Close to Heaven

Author: Lance J. Mushung My patrol ship, Topaz, entered the upper atmosphere of Earth. I always watched the black of space change to a sky of blue when returning home. Logan, my best friend and Topaz's AI, said, "Liz, we set down at the Ellington Naval Station in 2.37 ...

Infernal Logistics

Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer “This project costs more than every other clandestine operation put together! In fact, I could equip a division with the best we have right now, and still have change to buy a squadron of F35s!” Senator Godley starts hammering his fist on ...

Love Poems of Father Catullus

Author: Maura Yzmore I tossed and turned late into the night, being kept awake by a soft wail coming from the woods. Was it an animal in distress? A mating call? I remembered a saying from centuries ago, that cats in heat sounded like human babies crying. Only the ...

The Turret

Author: John Carrick Charles had been at the station for six months now. Housed in a small assembly to the right side of the ammunition drum, the belts rattled as they cycled through their daily reseating. The heaters ignited and the cold of the evening was offset for a few ...

The Day of the Great and Terrible Second Sun

Author: Don Nigroni On September 2nd, 2049 at the Prime Storage Facility, Jules Deschamps told me, “In the 12th century, the Templars, whilst looking for the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy Land, stumbled upon a three-foot diameter tungsten sphere hidden in a cave beneath a ...

Greener Pastures

Author: Helen Merrick Theresa Davies wrung her hands. “It’s not been an easy decision.” “You co-signed both contracts, agreed to the payments.” “Yes, but circumstances have changed. Please, I have no choice.” * Shielding his eyes, George scoured the horizon. “I give ...

This Place

Author: Samuel Stapleton For a long time, we have dreamed of finding our next home planet. And yes, we know the probability is that it’s out there already, but you see it’s finding them that’s the difficult part. I mean have you seen how big space is? No, you haven’t, ...

Now Appearing at the Twilight Lounge

Author: Hillary Lyon Justin clenched hist fists, then slowly unfurled his fingers. “See, the little finger of my right-hand sticks; it’s not as flexible, as quick, as my other fingers. These gloves are no good to me if one finger lags.” The technician stared down at his ...

Reveal

Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer Miguel Jarvis Wong had lived on three continents before the age of thirteen, and been a trouble-finder on all but the first. To this day he doesn’t know exactly what his father did for a living, only that it meant making home in more ...

Every Dog Will Have His Day

Author: Joseph Sidari “Is that a Shih-Tzu?” She reached down and petted the puppy. It sniffed her hand, looking up with intelligent eyes. “Kind of a mix,” he said. “Oh, right. So many genetically engineered breeds these days. Maybe a Shih-poo?” “No. That’s Shih-Tzu bred ...

I speak for the trees

Author: Bryan Pastor Far from the city center, where the lights are so dim that stars can be seen, lies a rare view, a stand of trees. The trees, of which kind had long been forgotten, poked their yearning branches high above the squat gray monotony of the surrounding ...

Aggs

Author: Liya Akoury Names are strange things. Back on Earth, we inherited our fathers’ names, but there are no fathers here. We’re twelve women and twenty-four girls. So, we’ve done away with them. We also used to have ranks. Yael was "Captain", then "Levinsky". Now, she's ...

Giselle and Mr. Goebbels

Author: Steve Bailey Mr. Goebbels sits on a shelf in the kitchen of Roger’s apartment. It is a virtual digital assistant that displays pictures, answers questions, reports the news, and plays music. Roger gave it the nickname. Whenever Mr. Goebbels shows pictures of his ...

Keep Calm and Live Orderly

Author: Alicia Yau Colonization spaceship ‘Victoria’ has been orbiting a gas giant with the most chaotic magnetic field in the solar system for weeks without returning signals to Earth. You yell, “They are not supposed to park there. Their destination is the watery moon of ...

Illegal

Author: Rick Tobin "You can always get someone to do your thinking for you." —Gordie Howe, famous hockey player “I want him off the ice. I don’t care if you have to take him out!” Patterson adjusted his dress pants over his stuffed pin-stripe executive ...

Intercept: PrepOne

Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer > > At least with the second Faraday cage built as an ‘airlock’ around the entrance to the living module, burst transmissions from anything inside won’t do them any good. ‘Them’ - so imprecise. Winning wars depends on information. ...

The Black Knight

Author: Scott Angus Morrison The red light blinked. Twice. One half-second later, it blinked twice more. The man at the desk sat and watched: Blink-blink. Pause. Blink-blink. Pause. Blink-blink. The sequence continued. Slowly, the man reached up and flipped off ...

My Nick

Author: Jeffrey Holst I have died many times but have always been brought back. My Nick, he loves me and he always brings me back. My Nick shows me his favorite things and keeps me near him. I think that even when I have died, My Nick keeps me at his side. There are times I ...

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