Good Training – The Champions – Longest Prefix Match Part 1

11y, 8m AV
Outside the Alien Quarter, Folctha, Cimbrean, The Far Reaches

Champion Meereo of Clan Longear

Play was a universal concept. The forms that play might take varied greatly, and the purpose was sometimes inscrutable, but all intelligent sophonts the galaxy over had their own methods and preferences.

Predators had similar tastes in games, it seemed. Meereo learned that as he sat on a bench outside the Alien Quarter, watching a Human and Gaoian cub wrestle and chase under the wary eyes of two adult females, also Human and Gaoian. A small drama erupted; Humans could make fists even at such a young age! The Gaoian didn’t appreciate being hit, and swiped back, drawing a thin bleeding line on the little Human’s flat and strangely expressive face. Meereo wasn’t sure what the expression meant, exactly, but judging by everyone’s reaction it was probably some mixture of anger and pain.

The two Mothers intervened immediately, followed by the unmistakable posture of two younglings being forced to apologize and not at all caring for it. Meereo flicked his right ear in amusement. And then, not a minute later they were playing again, all slights forgotten.

Their play now centered around a chase-game with a smallish ball. It was a little large in the Human cub’s hand but she could throw it with remarkable power and accuracy, which delighted the Gaoian to no end; the smaller Gaoian cub would billow and rage after it and pounce, then return with the ball, pleased and happy and quite tired. They threw and chased many times until a truly enormous creature arrived, ears up and eyes laser-focused on the two cubs. Meereo perked up, suddenly anxious at its arrival.

Meereo boggled at it; it was larger than the fully-grown adult Human Mother by a vast distance. It had a long and rough coat with black, brown, grey and silver colorings, but that did nothing to disguise its sheer, bulging fitness or its blatantly obvious Deathworld origins. With paws and claws as large as meal plates, and teeth and jaws so big it could bite either of the cubs’ heads clean off in one chomp? It was fearsome. Even the way it moved was grotesquely and intimidatingly predatory. The beast brought to mind a vision of an alien Stoneback: huge, strong, dangerous. It huffed, focused on the Cubs exactly like a Gaoian pouncing on prey, and ran towards them! Meereo stood up, alarmed, and charged towards the scene on fourpaw—

It gently tackled the cub to the ground and licked it everywhere while the Humans laughed their throaty not-bark and the Gaoians chittered happily. After a long snuffling moment, the massive creature stood in a play-bow and allowed the Cubs to inflict all manner of happy abuse. Apparently it was like a Stoneback in personality, too. Meereo relaxed, the threat past, but suddenly felt a bit self-conscious in such an Uncivilized state and stood up, straightening his fur and flicking his ears in embarrassment. The adults noticed his sudden approach and abrupt stop and waved for him to join. He ambled over, ears set at an asymmetric and apologetic kilter.

The Human cub stood up and approached suddenly. “You look like Anubis!”

“…I do?”

He bent down and gently sniffed at the air. The little Human was pungent like all her kind but he detected nothing untoward. She smelled like a child should: dirty with hints of recent exertion. The tang of blood was about her as well but her shallow wound clotted with surprising speed, so that smell was faint. There was no sharp and coppery scent of anger, nor the acrid bite of fear. Only curiosity.

“Yeah! He’s the ‘Gyptian god of death, I think!”

Meereo found he did not enjoy the comparison.

“I am not sure how I feel about that.”

His translator, when rendering Human language, gave him a tenor pitch and very precise diction, which Meereo found irrationally annoying. His natural voice was deeper!

“Anubis was a god of the afterlife, specifically.” The Human Mother spoke up. “He dealt with resurrection and was the guide of souls to and after Judgment. He was also patron of embalming. As death deities go, he wasn’t so bad.” She also gave him a curious look, which Meereo could not identify.

Meereo found himself humorously nonplussed by the sudden and strange encounter, and swiveled his ears in bemusement. “Yes. Well. Is everyone fine?”

“Just a little Cub drama, but otherwise fine.” The Gaoian Mother gave him a look-over. Then she looked him over again. “Visiting?” Meereo was suddenly paying rapt attention to her and swiveled his ears forward to listen.

“Yes, on official business for my Clan. I do not know how long I will stay…” He set his ears wide and slightly back, inviting her to comment.

“Oh! Well, when you’re done, maybe we can give you a tour? Folctha isn’t big but the people are very friendly!”

The massive creature which precipitated the encounter finished licking the tiny cub, who had practically chittered herself exhausted. He ambled over with utter confidence and sniffed boldly at Meereo, forcefully placing himself in front of the Cubs and Mothers. He did so in a way which suggested Meereo was not yet a trusted individual, though it wasn’t exactly an unfriendly advance. Merely…extremely assertive. Dominant, even, to the point of near aggression.

Meereo wasn’t about to challenge him.

“Oh, don’t mind Bozo. He’s a little protective.”

“Bozo? He has a name?”

WURF!!

Meereo’s ears flattened of their own accord. That…sound…was boisterous and obviously cheerful, but it was so loud it was slightly painful.

“Yup, that’s him.”

“…this must be a ‘dog’ I presume?”

“Yup! Say hi, Bozo!”

Woof! That was a much gentler vocalization and originated in the creature’s mouth instead of deep in its cavernous chest. The ‘dog’ pressed forward and snuggled against Meereo’s paw. He chittered and scratched at the creature’s head, which earned a wagging tail and other obvious signs of deep pleasure.

He looked the massive creature over. While one could never possibly mistake this Bozo for a Gaoian—his body plan was all wrong, the face was dopey and far too beastly—there were certain similarities. The eyes and eyebrows were expressive and the ears seemed to be as well. There was something brutally simple and primitive about this creature, and yet, somehow, Meereo understood its expressions and scents, as if filtered through an almost perfect translator. And the creature seemed to understand him, too.

Bozo seemed content that Meereo wasn’t a threat to the others. He stretched out luxuriantly, showing off a physique far too robust and obscenely over-muscled to be anything from Meereo’s homeworld, except maybe a Naxas bull in its absolute prime, or maybe a Stoneback or extremely large Straightshield. Bozo then stretched his mouth open very wide, showing off an impressive set of gleaming and very large teeth. Even its jaws were flanked and layered with a huge mass of dense, fibrous muscle. Presumably this was a threat display, though Meereo felt a strange compulsion, suddenly, to do the same thing.

Both the cubs imitated immediately.

“I think yawns really are contagious!” This from the very fetching Mother.

“Oh God, not this again.” The translator paused at that second sound but decided it was only a mild exclamation and continued. Human idiom was tricky to process and he’d not had time to upgrade his translator before arriving.

Meereo very much wanted to continue this conversation; the Mother was delightfully alluring and there was a certain inexplicable attraction with the Human female as well. Most likely it was the simple novelty of actual conversation than anything else. He’d met a number of Humans on the visit so far but he’d not had any chance to simply…talk. Share. Tell a story, even. Longears loved to communicate. What was the purpose of a network, after all?

Of course, right at that moment his watch’s calendar went off, reminding him of his appointment with Champion Genshi.

“Alas, I must depart.” He looked down at the Cubs, “Will you listen to your Mothers?”

“YES!” in two different languages.

“Excellent!” He duck-nodded at the females. “Good day.” He turned around gracefully then walked to his meeting.


“He’s cute!” Melissa gave Niral a mischievous grin.

Niral looked properly scandalized! “Melissa! You are now the second Human female I’ve known that has an eye for our males. How do you know he’s cute?”

