Christ Mass

Author : Thomas Desrochers Father Leibowitz gingerly placed the surplus sacrament back in the tabernacle. He turned to his congregation and sighed. It was a congregation of one: an old Jewish man named Schell. Leibowitz pursed his lips. He and Schell had been the only ones ...

Denial

Author : Thomas Desrochers “I am the beginning and I am the end. I am the Alpha and I am the Omega. Within me is the soul of an entire race, and behind me the hopes, fears, dreams, and desires of an entire people. “I am Lux Aeturna.” The words were painted in white lights ...

Newton to the Rescue

Author : Patricia Stewart, Staff Writer “So, Sergei,” asked mission specialist Clark Zander, “How’s it look?” “Not good, Clark,” replied Tsiolkovsky as he removed his helmet. “The meteorite punctured the aux tank. I was able to shut off the transfer valve, but we lost 60% of ...

ROE

Author : Julian Miles, Staff Writer “Let me get this straight; The slum kids were tagging you with paintballs of bioluminescent gel, so you took the decision to lift our forces into orbit and firestorm the planet?” “Yes sir.” Major MacLachlan looked up from the miniscule ...

Raiders of the Fourth Wall

Author : George R. Shirer Serefina and I barely managed to get the hatch closed before the first of the crew caught up with us. We’d barely secured it when someone started pounding on the other side, making all kinds of dire threats. Exhausted, we sank down to the floor of ...

Departure

Author : Ian Hill "Fifteen minutes until departure." came the monotone voice across the Metastation's many speakers. Four figures walked along the dark main tunnel that stretched for miles in either direction, their phosphor flares illuminating only a small portion of the ...

Best Friend

Author : Bob Newbell "Shuttle now clear from mothership. Beginning de-orbit," said Commander King as he studied the holographic display on his control panel. Captain Rex, seated next to him, looked up at what remained of the SS Stalwart. When she'd left Earth's solar system ...

The Goddess of War

Author : Mary Ann Back Dr. Klatua wasn’t dead – yet. But ten minutes into my session, the only thing keeping me from killing him was the Heja Root I’d smoked earlier in space dock. He was a typical Martian, four-foot-ten, reptilian green with scales here and tentacles there. ...

Order of Service

Author : Josie Gowler Twenty years of war. The couple sitting in front of me are younger than I was when I became Captain. Officiating wedding ceremonies is one of the supposedly pleasanter responsibilities of my job on this starship. But how can I do that with a clear ...

Maintain Your Equipment

Author : Clint Wilson, Staff Writer “Damn it Jones! Haven’t you got that translator working yet?” The ensign was baffled. He had set up translators on hundreds of worlds. This program was the very best, drawing on any slight nuances of anything that could conceivably ...

Love Planet

Author : Duncan Shields, Staff Writer There are over a billion species represented. Finding out information and language about a species happens quickest during coitus, they say, and the more plentiful the better. I was selected from over eighty thousand applicants. I am a ...

Honorable Discharge

Author : Alla Hoffman Derrick woke up to the sensation of his lungs running out of air. The pod was dark, but he could see a weak greenish light filtering through the glass. He pounded on the lid frantically; something must have gone wrong with the cryo system. Maybe the ...

Forever Song

Author : Julian Miles, Staff Writer Whales have long been creatures that inspire awe in humans. When we discovered them out here, that mystery only deepened. At what far distant point, and how, did a star-roving behemoth come to dwell in the oceans of Earth? The xenologists ...

A Pair, A Grin

Author : Steve Smith, Staff Writer Drax left the party early, as he often did, dragging two beautiful young things into his elevator and up to his sprawling office to 'admire the view', occupying as it did the entire top floor. Heels came off outside the elevator, dresses ...

Real Love

Author : Jeri Otero She's so beautiful. Just lying there with her eyes closed. All that long black hair, still in its long curls even after last night. Lashes like feather dusters, lying against her skin. She has those slightly turned up eyes that are almost Asian. Strong ...

The Long and Short of It

Author : JD Kennedy The bridge of Earth's first colony ship, Columbia, was a beehive of activity. The newly awakened ship's officers were carefully reviewing the system readings at each of their stations. Captain James Branson sat in his chair admiring the efficiency of his ...

Runner

Author : Duncan Shields, Staff Writer We tried everything but the kid was just too fast. We were hoping to break speed records when we bred him. A snip of a molecule here, a tweak of an atom there. We only wanted to cheat and win some gold medals for our country. We were too ...

Rupert

Author : Clint Wilson, Staff Writer Rupert’s father blubbered uncontrollably as he took his son’s hand and led him away from the car and into the forest. Son? Was he really? Maybe if he kept thinking that way this might become somehow easier. Yes, he just needed to keep ...

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