Short Story

Alarms blared deafeningly through the station, flashing lights announcing a warning that had come too late. The station jolted frequently, its orbital stability destroyed by the repeated attacks. Hallways were sprinkled with forms that were still; far too still for anybody's liking. Some of them moved, trying to make a last-ditch effort to help, but most collapsed after a few moments. In the midst of these, a few personnel moved to find those who could be helped, treating wounds and shock even as they shook with injuries of their own.
A man walked through them, the lines on his face deepening with each of the fallen he passed. Underneath the burns and smeared blood, his uniform marked him as someone of importance, and he had somewhere important to be.
After a moment, he reached a door and went through it, brushing sparking wires out of his way. "Commander, I have a damage report." No response came. He looked around the control deck, seeing only a few upright officers, wide-eyed at their posts; no sign of his superior. "Commander?"
"He's dead, Riyel," a voice came from the corner, barely loud enough to be heard over the noise. The other stepped out into the decimated room, not daring to get too near to Riyel.
Riyel whirled around just as the alarms stopped; some technician had decided to finally cut them. The stark silence left behind was eery, almost as painful as the blaring alarm had been. Riyel's eyes narrowed dangerously as he glowered down at the man before him. "What are you doing here, Tolan?" He asked, no longer having to shout. "You're supposed to be in a holding cell."
Tolan shrugged, small shoulders rising and falling wearily as the station tilted again. "The third blast cut out the door's power down there."
"Too bad it didn't just blow up," said Riyel darkly, deriving a fleeting, savage pleasure from the hurt that flickered through the scientist's dark eyes. Riyel turned his head toward the main viewscreen.
"Where's the Commander?" He said.
"I told you," Tolan said, a small shake in his voice quickly controlled, "he's dead. He was when I got here."
Riyel gritted his teeth, stepping toward the seat in the middle of the room. The Commander lay silent, fiery eyes closed to the world. For a moment, Riyel closed his eyes with them. "Who would have done this?" He demanded, half to himself.
"Divan would," Tolan said softly. Riyel was in the man's face a heartbeat later, his expression pure anger.
"Never say that again," Riyel said, his words emphasized as he shook Tolan by his uniform.
"Do you understand, scientist?" He spat the word like an expletive, pouring all his rage into the three syllables.
Tolan's expression briefly flashed frustration and hurt, but it was replaced by the same depressed, slightly forced calm that he'd previously worn. "I understand, Sir," he said, the first time he'd referred as such to his friend outside of jokes. Riyel released Tolan's uniform, shoving him roughly away. The smaller man stumbled backward, colliding hard with a shattered panel. Riyel paid no heed, turning to the remaining command crew.
"According to protocol 1.27a, I'm assuming temporary command," he said, projecting confidence and strength. "Officer Yvanta, report," he ordered, grateful that no one contested his leadership.
The young woman jolted out of her shock, quickly tapping in something on her station. "Life support down to... twenty percent, shields at three percent." Riyel cursed mentally. They weren't built for attacks of that magnitude.
"How many dead?"
"Unknown, Sir," said Yvanta. "D-Doctor Polen'll get through soon."
"Good." Crisp, concise words only. "Brink, any idea what attacked us?" The sensor analyst shook his head, frowning.
"Sensor array was the first thing taken out, and it wasn't accidentally. I have zero scan capability." An apologetic shrug was accompanied by a quick wiping away of blood from above his eye.
"Forell?" He turned to the communications officer. "Any chatter from the fleet?"
"None," she said, blue eyes panicky. "But communications are partially down, so that could be why."
A small noise of disbelief came from behind him, and Riyel turned slowly. Tolan stood a few feet away, hand clasped over a new, bleeding gash on his left shoulder. Riyel's eyes swept over him dismissively, inwardly cringing a bit as he saw the injuries that had been inflicted on his supposed friend by crewmates who'd felt the anger and alleged betrayal most strongly. He pushed those feelings away rapidly, focusing on the current problems.
