Flash Fiction #491 -- Earth Bound (Catchin)/4

 Tana could hear the sound of Captain Dundas mumbling to herself as she accepted the call. Lisel moved a couple more steps away, and even the medtechs looked worried.

"Hello, Captain Dundas," Tana said in her best neutral voice.

"Honest to God, I ought to drop kick the three of you out an airlock at my first chance. We haven't even been here a day, and the three of you --"

"We --"

"Bombs! Damage to historical buildings --"

Hearing the word historical set Tana off. She threw herself off the bed and shook the pocketcomp as though she tried to shake some sense into it.

"People tried to kill us! They threw bombs. They shot Krisin, and he's in the operating room --"

"Shot Krisin?" Dundas said, her voice suddenly much softer.

"Yes, ma'am. With one of those damned historical projectile weapons. I don't know how he's doing. It seems to be taking a long time. There are crazy people up here. Can we go back and fight the were? At least I can recognize them as enemies."

"Tana --"

"Sorry, Captain."

"Where are you?" Dundas asked.

"Aspen."

"Huh. I'll be there in a few hours."

"People are throwing bombs at us, Captain," she repeated. "They shot at us --"

But the line was dead.

Tana turned to Lisel with a shake of her head. "You were no help."

"Thank you. I didn't think you noticed."

"She is coming here."

Lisel winced and then gave a steadier nod. "Good. She'll come with her guards. You might want to warn people, Tom."

Tom gave a nervous nod. Tana realized that colonists made him nervous. Or maybe it was colonist warriors with Catchin crew.  

Or maybe they were not acting the way he expected. Tana had noted that everyone else was angry and showing it. Tom expected rage and didn't realize she already felt it. However, being a fighter pilot meant she had to keep her temper in times of danger, which they faced here.

Tana was sure she couldn't explain it to the man. He expected an outburst, and probably all the more so since she'd been over the top talking to the Captain.

Dundas understood, though.

Why didn't Medtech Ret come back out?

Tana sat on a chair as close to the room as she could get. Lisel brought one over to sit by her, and the others left them alone. Tana knew Tom was handling problems. Earther troubles, and she was glad to leave it in his hands.

However, if that door didn't open soon, someone was going to be sorry --

And the door opened. Medtech Ret stepped out, saw her, and gave a quick nod.

"Sorry, sorry. We got into a discussion about styles of ski equipment, and I just lost track of time. Krisin suggested I get out here before Tana tracked down a fighter and shot her way in."

"Ski equipment," Tana replied.

"Don't attack him," Krisin said from inside the room. "Let's try not to make enemies of every human we meet."

Ret stepped out of the way and let Tana go into the room. Lisel followed. Krisin didn't look bad at all, except for a medpad over his side.

"The Captain is on her way," Lisel warned. "And she's not happy."

"For some reason, she thinks this is all our fault. Like we make trouble everywhere we go."

"Oh stop, stop -- don't make me laugh --"

He had a hand to his side and kept baring his teeth, obviously an attempt not to laugh too hard. Tana would have thought it funnier if Captain Dundas was not on her way.

Tana suspected Ret had given drugs to Krisin.  Maybe she should ask for some and hope to survive the Captain's arrival.

Lisel paced. Tana wanted to as well, but her leg hurt a bit now, and besides, she didn't mind sitting with Krisin right now. He slept. She had never seen him relaxed before. Was that a purr?

Tana smiled. He couldn't see --

And something blew up -- something big -- and far too close. The room shuddered. Krisin woke and leaped from the bed and nearly knocked her down. Then he grunted and went to his knees.

Medtech Ret rushed into the room. "Yeah, that was close and big ... and I fear I know what blew up. That would be the old medunit before this one was built last month. They're trying for you people. Fools."

"Someone is going to point out they missed the new location," Tana said. She helped Krisin back to his feet. "What do we do?"

"Out the back door. The rest of you get out of here. No, go, go. Keep away from any of the zealots. Put on your coats and act like panicked tourists."

"The panicked part will be easy," the woman who had treated Tana said.

And then they were quickly gone.

"Let's go," Ret said. He looked at Krisin and said nothing, but Tana could see he was worried.   Lisel moved up to help the Catchin when he needed it, and Tana moved to the other side. Ret led the way to a spot behind some equipment and storage cabinets. Tana didn't see the door until Ret opened it.

"Take coats and hats," he said, pushing open a closet. Just do it. You'll look more like locals. Yes, even you, Krisin."

None of them argued. Tana could hear people yelling in that cold hell beyond the door, though none of them seemed too close. If they could get away from the building --

She pulled on coat and hat. Ret did the same, and he took a cautious step out. Tana followed, still wishing she had a laser pistol. She pulled out her pocket comp.

"Captain, don't try to contact us. More trouble. We're on the move, and Krisin is on his feet. I strongly suggest you don't come here."

She not only shut down but also shut off the pocket comp entirely.

They were on their own now.

Flash Fiction #490 -- Earth Bound (Catchin)/3

 

Tana screamed so loudly she scared the man with the gun as she leapt forward.  She couldn't reach that weapon, so she threw herself over Krisin.

Krisin grunted.  "Honest to God, Tana -- I was doing fine until you sucker punched me in the kidney."

"Quiet.  I'm saving your life."

It was Lisel, in fact, who was doing something worthwhile.  He had jogged up around the trees and come up behind the man, who started to turn but got distracted by the snowballs Tom lobbed at him.

Lisel tackled the man and put him down.

The gun went off, and Tana felt a brush of fire along her left leg, but they had the fool and his weapon in hand.

"Will you get off me now, so I don't look like a discarded rug thrown out in the snow?"

Tana scrambled off as Krisin started to sit up.  She could see more blood in the snow, and an ugly wound on his lower right side, and her leg bled a bit as well.  Neither of them was happy.

A short, round man with a shock of white hair, no coat, slippers, and a backpack in hand, raced out of the veil of snow.  Tana rushed to her feet and would have leapt and attacked, but the poor man yelped and fell backward into the snow.

"Medtech!" he gasped and held up his pack with the requisite bright red cross in place.  "Told me someone was shot."

"That would be me," Krisin said with a slight gasp as he moved.  "Is that a problem?"

"Only if your friend here doesn't get out of the way."

Tana backed off and moved over with Lisel, though she still didn't trust the man.  However, he did seem competent and kind.

"Damn stupid people with their historical weapons," the medtech grumbled.  "We need to get you to the hotel and my unit there so I can dig it out."

"Dig what out?" Krisin asked and sounded worried for the first time.

"Bullet.  Small caliber, so it shouldn't be too difficult, but you don't want it moving around in there.  Besides, they don't worry about spreading infection --"

"Oh."  Krisin started to get to his feet.  Tana and Lisel both rushed to help him.  He swayed.  "Damn."

"Careful.  I've got a patch to stop the bleeding, but it won't hold for long."

"I'll keep watch for more trouble," Tom promised and sounded apologetic.  "I have people checking the woods around us.  Let's just get inside as soon as we can."

Tana had the feeling that he didn't trust all of his own people.  Tana wasn't sure if she trusted him.  After all, he'd not kept an eye on Sally, even though he must have known about her attitude.

And what about the medtech?  She wanted someone from the ship to take care of Krisin -- not that she trusted them all that well, but because they took her seriously if she threatened them.

"Stop growling, Tana," Krisin said and put a hand to his side.  "You'll scare them off faster than I will."

Krisin did not sound steady.  Tana looked up to see his eyes fluttering --

"Lisel!" she warned.

Somehow they kept him from falling.  The medtech called for a stretcher, and Tom called in a few people to carry and others to protect them.

Tana almost complained that he should have done this from the start, but she soon realized how difficult it was to carry someone -- let alone a rather large Catchin -- in this icy terrain.  They somehow kept from dropping him in the snow, though a couple of the men did fall.

There were shots and shouts behind them as they reached the impressive front door to the building.  Tana would have stopped to study the intricately carved surface and colored glass, but a window to the right exploded from a gunshot.  They all rushed inside and away from the openings.  People inside ran in all directions, shouting and wailing.  Tana wondered how they ever survived.

The medtech ignored the others, though a few noted the Catchin on the stretcher, and some even made sounds of dislike and distrust.

They didn't know how lucky they were that she didn't have a weapon.  Or even a big stick.  

The medtech pushed a palm lock on the wall, and a door opened to a short hall. They were quickly inside, and the door closed, with no one else getting in with them.  The sudden silence startled her.

"Idiots.  They're all idiots," the medtech grumbled.  "Why am I still here?  I hate snow!"

They turned a corner and stepped into a large, very modern medunit.  Tana was surprised to see two assistants ready to help out. In a moment, they had Krisin off into a side room, and the door closed.

