by T.L. Beeding “Can’t you see I’m working on it?” Phylissa threw herself against the side of the ARC-52, pressing herself flat. Bullets whizzed by, thudding into the foul-smelling mud pile their terrain rover had gotten trapped in. She gave him a nasty look. “Well, if you haven’t noticed, they’ve got us pinned. And they…
Read moreUnder Distant Skies
by Andrew Albritton “This has to be it,” Ambrose said, taking a bite of beans in the firelight. “Tomorrow, we’ll find the treasure.” “I hope you’re right,” Garrison said. “Otherwise, we’re going to have to find jobs.” Ambrose laughed. “We can’t have that.” Ambrose and Garrison were camped at the top of a shallow canyon,…
Read moreConversations in Space
by Paul Stansbury The Kūaka hurtled through space, its New Hope colonists slumbering in suspended animation. Inside, all was still in the darkness except for its passengers’ thoughts coalescing in a reality beyond the bounds of the conscious and subconscious. “They say before the sixth ice age, Earth was mostly green and great oceans,…
Read morePaid to Remember
By Emad El-Din Aysha This Union you want With the earth and sky, This union we all need with love, A golden wing from God’s heart just Touched the ground, Now Step upon it With your brave sun-vows And help our eyes To Dance! — Hafiz “Is this not a bit too much,” Al-Jahiz said,…
Read moreLittle Green Men
by Curtis A. Bass Lieutenant Caleb Cooper “Burke! Move your ass. We’re on a timeline here,” Gilmore barked. There he goes, showing his ass again. I wish he’d just lay off. “Ignore him,” I whispered, my face close to Burke’s ear as I worked on his helmet. Louder I said, “Hold yer damn horses, Cap….
Read moreThe Forbidden Martian
by Margaret Karmazin I awoke and struggled to sit up. It was dark except for emergency floor lights, and I was ravenous. The door to my cell was wide open. Groggy and confused, I sat up, then very carefully stood. Where were my torturers? Why was it cold? Not sure of my strength, I crawled…
Read moreFractured Mirth
“Fractured Mirth” by Sherry Shahan Iris longs to be with others who resist State laws; others who risk punishment to express themselves however they choose; others who believe that what a person dreams is more important than exams devised to test how little you know about history. She’s been searching for a group she heard…
Read moreKeep Your Friends Close…
Keep Your Friends Close… by Richard Helmling (with compliments to Alan Dean Foster) He thought he was starting to get pretty good at reading the alien’s moods by how its feelers twitched. The Methcalt—a loose aural analogue of the name another species used for them—had no spoken language. They were capable of creating some sounds,…
Read moreIn the Name of Ammalee
The cave was the last place Kold expected to see a preacher. There were plenty of preachers protesting at the entrance to the cave. And there were even more lining the roads that brought him and his sister there. More than once they had to ditch the road entirely, just to arrive safely. But they…
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