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aion-rsa · 4 years ago

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Space Sweepers and the History of Working Class People In Space

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This week saw the release of Space Sweepers, Korea’s first big budget special effects space movie extravaganza. There are a lot of interesting things to say about this movie, but one of the things that makes it stand out is it’s an excellent portrayal of people in space who are skint.

See, I hate to break it to you, but you’re probably never going into space. Unless you’re a highly trained technical specialist (well done!) or a billionaire (pay your taxes!), your best shot at seeing Earth from space within your lifetime is the development of realistic-yet-cheap VR headsets.

And the thing is, a lot of the time this holds up in sci-fi as well. Space travellers are either living in a post-scarcity utopia, are part of the military, or are some kind of genius scientists.

Even where we see supposedly salt-of-the-Earth relatable types, like Han Solo or Mal Reynolds, their scruffy outfits and roguish ways can’t quite cover for the fact that they own and live in the equivalent of a massive luxury yacht or private plane. Serenity may look like a rust bucket, but it’s far from the equivalent of a white van, and while Mal is constantly complaining about the costs of fuel and repairs, that doesn’t change the fact that he seems to own the ship outright, and in “Oxygen” he appears ready to buy the ship for cash.

As for Han Solo, leaving for a moment his humble origins and that he won the ship in a card game, within the Galaxy Far Far Away the ratio of space travellers to non-space travellers doesn’t seem that different from the one on Earth. Yes, there are lots of smugglers and Tie-fighter pilots and interplanetary bounty hunters, but for every one of them there are millions of Tusken sand raiders, Jawa scrap merchants, moisture farmers and Corellian street rats. Spacecraft might come and go from the spires of Coruscant as regularly as buses, but the population density is such that most people on that planet will be lucky to see sunlight, let alone the stars.

Meanwhile, back in the real world, the chances of an ordinary person getting into space even in the foreseeable future vary between Willy Wonka Golden ticket level lucky, or truly dystopian. On the one hand, Elon Musk has announced the first all-civilian mission to space, led by billionaire Jared Isaacman (so, not what you’d call an everyman), two seats given to people who have won a place by donating to St Jude’s Hospital (it probably won’t be one of the smaller donors), and finally, one lucky front-line health worker.

But Elon Musk wants to colonise Mars, and sadly billionaires still need people to clean the toilets, so Musk has other ideas for how ordinary people might get into space. Unfortunately that idea is indentured slavery, demonstrating that the most prescient science fiction writers of our generation are the writers of first-person shooters.

This is why, outside of post-scarcity-fully-automated-luxury-space-communism, and the military, science fiction is always oddly quiet about money. With a few honourable exceptions.

We Just Work Here

The first and most obvious reason why any ordinary working-class person would end up in space is “they’re paid to”.

Pretty much the codifier of working-class people in space is Alien. The crew of Nostromo aren’t scientists, they’ve not got The Right Stuff. Nobody on that ship is getting a high school named after them. The crew of the Nostromo are basically truck drivers who venture off the highway and run into something nasty. Yes, ironically they show a great deal more competence, professionalism and intelligence in encountering an alien threat than the actual scientists in the prequel movie, but the first conversation these characters have when they come out of hyper sleep is about money. From the outset, these are people in a place of work.

It’s a model that set the format for gritty-industrial-working-class-people in space movies going forward for better or worse. Event Horizon just lifts Alien’s aesthetic completely for the rescue ship Lewis & Clark, as does the videogame series Dead Space, like Alien, set aboard a mining ship.

Away from the horror genre, Outland sees Sean Connery play sheriff in a final frontier mining town that could have taken place in the same world as Alien.

And of course, Red Dwarf, which not only made good use of the Alien aesthetic, but also cast the colony commander from Aliens as their Captain, to tell the story of chicken soup repairmen in space.

Across all of these stories, and of course the aforementioned videogames, the life of the blue collar space traveller is an unpleasant one, exploited by a company that not only controls your life while you work, but also owns all of your food, water and air. Indeed, it’s not rare for them to go further. In Moon, another film where the spacemen-to-earthmen ratio seems not far what it is now, Sam Bell’s employer decides to save the cost of training employees and ferrying them back and forth from Earth to the Moon by taking one employee and filling a cellar full of his pre-programmed, short-lived disposable clones.

Space Sweepers

Public Transport

But maybe you don’t want to work for “the Man”, not an unwise call given the Man is probably trying to feed you to something horrible in the hope of creating a new bioweapon. One surprisingly under-utilised method of getting into space is public transport.

In The Fifth Element, Bruce Willis plays a special-forces-operative-turned-cab-driver who, as part of his cover, wins a ticket to go on a space cruise. Although looking at the sets and the extras in this movie, as well as the packed-in-as-tightly-as-we-can apartments back on Earth, one gets the impression this is not an option open to the majority of working joes.

Perhaps the best example of this is in the shockingly under-loved 2018 flick, Prospect, featuring future Mandalorian Pedro Pascal.

In Prospect, the spaceship is little more than a rotating framework filled with cargo containers in front of a massive engine. The father and daughter prospecting team are on board a lander that resembles nothing so much as an old Apollo Lunar Lander on the inside, and as the mothership approaches their destination the ship doesn’t even stop, it just releases the lander, tells them when the ship is going to be passing back that way and warns them the line is being terminated, so there won’t be another ship passing that way.

This is a model it would be fantastic to see more of. The landing module is small enough that it’s entirely plausible that even these not-very-well-off characters could buy, hire or rent one. Rather than having the freedom of the space ways like Mal or Han, their travel options are entirely restricted by what destinations are profitable for large shipping companies and whether they’ll let you tag along. And while on the surface the aesthetic looks a bit Alien, in truth it feels far more like it’s cobbled together from relics of the actual space age.

Borrow Your Way Into Space

And finally, of course, there’s the Elon Musk solution. Borrow your way into space. One of the early places to use this idea was Gateway, by Frederik Pohl. Frederik Pohl in particular is fantastic at writing science fiction worlds where people actually have to worry about money. In Gateway and its sequels humanity has discovered Ancient Aliens left a space station nearby, stocked with a lot of spaceships. Being alien technology, humans can’t control the ships accurately, they’re limited pretty much to pressing the “Stop” and “Go” buttons, and when the ship flies off it might land on a world of fabulous riches, or it might chuck you into the heart of a star.

Prospectors who want to try their luck in these ships have to take out a loan to get to the station, and throughout the novel the protagonist is constantly aware of how many credits are in his account.

Which brings us back around to Space Sweepers. At first glance the Space Sweepers set-up might seem similar to that of the Millennium Falcon or Serenity – an extremely “used” looking ship run by a rag-tag bunch of misfits. But the first time we see the protagonist, Tae-ho, he’s in a pawn shop. As soon as he gets back to the ship we learn the crew are still paying off the cost of the ship, as well as the costs of repairs and parts.

We see an awful lot of “Space sweepers” throughout the film, junk collectors gathering up salvage from Earth’s orbiting collection of derelict spacecraft and defunct satellites. But these people don’t seem like roguish space pirates, the impression they give is more akin to app-based gig workers.

This is compounded by another issue – that to work in space you need a visa, with citizenship limited to the wealthy few who are able to afford a place on the deluxe orbiting space habitats.

Everything in Space Sweepers is driven by money, whether it’s Tao-Ho’s attempts to raise enough money to find his daughter, the robot, Bubs, and her attempt to get a humanoid body that reflects her gender, and of course, the $2 million reward for “Dorothy” which drives the whole plot.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

Often space-based sci-fi is about the fantasy of freedom, of exploration. Even shows like Star Trek give us characters whose job isn’t much more than to fly around having adventures. But there is rich storytelling to be done about the people who have to clean the space toilets.

Chris Farnell’s novella series, Fermi’s Progress, is about a ship whose FTL drive vaporises planets, and features at least one space traveller who isn’t a scientist, super soldier or billionaire (although to be fair the other three characters are exactly that). You can find part one here.

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brunhiddensmusings · 6 years ago

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random movies/shows i just remembered were a thing

there is no point in any of this other then me being impressed that i remember all of this shit and reflecting on ‘i couldnt make this up if i tried’ a live action tv series of alice in wonderland, it was violently 80s an ‘alf’ cartoon series, that was MORE violently 80s an alice in wonderland cartoon series from the makers of the alf cartoon series which was only moderately 80s neverending story animated series that is somehow underwhelming enough it erases memory of itself a show where james earl jones sits in some kind of negative plane room that has a floor, doors, windows, a chair, and one lamp yet somehow no walls, the windows just kind of hover there. he told stories. how the hell did a show where james earl jones just tells soothing stories fly under everyone's radar? a live action reading comprehension series that featured a kid with magic gloves that rode a stationary bycicle to warp through dimensions that im sure no other human being ever saw so im partially thinking it might have been a hallucination except hallucinations typically have higher production values an animated glowworm movie that was trying to do with the glowworm dolls what MLP the show did for MLP the toys. it contained at least one song i can still remember the tune of 25 years later. there was a moleperson that gave off strong lesbian vibes who was rebelling against her biker vibe moleperson family an animated movie about ‘the lollipop dragon’ that seemed like there was other content on the intellectual property but ive never seen any, taking the form of a car race through whats essentially candyland to prevent liver and onion flavored lollipops being the new official christmas candy to be distributed by santa clause live action series that was only ever on at like 4AM where someone tells fairy tales that are slightly more disturbing then they should be while illustrating them in chalk which is one hell of a trick the animated series ‘mummies alive’ that was trying to basically copy/paste everything they could from the ‘gargoyles’ show but forgot to make it good not to be confused with the ‘tutenstein’ show, which somehow made less sense ‘dink the dinosaur’ a tv series hoping nobody noticed it wasn't actually land before time the animated series a live action series where a modern family was trapped somewhere that was a dinosaur infested jungle so they had to live in a tree house that was only just barely taller then the t-rex that was continually stalking them. the moon had claw marks on it i think? it was basically swiss family robinson but early 90s animated movie ‘the elm chanted forest’ that im more just baffled my parents were able to acquire something that obscure in their pirated vhs collection, i cant think of a possible reason anyone in my family would ever have been in the same room as a copy of this. like damned i havent even seen any of the youtubers that rate obscure bizzare movies even mention this fever dream. the highlight was probably when the talking mushrooms started breakdancing in a impressively racist manner like damned you raised the bar on racist cartoons somehow for about two minutes in an otherwise completely inoffensive movie from i think croatia. seriously its the best part, even better then when the cactus king summons his sapient weapon minions and engages his ferris wheel of doom to kill all the beavers

the animated series ‘superdave’ about a daredevil who gets repeatedly maimed, and repeatedly framed it as though he was a real person in the way jackie chan adventures does the animated series ‘wish kid’ where macully culkin aged 9 is granted basically fairy odd parents style wish abilities from a baseball glove. gilbert godfried its there, constantly, like hes almost there as much as the kid is holy crap i forgot the tazmanian devil got his own show for like five months yall remember when the ps1 first launched? when the game cases were strangely huge for no particular reason because they hadnt adopted the jewel cases yet and there were only like seven games available for the system and none of them even knew how to incorporate memory cards? ‘blazing dragons’ was a point and click adventure game that happened to be one of those seven games, eric idle was one of the people who made the game yet ive never met anyone who remembers playing the game or even hearing anything about it. yeah, this game had an animated series.... it was surprisingly witty in a were not even trying to make sense way that was purposefully avoiding explaining its world live action series ‘zoobalie zoo’ where people in the worst fursuits known to man just kind of exist in an almost entirely empty set where a handfull of circus cage wagons that i assume were their homes were the only structures outside of like two cardboard bushes why the hell was ‘mighty max’ not a cultural icon the way invader zim was, that show rocked so hard ‘the robonic stooges’ where the 3 stooges are robots jhon candy had an animated series where he played himself as a camp counselor. it.... kinda worked almost, blending the generic 80s camp movie ‘bad land developer’ formula with self aware complaints. it only stank a little the animated ‘happy days’ spinoff where they have a time traveling spaceship

