Vincent leaned against a table at a diner in a port island. It wasn’t his normal scene, but the pie was good, and after his recent brushes with the law, it was kind of peaceful to eat a meal alone and watch night fall through a window instead of lights flashing over a dance floor … Continue reading Year 350, Rotation 40: The Heist →

Vincent could barely hear the woman he was talking to over the band playing on the little stage in the corner of the bar. They weren’t good, but they were loud, and sometimes what you wanted was loud. “So yeah, yesterday I had a close brush with death, so I figure I better live a … Continue reading Year 350, Rotation 31: Perfect as Binary →

Giana stared at the blank canvas, feeling ridiculous. But she had to do something with her time besides reminisce about The Bird and tinker with salvaged machines in her garage. She needed a hobby. And just like the first time she’d gotten behind the controls of a crawler, she had to start somewhere. She dipped … Continue reading Year 350 A.E., Rotation 30: A Standard Delivery →

Vincent and Shelby plodded along toward the drop-off point for today's delivery. Shelby's cargo hold was packed with freshly-fired bricks that would be used to patch up damage to a primary school caused by a rogue sky-elephant that the sky-fallers hadn't been able to drive off in time. It was an easy job, which meant … Continue reading Year 350 A.E., Rotation 23: Live Fast →

It was the day before New Year’s Eve, and while Vincent wasn’t about to spend the real holiday sitting around his parents’ retirement community, the day before fell on his day off this week, so he’d asked his family if he could drop by. New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day were the only two … Continue reading Year 349 A.E., Rotation 348: Far Away and Beautiful →

It was just after the new year. On the 350th and the first, the majority of the Perfectorate’s workforce had enjoyed its only two consecutive days off a year. Clubs and bars had been packed. Normally responsible citizens had been letting loose, swinging to the latest electro-jazz hits, sipping cocktails, trying those bright little pills … Continue reading Year 330 A.E., Rotation 5: Just Some Edger Girl →

Vincent had always been a drifter, but after that 1899 cred parking ticket, he found himself avoiding his old haunts, and really anywhere else that a vindictive inquisitor might expect to find him. That also meant looking for contracts outside of the scope of his more regular employers. Which is how he found himself in … Continue reading Year 349 A.E., Rotation 306: Too Far →

Giana Coastrunner had just hit her rendezvous point for the day on a remote island well outside of all known patrol lanes, and the first skyfallers were touching down on her deck to sell their surplus essence when suddenly, she found her shadow cast against the blinking red and white lights of an inquisitorial dirigible. … Continue reading A.E. 329, Rotation 79: Loyalty →

Vincent was pretty sure it was fate when he found out that his favorite band was scheduled to play at his favorite club on the very night that his last delivery was to a factory three blocks away from it. However, he didn’t have time to park Shelby in the hangar at the other side … Continue reading Year 349 A.E., Rotation 264: Star Stuff →

Captain Giana Coastrunner paced across the deck of her 24-man cargo crawler as the first skyfaller of the day glided toward the loading deck. His flight suit was silver, his wings glinting bright against the void. The propulsion rocket strapped to his back was quiet as he maneuvered through the air. He held a harpoon … Continue reading Year 328 A.E., Rotation 203: Built From Nothing →