Well, Hitomi hadn't gotten herself killed after all... ------ Chapter 16 "Barkcloth," Laura repeated wonderingly, looking at the green sheet which was slowly coming apart under repeated handling. "A beginning to it, I think, yes," Caroline said. "The Polynesians made something like this, called tapa. We'll have to do some experiments, but… I think Hitomi might have found us something really important." Hitomi looked very proud. Laura bent down. "But you also could [ Continue reading... ]
Castaway Planet: Chapter 15
December 1, 2014 By Leave a Comment
Sakura did some exploring before; now there's time to do some work... ------- Chapter 15 "Can't I please come with –" "No." Her mother's answer was firm. "You seem recovered, mostly, but you were in very bad shape for a while yesterday. I don't expect to see any more trouble, but for today you're staying near camp. You'll have plenty more chances to explore, I promise." "Sorry, Saki," her father said, and gave her a consoling hug. That didn't exactly make up [ Continue reading... ]
Castaway Planet: Chapter 14
November 26, 2014 By Leave a Comment
Sakura was safe now, time for a little aftermath and a discovery... ------ Chapter 14 Whips wallowed his body back and forth, feeling the coral-based sand squish reassuringly under him. "Hm. That will be good." It had been quite a while since he built a land-nest—years ago, when he and his father had gone on a camping trip with the Kimeis, and that was long enough that he'd had to think about just how you did this right. His first attempt, about three [ Continue reading... ]
Castaway Planet: Chapter 13
November 24, 2014 By Leave a Comment
Sakura had discovered the local wildlife was not harmless... ------ Chapter 13 Laura restrained the urge to leap forward. Panic would not help her. Even as she scanned the data from Sakura's internal medical nanos, she categorized the symptoms of the shaky girl. Skin reddening… pupils dilating… heart rate increasing. Sakura was also looking dizzy, disoriented. The data from the nanos confirmed her guess. "It's a hyoscyamine derivative, something like atropine. And a [ Continue reading... ]
Castaway Planet: Chapter 12
November 19, 2014 By Leave a Comment
Time to take a real look around their new home! ------ Chapter 12. "No, Akira, you keep it," Laura said, pressing the pistol into her husband's hand. Whips could see he was still reluctant. "But you're the one going –" "I'm the only one here who actually knows how to fight. Police background, remember? And Whips is coming with me and Sakura on the scouting expedition, so that means that you'll need something to protect yourselves with while you get [ 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... ]
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... ]
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... ]
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