Polonium was coming down like snow. Big flakes were torn apart by the little dust devils that ran around causing chaos in the daylight hours. The constant reactions between the radioactive flakes and the atmosphere gave everything a flickering blue glow. It would have been beautiful if it weren't lethal. Kellyn stalked the streets virtually… Continue reading Shells on Shaula
Tag: Intrigue
Overcast With a Chance of Murder
Claire walked to the courtyard through the late afternoon mist. The grayness was oppressive and the light rain seemed to hang in the still air. She drew into her red pea coat like a brightly colored shell. The uneven cobblestones led to a Greek-looking statue of a man with a flowing beard leaning against an… Continue reading Overcast With a Chance of Murder
Cornered
"Put it on the ground and back away." I had that rat SOB by the throat, now. Stupid bastard had no idea what was coming. The rain turned to fog as it fell upon the roof, still sun scorched even at this late hour. The spot lamps on the sky skimmers bathed us in so… Continue reading Cornered
Too Little Willpower
I stood gawking like a tourist at the inverted skyscrapers that hung down from the sky of stone and ice and iron. But I wasn't a tourist. This was my home now. The hollowed out asteroid was thick with the stench of people who all showered in the same few gallons of precious recycled water.… Continue reading Too Little Willpower
Before the Storm
Lamb calmly crossed the long entryway of the lobby, the wooden heels of his thousand-dollar authentic leather oxfords—from genetically unique cattle, not those clone farm abominations—clicked with each step upon the quartz floor like a metronome, a prelude to the requiem. Though, the impressive space was designed such that the sounds of the lobby lived… Continue reading Before the Storm
Linear Function
"Yes. It's true. It was me." "I don't believe you." Clint reached into his pack. "Then how do you explain this?" He pulled out a small silver cube. It distorted his reflection like a funhouse mirror. "Tell me that's not what I think it is." Clint didn't respond, turning the object over in his hands.… Continue reading Linear Function
Some Deal
Brin Dimanche was not the type of person you wanted to make angry. In fact, you were better off if she didn’t know you at all. Any orbit around her was a decaying one. You could tell just by looking at her senior advisors; none of them were seniors. Minutes with Brin could take decades… Continue reading Some Deal
Sunrise at the Precinct
Kyler waited in the hangar absently holding his pistol at his side. The gash above his eye had stopped bleeding, but the half-dried splatter pulled at the scruff on his cheek as he clenched and unclenched his jaw out of habit. He needed another hit an hour ago, and he could feel it in the… Continue reading Sunrise at the Precinct
New Wellspring
The crumpled remains of their dropship, Six Degrees From Earth, stuck out of the swamp water like a series of lightning-split tree trunks. Beyond were the derelict structures of the New Wellspring colony on Kappa Lyrae D. There was no doubt this is where the mayday signal came from, but Cooper and Westhalter didn't see a… Continue reading New Wellspring
Caretaker
Caretaker Gravis watched from the observation deck across from docking bay five. The mining cruiser Silverback made final launch preparations in the moss-green light reflected from Atlantis III 450km below. He didn't wait for the launch, instead darkening the viewing glass and shutting off the artificial gravity on this half of the station. All crew were… Continue reading Caretaker
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