"Let me look at your leg," a woman said and waved Tana toward a bed.  "Don't argue.  It will help you pass some of the time."

She still would have argued, but Lisel picked her up and put her on the bed before she could protest.

"Don't do that!"

Lisel pushed her back when she started to stand.  The medtech went straight to work, mumbling apologies whenever Tana winced.  She wanted to curse, but it wasn't about her leg.  What was taking so long with Krisin?  She wanted to get up and pace or go to that closed door and pound on it.

"That should do," the woman said.  She patted Tana on the shoulder. "And don't worry.  Medtech Ret does excellent work.  You would be surprised at the kinds of problems that show up.  He's not even the first shooting victim.  Idiots with toys who don't even consider the damage they could do."

"Krisin is a Catchin."

"We did notice," she said.  Then she patted Tana's arm again.  "Relax."

That wasn't going to happen, and not just because of Krisin.  Her pocketcomp beeped, and she pulled it out with a grimace.  "Captain Dundas.  This won't be good."

Flash Fiction #489 -- Earth Bound (Catchin)/2

 Something exploded.

Tana, Lisel, and Krisin jumped for the closest cover, a waist-high brick fence to the right.  They landed in a dune of snow, which turned out to be hard on the top and damned cold underneath.

Something else exploded.

"Maybe they just want us to feel at home," Lisel suggested.

Krisin growled some answer.  By then, there was a range of yells and shots, so the three of them just stayed in their not-so-cozy hiding spot and waited for things to calm down ... or at least until they could sort out the good guys from the bad guys.

"I think we were set up," Krisin offered.

"There is a wonderful thought," Tana replied.  She snarled up at the sky as it began to snow, as if someone had just opened a door and shoved the white stuff out.

"I think we should move," Lisel added.  He looked up over the fence and dropped down again.  "There are a lot of angry people heading our way."

"What the hell did we do to them?" Tana demanded.

The voices grew louder and closer.  The three of them scurried away on their knees but left a trail behind that anyone could follow.  The only thing that stopped them from being tracked was that first, the Earthers were clueless, and second, everyone else was doing the same thing and leaving much the same trails.  Tana heard people yelling, but no one seemed to know what was happening.  Something else exploded.  More people fired.

"We changed our location three times today.  How the hell did they even know we were here?" a familiar voice demanded.

"I am sure I don't know," a squeaky and also familiar voice answered.

"Oh hell, Sally.  Tell me you didn't --"

"That I didn't what, Tom? Call some of my friends who are more interested in Earth than any of these outsiders? How dare the Earth Council assume we want to bow down to this group when they should be thanking us for even letting them step on this world."

"You consider this letting them step on the world?" Tom demanded. "And your friends are doing damage to your precious historical buildings out there. You are responsible for this disaster."

"I didn't set those bombs are fire those lasers!"

"You just invited the people here who did so. That makes you responsible. They never would have found us up here in Aspen. I don't know why I thought you would behave politely for once. I should have known something was going on. You are going to be up on charges for this one, Sally."

"They wouldn't dare."

"Why not?"

"They just wouldn't. Why can't these people just go back to where they came from and leave Earth to those of us who were born here."

"Actually," Krisin said as he stood in all his furry glory, "I was born here on earth."

Sally shrieked as though Krisin had attacked her. By then, Tana and Lisel had stood as well, and Tana wanted to go over and slap the stupid woman.  When another bomb went off,  she decided getting clear of this area might be a better idea.

"I apologize for this mess," Tom said with a shake of his head and a glance at where people were yelling again. "Let's get up to the building. At least there's some shelter out of the storm there, and it sounds as though they've fought the lunatics back out of the area."

It did sound as though the battle moved farther away. Tana was happy with the idea of getting in out of the snow.

"They were spying on us!" Sally accused.

"Us and about 20 other people," Lisel said with a wave of his arm out toward snow around them.

Several piles of snow started to move as people stood all around them. Tana was grateful to see all the glares directed at Sally.

In fact, two people in the uniform of what must be the local police service marched straight over to Sally, cuffed her, and dragged the woman away before she could do more than sputter. Before long, however, they could hear her squeaky little voice complaining all the way to wherever it was they took her. Tom watched the retreat with a growing smile, and he even turned that smile on them.

"Again, I apologize for this mess. We had rumors that something was going to happen, so we changed location several times."

"Why didn't you just cancel?" Lisel asked.

"You were already in the system in your huge spaceship, and it seemed kind of rude at that point to say no sorry we changed our mind," Tom answered.  He shook his head.  "Despite how annoying Sally has been in the past, I really never expected her to do something like this. I wasn't surprised she was so rude, but for her to call in terrorists… that was more than I ever expected."

They were heading up toward a lovely wooden building that seemed to have gone untouched in the rest of this madness. Tana hoped they could get some food soon. She could still hear shouts. The snow fell in a heavy veil across the scene when she looked back. Even Sally's voice and faded into the background noise.

Maybe this wouldn't be so bad. It would be warmer in the building, and they left most of those stupid reporters back in Denver hours ago. The little bit of trouble probably didn't bother her as much as it should. Tana supposed that she had just spent too much time in battle.

Someone stepped out from behind a tree to the right. Tana reached for a gun that she didn't have and started to curse, but it was Krisin who shoved Tana, Lisel, and Tom down into the snow.

"Traitor!" The man yelled and fired his weapon.

Krisin gasped and fell. Blood splattered the snow, and he didn't move.

Flash Fiction #488 -- Earth Bound (Catchin)/1

 "The Earthers want to see you," the Captain said when the three had barely entered her office. Tana shook her head, Lisel took a step back as though to escape, and Krisin growled.  "Stop that, all three of you.  We are going to Earth, and you will not argue with me.  I have not been back to Earth in twenty years.  We are going.  You are going to stand in front of the council without shaking your head, backing away, or growling."

"What do they want with us?" Lisel asked and still looked likely to run.

"They think the three of you deserve recognition for what you've done."

"Done?" Tana asked with a frown.

"You have done more to keep the war at bay than any other fighter group.

"Couldn't they recognize us at a distance?" Krisin asked.

"We are going."

She waved them out of her office.

"I would have preferred a were fleet," Tana admitted as they walked away.

Krisin and Lisel nodded in agreement.  "How far out are we?"

"Twenty-two days and some hours," Krisin replied.  He brushed a hand through his mane-like hair.  "Maybe we'll get lucky and have a major were uprising before then."
They were not lucky.

When they were told it would be a bit cool where they headed, Tana had dressed in a single suit, well insulated, and Lisel wore the same, so he could adjust the temperature.  Krisin, for some reason, had gone Catchin on them and wore a vest and pants.  No shoes, no hat, no gloves. Tana wasn't used to seeing so much fur and claws.

A few people had looked shocked as they boarded the shuttle at the station.  Tana tried not to glare or sulk but ended up doing a lot of both.  And she panicked.  They were coming far closer to the time and the place when they would have to face ... whatever waited for them.

"I want to go fight were," she mumbled as they landed.

Lisel and Krisin nodded.

Telling them it would be 'a bit cool' was probably one of those jokes they played on off-world visitors. They came down into a snowstorm when they landed at Port Denver.  The cold gave Tana an instant headache, and the blaring instruments of the band didn't help. Lisel, who had talked about sunny beaches and ocean waves, looked dismayed.  Krisin's fur puffed out to nearly twice its regular length.  Tana feared he might start hissing.

Officials met them along with a whole line of reporters. Everyone spoke at once as they pressed forward, and Tana didn't think those people took Krisin seriously enough. One impertinent woman even reached out and brushed a hand over the fur on his arm as though testing it for a coat.  Krisin's lips pulled back in what was not a grin -- not with those sharp teeth.

She got the idea and backed away in haste.

Tana said a few words now and then as they were herded into a long, black ground car of some ancient make that coughed when it started and slid slightly on the slick road as it began to move.

Tana didn't like the car, the road, or the fact she was not the one piloting.  She also didn't like the three people sitting on a couch in from of them, man, woman, man -- all with predatory stares and wearing nice, heavy coats.

"Well, I do hope you like the snow," the woman in the middle said.  She had a squeaky voice that automatically made Tana want to throttle her.  "We're heading up a historic road in a historic car to one of the most historic mountain towns in the area."

If that annoying voice said 'historic' one more time, Tana planned to leap the distance and take her down.  Lisel put a hand on her shoulder.  He knew her too well.

Damned Earther mentality that thought bouncing in a falling apart car on a stretch of narrow road with increasingly steep drop-offs was some kind of honor. She wouldn't show her worry or distaste.  She leaned back and stared across at the three.  The man on the right shifted twice.  No fighter there, but he recognized a threat posture.

