Skee

Love and Starships: Ch 1 pt 2

Francis’s anxiety subsided as the structure of the spaceport started to pass slowly by outside the window a minute later. She turned her face down to study the buttons and controls on the panel, as well as the screen that fizzled with a grid of back-lit rectangles.

As her slow breaths pushed the confusion out of her mind, the training classes she had religiously attended slowly returned to her.

With a flick of the switch, the scanner began to spit out a list of readings to her screen that projected a rough image of the materials outside and their distance from the ship. Just as predicted, the maglifts on the structures had been pulled back against the wall to allow the Aishou to slip out easily.

In the ceiling above her, she could hear the coolant start to flow from the front of the ship, where it was stored and cooled, to the back of the ship, where it would soak up heat from the engines. At least, that’s what she thought she heard, based on the foggy memories of the basic tier engineering classes she took.

The edge of the station finally passed by the window, revealing the dull glow of the second, larger sun reflecting off the planet surface far below. The window dimmed automatically. The hull began to creak, just as it was explained to happen. Her knowledge of this phenomenon did not prepare her for the feeling of dread that came with the sound calling out as she stood less than a meter away from the void of space outside. Continue reading “Skee”

Maiden Voyage

Love and Starships: Ch 1 pt 1.

Francis was late. She knew this because the scaffolding and lifts of the dock were virtually empty. She silently cursed the smallest of the two suns in the system for shining in her window all night, keeping her from falling asleep, as well as her inability to figure out how to lower the solar shade and keep all of this from happening. Her tired eyes scanned for others around the exterior of the ship who possibly shared her predicament.

Obviously, she knew she was as late as could be. She also knew that if the ship happened to be ready to depart, that the maglifts would retract back inside the dock and likely crush her. Well, the operators on the station usually checked before doing so. Usually.

Francis stepped into the device hoping she had time. Her bag was heavy and lumpy, due to her hurried packing. The lift began to rise with a blurring speed, just quickly enough for Francis to realize the true scale of the GSS Aishou. Before her, she caught sight of the various windows and access ports passing by, while she had yet to reach even midway up the ship where the crew areas started. To the aft of the ship, she could see one of the massive thrusters jutting out into the void of the space dock. It had yet to begin glowing with power. Francis breathed a sigh of relief. Wait, does the ship fly out of the dock on its own power, or is it shuttled out? Francis worried.

The lift stopped abruptly at the level her authorization had selected for her, and the pneumatic doors opened with a whoosh. Just before entering, she took one last look out at the gray and blue planet in the distance, Toronian II. The doors charged with a fresh burst of air pressure to prepare to close up again, prompting Francis to jump in and narrowly avoid being squished.Continue reading “Maiden Voyage”

How The Walls Fell

Of Armor and Bone: Chapter 28

(Unfortunately, there is another Camp Nanowrimo starting up, so this story will be on hold for a bit.  Hopefully this chapter ties up this arc fairly well.)

 

A loud pounding on the door awoke Kiaren. She had dozed off, staring at the maps on the planning room table. Silvus pushed through the door as she lifted her weary head, the marks from her sleeve still pressed into the side of her face. “My dear, I believe we are expecting an attack.”

Kiaren stood quickly, pushing the chair back against the wall with a clatter. “From who? Where from?” The commander forced her way past Silvus and scanned the tall walls of the settlement.

Silvus grabbed at the woman’s trim shoulders and pointed her south. “Up on the ridge coming out of the pass,” he pointed. “There is some force assembled there.”

“Xiandol. They’ll come to the side gate, no doubt.” Kiaren said. Her eyes were immediately drawn to the neat lines of the force in the distance, just above the tree line.

“Are you sure?” Silvus returned. “There’s hardly enough room to fit an army through such a tiny space. They wouldn’t be so foolish.”

“Your lack of experience with the Kingdom of Xiandol will have been your downfall if I were not here.” Kiaren shook her head in an exaggerated motion. “Fortify the south wall with your most competent bowmen, and then you may watch them descend upon us.”

“Our numbers are clearly greater than theirs.” Silvus said, motioning at the tents set up around the encampment. “It was fortunate that I arrived when I did, before they had a chance to change their plan of attack.”

“Xiandol’s plans of attack do not merely rely on numbers, but rather on how they make use of the strength they have available.”

“You talk as if you are unsure of our victory.”

“I am merely talking from my experience. Victory doesn’t happen until every last one of their men is dead or retreated again to the other side of the mountain.”Continue reading “How The Walls Fell”

Dark Energy

Of Armor and Bone: Chapter 27

“Mr. Bently…” The Arcanus paced around the table, her eyes locked on the soldier. He sat quietly, his arms folded and helmet removed. “I pray you can tell us how you remember the attack on the Tuleforian settlement at the base of the Sing mountains.”

