Hostage Situation

Author : Clint Wilson, Staff Writer The situation was bad; twenty-nine hostages, mostly women and children, and these guys were a whole new breed of terrorist. Similar instances as this had already ended horribly when any type of extraction was attempted. They were usually ...

Faster Than Life

Author : George R. Shirer There are three types of people who become FTL-pilots: crazies, masochists and sad sacks. I’m the last. At least, that’s what my boss would tell you. That I’m one of those sad bastards who can’t let go of the past. Then he’d probably tell you what ...

…—…

Author : Sean A. Murphy “I would first like to thank you all for your time and consideration, but I have to open this session with an apology. I do not have any easy solutions to offer you, nor even any that may ask you all for some tremendous investment. I know many of you ...

Momentary

Author : Julian Miles, Staff Writer I’m not in the moment. I am the moment, locked in by law-enforcement combat conditioning. Beyond my fixed perceptions, there is nothing. The instructors told us to take in the whole enhanced experience at these times, letting the moment ...

The Sybaris Affair

Author : Desmond Hussey Ensign Morecock felt ashamed when he returned from shore leave, but only moderately so. He knew his actions could quite possibly get him discharged from Space Fleet, but it was well worth it. Since first contact with the Sybaris, progress toward ...

Ghost of Christmas Future

Author : Duncan Shields, Staff Writer Season six of Starfleet Academy had just started on the television. Pizza boxes were stacked high around him. The lights were out. Underwear and dirty clothes lay strewn about the place. Jim’s laziness was catching up with him. He was ...

Settled Science

Author : Patricia Stewart, Staff Writer “You know, Albert,” said Thomas Hoofnagle, “this has all the makings of a stereotypical science fiction story.” “How so?” asked Albert Arnold as he made some final adjustments to the torpedo’s structural integrity field. “Surely you ...

Too Sexy For My Genes

Author : Desmond Hussey “Twenty-five quid”, the androgynous doorkeeper said, looking bored despite the deafening beats and boisterous atmosphere in the club behind him/her. I waved my hand over the ID scanner/ electronic debit transfer and hoped I had enough cash left for ...

Impasse

Author : Sierra Corsetti He’s late again, which is becoming the norm. Unless he decided to jump off a high-rise on Level Three without his parachute again, I have no reason to worry. I’m on Level Twelve in a bar that stinks of vomit and cheap liquor. Like Rex’s lateness, ...

The Day After Millenium Holiday, I Met Zanth

Author : Chris Louie Zanth was cool. He had this bad-ass helio-rocket that could take us out to Moon 2 and be back before curfew. We were always adept at breaking the rules, which was no small feat, considering the punishments for some of the stuff we did. Smoking space-pot, ...

Bleeding Edge

Author : Julian Miles, Staff Writer Space glittered as if strewn with crystals, millions of fragments ranging from a few kilos to hundreds of tonnes reflecting the distant sun. Colonel Defarris turned from the screens, right hand waving in frustration as the left raked his ...

Drunken Paper Dolls

Author : Clint Wilson, Staff Writer Well… here goes nothing. You’d think that when inventing a time machine I’d try it out on a few test subjects first. But just because I’m one of the smartest people I’ve ever met doesn’t mean I’m the wisest. Besides… I’ve been drinking ...

Earthlings

Author : Duncan Shields, Staff Writer ‘Captain’ Hugh Manatee floated in the darkness of his chamber monitoring the remnants of his unsuccessful first strike. The bodies of his crew waved lazily in the current of the ammonia ocean that claimed them. It wouldn’t be long before ...

The Mysterious Case of the Quantum Romantic

Author : Nick Lewandowski Lucy sat at her usual table, skimming the news on her phone. It was therefore some time before she noticed The Crazy Man. Youngish, with rumpled clothes and dark, tortured eyes. All together he looked like someone who spent a great deal of time on ...

Epilogue

Author : Desmond Hussey The holy city resembles a colossal dodecahedron two and half thousand kilometers thick. The reflection of a billion suns slip across its twelve quicksilver surfaces as it speeds through space, yet the bowels of the craft remain dark, as it has for ...

Gentlemen Rankers

Author : Jake Trommer They called it Nouveau Katanga, a colony world of tremendous mineral wealth and great natural beauty. They said it was the gem of the Outer Colonies, a shining example of what humanity could do when it put its mind to it, colonize and terraform a ...

Star-Crossed Lovers

Author : A. S. Andrews Four months ago, it started. Everyone, everywhere, coughing. Day two brought bloody sores and panic, followed by the aches and fever of day three, the vomiting of day four. Day five dawned to thick, red scales, all over, even where your hair and nails ...

The Cultural Exchange

Author : Jules Bowman Finally, our question was answered – no, you are not alone. We welcomed them with open arms and, strangely, very little trepidation. Beautiful creatures they were – full of poise and serenity, cloaked in delicate robes that changed designs in the most ...

Random Story :

  • Purefold

    Author: Ian Hill Maisie swept through the workshop, skipping from …