James Madford. Mechanic, Third Class
# James Madford. Mechanic, Third Class "Hand me a hydro-spanner?" I yelled, waving my arm out blindly in Wilkson's direction. I could only hope he was still back there. I had my head stuck through a maintenance panel in the roof of the...
Catch A Falling Star
# Chapter 11 Catch A Falling Star Why was he like this? We'd won. Why couldn't James just see we needed to end this? They had tried to kill us. They were pirates, scum. They'd made their choice when they decided to live down there. We...
The Hunters
# Chapter 1: Journal My stomach was growling and clawing at the inside of my gut in a vain effort to fight its way free. It's the only thing I own that's emptier than my wallet, but its got way more personality. I rubbed the cream fur of my...
Can a Band-Aid Fix A Reactor Leak?
# Chapter 3 Can a Band-Aid Fix A Reactor Leak? What in the name of all the gods was going on? The face of James Madford swam in and out of my vision, the drugs he'd just pumped me full of left him in washed out hues of yellow and brown. He was...
A Rough Passage To The Surface
# Chapter 4 A Rough Passage To The Surface Crit seemed to have ratcheted the 'won't let you out of my reach' instinct down a bit now, returning to something closer to his normal 'I'm above you all'. Though he still wouldn't back off more than a...
Fire Branded Leather
# Chapter 1: Just a Hint The restaurant was right on the edge of the beach, a popular place. The warm waves lapped not five paces from the patio. Perfect white sand as far as the eye could see, the V-town coastline was beautiful. A dozen...
Well, One Thing Is Still Working
# Chapter 6 Well, One Thing Is Still Working There was nothing else to do, not a single sign of civilization, so we began walking inland. Hopefully we'd encounter some patch of vegetation, of life. The planet had been registered as 'In progress...
And Not A Drop To Drink
# Chapter 5 And Not A Drop To Drink We'd only planned this to be a quick exploratory mission, not to land here for good and ever. We hadn't even bothered to pack any supplies. I was suddenly glad I hadn't left my backpack on the ship. Not that...
First Mate Crit Is A Bugger
# Chapter 2 First Mate Crit Is A Bugger My mind nearly froze at the thought that I could share Wilkson's fate. Death by vacuum was not listed among the more pleasant ways in which to leave this existence. Not only did one asphyxiate, but one's...
A Long Drive
# Chapter 1: A Long Drive _June 7'th 1988 08:00 Hours West Woodburn, Northumberland, North East England_ It wasn't the scents that woke me, nor the sounds, nor even the vibrations through the earth of dozens of feet treading the ground not...
Back in 'Civilization'
# Chapter 10 Back in 'Civilization' The walls of the city had been a gleaming white once, no expense spared for the main base of a planet wide terraforming project. I could hardly see their original colour now, they were covered from foundation to...
Jonathan
Chapter 1: JonathanJune 1, 198817:47 HoursOutside of West Woodburn, Northumberland, North East EnglandI found the boy. He lay still and peaceful, skin having turned blue and begun to bloat. He was face down, floating buck naked in the River...