Melissa gave her a single raised eyebrow. “Girl, look at him. He’s wearing nothing but his watch and showin’ it all off. He’s got swagger and he’s toned as hell, too. I can see his abs and pecs through that fur! And it’s inky-black and looks so soft and silky…you can’t tell me that ain’t high on your list.”

“Well, yes, but—” Niral suddenly exploded with indignation, “But Humans don’t have fur! How could you even find it attractive in the first place!?”

“Who said I did? I said he was cute, not that I wanted to screw him.”

“Melissa—!”

“Hey, what can I say? Some signals transcend species. Pretty man seems to work both ways between our kinds. Weren’t you teasing me about Brian the other week? Didn’t you think he was attractive?”

“That’s different,” Niral sniffed. “He’s a teacher! He cares about Cubs.”

“He was shirtless and playing basketball when you made that comment.”

“…admittedly, his muscles were really impressive. But he’s Human, you’re all built like you’re from warrior stock!”

“No we’re not, not like that! But anyway, you were right. He is attractive. So I asked him out, and we’re going on a date this weekend. What’s your excuse?”

“Wh—!” Niral sputtered, “I just met him!”

“So?”

Niral wanted to reply but she was interrupted by her charge, who broke from a tussle with the Human cub and came over to talk. “Melissa?” The little Gaoian tugged at her pant-leg. “Who was he? He was pretty.”

Melissa chuckled, bent down and picked up the tiny cub. “…Y’know, we didn’t even get his name. A shame. And he was pretty, wasn’t he?” She shot an absolutely evil look at Niral as she said this.

“Yeah! His ears were really big!” She gestured to her own and made exaggerated motions to indicate a preposterous size.

“Mhmm.”

“Do you think Niral should talk to him?”

“Yeah!”

“…”

“I’ll watch the kids, Niral. Go. Talk to the pretty boy. And get his name! I wanna stalk him on Gaoian Facebook.”

Niral rolled her eyes. The Humans had enormous difficulty pronouncing the correct name of that most popular node on the Gaoian Infosphere, but it served a shockingly similar social function, so they called it the “Gaoian Facebook.”

The translation was pretty close, too.

Niral cast a glance at the male off in the distance. He wasn’t big—by Gaoian standards he was of average size, definitely towards the shorter and lighter side of the equation—but Melissa was right. He was very sleek and fit and well “put together.” And his fur was short, glossy and all black, a rare combination.

And he seemed friendly enough. “…I think you’re right. I’m gonna go talk to him.”

She trotted off, heart suddenly aflutter. Meanwhile, Melissa sat on the grass with the kids and the dog while the three happily played.

All in all, it was a good day.


The Alien Quarter, Folctha, Cimbrean, the Far Reaches
En route to meeting with Champion Genshi

Champion Meereo of Clan Longear

Niral had caught up to him just before he’d approached the security checkpoint at the gate, and what ensued was a wonderful confidence boost. She was slightly flustered in the most adorable way and he found himself very interested to hear about Cimbrean! He arranged a date for later that night.

“You set it up,” he offered. “I don’t know the area and I’m up for whatever!”

He was, too. Meereo very much liked to explore and that was one of the reasons he was so fit in the first place, though Gaoians in general were naturally and easily healthy and did not suffer from the “out of shape” problems to which Humans could be strangely prone. An odd adaption, that. Hoarding food resources so greedily it could damage their bodies? Earth must be horrifyingly dangerous. He shuddered slightly at the thought.

As they parted she gave him one last full body glance-over with an almost…hungry expression. Really, what male could ask for more? Buoyed, he happily strode through the security gate and the brief air-jet decontamination system, came up clean, and meandered over to the Whitecrest enclave.

Why were Gaoians naturally fit? Well, it was largely due to their millennias-old breeding programs and well-planned food availability, a benefit of Gao’s extremely predictable weather patterns; they were so predictable, in fact, meteorology was a very late science to the Gaoian people. With their world’s finalized ranking as a very high-end class nine, that near-perfect predictability likely saved it from Deathworld status. Not that the Corti would ever tell. Their classification algorithm was proprietary and they found geo-survey far too profitable an endeavor to give it up easily.

In either case, Meereo’s fitness was notably above average by the reckoning of either his Clan or the vast majority of the Clanless, though he wasn’t anything like the more physically imposing Clans; he didn’t have the long-working strength of the labor-focused Greentooth or Ironclaws, nor the intense, whip-cord muscularity of the defense-oriented Whitecrest or One-Fangs, nor the brute power of the Emberpelts or Straightshields. Nor was he like a Stoneback, who were generally all of those things at once and vastly beyond any other males.

Meereo didn’t descend from stock that physically impressive. Instead, Meereo’s Clan bred for focus, intelligence, and perception, while also giving a healthy sniff towards a lean, rangy, and functional body. For someone who needed to wiggle through tubes, hang from poles, crawl under desks, or walk surveys? And occasionally use a little muscle to wrestle an un-cooperating piece of equipment into submission? It was enough. And his preference to amble and hike and climb gave him that extra little edge; he’d found more than one use for being fit over the years. Also? It got him laid, and that got him cubs, which was definitely a motivating bit of positive feedback and kept him active and mobile.

All off those were entertaining thoughts and distractions. But now, he needed to consider his meeting and it was one potentially fraught with peril. He tried not to let any of that intimidate him. Keep confident, he told himself. He did not let the Whitecrest Champion’s more…intense physicality bother him, or Genshi’s vast training in matters of death and stealth, or that he, as a relative combat novice, was walking blind into an encounter to verify if the Ghost had taken residence in Genshi’s head.

If so, Meereo would probably miss that date.


The Alien Quarter, Folctha, Cimbrean, the Far Reaches
Meeting with Champion Meereo

Champion Genshi of Clan Whitecrest

Genshi was inwardly nervous, for this encounter was incredibly risky. He had to be absolutely certain that Meereo was safe, and that was going to require…force. In their private messages to arrange the meeting it was painfully clear neither Champion trusted each other. And sadly, that could mean anything.

In his own way, Meereo was far more dangerous than any other Champion. Compared to, say, Daar? Well, physically there was quite simply no male now or very probably ever in the whole of the Gaoian race who was even remotely his match—and if Genshi’s research was correct, very few Humans, either—so any actual head-on confrontation would likely result in a dead and mutilated Genshi no matter what else might happen. Not that he feared such a conflict from the friendly hulk, but a good Whitecrest knew the Angle in any situation.

And besides, Daar was in some ways a primitivist and eschewed certain trappings of modern life. Implants were a very notable item on his “not ever” list and that happily kept him free and clear of this particular threat. The obstinate brute could barely be persuaded to keep a communicator on his person!

But Meereo? Well. He was the Champion of the Major Clan whose portfolio included virtually every communications system amongst the Gao. While Whitecrest did basic maintenance and deployment of their own equipment, it was Longear who designed, maintained, implemented, upgraded, and innovated with any networks and associated infrastructure. Already they’d stolen a few ideas from the Humans—and they vice-versa—and as a result there were simultaneous worldwide “upgrades” underway to “dual stack” everything for seamless (eventual) access to the each other’s networks.

Genshi was reasonably sure he understood what that meant.

And that made Meereo effectively the most dangerous Gaoian alive. He had access to everything and if he wasn’t compromised, it would be a true and genuine shock. This made Genshi extraordinarily nervous. To that end, he picked his two best available Brothers, took them to the Surgeon to remove their implants, and briefed them with the absolute minimum necessary to accomplish his immediate mission. Whitecrests were discreet; if the Champion were to bring a Brother in on a mission, with no questions asked and none answered, they would know enough to keep their mouths shut. Forever.