He cleared his throat and moved again.  "So, how do you like Mother Earth?"

At least he had a better voice.

"It looked lovely coming in," Krisin replied.

They all three started as though they had not expected the Catchin to talk ... or maybe didn't know that he could.  That started to bring on a rage that was going to boil up out of Tana --

Lisel's fingers dug into her shoulder.

"The Rockies are a beautiful range, despite being so young," Krisin continued.  He leaned back.  "And yes, I do like snow."

They didn't ask any more questions.  The last man did point out a couple spots and managed not to use the word 'historic' hardly at all. The woman glared as though we had somehow tricked her.
 
They reached Aspen hours later.  Once the Earthers shut up, the ride wasn't too bad.  Tana would have preferred it in an aircar or her fighter, but the historic part started to take her attention. Other people drove up and down the road, too, even in the falling snow.  She imagined the wind currents were unstable with so many ups and downs. She almost asked if that was why they didn't use aircars here, but they might take that as an attack against their historic car.
The city was spread out over the valley and mountainside, and people were racing down mountains on boards of all sorts.  It looked insane.  And fun.

There was a word she hadn't used in a long time.  She had to admit that the long ride up the mountain had been pretty enough.

None of them had expected assassins and terrorists.

"Earth for Earthers Only!"

Flash Fiction #487 --Lost Treasure (Drabble)

 The scientists had agreed that humans could survive on the unnamed planet. They sent the chosen colonists who found a pretty but strange world.  It was habitable but also hostile.

Others followed them despite the danger.  The humans brought their belongings, their plants, their animals ... their bacteria.  No matter how hard they tried, what they were could never be thoroughly cleansed.  

The bacteria found a whole new world to explore.  They spread out, they mutated ... they destroyed everything in their path, except for what had come with the humans.

The colonists lost a jewel, but they gained a new home.

Flash Fiction #486 -- Cyber Rats/5

 The six people running the port had been locked up and without supplies.  They were delighted to be released.  Alyn got their statements, made official seals on the recordings, and boxed them for Fisher.

Time to go... though they did pause long enough to send Smarl and Dyna on their last journey to the system's star.  A few of the enemy went as well,  with two of their own to see them off.  Then they went back to their rooms.

If Admiral Fisher had not been their official commander, Diamond would have just handed the prototype engine and the would-be pirates off to the first IWC ship they found.  However, they were her unique project, Cyber-Rats and all.

Instead, they tracked her down through half a dozen Inner Worlds and finally made port with her on Tempest.  The world lived up to its name. A significant storm system moved in, making them the last ship down until it passed.  It wasn't safe to leave the ship for more than twenty hours.  Everyone spent time on the control deck, marveling at the stupidity of people who lived on a world with this kind of weather.

Diamond finally went to bed.  Less than an hour later, Alyna woke him with a comm buzz.

"What?" he demanded

"Fisher is on her way," she said.

"Of course she is.  I'll be down in the bay."

"I'll join you."

"Thank --" the line went dead, "you."

He rinsed his face, brushed down his hair, and was out in the hall by the time Alyna came down from the control deck.

"Has the storm eased up?" he asked.

"Not that we noticed," she replied.  "Fisher can't like this weather, can she?"

"I have given up trying to decide what the Admiral likes or dislikes.  Though the honey was nice if we could have just kept the bees contained.  I'm still working on that one."

Alyna glanced at her comm.  "She's just putting down.  I can't believe anyone could fly an aircar in this weather.  Why do I get the feeling that there is something important going on?"

Diamond grunted agreement as they hurried to the bay's small airlock that was already cycling, reminding Diamond that she did command the Sunfire and could get in and out on her own.  He straightened up, and they both saluted when she entered with her usual aide, Lindsy.  Admiral Fisher waved off the salutes, a sure sign of trouble.

"We don't have time for. . ."  Her voice trailed off, and she blinked before she focused back on him.  "We need. . ."

"Tell me that's not..." Lindsy began and then shook his head and walked past them.

He went straight to the prototype engine.  Fisher followed her aide, and they both looked it over in silence for a couple minutes.

"How the hell did you end up with what I was about to send you out to find?" Fisher demanded.

So they explained.  By the time they were done, Lindsy was calling in the Port Guard to pick up their pirate guests and help move the prototype to a better location.

"I am sorry about Smarl and Dyna.  However, this certainly saves a lot of hair-pulling," Fisher admitted.  "I guess I'll just pick up the rats --"

"No way in hell!" Alyna exclaimed, surprising both of them.  Then she lifted her hand in apology.  "Sorry, Admiral.  Captain."

"It's alright," Diamond said with a pat on her shoulder.    He turned to the Admiral.  "No way in hell, Admiral Fisher, ma'am."

"You are not going to give Mik and Min back."

"No."

She blinked.  "What if I ordered --" Fisher stopped at the look on their faces.  "Well.  Huh.  I guess we'll call this one a success.  I would like to see them."

Diamond gave a quick nod to Alyna and hoped it didn't betray his worry.  He and Fisher talked about the prisoners.  They were taken off first with furious glares at him and the prototype.

Alyn, not Alyna, brought back Mik and Min, both sitting on his shoulders and wearing their uniforms.   They both looked worried when they saw Fisher and the Port Guards and IWC Whites, who were preparing to move the engine.

"Uniforms," Fisher said.  "They have little rat uniforms."

"Of course," Alyn said with a bright smile.  "We wanted them to feel like they belonged."

Fisher looked at Diamond.  Min chose that moment to jump to his shoulder and snuggle down into his arms.

"Well, okay then.  We're doing an extended Rat Experiment," Fisher said.  "You do realize that these are expensive animals, right?"

"One does not buy and sell friends," Alyn replied -- and sounded remarkably like Alyna just then.  Mik and Min were a good influence on them.

Fisher nodded.  "Right.  I'll have a new assignment for you soon.  Good work."

Fisher looked somewhat stunned as she and Lindsy left.  That was an excellent role reversal.

"Problem, Captain?" Alyna asked.

"I've finally noticed that people will argue with logical, calm Alyna, but they tend to just agree quickly with Alyn rather than get drawn into his version of the universe."

Alyna smiled.  Or maybe Alyn.  "Yes, we've noticed."

Maybe it didn't matter which one.

"Let's book the first chance to get off-world.  I'm sure Fisher will have something for us before this storm clears.  I don't think we're going to hire a new crew yet.  We'll do fine."

"Yes, we will.  Shall I go start a meal?"

"Alyn?  No.  Get Alyna on it.  I want my taste buds to survive."

"You need to live dangerously, Captain."

"I just went up against Fisher to keep the Rats.  I think that's enough for one day."

Min gave him a kiss on the chin.

Retra and Kyle supervised the IWC Whites as they took out the prototype.  Diamond hoped to find out what exactly they'd saved at some point, but today they were happy just to have the ship back to themselves.

The End

Flash Fiction # 485 -- Cyber Rats/4

 Diamond looked at the rats for a long moment.  They couldn't be that smart.  Really, just couldn't --

"How?" he finally said.

"Chit implant that passes pictures straight to the brain." That was Alyna.  "We'd been training them in associations already.  Also, the distinction between good and bad.  I worried that someone might try to grab them.  So we are 'good,' and others are 'bad,' and they should keep away from them.   When I asked where the bad people were ... well, it worked better than I hoped."

"And the battle bots?" Diamond asked.

"Even easier.  Alyn gave orders to disassemble the primary controls and hide the parts.  Alyn and the Rats have been playing hiding games ever since they came aboard."

Diamond nodded.  He nibbled a cookie and looked at Alyna again.  She shrugged.  "They must like us to bring their favorite cookies to share."

He did not get a warm spot in his heart just then.  Really.

It was not going to be easy to take out all seven invaders without others being warned.  Even if communications went down, the ship was not so large that yells wouldn't draw attention.  Diamond was also aware of his aching shoulder.  They needed something to give them an edge.

The others were already spreading out and would get off the Starfire if things went bad.  Alyna stuck with Diamond, though.  They were heading for the controls, but he stopped her at the first curve.

"Does Alyn still have those night goggles? Diamond asked.

Alyna gave him the brightest smile he'd ever seen from her.  "At last, something he's bought that might be useful.  Well, besides all the stuff for Mik and Min.  Wait here."

Alyna hurried off before he could protest.  Standing around didn't sound wise, so he opened the closest door -- Dyna's room as it happened.  He had purposely not thought much about her or Smarl.  He did not look at the walls with pictures or the bed that had not been made.  It did not help.  He stood next to the door and listened until someone arrived and paused.

Alyna -- she'd dropped Alyn's flashy jacket off --  looked annoyed until she glanced past him to the room.  Her face changed.

