Stellar Stories, Vol.3
She surfaced from the crowd and headed into the Station. Hatcher stifled a cry to call her back, too aware of all the ears around him. When she disappeared into an adjacent module his heart sank and his guilt rose, as if he had loosed something terrible into the house of his fellows.
Despite Lan Apo’s assurance of the Markhurian’s good intentions “in this instance,” we were, after all, bound for a galleon of pirates – and lo those pirates had likely been neutered by some cruel transformation, yet what malicious force had done the transforming?
An expression clamped Virgil’s face, one of adamant seriousness. “Help is for people back on Earth. Waitin’ around for help. Lettin’ their selves be helped. Doin’ nothin’ without help. There’s things out here,” he jerked his head at the unseen Martians, “that’d love me and you to wait for help.”
So I left the knot and am down here. The knotters, since news of my mother’s petition, were uncommuning me anyhow. Rees even said that he’d like to be my Annuller, as the Law would allow him to be, if he needed to be, since our knot is skeins away from humynkind – out of the Quilt – and Rees, as the knot’s Reminder, is our only local official.
The humidity deepened her scent. She kept tugging me from my tightrope. Where is the illcrux, Mildred? That’s all I wanted to ask. I could ask it, she could answer, and we could get on with the tumble.
I still have to get him whole again. Wish I could, but the noomer and the Jars are just not dancing. Gasping a necroslur in sigh has never been done before but, hell, I figured I could do it and, hell, I did do it, it was my hack that got Timon out of the slurry and into the ship – but of course I baked the noomer pretty bad.
Five generations of Becker men had possessed the peculiar weapon. In all the System were only a few thousand of the metamorphic pistols; in all the Cosmos was only one that mattered to Becker. His son, when a son came, would carry that Gneiss, too.
He sharply turned right to see if the man followed. The man did. Worse, Becker saw another man, who had been coming up from behind. The two men were large and fit and misplaced in their suits, as if they’d be happier in loincloths and out slugging rhinos.
Science Fiction & Wonder
The Unshrouded Stars
An astronaut and a lamia make a deal:
She'll stop eating children if he takes her to outer space!
She'll stop eating children if he takes her to outer space!
She surfaced from the crowd and headed into the Station. Hatcher stifled a cry to call her back, too aware of all the ears around him. When she disappeared into an adjacent module his heart sank and his guilt rose, as if he had loosed something terrible into the house of his fellows.
Motive of Man
Hak Iri and his friends are drafted by an aethir pirate for a rescue mission to chaotic Ooranos!
Despite Lan Apo’s assurance of the Markhurian’s good intentions “in this instance,” we were, after all, bound for a galleon of pirates – and lo those pirates had likely been neutered by some cruel transformation, yet what malicious force had done the transforming?
Wayward Scarecrow
Terrans and Martians clash over a runaway robot!
An expression clamped Virgil’s face, one of adamant seriousness. “Help is for people back on Earth. Waitin’ around for help. Lettin’ their selves be helped. Doin’ nothin’ without help. There’s things out here,” he jerked his head at the unseen Martians, “that’d love me and you to wait for help.”
Lament for a Sister
On a mission to expand the Quilt of Humynkind, a Radiotech learns his mother has petitioned for his annulment!
So I left the knot and am down here. The knotters, since news of my mother’s petition, were uncommuning me anyhow. Rees even said that he’d like to be my Annuller, as the Law would allow him to be, if he needed to be, since our knot is skeins away from humynkind – out of the Quilt – and Rees, as the knot’s Reminder, is our only local official.
The Baron of Nevada & His Branded Broads
Loot is loot, occult or not, and he needs the money. But stealing from the Baron means dealing with his Broads!
The humidity deepened her scent. She kept tugging me from my tightrope. Where is the illcrux, Mildred? That’s all I wanted to ask. I could ask it, she could answer, and we could get on with the tumble.
End of the Sigh
A starship flounders when a man extracts his incriminated hero from virtual storage!
I still have to get him whole again. Wish I could, but the noomer and the Jars are just not dancing. Gasping a necroslur in sigh has never been done before but, hell, I figured I could do it and, hell, I did do it, it was my hack that got Timon out of the slurry and into the ship – but of course I baked the noomer pretty bad.
His Own Ends
He won't let the Martians keep his patrimony!
Five generations of Becker men had possessed the peculiar weapon. In all the System were only a few thousand of the metamorphic pistols; in all the Cosmos was only one that mattered to Becker. His son, when a son came, would carry that Gneiss, too.
A Devil's Intuition
He's not a thief. But someone on Mars has decided he is!
He sharply turned right to see if the man followed. The man did. Worse, Becker saw another man, who had been coming up from behind. The two men were large and fit and misplaced in their suits, as if they’d be happier in loincloths and out slugging rhinos.
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