Emera had a sick feeling in her gut from the get-go, from the very first words of the briefing, and from there it only grew in her chest like a rancid vine strangling her heart. She boarded the dropship with the rest of the platoon. They were about to descend onto a remote and undefended… Continue reading No Innocent People
Category: Science Fiction
Mind Reader
"What the hell is this?" Aixa was distrustful of police to begin with, but this was just blatantly wrong. The fact that they'd let her—a known black market dealer—see it only revealed their desperation. It didn't make her feel good about her prospects of being released. They wouldn't want her to go spreading rumors. "I… Continue reading Mind Reader
An Audience With the Presider
There was a peculiar scent in the air, a mix of spilled petrol and roasted pork with sweetsop. Bata had visited many of these metrolettes, and they all had their own smell. He removed the clear regulator mask from beneath his robes, the rubber hose snaking back beneath the folds, situated the mask over his… Continue reading An Audience With the Presider
A Sort of Homecoming
It had been a hard-fought tour and Harlow felt she'd earned the right to go home. But not like this. She waded slowly through the river in her six-ton mech suit, mindful of making waves that would douse her squadmates who were on foot. The water was up to their waists and they were doing… Continue reading A Sort of Homecoming
City People
The clouds were catching on the pointed tips of the skyscrapers like stray threads on a cotton sweater. A light drizzle spilled from the tears. They weren't supposed to be here, and that's what made it exciting. They were explorers, rediscovering ancient secrets and pocketing old-world treasures. Mikey found a little black rock—a pebble, really—with… Continue reading City People
RAM
I had to get some more RAM for my dad. He'd been getting slower for a while, but yesterday he totally locked up midway through a game of gin rummy and I had to restart him. He hates being restarted. Sulked around the rest of the night just pacing and mumbling, his slippers shuffling and… Continue reading RAM
The Beginning of a Beautiful Friendship
JR felt a bit like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. This must be how humans felt all the time. Hard to say though; JR hadn't had much interaction with the flesh type since Doc Porter died, and that was forty years ago. And Doc was a bit of a nut anyway. Mostly spoke in snippets… Continue reading The Beginning of a Beautiful Friendship
Secrets, Secrets Are No Fun
A couple of years ago Maggie would have thought it wasn't fair and become despondent that the chaos of the universe had a preference for her misery. But that was the fatalistic response of a child. She was 18 now—an adult; a woman of action—and the only words that fit were this is bullshit! It was… Continue reading Secrets, Secrets Are No Fun
The Die-Hards, the Drifters, and the Desperate
Hunter made his way down to the Waiting Room. It was the closest bar to the drop hangers and a favorite of freelancers such as himself. Good place to get the latest scuttlebutt from the surface. It was right next to the appraisery where returning rangers traded ancient trinkets for cash, and naturally they were… Continue reading The Die-Hards, the Drifters, and the Desperate
End of an Era
The sun was only a few degrees above the horizon, but that's as high as it ever got. And though the unfiltered sunlight was intense, it always felt like nighttime at the moon's southern pole. With no atmosphere to diffuse the incoming light the contrast between daylight and shadow was stark. It always looked like… Continue reading End of an Era
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