"I have the goggles," she said and held them out.

"You should wear them," Diamond said and touched his shoulder.  He'd been doing his best to ignore the pain.  "If they try to get away, disable them.  If they try to kill us, do what you have to.  I assume Mik and Min are already at work?"

"Any moment now.  I sent warnings to the others."

This was why he liked Alyna.  She thought of those pesky little details.  The ship went dark in the next breath.  In fact, everything went silent, too,  as the ship went entirely dead.

Then the little guys switched the ship from planet gravity to zero gravity.

People screamed.  Diamond cursed and grabbed at the wall, hoping for a handhold.  Alyna sighed.

"I must not have made that plain enough.  You know,  I think they've panicked," Alyna said from somewhere ahead of me.

They weren't the only ones.  At least Diamond could hear Alyna and knew she had the goggles.  They were getting closer to the others, who didn't sound any less panicked.

"There's some alien creature in here!" a man shouted, his voice probably three octaves higher than it should have been.  "Something small with fur!  Get out of the way!  I'll kill it!"

"You fire blindly, and you'll kill us!" the woman in charge snarled.  "Just -- something bit me!"

People began firing.  In the odd flashes of light, Diamond could see Alyna near the opening to the crew's lounge.  Mic and Min were heading straight for the exit, moving as though they were creatures born to zero gravity.  Alyna had her weapon up and ready, but Diamond had the feeling they would not need it.  The others were shooting each other while Mic and Min swam through the door and grabbed hold of Diamond.  He held them tight.  

Alyna took his arm, and they backed away.  One of the Rats jumped to her shoulder and held on.  The other stayed nestled up against my chest.  Min, he thought.

"Good work, guys," Diamond told them.

Min gave me a kiss on the chin.

Within an hour, it was over, and the Cyber rats had reset in ship gravity back to normal and turned on the lights and in-ship systems.  The loss of Smarl and Dyna became obvious now as they locked up the group in the now-empty rooms -- Alyn cleared them out, and the rats made sure the doors could not be opened except by Alyn or Diamond.  It was odd because he suspected even Alyna wouldn't have been able to do it.  He might have to take lessons from the rats.

The crew met up in the lounge.  They looked caught between elation and disbelief.  The rats were handing out treats.  They knew who liked which kind, too.  That was just bizarre. But Diamond took an oatmeal cookie with a nod of thanks.

"What do we do with them?" Diamond finally asked.

"We keep them!" Alyn said indignantly.  "We know they can be trained, and --"

"The people we have locked up, Alyn.  Not the crew.  But just so you know -- yes, we keep them."

He'd made Alyn very happy.  Mik and Min, too, from the looks of things.  Hell, the entire crew, including him, looked brighter for the news.

"If you mean the humans, we keep them locked up and take them back to Fisher, along with whatever they dragged into the ship," Alyna said.

"Prototype engine of some sort," Quince said.  "I'll look it over while we track down Fisher.  No, I won't take any of it apart, but scans should tell us a few things."

"Good.  Get to that.  I don't want to head off-world if the thing is too dangerous to transport.  We better check on the people running the port."

Flash Fiction # 484 -- Cyber Rats /3

 Diamond wanted to come up with some ingenious plan to save them all.  If he fired the engines, they might make it back to orbit.  Or the sudden change in direction and velocity might tear them apart.

If this was as bad as he imagined, they might be stuck here for a long time.  This was not the most popular planet.  Supplies?  He didn't imagine there would be any left behind --

Ten seconds.  Diamond had no ideas.

They put down on the pad in a near-perfect landing.  Amazing what the brain could do without interference from the mind.

Everyone was quiet.

Make some decisions.

"Any comm?" he asked.

"Nothing.  Picking up some internal signals at the outpost.  It all looks good there.  Maybe when the ship crashed... something happened, and they lost communications."

"Maybe," Diamond agreed.  He stood.  The others did as well.  "Alyna should have the lasers out by now.  I don't know what is going to happen, people.  Be careful."

Dyna and Alyna had the weapons.  They handed them out.  Diamond wanted to say important things again -- but he just sighed.

"They're at the airlock," Retra warned.  She had her pocketcomp in hand.  "Waiting.  Do we test their patience?"

"Let them in," Diamond decided.  "Quince, Breta, Kyle -- find some cover."

No one argued.  Diamond himself went to open the airlock.  For a brief moment, he thought they were fine.

"I suppose you IWC types don't have much choice but charge in, do you?" a woman asked as she stepped forward.  "Fools.  Are you Captain Diamond?"

"Yes."

"Good."  She brought up her own laser and shot him through the shoulder.

It was a deliberate shot and not meant to kill him, but the others were shouting and firing before he went down.

Distraction.

"Hold!" he shouted, and his own people obeyed, though they didn't stand there and wait to be shot.

By then, it was too late anyway.  Two fully armored bots surged through the doorway and began taking down anyone who was not already fallen or dead.  Smarl and Dyna didn't survive.  Quince had a burn on his leg, and Diamond had a shot in the arm.

Their unwanted visitors had kept behind the bots and came through fine.  The bots caught Alyn -- not Alyna, which surprised Diamond.

"Now that I have your attention," the woman said with a snarky smile that would have annoyed Diamond even if she'd been an ally.  "Let's talk about getting off this ice ball.  Who is your pilot?"

"That would be me," Diamond said and gasped at a movement of his arm.

"Oops."

He was not amused.

She had him treated in the medunit and then locked in Kyle's small cabin with the rest of his crew.  They'd removed weapons, comms, and pocketcomps, of course.  They hadn't treated Quince's leg, but Diamond shared his own supplies.

The loss of Smarl and Dyna became more real now.  Alyn was here, not Alyna -- that took Diamond by surprise.  Alyna was the take-charge personality of the two, and for her to step back while carefree Alyn took control --

Only they didn't look carefree at the moment.

"They want the ship.  They don't have a pilot," Diamond said.  "We have room to negotiate."

The others nodded.  No one spoke much.  They got comfortable as they could, and they waited.  Every few hours, they traded off the bed.

"They're bringing in something down in the bay," Retra finally announced.  Her words startled them all.  She stood by the door and listened with nods sometimes.  "Something big.  From the time frame, I'd guess it came from their other ship.  Probably difficult to transport it here in this weather."

"They didn't drag us out to help," Quince added.  "I am trying to believe that means we'll survive."

"They need me as a pilot," Diamond reminded them.  "And that makes the rest of you hostages to my good behavior.  They're the crew from the other ship.  They might not need more than me -- but I can make it plain that if anything happens to you, I'll pilot us into a black hole."

He meant it, too.  He hoped they were listening.

Then they went quiet again.  Diamond slept on the floor and snarled at them to leave him alone when they tried to give him the bed.  Sleep was all he wanted.

And food, but he realized that wasn't going to happen.  No one else mentioned it, either.  He looked at the computer desk and considered tearing it out --it was how they monitored the group, and he could see them on the screen --

And then the screen blipped.  No more than an eye blink, and Diamond started toward it.  Only on the screen, he didn't move.

"Everyone mark where you are right now," Diamond ordered.  "Someone just put our feed on a loup."

"That would be Mik and Min," Alyn said with a bright smile.  He held up a pocketcomp.

"Where the hell did you get that?" Retra demanded.

"This is my room," Kyle reminded them.  "And they didn't look very well.  I get the feeling they're new at this pirating stuff.  I was standing by the bed and slipped it from the table to under the pillow."

"And I keyed into Mik and Min's private frequency.  They opened some lines for me, and I looped the video," Alyn added.

"Well done!"  He gave a startled glance at the air vent when it popped open.  Retra caught it before it fell.

Mik and Min leapt to the bed and rushed to Alyn.  They dragged two large pouches with them, and Alyn began handing out the laser pistols -- and the cookies.

Well, that made things better.

Alyn -- or more likely Alyna, despite the clothes, synced the five pocketcomps.  The first thing he saw was a map with dots.

"That's where everyone was about half an hour ago," Alyn said.  "Looks like there are seven of them --"

"Plus the battle bots," Breta added.

"Mik and Min took care of them." *

Flash Fiction #483 -- Cyber Rats/2

 

Captain Diamond found a pile of small and large boxes inside the bay.  They did not look like any kind of standard shipment.

He spotted Alyn all but bouncing as he came down the lift.

"Captain!"

"I assume these are yours?" he said with a wave at the boxes.  "Have you checked weight allowance --"

"They're not mine.  Well, not technically.  Sort of."

Diamond had a feeling he knew where this was going.  "Not Alyna's either, right?"

