The Strawberry Gambit

A bassy tone and flashing amber light pulled Cato out of his light sleep. He'd been in and out of consciousness for a few days. The slow crawl of starvation made everything smear together. What in hell's name was that blinking light? His head was swimming. Cato fixated on the control panel until he forced… Continue reading The Strawberry Gambit

Building the COB

The observable universe was something near 100 billion lightyears across and all but half of a hundred-quintillionth of it was empty space, so Leia felt justified when she woke up feeling annoyed about her cramped quarters. When it was complete, the COB—Callisto Orbital Basecamp—would serve as the gateway between the inner system and the as… Continue reading Building the COB

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

Last Days on Chalkydri

The sky was red, brighter at the horizon, and streaked with the trails of charged particles. It made Jaro think of a blood orange. He was hungry. No fresh fruit around though; just pallets and pallets of MREs. He grabbed one off the top—calf's liver dumplings, ugh—and tossed it back. On second thought, he wasn't… Continue reading Last Days on Chalkydri

Pirates of the Southern Cross

Nerissa was hungry; a state not unfamiliar to her. Hunger in perpetuity. It was a lifestyle choice—came with the whole space pirate thing. She wanted to eat, sure, but she was hungry for more than food. Everyone knows space is mostly empty, knows it logically, but most everyone doesn't know know it like Nerissa does.… Continue reading Pirates of the Southern Cross

Something Drastic

As she pulled them apart with her mind, one by one, the soldiers naturally, inevitably, were drawn to her. They believed they were made of bone and flesh and sinew, but Ayla saw beyond it. The soldiers, like all other things—living, dead, or somewhere in bewtween (where most things dwelled)—like Ayla herself, were made of… Continue reading Something Drastic