Stories

Author : Jae Miles, Staff Writer “Why are we all the way out here? If we had taken the Rigel mission, I could have been home for mid-winter revel.” Chapni sighed. That was the problem with the Urul…

Author : Mattias Ahlvin The man in the gray overcoat sat in his old station wagon. He waited. He took a sip of coffee from an old thermos and adjusted his glasses. He glanced at his watch and looke…

Author : Scott Hallford They called him Dragon. I never understood why until I saw one of his “shows”—the little gatherings in the dark alley behind the pub. Some folks traveled over from War…

Author: Jae 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.” Mute…

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…

Author : Duncan Shields, Staff Writer It started, as these things always do, with a kiss. Advice is useless to the young. That is their curse and their strength. They have no idea that some of the …

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 the…

Author: Joachim Heijndermans “And thus concludes this portion of our tour,” said Theo to his group. “If there aren’t any further questions, I suggest we all sit down for lunch and–,” He…

Author: Patrick Hueller Peter cinches his only tie, pushes the bathroom door open, and there Laine is: standing in their bedroom, trembling with excitement. He’s never gotten used to seeing her tre…

Author: Jae Miles, Staff Writer Do you see the snow as it gently falls? Can you feel the frost as it climbs the walls? How do you feel now our world is gone? Why did you leave us to carry on? Well,…

Author: Mina CROSS PATCH Merike caught him out the usual way. Why were cheating spouses so unoriginal? She’d wondered who he was messaging non-stop on his wrist com, so she’d hacked it. She was ang…

Author: Ken Carlson Ron had some time before the cartoon was over. He saw Dan the cameraman who glanced at his Timex and silently signaled, “three minutes.” Ron remained in the wings, enjoying the …

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 a…

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 be…

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 e…

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 he…

Author: Jae 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.…

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 t…

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 …

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 …

Author: Jae 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 h…

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 f…

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 crevass…

Author: David Henson Susan Wiggins lost an arm at work today. That’s called “making a donation” since the Mandolins took over. We’ve averaged about a donation a month over the past year. I myself d…

The Immortal danced. The colony world smelled like new spring, and the night air was cool on the Immortals skin. He whirled around the bonfire the settlers had made to rejoice in the spring and cel…

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…

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…

Author: Dylan Otto Krider The lands of Diika and Igbo had been trying to eradicate each other for time immemorial for reasons no one remembered except for the last tat for their tit. One day, a tin…

Author : William Tracy She loved the Coin-Operated Boy. None of the men in her life would really love her. Yes, they were strong, and handsome, and promised wealth and luxury. They were also full o…

Author: Lewis Richards The Creature moved its great head forwards, releasing a long mellow call into the night. It waited for a moment, listening for a response, but when one didn’t drift bac…