The pilot made Lula feel extremely uncomfortable. The pilot likely felt nothing at all for his part. Him? Was the pilot a man? Not in the philosophical man-or-machine sense, but biologically. She'd assumed he was a man based on his bulk and the breadth of his shoulders, but she supposed those were not meaningful indicators.… Continue reading Special Cargo
Author: D. Roe Shocky
I’m an author of short stories and novels. I primarily write science fiction, though I occasionally visit other corners of the speculative fiction map.
Entering the Throat of Kraken
The little boat was getting tossed around more than she'd expected and it was making her a little queasy. The reduced gravity only served to amplify the effect. Dr. Hena Hanover was entering the Throat of Kraken. Officially it was the Seldon Fretum, a narrow straight separating the northern and southern basins of Kraken Mare,… Continue reading Entering the Throat of Kraken
Permanent Provisionals
Everyone assumed Karaka was from Karaka—somewhat understandably—but in fact she was not. All of her grandparents had emigrated from the Karaka system as young adults. Like her parents, Karaka was born in the light of Yed Prior, and technically that's where her citizenship remained. In another month she would legally become a citizen of the… Continue reading Permanent Provisionals
The Most Valuable Currency
A pinkish violet plume of particle ejecta stretched out for hundreds of lightyears beyond the Helenus. To most it would be a thing of great beauty, or of terrible power, but to Captain Iza Valdes it was only data loss. Her work was done and her ship was at idle, but the immense distances involved… Continue reading The Most Valuable Currency
Lady Quant
Awv stalked along the exterior of the palace walls. It was late in the day, the light golden, but it had not yet begun to cool. His armor protected him from many things, but not the stink of his own sweat. It wasn't just the heat, though; it was the nerves. He'd been trailing a… Continue reading Lady Quant
Knowing the Enemy
The ice giant Rosen is only a pale crescent in the violet sky of its largest moon. Ivodus looks up and thinks it looks like the closed eye of a sleeping god. Or a dead one. This place sets off strange and indistinct memories, more feelings than specific recollections, and he doesn't like it. It… Continue reading Knowing the Enemy
Recruited
Kris sat at a small booth in a dim corner of Club Andromeda sipping a tart cocktail and puffing on an alien hookah that sent her sky high for a fleeting few seconds each time she hit it. She really didn't like it here. Wasn't her scene. But that's why she chose it; she was… Continue reading Recruited
Mr. Rupert
Dr. Chen made like she was adjusting her glasses, but she subtly pressed the record button. Sure, it wouldn't get by the ethics board, but that only meant she couldn't publish it. She would keep the recording just for her own research. It might prove invaluable. And any breakthrough could help a lot of afflicted people,… Continue reading Mr. Rupert
The Time Slip Man
He'd called it a bunker, but it was really just a series of empty square chambers carved out of the Tritonian ice, pressurized, and separated by heavy hatchways. Whatever you called it, he wasn't here. Leah could sense Captain West's impatience. "Give him a little time," she said. West snorted. "You'd think he'd be punctual… Continue reading The Time Slip Man
Feeling the Weight of Weightlessness
Gina was used to running; she was no stranger to the half-marathon. But her body was already forgetting. The old familiar rhythm felt as unbalanced as an out-of-round wheel. At first she blamed the lack of gravity. That was still the issue, but now she blamed her body. She took it personally. It was funny… Continue reading Feeling the Weight of Weightlessness
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