Earl McClaw commissioned Eric after making sure I was okay with a bit of cheesecake. (I was.) I can't recall when Mr. Schwartz drew this other than is likely 10 years ago or more.

The dopey looking "kid" is Droulin Phahnboi, a cadet on his first tour of duty. Having lived a relatively sheltered life, Mzzkiti is the first alien female he has encountered (at least one whose evolutionary path resulted in enough convergent development that many humans might find "attractive"). As such, he is often distracted when she is present, resulting in the cadet fumbling with equipment and tripping over himself.

redfern said:
Earl McClaw commissioned Eric after making sure I was okay with a bit of cheesecake. (I was.) I can't recall when Mr. Schwartz drew this other than is likely 10 years ago or more.

The dopey looking "kid" is Droulin Phahnboi, a cadet on his first tour of duty. Having lived a relatively sheltered life, Mzzkiti is the first alien female he has encountered (at least one whose evolutionary path resulted in enough convergent development that many humans might find "attractive"). As such, he is often distracted when she is present, resulting in the cadet fumbling with equipment and tripping over himself.

Ah yes, I'd forgotten Phanboi's name. I remembered that all the characters had puns for names, but I could never remember his.

thirtyeight said:
Ah yes, I'd forgotten Phanboi's name. I remembered that all the characters had puns for names, but I could never remember his.

Yeah, since Mzzkiti's name was a wretched pun, Paul and I decided to make it a "running gag" with the rest of the cast.

redfern said:
Yeah, since Mzzkiti's name was a wretched pun, Paul and I decided to make it a "running gag" with the rest of the cast.

I remember the one guy who had massive anxiety. His name was something like, Strezzt Owt, wasn't it?

thirtyeight said:
I remember the one guy who had massive anxiety. His name was something like, Strezzt Owt, wasn't it?

Yes, the chief engineer, Rather Strehstowt. Usually wears a school bus yellow haz-mat suit with a bucket shaped helmet and a tool belt encircling his waist. Paul and I imagined him with the voice of Jason Alexander from "Seinfeld". Though seemingly on the verge of a coronary at any minute, he is very skilled and has improvised bizarre yet functional solutions when the requisition office declines his order documents for replacement hardware.