Excerpt: StarOrder One

"Hey, O'Bryan, d'you know what an 'Alligator clip' is?" Frank O'Bryan's hobby, as of late, was primitive electronics. He knew what an 'Alligator clip' was, but of course his brother, Hathwood, or Hathwy (his nickname), did not. Hathwy finds this interesting because his own career interest has to do with the steampunk engines used by spacecraft.
"No, O'Bryon, what is a 'Alligator clip'?" Hathwy responded.
"Well, O'Bryan, it's like a 'Fahnestock clip,' only it will also bite your . . . ." Frank was just about to use a common, but rather crude, word meaning the lower posterior part of the human anatomy, when the Chime interrupted. Hathwood, equally sharp to his brother's sometimes caustic humor, was getting ready to throw another pillow, but at the sound of the Chime, they both stood at attention.
"Commander Engineer O'Bryan from General Commander North." The intercom crackled.