"Oh no," he said with a shake of his head, curls bouncing.  "She never buys much for herself.  The woman has no taste in clothing and accessories --"

"Alyn, tell me they're not --"

"Stuff for Mik and Min," he said with an energetic nod and began to wave at the boxes.  "A proper place for them to stay, special food and treats, uniforms --"

"Uniforms."  Diamond thought his head might explode.

"They're darling.  And don't worry, I made sure all of it can fit in the cabin with Alyna and me."

"Oh, I'm sure that's going to go over well.  Alyna is going to have a few things to say."

Alyn grinned.  "She wasn't happy about it until I pointed out she'd have more of a chance to keep an eye on them."

Diamond supposed he should be happy for paranoid alter-egos.  Besides, at least he didn't have to look after them.

Two days later, they launched and headed back out into IWC territory.  As much as he enjoyed visiting Earth, there was always a feeling of relief to get away from some of the rabid Earth Only people.

He didn't see the rats for the first few days.  They did fix the glitchy door on level 2.  Smarl and Retra took them down to the engine room, but Diamond only learned that afterward.  His heart probably missed a beat, but Smarl and Retra were ecstatic in their praise of the creatures.  He just nodded numbly and wondered why he'd failed to ask Fisher how long they'd have the rodents.

The following week, Diamond did see Mik and Min in the lounge working on a wonky screen.  The little uniforms were adorable.

He did not tell Alyn that, though.  In fact, he'd only seen Alyna for the last few days.  She didn't look as annoyed as he had expected.

Best not to mention any of it.

By the time they were out to the Pegasus Fringe, Mik and Min were familiar sights in the corridors.  They liked to sit on the bench in the control deck and watch as they came off of slide.  Retra made them special harnesses to keep them safe from any sudden shifts in direction or of gravity.

The crew didn't take as good of care of him.

The Pegasus Fringe was light on colonies, especially since the one major world, Summer, had started into its centuries-long winter.  That was less than a decade ago, and it already looked like a giant ball of ice.

Mik and Min chattered with an unhappy set of squeaks.

"Yeah," Diamond agreed.  "But the lone outpost pays well for deliveries, and we won't be sticking around for long."

And when the hell did he start talking to the rats?

Dyna smirked.  Alyna did not look at him, but he could imagine her face.  Lucky for all of them that the landing beacon kicked on and took their attention.

Diamond was sure he didn't hear anyone snicker.  He went to work on the coordinates, watching the white world coming closer.  He'd never liked the snow, and an entire world of it didn't appeal to him.  The others were intent on their own jobs now, and he did the work he loved.  Landing on a new world always pleased him.

Though maybe not this one so much.  Diamond read the wind speeds and then the temperature.  If he hadn't already committed, he would have pulled out and waited for better weather, like in a few centuries.

"This looks ... unfriendly," Kyle said from his post at communications.  "And I'm not picking up anything but the beacon so far."

"I can't imagine they sit around waiting for guests to arrive," Alyna suggested, but she sounded uncertain.

"We're almost below the cloud cover," Kyle reported.  He made constant corrections to interior gravity and atmosphere.  "Not that it's going to help much.  It is snowing."

Snowing was not what Diamond imagined it to be.  This was a wall of white, a wind from hell, and temperatures that made him shiver without feeling them.

"Something wrong," Kyle said.

And that sent another chill through him.  "What do you see?"

"There is a ship about two kilometers outside the port.  Down on its side and only showing a small residual power source.  I don't know what brought it down -- but there ought to be at least a distress signal from it."

"Damn."  Diamond made a quick check.  "I can't pull out.  Besides, they might need us."

"We need to be ready for trouble," Alyna warned.

"Yes."

She knew what that meant and left the control deck, despite the danger from sudden moves.  Diamond glanced back as she reached the opening --

"Hold on.  Get Mik and Min out of here.  Into the ventilation shafts would be best.  Box up their stuff and make it look like a shipment for somewhere else.  Dyna, help her."

"Yes, sir," they both said, grabbed the rats, and hurried away.

At least those two were going to be out of sight and safe.  If there was a problem at the outpost, he didn't want the little guys drawing attention.  He imagined shooting them would be the first answer.

Diamond feared it might be the same for the crew, though.  There would be no easy way to hide any of them.

"If it's trouble -- scatter.  Get clear of the ship If you can.  That's the only reason they'd be silent.  They want the ship."

"I do not want to be stuck here," Kyle said.

"Not my favorite spot, either."

But they were almost down.

Flash Ficttion #482 -- Cyber Rats/1

 Captain Diamond did not want to take the set of Cyber-Rats on his ship.  He considered trying to stare Admiral Fisher down, but as soon as her eyebrow began to rise, he gave it up.

"Cyber-Rats.  Yes, ma'am," he said with a sigh he couldn't entirely hide.

"They are well-trained and personable," she insisted.

"They're rats."

"Mik and Min."

"Rat's not mice."

"Not many people get that reference," she said with a nod of approval.

He sighed.  There was no way to win this one.  "When do I pick the rodents up?"

"They're already on your ship."

He sighed.  Fisher waved him away.

The walk back to his ship should have been a pleasure.  The Inner Worlds Council's new non-military post on Earth was quite a feat of engineering and diplomacy.  This was only his second trip to Earth and the first time at the famed Paris Port.  The site lived up to its hype, too.  The museum-quality art along the walkways amazed him, even today.  The colors were bright, beautiful -- and earthy in the way the colonists could not quite capture without special lighting effects and imported paints.

The Sunfire looked lovely on the pad, too.  She was less than two years old and a Wander-class Scout ship.  So far, she was the only one of her type, though six of the larger vessels -- like Admiral Fisher's Farhome, were in orbit.

As he neared the ship, Diamond braced himself for what was bound to be an exciting conversation with the other members of his crew.  At least they all knew Admiral Fisher's eccentricities.  She had, at least, given up on the idea of raising bees in ships.

Though the honey had been lovely.

The airlock door into the bay was open.  Diamond was not surprised to find Alyna standing inside waiting for him.  When he'd gone to answer the Admiral's call, it had been Alyn in a flashy blue jacket, black pants, red boots, and hair in curls.  Now they were Alyna in a severe black single suit and boots to match.  Her hair was pulled into a tight bun.

"We have a gift from Fisher," she said with a wave toward a crate.

"I know.  Call the crew together for a meeting in ten minutes up in the lounge.  Then you can all go on leave for twenty-four hours."

"I'll stay --"

"Alyn wants to see the city.  Do you really want to live with that for the next few years?"

Alyna scowled.  "Here's the info that came with them."

She handed over a chit and marched away.  Diamond sighed and pulled out his pocket comp and looked the crate over.  It wasn't an enormous container, and there were vents on two sides and a wire door on the front with a lock on the outside.  He could see things moving inside, but at least they were quiet.  Diamond also thought there was an odd twinkling of tiny lights.

The instructions were simple enough.  Food, water, nesting sites.  Free run of the ship.

That wasn't going to happen.

Rats.  Diamond was carrying rats up to the lounge. He hefted the crate, heard a couple squeals of surprise, and refused to look inside.

The others had already gathered.  Alyna was Alyn again with his flashy clothes and bright smile.  That did not make him any easier to deal with than Alyna.

"I assume you all have the news."

Quince, Breta, Smarl, Alyn, Retra, Kyle, and Dyna all nodded in unison.  Diamond put the case on the table.  Retra tried to look in through a side vent, but the others kept back.  Even Alyn, though Diamond suspected more than a bit of interest there.

"Admiral Fisher, bless her eccentric little heart, has gifted us with another of her experiments," Diamond continued.  "We are to let them do whatever work they seem to think needs done.  This strikes me as rather ... haphazard.  We'll let them out when someone is there to watch over them.  I do not want the rats running loose on the ship and getting into who knows what."

No disagreements there.

"Can you let them out so we can have a look at them?" Breta asked.

"Yes, I suppose so."  Diamond reached toward the door and the lock.

A tiny paw reached out, manipulated the lock, and the door popped open.

"Well, okay then," Diamond said.  "I guess they won't stay in the crate."

The two came out with glitter of diodes and LEDs.  A row of them ran from between the eyes to the back of the neck.  More circled the tails, and it looked as though they had chips in their ears.  They pretty much glowed and glittered.

At least they weren't as large as Diamond had feared, but he still had no idea what to do with them.

"Trained for light maintenance and repair," Quince said, reading over the chit.  In-ship systems were his area of work.  "Hey, maybe they can figure out that glitch on the level two storage door."

Diamond didn't want the rats touching anything, but he suspected that it was not going to be his choice, much like keeping them locked in their cage.

The two little creatures made a high-pitched chittering noise.  Diamond swore it was a laugh of glee.  It didn't help.

"Go off on shore leave while you can," Diamond said with a wave of his hand.  "There is no telling what Fisher might decide for us next."

