Vincent sipped a glass of watered-down fruit juice at the little cafeteria set up for contractors at the shipyard and stared at a plate of overcooked mixed vegetables and chopped steak. He recognized the mixed vegetables as the side dishes from the last two nights stirred together, and he didn't want to ask any questions … Continue reading Year 349 A.E., Rotation 248: Happy Endings →

Gianna and Rellion lay in the nest of pillows and blankets they’d made in the old fort she’d built out of scrap metal and stolen crawler tarps in her backyard. It was surprisingly weather-tight, and though it wasn’t as roomy as it had been when they were kids, now that they were 17, they didn’t … Continue reading Year 320, Rotation 152: Gleaming Like Tin →

Vincent had his feet propped on Shelby’s dashboard, a harmonica in his hands, a generic distress signal playing over his transmitter. He wasn’t distressed. He was here on a job, a well-paying job if not one that was strictly on the books. He watched the shadows of rock and other debris float briskly past the … Continue reading Year 349 A.E., Rotation 234: Leverage →

Vinny’s history instructor peered over thick glasses as he called roll. His name, Mr. Yearkeeper, was scrolled across the chalkboard. It was the first day back at school after the New Year’s break, so Vinny had a whole new set of names to memorize and classes to be exasperated by. He shifted in his seat. … Continue reading Year 344 A.E., Rotation 7: Vincent Coastrunner, Rock Star →

Vincent made sure the hangar door was closed--he couldn’t let anyone know that his crawler was alive--then tapped Shelby on the dashboard, green aeo magic, the same kind he’d used to make her sentient in the first place, washing across her steering wheel and instruments. “Just wanted you to know we made it to the … Continue reading Year 349 A.E., Rotation 201: Jumping In →

Life was hard after graduating from trade school. Vincent had thought it would be nice to be on his own for once without a bunch of tests to take or teachers to criticise his every shortcoming. But everything cost more cred than it really had a right to, the standard six-day work week was really … Continue reading Year 349 A.E., Rotation 53: Moving Up →