Especially since Genshi was amongst the deadliest males alive.

“He’s arrived, Champion.”

Show time. “Very well, run the scenario. Everyone take up positions.”


Meereo

“Greetings, Cousin.” Genshi held his paws low and wide with his ears in a friendly set. The meeting was public with plenty of on-lookers, so appearances mattered a great deal. Meereo returned the gesture with a carefully-controlled set of his ears, betraying no hint of wariness or concern.

“And you as well. You’re looking healthy!” It was true. Genshi was, after all, the embodiment of Whitecrest, and theirs was a Clan of stealth and strength and speed, of intelligence and cunning. They had a certain hard and slender intensity to them that the other Clans didn’t quite possess. At first glance a Whitecrest might seem fairly average; Fathers knew the more ignorant of the Clanless could make that mistake. But their long, silky fur could be deceptive and many a foe had been lured into a false sense of superiority, to their cost.

Meereo knew better. Deep down, Genshi intimidated him.

“The Humans have built something unique here. I wonder, has your Clan benefited as much as mine?” They ambled along in a friendly sort of motion. Meereo kept a close eye on his surroundings. So far, so good.

“Hard to say,” said Genshi. “Certainly we’ve learned much from each other. One of those things I think is of great concern to both of us.”

“I had wondered how we might broach that topic,” mused Meereo. “The problem, as I see it, is we both have deep concerns, we both think the other may be on the same page—that’s a Gaoian and Human expression, did you know?—but neither of us have any way of discussing the problem without potentially alerting an enemy.” He tilted his head, “Does that about cover it?”

Genshi nodded gracefully. “Astute as always. We have a standoff, and not an easily resolvable one in game theory. Are you familiar?” They had by this point meandered near a small café and the rich smells of many foods taunted them.

“Of course. The Humans have a rich study in game theory as well. As it turns out, both our cultures refer to this as the Prisoner’s dilemma. Well,” elaborated Meereo, “This isn’t precisely the same game, but the problem remains.”

Meereo glanced at his watch. So far, no communications were originating from Genshi besides his pocket communicator. A good sign, but not certain enough…

“Indeed. Which of course means there is only one way to escape the dilemma.”

“Oh?” They turned a corner and Meereo suddenly realized he was trapped.

“Yes. And I am sorry.”

He attempted to back out but it was too late. Two large and rather evil-looking thugs of Genshi’s pounced and attempted to immobilize him. But Meereo wasn’t a Champion for nothing. He had training and some experience as befits his role, and as the embodiment of one of the most modern Clans, it fell to him to defend the Clan’s honor against all aggressors, both external and within.

So he was pleased he didn’t go down without a fight. He even managed to get some really nasty cuts on both of the goons, who forced him to his knees and muscled his arms behind him at an extremely painful angle. But he stood little chance against two trained Whitecrest thugs in fighting trim. He lost. Quickly.

Genshi approached rapidly with a device in his hand. Meereo had no idea what horrors he was about to experience, so his ears were back, his teeth exposed and snarling, and he struggled with all his might, claws flashing, body wiggling as much as he could. A strong paw grabbed his skull from behind and pinned it steady, but still Meereo resisted. He would not submit, he would not—

Genshi pressed the device against Meereo’s head. It pinged, and a great wave of relief spread across the Whitecrest Champion’s face.

“Oh, thank the Fathers.” He slumped to the ground and sat in front of Meereo, and then more or less collapsed into himself as if a great burden had lifted. “Leave us, and remember your Oaths.”

The goons released Meereo and shoved him forward slightly, throwing him off balance. They were gone before he could regain his footing and retaliate.

“They are bound under our strictest Oaths of Secrecy and will tell no one.” Meereo returned his attention to Genshi. He sat, paws spread and ears sideways in a position of abject apology. But his claws were fully extended. Whether defensively or as a prelude to violence, Meereo didn’t know.

His claws remained extended. He wasn’t in a forgiving mood.

“That matters little to me, Oathbreaker.”

Genshi growled dangerously. “I promised safety and a public venue, and I have delivered. My officers are superbly trained and did you no harm whatsoever. This little encounter? That you were so easily led into a prepared corner is not my fault.” He gestured towards the market. Somehow, all the civilians present paid them absolutely no attention. “They can’t hear or see us thanks to some very advanced privacy and concealment fields. As for your ego? Well, to be perfectly blunt, your pride is the least of my concerns.”

“This isn’t about pride,” Meereo snarled, “It’s about trust, you Uncivilized savage. You violated the spirit of our agreement and that makes me question all our dealings. How would the other Clans react if they were to know?”

Genshi’s ears shot forward aggressively. “Are you threatening me?”

Meereo fired back with an undaunted growl. “No, I am stating a truth. Whatever victory you think you’ve won with your…device, had better come with an incredible explanation, because you are either very stupid or your concern is exceptionally grave, and I cannot tolerate either condition to survive. So speak, or I will leave this place and destroy your Clan with every tool I have.”

“That is a bold threat, Meereo. Are you sure you want to make it?”

“I already did, and I’ve already ensured I can carry it out.”

To his credit, Genshi realized what that meant immediately. “And you accuse me of Oathbreaking? This was to be a private meeting. Is this recording device of yours transmitting?”

“Perhaps. It would never have self-activated in the first place had I not been physically assaulted by an ostensible ally. Now speak.”

Genshi sat and considered his opponent for a long moment. “We have become aware of a security weakness in the implants. A deeply concerning weakness.”

So far, so good, thought Meereo. “How concerning?”

Genshi slumped further into himself and said with a sad little sniff, “Serious enough that I was willing to risk our alliance and our friendship, Meereo.”

Meereo was certain Genshi was manipulating him, somehow. Nobody played the game as well as he, and yet there was something…compelling about his sorrow. And his claws were retracted, too.

He decided a softer tone would be appropriate. “I need a little more than that, Genshi. I risked much coming here in the first place.”

“As did I, which rather suggests we have much the same concern, doesn’t it?”

“Perhaps, but I will not be distracted. I need specifics.”

Genshi affected a Human sigh. “Meereo, I am not an Oathbreaker and that is the problem I face right now. I have sworn and contracted a grave Oath with the source and it is an Oath I will not break under any circumstance. I maybe could convince the source of your need to know…but I need a little more, too.”

Meereo considered. If he was honest with himself, he was still plenty angry about the ambush and the laughable ease with which he was subdued.

“Why not have your goons simply beat it out of me? It’s not as if I would be able to do anything about it.”

“Oh, don’t be like that, you did remarkably well. We pride ourselves on our lack of scars and you gave them both a rather impressive set. And what’s more, they’ll never be able to brag about how they earned them, either.”

“Gosh, what a pity.”

“I’m serious! I wouldn’t have faired much better in your position.”

“Now is not the time to patronize me, Genshi.”

“I’m not. We are Whitecrest, Meereo. This is what we do. Did you think either of them would have allowed your skill to be any factor whatsoever? With the right tactic, your opponent’s training can be almost completely nullified. But one thing you really can’t cancel out is an opponent’s raw ability, and your reflexes were a worthy match for both of them. Which speaks volumes about you, really; I chose those two for a reason.”

“Your flattery will not help you here.”

“It is not flattery, it is a genuine observation. Which, admittedly,” he said with a sly nod, “Happens to be worth mentioning just now.”

“…I’m still not happy with you.”

“And you shouldn’t be. I have wounded your trust and I must earn it back. But I still need that reason, Meereo, if I am to convince the source. It is…skittish.”