"Yes, crewmember?" Riyel said flatly.
There was a brief raising of one eyebrow at the new direction. Nonetheless, the scientist pressed on. "Permission to speak freely, Sir?" Several murderous glances were cast at the man from across the room at his daring to speak with his past record.
Riyel's eyes narrowed warningly. "Granted."
"If-" Tolan hesitated. "If Divan is behind this, then he'd have no trouble getting the fleet to help him."
"But-but the fleet is there to protect us!" Yvanta protested. Riyel dipped his head for a moment, thinking. The idea made sense, much as he was loathe to admit it.
"Try to get sensors and communications back on," he said to Brink and Forell.
"Yes, Sir," said the man with a nod.
There was a moment of silence, then Riyel turned to Tolan. In a deadly soft voice, he gave the man orders. "We can't afford to waste any hands at present," he said. "You're not forgiven, and you're certainly not off the hook, but you can be of use. Go check in with the support deck and medical, then come back with a report. Quickly."
Tolan nodded slightly, shaky hand still over the bleeding shoulder. "Yes, Commander." The brown-haired officer was gone without another word. Riyel sat down in one of the vacated stations and began to assist in diverting power to where it was needed, praying with all the others that the worst of this was behind them.
Unfortunately, this was not to be so. Their brief reprieve lasted for nearly an hour, and then things began to happen very rapidly. Tolan returned to the control deck, carrying grave reports of casualty numbers and damages. Communications were brought back up in a very small capacity, and just as this happened, Forell turned to him.
"We're being contacted, Sir," she said, her gaze a bit confused.
"By?" He asked.
"It looks like the fleet."
"Patch it through," he said.
It took a few moments, then a face came up on screen. Riyel's eyes widened slightly. "Divan?"
The blond man gave a thin, cocky grin. "Riyel. I see you've taken command of your lovely station. How are things down there, anyway?"
Riyel took a step closer to the viewing screen. "Did you do this?" He demanded. Divan didn't respond. "Did you attack an unarmed station?"
"Now, now," said Divan dismissively. "You're not completely unarmed." The grin returned, more dark this time. "Perhaps I did."
Riyel's hands trembled with anger, and he clasped them behind his back to hide it. "Why?" He asked, looking up at the very altered visage of a once-trusted advisor.
He was answered with a question. "Have you ever heard of the T'iari people? Anyone?"
There was a quick, frightened shaking of heads by most on the bridge.
"They're a race of warlike humanoids who spend most of their time exploring and conquering worlds," said Tolan quietly.
Divan raised his eyebrows. "Very good, Tolan," he said demeaningly. "I thought you'd be in a nice little cell somewhere, what with all those nasty rumors you've been spreading about me."
Tolan didn't respond, and Divan rolled his eyes.
"Now you've distracted me." He looked back to Riyel. "Well, Commander," he said mockingly, "your subversive scientist is correct. They're explorers. A few weeks ago, I received a communication from one of them. They were curious about what we were doing so near to their space, and when I told them, they were all too eager to get their hands on your research. You see, they've had trouble getting their ships to hold a steady orbit or sustained life support, so they can't travel as far as they like."
"So?" Riyel ground out.
"So, I sent a message back, asking what was in it for me if I got it for them." Divan's grin widened. "It was quite a lot, in fact. Your little pet there overheard one of my communications with the T'iari people, so I had to act faster while you took care of locking him away for his accusations. It was really very easy to convince the fleet to assist. Most of them, anyway. The rest had to be... taken care of."
"You're a traitor," Riyel accused, glaring.
"Labels," said the man dismissively. "But I've accomplished my goal, and now you have a choice."
There was a pause as Divan let his words sink in.
"You can either surrender to me, or I will kill every last person on that station. You have twenty-five minutes to decide."
