LV4

Author: Steve Smith, Staff Writer Yosun blinked in the afternoon sun, the viewport on her hazmat suit filtering the harsh UV rays but doing little to reduce the glare. Her shuttle had settled a few hundred meters from the blast site, the ground compressed into a large ...

Unrestrained

Author: Mina - Bravo-tango-delta-three-nine-zero-zulu, you are cleared to dock. - Affirmative, docking sequence initiated. K8 docked manually; it was against procedure, but nobody would have been able to tell with her level of precision. It was one of the small joys ...

The Greatest Conspiracy Ever Revealed!

Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer “You’re going to record this?” “Of course. The world must know.” “So, this is where I’m supposed to tell all about the nefarious schemes my diabolical organisation has planned?” “Something like that.” “About the slaves working on Mars ...

Wish List

Author: Rick Tobin Baylen continued with standard disease treatment questions for applicants, after verifying Sheila Barston’s financial capabilities. Baylen took on a wizened senior’s appearance for his younger, highly spirited clientele needing a thimble full of respect ...

Whiskey Neat

Author: Hari Navarro I lay naked on the beach as the tide it nudges, teasing as it tucks me beneath its gossamer sheet before then retracting and sluicing itself back through the curves and crevasses of my body. A gentle wind peaks, whipping into a gust, one that scoops ...

Eventually

Author: Ron Humble The most deadly device ever conceived by the human mind has not been a weapon, but a word. It’s a word of mass destruction. Its danger lies not in the power to motivate foolish actions. On the contrary, it encourages passivity. The word is ...

We are the Vikings, and Not in a Good Way

Author: Dylan Otto Krider We thought after landing on the moon, we would be like Christopher Columbus, and usher a new world. In turned out, we were like the Vikings, who frittered around before being forgotten. Anything that leaves the Earth now is either a probe, ...

Songs of Our Ancestors

Author: David C. Nutt Hand in hand they walked up the hill to look at the night sky. “Am I old enough for the download Papa?” The old man smiled. “Yes sweet pea, you're old enough. Been old enough for almost three cycles now but-“ “I know, the ancestors haven’t ...

One Last Drink

Author: Mina Ana waved at the barperson with rainbow hair and forced herself to speak louder than usual to order a Cosmic Sunrise with a Twist. The drink was slapped in front of her as she waved her anonymous credit key over the payment scanner built into the bar top. She ...

The Skies of Home

Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer I’ve shipped many things since the day I left Oktoberfeld. Some legal, many dubious, a few contraband, and nineteen wanted beings. Technically, this is my twentieth. The job came with some unusual aspects. On a ship like mine - one of the ...

Crazy Choices

Author: Rick Tobin “Nobody makes choices carelessly about losing one of their senses, but you know the risk of blowing your neural nets outweighs keeping all your Earthly capacities.” Paloma Derth leaned towards her reluctant client. Behind her were rolling holographic ...

The Winner

Author: C.R. Caison The laser round exploded in a flash of light by Yuri’s head. He jumped and rolled to the side before a second shot struck the wall where he’d been standing. The blast weakened the wall and it collapsed into a heap of fragments. The crowd roared above ...

Reciprocation

Author: Philip Berry Reciprocation minus 90 minutes: Rebecca Fenton tapped in the melt codes, but the circle of light that had appeared briefly on her curved monitor persisted as a dense shadow in her visual field. It was geometrically perfect, except for a notch ...

Death Lined Up

Author: Rebecca Field Each time I go to the morgue, I expect to find him. And then each time I leave, I wish that I could fall asleep and not wake up again. Become one of them. Lined up in death, all the colours of the rainbow coursing through their cold flesh, their waxy ...

The Stars Shall Weep Yet Shine Ever On

Author: Mina Newsflash: The outpost supply ship Reliant exploded this morning at 09:00 earth time. All 62 crew members died instantly. The Nicene anti-expansionists claimed the attack as one of their own. It is the first time they have targeted a non-military ...

Frothing Water

Author: Alex Sventeckis “Have you ever skinny dipped before?” Raheleh winked with his second eyelid, and Rian tried mightily not to blush. She hid reddening cheeks underneath her mop of blonde hair streaked with magenta. While she held her own in the colony pool, she ...

To a Flame

Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer “Everybody ready?” “Hell, no. I want to go home.” “I didn’t ask where you’d rather be, Andrei. I want to know if your suit is sealed so you don’t give us away.” Muted assent follows Don’s outburst. There’s no more banter. I wriggle ...

Zealot

Author: Ádám Gerencsér I refuse to believe that you don't exist. So I sit here every day and talk to you - through words, feelings, stirrings of the heart. I would lie if I said there's ever been a genuine response. Yet I do not give up, but sojourn in this isolated room ...

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