not to be confused with the one where the partridge family lives in the year 3000, or when casper the ghost lives in space.... im beginning to see a trend here ‘starship troopers’ the CG series where surprisingly nobody ever died an animated series about a green rabbit on a spaceship that i only recently learned also was not a fever dream from when i was 8. all images i see of it only convince me more that im still hallucinating its existance i cant rmember the name of it but a live action series about aliens living on earth, all the adults have actual costumes to disguise themselves as humans but the baby, who is apperantly the ruler of the universe, is a disturbing pink puppet. also they have magic powers instead of technology and the theme song was ‘wishing on a star’. memories of this show still occasionally haunt me but it was still better then charles in charge just on novelty value there was a ‘jhonny quest’ reboot that aged him up and incorporated CG for a kind of cyberspace setting for the sole purpose they had a villian that was a quadrapallegic but could do things in the cyberspace setting, yet really nobody should have cared because the cyberspace setting wasnt connected to any real world imput devices so he was just the main boss of his own videogame why are you picking on this man. they were foggy on if haji actually had magic powers or just really hardcore yoga skills, and one fanatical zealot villian who basically escaped from the place they keep the well written batman antagonists you remember the ‘the way things work’ book? it had illustrations on every concept of physics and mechanical processes that used mammoths to explain everything from the screw to the lever to sewing machines to integrated circuits. yeah, it had an animated tv series .....somehow not to be confused with ‘cro’, an animated series about a mammoth that was frozen, thawed in the late 80s, was able to talk, and was a framing device for his stories of a weirdly sexily drawn caveman teen that invented all technology

it was basically ‘the croods’ but better and 30 years earlier a live action series based on ‘harry and the hendersons’.... im surprised they could create enough material for one full episode like seriously where do you go from there? its surprisingly hard to think of a story for ‘were a modern 80s family who has bigfoot as a roomate’ an animated series where a basketball player, baseball player, and hockey player are secretly superheroes. there was also a hardcore badass old lady who did most of the work. wayne gretszky was the one nobody respected the pocket dragons had a show. yes, a show based on collectable porcelain figurines that were marketed for their cute value on home shopping network CG series ‘vanpires’, yes it was about sapient cars that were vampires and actual live children who turned into cars that were vampires. that is all oh yeah, there was a back to the future animated series, i thought i repressed that better speaking of repressed memories, i cannot escape the knowledge that ‘super duper sumos’ and ‘mega babies’ existed, booze cannot erase this knowledge

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atinydroid · 6 years ago

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WIP questions tag time!

rules: answer some questions and tag some people

got tagged by my babs: @sleepy-and-anxious and @carrotgirl-1

Together We Make A Constellation

1: Describe the plot in one sentence

Victoria, estranged from Earth, returns to rescue princess Altheae, her former best friend, from someone who wants to take over the planet. But it’s been 7 years since she saw Altheae and nothing is or will be the same.

(I did 2 sentences cause even elevator pitches get more than one sentence and you’re not my real dad)

2: Pick one sight, smell, sound, feel, and taste to describe the aesthetic for your WIP.

Sight: bright white fluorescent light reflected off a glass window looking out into space

Smell: old motor oil that you’re sure has been up your nose for the last week

Sound: the dull murmur of a group of people going about their own business

Feel: cool metal that warms up as you touch it

Taste: dust that coats your tongue as it’s kicked up by a heavy wind

3: Which 3+ songs would make a playlist for your novel? (i’m gonna pull from my actual WIP playlist cause i’m that bitch)

Running in the Night - FM-84

Sunset - The Midnight

Tell Me How - Paramore

4: What’s the time period and location in which your novel takes place?

Takes place in 40XX (the XX is cause idk the exact year yet) so like 2,000+ years in the future and location is multiple places including but not limited to Earth, a pirate spaceship, an asteroid field, a planet called Geranium

5: Are there any former titles you’ve considered but discarded?

Originally it was called Your Gravity but i decided i wanted to make that the act title instead. so i brainstormed and decided Together We Make A Constellation was good although I might take off the “together” if i’m being honest

6: What’s the first line of your novel?

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

idk i haven’t edited the 1st draft yet and the current first line is incorrect and bad so i don’t wanna share it :P

7: What’s a line of dialogue you’re particularly proud of?

hmm it’s a tie between

“Oh, you haven’t heard?” Theo didn’t move. “I’m the queen now.”

“If you tell me to hold on one more time I’m going to glue you to the outside of the ship.”

8: Which line from the novel most represents it as a whole?

Ellion talking to Victoria: “Repo told me about your incredibly stupid plan and how you’re on Geranium, which you know we can’t get to quickly, and now you’re not even on the boat?”

9: Who are your character(s) face claims?

the only face claim i have is for adult (late 20′s/early 30′s) Victoria and that’s Danai Gurira

10: Sort your characters into Hogwarts houses.

Victoria: Griffindor

Altheae: Ravenclaw

Ellion: Slytherin

Repo: Hufflepuff

11: Which character’s name do you like the most?

uhh probably Ellion cause its the one i didn’t (couldn’t) come up with lol

but I like Altheae a lot too

12: Describe each character’s daily outfit

Victoria: coveralls tied off at the waist with a white tank top that has grease stains with loose fitted boots and dreads tied back

Altheae: black leggings, loose white (or other colored) tank top or short sleeved shirt, light fitted boots, longsword strapped to hip

Ellion: classy, lots of black and gold, billowy pirate coats with tails cause he’s that bitch

Repo: naked cause robot body does not require silly things like clothes

13: Do any characters have any distinctive birthmarks/scars?

Victoria: various scars and burns from being an engineer on a spaceship (and then a major scar later in the book)

Altheae: minor scars from sword practice

Ellion: minor scars but usually fur/scales cover it, has a few notches in his ears and a scar coming off his left eye

Repo: covered in scratches (which for a robot are kind of like scars) and the occasional burn mark but mostly covered in “tattoos” which are just etchings that various people have given them

14: Which character most fits a character trope?

Ellion is that suave pirate captain and Repo is the sarcastic robot friend

(aka idk if those are real character tropes but i feel like i’ve seen them quite often)

15: Which character is the best writer? Worst?

Ellion is the best because when he was trying to impress his high-class future husband he pretended to be high-class so he learned how to write real good

Repo. listen. they’re a sentient robot that finally has autonomy and doesn’t get hand cramps. they can go on tangents forever

16: Which character is the best liar? Worst?

Altheae. she learned how to lie convincingly lie really quickly as a young ruling princess

Repo. they’re a robot and don’t really see the point in lying

17: Which character swears the most? Least?

Victoria. if Ellion didn’t smack her every time she swore she’d swear much much more often. (followed closely by Altheae)

Ellion. used to swear a TON when he was younger but as he got older he found the delightful thing of crafting sentences that make it sound like he said “fuck you” but in an overly polite way.

18: Which character has the best writing? Worst?

Ellion - see question 15

Victoria. sometimes even Repo has a hard time deciphering her chicken scratch

20: Which character would you most like to be?

Repo. gimme that robot body BABY also they’re like wicked smart

oh boy who to tag that hasn’t already been tagged by my friends uhhhh @yuutfa @chaos-reign @jaycewriteslikealot (i know we don’t really talk but idk i figured you’d enjoy doing this if you want)

you don’t gotta do it if you don’t want to my dudes! ✌️ 💖

#writeblr #writblr #twmc #the dino writes #writing #writing wip

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diamondsandlemons · 7 years ago

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tell us about your ocs!

well ok, since you asked!

This is Geoluhread. She’s the “main character” of Star Story, which is a story that doesn’t exist yet because I’ve never drawn or written it anywhere (…yet). She’s a kid who likes having new experiences, and is excited about exploring space. She’s a fan of books (both reading and writing), but that’s mostly because she grew up in a boring place with little else to stimulate her imagination. She’s exhibited some signs of magic powers, but no one knows how they work, least of all her.She tends to get herself into dangerous situations, but somehow she always gets away unharmed.(don’t ask her about the stuff she’s written, she’s embarrassed about them)

This is Malary (apparently I never posted this image on my art blog? weird). She’s a half-octopus type of alien. She’s tough and no-nonsense. She’s protective of Geoluhread because she was partially responsible for taking her away from home. She won’t admit that she actually likes hanging out with/going on adventures with Elise and Geoluhread.

This is Elise. She’s a freelance overqualified scientist & a lesbian. She prefers cold weather, which is why her outfit is a combo lab coat & parka. She also likes dumb jokes and havng fun, which is what motivates most of her decisions. This can cause some problems (especially from Malary’s point of view) because she’s the one who owns the spaceship, and the only one who knows how to drive it.(She also has a weird feud with the ship’s AI)

This is Hecate. She’s a witch, and Star Story’s recurring villain. No one knows what species she is (not that anyone really cares that much about that in space society) because she’s always wearing so many clothes you can’t see her actual body at all. She wants Geoluhread on her side because she can sense great power withing her, and isn’t above resorting to kidnapping to get what she wants.

plus some minor characters:

Medli is a cyborg pirate captain with a team of robot space pirates under her command.

this character dosn’t have a name yet, but she’s a robo doctor who will literally stop at nothing to make sure you follow her health advice.

a couple of Elise’s ex-girlfriends

This… I don’t know exactly who this is, I wonder what she could get up to…?

youtube

#my OCs #long post #Anonymous

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readcommendations · 7 years ago

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Hi readers, bookworms, and robots!

This actually happened a few days back, but I’ve been so busy with space things I rudely forgot to update my page. Shame, shame, shame on me!

As you might recall, back in 2017 I was a part of the amazing PEW PEW anthology series. A set of amazing, hilarious space adventures that I couldn’t believe my little stories had the honor of being presented with. Out of the three novellas I submitted, two of them followed the adventures of Miss Planet Earth: awakened thousands of years in the future with her visa long since expired, our poor Katra has to find her way back to a home that no longer exists – with Space Pirates in tow.

When the rights reverted back to me this spring, I secretly started putting together pocket paperbacks of Katra’s adventures. And now, after weeks of waiting for the approval… they’re online! Well, Miss Planet Earth I is in paperback, Miss Planet Earth II (The Amulet of Beb-Sha-Na) is still just an ebook. But in any case, they’re now available for your viewing pleasure!

Miss Planet Earth is avilable here in ebook and pocket paperback, Miss Planet Earth and the Amulet of Beb-Sha-Na is available here in just ebook format (for now!)

Check out the very first chapter to see if it’s your cup of tea!

A pageant queen out of time. A secretive assassin in the wrong body. Space pirates and demented droids. It’s been a long day.

Katra Zorento won the title of Miss Universe only days before first contact was made. Armed with only her charm and her golden bikini, she was sent to compete on the real stage, against the rest of the Milky Way – only to overshoot the arrival by 13,000 years.

