I had that fever dream again. I'm walking around the habitat. My feet make hard clicking sounds against the floor, but I can't look down to see why. I'm too busy looking at all the corpses. It's the rest of the team: Wilkens, Kang, Singh, Tenderman, and Din. They're all going about their jobs, cleaning,… Continue reading Waking the Clockmakers
Tag: Exoplanets
Walk Away Happy
Red leaves, red bark, red soil. A red jungle beneath a red sky. The pure red sunlight above. Zenn was gray. It was a trick of the light; everything that wasn't red appeared in grayscale to the human eye beneath this unusual sun. No one called Mars the red planet anymore; Rosenhold had taken the… Continue reading Walk Away Happy
Contact
Ryden sloshed through the toxic muck that sucked at his boots beneath the tangled thorn grass. It wasn't grass, of course—that was terracentric thinking—but on strange planets the mind tries to force things into familiar shapes. His unit was twelve days into its march with no obvious end. Twelve days of orange fog and swatting… Continue reading Contact
Sunset on Immaculous
Sutter awoke for the last time feeling calm. He had a twinge of anticipation in his stomach, but no remorse. His respect for the Council was impregnable, and when they sentenced him to the sunset he accepted it fully, embraced it even. The stories say it's beautiful. The garden world of Immaculous had been spared… Continue reading Sunset on Immaculous
Confinement
Grayson was thankful to be home. For the soft clothes, and the fresh warm air, and the alcohol's affect on his brain. He was thankful for all the things he didn't smell. Before the meal was over, his family would make a toast in his honor and then point their eyes at him like the… Continue reading Confinement
The Fleeting Nature of Ever Afters
Habib looked up at the black sky of noon and tried to find Sol, but it was hidden behind the mocking glare of Newton's single tiny moon. The moon was called Apple, but Habib couldn't enjoy the whimsey of it. This was never going to be his home. Newton was what they called a garden… Continue reading The Fleeting Nature of Ever Afters
Wandering on Hinterland
Harper sat sullenly at the top of the habitat's spire, looking out above the canopy as the first—and brightest—of Hinterland's two suns tucked itself below the horizon. At least it would cool off a little. She took the stairs down to the surface level, passing Brielle in the mudroom leading to the garage. "I'm going… Continue reading Wandering on Hinterland
Strange Creatures
"I hear there's creatures out here," said Vangel, his voice taking on a sinister quality through the synthesis of his helmet. The alien ground crunched underfoot like snow. But it was not snow. In the midnight darkness, snaking flows of viscous upwelling crisscrossed the rocky plain. The flows were dimly luminescent, whatever they were, and… Continue reading Strange Creatures
Morning Capture
The first dirty neon tendrils of sunlight lashed the backs of clouds that had grown plump and forgetful in the night. Claude shielded his eyes against the harsh dawn and the hot breeze it brought with it. He and Cheyenne had a clear view of the camp below, the soldiers already set about their morning… Continue reading Morning Capture
Live Worlds
Dustin came around when Len threw a fist-sized chunk of wreckage at this chest. The escape pod was in rough shape. Some of the coolant tanks had ruptured and caught fire. Dustin unstrapped himself from his crash couch and activated the Halon system. There were gaping holes in the hull; given the fire he'd just… Continue reading Live Worlds
Warmup Pages 