Introductions All Around

Special of the Day:
Meet Fax

"'Lo. Name's Fax. Yeah, I'm the new 'tender here at Spacefreighters. Glad to make your acquaintance. What'll ya have?" He pulls a glass of Billins and adds a splash of green casco as garnish, placing the drink on the counter. "There ya be."

Straightening, he wipes his hands on his apron and smiles. "Yeah, I came over from Condhar's Net after that nasty bit of business with the female Purmian last week. The place caters to the darker side of freighter clientele, if ya know what I mean. Pirates, rouge salvagers...flibbin' headrunners. Uh...you wouldn't be one of those, would ya?" He raises one eyebrow. "Good. Didn't think so. Anyway, decided it was time to seek my livin' in a less perilous locale, if you get my float." He winks.

After serving another patron, he wanders back to the near end of the bar. "What's that? Oh, yeah, the Net is a wreck. That melee is the talk of the spaceport. Been off planet for awhile, have you? Well, I'll pass on a bit of chatter you may not have tapped into then."

"The Trouble With Demons is slated to launch on April 28. Looks like there'll be a healthy crowd in attendance. Popular, that one. You can follow the launch prep over at Lisa Shearin's place."

"Speaking of that, one of the sister-ships, Armed & Magical is in one hades of a battle pitted against Anton Stout's Dead to Me on Bookspotcentral. Here's the address to get a peek at the battle transcripts." He glances both ways and leans closer. "In fact, might not be too late to getcherself involved in the skirmish. But you didn't hear it from me."

Fax pulls a clean tankard down from the rack and, doing a quick scan to make sure Merc isn't lurking about, wipes a spot off the rim.

"If you're inta seein' a bit of scenery, be sure to check out Greg Manchess' take on painting the cover art of Canticle by Ken Scholes. That one's sponsored by Tor.com. Amazing mystical stuff, that."

Fax glances out the port as a ship does a low flyover and shakes his head. "Carduwan hot shot." He slides a dish of snacks onto the counter with a sly glance toward the kitchen. "Have some crunchers. It's on the house."

Generous guy, this Fax.

"Oh, by the way," he says, hooking the handle of the tankard back up on the rack, "if you're lookin' for a read that leans toward dark apocalyptic fantasy, check out the excerpt from Over in Plague County by Heather Powell-Smith, a pre-published author featured in the Discovery Showcase on Fantasy Debut. Int'restin' world, that landscape."

He places your tab face down on the counter and unties his apron.

"Welp, that'll do for me. Gotta spiff the cellar for my co-'tender. Benna will be ondeck soon. Enjoy your day, and be sure ta stop in again next time you're in this neck of the galaxy."