Now, with her visa expired and no one on her side, she must make the arduous trip back to the planet that once was Earth… That is, of course, if dashing space pirates don’t get in the way. And to make matters worse, her fiancé’s brain might be trapped inside her head. Katra’s only allies are a mysterious assassin trapped in a 9 year old’s body and a ‘service’ droid with memory issues. But if she survives this, she could win the most valuable crown in the universe…

Chapter 1: In which mistakes were made, and visas revoked

Katra Zorento woke up to find she had overslept the pageant by 13,000 years. Her fingers were still frosty as she sat at the desk, trying to warm them in the soft fabric of her leggings. To her left was the open casket she had been pried from: her cryogenic sleeping pod, packed with her makeup bag, her red ball gown and a bikini. There was also the large golden disk she had brought from Earth, a replica of the one from the Voyager probe, a gift for the Council of Twelve. Every member of which was now dead. The council itself abolished 4,812 years ago, after an incident with a gas cloud which proved once and for all that diplomatic missions and fire breathing dragons do not mix. At least not on a spaceship. All this Katra gleaned from the overstuffed office she found herself in. Posters covered the walls, telling the history of this weird planet through snippets of Public Service Announcements. The Council’s abolition was a stark reminder not to travel through nebulas in the first place. They tried the gas – and ended civilization. Don’t gas and drive. The entire floor space was taken up by her pod, two chairs, and a desk, so Katra had to tuck her legs under her seat since there was no room to put them down. Across from her sat what appeared to be a formless blob of gelatin, which wobbled back and forth on its hovering chair, as if waiting for her to speak. Every once and a while, a paper on its desk would ruffle, though how it was moving Katra had no idea. “You understand your visa has long since expired, yes?” the blob said. The voice was loud, and somehow directly in Katra’s mind, which made her spine tingle. She had never met a telepathic alien before, nor any kind of alien, so the entire experience was a little unnerving, to say the least. “Yes, but, what happened?” she asked, trying to keep her still thawing limbs from trembling. “I was supposed to meet Chancellor Forbin and…” “As I explained earlier,” said the blob’s voice, somehow conveying a sigh through its haughty mightier-than-thou airy voice. “Chancellor Forbin has been dead for over thirteen millennia.” “But the trip was only supposed to take fifty years,” Katra protested, “and where is Marcus?” “Marcus?” “Yes, my bodyguard, Marcus. We were put in cryo-sleep together.” “Ah, the male.” The blob mentally ruffled the pages on the desk. “I thought they explained after they woke you? And your visit to a dislocation officer didn’t make it clear to you?” “I’m not quite sure what a dislocation officer is, exactly.” Katra looked down at her lap and tried to avoid eye contact. Not that there were any eyes to latch onto, but gazing in the blob’s general direction made her mind swim uncomfortably. “You’ve been sent to see a dislocation officer – me – because your traveling companion’s mind was too damaged by the time spent in the cryo-sleep.” “Marcus is dead?” Katra couldn’t help but glare at the blob in complete shock. Marcus. Dead. He was – no, had been – more than just her bodyguard and constant companion. The two of them had been engaged to be married upon their triumphant return to Earth. And now he was dead. And was there even an Earth to return to? She wanted desperately to ask all those questions, and more. But she was face to face with a sentient slice of Jell-O and not quite sure how to proceed. Her heart shook with silent, terrified grief. “His body passed away not long after your departure from the planet formerly known as Earth,” said the blob, “though… how much do you know about dislocation?” “Absolutely nothing.” “Ah.” The blob seemed to hesitate. “Did the officer who put you in the chamber explain the process employed to preserve your body during the cryogenic session?” “Vaguely,” Katra replied. It might have been thousands of years ago in history, but for her it was less than an hour ago that the strange man with gray skin had hastily sputtered some space jargon before sealing her and Marcus into the pods. That in turn was only minutes before she woke up in a strange orange room, surrounded by giant lizard-men trying to spray her down with a hose. “So you know the consciousness is downloaded to a quantum cell, in case the physical mind is damaged in transit.” Katra’s heart leapt. “So Marcus’s mind is still alive?” “Yes, and no,” the blob almost seemed embarrassed at this. It was hard to tell, what with the lack of facial expressions. Or any face to speak of, for that matter. “Due to a malfunction that must have occurred during the incident that destroyed the male’s physical mind, his upload was compiled with yours. So when you awoke…” “Shut. Up!” Katra could almost shout with glee. “He’s alive? In my head?” “Yes,” the cloud said, perplexed, “you do not find this perturbing?” “We were to get married!” she sputtered, “this is even better! Two minds, one body. For as long as we both shall live, in sickness and in health. This is better than marriage!” The blob swiftly tossed a stack of papers into the trash. Katra’s excitement faded. She had probably just lost a massive bargaining chip with her outburst. Marcus? Are you in there? I need you. I’m making a mess. Nothing. “You sure he’s in here?” she asked. The news alone was enough to bring heat back to her chest, drawing out the ice forever. “Safe and sound?” “Yes, the download was definitely complete,” the blob said proudly, “your mate’s consciousness is safely in your head. But he may not present himself at first: he must carve a space in your gray matter. Humans have gray matter, correct?” Katra nodded, though not entirely sure. It was the future, after all; maybe modern humans had done away with the stuff entirely at this point. “Once the consciousness emerges, he may try to take control of his new host body. We apologize for any inconvenience this brings you.” “What is inconvenient is me being here in the first place,” said Katra, her spark finally returning. Maybe it was the news that Marcus was safe and hers alone; maybe it was the heat creeping back into her extremities. Either way, she was majorly pissed. She crossed her arms over her chest and propped her extremely long legs on the blob’s desk. The blob said nothing. Katra wondered how it even saw what she was doing. “How come I wasn’t woken up in time for the pageant?” she spat, “the engineers calculated everything perfectly. A fifty-year trip, not a minute longer. What happened?” “Well, this is closer to ancient history for us, now,” said the blob, “you understand, a year after your departure for Earth, faster than light travel was invented.” “So?” “The council decided they didn’t want to wait another forty-nine years for you to arrive at the pageant when they could have everyone show up the next day. So Earth sent someone else.” “Who?” Katra slammed her hands on the table, making the Jell-O wobble. Which was an odd sight to see. It wobbled to one side and then back, like someone had poked it with a stick. “Don’t tell me it was that bitch, Riley. Miss Australia? She had no place as my runner up.” “Then you’ll be happy to know that Miss Earth – formerly Miss Australia, according to my notes – was eaten and digested by Miss Ma’jarkeen. Which is why the pageant was canceled and hasn’t been held since.” “So our ship got there and you… what? Put us in a warehouse and forgot to revive us for thousands of years?” “I’m sorry, not my department,” said the mound of gelatin, “I’ve already outstepped by pulling up so much information from this case. To make things short: we’re sorry for the inconvenience, and we’re sending you home right away.” “To Earth?” “It used to be called Earth, yes.” “What is it now?” “Super-freaky funland dark-side death-zone powered by MnM.” “You call that my home?” Katra sputtered. She would have stood up, indignant, but there was no space for her to do so in the tiny office. “What the fudge is super-strange dark world death thingy?” “Super-freaky funland dark-side death-zone powered by MnM.” “That can’t be Earth!” “Well, I’m sorry, but things change, child,” said the blob. “Your home planet had to make ends meet somehow. Becoming an escape room theme park was the logical choice.” “An escape room… theme park?” Katra felt as if the ice around her heart had gone right back to being frozen, as cold as the popsicle she had been inside the pod. She wished her eyes could shoot literal daggers across the room, but even if they did, she doubted they would hit the gelatin or harm it in any way. “Yes, and quite a nice one,” said the blob. “I brought my hovel-mates there a few cycles ago. Such fun! Much better now than it ever was before.” The pageant queen was fuming now, but she forced herself through the breathing techniques her coach had instilled in her and stayed focused. There was no point lingering on the fact that her home was gone, or the fact that everyone she ever knew or loved was now dead. Except maybe Marcus, her one love, her rock, who was living quite silently in her head. “I want to go home,” she murmured, under her breath. “Do not worry, we’re sending you back, all expenses paid.” “It’s not my home anymore.” “Well, I’m sorry, but according to your passport, it is.” The cloud made the little green booklet drift up before Katra’s eyes. “And your visa expired quite some time ago. So we have to send you back. You understand, of course.” “Of course,” said Katra, keeping that pageant calmness. “Do I get some kind of compensation, at least?”

Miss Planet Earth hits Amazon shelves! Hi readers, bookworms, and robots! This actually happened a few days back, but I've been so busy with space things I rudely forgot to update my page.

#excerpt #miss planet earth #mpe #new release #novella #s.e. anderson

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imjustthemechanic · 7 years ago

Text

The French Mistake

Part 1/? - A Visitor Part 2/? - The Kulturhistorisk Museum Heist Part 3/? - Cutscene Part 4/? - The Marvel Cinematic Universe Part 5/? - Breathless Part 6/? - Escape at Last Part 7/? - Fox in Socks Part 8/? - Things Go Wrong Part 9/? - Downey and Out Part 10/? - Road Trip Part 11/? - Temptation Part 12/? - An Awful Reunion Part 13/? - Unreality Intrudes Part 14/? - A Call for Help Part 15/? - Loki’s Guests Part 16/? - Stan Lee Cameo Part 17/? - Reassessment Part 18/? - Midnight Invasion Part 19/? - Elevator Fight Part 20/? - Courage Part 21/? - Unwelcome Back Part 22/? - Darkest Hour Part 23/? - They Are Here Part 24/? - The Jet Propulsion Laboratory Part 25/? - Word of God Part 26/? - Avengers Assembled Part 27/? - The Houston Underground Part 28/? - Houston has a Problem Part 29/? - Onward and Upward Part 30/? - The Chi’Tauri Queen Part 31/? - Through the Wormhole Part 32/? - Prisoners Part 33/? - Arm’s Length Part 34/? - A Moment’s Respite Part 35/? - Ravagers to the Rescue Part 36/? - What Happened to Hiddleston Part 37/? - Haven Part 38/? - Steve Has a Terrible Idea Part 39/? - Can’t Be Choosers Part 40/? - Stan Lee Cameo Redux Part 41/? - Shipjacking

Time to get the Leviathan back.

There was one more person whose consent they needed before they went ahead with this. Steve turned to Musa. “I like to give people a choice when I can,” he said – although the Watcher was right, he wasn’t giving one to anybody else. “Do you…”

“I’m coming with you guys,” she said. “I get the idea that’s going to be the safest place to be. And if I can help save the universe while I’m at it, bonus!”

Steve suspected she had no idea what she was getting into, but he decided not to turn her down. They were therefore officially a party of ten as they passed through the broad metal arch into the port area. Upon arrival, of course they found another problem. The crystal captain had let some of his men go on shore leave, but he’d also assigned a group to watch the Leviathan. There were around a dozen of them with weapons in their hands, glaring at anybody who got too close to the two parked vehicles that Steve decided to call ‘dinghies’. The Leviathan was their prize loot, and they weren’t going to let anyone lay a finger on it.

The group ducked behind a row of vending machines – at least one of which was bumping back and forth as if its contents were not happy about their situation – to plan. “Now what?” asked Evans.

Steve glanced out at the guards. They were all large and fairly intimidating specimens of whatever they were. If he’d had a shield to throw, he could have taken a few of them out at a distance, but they definitely weren’t a group he’d have wanted to take on alone, or with inexperienced help. “How about lightning?” he asked, looking at Hemsworth.

“Too showy,” was Nat’s analysis.

“I don’t know if I want to use that on a space station anyway,” Hemsworth agreed. “I don’t want to fry the life support or something.”

Both good points. Steve leaned to peek out from behind the vending machine with the struggling cargo. The Leviathan was in the next docking bay up… and between them and it was the Ravager ship. Only one person appeared to be guarding that one.

He turned back to his companions. “Okay, I think I have another idea,” he said. “This time, it might actually be a good idea.” It was admittedly based on something he’d seen in a movie, and the movie had featured old-fashioned sailing ships instead of spacecraft, but it was something the Ravagers would definitely not be expecting. He told the others what he had in mind, and this time he was pleased to see Natasha smiling.

“Good idea?” he asked hopefully.

“No, still a Steve idea,” she said. “But you’re learning.”

While the rest of them continued to hide behind the vending machines, the Watcher put an arm around Musa’s waist and staggered up to the Leviathan guards as if drunk. “Hey, boyos!” he called out cheerfully. “Yo ho ho and a bottle of Uvan! I got me some booty!” He gave Musa a smack on the bottom.

She squeaked, then laughed. “Oh, you!” she said, pinching the Watcher’s cheek.

“I thought I’d give her a tour,” the Watcher went on, grinning at the Ravagers. “She’s never been inside a Leviathan, have you, dear?”

“Nope!” Musa shook her head.

The Watcher cupped a hand around his mouth as if to say something in secret, but when he spoke it was in a stage-whisper, loud enough for everyone to hear. “She’s never had a Leviathan inside her, either, but she’s about to find out!” He then brayed with laughter, as if this were the funniest joke in the world. Musa joined in, giggling like a madwoman.

The Ravagers were not amused. “We picked you up in the Chi’Tauri brig, didn’t we?” asked the biggest of them, a beige-skinned thing with big curling horns like a ram. “You’re not a member of our crew.”

“You swore me in!” the Watcher whined.

