Nobody's Servant, Part 17 - Cover To Cover
Back home, we take libraries seriously. A respectable library is one of the largest buildings in town, well-stocked, well-staffed, well-maintained, well-funded, and even well-defended. They sit in only the starkest of contrasts with mausoleums;...
Nobody's Servant, Part 13 - Before The Dawn
There's something in here with me. Everything around me rattles subtly, but its footsteps tremble the same way. Here, it may as well be unshakeable. It's coming right for me. My eyes shoot open, taking in nothing. When I wake up, I forget...
Nobody's Servant, Part 12 - Overnight Ride
"So what's his deal?" Nym looks up from his book, finding Yhana sitting upright; she is determined to pry this time. Nonetheless, he responds in an unengaged tone, "What deal?" "Your brother, I mean," she presses. "I thought he was about to...
Internal Audit
"Uplink established, we're good to go. Viv, can you hear us?" The speakers click quietly as they switch on, immediately followed by a soft, jovial voice. "Loud and clear, Bern! How was the trip down?" "Smoother than anticipated," Bern...
Welcome Aboard
A trio of silhouettes darts past an exoglass window, the gradual swell and decline of red lights casting on them as they hurry along. Their lead-lined bags clink softly, packed full with swiped artifacts. Getting here to steal them shouldn't have been...
Occupational Hazards
The bunker doors rumble open, their sound almost entirely lost against the howling from both the heavy wind and the skinless amalgamations clamoring around the hovercraft. They form piles of themselves, smaller individuals scaling the larger, and...
A Change In Perspective
The soft whirr of propellers is the only sound that stands out in these enormous sand-colored halls. The sound of even softer humming is entirely lost under their oscillating tone. Teri allows himself to sit back, tapping a few buttons on his bracer to...
Nobody's Servant, Part 10 - Eren
Don't look at me like that. I freely admit now that there may have been a few things I failed to mention to you. And yes, among those things might have been an unpredictable, murderous, cannibalistic fugue state. Or the fact that I became receptive...
Nobody's Servant, Part 9 - Break
I'm terrified. I'll go ahead and admit that now before the finger pointing begins, not that anybody has time for it. My shoulder heaves into yet another bulkhead, aiding Sal and Leonov in creaking it shut. The artificial priest hammers at the...
Nobody's Servant, Part 11 - Mainland
The lights in the room strobe erratically, reflecting off the creeping spread of black fluid as it covers more and more of the white tile floor. It spreads out from me like rain, scattering unpredictably, and joining the mass that flows around the...
Ravenous Rivalry
Lukasz hurries across the savanna, the reflective blur of his cloak rendering him nearly invisible save for the space his path carves through the ocean of tall, red grass. At present, he'd be the least interesting part of the scenery even for someone...
Nobody's Servant, Part 14 - Living Situation
I'm sitting on one of the side balconies of the upper lounge. The recent happenings have understandably made the other passengers hesitant to go out in the open, which works just fine for me. I need the solitude. More specifically, someone I need to...