I think you did a really good job with pacing this one - it felt like the perfect amount of content for the format. I do think that a lot of the exposition wound up being a bit unnecessary (like some of the opening paragraph, and the long one in the second column), and I think I'd have rather seen that word count spent on more dialogue. The dialogue (and positioning the orc as the knowledgable, enlightened one) was a highlight of the story to me, and I'd have liked to see more of the setting details come out organically in it.
She Who Howls is also a great spaceship name and I'm definitely stealing it.