While the guards were thus distracted, Steve and the others ran for the platform under the Ravager ship. The hatch in the bottom was open with the end of the gangplank touching the dock, and a stocky grayish man with no neck was sitting there, reading a magazine with a tentacled creature on the cover. Finding himself surrounded, he reached for his gun, but by the time he touched it Evans had already touched it.

There was only gravity in part of the docking area – below the walkways there was none, and the lower half of the docking area was full of junk just floating around. They pushed the unconscious guard off the platform to join it, and hurried up the gangplank into the ship.

In the cockpit they found another crew member. This one looked rather like a humanoid shrimp, but one leg from the hip and the other from the knee had been replaced with high-tech prosthetics. The creature appeared to be napping when they walked in, but quickly woke up and he, too, reached for a weapon. Hemsworth grabbed him by the face and zapped him, and his robotic parts sparked and smoked as he crumpled to the floor.

They pitched the shrimp-cyborg out the door, and Steve sat down in the pilot’s chair. It was slightly sticky.

“Okay,” he said, looking at the controls and instruments. “I… is there any particular reason we’ve decided that I’m the expert on flying alien spaceships?” he asked his companions.

“You did okay with the Leviathan,” Nat reminded him.

“Loki or I could do it,” Thor said, “but I thought your plan required flying it badly.”

That was true… they wanted the Ravagers to think the ship would be easily re-taken. “All right, then,” said Steve. He inserted a hand into a floating metal circle, and tilted it back, expecting that the ship would go up.

Instead, it went down. The nose bounced off the dock, and two of the vending machines fell over. The one that had been moving broke open, and a number of rust-coloured millipede-like creatures began quickly scrambling away.

It may have not been what Steve intended, but the accident certainly did get attention. The Ravagers stopped arguing with Musa and the Watcher and ran to try to stop him. One jumped onto the gangplank, which Steve hadn’t bothered to retract, while a couple more leaped onto the wings. Steve quickly moved his hand in the opposite direction, and the ship jerked sharply up to bang into some hanging girders. The pirate who’d run up the gangplank fell and was left floating helplessly among the garbage below the docks.

Through the windshield, Steve saw the remaining Ravager guards pulling out communications devices or moving to try to rescue their crewmates who had fallen or were still clinging to the outside of the ship. Musa and the Watcher, meanwhile, boarded a dinghy and got it started, dipping down below the Leviathan to dock.

The controls of the Ravager ship were far more delicate than those of the Leviathan, but Steve managed to guide the former ship over towards the latter in a series of awkward lurches. They were nearly right above it when a large, slimy-looking pirate climbed onto the windshield and banged on it with one fist, before pulling out the largest energy rifle Steve had seen yet and preparing to fire it right through the glass.

“Allow me,” said Thor. He reached over Steve’s shoulder and pushed a button, ejecting the co-pilot’s seat. The window pale blew off and the seat flew out, taking the slimy creature with it.

They were right over the Leviathan now. “Okay!” Steve ordered. “Everybody out!”

He kept the ship in place as best he could while the others climbed out the window and made the precarious drop onto the Leviathan’s heaving back. Evans nearly fell, but Johansson grabbed his hands and pulled him up again. Thor wouldn’t let Loki do it alone, and insisted Hemsworth carry him – Loki protested loudly even as Hemsworth lifted him off his feat and leaped out the window. Thor and Natasha went last, making the jump mere moments before another Ravager threw the cockpit door open.

Steve saw this happen in the reflection on the remaining window glass, and had just enough warning to duck down into the space in front of the seat. The pirate opened fire, and bullets – actual bullets, not energy pulses – shattered the remaining window glass and hit the control panel. Sparks went up. The chair Steve had been sitting in was torn off its base and fell to the side, and the entire ship tilted forward as its control systems failed.

Because he was firing projectiles, the pirate had to stop to re-load. Steve seized that moment to stand up and give the fallen chair a kick. It didn’t go flying like it would have if he’d had his normal strength, but it did go tumbling towards the Ravager, who had to move out of the way. Steve then climbed out the window, only to realize that since the ship was drifting forwards and down, the Leviathan was now behind them. He jumped over the windshield, just barely made it, and began climbing the steeply tilted hull towards the tail.

Halfway there, another pirate appeared in his way. This one was a turtly-looking thing with spotted skin and a great deal of natural armor. It took a swing and Steve rolled out of the way, only to roll right off the side of the ship and have to grab at one of its aerodynamic fins to keep from falling. His legs dangled over the junk-filled space below the docks. When he looked to the right, the cockpit of the Ravager ship was now on fire, and the pirate with the projectile gun was bailing out before it could crash into the wall. When he looked up, the turtle pulled out a very large, multi-pronged sword and prepared to bring it down on Steve’s head.

The only thing he could do was let go.

He only fell about ten feet before he was snatched out of the air by Musa, riding one of the dinghies. “Gotcha!” she said brightly, and angled up, towards the Leviathan. The others were already inside.

“Thanks,” Steve panted.

“No problem,” she said. “Christine says you’re in his body and he wants it back.”

They docked with the Leviathan, and scrambled up the tube into the Leviathan’s sinuous interior. “I got him! I got him!” Musa shouted, as they hurried towards the cockpit.

Steve couldn’t see out, but he could feel the motion as whoever was at the controls turned sharply and headed not for the airlock, but straight for the wall. He climbed the ladder to the cockpit – it was so good to be able to do that without pain! – and was just in time to see people on the floor hurrying towards the exits or activating spacesuits that appeared to be made out of bubble wrap. A moment later, they were no longer visible, and Thor pushed the controls forwards to pick up speed as they hit the wall and crashed right through. The atmosphere rushed out, and immediately froze into an enormous cloud of glittering microscopic ice crystals.

“We made it!” exclaimed Musa, clapping her hands in delight. “That was fun!”

The gravity had vanished the moment they left the station, and everyone was now floating again. Four in the cockpit had been fine, eight was too many, and ten was a crush – ten drifting around in midair instead of standing on the floor seemed downright dangerous. Steve caught a handle on the ceiling and cleared his throat.

“Okay,” he said. “Time for phase two. Essential personnel only.”

“We have a phase two?” asked Johansson.

“I think he means we’re back to following the first plan,” said Natasha. “He’s not very organized.”

“Watcher, you have to stay here to deliver the message,” said Steve. “Everybody else, either out of the cockpit or out of sight, we don’t want to give them any sort of hint that it’s a trick. You too, Musa,” he added.

The actors climbed down out of sight. Natasha hunkered below the control panel and Steve, Loki, and Thor lurked in the tubes so that they could each give signals and cues to the Watcher as he delivered the message. The watcher, his long mustaches floating on the air currents, activated the communications screen and let it enlarge in front of him. For a moment there was nothing but static, but then a Chi’Tauri in a complicated helmet, marking it as of greater rank than the soldiers they’d dealt with so far, appeared. Behind it they could see a room the size of a cathedral, with vaults and pillars and crystalline windows casting glittering lights over the walls and floor – except that where the proportions of a cathedral were based on mathematical proportions the human eye fund beautiful, this looked all wrong, alien and off-balance. Sitting in the middle of it, with a dozen tinier creatures crawling all over her and tending to her electrical burns, was the immense four-armed queen.

#fanfic #steve rogers #natasha romanov

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etherealblasphemy · 7 years ago

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Adventure of a Lifetime

these just get longer and longer...

TW: Cursing (Cal has a very dirty mouth), mentions of injuries, mentions of angsty backstories (*laughs maniacally*), transphobic slur

Their wounds were finally healed. In the weeks it took for the gash on their chest to close up enough that it no longer needed stitches, Calrex found themself slowly warming up to these strange outlaws who had practically adopted them as one of their own. Cal was still wary of them, especially knowing that Draven was after them as well. They’d yet to wrangle the story out of them of exactly why that bastard was hunting them of all people.

With a yawn, they stretched their thin arms high above their head, cracking their neck to get the kinks out of it. Patton finally told them the night before they could start walking around the ship for more than a couple minutes. Though they’d never admit it to anybody, Patton had quickly become their favorite, with his paternal antics and constant smiles.

They swung their legs over the side of the cot that had been their home for the past few weeks as Patton happily doted over them, monitoring the cut across their chest. They were still unsteady, as the father-like figure had only allowed them to begin walking earlier that week, and only for short bits at a time.

“Believe me,” he’d told them. “You don’t want any chance of your skin beginning to dissipate again.” Thankfully, they’d listened to him, and now they could finally use their legs for what they were made for.

Cal stood cautiously, testing out the strength of their limbs. Figuring they were sound enough to stand, they took a tentative step forward on uneasy feet, not used to Patton’s absence. They didn’t fall, which they considered an ‘okay’ to step forward further. Letting out a breath of relief, their foot landed firmly on the solid floor. Smirking, they headed for the door. Now that Cal could move freely, they were going to explore every inch of this mysterious ship.

The doors opened as they waved their hand to reveal a long hallway splitting off into several other corridors. “Who in the heavens designed this place?” they muttered, craning their sore neck to look around at the pristine white walls. It was certainly boring.

“Oh, you’re awake already!” they heard. They turned their gaze from a brightly lit panel to down the hallway, where Patton poked his head out from behind a corner. “Follow me, I made breakfast for everybody!” They opened their mouth to ask why a kitchen was necessary in a spaceship, but their stomach interrupted them, growling loudly. Patton giggled. “Looks like I finished at the right time!” he laughed, the sound melodious and reminiscent of- Cal stopped their thoughts there.

They obediently followed the antlered man, who took them through a maze of hallways until they could smell the food and knew the kitchen was close. Patton waved his hand in front of a little panel, and the circular doors beside him spun open. Inside the room were the rest of the crew members Cal had met. L.O.G.I.C.- Patton and Roman had begun calling him Logan during their time on the ship- was seated at the table, his eyes scanning over pages of a leather-bound journal as he jotted down notes with a jet black feather that sparkled in the light. Roman was scouring through the cabinets, his hair mussed and unruly at this early morning hour; a bag of makeup that was definitely his was on the countertop, its contents spilling overboard. Anxiety was sitting on top of the countertop like a feline, contently munching on a piece of toast with what looked like jam smeared on top.

“Oh, Calrex, how do you feel today?” Logan asked, looking up from his notes and noticing them. They shrugged, not really sure themselves.

“I dunno. Bored, for one. Not much you can do in a cot for three weeks straight,” they complained, heading for a chair. Patton, meanwhile, headed for the cooking devices, where Cal noticed he had been making some sort of dish they had never seen before.

“What do mean, ‘bored?’ Believe me, young noble, there is so much just waiting for you!” Roman cried, triumphantly grabbing a small jar from a cabinet, proceeding to struggle with its cap as he tried to open it. “...Anxiety could you... maybe help?” he mumbled. Sighing, the emo grabbed the jar and twisted it open with little effort, handing back to the embarrassed prince.

Cal snickered. “And just what do you have in mind to entertain me, Princey?” They smirked, a hand on their cocked hip. The prince grumbled something with a spoon full of jelly in his mouth, snarfing it down like a hungry orphan.

“How you feel about robbing a bank, Calrex?” Logan asked, adjusting the navy blue ascot tie he wore beneath a black waistcoat. Cal’s smile widened, showing off a mouth full of sharp fangs.

“Positively! I feel very positive about robbing a bank!” they shouted with glee, already fantasizing about the destruction they’d wager. “Which one are we going to? How much are we taking? Can I use a blaster?!”

“Calm down, Calrex, it’s a simple operation so we may acquire the necessary funds to continue our “intergalactic punk acts,” as Anxiety refers to them. We are headed to an aquaterrestrial planet known as Levian, and we will only be taking as much as we need.” Logan smirked. “If the commoners nearby decide they would like to take back the money they used to pay egregiously overpriced taxes, however, then that is entirely up to them.” Cal huffed.

“Well, look here, everybody, the robot has a heart!” they exclaimed as Roman choked on his jam, laughing.

