August Niehaus

Author:
In another lifetime, August was a punk kid running a writing-themed e-zine in 2002 and participating in online survivor writing contests; these days, she’s a punk pseudo-adult with an office job and a studio of her own.

Meet Pitney Scolan. Pit, for short. He’s a decorated general and a venerated leader of the sprawling human race. He’s protected his species' colonies from vicious native animal populations and hostile alien life. He’s fiercely introverted, and he’s really looking forward to retiring on his personal planet in the very near future.

Except…now he has to be a dog.

A daugment, to be specific: a cybernetically enhanced canine, previously the doting pet of Pit’s biggest rival, General Tristan. It’s the only way to escape certain assassination.

So Pit grudgingly allies himself with a pair of well-meaning scoundrels and sets sail for seedier space in hopes of escaping Tristan’s clutches. What he finds instead is a galactic conspiracy to force him to make friends.

Daugment

Everything's so clean. I'm suspicious. 


~ handwritten addition to a typed spaceport customs form for Certainty


"Everyone to the bridge!" Fionn bellowed. Ravenna pressed against Minna's legs to steer her in the right direction as Fionn sprinted in the opposite direction, presumably to take the long way around. Pit hesitated only a split-second before he followed Ravenna and Minna.


Ravenna smelled strongly of fear, but she was crooning to Minna: "Come on, it's this way. There's a reason we don't put pictures of the ship on the glog. Confuses anyone who might attempt to sneak on board."


Her hands thrust out in front of her, Minna fumbled into the impossibly black maze. Ravenna shot a look over her shoulder and caught Pit's eye. She raised her tail and wagged it, once, then quickly went back to herding the woman.


Haunted by the child's eyes, Pit didn't realize at first what Ravenna's wagging was all about until it dawned on him that she was glad he was okay.


Chapter 34