Stars

Sophia was in a hurry. She’d just finished working 16 hours in the lab and she was feeling fried. She spent the 5 minute walk from her station to her her car catching up on all of her social media apps. She despised notifications.

Just outside the front doors Sophia bumped into Tiffany, who was gazing up at the night sky.

“Oh sorry, I didn’t…” Sophia began, “what are you doing?” she finished quizzically.

“Trying to be a bit more human,” Tiffany replied in a sibyllic tone.

“You are trying. . .“

“To be more human,” Tiffany finished, “I’m looking at the stars.”

Sophia glanced up, “There aren’t really any stars out, the light pollution is too bright.”

“You can see Orion’s Belt, Ursa Major, and Minor, oh and that is Venus.” Tiffany pointed out.

Sophia looked at Tiffany as if she had swallowed a goldfish before her eyes. Sophia shook her head and walked to her car thinking.

Instead of driving home Sophia drove out of the city to find the stars.

Sophia drove to the smallest town she knew, only 55,000 people, they had to have stars there. Not enough.

Four hours and 320 miles later Sophia drove up a back road into the sagebrush.

She looked up to find the sky bursting with stars, and it took her breath away.

Somehow, seeing all that vastness she found a greater purpose, she knew what it meant to be human.

Goddess Coffee

Fildas briskly walked over to her friends table that they were occupying, and quickly slipped into her seat clutching her large coffee mug between her hands. As she sat down she took a sip and sighed in satisfaction.

“Oh goodness Fildas, you shouldn’t drink that much coffee, it isn’t good for you.” Pakhet said with a shake of her head.

Fildas smiled wickedly, “It’s not coffee Pakhet, it’s an Irish Hot Chocolate.”

Pinga snorted into her Chia, “So part whiskey, part chocolate then.”

All three women laughed.

“Did the two of you consider what I asked you last time?” Pakhet asked her friends.

“Despite your outlandish blandishments, I don’t think I will be joining you in destroying your patron city.” Pinga said with a laugh.

Fildas joined in, “Come now Pinga, it’s only been a few hundred years since she asked, the least we could do is think about it.”

“Hey!,” Pakhet exclaimed, “I haven’t asked about it in over a thousand years! No, I was talking about the aerial silks class that I thought we should all take.” She sipped her Turkish coffee in mock annoyance.

“Seems a little mundane for a goddess, don’t you think?” Fildas said.

“Says the woman wearing jeans and an off the rack “vintage” t-shirt” Pakhet replied. “It’s time for something new.”

“I say we should try it,” Pinga added, “Then I can practice my descending target shooting.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Fildas laughed.

Sanguine

She opened her eyes and blinked. She looked about her and wondered at why everything was sanguine.

Everything felt too real. Maybe she was not real enough. She tried to interact with her surroundings but she passed through.

Then the drums started. She felt them thrumming deep in her soul. She smiled, this was war.

She took a good look at what was around her, a military camp deep in the throws of pre battle build up. Nervous men were tightening down leather jerkins, or polishing shields. War axes and blades were settled onto belts.

She walked through the camp taking note. She quickly picked the cowards out first, usually they were alone, but there was a knot of ten who she knew would cause a lethal break in the line. She saw the men who were here out of determined fear, she knew they wouldn’t be strong enough for what was to come.

She felt the men who were full of passion, eager for a fight, eager to prove themselves, and eager to die for their country, she would remember them. One man above the rest stood out to her, he was empty. Empty of fear, of passion, empty of worry and empty of uncertainty. She smiled, this man would do great things.

She approached him, he was bowed over his blade, praying?  She wrapped her arms around him, feeling his power, she smiled. He would be granted access.

Tag

We don’t play tag where I’m from.

6 years ago, it was the dead of winter. We had snow that was taller than houses. This made our homes very snug, but it also changed the entire landscape of our world.

As children we decided to use this to our advantage. We turned the obfuscated snow into new landmarks, we dug trenches, and created perfect hiding holes.

It was perfect for playing tag.

In general, winter is the time of the year where we are stuck indoors because of the miserable biting cold, it then becomes our time to create and make new things for our home, repair tools and keep records. This year was different.

