Detecting possible alien life-form. Halt! Before you may enter the Mothership, you must submit to a biometric scan. And of course, please state your name and sign on the dotted line here...

My name's jinnis. I had something else in mind but they wouldn't allow 4-letter words!

Quick! What's the first sci-fi thing that pops into your head!?

A black hole. Okay, that might have been there all along — the resident void.

Original trilogy, prequel trilogy, or sequel trilogy?

Original trilogy all the way. I grew up with them. (Yes, I'm ancient. Well, someone has to be the senior. And I'm still not sure if I crushed more on Han Solo or R2 D2.)

So, how has Tevun-Krus changed your life today?

It kept me from overthinking that blasted incident at work. So, it probably saved me from a life sentence for manslaughter. Or from making an utmost fool of myself. Anyway, I'll end the day on a sense of creative achievement which is nice.

With your lifeline to your spacecraft broken, you hypothetically drift away into the depths of space. What's your last message to Earth?

"So long, and thanks for all the fish!"

Wait, that's been done before.

"Okay old girl, that's one less. Now, get rid of the other eight billion too, will you?"

Do you remember the first author to really grab you as a reader? Are they still someone you read?

Hm. SciFi-wise, it was Czech author Luděk Pešek. I picked up his story The Earth is Near about a Mars expedition in the school library and was sold on the genre. I bought a copy of it last year for nostalgic reasons, but it's not the same, somehow. One of the reasons might be that I'm no longer 12.

Explain your writing process for your fellow mothertroopers. Do you find real life adds "flavours" to your writing, or is it all imaginary?

I sit down with my iPad and type out the chaos crowding my mind... and sure, real life is omnipresent in my writing, whatever the genre. And the darker it gets, the darker my stories. Sometimes it appears in disguise, but at other times, it's pretty straightforward. And then, I wonder if real life isn't, actually, just another myth my mind made up.

We all have advice for our fellow writers. But what's your advice to novice sci-fi writers on what not to do?

Do not believe you'll write the next SciFi bestseller. For one, because SciFi doesn't sell best. If you want to make money with your writing, go write erotic fantasies.

What's a story of yours every mothertrooper should read? Give us an exciting excerpt!

Well... talking about the mothership, why not try out this one? The Curse of the Topsy Turvy. It's a novella I wrote for the ONC a few years back and it has space slugs, pirates, and a gypsy curse. In short, it's true Ooorah stuff.

My boot slipped on a slimy, purple glob. I cursed under my breath while I fought for balance during a precarious moment, grasping Ben's shoulder for support. He sent me a quick glance out of soft brown eyes, half-hidden by his breathing mask.

"Cap, let's get back on board. This is disgusting."

My stoic engineer wasn't one to plea under normal circumstances. Instead of answering, I squared my shoulders, put on a confident face, and blinked my inner lid to clear my vision. I couldn't show emotion in the current situation. Not with the eyes of every tyrinan passerby on the alien visitors. With purposeful steps, I strode down the lane, trying to avoid further purple slime congregations, urging my crewmate to keep up.

"Play it cool, Ben, we're almost there. You know we need this job."

"Aye, Captain." His use of the whole title worried me more than the hiss between clenched teeth.

My human companion was right, of course, and ugly was a weak description for the ankle-deep mess we were wading through. I wondered if Ben knew I'd used an old conjuring trick to assure he was the one to accompany me on the mission. He'd insisted on a strange human ritual, a selection by drawing tiny, wooden teeth-cleaning sticks. I almost screwed up when ensuring he got the shortest of the straws, as he called them.

...

If your lifeless corpse were to be blasted out of the Mothership and into the nearest stellar body, which 3 pieces of music would be played alongside such an occasion?

https://youtu.be/_Jtpf8N5IDE

https://youtu.be/EAgHI6QW_mg

https://youtu.be/tAGnKpE4NCI

What's the deal with the singularity? Would you ever become one with the machine if things were to go loco?

Um. I guess I'm too much of an individualist for this kind of experience. A room containing more than three people seems crowded to me. I guess I'd rather shut down than suffer the clamour of the singularity.

Would you ever get a pet robot, assuming such a thing becomes affordable, available, and socially acceptable?

Not my style. I'm fond of animals and plants, but of the real, unprogrammable kind.

What would you do if you woke up one day and suddenly realized you were a synthetic human raised by machines? Be honest.

I'd probably try to find out what this is all about before doing something rash. Which doesn't mean I wouldn't do something rash shortly after.

Do you have any favourite foods? Let the Mothership know.

Very good question, as that food replicator is in dire need of reprogramming. For me, all the spicy stuff please. A lot of juicy fruit, and fresh bread on a Sunday morning with butter and honey or homemade jam. And pasta, and pizza, and hundreds of other things, now I come to think of it. Okay, I guess I'm hungry and will raid the secret fridge now.

Who would win if the Terminator faced off against the Predator? Now what if it were a musical?

In a musical, I guess they would hit it off together. Or then we'd get a Romeo & Juliet-style tragic ending.

What's something you'd like to see Tevun-Krus take on in a future issue?

I'd like to do an Ooorah sponsored Writer's SciFi Relay. If you didn't follow this project, go check it out. It's absolutely worth it!

The project:

https://www.wattpad.com/story/314468578

The finished result:

https://www.wattpad.com/story/330978753

Oh, no clickable links, right? I'll add them in the comments!

Any last words, 'trooper?

I'm not there yet, mate, fortunately.