Meereo pondered very carefully. At length, he too sighed a Human sigh. “Very well. We’ve noticed some very large objects moving across the Infosphere into and out of nodes which should never be processing those volumes of data.”

“So you’ve seen it move,” said Genshi with a suddenly alert posture. “How many have you seen?”

“…how many what?”

“Not disclosable at this time. How many?”

“…a few.”

“How big are they?”

Meereo wasn’t happy with the one-way nature of the exchange. “Hard to tell. Maybe if I had some idea of what you think we’re talking about…”

“Fine, I understand. How many of your Clan have implants?”

“Very few. We know computing technology very well and that makes most of us…leery of such devices in our brains.”

“In retrospect, that may prove very wise.”

“I fear you are right. So…what now?”

Genshi stroked his chin thoughtfully. “I go to the source and plead your case. Frankly, I’m not sure how to proceed without you, so…wish me luck, I guess.”

“l don’t like you enough right now for that. Instead I think I’ll hope for whatever benefits me the most.”

“…fair enough.” Genshi was hurt by that but hid it very well. Good.

“Yes. Well, if you will excuse me, I have a date tonight and many things to consider. Unless you intend violence again?”

There was maybe a bit too much acid in that closer, but Meereo didn’t care.

“Don’t be an ass, Meereo. Go, enjoy your date. I’ll be, y’know, busy working for our mutual interests.”

Meereo stood up and walked away with a contemptuous little turn. “I will believe that when I see it, Champion.” He ended the conversation and walked away, a blunt closing to an altogether ridiculous meeting. And he was fuming. After all, he had been assaulted and quite probably lied to, with only vague, uncertain promises of further details to come and an entirely useless insinuation of genuine peril with zero evidence to back the claim.

Meereo’s concern was that the Gaoian Infosphere had been infected with a new malware the likes of which they had no defenses against. While that was not a new concept, nor were their networks helplessly unprotected, the Humans took the concept of malicious code to an entirely new plane of capability and something as vast and well-developed as the Infosphere would be fertile ground for fun and profit. He and his Brothers had been scrambling to strengthen the Infosphere’s defenses against such a danger. But was this new danger so perilous it was worth risking an alliance?

Genshi thought so. And that alone was what stayed Meereo’s hand.

Writer:
ctwelve
Series:
Previous Chapter

Sweetness – Love and Kiing (NSFW)

CopRit Empire, Halfil Sol 14 Of Race 4 Year 4958 Frostal Secondary, New Baltimore Sitting down in the chair across from the Principal’s desk I nervously swallowed and tried to calm my heart. The Principal could probably hear it, and smell my perspiration. Which was only making me more nervous. “Thoomaas,” squeaked the principal from

Read More »
Next Chapter

Sweetness – Love and Kiing (NSFW)

CopRit Empire, Halfil Sol 14 Of Race 4 Year 4958 Frostal Secondary, New Baltimore Sitting down in the chair across from the Principal’s desk I nervously swallowed and tried to calm my heart. The Principal could probably hear it, and smell my perspiration. Which was only making me more nervous. “Thoomaas,” squeaked the principal from

Read More »

More by ctwelve

Sweetness – Implications

CopRit Empire, Halfil Sol 25 Of Race 4 Year 4958 Monty Publishing House, New Baltimore Slowly gathering myself I stepped into the hologram chamber, the projection flickered and the simulation automatically paused as I stepped in. I quickly looked around to get my bearings, I appeared to be on a starship bridge enduring greatly exaggerated

Read More »

Sweetness – Chapter 4 (NSFW)

CopRit Empire, Halfil Sol 78 Of Race 3 Year 4958 Suburbs, New Baltimore I looked back up at the shopkeeper, the small Human was trying to appear unconcerned. Not that I could really blame ‘him’- glancing over at the human I checked the chest. It was a male, the chest did not protrude and there

Read More »

Sweetness – Chapter 3 (NSFW)

CopRit Empire Sol 77 Of Race 7 Year 4957 PackRat IV, 5 Months out from Halfil I slammed into to deck plating. Coughing, I rolled over onto my side and vomited on the floor, trying to get over the fact that everything was spinning around me. “You know, Humans have perhaps one of the most

Read More »

Sweetness – Chapter 2 (NSFW)

CopRit Empire, Halfil Sol 78 of Race 3 Year 4958 Athletic Complex, New Baltimore I jumped to the side, dodging the attack. I felt the breeze as the weapon passed my abdomen; it missed me by only a few millimeters. Twirling to the side, I brought my foot up. Reacting with amazing speed, my opponent

Read More »

Sweetness – Chapter 1 (NSFW)

CopRit Empire, Halfil Sol 78 Of Race 3 Year 4958 Divsion 3 Police Station, New Baltimore “What?” The officer frowned and pushed the circular data tablet across the table to me. On it was an image of the woman I had met at the bar last night. She had green skin, of a shade that

Read More »

Shades of White and Orange

Sneaking forwards Kalif slowly tilted his ears to either side and waited in the darkness. Not sensing anything he slowly crept forwards towards the statue, and the artifacts in its base. Slithering as silently as possible Kalif focused his eyes on the objects, as if afraid they might disappear at any time. Reaching the statue

Read More »

Mother Earth

Mother Earth. She’s a bitch. A hard ass bitch who tortured every form of life that she brought forth onto her surface. Every life form on her surface had to fight, feed and fuck. After that she didn’t care about what happened, only that they had improved on themselves perhaps a little bit. Life on

Read More »

Enduring

Nyx fired off another shot from her rifle and the Prod nearly 800 meters down the street jerked and ducked into an ally. She frowned and sharpened her gaze on the point where the purple mass had disappeared, looking for the telltale red fragments on the pavement. “More of ’em?” asked Iyo, he was whispering

Read More »

Adam, Artemis, Atlas, & Icarus Part 2

The data streams slammed into me. With practiced ease, I pushed them aside and forced myself to view the data from afar. To not see it as billions of lines of code, but rather as the small white room that any other human would see. Floating in the center of that white room was Artemis,

Read More »

Adam, Artemis, Atlas, & Icarus Part 1

0 days Adam “You’re insane.” “Your point is what?” She rolled her eyes and tightened the straps holding me to the chair. “The point is that someone who can’t move shouldn’t really be this snippy.” She gestured at the plethora of medical equipment around us. “I’m sure I can do some interesting things with all

Read More »

Similar Stories

Waters of Babylon – Tikkun Olam Part 1

For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper and of the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his pinions, and under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and a bulwark. —Psalm 93: 3-4 Date Point: 14Y 3M AV Office of Rabbi Uwriy Walden New

Read More »

Causal Results – Chapter 6: Squeaking By

Bellona 9 Years, 7 Months, 28 Days After Eridani Landing “We can do it!” Bemusement. Tinner cocked his head from his potion on the foot of her bunk. “We failed during the simulation, and that was with the entire class. How will the two of us complete the simulation alone?” Mary rolled her two eyes

Read More »

Waters of Babylon – Tzedakah Part 4

Date Point: 14Y 2M 1W 5D AV The Thing, Folctha, Cimbrean Sister Naydra It was with some trepidation that Naydra attended a Meeting of Mothers. By all accounts, this was a continuation of a previous Meeting, which wasn’t so unusual—such Meetings were rare and never called for simple reasons that could be easily resolved. What

Read More »