The screen cut out, and Riyel turned away. "What will the repercussions be if those T-people get ahold of our technology?" He asked Tolan.
The man shifted his weight to one side, then winced and shifted it back. "They will move farther from their homeworld and begin to take over more planets," he said, eyes flicking to the viewing screen and back. "They destroy about fifty percent of the population on any world they land on. Eventually, they'd probably venture as far as Earth."
"Understood," he said, feeling a very heavy weight descend on his shoulders. He stepped closer to the scientist. "Tolan, I'm s-"
"It doesn't matter," Tolan interrupted softly, a sad smile flitting across his split lips.
Riyel nodded slowly and stepped over to Yvanta. "Do we have control over the self-destruct system?" He asked.
"Affirmative, Sir," she said.
"Bring it up," he ordered. "Forell, begin a station-wide broadcast." He paused before beginning. "Attention all crewmembers. This is your acting Commander speaking. The fleet has turned against us and an alien planet wants our station. We can't let them have it. I'm ordering an evacuation to the escape pods, effective immediately. You have less than twenty minutes to get there. Please do so in a calm and orderly fashion." He nodded and Yvanta cut the transmission.
Riyel turned to the rest of the command crew. "I want all of you to get down there, too. Quickly."
Frightened glances were exchanged as personal belongings were snatched up and well-wishes were murmured by the departing crew. Riyel stood in the center of the room, letting out a breath as he stared out at space. He heard a noise and turned. Standing a few meters behind him, looking small and beaten down but determined, was Tolan.
"Go with the others," Riyel said stiffly.
"C'mon, Riyel," said Tolan with a wry twinkle in his eye. "We graduated together, and you think I'm going to let you have all the fun alone?"
Riyel looked away, his skin hot with the forgiveness he didn't deserve. He stepped forward and raised his hand, his heart twinging when Tolan cringed away. Riyel laid it gently on Tolan's shoulder.
"Thank you," said Riyel, voice unusually quiet and sincere.
Tolan nodded. "What do you need me to do?"
"Sit over there at the lifesigns monitor, make sure everybody gets into the pods," Riyel said gratefully. Tolan nodded again, seating himself gingerly.
"Alright. Everyone's moving in the right direction."
"Good." Riyel accepted the information and brusquely began to bring up the self-destruct protocol. A red light flashed and Riyel cursed.
"What?" Tolan asked warily.
"I hoped this wouldn't happen," Riyel ground out. "The timed feature's been destroyed. It'll go off immediately when we set it."
"I figured it would be that way," Tolan said with a small shrug. "Any way to fix it?"
"You can try," Riyel said, the tone not showing much hope. "Keep an eye on the crew, though."
"Will do," Tolan said, already turning away as his fingers skimmed across the keys.
There were a few moments of tense quiet, and Tolan let out a breath. "I can't be sure, but I think that sort of fixed it," he said.
"How long?"
"Three minutes," murmured Tolan. "We'll have to run."
"Can you run?" Riyel asked, brow creasing.
"I'm not sure," Tolan said simply. "But you can."
"I won't leave you," Riyel said adamantly.
Tolan didn't respond, bringing up a display. "That's the last of them. We have two minutes before Divan's time expires."
"Alright," Riyel grunted. He began to input his code, quickly setting the timer for three minutes. "Ready?" He asked, looking over to Tolan.
"Ready. The pods are taking off." The scientist stood painfully.
Riyel nodded. "Go." He pressed the final key and they began their race to the last remaining pod. Tolan's breath was ragged as he fought to keep up. Riyel pulled the less injured arm over his shoulder, helping the man to run with him.
The two, panicked minutes passed quickly. They took off in the pod, the broadcast from the ship being wired to them.
"Time's up, Riyel," said Divan in a sing-song voice. "What did you choose?"
The ship exploded, cutting the transmission. Through the rear window, they saw the station and entire fleet go up in an orange blaze.
Riyel let out a breath of relief as he switched off the transmission and sent a message to the others, hanging his head. He looked to Tolan. "Just like old times, huh?"
Tolan laughed breathlessly, mopping up the some of the blood pooling beneath him. "Yeah. Just like old times."