"You go, too, Captain," Quince said as he stood.  "No, really.  You know I'm allergic to most earth plants.  I'll stay with the Cybers and give them a few tests.  Go, go."

So Diamond gave out the passes Admiral Fisher had sent to them earlier.  He should have known they were part of a bribe.

He went out and spent a few hours out in the city enjoying himself.  All the while, though, he had the feeling of impending rat-based doom.

Flash Fiction #481 -- Return to the Far Stars Saloon

 These characters appeared in Far Stars (#156)

They'd had an unusual run of quiet for the last four days.  Cara mistrusted it, and that made her mistrust every stranger she saw.  She was even starting to give Shane odd glances, as though they had not worked together for months now.

"You are making me nervous, Cara."

She sighed and looked away, hiding her smile.  While being a Port Guard had not been her first choice in a career, it had gotten her off Pleasant (the world did not live up to its name)  and gave her something exciting to do.  Except for some days --

Shouts rose down the street.

"Finally," she said and started that way ahead of Shane.  "I thought with the five ships in today, we ought to have some --"

Shane tackled her and dragged her off to the side of the street, up against the closest building.  She had already seen why and didn't fight.

A howdone stalked its way down the road.  The thing was huge and grey, covered in uneven thick scales that even lasers had trouble penetrating unless the howdone stood still.  The legs were more vulnerable, but there were ten.  She'd only seen the creatures in videos and found herself shocked at how large it was.  This one moved at a sedate walk for a howdone.  It could run faster than any human.

You did not draw their attention.

But a crowd of fools was gathering behind it and yelling.  And someone shot at it --

Shane lost his temper before Cara did.  She'd never seen him lose his temper before, but he gave a shout of anger and rushed out into the street just as the howdone began to turn back on the others.

The creature turned on him instead.

Cara yelled, and it wasn't polite, and it wasn't about the howdone, either.  Then she charged out to join her idiot partner.

It occurred to her that they might be able to confuse it.  Howdones moved by some sense other than sight.  Some scientists said the beasts had sensors in their feet.

With that bit of 'maybe' information, she turned her attention to shooting the thing's legs -- and then the smaller feet if it lifted a wounded leg.

Shane looked at her for two shots and then got the idea.  Good.  Cara wasn't sure anyone else in the world had read that report.

And the fools were still coming on.  One belligerent woman with a laser pistol in hand came close enough to wave the weapon at Cara.

"This was our kill.  You Port Guards don't get --"

"Watch out!" Shane shouted.  "She's going to shoot you!"

Cara thought that statement a little ambiguous since she had pointed her own weapon at the woman just out of frustration.  The woman did have a laser of her own, though.  Shane might have thought the fool was going to shoot her.

Take no chances.  Cara shot the woman in the foot, too.

"Fine," Shane said.  "You get her out of the way."

The woman was easier to handle since she was in shock.  But Cara knew they didn't have much time.  The minute these off-world fools began to shoot at the howdone, everyone would be in trouble.

The ground already began to tremble.  Even the rest of the drunken fools took note.

"Get to cover!" Shane shouted.  "Go!"

They listened to him this time.  In fact, they disappeared faster than Cara expected, and they hadn't taken the woman with them.

The first howdone was down.  Shane managed to get close enough to shoot through the vulnerable edge of a plate beneath the head and fired upward.  It collapsed.

Then he came to help Cara, first taking the woman's laser.  They were barely up against a shoe store window when a herd of six howdones charged into town.

Six might not sound like much, but they were like huts on the move.  Just their walking broke glass, and when they saw their downed comrade, the bellowing was enough to wake the dead.

It did get the attention of their companion.

She made a keening noise.  Cara slapped her lightly on the cheek, and she looked at her, eyes wide.  

"Quiet," Cara said, barely loud enough to be heard over the racket.

She clamped her mouth shut and said nothing.  Cara wasn't sure she was ever going to talk again.

"Help on the way," Shane said.  "Listen."

Cara was too busy trying to get a good aim at howdone feet to listen to anything -- but the sound came to them.  Airbikes?

Hunters.

They swept in over the newer, taller buildings and lined up in front of the Far Stars Saloon.  That was where most of the fools had retreated to, and they were not coming farther than the big double doors.

The hunters looked the situation over and talked to each other via hand signals.  Cara could see that they had made a decision.  Not too soon, either.  The howdones were getting louder and more belligerent.

The Hunters were quick, at least.  They flew close over the howdones, drawing their attention.  Then four, in perfect symmetry, circled around, dropped hooks into the dead howdone, and dragged it off through the rest of the creatures and off toward the end of town.

The howdones galloped after them.

And then we had silence.

"Well, that was more fun than I wanted tonight," Shane said.  He looked at his commlink.  "And we're off duty.  The Hunters will be back in about an hour.  Let's go buy them a round."

"We still have one problem," Cara said and nodded to the woman.

"Ah."  He pulled out his commlink and called in a medtech.  Once she arrived, they headed down to the saloon.  Things were tranquil, at least until the Hunters arrived.  Cara watched the group for a while.


She might have found her next job.

And she wasn't surprised to see Shane eying them in the same way.  Well, they did make a good team.

Flash Fiction #480 -- The Glory (Drabble)

 Art work by

JA Marlow

The ancestors found The Glory -- a flower that spanned light-years, glittering with spots of radiant color.  They were drawn to such beauty after their long dark journey.

The glittering colors seen from afar became stars, and each star circled by worlds.

Some grew to love certain worlds.  They adapted to their choices, and later generations forgot their past, burying the truth in myths and legends.

On one glorious day, the extraordinary flower trembled and sent all the star seeds into space, scattered on universal winds. This is why we live with cousins everywhere we travel.

Or so the myths say...

 

(JAM showed this lovely artwork in  chat.  I came up with a little story for it.  This was a fun, new way to write something!)

Flash Fiction # 479 -- Three Kittens (Drabble)

 Three kittens lived in an alley.   One day Peaches disappeared.  Her two brothers looked everywhere, but found no sign of her.

"She likes to wander," Peetie said.  Tiny nodded.  Neither mentioned the dangers or that she might not come back.

Then they heard her meows and rushed toward the sound.  They found her in a screened room at a house.  They cried in dismay.

A human came and picked Peaches up.

"Two more?  Why not?" he said.

He opened the door.

"Come in!" Peaches cried.  "They'll give us food!"

So they came in ... and they all lived happily ever after.

Flash Fiction #478 -- The Storm Breaks/3

 

Con began to sing about companions and safety.  Woven into the words and music were the magical directions of where to go --

The wind blew with cold magic like I'd never felt before.  Con, who had been facing west, turned north and began the same song again.  I hoped he only had to do the cardinal points once.

I scanned the sky when something dark swept down at Conaire.  I moved in front of the bard, slashing with the knife, which cut and drew a hiss of anger but didn't stop the creature.

"Out of the way, Key!" the rock troll ordered.

I dropped to my knees.  Grint swung the blade and cut the thing in half.  It turned to dust and disappeared in the wind.

Conaire never lost a note.

We fought off four more of the beasts before Conair finished two complete cardinal rounds of the song.  He'd used a lot of magic, and I barely caught him before he fell.

Grint grabbed him up, and we hurried away.  My arm hurt.  I didn't remember getting the cut.

We took to the subways as soon as possible.  The feel of that cold wind didn't follow us.

A few fae had already arrived.  Con had recovered and moved to take care of them since Grint made them nervous.  Grint just shook his head and smiled.  No, still didn't work -- but I saw a genuinely amused look on his face when the fae all fled, taking Conaire with them.

Grint chuckled.  Softly.  We headed for the crevice that led into the cavern where the trolls were carefully expanding, making sure they reinforced everywhere.  We had a huge city overhead, and no one wanted it to crash down and kill the humans or us.

I had just turned to Grint when someone grabbed my arm and pulled me around.

I faced someone I hadn't seen since my exile -- Beringer, who had been responsible for me being here.

Before I could say anything, he slugged me with enough magic that I felt my jaw break.  I went down.

Grint grabbed Beringer and tossed him, rather gently, toward another group of fae whom I didn't know.

"You, fool, stay back," Grint ordered.

Beringer didn't argue, but he still glared.  "He's an exile.  He doesn't belong with the rest of us."

I hadn't considered this problem.  I would have to go.  I could still help, but not here.  My jaw, though --

"I don't think that's your say," Con said, coming back to join us.

"Conaire," Beringer said with at least some shock.  "I didn't think you would sink this low."

Con had knelt by me, a gentle touch of his fingers fixing first the jaw and then the cut on my arm.  I saw a look on his face that chilled me when he turned back at Beringer.

"Be careful of what you say, Beringer.  You really don't want me to make a song about you, now do you?"