Good Training – Survival Part 10

Date point: 14y 9m 2w 1d AV Trail hiking, Lakebeds National Park, west of Foltcha, Cimbrean Hayley Tisdale Julian had been quite firm that he wouldn’t do a sweat lodge or anything like that. She understood, there was some controversy about cultural appropriation and all that nonsense, and Julian seemed like he’d rather not be

Read More »

Waters of Babylon – Tzedakah Part 3

Date Point: 14Y 1M 3W AV HMS Sharman, Folctha, Cimbrean Toran and Tybal “Shhh…” “You shhh…. I’m already ssssh’ing.” The two cubs, having crept past the outer fence surrounding the base, slinked in behind a short hedge and remained motionless. It was late enough that the nightly rain had, overall, stopped, but early enough that

Read More »

Causal Results – Chapter 5

Ruck, Willinkree Year 3042 Day 35 “No! Let go of me!” shouted [Sil] as she struggled to break the brute’s hold. The class C stared dumbly back at her, glaring at him [Sil] pulled at her bonds and sat down on the ground unable to make them even budge in the large alien’s hands. On

Read More »

Waters of Babylon – Tzedakah Part 2

Date Point: 14Y 1M AV The Thing, Folctha, Cimbrean A Meeting of Mothers was much like a Conclave of Champions, and it was only coincidence that both terms alliterated nicely in English. Neither was terribly common, and both were typically invoked by their various constituencies to deal with an issue bigger than any one constituent

Read More »

Waters of Babylon – Tzedakah Part 1

For He will instruct His angels in your behalf, to guard you in all your ways. They will carry you in their hands, lest you hurt your foot on a rock. You will tread upon the lion and the viper; you will trample upon the young lion and the serpent —Psalm 91 Date Point: 14Y

Read More »

Good Training – Survival Part 9

Date point: 14y 9m 1d AV Planet Akyawentuo, The Ten’Gewek Protectorate, Near 3Kpc Arm Meeting of Given-Men Yan Given-Man “When will Jooyun return and take the Rite of Manhood?” Yan mopped some of the sweat from his crest and loosened up his crushing grip on his challengers. “Soon,” he said confidently. “Soon.” Fall was almost

Read More »

Causal Results – Chapter 4

Species C543 System 4 Years 2 months 23 days Before C1764 FTL Jump “Ma’am.” [Sil] tried to turn away from the noise and tried to remain in the blissful realm of unconsciousness. “Ma’am!” [Sil] forced her eyes open and let out a low groan of pain. [Fred] was next to her on the ground, her

Read More »

Good Training – Survival Part 8

Date point: 14y 9m 1d AV Total Combat Fitness, southwest Folctha, Cimbrean Mid-morning Dr. Marc Tisdale Marc was, at heart, a gentle man. He had love for most everyone he met and refused to hold anger for anyone or anything unless they had truly, irrevocably earned it. That said, he was still a man and

Read More »

Causal Results – Chapter 3

Species C543 System 4 Years 2 months 27 days Before C1764 FTL Jump [Sil] looked at the controls for the pod and slowly shook her head, “This is not good.” [Fred] only able to operate because of the minimal effort needed to move around in zero-g drifted forwards, “I would agree, but what is the

Read More »

The Deathworlders – Chapter 56: Dataquake Part 5

Date Point: 16y3m1w Memorial Concourse, Old Commune of the Clan of Females, City of Wi Kao, Planet Gao Mother Shoua There were days when Shoua missed the old commune, at the other end of the city. The new commune was larger, more modern and much more secure of course but… …But the old one had

Read More »

The Deathworlders – Chapter 56: Dataquake Part 4

Date Point: 16y3m1w Folctha, Cimbrean, the Far Reaches Ramsey Buehler Ramsey didn’t think he’d ever get used to being one of the cool kids at school. Actually, just going to school was kinda weird after all the home schooling he and Tristan had had back on Earth, but whenever he and his brother had got

Read More »

Henosis – Chapter 4

“Hey, that’s my suit!” A naked Gaoian fell on the Hunter from the tree above, landing on the sextupedal predator’s back. The impact was enough to stagger the creature, and Keegi was nearly thrown off. The claws of one paw extended, sinking into the Hunter’s glossy flesh as he held on as hard as he

Read More »

The Deathworlders – Chapter 56: Dataquake Part 3

Date Point: 16y3m6d HMS Sharman (HMNB Folctha), Cimbrean, the Far Reaches Technical Sergeant Adam “Warhorse” Arés “Firth, I gotta ask ‘ya something.” Per Colonel Powell’s standing orders, they had the rest of the day off for individual training time after a mission. Adam always took maximum advantage, but some of the other operators might use

Read More »

Causal Results – Chapter 2

First Landing Earth, Florida, Launch pad 39A April 12, 2033 “Ignition Sequence start, five, four, three, two, one, lift off!” The crowds several miles away from the historic launch pad watched as the craft slowly began to move up into the atmosphere. Almost an homage to the craft that had taken Humans to the moon

Read More »

Good Training – Survival Part 7

Date point: 14y 8m 2w 2d AV The Dog House, Folctha, Cimbrean Late afternoon Julian Etsicitty Agony. If Adam had a singular talent that stood out, it would have to be his supernatural ability to give his training victims some very dramatic results by inflicting insane amounts of pain. Julian both dreaded and eagerly anticipated

Read More »

Henosis – Chapter 3

Virtrew had been relaxing in the starboard docking array. He’d been feeling inspired and creative for the past ten-day… it was too late to alter the structure of the current station, but he had ideas for the next. He was off-shift, so he’d picked up his data tablet, a bowl full of Vzk’tk salad, and

Read More »

The Deathworlders – Chapter 56: Dataquake Part 2

Date Point: 16y3m6d η Ithacae, 94.9° 12-GERBER-UNARY G2V III, “Heafield” Technical Sergeant Adam “Warhorse” Arés Every now and then, Adam had a day where every little thing went so well and he found himself firing on all cylinders so perfectly, he could feel right in his big ol’ slab of a chest that exact same

Read More »

The Deathworlders – Chapter 56: Dataquake Part 1

Date Point: 16y3m5d AV Hierarchy/Cabal Joint Communications session #1772 ++0010++: Proximal’s continued absence is a source of concern, and investigating has been forced to take a low priority by other operations. His last known activity was in an Irujzen-1-adjacent sub-lucid volume. ++0004++: Irujzen? Why was he all the way out there? That’s a backwater! ++0022++:

Read More »

Henosis – Chapter 2

The mess hall on the station was a cavernous space on one of the mid-decks in the core, overlooking the long central shaft. It was a temporary arrangement… once the station was near-complete, a merchant or restaurateur would be enticed into setting up a proper dining area, whereupon the space would be converted in whatever

Read More »

The Deathworlders – Chapter 55: Reinvention Part 5

Date Point: 16y3m5d AV Planet Rauwryhr, The Rauwryhr Republic, Perseus Arm Ambassador Sir Patrick Knight Rauwran Great Trees were… They were quite a thing to behold. Each one was as thick around at the base as a cricket ground, and soared up and up and up until their canopy was an invisible dark haze high

Read More »

Henosis – Chapter 1

[2yr 1m AV] Trrkitzzkt L’tr’brtrk’tr quietly filed away the video files of the interviews he’d completed, queuing a copy to be sent via the station’s normal data exchange to his personal archive, in addition to the backup copy he kept on his personal data tablet. Both were encrypted with the strongest algorithms the investigator had

Read More »

Causal Results – Chapter 1

Dorvakian Home World 4 Years 3 months 8 days Before C1764 FTL Jump Looking across the grounds for several moment’s Silnersalkara tapped the table in front of her. The data controls embedded in the device quickly shut off and the hologram above its surface died. “Kermarcus, I’m aware of the situation. The opposition’s been attempting