If Willie Garson wrote poetry...

Do what you love.
Live what you believe.
Laugh at funny things,
even through challenges.
Spend time wisely
with loved ones.
You never know
what's coming next.

Leaves

People don't generally react well to... unique ideas.

Apparently, leaves being precious possessions is not a normal belief.

I found three leaves on the way home, they were pretty and green, red, and yellow. I brought them to my house and showed them to my mother.

"Look, Mom!" I cried, holding them out. "I found these leaves, and I didn't even have to look for them! They were just out for anyone to pick up!"

"That's... great, dear," she said, sounding less than impressed, and maybe a little bit concerned for my mental state. "Please go put them back outside."

"But... they're precious!" I insisted, holding them closer to me.

"They're leaves," she said dryly.

"And I love them," I said stubbornly.

"Fine," she said, "take them downstairs."

"Alright," I said brightly, smiling as I walked to my room and laying them gently on a shelf.

Similar experiences were repeated as my family members wandered through during the day.

And don't even get me started on the tomato.

If Spock wrote Poetry...

Two pi times the radius squared.
Simple; always absolute.
A formula for truth, never lying.
Consistency at its finest.

Space and time remain
Constant and fluid.
Observations yield results.
Changing perspectives.

Logic brings peace.
Emotion diffused.
Opinion moderated.
Affection contained.

Flash 10/10

Lights

Every room is circular in the quiet house; the walls curve back to meet each other, interrupted only by circular doorways. Chairs stand in smooth lines, every piece of furniture sleek and modern. In the center of one of these rooms sits a small white form. He is immobile, nothing moving but the small row of dark blue lights dancing slowly across his chest in a strange glow. A mewling sound penetrates the silence, and the robot sits up. The blue lights stop moving and settle in one small circle over where a heart would lie. With a bored slowness, he lopes gracefully through the rooms and opens a door. A kitten tumbles in from the contained simu-yard, splaying across the floor. It is still a new addition in the household routine. A tiny pink tongue hangs out of the mouth and it emits another mew. The robot turns and walks back toward his original position, ignoring the animal’s communication. It tags after him, slim sides shining in the light. Its head nearly reaches his upper abdomen, and its high-pitched communications irritate his sensors. He returns to standing in the middle of the room; his job has been fulfilled. The kitten does not desist in its pleas for attention, becoming more vocal as the robot continues to ignore it. It jumps onto his shoulder, balancing
on the too-small surface. He tilts slightly to one side and it slides off, leaving scratch marks as it goes. Quickly, he examines the shoulder and the light on his chest flashes red before going back to blue. With a slightly hastened pace, he moves toward another room and picks up a tool in his smoothly-jointed fingers. Applying it to the shoulder, he lets out a sigh before stopping himself. It is not like him to go against protocol, and he quickly regrets it, wondering if he requires maintenance. The shoulder is repaired quickly, but his light flashes red again as a flash of a little collar flashes through his vision. The kitten meows apologetically and leans its paws against his shoulder, licking him before dropping back to the ground. Its earth-brown eyes blink appealingly at him and he nods. It appears satisfied, and purrs for him to follow it as it scampers toward another room.
As he should, he glances at everything in the rooms as they go through, checking to see if his immaculate cleaning has been disturbed. It would be against protocol for the house to be unclean when the humans returned. As he expects, nothing has been moved out of place. The purple and gray striped kitten continues until they reach the food preparation area, and seats itself in front of an empty silver dish. Its mew contains inflection that indicates hunger, so the robot climbs the fluid step stool to reach a small food container. It rattles as he moves back down and pours the designated amount into its dish. The kitten purrs with a pleased flick of its tail and bends down. The robot’s blue light becomes a shade paler as he replaces the nutrients and starts back to his area in the main habitation room. He goes into hibernation mode for a few minutes, pale blue lights flashing across his chest, until he registers a small head touching him. Another meow pierces the silence as he instantly reaches operational mode and it touches him again. He takes a step to the side. It is unaware that it is breaking protocol, but he knows. The fibers of its fur feel strange against his smooth leg. It refuses to be avoided, and nudges a shimmering ball of simu-wool toward him. Analyzing the kitten for a moment, he concludes that it wants him to toss it. Desiring silence, he does so. It quickly retrieves the sphere and brings it back with a devious glint in its eyes. The process continues for several minutes, until finally the kitten’s mouth opens in a yawn, pink tongue curling in an expression of fatigue. It curls up beside him, tail lying across his leg. After a moment of silent contemplation, he brushes his hand along its spine and his light turns a soft shade of yellow as the kitten purrs.

