Hi! It's me, Alexis. Back in November, I started a little story off the top of my head, just to see what might happen. Would it go anywhere? No idea. But it felt like it might have legs - or tentacles, considering. That story became 'Voortrekker', of which today's update concludes Part 2 - and brings the total word count up to just over forty-one thousand, with the story still not halfway done. Legs, indeed! Or tentacles, considering. To start from a simple vignette of strangeness and hope on a world orbiting a new sun, and become a tale of love, politics, warfare, and strangeness spanning the entire solar system and beyond...I'm amazed and delighted that my little story has come so far and grown so much! And none of it would ever have happened if it hadn't been for everyone who's participated along the way, both in helping me find the story I want to tell and you want to read, and in the Cosmic Voyage project overall. In particular, I want to thank ~tomasino, from whose forehead the concept sprang full-grown, and ~kensanata, who mentioned it in a place where I could see it. Had both those things not happened, this story wouldn't have either! And perhaps I'm not the only one who thinks that'd be a shame. Above all, though, I want to thank each and all of you who are here reading this now, whether you've followed Voortrekker since the beginning or have just come along now to see what all the fuss is about. No one writes in a vacuum, even if sometimes it feels that way. Your critique and your compliments have shaped this story every bit as much as I have, and on days when I feel as if I can't possibly string three words together in a way that makes sense, remembering that you're out there waiting for the next installment gives me the motivation I need to try my best. Thank you all! This sounds like a valedictory, but it's not one. Not except for now, at least - Voortrekker has become by far the largest creative project I've ever taken on, and I need a break! So I'm taking one. For the next few weeks, I'm going to be recharging my batteries, attending to various boring life things that I've lately let slide in order to give this story the attention it deserves, and preparing to carry the plot forward in Part 3. I might write a thing or two of another sort, too, in that meantime. If I do, you can find it at https://lexie.space, where all my writing lives. You can also find out how to contact me there, if that's something you care to do. In particular, if you have thoughts on the story so far or where you might like to see it go from here, please do let me know! I won't make you a promise that I'll incorporate those ideas, because it'd be a promise I can't know for sure whether I can keep. But this isn't just my story - it's *ours*. So I'll do my best to tell it in the way we all like best! Regular updates will resume April 7, on the same Wednesdays-and-Sundays schedule. In the meantime: stay awesome, check out https://lexie.space for more of my writing, and let me hear from you if you've got something to say! Love, Lexie.