We finally reach the new stuff! ----- Part 2: SETTLERS Chapter 7. "All right, everyone," Laura Kimei said, "settle down." Sakura knew this was mostly directed at Francisco and Hitomi; the two youngest members of their unplanned colony were running around, chasing a virtual animal projected on their retinals by Hitomi's omni, which was running some kind of game for them. Looking around the big table in the center of the clearing, she could see most of the others were already seated and paying [ Continue reading... ]
Castaway Resolution: Chapter 6
December 6, 2019 By Leave a Comment
They'd solved the mystery, but there were a couple things left to do... ------ Chapter 6. Numbers stared at her with all three eyes, one of them flicking back and forth to look at the display near him. "The 'Kryndomerr Resonance'?" "You and I did the work together, but you were the one who first found the pattern that showed something was causing well-maintained ships to disappear, and then did the hard work of deriving the function and building the models that showed that it actually worked the way we [ Continue reading... ]
Castaway Resolution: Chapter 5
December 5, 2019 By Leave a Comment
Time to see what Sue and Numbers had figured out... ----- Chapter 5. Portmaster Michael Ventrella—newly inducted a month and a half before—gestured for everyone to sit as he entered. "We're not a huge organization, let's not get too formal," he said. "I hereby convene this official Review and Inquiry Report for incident OR-7-FTL, the event which resulted in crippling damage to colony vessel Outward Initiative. Are representatives of all interested parties here?" Captain Toriyama stood. "I am Acting Captain [ Continue reading... ]
Castaway Resolution: Chapter 4
December 2, 2019 By Leave a Comment
Sue and Numbers were on the case... ------ Chapter 4. Sue shoved her hair back and forced it back under the restraining clip. "Well, now I'm even more mystified than I was before." She drifted over to the coffee dispenser, filled the transparent carbonan cup again. Numbers floated nearby, chaotic patterns flickering over his hide. "Yes." "I'd expected to find a flaw somewhere—neglected maintenance, a mistuned coil, a one-in-a-million abrupt coil failure, something. The symptoms sure looked to me like some kind of [ Continue reading... ]
Castaway Resolution: Chapter 3
December 1, 2019 By Leave a Comment
Sue had arrived at the terribly damaged Outward Initiative... ------ Chapter 3. "Welcome aboard, Lieutenant Fisher, Dr. Pearce," Captain Toriyama said. Sue was slightly surprised to see that while many of his features were as Japanese as his name, his skin was the color of coffee without much cream at all; he was also tall and not bad looking at all, and would probably be even better looking without the circles under his eyes and the worry lines engraved on his face. Next to him was a woman who looked to be [ Continue reading... ]
Castaway Resolution: Chapter 2
November 27, 2019 By 1 Comment
Well, Sue got what she wished for. Something happened. Now she has to deal with the "something". ----- Chapter 2. Raijin lay before her, a perfect sphere of polished silver and glass cradled in a setting like an egg cup, every feature of airlock, impulse jets, Trapdoor coils, and all others meticulously set as flush with the surface of the sphere as possible. At her approach, the circular airlock door swung open, and she could feel her omni establishing full link connections, readying the little ship for [ Continue reading... ]
Castaway Resolution: Chapter 1
November 25, 2019 By Leave a Comment
Today I begin posting chapters of Castaway Resolution (which was originally titled Castaway Peril). Those who read the short stories posted on Baen's site may remember the first few chapters of this novel from there, as this book incorporates the short story "Disaster". A quiet day... ------ CASTAWAY PERIL Third in the Castaway Planet series By Ryk E. Spoor and Eric Flint Part 1: DISASTER Chapter 1. Sue Fisher tried to force herself to stay awake. Three more hours of this. If only something would [ Continue reading... ]
LEGEND: Chapter 19
March 26, 2019 By 4 Comments
Dr. Hsui gets to interview one of the main foci of Legend's concerns. ----- Chapter 19. "Thank you very much for coming, Fireflux." Inside, she wasn't entirely glad. Normally, Jennifer was perfectly comfortable with her own looks—and, truth be told, in private might even allow herself to be a little vain. She knew she was very good-looking, and she also generally didn't put much emphasis on the importance of looks. Damned if I want my daughter thinking the only thing important is whether she's pretty enough. But I [ Continue reading... ]
LEGEND: Chapter 18
March 25, 2019 By 5 Comments
Ben and Legend are out and about... ----- Chapter 18. Ben straightened, balancing carefully, his heart beating faster. I'm not really in danger, there's a couple feet between me and the edge! He raised his eyes slowly, standing still, and a tingle of awe and joy swept over him. The red-brown stippled with dusty gray-green of the California desert stretched away beneath him, massive blocks of sandstone jutting out here and there, but none the equal of the huge single stone on which he stood, a hundred fifty feet above [ Continue reading... ]
LEGEND: Chapter 17
March 24, 2019 By 2 Comments
Jennifer does some shopping, and then meets with someone unique... ----- Chapter 17. Jennifer shivered as she shook the sleet from her coat. As she went to grab a basket from near the door, something bumped into her hard, making her stumble against the handrail that led down the ramp into the Co-Op. "Hey!" Instead of an apology, the bearded man who'd jostled her continued what was obviously a heated argument: " . . . poisoned the water and the air, we don't deserve to live!" "You're welcome to believe what you [ Continue reading... ]
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