Read More »

The Deathworlders – Chapter 55: Reinvention Part 4

Date Point: 16y3m AV Planet Akyawentuo, Ten’Gewek Protectorate, Near 3Kpc Arm Yan Given-Man “I like these Core-tie.” “You do? Why the change of heart?” When the ‘del-a-gay-shun’ had returned, there was of course much eagerness to learn the news. Yan was very happy to tell everyone they would be getting vack-seens from the Core-tie as

Read More »

Good Training – Survival Part 6

Date point: 14y 8m AV Residence of the Great Father of the Gao, Folctha, Cimbrean Sister Naydra The months on Cimbrean had been…therapeutic. She found herse lf greatly appreciating the Female presence on the Human’s first colony world, and everything it stood for: stability, acceptance. Survival. The Humans had done so much to support the

Read More »

The Deathworlders – Chapter 55: Reinvention Part 3

Date Point: 16y3m AV USS Robert A. Heinlein, Akyawentuo Orbit, the Ten’Gewek Protectorate, Near 3Kpc Arm Third Director Tran Some of the other Directors had expressed reservations when Tran had informed them he was taking Nofl along to the meeting with the Ten’Gewek. He’d invested some of their trust and patience by reassuring them that

Read More »

The Deathworlders – Chapter 55: Reinvention Part 2

Date Point: 16y2m3w AV Hierarchy/Cabal Joint Communications session #1722 ++0008++: In summary, the infiltration of Sol means the operation was a success, though not an unqualified one. We have four Injunctors on Earth, and a further two in the outer system, but the new Arutech biodrones appear to be an abject failure. The Cimbrean infiltration

Read More »

Rising Titans – Chapter 51 (End)

9 Years, 7 Months, 2 Days After Eridani Landing Chront Leaning down and putting her head to the table Stagg yawned. “Try the tea,” repeated Derrick sounding just as exhausted as she felt. The Captain turned to look at the engineer and then at the small pot on the table. “I did. Taste’s like mold.”

Read More »

The Deathworlders – Chapter 55: Reinvention Part 1

Date Point: 16y2m3w AV Folctha, Cimbrean, the Far Reaches Daar, Great Father of the Gao “Hey, this ain’t a bad little house at all!!” Daar followed in behind Gorku, who was carrying a completely exhausted Leemu on his back and had to mind his steps. “Humans know how to build houses arright,” he agreed. “Maybe

Read More »

The Deathworlders – Chapter 54: Here Be Dragons Part 6

Date Point: 16y2m2w1d AV Planet Akyawentuo, Ten’Gewek Protectorate, Near 3Kpc Arm Vemik Sky-Thinker One of the Human archaeologists was a metallurgist. Tilly was a strange and delicate name that didn’t suit her at all, Vemik thought. She had a sharp face full of metal piercings, skin full of bright pictures, and a half-shaven crest of

Read More »

Good Training – Survival Part 5

Date point: 14y 2m 3w 4d AV SOR barracks, HMS Sharman, Folctha, Cimbrean, The Far Reaches Meanwhile… Brother Faarek (Southpaw) of Clan Whitecrest–SOR “Are you sure you want to do this, Brother?” “Yes,” Thurrsto said with absolute conviction. “She’s the most beautiful Female I’ve ever seen and she’s hurting. I can’t bear doing nothing.” Faarek

Read More »

The Deathworlders – Chapter 54: Here Be Dragons Part 5

ESNN Magazine article: “Prisons In Their Head- an interview at Camp Tebbutt” Author and photographer: Ava Magdalena Ríos [Cover image: two men seated on a bench in front of a chain-link fence, with a stunning Alaskan vista behind them. On the left is a scruffy bearded white man with shaggy salt-and-pepper hair, and next to

Read More »

Rising Titans – Chapter 50

+15 Minutes The Canada “Can this thing fly?” Shouted Pankin as a rattling howl began to echo through the ship, the crew members on what was now the ceiling tightening their straps as objects that had been floating began to rattle on the floor as the ship dove deeper into the atmosphere of the planet.

Read More »

The Deathworlders – Chapter 54: Here Be Dragons Part 4

Date Point: 16y2m2w AV Weaver dropship, Rich Plains contact volume, Kwmbwrw Great Houses TSgt Timothy “Tiny” Walsh All throughout the ordeal of becoming HEAT and finally earning the Mass, the one thing running through Walsh’s head was that one day, he too would serve at their level. Do the mission like none other. Walk through

Read More »

The Deathworlders – Chapter 54: Here Be Dragons Part 3

Date Point: 16y2m1w5d AV Camp Tebbutt Biodrone Internment Facility, Yukon-Koyukuk, Alaska, USA, Earth Ava Ríos “You ever rode a helicopter before, Ava?” Ava jumped, and looked away from the window. She’d been enjoying the view. It was her first trip to Alaska, and the thing that struck her as she’d watched the landscape rolling by

Read More »

The Deathworlders – Chapter 54: Here Be Dragons Part 2

Date Point: 16y2m1w2d AV Gaoian embassy, Alien Quarter, Folctha, Cimbrean, the Far Reaches Daar, Great Father of the Gao There was shit to catch up with. Stuff to read, stuff to make decisions on, stuff to be briefed on in case he had to make a decision later… At first Daar did his best to

Read More »

Good Training – Survival Part 4

Date point: 14y 2m 1w AV Planet Akyawentuo, The Ten’Gewek Protectorate, Near 3Kpc Arm Singer “So, if we salt the roots in boiling water with some herbs, and use a very tight…what was the word?” [“Jar,”] Julian said encouragingly. “—And then we boil the whole jar with the lid on loose, so the bad spirits

Read More »

Rising Titans – Chapter 49

+10 Minutes The Singer [Vann] stood in the center of the bridge the three-dimensional hologram showing the entirety of his fleet as well as the surrounding space. The cubic formation was going to be tested now, up to this point the only gauge of effectiveness was how [Charles] had reacted to it in simulations. He

Read More »

The Deathworlders – Chapter 54: Here Be Dragons Part 1

Date Point: 16y2m5d AV Planet Akyawentuo, Ten’Gewek Protectorate, Near 3Kpc Arm Xiù Chang Yan was having to explain himself. It wasn’t that the men who’d come out to hunt the Brown One were disappointed, exactly. None of them had been looking forward to the battle at all. They all knew the stories of how many

Read More »

The Deathworlders – Chapter 53: The Wild Hunt Part 6

Date Point: 16y2m4d AV Planet Akyawentuo, the Ten’gewek Protectorate, Near 3Kpc Arm Julian Etsicitty Daar caught up with them about an hour after Xiù called ahead to let them know he was coming. A lot had happened in that hour. Yan had laid out his bibtaws in a kind of scent lure, some distance out

Read More »

The Deathworlders – Chapter 53: The Wild Hunt Part 5

Date Point: 16y2m3d AV Gaoian embassy, Alien Quarter, Folctha, Cimbrean, the Far Reaches Daar, Great Father of the Gao People who didn’t know Daar all that well thought he had a pathological aversion to Civilized pursuits. Not true at all! Daar had always enjoyed history, writing, and the more subtle arts of courtship, and he

Read More »

The Deathworlders – Chapter 53: The Wild Hunt Part 4

Date point: 16y2m3d AV Planet Akyawentuo, the Ten’Gewek Protectorate, Near 3Kpc Arm Daniel “Chimp” Hoeff Julian had a habit of singing in the woods. Not loud, exactly, and Hoeff wasn’t even sure he was totally conscious he was doing it, but loud enough to hear. Apparently it kept critters from blundering into them that might

