A few Imperial months later, an Avalonian shuttle was on a slow, cautious descent toward the square in front of the council building. This was a delicate maneuver, both because of the smallness of the square, the people on board the shuttle, and the people waiting on the ground. Two of the best pilots on …
Category: Short Stories
Go West, Young Man (Part Two) by D.X. Machina
It was perhaps a half-hour of walking, all of them carrying Darren the whole way, with Thomas carrying both his and Darren’s pack. It was not easy going, but soon enough, they came to a small encampment set into the woods. A middle-aged woman was the first to spy them, and seeing both Darren and …
Go West, Young Man (Part One) by D.X. Machina
“So Tommy Boy, you regretting this yet?” Thomas Archer-Kramer finished re-tying his boot, hoisted his pack back onto his back, and said with a smile, “Of course not, Darren, why would I?” Darren Xanthopolous grinned back at his daughter’s fiancé. He had promised Lysis before they set out that he wouldn’t do more than lightly …
The Promise: Chapter Fourteen by D.X. Machina
“It’s a fine ship, captain, and your crew has done an excellent job getting it up and running.” “Thank you, Navarchos,” Lauryna said. “I won’t say there haven’t been challenges, but we’ve tried to document them; hopefully Captain Carey won’t have as many when the Prince Antero leaves drydock.” “It’s a new class of ships, …
The Promise: Chapter Thirteen by D.X. Machina
“Thanks for coming out, Ted, I hope it didn’t put Tig out.” Ted MartÍnez smiled. “Nah, it’s Gimmel-Ten-Bravo-Three,” he said, in a recitation of Titan Station dayparts that would only make sense if you had been serving on the station for years, which, of course, the two people at the bar had. “Tig’s asleep and …
The Promise: Chapter Twelve by D.X. Machina
It was a day later on Archavia. Almost two, if you were human. “Now this is a delightful restaurant. You say that Renna Tolemtra is behind this one too?” “Father, we’ve spent enough time on business,” Aiopr Theracy said. “And it’s funny, this restaurant is almost the opposite of Rixie’s, but you can tell that …
The Promise: Chapter Ten
Tatenda Marechera was a bit surprised at the invitation he’d received. He’d been in New York already for negotiations with North America and latinoamerica over creating passport-free travel between there and Africa. The negotiations had gone smoothly; the only real hang-up was over extended-stay visas, and even there, they had the broad outlines down. He …
This Torch that I Found (Chapter Four)
“Do you ever try to figure out what year it is?” Alex asked. “It’s 2113,” Zhan said. “No, he means Earth year, and it’s…2081, I think?” Nick said. “You’re both wrong. I mean…there’s gravel roads, the Lethior Motorcoach is like a souped-up model T, we’ve got electric lights and phones, but everything’s wired for holograms, …
The Promise: Chapter Nine Background Chatter by D.X. Machina
Lyroo Prenn walked through the empty barn slowly, reverently, as if at any moment she might be stopped by Aerea Herself, and called to account for her family’s crimes. Lyroo was not particularly religious, but she felt the weight of those crimes most keenly here. Strange. This used to be her favorite place in the …
Naskia’s Favorite Game by Dann
(Hey folks! Long time no see! I found this little gem laying around my old hard drive, and whilst chatting with JS, DX and OHH, we realized this story can’t be found anywhere on the net! That is a problem now remedied! For those of you who can’t remember, this is a small vignette staring …