John Ringo was thinking along the same lines as I did in my Pranir backstory for part of Live Free Or Die, I am amused.

LFoD involves a "category 4.5" setting according to the spectrum I posted earlier this week. Humanity was contacted in the present day, and the story follows the protagonist as he does his damnedest to get us up to speed so that we don't need a protector anymore. At the point where I'm at in the story, he's leased a half-millennium-old mining tug in order to try to get orbital infrastructure jump-started, and because the robo-cook is crap, he has his people hire him a competent ship's cook who's willing to work in space.

He gets an MIT astrophysicist who happened to work as a cook during college.

Because working in space as a ship's cook is still working in space. Because working on a clapped-out mining ship that's older than the European presence in North America is still working on a spaceship.

And that's why, in my Pranir backstory, the snake-owls cleverly sold their brightest scientists into indentured servitude contracts, knowing that when the contracts ran out they'd get back comrades who had seen how alien tech worked and had a chance of understanding it. And thus the Pranir went from early Age of Sail to interstellar traders in a few hundred years. :)

( Other Media: MySpace Dark Horse Presents, Iron Man 2 action figures and Mega Bloks; Book of Note: Iron Man vs. Whiplash #4 )

   Dave Van Domelen, "Oh, you're the new Vulture. Something tells me I should be glad my sense of SMELL is gone. But you can't be any worse to work with than the OLD Vulture. The LARRY DAVID look alike. God, I hate EVERYONE today, why IS that?" - Electro failing to get job satisfaction, The Amazing Spider-Man #623

My second Akiko-based CoH character, this one based on the Akiko-as-superhero I drew a few years ago.
( The City of Heroes version )
( The original drawing )

( Gonna need to get a toga ASAP to correct the costume... )

ETA: Got a toga!
( Too bad the neck chains aren't tintable. )

Another piece for diosoth, Tiff all grown up and responsible (and without the pink streak dyed in her fur).
( GUN wants you! )

Recommended. Almost identical to the Japanese version (added indicia, and Long Haul's paint is slightly different).

LL&DD #10 - The Ties That Bind: It's Valentine's Day 1996, LL&DD's first as a couple rather than as adversaries...and each is wondering if they can make it work. Or if they should.... Plus a vignette from 1998 on the subject of neckwear!