The snow was such a great insulator that the winter became a mild playground to run around in. As children we were not content to sit and obediently complete tasks our mothers gave to us. We wanted to run and play. So we did.

Every moment the sun was above the horizon we were playing. Then that fateful day happened.

We were playing near the quarry, but every child who was there that day swears we were not that close.

Katherine was running away from Steven, a funny red head who had a crush on her. Katherine was the fastest runner in our village. No one knows what made her stop on the crest of a snow bank.

But when Steven touched her, she fell.

Basement

“It’s time to foment some trouble!” Astrid growled. She slammed down hard on the breaks of her ‘67 Mustang as she pulled into her driveway, without a pause she was at the front steps of her house unlocking the door.

“Astrid don’t overreact, he is just a pompous jerk trying to goad you into doing something foolish,” her friend Carmen said.

“He is has no idea who he is messing with” Astrid snarled as she flipped the light switch leading into her basement.

Carmen followed feeling exasperated. In college Astrid had always been a little hot headed, jumping to conclusions, getting into fights. Carmen didn’t expect anything to really come of her frustration this time, except that maybe Carmen’s punching bag would end up with a few lumps.

At the bottom of the stairs Carmen froze. She blinked for a second and then looked strangely at Astrid. “What is this?”

“My basement,” she replied as she went to the foot locker on the south facing wall. Opening it she pulled out hand wraps and started to carefully cover her hands.

“Astrid. . . .You know. . . normal people don’t have a basement full of weapons.” Carmen half whispered in a husky voice.

Astrid paused for a second, then shrugged. “Their loss.” she finished taping her hands and then sized up her collection. Each wall housed a major category: hand-to-hand, distance, blades, and guns.

She grabbed the kukri off the wall.

“Time to hunt”

Motivation

“If we get arrested it’s your fault.” Carrie hissed at her friend.

“We aren’t going to get arrested,” Kim quietly, almost robotically replied as her fingers flew over the keys.

“You say that, but I have a presentiment about this.” Carrie whispered as her fingers absent-mindedly played with her long blond braid.

Silence reigned for heart pounding seconds as Kim used her pad to hack into the Weyland cargo holding facility. The two of them had planned this raid for months. No one would chance breaking into a Weyland facility without ample preparation, but more importantly without motivation.

Kim and Carrie had enough motivation to storm the main office building followed by NBN and every social media reporter on their heels. Weyland had stolen Kim’s daughter. It had been a year ago, at night, from a children’s hospital.

The high pitched buzz of a plasma pistol priming broke the silence and both Kim and Carrie’s shoulders slumped.

Standing behind them was a tall bioroid security guard with his sidearm primed but not directly pointed at the two women.  

Carrie gave her friend a severe glare for the briefest moment before she composed her face and addressed the bioroid in an innocent and sweet voice, “can I help you?”

“No,” his gruff masculine voice replied. With a faint smile he continued, “but I can help you.” With that he raised his pistol and fired.

The lock was melted into slag.

Nebula

“Sir, These reading don’t make sense,” ensign Gavarty prompted. She double checked the figures that popped up on her heads up display.

“Elaborate ensign,” said science officer Bashir.

“We are currently 5,000 kilometers deep in the earth's crust and I’m picking up the readings for a class H II nebula.” Gavarty spoke as she typed, “It’s impossible. We should be moving in a liquid of Iron and Nickle. To have reading of a gaseous state seems false.”

“Hanson, do you have a report from engineering? Are all of our sensors working?” Bashir snapped.

Ensign Hanson flinched as if he had been slapped, “Engineering hasn’t reported any irregularities, all sensors are working according to the diagnostics.”

“We might have to risk getting a visual on this anomaly.” Bashir mused.

“But sir the pressure,” Hanson started.

“It’s worth the risk of losing an external camera to not put our crew in danger.” Bashir interrupted. Turning towards Gavarty he ordered, “Bring up the external cameras.”

Within a few moments the forward view screen was filled with an unearthly sight. There were roiling clouds of golden yellow that folded into a darkening center of oranges and reds. It was mesmerizing.

“By all my Holy Kith” Hanson whispered.

“Are we going to go through it and get a full set of records on this anomaly, sir? Gavarty turned to ask Bashir.

“We have to,” Bashir said in awe, “this is what we came for.”