundred years before this one.

A lesbian galactic adventure and romance with a happily ever after.

It is the early 26th century. Humankind has colonized planets in the Milky Way. The photon accelerator, invented in the 22nd century, made this possible.

Dr. Tracy Sutton, an introvert, endured childhood bullying. She conceals her emotions behind a facade of aloofness. After a broken heart, Tracy focuses her energy on science, leaving romance in the past.

Tracy has created Excalibur, a device that opens wormholes enabling starships to travel the Milky Way in minutes and days instead of months or years.

Excalibur has reached the final stages of testing. Tracy needs a chief engineer to install Excalibur into her starship.

Tracy hires Devin Tracker, a master starship engineer. As a human/Tauareen hybrid, Devin has encountered xenophobia, which contributed to shaping her into an assertive and blunt individual. The two women become embroiled in disagreements. Tracy finds Devin quick to take offense and disrespectful. Devin sees Tracy as icy and officious.

A shuttle crash strands the two on a hostile desert planet. They must set aside their animosity and work together to survive. Trust is built and barriers fall. Will their growing friendship lead to deeper feelings?