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Synopsis
Both as a cop and a person, Lieutenant Mel Cruz is consistently dealt a crap hand. She's a jaded officer coming to terms with the wreckage of her romantic life, a near fatal injury, and an acerbic new captain. Following her transfer to a new unit, she desperately tries to hold her life together while rebuilding her career. Oh, and she's a 34-year-old Scouting Officer for the Code Enforcement branch of the Exonet Maintenance Bureau. To put it in Luddite, she's a cyborg law enforcement officer, and digital systems are her beat.
Follow our protagonist on a journey of healing and found family, as well as terrifying and profound explorations of the nature of humanity and sentience. Lieutenant Cruz will have to adjust to life in the sticks of the Jovian system, build relationships with her colleagues, and still manage her weekly caseload of digital crimes. A.I.s and humans alike will feature prominently in a story where the characters must weigh the measure of non-human life. And behind the innocent facade of this backwater mining port lurks something new and dark that's eating out the heart of Ursa Miner Station.
Be prepared for snark, LGBTQ+ themes, occasional violence, and lots of cyber-everything in a relatively hard sci-fi shell!
(In short, mix 1/2 cup 'Ghost in the Shell' with 8oz of 'The Expanse', crack and add one 'Neuromancer' without yolk, dice and stir in some 'Dick Tracy' until it reaches golden noir, then bake at ~2150 AD. Sprinkle 'Orion's Arm' to taste and serve with a platter of 'Hitchhiker's Guide' on the side)
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Table of Contents
- 1Chapter 1: Just five more light-minutes, please!2025-01-14
- 2Chapter 2: Open Mouth, Remove Foot2025-01-15
- 3Chapter 3: A Special Hell: Employee Orientation2025-01-15
- 4Chapter 4: Snipe Hunt2025-01-17
- 5Chapter 5: Piss Off, Copper2025-01-17
- 6Chapter 6: Anonymous Tip2025-01-17
- 7Chapter 7: Stranger in a Bar? So Cliche!2025-01-17
- 8Chapter 8: Company Ink2025-01-18
- 9Chapter 9: Lemmings and Cliffs2025-01-19
- 10Chapter 10: [REDACTED]2025-01-20
- 11Chapter 11: With a Capital 'T'2025-01-21
- 12Chapter 12: She Saw it Coming2025-01-22
- 13Chapter 13: Walk of Shame2025-01-23
- 14Chapter 14: Flying Off the Handle2025-01-24
- 15Chapter 15: Jaywalking the Information Superhighway2025-01-25
- 16Chapter 16: The Unwritten Rules2025-01-26
- 17Chapter 17: Snakes and Ladders2025-01-27
- 18Chapter 18: Breadcrumbs and Sparrows2025-01-29
- 19Chapter 19: Violations both Subtle and Gross2025-01-29
- 20Chapter 20: COMMUNION2025-01-30
- 21Chapter 21: Battleplans2025-01-31
- 22Chapter 22: Partners in Law2025-02-01
- 23Chapter 23: Heart to Heart2025-02-02
- 24Chapter 24: The Sins in our Stars2025-02-03
- 25Chapter 25: Ice at the Bottom of the Gravity Well2025-02-04
- 26Chapter 26: In Space, Nobody Can Hear You Whine2025-02-05
- 27Chapter 27: BattleBots!2025-02-06
- 28Chapter 28: Oh Captain, My Captain2025-02-07
- 29Chapter 29: I'm Afraid I can't do that, Mel.2025-02-08