“Aw, he’s actually a big softie when nobody’s around to see it!” Patton said giddly, overly excited for both the upcoming adventure and Logan’s slip of character. “Anyways, I’m setting course for Levian as soon as we finish breakfast, so eat up everybody!” The other four hummed in acquiescence, munching on the food Patton had prepared for them. They all joined Logan at the table, though Anxiety allowed Cal to take his seat, leaning against the window behind Logan.

“So, tell me, Calrex,” Roman was saying, finishing off the last spoonfuls of his delicious jam, “why is it that you’re an outlaw? Whose feathers did you ruffle?” They hesitated briefly, the tension of their shoulders only noticed by the cameras in Logan’s eyes.

“...Actually, I’m not that sure myself,” they sighed, running a hand through the tangled locks of their hair. “I ran away from my orphanage, so I guess some people might consider that ‘criminal.’ According to my wanted posters, though?” They trailed off, licking their smiling lips, enjoying the suspense as the others leaned forward, eager to find out. “I destroyed an entire galaxy system, and killed everyone.” The table fell silent, taking a tense turn.

“Did you really?” Patton asked, his brows slightly furrowed.

“Well, of course I didn’t!” Cal cried, offended. “I wish I was strong enough or as badass enough to actually do it, but, nope, I can’t even hold my own in a fight…” They snarled at long-forgotten memories, bitterly recalling past grudges and losses. “Nah, I suspect it was some sort of shit Draven put together after- nevermind.” They cut themself off suddenly, gripping the edge of their seat tightly in their palms. The crew members noticed, but remained silent, inferring Cal’s story was one like their own- painful, and not to be discussed.

The rest of breakfast was quiet, most dialogue pertaining to one of them asking another to pass the butter. At one point, however, Logan asked Roman to pass him the salt, to which the prince replied, “I don’t think I can lift Anxiety, though.” That got a laugh out of the rest of them, however short-lived the relief of silence was.

Patton soon left for the cockpit, Roman following him. Logan turned his attention back to his writing, mumbling something about cross-space travel, leaving Anxiety and Cal to shuffle their feet awkwardly. The earthling coughed into the sleeve of his hoodie, feeling the silence stretch longer than he wanted it to.

“So, you like robbing banks? Who’re you, Nimona?” he asked, his voice small and tinny in the thick silence that preceded it. Cal nodded, thankful for something to distract them from something other than the quiet scratch of Logan’s pencil on notebook paper, paying no mind to the second part of his dialogue, more than likely a reference they wouldn’t understand.

“I’ve had quite a bit of practice over the years. A little nick of a galleon or two here, a little swipe of a jewel or three there, the usual. Most of it I give away, though. There are people who’re starving out there, so if going hungry one night means another person doesn’t die of hunger, I’d do it in a heartbeat,” they mused, gaining a faraway look in their eyes. Anxiety tilted his head, smiling softly as he saw Logan pause from his writings out of the corner of his eyes.

“Say, why don’t we talk to Thomas? He’s always fun,” Anxiety proposed, getting up and heading for the door. He stopped in front of the circuit board on the wall next to it and typed in something on the number pad. Cal watched him with confusion before a hologram appeared next to them. They shrieked in surprise, Anxiety sniggering with mirth.

“What is up, crew buddies? Who’s the new pal?” the hologram asked, turning to Cal with a smile that seemed too real to be digital. The hologram looked similar to Roman, though with light chestnut instead of blond hair swept over his warm brown eyes. He was donned in a bright red charvet shirt, though not much else. The image cut off right below his chest, an electric blue edge fizzing in the air like real-life glitches.

“Hi, Thomas!” Anxiety greeted, waving at the hologram, who waved back. “This is Patton’s newest childling.” Cal stuck out a hand before realizing the person apparently named Thomas was just a hologram, and shaking hands would most likely be one-sided.

“The name’s Calrex Bennova. Most people just call me the Pirate, though, seeing as I’m wanted in nearly every system there is,” they offered, quirking a side of their lips. “Who’re you, exactly?” they inquired.

“As Anxiety said, my name’s Thomas, your local, friendly AI! I’m basically the ship’s mind.” Cal narrowed their eyes, raising an eyebrow. “Logan was the one who programmed me, and he takes the more logical side of things, so he programmed most of my functions. Anxiety wrote down most of my speech patterns, though,” Thomas explained. Cal noticed Logan straighten at the mention of his new name.

“Oh no, you, too,” he said, pressing his lips into a thin line of frustration.

“Yah, Patton sort of changed your name in my database and I think Anxiety put a lock on it, so I guess I’m calling Logan from now on!” Thomas said cheerfully, shrugging his digital shoulders nonchalantly. Logan closed his eyes, taking a deep, audible breath.

“Ooh, hoo, hoo, I’m really regretting not leaving when I had the chance,” he muttered under his breath. He snapped his notebook shut, placing it delicately on the table as Cal and Thomas continued to examine one another.

The hologram tilted his head suddenly, his brows furrowing. “Ah, sorry, pals, but Patton and Roman are summoning me right now, so I gotta dash,” he said before the image was promptly cut off, nothing more than white static and garbled speech.

“Well, shoot,” Anxiety said, pouting. “There goes our only escape from boredom.”

“Nonsense, Anxiety, I can easily help with that.” Both Cal and Anxiety raised their eyebrows, clearly not seeing how the intellectual could possibly entertain them. “I recently memorized the entire Requiem scripture, which, despite its facade to be a book on religion, is actually quite an interesting commentary on our humanity and philosophy-”

“Nope, I’m good,” Anxiety said sharply, shaking his head fervently. “I’m going to go join Patton and Roman, so see you guys.” Anxiety finger-gunned the both of them, at which they cocked a confused eyebrow at the earthling’s antics, and make a hasty retreat from a possible hour long lecture on intergalactic morals. Cal breathed a laugh, rolling their eyes. They cast a side glance at Logan, catching him watching them intently.

“Don’t even think about it,” they warned. “I’m not about to be your next victim.”

“Very well,” Logan conceded. “Shall we join our crew mates?” Cal shrugged, getting up as Logan did the same. He waved his hand in front of the blueish panel, the doors opened, and they walked through in silence.

It didn’t take long for them to reach the cockpit, weaving in and out of a labyrinth of white-walled hallways. Anxiety was waiting for them there, Patton and Roman seated in the pilot chairs, small holograms flickering over their gazes. Cal’s breath stopped momentarily as they took in the sight of the room.

Behind them was a wall filled with buttons and wires and levers and all sorts of things that made no sense to them. The floor was transparent, giving the illusion of walking out right onto the stars. A faraway cluster of stars painted the heavens beneath them a neon purple, the celestial skies dark as a raven’s fallen feather. In front of them were two high-backed leather seats the color of marble, holographic screens popping up in front of them to deliver information. Ahead, the entire wall was one seamless pane of glass, not a single fingerprint visible.

It reminded them of happier times, when they could tell themself their childhood myths without triggering some painful memory. They bit their lip and focused on the stars twinkling like divine dancers slowly reaching their svelte arms towards them.

“...bank,” Logan was explaining, likely describing how they would go about robbing whatever establishment the robot had chosen. They cursed silently, having heard not a word. “Calrex, are you paying attention?”

“What? Who, me? Yeah, of course. I get a blaster and destroy everything in my path, got it.” Logan’s eyes narrowed, unimpressed. “Okay, fine, I got a little distracted by the stars and everything. Just tell me what I have to do, I’ll be fine.”

“Actually, I was going to ask if you wanted to take part. You have only just healed, and you hardly know anything about us. Robbing any establishment is more than just pointing a weapon and demanding resources- it is a carefully crafted dance where everyone knows the parts they must play in order for the performance to go as smoothly as possible,” Logan replied. Roman snorted.

“I thought we normally just go off the cuff and end up with you ranting how certain damages could’ve been avoided if we’d just listened to you,” he laughed, his reflection in the glass smirking.

Logan pursed his lips. “You see what I have to deal with?” He gestured towards the prince, who smiled and waved. Cal shook their head sarcastically, fooling the robot. “Roman’s a handful and he’s emotional and he’s illogical. Is that not the worst possible scenario for any being to encounter?” The crew mates shook their heads, biting back giggles. Logan sighed. “Well, I’m frustrated now.” Cal barked out a laugh, shaking their head as they let out a long sigh.

The hologram called Thomas appeared suddenly next to them, frightening them. “Fucking Calypso! Don’t do that!” they yelped, jumping about a foot in the air, a hand clasped over their heart. Thomas cracked a smile, sheepishly apologizing as he rubbed the back of his neck.

“Language, Calrex! Anyways, we’ll be arriving soon kiddos, so grab onto something,” Patton said, turning his head slightly to direct his words at the three behind him.

“What bank are you guys robbing this time?” Thomas asked.

“You’ll see,” Logan said, bringing out a pair of glasses from a breast pocket on his chest. “You all remember your illusions? Oh, Cal, you never gave me your answer. Do you want to take part in this? You’re free to leave at any time, now that you are sufficiently healed, though I must warn you that Patton does not like goodbyes.”

Cal thought for a moment. They and the crew had slowly warmed up to one another, though neither ever asked each other why Draven was hunting them. But in the few weeks they had been in the med bay, they had felt a sense of familiarity. A sense of home. A sense of belonging. It had been something they hadn’t experienced for a long time, something they only ever felt in wispy dreams that floated beside them in the heavens, mixing and mashing and creating beautiful creatures they knew they had seen somewhere beforehand.

Before them was a chance to finally have a family. No longer would they be alone. No longer would they be living on the streets. No longer would they be unwanted.

“Sure, if you want me,” they replied, lifting their head to the purple and navy skies, brilliant white stars continuing their immortal ballet. Logan nodded, Patton clapping happily. They let out a breath they hadn’t realized they’d been holding in. Part of them had latched onto distant memories that had begun fading, of the constant rejection, the endless days where they were told over and over again nobody wanted them today. Not yesterday. Not today. Not tomorrow. Never.

“That settles it. Come with me, we need to figure out a way to disguise you. Along the way I’ll explain our usual tactics,” he said, adjusting a pair of metal-rimmed glasses on his nose. He blinked, testing his vision, and determined his sight was not deterred by the pieces of convex glass. He grabbed Cal’s arm and led them out of the room, ushering them into one nearby. “Grab a stool, I believe we will be landing soon,” he instructed, grabbing a stool for himself. Cal followed the orders, and soon felt the familiar rumble of a spaceship entering a planet’s atmosphere, adjusting to the pressure and weather conditions.

“So, tell me, how exactly do you plan to disguise the most wanted outlaw whose face is plastered on every building you could think of?” Cal asked, lacing their fingers beneath their chin, settling their arms on a knee, feeling the ship begin to rock as the ship prepared to land.

“Roman will cover your scars, though I have no idea how, and I will provide you with an attire that should cover any other distinguishable features, yet still be functional should we encounter unnecessary problems.” With that said, the AI strode over to a chest in the corner of the room and opened it with a flourish, revealing dozens of clothing items packed neatly into the cramped space.

Cal’s eyes were immediately drawn to one piece. Though folded, they could tell it was a silk dress the color of faded cream. Logan noticed where their gaze fell and picked up the dress. As the garment whoosed into the air, a cerise ribbon fell out of the chest, falling on the floor in a heap, and Cal rushed to pick up the gorgeous material.

“I think I know how we can disguise you, Cal,” Logan simpered. They could practically see the gears turning in his head, his attention now focused on a chest beside the open one. He opened the smaller trunk, which contained beautiful jewelry and accessories. “Thank Calypso Draven’s nobles have such exquisite taste.” Pulling a few bracelets from it, Logan stepped back, surveying the items the both of them had acquired and looked at Cal, shoving the dress and bracelets into their arms. “Try this on.”

“For a someone as serious as you, you seem to know a lot about fashion,” they remarked, already shoving their pants off. They knew one of them had taken their shirt off to treat their wound, and besides, it’s not like Logan wouldn’t turn around anyways- which the robot had indeed already done. They pulled off their shirt, throwing the dress over them quickly, eager to see how the dress fit them. Around their waist they wrapped the cerise ribbon, tying it in the back. They slipped on the bracelets and told Logan he could turn back around.