Read More »

Rising Titans – Chapter 48

+ 7 Minutes 38 Seconds The Canada “Captain, your message?” asked Arik as her Avatar superimposed itself over the main monitor. “Surrender now, call off the fighters and we’ll let you live. Then we can begin to negotiate for an end to this pointless violence.” “That’s it?” asked Arik after a moment. “Unless anyone else

Read More »

Good Training – Survival Part 3

Date point: 14y 1m 2w AV “Clan Young Glory,” western unincorporated territories, Gao Sister Naydra Naydra and her fellow Sisters were slowly dying. The “Clan” that had “liberated” them from the clutches of what they now knew were biodrones had decided their honored guests needed “protection.” Their so-called protection consisted of imprisonment. Their “protection fees”

Read More »

The Deathworlders – Chapter 53: The Wild Hunt Part 3

Date point: 16y2m3d AV Planet Akyawentuo, the Ten’Gewek Protectorate, Near 3Kpc Arm Professor Daniel Hurt “What exactly did he say he’s fetching, anyway?” “An M107.” Daniel frowned. Although he’d learned more about firearms in general over the past few years than he’d ever imagined he would, there were times that the people who really “got”

Read More »

The Deathworlders – Chapter 53: The Wild Hunt Part 2

Date Point: 16y2m1d AV Chiune Station, Folctha, Cimbrean, the Far Reaches Allison Buehler Allison hadn’t slept well in a couple of nights. It wasn’t that she begrudged Julian and Xiù going offworld, not at all, but it did disrupt the sense of familiarity that made home, well… Home. If she didn’t have her brothers to

Read More »

Rising Titans – Chapter 47

+ 30 Seconds The Canada “The Empire ships are now in range of the ACE field!” reported Arik. Stagg grimaced as the ship shook “Activate,” “New contact!” shouted Arik interrupting. “What?” “IFF is identifying the vessel as the HSB Russia, they just exited a spatial rupture directly between us and the Empire fleet!” “Open communications!”

Read More »

The Deathworlders – Chapter 53: The Wild Hunt Part 1

Date Point: 16y2m1d AV personal sanctum, Dataspace. Cynosure/Six Data sophonts did not sleep, and thus did not dream. Nevertheless, Cynosure had a recurring nightmare of sorts. When his attention wandered, he found that it almost inevitably alighted on a handful of disturbing subjects. The details varied, as he worried at different aspects of the problems

Read More »

Good Training – Survival Part 2

Date point: 14y 7d AV Planet Akyawentuo, The Ten’Gewek Protectorate, Near 3Kpc Arm Later that day Julian Etsicitty It was approaching mid-day and the day’s morning work had been taken care of. The scouts had come back and reported that the nearby werne had just calved and would need to be left alone for a

Read More »

The Deathworlders – Chapter 52: Autoimmune Part 6

Date Point: 16y2m AV Folctha, Cimbrean, the Far Reaches Daar, Great Father of the Gao “Poor bugger hardly knew which way is up…” Powell grunted, once Wagner was gone. “Who can blame him? His whole crew going violently psychotic on him with no warning, only to be stasis-hopped right into a Corti’s lab being sniffed

Read More »

Rising Titans – Chapter 46

9 Years, 6 Months, 14 Days After Eridani Landing Jikse Diana blinked in surprise as the jungle was suddenly lit up by a fantastic reddish glow, glancing behind her towards the city Diana watched as another blast of energy, identical in color to the flash fell from the sky. Unable to see from her vantage

Read More »

The Deathworlders – Chapter 52: Autoimmune Part 5

Date Point: 16y2m AV Folctha, Cimbrean, The Far Reaches Julian Etsicitty The house was a mess when Julian got back, which was rare. Nobody in their household was naturally untidy—living on Misfit had driven Allison, Xiù and himself into an ingrained habit of orderliness, and the boys had lived in fear of their father’s belt

Read More »

The Deathworlders – Chapter 52: Autoimmune Part 4

Date Point: 16y2m AV Hierarchy/Cabal Joint Communications session #1536 ++Asymptote++: I have bad news. It would seem our new drones are detectable. ++0004++: <Dismay> you’re certain? ++Asymptote++: The force I sent to Cimbrean was captured immediately upon arrival. ++0007++: How? ++Asymptote++: Unclear. The Arutech drones don’t report as concisely as conventional biodrones. The connection is…

Read More »

The Deathworlders – Chapter 52: Autoimmune Part 3

Date Point: 16y2m AV The Thinghall, Folctha, Cimbrean, the Far Reaches Gabriel Arés Every civilization needed its icon of executive power. The UK had the black door of Number Ten Downing Street and, somewhere behind it, the Cabinet Room; the USA had the White House, and the Oval Office; Folctha had the Alien Palace. The

Read More »

Good Training – Survival Part 1

You may also want to read Pyrophytes in The Deathworlders series. Same story, different angles. Date point: 14y 7d AV Planet Akyawentuo, The Ten’Gewek Protectorate, Near 3Kpc Arm Professor Daniel Hurt “You want me to read it by next week?” Julian mopped the sweat from his face and bounced loosely in place. “What was it

Read More »

Rising Titans – Chapter 45

-7 Hours CHRONT THE CANADA “More contacts!” said Arik as she flashed every monitor on the bridge a bright red. Stagg glanced up at the monitor, “How many more?” “I’m counting!” “You’re counting!?” A grainy image of the approaching Empire patrol vessel was quickly displayed, a small box around it. Additional boxes quickly filled the

Read More »

The Deathworlders – Chapter 52: Autoimmune Part 2

Date Point: 16y2m AV Alien Quarter, Folctha, Cimbrean, the Far Reaches Nofl Leemu had become unresponsive. Nofl’s quarantine facility had alerted him after the patient had been anomalously still for twenty minutes, and the reason why became obvious upon a quick inspection of the cell: Leemu was sprawled on his back, staring blissfully up at

Read More »

Good Training – April Fool’s

13y 3m 29d AV One-Fang workhouse, Alien Quarter, Folctha, Cimbrean, the Far Reaches Sergeant Regaari (Dexter) of Clan SOR One of the best things about the humans was that they had a springtime holiday dedicated to mischief. Before them, only the Gao could claim to celebrate such a thing and it was one of the

Read More »

The Deathworlders – Chapter 52: Autoimmune Part 1

Date Point: 16y2m AV Alien Quarter, Folctha, Cimbrean, the Far Reaches Nofl Nofl’s lab was spacious, but inevitably finite. When it contained an alarming number of alarmed Humans, not to mention one particularly sculpted canine and a Gaoian brownie who was doing his best not to loom at everyone… well, there were times when Nofl

Read More »

The Deathworlders – Chapter 51: Anticlimax Part 5

Date Point: 16y2m AV Folctha, Cimbrean, the Far Reaches Allison Buehler After a lifetime of helicopter parenting, Tristan and Ramsey seemed addicted to every opportunity they could find to do something their mother would have scooted them away from. And who could blame them? Amanda had never managed to get her head around the idea

Read More »

Rising Titans – Chapter 44

9 Years, 6 Months, 28 Days After Eridani Landing Deep Space The Russia shuddered again as the engines slowly powered down and the ship slid out of the red blue haze that was the tachyon FTL corridor. James blinked several times trying to clear the haze from his eyes as the regular black background of

Read More »

