At 1,994 words, this is just about the right length for publication. Indeed, it could stand to be just a bit longer, so if you thought about fleshing it out just a little bit you should. Although, at this length, it need not be longer. Take a look through the WritersWrite.com database of paying publications and seriously give some thought to sending it off. Of course read the submission guidelines for any target publication before doing so. As to the typos, literally there were a couple, just two. "Martin Zagoyen at your service." should be "Martin Zagoyen, at your service." and "We're just fortunate they don't care much for mechanized transport and never got beyond this [content], much less off-planet. Should be "We're just fortunate they don't care much for mechanized transport and never got beyond this [continent], much less off-planet. There were also a couple of phrases that nagged at me, but this is just a matter of opinion. or to make better meat animals, Make just did not seem like the right word here. Perhaps... or to breed better meat animals, In this phrase: That's not terribly easy considering how few females there are circulating in public from which to generalize, and how scandalously many of those dress in rukai society. I thought it was somewhat inconstant to mention how few females are circulating yet how many dressed scandalously. Perhaps... That's not terribly easy considering how few females there are circulating in public from which to generalize, and how the few that did, tended to dress scandalously for rukai society. Then in this phrase: We gladly rose. I held my ground, but James never even made a move for the shade. I think but should be and or maybe a slight rephasing to empahsis how savy the new guy is. Perhaps something like... We gladly rose. I held my ground, and to his credit, James never even made a move for the shade. Also, should ruaki and sam-alruk be capitalized as proper nouns? I like the story a lot. I think you did an excellent job of conveying the sense of a very alien yet believable culture in a short space. I liked the analogy of the Moors and the ruaki. And I'm somewhat of a name freak, I love names, and I really like the names you came up with for your aliens and there environs. Oh yes, there seemed to be an implication that Sharon was used to genetically modify some ruaki fems. Not too likely in the short time they had her? If you want to expand the story at all, clarifying this point is where I think it could pay off. Did they capture her as a child or have they gotten their hands on other blue-eyed humans in the past? jon

 
~jon
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