He studied them, more focused on how well they would stay hidden rather than how the garment fit like a glove, giving them the appearance of a feminine being, a radical change from their previous experience. “It’s very flattering, Calrex. The guards should easily fall for this. Shall I acquire Roman for you?” Cal shrugged, nodding as their hands roamed over the soft fabric, marveling at its beauty. It had certainly been a long time since they had even dared to wear something so pretty, so untouched, so perfect.

It was a rogue feeling, one that dreamed of wearing dresses and slacks and jerseys and slips, unconcerned who thought what about them. But as they grew older, they had learned to forget these childish fantasies. They couldn’t afford wearing what they wanted, not if they wanted to stay hidden for as long as possible before Draven eventually found them again and they had to run for their life.

They had worn a dress once in their lifetime, a grey sleeveless one that tightened around their waist and puffed out slightly as though they wore a crinoline underneath. The best part of it was that no one had called them a girl or a tranny or anything except Calrex. That day, they had felt weightless, able to conquer anything. Pity the euphoria had ended so quickly.

With a start, they realized Roman had entered the room, Logan likely taking his place as copilot. The prince was mumbling to himself, carrying the bag they had noticed in the kitchen area. “Roman?” they asked, unsure what he was doing. The prince looked up, startled, and proceeded to gasp dramatically.

“Oh, I didn’t know Calypso herself was alive and well! You look absolutely stunning, by the way, but you shall look ravishing as soon as I’m done with you,” Roman said, smiling wickedly as he whipped out what looked like an eyeliner pencil from the bag. Cal inwardly groaned, ready to have their eye poked out or worse.

The prince got to work quickly, constantly swiping his blond hair back as he grabbed foreign objects from his bag, twisting open tubes and popping the lids off of jars. At long last, he stepped back to survey his work, and gave a satisfied sigh. “Take a look,” he said, pulling out a mirror from the seemingly bottomless bag. They take the mirror gratefully and held up it.

Cal nearly dropped it in surprise, taking in their transformed face. No longer were they the scrubby outlaw on the run for far too long, but an untouched person who had never seen poverty or war. They now took on the visage of a dainty damsel who had not yet met with death’s grim grip, their cheeks full and lips pursed, ready for the sweet taste of love. Roman had highlighted their cheekbones, covering their scars with mounds of concealer, and added dark grey eyeshadow to give their eyes more depth. They patted their cheek, seeing their reflection copy them, confirming they were real and not some illusion Roman had whipped up like magic.

They turned to Roman, smirking smugly. “How do you do this? This is incredible!” they gushed happily, ready to woo all the guards and have a good time. Roman shared their content, and the two began to exchange make-up tips they’d garnered over the years as Patton’s voice came over the intercom.

“Hey, kiddos, we’ve landed! Me, Anxiety, and Logan are all ready, so come on out whenever you guys are ready!” Cal hid a snicker, hearing Logan correct Patton’s grammar as the intercom shut off.

“I guess we join them,” Cal said, handing the mirror back to Roman. “Let’s go have some fun!” they cheered, exiting the room, promptly getting lost before Roman led them to the docking bay, where they rejoined the others.

“Oh, dear Calypso, Calrex, you look wonderful!” Patton squealed, running to hug his adorable child. They thanked him, grinning gratefully. “Right, let’s go do whatever Logan planned!” he cried with excitement as the robot took a calming breath, ready to go off on the Drisine for already forgetting the plan. Cal watched them, a bittersweet smile on their face. It had been a while since they’d witnessed scenes like this, been apart of scenes like this. Deep down, they hoped this sensation blooming in their belly like a rose at midnight would last, that maybe they could go on more adventures than just this one.

Lord Condor Finch’s Royal Bank of Taxes and Tributes was exactly like its name: huge, overzealous, and an obvious candidate for mockery and tomfoolery. Though imposing at first sight, the overuse of gold leaf was laughable, the guards sleeping were they stood was pathetic, and the amount of currency it actually contained in comparison to other banks the group had been to put a beggar’s tin cup to shame. It was perfect for the heist.

“So I know you already explained, everything, but why this bank of all places? I’ve been on the downlow for a while now, but even I know how crappy it is behind the scenes,” Cal was saying as they hiked up the long flight of cracked marble steps that led to the entrance.

“Easy,” Logan began. “Lord Finch is a moron. Thusly, his security systems are vastly inferior to others I have encountered. Besides, he taxes his people needlessly, some to the point of starvation, so by distributing the wealth within the vaults, not only might we save some lives, but the common people will begin to take our side, benefitting us in the future,” he explained as they finally reached the end of the stairs.

Anxiety bent over, panting for breath. “Give me a second, okay?” he wheezed, catching what little air remained in his lungs. Patton fussed over him, offering a canteen of water from his satchel. Anxiety shook his head, saying he was fine.

“Let’s get this over with, shall we?” Roman said, fixing the lapels of his white suit jacket. The copper on the goggles perched above his ever-present flower crown shone brightly, nearly blinding Cal as the prince turned in the sunlight. “The steampunk aesthetic belongs to Remy, and to Remy alone.”

With that said, the group moved. Cal stuck with Roman; their jobs were to distract the tellers. If the Generals broke loose, Cal had a blaster hidden within the handbag they clutched nervously. They were hoping for chaos.

Roman laced his arm with theirs, giving his most charming smile. “My dearest sister-”

“We don’t look anything alike, try again.”

“Roman glared at Cal. “My dearest friend,” he started again, “what a lovely day for us to go to the bank to make a withdrawal!” Cal sighed, raising an eyebrow. “Quiet, I’m a great actor, I just have unique methods.”

“You can say that again,” they mumbled under their breath. Roman playfully whacked Cal’s arm, huffing in exasperation. Cal’s attention, however, was already gone as they entered the massive bank. Despite its shady purpose, the bank was a magnificent sight to behold.

The golden wall stretched up for what must have been forever, curving into a domed ceiling, where a chandelier made of thousands of crystals glittered, reflecting rainbow patterns onto the walls. Dozens of little stalls were lined up against the walls, all leading towards a single door in the back of the room, which undoubtedly led to the vaults. Above the door hung a ginormous portrait of the irascible Lord Finch in all his glory, sporting a cape of loon feathers and too many medals pinned across his chest like some feeble attempt to give credence to his leadership abilities.

Looking around, there were only two or three tellers. Cal grinned. This would be easy. Roman grinned, too, sharing a knowing glance with the pirate. “I’ll take the mermaid,” the prince said, gesturing subtly to a fair maiden currently combing through aegean and peacock locks, cream seashells poking out in some places, looking bored out of her mind. “Can you handle the other two?” Cal glanced at the tellers on the opposite side, seeing a merman who definitely had to be the mermaid’s brother or something and a young girl whose eyes were the color of amethysts. They nodded, a wicked grin forming on their lips.

“I got this,” they said, hurrying off to the neighboring tellers. “Good morning,” they greeted, smiling sweetly as they approached the tellers. The merman stood at attention immediately, jolting awake as the young woman waved cheerfully. Cal headed for the woman. She would prove to be more a challenge. “My mother recently made a deposit here, but she would like to withdraw the amount. She’s fallen terribly ill, you see, and needs the money to pay for her medication,” Cal alleged, batting their eyelashes seductively. They could practically see the young lady melt at the charms they had picked up from the streets over the years.

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that, miss,” the woman said, speaking as though she had a bag of marbles stuffed in her mouth. “What was her name?” she asked. Cal swore under her breath. “What was that?”

“Nothing. Her name is, uh… Cassandra. Cassandra Ildris,” Cal offered stoically, swallowing the lump in their throat as the young woman brought up a hologram, pressing a dainty finger to the screen to scroll through a long list of names written in electric blue. The young woman furrowed her eyebrows.

“Hmm, I don’t see your mother’s name on the list. Are you sure she made a deposit here?” the teller asked. Cal nodded insistently.

“Perhaps she used one of her other names. She’s been married twice now, including my father,” Cal explained. “If you just check all names under Cassandra, it would likely be fastest,” they said, leaning down slightly, watching the teller’s gaze glance down before meeting with Cal’s eyes again. They smirked mentally. Too easy.

“All right, but I’ll have to ask Damien to help me. I’m not that good with technology,” the teller confessed, laughing nervously. “Damien, could you come over here and help me?” Cal grinned. Perfect. Glancing upward, they saw a small wooden beam painted white to match the walls. If they aimed just right, they could bring it down and trap the tellers. It might not be exactly what Logan had planned, but it would certainly be more fun.

The moment the merman called Damien entered the stall, however, a shout came from the other side of the spacious room. Cal turned to see Roman back away from the stall, the mermaid saying something unintelligible, waving her hands furiously. With a burst of mist, she cast a spell. The result nearly made Cal choke on their laughter.

Roman shrieked as he felt his now enlarged head, nearly double the size it had been before. At that moment, Anxiety chose to run in, who took one look at the enchanted Roman and said, “Oh, my God, it’s finally big enough to fit your ego!” He fell to his knees, laughing hysterically. Cal soon found themself unable to contain their own giggles, laughing as well as Roman began panicking.

“Um, help!” he cried.

“What did you do to Faerin?” the merman asked, running out of the stall towards the prince, who immediately began backing away, walking around like a drunk man as he tried to hold his head upright. “What did he do to you, my princess?” he asked the mermaid as Cal watched on. The other young teller ran out from her stall, joining the merpeople as they exchanged words, Damien’s eyes soon boring into Roman’s. “You will pay, you vicious fiend!”

“Oh, I should probably help him,” Cal mumble under their breath, pulling out their blaster. “Eat crystal, motherfucker!” they cried, firing the gun up at the chandelier. They didn’t know what to expect, but an ominous rumbling emanating for the ceiling was hopefully a good sign. From the corner of their eyes, they noticed Anxiety rush towards Roman, grabbing his arm and getting him away from the tellers and whatever Cal had initiated. They glanced up to see a myriad of spider cracks running across the ceiling, just barely touching the chandelier. “Hmm. That’s probably not good,” they said, beginning to head towards the back of the room, where Anxiety and Roman were headed.

They took one step forward and heard a resounding boom echo through the interior. They gulped, eyes widening, and bolted for the earthling and prince, not one second by their side before they heard a loud crash, turning to see the chandelier hitting the floor, the crystals smashing into smithereens as the brass structure holding it all together pinned down the tellers, trapping them all together. From behind them, Cal heard someone enter the room.

“Nicely down, you two- dear Calypso, Roman, what did you do?” Logan said, a large, bulky creature Cal assumed to be Patton following behind, carrying several medium-sized satchels, the coins creasing in the fabric. Roman whimpered softly, embarrassed. Anxiety rubbed Roman’s back reassuringly, calming the prince down. “We should probably leave,” Logan remarked, eyeing the enraged merman chanting in a foreign tongue.

The others agreed and they ran for one of the tall gilded windows by the door, where they had formerly agreed they would exit, as Logan knew the guards would more than likely block their original entrance. The creature known as Patton leapt first, his body weight easily shattering the glass panes. With a whoop, Anxiety jumped out, pulling some sort of martial arts move as he dove out the window, rolling as he hit the ground. Cal shot their blaster once more, firing randomly at a wall before diving out the window after the prince and the robot had clambered through awkwardly.

“FUCK YEAH!” Cal shouted giddily, a wide grin plastered across their face. The others rolled their eyes lightheartedly. Their mission, however, was not over yet. They still had to get away. Their grin grew, showing off sharp fangs, as they raised their blaster, squinting at a couple nearby trees as they jogged after the gang, nearly tripping over their feet. With a laugh, they fired a final time, directly hitting the trees, setting them aflame. Immediately, the nearby guards, all dressed to the nines in their saffron red and midnight blue uniforms and shiny black boots, ran to the fire, panicking. “That should distract them for a while,” Cal whispered-shouted to their companions, who cheered as they ran around trees, jumped over small fences and walls, and avoided any more destruction.

They all sprinted towards the nearby wooded marsh, tall pines sprouted up, outstretched towards the emerald sky dying down to a husky, smokey blue. As they reached the brackish waters, the sounds of confusion fading away, the water began seeping into their boots, the thick fog that hung in the air suffocating them, the setting sun blinding them.

“Yeesh, Logan, why do you always pick the worst places for us to hide the ship?” Roman grumbled, still holding his head so he wouldn’t fall over like a newborn. Logan simply shook his head, not bothering with a response. They continued trekking around the edge of the shallow parts of the marsh, heading deeper into the wildlands where they had hidden their ship. “Shouldn’t we see it by now?” Roman asked as a soft whisper cut him off.

“He-llo?” a voice called from all around, as though the voice wasn’t coming from just one place at one time, but rather every place at every conceivable moment. The crew froze, all looking in different directions. Cal glanced at the water a few feet away, where the water was much deeper than where they stood, and shrieked when they saw a pair of yellow eyes watching them from underneath the surface. For a moment they thought it was Draven before realizing he would never go anywhere near a marsh, too afraid of getting his precious cape wet.

“Who are yo-u?” the voice asked, echoing across the otherwise silent swampland. Cal stared down those eyes, convinced the voice belonged to the body that held those eyes. “Who are yo-u?” they repeated. The voice sounded familiar. If they closed their eyes, they could almost picture-

“Cassandra?” Cal spoke aloud. The eyes in the water were unwavering. By now, the others had noticed the yellow eyes, too, and were coming up behind Cal, ready to fight off whatever foe was calling out to them.

“Who-o is Ca-ssandra?” the voice said as the eyes rose slightly, revealing slivers of a face soaked in water. “Who are yo-u?”

Cal stepped forward, cringing as they felt the water and dead pine needles spill into their boots, soaking their socks. “My name is Calrex. Cassandra… Cassandra was a friend of mine. You sound like her,” they told the eyes. The eyes seemed satisfied with the response, blinking slowly as they registered the answer.

“My na-me is Mi-la,” the sighing voice replied. Without warning, the eyes leapt into the air, bringing with them a face, body, and mind. Before the astounded group floated a young girl, skin blue as the water she lived in, eyes wide and unblinking. Water droplets coated her body, clinging to her skin as though it didn’t want to leave, forming a dress that covered her like a ball gown, the water becoming long, draping sleeves and a high collar. Her sweeping hair that spilled past the small of her back was made of reeds swaying in the breeze; in fact, her entire body swayed as though she was made of liquids herself. “Yo-ur not suppo-sed to be he-re,” Mila said, waving a single finger childishly to emphasis her point.

“Our spaceship is here,” Cal told the water nymph. “Do you know where it is?” they asked, having a feeling the nymph did indeed know the location of their hidden ship. Mila nodded shyly.

“I kept it hi-dden for yo-u,” she whispered, drawing both her hands close. “Ingare nadia,” she chanted quietly as the water began leaping up just behind her, dancing like bolts of energy. As the water parted, fragments of cool white metal appeared. With a giggle, Mila lifted her hands into the air as if praying, and the water enveloping the ship did the same, raising the bulky vehicle in a bubble. Logan stepped forward, ready to get away from the chaos they had created at the bank. Mila suddenly whipped towards him, throwing up a wall of transparent water to block him from continuing forward.

“Mila, you want something from us, right?” Cal asked, remembering previous encounters with water nymphs that had not ended well. Mila nodded, her lips parting into a youthful smile.

“Tw-o things,” the nymph said, holding up the equivalent number of fingers. “One, a ki-ss from the pri-nce,” she said, blushing as she glanced at Roman, who flashed her a charming smile. “Tw-o, an apology for hur-ting Fae-rin... She’s my only fri-end.” Mila ducked her head.

“It doesn’t seem to bad an offering. I say we take it,” Cal proposed, turning to the others. Logan shrugged, as did Roman. The creature known as Patton squealed, indicating an agreement. Anxiety, however, stepped forward.

“Undo whatever spell was cast on Roman and I’ll be your friend,” he offered. In a more gentle tone, he added, “It’s got to be lonely, out here all the time, when nobody ever stops by or says hello.” Cal’s brow raised. They’d have to ask about that later.

“I’ll be your friend, too! It would be an honor to share a friendship with such a magnificent young lady such as yourself,” Roman commented. Patton barked, agreeing with the earthling and the prince. Logan sighed, muttering something along the lines of, “I’ll offer companionship as well.” They all look expectantly at Cal.

“What, do you really think I wouldn’t want to be friends with someone like Mila? She’s cool enough, I wanna be friends with a water nymph,” Cal remarked, turning back towards a smiling Mila. “So, what do you say? We accept your offering, what about ours?” Mila lifted her yellow eyes ever so slightly and grinned, nodding.

“I would li-ke more fri-ends,” she mumbled. She drew closer to the group, her feet barely skimming the surface of the marsh, until she floated in front of Cal. Mila shyly extended a hand. Cal grinned back at the little nymph, grabbing the hand and shaking it firmly. “Ke-ep your end of the de-al first,” she said as she drew her graceful hand back.

Cal glanced over at Roman, who stumbled forward as Anxiety shoved him forward, the shadows on his face just barely concealing his smirk. “Go on and kiss the girl,” he said as Roman’s eyes lit up at the phrase.

“Oh, I love that movie with the mermaid!” Roman exclaimed as he neared the nymph. “Perhaps we can show it to Calrex tonight?” he inquired, pursing his lips as he batted his eyelashes.

“Only if you get us out of the mess you caused,” Anxiety replied. Roman scoffed, but turned towards Mila, who had sunk halfway into the water to be eye level with the dashing prince. Flashing her his trademark grin, the prince leaned over and pecked the young girl on the cheek as she blushed, giggling in a manner that echoed across the marsh.

“I apologize most deeply, my dear Mila, for hurting your friend. Do accept my most sincere and heartfelt apology,” he said, bowing deeply. Mila laughed, a tinkling sound that reminded Cal of fairies.

“It was fu-nny hearing it from the wa-ter,” she mused. “Th-ey tried to mi-mic it, yo-u flirting with Fae-rin and fai-ling.” Mila turned towards the others, whose interests were now piqued with curiosity. “He to-ld her, ‘Yo-ur eyes shine like the mo-on on a cry-stal ni-ght,’ ‘Yo-u’re the mo-st beau-tiful sea crea-ture I’ve met.’” Mila burst into laughter, clutching her stomach as Cal glanced at Roman.

“You called her a sea creature? No wonder she cast a spell on you!” they uttered, shaking their head in exasperation. Roman spluttered, unsure how he could spin some sort of witty response from this humiliation. Mila sighed.

“Yo-u kept your bar-gain, now I ke-ep mine,” she proclaimed as she throw her hands up in the sky, waving them as though she was signaling some passing ship. “Vocifere, caban!” With the enchantment cast, a cloud of smoke encapsulated Roman, dissipating to reveal the mermaid’s spell had been reversed.

Roman clapped both hands over his face. “Oh, my gorgeous head is back to normal! Anxiety, do I look okay? Because a prince has got to slay,” he asked. Anxiety laughed, disguising it with a cough.

“You look fine no matter what’s happened to you, don’t worry,” he reassured the prince. “Anyways, Mila, thank you so much for your help,” he thanked the nymph. “We might not be able to come back for a while, but we’ll try to return as soon as we can.” The nymph smiled happily, waving. The wall of water blocking Logan suddenly dropped down, scaring the robot. With a few more thanks and a couple vociferations of the marsh water soaking their feet, the group finally clambered onto the ship.

As the door shut, Cal swore they heard Mila say, “Go-od luck, Pi-rate. Fi-ght and pro-sper.” Perhaps it had just been the wind.

“Alright, kiddos, let’s get out of here before the guards find us!” Patton said, morphing back as he threw the heavy satchels off his shoulders, heading for the cockpit. Cal felt a breath of relief rush out of them as they followed the Drisine. They’d done it. Nobody had gotten (fatally) injured, no guards were firing at them as the ship started up its engines, and they had actually done something.

“What a heist,” Anxiety sighed, leaning over the copilot’s chair, dangling his arms in front of Roman’s face.

“That was certainly an ordeal,” Logan huffed, settling onto a stool as Patton skillfully guided the craft into the air, where they could easily see the miniscule figures of guards and peasants all grouped around a hole in one of the bank’s back walls. A pile of golden coins shimmered on the ground, spilling from the vault inside the building. “Hmm, looks like the commoners are taking advantage of Lord Finch’s private income,” the robot noted.

“I don’t know about you, but I could use a drink or two,” Cal stated. “Calypso knows after all this, it’s gonna take at least seven Harvey Wallbangers to forget the sight of Roman’s head double its size.” Lighthearted laughter overtook the cockpit as Roman groaned, wishing he, too, to forget what would likely be held against him for the rest of his life.

“Let’s just head over to Remy’s already,” the prince pleaded.

“Alright, I’m setting course for there now,” Patton said. “Boy, I won’t forget that adventure of a lifetime. And Cal got to be a part of it!” he squealed, his smile practically crushing his cheeks. Cal quirked up a corner of their, the feeling of apprehension beginning to sink in.

“If you don’t mind,” they began nervously, “I’d like to keep having more adventures with you guys. At least I wouldn’t be bored.” A silence fell and immediately Cal knew they said the wrong thing.

Patton squealed even louder, confusing the outlaw as to how the windows had yet to break from the high-pitched noises. “Oh, we would love that!” he exclaimed as he got up from the pilot’s seat to hug Cal tightly, Roman huffing as he took over Patton’s duties to fly the ship. Though first surprised at the kind gesture, Cal felt themself relax, awkwardly wrapping their arms around the Drisine to hug him back. The warmth that followed was something they remembered feeling a long time ago, when they were still an innocent child.

Yeah, they could definitely get used to this.

WOOT WOOT WOOT ANOTHER CHAPTER UP! I hope all you lovelies enjoyed this new installment! (It was so much fun to write the bank scene)

Hey guess what I was inspired over the weekend for a chapter that probably won’t come up for a while so here you go:

“I will give you world. Every night, I'll let you know how much I love you in a hundred different ways. Every morning, when you wake up, I'll be by your side, whispering sweet nothings, telling you how beautiful you are, how your eyes look like the heavens when you're excited, how you are the bravest person I've ever met. Every day, I'll sing a ballad of praises for you. I will make you and this entire universe see how much you mean to me, because lavehsea, I’m so in love with you I might just burst, and dear Calypso this went so much better in my head.”

Hmm, may have just spoiled what that story’s about... heh.

AnYwHo, thank you all for reading, reblogging, and leaving likes :)

TAG LISTO (let me know if you want to be added or removed):

@asofterfan

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druekee · 7 years ago

Text

Liquid Metal [Kiho]

When bounty hunter Kihyun's warp drive goes haywire during a long flight to his next target, he heads to a nearby scrap metal planet to get the parts he needs.

On the planet, Kihyun meets Hoseok, a stunning welder who gives him just the service he needs, plus a little eyecandy too~

[Kiho/Sci-Fi AU]

Written for @kihomonthly !

Words: 2,635

AO3 Link

Stretching his back with a long, fluid motion, Kihyun groaned, his raised arms whacking against the low ceiling of the interior of his spaceship. He’d been cooped up in his tiny ship for almost a full week now, and truthfully, he was getting a little stir crazy. It was times like these that made him question his decision to become a bounty hunter, where he’d often spend weeks at a time chasing a target throughout the far reaches of the galaxy. Not to mention the whole fact that he was alone out here; just him and barely enough space for a bed, fridge, and toilet. He wasn’t completely alone, though, and the tinny sound of a voice calling through his transmission device immediately broke him away from his daze of tedium.

“Alright I received a tip from my dude at that sketchy bar on Psamathe that our target is sticking around Limnatides,” Minhyuk’s raspy voice sounded throughout Kihyun’s ship, filling the space with his terrible news. Kihyun groaned loudly, rubbing a hand down his face in exhaustion.

“So, you mean to tell me that I’ve been heading in the wrong direction for almost seven whole days now?” Kihyun replied, reaching over for his mug of coffee and taking a sip, ignoring the fact that it was ice cold and unsweetened. Minhyuk chuckled a bit, but the sound lacked all amusement.

“Yeah, that’s exactly what I’m telling you. You and I both know that Minghao’s intel is always accurate, we should listen to him and head over there before the target decides to evade us again,” Minhyuk said, and Kihyun frowned in frustration, knowing that he was right but still annoyed with how fruitless his efforts had been.

“And by ‘we’, you mean I should head over there, right?” Kihyun asked, his voice cold and bitter, already reconfiguring his guidance system for the new destination. Minhyuk chuckled a bit, this time with a little more amusement.

“That’s exactly what I mean~” Minhyuk said, his voice a bit teasing. “Good luck catching our culprit, Kihyunnie~” he continued in a playful tone, before hanging up, the short beep signaling the end of their transmission filling the air. Kihyun angrily grabbed his coffee, taking a longer swig before wincing at the disgusting taste, slamming his fist down onto the warp speed button and surging forward as his ship races towards the new destination. It would all be worth it, he just needed to remember how huge this guy’s bounty was and how much cash they’d be swimming in if Kihyun was able to catch him in time.

Leaning back into his chair, Kihyun runs a hand through his hair, trying to stay positive and not think about how he’d be flying for at least another three days before reaching their target… honestly, he was starting to miss human contact more than he’d care to admit, and needed to fool around with somebody, anybody. He would even take Minhyuk at this point, he’d sooner go down that road again than deal with his own urges by himself, like he’d been doing every day for a week. Running his hands down his torso, Kihyun bit his lip, desperate to feel somebody’s else’s hands on his body… But, without that option, he trailed his hands down lower, getting to the waistband of his pants, his cheeks flushing as he dips his fingertips into his underwear, inching closer to his di—

Suddenly, a loud crashing sound flooded Kihyun’s ears, and he jolted forward, eyes wide as he tried to detect the source of the noise. Luckily, he wasn’t dead or being sucked into the windless void of space, so hopefully that meant that his ship wasn’t hit by anything. He walked around the parameter of his ship, seeing that everything was still in order and then walked back to the cockpit, glancing over the various displays and buttons, trying to find the malfunction. The ship was still moving, just at a very slow speed, and Kihyun bit his lip, finally spotting the blinking warning light over the warp-speed drive monitor. Shit, this must mean that his drive finally gave out on him… this ship was getting a little rusty, and the warp-drive was probably a decade old… it was in need of a part exchange.

“Fuck,” Kihyun cursed in a low voice, flopping down onto his chair and opening up the navigation hologram, searching for a place he could get the broken part in the area. Surprisingly, Kihyun was able to find a welder on a scrap-metal planet that did ship tune-ups not too far from here, so Kihyun selected it, telling his ship to fly in that direction. Hopefully this would turn out for the best; sometimes scrap-metal planets only had parts from the previous century and older. Kihyun shook his head, tugging his lip between his teeth as he watched the astral bodies slowly pass him. He had no other choice, this was the only place in lightyears that even offered ship services, and he didn’t have a warp drive to take him that far in a timely manner. Steeling himself, Kihyun spotted the glimmering surface of the scrap metal planet, pushing the ship to go just the slightest bit faster as he entered the gravitational field of the planet.

Hoseok had always been alone, ever since he was a child. Yeah, he had his grandpa, who had been wheel-chair bound since before Hoseok could remember, but when you live on an entire planet with only one other living creature on it, you started to get pretty used to the solitude. Hoseok’s friends were the crappy robots from the 23rd century, all milling about the planet aimlessly for decades, having been dumped there after a mass recall on planet Earth. His knowledge of humankind came from the old stories his grandpa told him and the somewhat functioning cellphones and laptops all over his planet… which wasn’t a whole lot, until Hoseok became a teenager and finally built his own spaceship to explore the surrounding planets.

Despite having travelled at least a little bit, Hoseok still has never fully explored even the solar system that his planet is in, and is still a little awkward when it comes to communicating with other humans. Space pirates and bounty hunters occasionally stopped by for tune-ups and repairs, and this was pretty much the only time Hoseok could test out his social skills. One could say he was rather inexperienced with people, and, truthfully speaking, Hoseok was. He’d still never held somebody’s hand before, let alone do all of that other… nakeder stuff he’d seen on some of the old laptops that always made him feel tingly.

Grabbing a small washcloth and dabbing away at the sweat on his forehead, Hoseok exhaled deeply, squinting his eyes at the piece of metal he was currently trying to bend to fit the perfect shape for his rocket’s upgrade. The metal was hot, heated up to a rather high temperature so it could be shaped, and sparks flew every time Hoseok would lower his hammer to it. He was pretty used to both the loud banging noises and the sparks, however, and was able to immediately hear the sound of a foreign object bursting its way into the atmosphere above him. His planet was small, and there wasn’t anything interesting happening literally anywhere but where he was, so Hoseok knew that it wouldn’t be long before the ship found its way to his location. Smiling excitedly, Hoseok began banging his metal harder, eager to see who had come to visit his little home today.

When Kihyun landed on the scrap metal planet, he was expecting an older, married welder with like eight kids running around… he certainly wasn’t expecting a sexy, 20-something who was barely clothed and pounding away at a piece of metal. Approaching the shack that the young welder was standing in front of, Kihyun shuffled his boot-clad feet, licking his lips hungrily as he took in the fine piece of man before him. His hair was white and blue, falling into his eyes in the most attractive way Kihyun could fathom, his gaze demure and interested as he looked over at Kihyun. God, and he was shirtless too, his gorgeous, toned torso on full display- only barely covered by the work-apron he was wearing. Kihyun felt his heart throb, shoving his hands into his pockets and licking his lips as he walked up to the man.

“Hey there,” Kihyun greeted, smiling flirtatiously at the gorgeous man. Hoseok blinked a few times, his cheeks flushing as he processes just how charming the man is approaching him. It wasn’t often that a bounty hunter stopped by that actually looked presentable- but this man, he was more striking than any human Hoseok had ever seen before. Biting his lip, Hoseok set down his hammer, his hands moving to take off his apron. Body smudged with soot and shining with sweat, Hoseok approached Kihyun, wiping his hands on his apron.

“How c-can I help you?” Hoseok asked, wincing at his stutter. Kihyun pushed back his pink hair while clearly eating up the visual feast before him. It’d been so long since he’d seen a man with such a flawless body, and the way he was looking at him, like Kihyun was some kind of god… Kihyun loved it.

“My warp drive’s malfunctioning, I don’t really know what part,” Kihyun replied, leaning his body towards Hoseok’s, watching the man adjust the waistband of his pants with hungry eyes. Hoseok hummed thoughtfully, trying to ignore how intensely Kihyun was looking at him as he walked up to the man’s ship. Running his hands along the side of the ship, Hoseok whistled, impressed by how well taken care of his ship was despite how it was clearly an outdated model.

“What a beautiful ship,” Hoseok complimented, running his hand along the underside before pulling out a screwdriver from his pocket. Kihyun smiled proudly, leaning against the ship beside Hoseok, staring at him with hooded eyes. Kihyun watched interestedly as Hoseok began opening up the side panels, locating the warp drive quickly and inspecting it.

“Thank you… ah, I don’t know your name yet,” Kihyun said, wanting to get to know this man better in more ways than one, but asking for a name was usually a pretty good start. Hoseok pushed a strand of hair behind his ear, inspecting the warp drive as he replied.

“I’m Hoseok,” he responded, and Kihyun hummed lowly, arching his back and trying to look sexy, his eyes half-lidded and hips arched forward.

“It’s nice to meet you, Hoseok,” Kihyun responded, tilting his chin up so that his pink hair fell away from his forehead, exposing his sharp eyes even further. “I’m Kihyun,” he introduced. Hoseok nodded, but his heart was racing so hard he could practically hear it. Was this what flirting looked like?

“Um, so I think I found where the issue is,” Hoseok said, clearing his throat a bit. Kihyun’s grin grew, and he raised an eyebrow, enamored by how easily Hoseok was to fluster.

“What’s the damage, baby?” Kihyun asked, his voice almost lecherous as the pet name dripped from his lips. Hoseok physically jolted, a whine slipping from his lips as he dropped his screwdriver, heart racing. Kihyun chuckled, raising a brow as he bent over, purposefully turning has back to Hoseok so the man could get a good view of his ass as he did so.

“I-I um, I think this part just busted from age, it’s an easy fix,” Hoseok says after a few seconds of collecting himself, flickering his eyes away from Kihyun’s butt, attempting to keep Kihyun’s decency intact. Once Kihyun handed him his screwdriver, Hoseok began walking back to his shop, gesturing for Kihyun to follow him.

“That’s good to hear~ if you don’t mind me asking, are you married, Hoseok?” Kihyun asked, slowly following after Hoseok as he led them back to his shop. Hoseok chuckled softly, rubbing the back of his head embarrassedly as he went through his drawers, trying to find the right adapter Kihyun would need.

“No,” Hoseok replied, licking his lips before biting them, his hands rifling through the loose parts, working hard to locate the part. “I actually haven’t ever dated… anyone,” Hoseok continued, his voicing trailing off as he finds the right part. “Ah! Here it is,” Hoseok said, nodding to himself, forgetting that he even admitted to his own inexperience to Kihyun. Heart pounding, Kihyun raised his eyebrows, wiping his forehead as he attempted to calm himself down.

“That’s great,” Kihyun replied, following after Hoseok as he ran back to Kihyun’s ship. Shit, and Kihyun was about to defile this innocent thing… feeling a little guilty for his depraved thoughts, Kihyun already started reaching for his wallet, planning on tipping the man a little extra. As he was rifling through his cash, Hoseok was busy fixing Kihyun’s ship, and finished it within minutes.

“Ok it should be fixed now,” Hoseok said, beaming happily. “Where are you headed, by the way? People don’t usually fly through here,” Hoseok asked, screwing back on the side panel of Kihyun’s ship.

“Oh, I’m going to Limnatides,” Kihyun plainly replied, knowing that it held some implications but letting Hoseok jump to those conclusions on his own. He casually handed Hoseok some cash, knowing that it was more than enough to cover the cost.

“Eh? Why are you going there, isn’t that place super seedy?” Hoseok asked, tilting his head as he quietly accepted the money. Kihyun seemed so cool- definitely not the type to be hanging around that dump of a place for very long… plus, at least judging by this stack of cash, he had more than enough money to go somewhere nicer.

“Well, I’m a bounty hunter, heh. My target is camping out at Limnatides, and I’m going to catch him and collect his bounty,” Kihyun explained, pulling out the keys to his spaceship and waggling them around. “I’ve been in pursuit for a week now… a week solid,” Kihyun said, chuckling without a single ounce of amusement in his voice. Hoseok frowned, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he gave Kihyun a sad look.

“You must be lonely… I have my grandpa here so I’m not usually alone,” Hoseok said, and Kihyun shrugged, stepping a little closer to his ship.

“During those long trips, I do start missing human contact pretty bad,” Kihyun replied, licking his lips. Hoseok felt a weird bolt of electricity race down his back, and he couldn’t stop himself from saying the next words that came to mind.

“Then, if you’re ever in the area during your travels, you can always stop by here?” Hoseok offered, tugging his lip between his teeth and blinking over at Kihyun. Kihyun felt a smile spread over his face, and he nodded, enamored by the innocence of this welder boy.

“I’ll stop by again, babe~” Kihyun said, winking over at Hoseok before jumping into his ship. He started the engine, seeing on the monitor that the warp drive was back online. He waved at Hoseok through his window, giving him a thumbs-up before blasting off at warp speed through the atmosphere of the small planet. Hoseok waved at him as he flew off, his heart racing at the thought of Kihyun coming back to visit him again. He left him so shook up, Hoseok could hardly think straight, and he ran a hand through his hair, trying to collect his thoughts. He didn’t even know what to do- he’d never felt this way about another person before…

One thing Hoseok did know was this- he hoped that Kihyun would come back and brighten up his metal-filled life again <3

#kiho #fic #kihomonthly #yoo kihyun #shin hoseok #wonho #kihyun #scifiau #spaceau #au

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