Beringer went pale.  He backed up a step and then another before he turned and started to press through the group of fae who had gathered.

Conaire helped me to my feet.  I nodded my thanks, but I was still trying to figure out what to do.

"I rather hoped you would turn him into a toad," Grint said and sounded all too serious.

"Not this time," he said.  "Everyone gets one chance.  Though I am tempted to the song anyway.   Ah, Lord Meridith."

I looked up to see the man crossing to us.  Damn.   Beringer's father -- and the man who had exiled me.

I didn't blame him for trusting his son.  Beringer hadn't seemed quite as stupid back then.

"My Lord," I said with a proper bow of my head.

"I do hope you aren't going to do anything to provoke me," Conaire said.

"Or you'll turn me into a toad?" he said, and I heard unexpected humor in the words.  "Or make a song of my dull life?"

"I could make your life less dull, if you like," Conaire offered, also in a better mood.

"I would rather you tell me about Keylis and how he comes to be here with you."

"He saved me from a dangerous situation that I didn't even recognize.  He figured out where most of the rest of us were, up here in Boston.  He's helped us work around the humans and even get food without drawing more attention.  Tonight, he was wounded protecting me as I put out the call. Without his help, we would not be in any hopeful situation now."

Meredith frowned.  "You know there is something dark out there.  Something hunting us, I think."

"I know.  We saw some of them tonight.  I begin to think it is no chance that blew so many of us here."

"I think the same."  He turned to me.  "Keylis."

"Lord Meredith," I replied with another bow of my head.

"I have sometimes acted in haste and out of fear that I might learn something I don't want to know.  I hope I am wiser now."

"Sir," I said with a nod.

He reached out, magic in his hand.  I would be dead before another breath.

"As Lord Meredith, and within my rights, I rescind the exile of Keylis and welcome him back to the clan."

Then he turned and walked away.  I wanted to say something in gratitude, but I had gone back to my knees, gasping.

"Key!" Conaire said, worried.

"Okay, okay.  No toads," I said.  I caught my breath.  "Powers came back.  Surprised me."

Conaire grinned and helped me back up again.  I was unsteady -- but pleased.  I could help now.  Really help.

"Beringer got off too easy," Grint complained as we went to sit down at a stone table.  "Can I at least scare him a bit now and then?"

"I have no complaints," Conaire said.  I even managed a nod.

"Good," Grint said and smiled.

I was kind of getting used to it.

The End

Flash Fiction #477 -- The Storm Breaks/2

 

"Really, Grint," Conaire said, moving up beside me with the Troll only a few steps away.  "The smile still isn't working."

The Troll -- Grint -- gave a dejected sigh, and the teeth disappeared behind his thick, dark lips.

"Damn.  I had hoped I had it this time.  It looks like such a handy cultural tool for dealing with humans."

"I'm not human," I offered.

"Ah, maybe that's the problem."  He looked me over.  "Powerless Fae?  Exile?  But brave.  You would have tried to protect Con --"

"Grint, what are you doing here?" Con said with a touch of tried patience.

"I suspect much the same as you.  Looking for the Veil."

"Ah.   I had hoped you might be here to take me back," Conaire admitted.

"Alas, no.  Are those pretzels?  I've smelled them,  but never --"

I handed mine over to him.  He took dainty bites.  By the time he was done, a half dozen tiny pixies had followed him out of the bushes.

"I'll get more pretzels."

I went and bought a dozen more -- it says something about my diet that the woman only nodded and put them in a box.

But by the time I went back, they were gone.  I stood with the box in my hands, feeling a little touch of magic.  For a few brief minutes, I had felt part of my old life --

"Keylis?"

I turned to find Conaire to my right.  I looked at him, mistrusting.

"We moved to somewhere more secluded and easy to shield," he said with a wave toward the bush.  "It seemed wise before someone spotted Grint and his friends."

"Yes, of course.  Take them."  I held out the box.

"Trust issues," Conaire said with a nod.  He took hold of my arm.  "Come on.  I'll walk you through."

I was going to argue.  I had no place with this group.  I could see that now.   I started to pull away, but Conaire didn't let go, and I was swept through the magic wall.

I passed out the pretzels.  We had a feast.  I sat and listened, still thinking I had nothing to offer -- but they didn't know much about the human world and misjudged some of it.  I provided a few pointers, and before I knew it ... I was one of them.

It turned out the biggest problem was the scattering of a vast number of Faeland creatures across the landscape.  Most of them had, wisely, moved out of populated areas, but they were still enough of them that we were lucky not to have drawn too much attention.  Grint apparently read whatever newspapers he could find and had a few clippings about strange lights and odd people.  I wondered if a tale about Conaire in the bar was going to turn up.

"All of the reports point toward the north and Boston," I offered.

"Do they?" Grint said.  "I had no idea of the direction.  If that is so, it is probably where we should go, right?"

He turned that question on Conaire. The bard was already looking toward the north with a steady gaze.  His hand lifted, and he gave a nod.  I could feel the power gathering around him.

"North," he agreed.  "Some are already hiding in tunnels there, but there are too many of us."

"Subway," I guessed, though that meant nothing to the others.

"If there is rock, I can make more places," Grint said.  "There might even be more rock trolls."

So we went north, and primarily by their magic.  I would have felt useless, but I did have the ability to deal with humans and get us food.

The Boston subway system is enormous.  Several hundred of our people were hiding there already, and two rock trolls had started a small cavern.  Grint went to work with them, and it quickly expanded.  This was good because we found far more in need of shelter than we'd expected, and that was before Con put out a special call for any who could hear the magic.

We'd been out earlier securing food which involved magic, money, and more magic.  We stuck to fresh vegetables, and I paid for them.  Granted, most of the money came from magic, but it would still be useable by humans.  We just had to be careful not to draw too much attention.

Con and I went out near midnight on a blustery, cold night and made our way up to Bellevue Hill, the highest natural point in Boston.  He took out his harp, and I could see his frown.

"There is something dark in the air, Key.  I can sense it, and I worry that my music will draw it to us.  Take my knife.  It is the best protection we might have."

"Except for me," Grint added.

We both jumped, and Grint laughed, a sound like a minor earthquake.  Car alarms went off, but Con silenced them with a wave off his arm.  He'd learned that trick fast.

"What are you doing here?" Con asked, but I had the feeling I knew.

"I don't think he trusts us off by ourselves," I said.

Grint grinned.  It still didn't help.

"Two guards are better than one," Grint said.  The smile disappeared.  "You aren't alone in sensing something dark on the move.  Call our people in, Con, my friend.  You are the only true hope they have."

Con nodded and pulled the harp from the case and braced his legs in a way that told me this was not going to be easy for him.

Grint reached down to a boulder, stuck his fingers into it, and drew out a long, stone sword with a wickedly sharp edge.

I reminded myself to never mess with rock trolls.  Ever.  And I was thrilled he came along to help guard.

Con began to play.  The tune tried to take my attention, but I forced my mind away from it before he began to sing.

A good thing because things immediately began to change.

Flash Fiction #476 -- The Storm Breaks/1

 

The storm had hit at sunset almost two weeks ago, but even so, I still started at every errant breeze.  The storm had come straight out of the faelands, fueled by so much magical power that I drank it up, though I could no longer use it.  For that night and the next few days, I had felt more alive than I had since I was stripped of my powers and exiled to the human lands.

I worked as a bouncer for the dive of a bar below the room I rented.  Tuesday was my night off -- unless a fight broke out and woke me.

That wasn't what happened this time.  I dreamed of home with such clarity that I woke weeping for the first time in the decade I'd been among the humans.

Everything was quiet, even though the sunset colors still painted the window.

I heard the last strains of a harp, so out of place that I sat up, straining to hear --

Fae harp.

I grabbed my clothes, dressed as fast as I could, and abandoned my boots.  I raced down the hall and down the steps.  People were starting to make appreciative noises, no doubt coming out of the spell that the bard had cast.

What was the fool thinking?

The place was crowded with restless people.  They'd heard something odd, but worse than that, the bard had power behind his words.  He'd entranced them, these humans who had never felt or believed in magic.

I found the bard sitting on a highbacked stool by the bar, a harp resting on his lap.  The owner had given him some peanuts.  Yeah, nice guy, Walt.  Even I could tell the bard was weak and probably hadn't had food for a while.  He chewed on the peanuts as though they were as hard as rocks.

No fae bard should be in this state.

I crossed straight to him.  Walt must have seen something in my face because he took a step back.  The bard, though, looked up in surprise, with a hint of hope in his eyes.  He had sensed I was fae as well, but he hadn't realized I had no powers.

He was dressed in fine clothing, the kind you would expect at a fae court -- but not here.  I realized the clothing looked a bit tattered, too.

