Personal Log: Elmira Stevens, Age 13, Frontier Project, NASA May 31, 2262 Hi, um, I’m Elmira, and I’m bored. I’ve read every steampunk novel in the library twice, and the fantasy ones, and the science fiction ones. I’m running out of novels all together, but Mom said that if I don’t find something productive to … Continue reading Epilogue →

It was getting late on the second day of Vincent, Shelby and Toaster’s outing. They’d camped on a crystal-covered island the night before where even after the daylight faded to darkness, the huge outcroppings of quarts around them caught the starlight. They’d stayed up too late talking and playing music, and the stress that had … Continue reading Year 354 A.E., Rotation 6: Enough Time →

Vincent tried to peer through the bandanna Aluna had tied around his eyes when he'd shown up at the cafe she'd invited him to for dinner. He'd managed to schedule his annual leave from the HEC starting on the new year, and he'd been looking forward to spending the month catching up with friends and … Continue reading Year 354 A.E., Rotation 4: To the Rim and Back →

Vincent pulled away from the bars of the cell he’d been imprisoned in for attempting to incapacitate his target for long enough to get her to the safety of his ship to look his mother in the eye. She looked older than he remembered her, which of course made sense, but also felt wrong. There … Continue reading Year 353 A.E., Rotation 250: Rear-View Mirrors →

Vincent took a deep breath, his hands clamped tight around Shelby’s steering wheel. The were docked aboard the rim ship, but he hadn’t been this nervous about a rescue since his first. This was it. His chance to prove himself, and his chance to take the first step toward breaking down the tier system that … Continue reading Year 353 A.E., Rotation 250: Breaking the System →

The stars shone down overhead as Vincent and Shelby crept through the void, their light, Shelby’s headlights and the green glow emanating from her hull the only light in the sky. They were far from Etelu, farther still from the Perfectorate. In fact, with every bridge they made between islands, Vincent was the farthest he’d … Continue reading Year 353 A.E., Rotation 223: The Ghost of a Kingdom →

The first thing Giana became aware of was the rumble of an engine. It was oddly comforting, a heartbeat that fell in time with hers. She strained to open her eyes, and when she finally wrenched the lids apart, she found herself staring at the infirmary aboard The Silver Falcon. She blinked, slowly, trying to … Continue reading Year 353 A.E., Rotation 66: An Old Widow Rambling →

Vincent was sipping this week’s iteration of a Privateer–the drinks were getting better, he had to note, or at least he was getting used to them–when he heard a familiar voice call his name. He couldn’t place it at first, but when he turned around and peered through the clouds of smoke drifting through the … Continue reading Year 353 A.E., Rotation 197: Gone →

Rell held Giana in the back of the crawler that had picked them up as she shivered in his arms, her face pale from loss of blood. The metal body rattled around them, a whistle of wind creeping in through a poorly welded join. He would have checked her fingertips for the telltale blue of … Continue reading Year 353 A.E., Rotation 65: The One Who Pulled the Trigger →