“They fell to us with little resistance.” Bently boasted. In his peripheral vision, he could see Shiloh glaring at him.

“When did you encounter the mage, Zethurus?” Chalrstine asked.

“Our Captain, Mandabus, first encountered him. When we descended upon him, it had seemed Mandabus had been bested by the mage’s power.”

“How well did you know your Captain, Mr. Bently?” The Lady continued her line of questioning.

“Our lieutenant knew him much better.” The soldier shrugged. “When I was offered once again a position on the front, I knew him only for his reputation and our limited time on the battlefield.”Continue reading “Dark Energy”

Mage Blood

Of Armor and Bone: Chapter 26

Zethurus collapsed down upon the chair, his limbs weak. Shiloh yanked at the sleeve of his robe, ripping the thin fabric up to his shoulder. The wound oozed thick, dark blood. The cut into the mage’s muscle was obscured by the secretion, but the surrounding skin had taken on a dull purple hue of a bruise.

“You never thought to tell anyone of this?” Shiloh’s eyes met the mage’s.

Zethurus bared his teeth. Charlstine drifted through the doorway, her robes flowing behind her. “It is no ordinary wound, is it?” The Arcanus announced her arrival. In her hand, she held a sheet of folded cloth and a ceramic pitcher that sloshed with the sound of water. Shiloh stepped back from Zethurus while Charlstine yanked on his arm.

The woman tossed the white linen in his lap before pouring a splash of the liquid over the wound. Zethurus flinched, attempting to pull his arm away. “Hold still, it’s just water mixed with some ash. The burning may last for a while, but it should flush out any bad energies in the wound.”

Shiloh leaned his head around to see the water bubbling and melting away the rancid blood. “Why has the wound continued to bleed?” He asked. “It was almost two weeks ago since he received it.”

“Are you familiar with the term ‘mage blood’ Mr. Shiloh?” Charlstine avoided the question and glanced back quickly from Zethurus.

“Of course, it’s… any people born of the magi race, able to perform spells and such. All of those whom you represent under the Order.”

“Correct, but only partially so.” Charlstine said while nodding slowly. With the cloth in her hand, she carefully dabbed away the excess liquid from Zethurus’s wound. “The blood that runs in our veins, mage blood, is different that that of your own, Mr. Shiloh. It is the source of our power, traveling throughout our bodies. It allows us to summon that which is in our heart; the scorching heat of fire, the coldness of ice, the torrent of wind and lightning.”

“Or if one’s heart contains an umbra of darkness?” Shiloh posed, catching Zethuru’s glance over Charlstine’s shoulder.

“Indeed.” The Arcanus stared down at the freshly cleaned wound. Surrounding the fine incision where Zethurus had been nicked by the sword was a dark lump of mutated flesh, pulsating slightly. “What do you remember of the moment you received this wound, Zethurus?”

The mage looked up into her eyes, blinking rapidly. “Nothing.” He muttered. “It’s all a blank.”

Charlstine dug her thumb into the bruised flesh around the wound. Zethurus flinched in response, unable to pull his arm away. “I remember…” Zethurus finally spoke. “…darkness… just darkness, and the cold. When I came to, that knight… the one called Mandabus… had collapsed on the ground. One of the others attacked, and I was forced to flee.”

“Such a convenient tale.” Shiloh scoffed.

“It is hard to say so, Mr. Shiloh.” Charlstine rebutted. “I don’t feel the darkness in this man’s heart. Cowardice, perhaps, but not darkness. That knight, on the other hand….”

Shiloh tapped his foot loudly and avoided eye contact with the other two. “Explain.”

“The dark energy likely originated in that man.” Charlstine began to explain, staring into Zethurs’s eyes. “It doesn’t take magical blood to sense that. However, it was likely your very own magical blood and conducted the energy, causing you to react violently.”

“I pray you’re doing this to protect your own kind, Lady Arcanus.” Shiloh paced around the small room.

“Have you ever seen lighting strike the point of a tall building, Mr. Shiloh?” Charlstine asked, glancing back at him. “Magical energy wants to find the shortest path to another source. It seems that… Mandabus, and Zethurus were a perfect match for each other.”

“Zethurus, would you be so bold to confirm this?” Shiloh looked down at the mage, who bit his lip as the cleaned wound continued to burn.

“Would you really accept my word at this point?” He said, seething.

A loud knock came to the door. Chin pushed his way inside before a response could come. “Charlstine, we must discuss the nature of what has taken place.”

Loudly, the Lady ripped a strip of cloth from the linen and wrapped it tightly around Zethuru’s wound. “Please be patient.” Charlstine said without offering Chin a look. “We shall be down at the hall shortly.”