"Friend Bard," I said with a slight bow of my head, just enough to be polite.  "Will you come with me?  We can find a place more suited to your station."

The bard could hear the sincerity in my voice.  You cannot lie to a bard.  He stood, and Walt reached to stop him.

"Don't do it," I said.

"Fine.  Don't come back."

I nodded.  That took Walt by surprise for some reason.  I took the bard out the front door and indicated a little alcove.  "Please stay here.  I have a few belongings to grab before we go."

He looked at me with a bit of frown this time.  "You aren't lost like I am."

"No.  I'm exiled," I said.  I would have told him the truth even if he wasn't a bard.

"Why?" he asked.

I paused a moment.  Then I shrugged.  "For trusting the wrong person and taking the blame for something they, at the least, should have shared with me.  I'll tell you more details later, Friend Bard.  Please wait."

He nodded in agreement.

I charged up the stairs at the side of the building and down the hall to my room.  I hadn't locked the door, but no one else was around.  I just grabbed everything, including my boots, and threw them into my duffle bag.

I nearly fell coming back down the stairs.  A touch of magic kept me from tumbling, and I came down to find the bard waiting.

"Thank you," I said with a proper bow this time, even though that drew a few stares.

"You didn't expect me to stay and wait for you," he said.

I looked him in the face for the first time.  "I have trust issues."

He sensed the humor behind the words and smiled, though it passed.  He put a hand to the wall, or he might have fallen.

"Let's find some food," I said and stepped away.  "I'm Keylis."

"Keylis," he said with a nod.  "And I'm Conaire."

I almost stopped walking.  People passed by us since the bard -- Conaire -- wasn't moving very fast.

"I know of only one bard named Conaire," I finally dared to say.

"The Queen's Bard, yes -- for all the good it has done me.  I'm lost, friend Keylis.  I can't find a hint of the veil that I was thrown through in the storm.  I wasn't the only one who came here, either -- but where the others went, I can't say.  I've been looking.  I don't understand this world."

"I've been here for years, and I still find it difficult.  Let's get something to eat."

"They want coin, and not good fae coin, either."

"I have plenty of their type of money.  Food will help."

I thought he might argue, but I didn't give him time.  I found my favorite pretzel stand.  The woman running it gave Conaire a curious look, but you see many strange things in the city.

Then I found us a bench in the park, and we ate in companionable silence as if we were old friends.  I was just working my way up to a few questions --

And a colossal rock troll stepped out of the bushes in front of us.

I stood before the creature with the Queen's Bard at my back.  I'd only ever seen one Rock Troll before, and that one at a safe distance of half a mile.  I really didn't think I would survive for long, but it might give Conaire a chance to escape.

The Troll pulled his lips back to show a row of giant, blunt teeth and could grind bone to dust.

Flash Fiction #475 --The War Never Ends (Drabble)

 She hid behind the garden.  The tomato plants grew tall and offered some protection.  The humans had found all the rest of her siblings and killed them.  She was now the last and only had to hold on long enough for the young ones to escape.

The bright summer days passed quickly and soon the young ones began to feel their first yearnings to fly free.  She held them still.  Not long now as she aged, gold to silver.

The wind came and she let go.  The young ones danced away.

The dandelions would return.  The war wasn't over yet.

Flash Fiction #474 -- The Book (Drabble)

 The book knew its worth, though it made sure no one else did.  The few who found it, hidden on a high shelf in a dusty old library, marveled at the ancient parchment pages and the words written in flowing gold letters.

 They could not read it, and the book made certain they lost interest.  It would work its way back to the high shelf and wait.

The book knew what it held: memories, instructions, and even spells.  The hand that wrote those things would be the one to pick it up again.

The time neared.

Arthur would soon return.

Ummm....

 Those three pictures below were meant to go into the Picture of the Day Blog.  I'll just leave them here for now as well.

Coral Fossil (Devonian/ -350 Million Years)

 

A touch of Egypt

 

Reading glasses and notes

 

Flash Fiction #473 -- Monty

Mary cornered Sandy on the playground at recess.  It wasn't as though Sandy didn't like Mary, but her friend had a habit of saying all the wrong things. Today she looked frazzled, and Sandy dreaded to hear about magic and strange creatures.  She didn't need Mary's imagination to feed her problems sleeping.

"Do you still have nightmares?" Mary demanded.

"Of course not.  I'm ten now, not a baby."

Mary stared at her.

"Well, just sometimes," Sandy admitted.

Mary gave a strange and decisive nod.  "I thought so.  We've been tracking things.  I'm going to send you some help tonight.  About ten minutes after you go to bed, your closet will open a bit.  Don't be afraid.  Monty is there to keep watch, and you'll sleep better."

Before Sandy could ask anything, the bell rang, and they went back to class.  She didn't see Mary for the rest of the day.

By the time her mother tucked her in with the inevitable 'sweet dreams,' Sandy had forgotten the strange conversation.

But staying there in the near dark brought it back.  Sandy chided herself for being so gullible, but she turned to watch the closet anyway.

A few minutes later, as her eyes had started to flutter shut, she heard an odd thump and whispered, 'ouch.'  A soft green glow came from under the door, and it began to open.

"Eeek!"

What came out of her closet was a little green guy with a long flat snout, four fingers, two toes, and big blue eyes.

"Oh, I beg your pardon!" the two-foot-tall creature said. Tiny wings fluttered with agitation at his back.  "I thought Mary told you I was going to arrive."

"She ... she did," Sandy replied and pulled her blanket up almost over her head. Her parents had the TV on, so they wouldn't hear. "But Mary says a lot of things.  Most of the time, I just nod.  I don't always believe her."

"Well, yes, I can see where that might happen.  Mary can be so serious, even about the silliest things.  Just yesterday, she told me the lights in the night sky are far away stars, not little pixies watching over the world.  I don't know where she gets these ideas."

"School, I suppose," Sandy offered.

"I'm Monty," he said as he came to the edge of the bed.  "And I do hope you are Sandy, or I've made a horrible mistake."

"I'm Sandy," she said with a bit of a laugh.  She liked Monty.

"Nothing under the bed," he said as he looked there, and for a moment, he sounded like dad.  "Nothing in the closet, either.  I can vouch for that.  It appears the teddy bears are doing an excellent job on the interior of the room."

"They guard here?" she said, looking at the half dozen bears sitting on shelves and the rocking chair.

"Oh yes, very good at the work.  I'd say whatever is giving you nightmares is coming from outside, and my guess would be the window," Monty said.  He climbed up on her desk and stared out.  It had curtains, but she pulled them open at night.  When they were closed, she would hear things and have worse nightmares.  "I'll take up the watch here, and we'll see what happens.  Go to sleep if you can."

And she did, which was unusual enough just on its own.

She woke up later at the familiar sound of something scratching at the window.  The nightmare was back, and she couldn't sit up and protect herself.  She flailed at the blankets --

"There they are," Monty said.  "Stupid Wigglies."

She turned to see Monty on the desk.  He reached out and touched the window.  A glow of green spread over it, and some worm-like things retreated in haste.

"There.  That's better!" Monty said with apparent satisfaction.

"Are they gone?  Will you leave now?  Please, don't go!"

Monty jumped from the desk to the rocking chair and from there to the edge of the bed.  He glowed with just enough green light for Sandy to see him.

"I am not done here," he said with a solemn nod of his head.  "They'll be back, and sometimes they bring other things.  Nothing that I can't handle.  I'll be here as long as you need me."

She reached out and pulled him into a tight hug.  "Thank you."

"My pleasure," he said and sounded genuinely delighted.  He went back to the desk.

Sandy slept through the rest of the night.  In fact, she was still asleep when her mother came in to wake her.  They were both surprised.

Sandy got up and pulled on her robe to go have breakfast.  She crossed to the desk, giving Monty a pat on the head as a thank you.

"Where in the world did that come from?" her mother asked.

"Oh," she said and came up with a quick answer.  She couldn't tell the entire truth.  Sandy had already had to answer too many questions by nice doctors to go through that again.  "Mary gave him to me.  I -- I had him in my backpack and forgot until I did my homework."

"Well, he's an odd little thing."

"He's wonderful," she protested.  "And cute.  I like him."

"Nice that she gave him to you," she said absently.  "Did you sleep well?"

"Better than ever."

So they went to the kitchen, both of them in a good mood.  Once she was at school, Sandy hunted down Mary and quietly thanked her for Monty, who was doing an excellent job already.

Mary smiled, and after that, they were best friends -- even if Mary sometimes said strange things, like stars being pixies.

Sandy sometimes wondered if Mary and Monty might be right.

Sandy slept well after Monty arrived.

And he stayed for a long, long time...