The Deathworlders – Chapter 51: Anticlimax Part 4

Date Point: 16y1m AV Dataspace adjacent to Mrwrki Station Entity The Entity understood the concept of boredom in an academic, abstract way. It could even vaguely summon up Ava’s memories of being bored. But understanding the idea and actually feeling the emotion were two different things. The closest it could get was the sensation of

Read More »

The Deathworlders – Chapter 51: Anticlimax Part 3

Date Point: 16y2w AV Air Force One, somewhere over Asia, Earth President Arthur Sartori “…You want to give us a Farthrow generator.” Daar’s image was janky and low-resolution thanks to the vagaries of current wormhole comms, but the audio was a lot clearer now. Technology marched onwards. “It’s loaded up on a train and ready

Read More »

Good Training – Pecking Order

13y, 8m AV Operator’s Barracks, HMS Sharman, Folctha, Cimbrean Officer Regaari (Dexter) of Clan Whitecrest “I got an idea, Regaari.” Regaari flicked his ears forward in annoyance. “This again?” “Well, yeah. I gotta win that bet, Cousin!” Regaari duck-nodded wearily. Not long after Daar had received the SACRED STRANGER briefing, he’d sulked off to think

Read More »

Good Training – The Champions – Tidying Up

Messier 24 Mission day: 3 Sergeant Daar (Tigger) The third day was always when things settled into routine. Daar didn’t really know why, ‘cuz that was prol’ly some complicated psychology stuff (maybe he should read up?) but he did know how it worked, practically speaking. Daar always pondered morning thoughts like that when he was

Read More »

The Deathworlders – Chapter 51: Anticlimax Part 2

Date Point: 16y2w AV Weaver dropship, Gaoian space Sergeant Ian “Hillfoot” Wilde “So in all the excitement, we clean forgot about these things. That’s what you’re telling me.” Champion Meereo made a sound that was half a sigh and half a chitter. “…That’s more-or-less exactly right, yes. We had… well, bigger priorities.” Wilde had to

Read More »

Rising Titans – Chapter 43

9 Years, 6 Months, 28 Days After Eridani Landing Bellona “Ready?” asked Alpha from where he sat on top of the Captain’s chair. “I’m good!” said Red from where he sat at the controls for the ship. It hadn’t taken much to convince him to pilot the vessel. James glanced down at his own console

Read More »

The Deathworlders – Chapter 51: Anticlimax Part 1

Date Point: 16y AV Yukon–Koyukuk, Alaska, USA, Earth Zane Reid The cold didn’t hurt anymore. At first, it had been like forcing his way through a wall made of knives that cut through his clothes. Zane’s every breath had blinded him as it billowed and steamed in the air, and when he’d experimentally licked his

Read More »

The Deathworlders – Chapter 50: Counterattack – Trigger Part 5

Date Point: 16y AV Camp Tebbutt Biodrone Internment Facility, Yukon–Koyukuk, Alaska, USA, Earth Hugh Johnson Snow. Of course, snow in January in Alaska was hardly surprising, and this one threatened to be heavy. At first, Hugh had thought it was probably just an seasonable dusting that’d add a couple of inches to the foot or

Read More »

Fight!

I had made my way through the tournament, but most of my matches had been won by the skin of my teeth, and I had only the advantage of being evolved from a pursuit predator to thank for it. Our great endurance had been the one boon that had kept me going, and I was

Read More »

The Deathworlders – Chapter 50: Counterattack – Trigger Part 4

Date Point: 15y 10m 1w AV HMS Violent, Rvzrk System, Domain Space The ground battle churned on for days. That was the problem with Hunters. There was no surrender involved, it was a kill-or-be-killed fight where smashing their will to engage in war simply didn’t achieve enough. Any Hunter left alive would just keep murdering

Read More »

Good Training – The Champions – Doom and Gloom Part 4

He awoke to a pleasant smell. “…Eggs?” Hoeff detangled himself from Natalie and the sheets and stumbled towards the kitchen. Daar was busy in front of the comparatively little stove and fridge, humming some terrible Gaoian tune to himself. Seriously, their music was like Chinese opera with extra pain. Some Humans liked it, though…but “atonal”

Read More »

Rising Titans – Chapter 42

9 Years, 6 Months, 15 Days After Eridani Landing The [Singer] The explosion hit and [Vann] watched at the lights on the main hologram and different panels flashed a blinding white light, before dying and plunging the entire bridge of the [Singer] into darkness. “What were we supposed to do?” asked someone near the weapons

Read More »

Infestation

Day 1. I’ve made it on board the human trading vessel! They didn’t detect my presence, and I’ve managed to smuggle myself into their engineering bay, and disguised myself within a cluster of cables! My small, serpentine body makes me indistinguishable from a thin, grayish cable, and the Humans won’t notice my existence until it

Read More »

The Deathworlders – Chapter 50: Counterattack – Trigger Part 1

Date Point: 15y 10m AV Camp Tebbutt Biodrone Internment Facility, Yukon–Koyukuk, Alaska, USA, Earth Hugh Johnson Camp Tebbutt wasn’t actually a bad place to live, if you didn’t count the fact that it was essentially a prison for innocent victims. Hugh understood why he was there, and why he couldn’t leave… but after eleven years,

Read More »

Good Training – The Champions – Doom and Gloom Part 3

Firth Regaari chittered, “It is difficult to imagine you ‘humbled,’ Righteous.” “Heh,” Firth chuckled. “You do know most of my attitude is straight fuckin’ bullshit, right? Adam and John know why.” Regaari looked over at John, who shrugged massively. “He’s a scary dude. Being ridiculous kinda takes the edge off, y’know?” Regaari duck-nodded. He was

Read More »

Rising Titans – Chapter 41

9 Years, 6 Months, 13 Days After Eridani Landing Jikse Moving down the hallway Diana paused at the double doors, carefully she moved forwards into it’s threshold and they slid open. A woman in an orange smock looked up from her Comm for a moment, and then going back to look at it did a

Read More »

The Good Samaritan

I felt a white-hot pain in my back as I was stabbed. Once, twice and then three times. I fell to the ground clutching my new openings, and for a moment I couldn’t grasp what had just happened. I had walked through an alley as a shortcut back home, and then suddenly someone had grabbed

Read More »

The Deathworlders – Chapter 50: Counterattack – Homefront Part 6

Date Point: 15y9m3w AV Mrwrki Station, Erebor System, Unexplored Space Darcy “Does it seem… different to you lately?” “What?” “The Entity. It’s actin’ different, dude, I swear it is.” Darcy sighed and set aside her work as Lewis sat down. She was sitting drinking a Moroccan Mint tea in the station’s rec lounge, with its

Read More »

Rising Titans – Chapter 40

9 Years, 6 Months, 13 Days After Eridani Landing Jikse Popping the restraints off of her legs Diana swung herself off of the table, the two class A’s still in their isolation suits were pounding at the door of the room the three of them were in. “It’s out! Open the door!” shouted the man

Read More »

Good Training – The Champions – Doom and Gloom Part 2

Master Sergeant Christian (Righteous) Firth The end of the movie came and the ladies were fast asleep and prolly too tired to head home with any comfort. The other bros were asleep, too, and Firth was tangled up with them pretty good. Oh well, both ‘Base and ‘Horse were heavy-ass sleepers and only danger or

Read More »

Hell

Hell. It’s a completely Human concept. The concept of a realm of eternal torture, to which you are sent depending on the whims of one deity or another, is something only found in Human fiction. And it’s not an isolated occurrence. Almost every human culture since the dawn of humanity itself has had it in

Read More »

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *