The air hummed with resonance.
Destain watched from the lone seat in the dome’s center as covering whirled from opaque to sheer. The stars opened before him, stretching in endless pinpoints of light.
Halfway
Lonnie Downs watched Aries station sync with Vega. Tugging his dress shirt’s collar, he recalled when Aries and Vega stations had last synched.
Rough Ride
Baldric Joffrey slid onto the lift’s seat, turning his tablet face down. The driver glanced at him in the mirror, his slate gray skin only momentarily startling. Joffrey glanced at the driver’s neck. It lacked the tell-tell mark of a bot. Humanoid then.
Blindsided
Simon stared at the screen in disbelief as Cadence made her way through the simulation heedless of every challenge he threw before her. Not one in dozens of candidates he’d pushed from the program had progressed this far. Nearly the end.
A View of the Dark
A crackle of static burst from the speakers proceeding the incoming communication. “How’s the view from the lighthouse?” a chipper voice asked interrupting my quiet.
Day 31: Precognizant Cats
The cards snapped loudly against each other in Dan’s hands as he shuffled them while examining the three others seated about the table: Ren, Terry and Narfell. They held a sense of ease often absent in the last weeks. The Kuraffalin War was volatile in the sector of late. In fact, they hadn’t managed to steal an evening to relax in three shift cycles. Barely even sleep. Dan found the scene both familiar and strange with nerves that refused to completely relax. He doubted the others were different.
Day 28: Pirate Space Elevator
Governor Riddell loathed the overly melodic, toothsome music wafting through the town square before the Governor’s mansion and City Hall. Waving off his aides, he finished tugging on his jacket and fastening the last button as he hurried out to the square. In the center of the square where the gazebo once stood a long tube reached high into the sky. The music originated from the thing.
Day 27: Haunted Skyhook
“I can do this,” Dark Glimmer said as she kicked the abdomen of another of Amberbourne’s thrall. She didn’t pause to protest Control’s directive further. Instead, she ducked beneath the incoming punch of another thrall. Diving forward, she rolled between the pair, searching for a pocket, any space to regroup and appraise her situation fully.
Day 26: Sentient Wand
The Devonthrall Chamber Orchestra and Choir was considered the best in the sector. The conductor Janlee would have loved to take in pride in this fact. She had taken over when the previous conductor had retired and been delighted with the honor. She felt no delight that the reputation of the chamber had not suffered for her leadership. She would have been delighted, but even a week passed before she’d understood to dread each performance.
Day 25: Graveyard Pocket Universe
Brandell hoped that whoever had invented the marketing for Tearfall IX had been awarded a great lump of money from the company. He doubted that a better marketer had ever lived. He’d certainly been sold on the lie, and their agent hadn’t tried that hard. He supposed a doomed world lent to the desirability of the world which otherwise might be more difficult to come by.
