Back to Our Hero, who is out there looking for allies... ------- Chapter 23. The gates of the city of Gilgad stood wide before us, a full fifty feet high in a wall of white and black marble. The wide street continued on, with houses and larger buildings visible, street vendors, and hundreds of people bustling about the city's business. "You should be safe here, Amrin. At least as long as anyone is, and I hope that will turn out to be a long, long time." I shook his hand. "Many, many thanks, [ Continue reading... ]
Castaway Planet: Chapter 11
November 17, 2014 By Leave a Comment
Hey, they're into Chapter 11! (yeah, okay, cheap joke). Time for the castaways to take stock of their situation... ------ Chapter 11 "The seven wilderness survival principles," Melody said, obviously looking at her omni's display, "are positive mental attitude, first aid, shelter, fire, signaling, water, and food." "Not a bad list," Sakura said, dusting off a nearby chunk of coral-rock to sit on, "but some of that won't work. Signaling isn't going to [ Continue reading... ]
Polychrome: Chapter 22
November 14, 2014 By Leave a Comment
And now we see what Ugu's reaction is to his forces' first brush with the True Mortal... ------ Chapter 22. "And so I will be sending several Hands of Temblors, perhaps even of Infernos, to teach a lesson to –" "SILENCE!" roared the King. Mombi stared at Ugu in confusion. "Y… Your Majesty?" He pointed his finger down at her and muttered two ancient words. The old witch, dressed in finery terribly unbecoming to her, suddenly hopped as though standing on red-hot coals. "Ow! [ Continue reading... ]
Castaway Planet: Chapter 10
November 12, 2014 By Leave a Comment
They had just had an unexpected and utterly bizarre disaster... ------ Chapter 10 Laura stared in uncomprehending shock. Bobbing ever so slightly, the vast wall of dark, wet stone still loomed up less than a kilometer distant. The piece that had fallen from it—a solid mass the size of a skyscraper—should have been towering over them even nearer. There was no possible way that the lagoon before them could have been two hundred meters deep, no, not even a tenth of [ Continue reading... ]
Castaway Planet: Chapter 9
November 10, 2014 By Leave a Comment
Now that they're down and alive, time to do some exploring! ------ Chapter 9 "Okay, Sakura, now cycle the lock again, exhausting to the outside." Whips wasn't taking any chances. Before letting anyone step out of the shuttle, he wanted Dr. Kimei and her husband to check the air readings. So they'd put Laura Kimei's omni, which had a lot of built-in sensors for medical purposes, into the starboard airlock, let it open to the outer air, and left it there for an hour to [ Continue reading... ]
Polychrome: Chapter 21
November 7, 2014 By Leave a Comment
Well, Our Hero had finally embarked on his real Adventure... ------ Chapter 21. I walked straight to the East, not looking back. Not daring to look back for a while. It had been almost impossible not to just blurt it all out, looking at her then, when I knew I might die before reaching Oz, that this might be the last time I saw her. But she didn't need that burden, even if it was something she wanted to hear, which I really didn't think she did. I was pretty sure she did like me as a friend, [ Continue reading... ]
Castaway Planet: Chapter 8
November 5, 2014 By Leave a Comment
Well, since this book has more chapters, you can tell they made a "good landing" in the technical sense... ------ Chapter 8 Despite the sledgehammer impacts, the cabin of LS-5 remained cheerfully, invariably lit as the world spun, and now, as the ship quivered to stillness, they stayed on, as though nothing had happened. Laura could see that Sakura, at least, was unharmed; her seat had locked properly and the girl's one arm was visible, white-knuckled with tension. Hitomi's [ Continue reading... ]
Castaway Planet: Chapter 7
November 3, 2014 By Leave a Comment
And now the moment of truth: they have to land. ----- Chapter 7 "Nebula Drive fully retracted. All smart dust now stowed away. Recovery of materials at 95%," Sakura reported, partially to herself. The routine, reporting each detail of her tasks, helped calm her, slow the heart that threatened to accelerate out of control. It's all on me. The thought was terrifying, more so because she knew she couldn't show it. Melody and especially Hitomi could panic if they realized just [ Continue reading... ]
Polychrome: Chapter 20
October 31, 2014 By Leave a Comment
As the Heroes have started their move, so must the Villains... ------ Chapter 20. Ugu the Unbowed stood on the balcony overlooking the petrified Emerald City; halfway to the horizon the pure dead gray ended, in a line as sharply drawn as if by a knife, and the green of the surrounding lands began. "And so it begins." "Sire?" Cirrus Dawnglory – or, at least, the being who now wore his name and face – said, clearly unsure of what his King meant. "Ah, you are here. Excellent. Walk with me, [ Continue reading... ]
Castaway Planet: Chapter 6
October 29, 2014 By Leave a Comment
They were in the new solar system hoping to find a world... ------ Chapter 6 Akira's arms hugged Laura tightly for a moment. "Are you all right?" "I think so," she answered on the same channel. One good thing about having private comm channels was that you could have a private conversation even in the middle of a not-too-large cabin. "But my God, Akira." Even after four days it was still hard to grasp what had happened, and only now that they had successfully reached that [ Continue reading... ]
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