Theo Waitley has lived all her young life on Delgado, a Safe World that is home to one of the galaxy's premier institutions of higher learning. Both Theo's mother, Kamele, and Kamele's onagrata Jen Sar Kiladi, are professors at the university, and they all live comfortably together, just like they have for all of Theo's life, in Jen Sar's house at the outskirts of town.

 Suddenly, though, Theo's life changes. Kamele leaves Jen Sar and moves herself and Theo back into faculty housing, which is not what Theo is used to. Once settled back inside the Wall, Kamele becomes embroiled in faculty politics, and is appointed sub-chair of her department. Meanwhile, Theo, who has a notation in her file indicating that she is "physically challenged" has a series of misadventures, including pulling her best friend down on the belt-ride to class, and hurting a team mate during a scavenge game.

  With notes piling up in her file, Theo only wants to go "home," to the house in the suburbs, and have everything just like it used to be.

  Then, Kamele uncovers evidence of possible dishonest scholarship inside of her department. In order to clear the department, she and a team of senior professors must go off-world to perform a forensic document search. Theo hopes this will mean that she'll be left in the care of the man she calls "Father," Professor Kiladi, and is horrified to learn that Kamele means to bring Theo with her!

Every Yuletide since 1995, Sharon and Steve have put together a chapbook of Liaden Universe® stories for their readers, as a thank-you for their patience and support. Dragon Tides: Adventures in the Liaden Universe® Number 13, the 2007 offering, features two stories for dragon lovers

In "Daughter of Dragons," Lady Kareen, Daav yos'Phelium's contentious sibling, must vacate Liad with the rest of Clan Korval under the terms of Plan B. However, Kareen has her own necessities, and insists on performing one last social duty. Who could have known that the annual meeting of the League for the Purity of the Language could harbor such danger, or old friendships such treachery?

The second, title, story, set in the time before the Crystal books, asks the question, Why should a tree regard a dragon, and how should a dragon return that regard?

Meet Gem ser'Edreth, Master Thief. Since the death of his master and surrogate father, Gem has been deliberately solitary. Unencumbered by family or friends, he immerses himself in his profession, rising to a pinnacle of skill so exalted that the planetary crime boss humbles herself to seek him out with a commission to steal.

He refuses, of course.

That's his first mistake.

Next, his past catches up with him in the form of Corbinye Faztherot, Worldwalker for the Generation Ship Gardenspot. Years ago, Gardenspot's captain sold the child of his rival to a Grounder—a fate worse than death to GenShippers. Alas, it turns out that the unwanted child has grown into the very wanted—and much needed—Hero Captain foretold in the Tomorrow Log. Corbinye offers to escort Gem back to his ship so that he can take up his destiny.

He refuses, of course.

That's his second mistake.

All too soon, Gem's hidden past and present notoriety collide, as his plans to leave planet go catastrophically awry. Suddenly embroiled in interplanetary politics, a potential interstellar war, in possession of an unwanted cousin, and an ancient object of power that may or may not be the conduit for a just slightly mad goddess, Gem discovers that the mysterious Witness for the Telios may hold the key to his salvation—or his undoing.

Now the Fledgling advance reader copy is bundled with The Tomorrow Log and Dragon Tide available in the reader-friendly, unencrypted formats Webscriptions is known for. The combined works—a brand new novel with the complete Tomorrow Log novel and Dragon Tide chapbook—will go for $18. No dead tree crumble; no shipping fees.