And you just know he’d do it, too.

Check out the sequel, “Two-Part Harmony.”

“Captive Audience”

By Joseph Manno

It fell upon Erika to give Sam her options.

"You could accept a term enlistment. You'd serve as a common crewman, lear–"

"OK."

The initial surprise at how easily their "discussion" had gone gave way to curiosity. In Erika’s admittedly limited experience, Sam had never been this cooperative.

"That was a pretty quick decision… or had you given it some thought?"

Sam answered, "Not really...

"...but anything's better than being thrown into stasis."

That took a moment to register.

Erika gaped at her.

"Why would you ever think... who told you that we'd even consider…?"

Then it dawned.

"Mav!"