A Deal's a Deal
It was only once Abe reached the top of the cliff that he began to fully appreciate how hard climbing back down was going to be. While it hadn't been a particularly hard scramble up, he had gotten too comfortable and pushed himself. As he surmounted...
A Deal's a Deal 2
Gravel crackled as Abe turned off the road and onto Balt's driveway. The dragon had given him his address, but his home was so remote that a map didn't do the location justice. These last few miles had been nothing but dirt road, and the woods were so...
57 Days
It had been five years since the first two of the planned thirty-six ring environments were installed on the Barnard hub station. In those five short years, the station had grown to six ring environments, supporting the full-time needs of twenty-five...
55 Days
Oryza woke up to the worst headache she had ever experienced. Moving hurt, seeing hurt—even trying to go back to sleep hurt. But the lights of the compartment were beginning to brighten in spite of her body's protests. She could override them at the...
Not Like The Margin Test
The maintenance tunnels were a second home to Anthela, the gentle flicker of fluorescent lamps a second sun. Those algae-covered boasted as much diversity as the surface flora, if not more, and her green scales were camouflage against them. She could...
50 Days
Corymb pressed his clenched fist into the touchscreen of the ship's terminal, adding pressure until discolored rings danced on the surface of the display. He gritted his teeth. Everything hurt. Who'd have thought working without gravity wasn't...
28 Days: Part 1
The first week on the escape pod had been so much easier, as Oryza saw it. Everything had been new back then. Terrifying, as living in a tin can surrounded by nothing but vacuum for millions of kilometers was wont to be, but new nonetheless. The...
54 Days
Sterile, sweltering air rushed into the sleeping compartment as Oryza opened the panel to the main cabin. Her ears popped from the pressure change and she growled in annoyance. Back when they were on the station, function had certainly been favored to...
A Legacy to Live Up To
Sarabi loosed a mewl of a roar as she fought the urge to stimulate herself against the rough, cold stone of the cave floor. There was no point. It wouldn't help. Nothing she could do would help. Only a male lion could sate her heat, and since her son,...
Those Without Margin
Thyrse finished shoving the stake through the wheel spokes, pinning the cart in place for the night. It had never rolled away before, but it was good habit, and he certainly didn't want to tarnish their otherwise perfect record, especially not for...
A Ship Trapped in Amber: Chapter 1
For the third time, Weaver trembled on the cramped bridge of a superluminal data freighter, steeling himself for the impending embedding. For the third time, he had managed to convince himself that the money was a necessity, that the pay was worth the...
53 Days
Oryza read the tiny, glowing text yet again, but her eyes hadn't mistaken her. The message was the same: LEAVENOW. It didn't add up—or rather, it did, just not in a way she was comfortable with. First, the joint station's reactor lost control....