Flash 9/10

Life in General

The warm summer air hung over the driveway as Charlie hosed off his beat-up truck. He was just finishing up when he heard the sounds of sniffling from down the sidewalk. Leaning around the truck, he saw his youngest brother, Dennis, trudging toward the house, tears shining on his cheeks.
Charlie dropped the hose and ran over. “Hey, kid, what’s up?” He asked.
“Nothing.” Dennis shook his head miserably.
“Nothing?” Charlie asked doubtfully. He sat down on the sidewalk next to Dennis. “It doesn’t look like nothing to me.”
“Why are you so happy?” Dennis asked; the world, bleak as it was to him, didn’t seem to offer much joy for anyone anymore.
“Life in general,” Charlie said with a slight smile. He pulled the boy onto his lap. “Now, what’s bugging you?”
“No one in my whole entire class likes me,” Dennis said, sniffling.
“I’m sure that’s not true,” Charlie protested. “You’re a great kid. They like you.”
“Nuh-uh,” Dennis insisted. “They hate me. And now I’ll have no friends this year.” He wiped at his eyes again. Charlie frowned, standing up.
“Well, you know what I think we should do instead of thinking about it?” Charlie asked, gently taking Dennis’s backpack off.
“What?” Dennis asked, sounding dull rather than curious.
“I think we should take a ride in my truck to go get ice cream.”
“Really?” Dennis’s face lost some of its sadness.
“Really,” Charlie confirmed. He tossed the boy over his shoulder as he walked over to turn the hose off and quickly wrapped it up.
“Can I sit in the front seat?” Dennis asked hopefully.
“‘fraid not, bud,” Charlie said regretfully. “Mom’d kill me.”
“Oh, alright,” Dennis said, sitting in the back. It was a testament to his deep despair that he didn’t bounce on the seat as he normally did.
“It won’t be too much longer ‘till you can,” Charlie assured him with a grin. He started the truck and they began the drive to the ice cream store.
Dennis cited all the examples of his class’s dislike for him, sinking back into upset. Charlie listened sympathetically, remembering the years when that had been the most important thing in his life, too.
“Time for ice cream,” he told the boy as they parked.
“Okay.”
They trekked into the shop and Charlie got a waffle cone with a scoop of strawberry.
“I’ll have the same thing,” Dennis said, eyeing the pink confection eagerly.
They sat out in the bed of Charlie’s truck, watching the cars on the busier road go by.
“Thanks for the ice cream,” Dennis said, licking a sticky finger.
“You’re welcome,” Charlie said. Dennis giggled. “Now, what’s got you so happy?” Charlie asked teasingly.
Dennis gave a bright, pink-smeared grin. “Like you said earlier,” he said, leaning back. “Life in general.”
Charlie laughed, ruffling his brother’s hair. “That’s good, kid. I’m glad.”

Flash 8/10

Arrival

A small girl perched on top of a rock, her brown braids swinging as she watched the road. Nothing diverted her gaze from its post, and the long stretch of time did nothing to dull the enthusiasm in her eyes.
Suddenly, her body stiffened with excitement as she saw a figure come over the hill. She slid off the rock and darted to the house, skirts flying.
“Papa’s coming, Papa’s coming!” She declared to all who could hear. There was a flurry of printed skirts and muddy shoes as all raced out to meet the traveler.
“Papa!” The children cried in a chorus. The girl who had been watching was the first to clamp him in a hug.
“Did you have a good journey?” The girl’s mother asked, smiling.
“Aye,” he said, nodding as he took off his hat and placed it on one of the young boys with a grin. “‘twas far too long to be away, but productive.”
“We missed you!” The girl cried.
“I missed you, too,” he assured her with a chuckle. Slowly, each child had received their share of hugs and they made their way down the dirt road, returning to their house with quiet contentment, knowing their family was whole once more.