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Space–There’s a lot of it!

Hello. I’m Alnold Kahh, and I’m the captain of this Universal Cruiseship, Expansion.

Well, that isn’t exactly the truth. I am Alnold Kahh, but I’m a mechanical technician at the space dock C, home of the Expansion. Well, it was. I ‘borrowed’ her you see, under the excuse of taking the ship for a test flight after giving her a major service. I didn’t intend to keep her, a ship of this size with only me on board.

Ahem.

Ah, my apologies. This is Nebula, my onboard computer and navigation system. She is the one who actually flies the vessel – I, most of the time, sit back and watch the stars fly by outside. I’m working on an expansion, pardon the pun, so Nebula can use her artificial intelligence and become more hands on, and I will then at least have a face to talk to rather than a computer console. That’s still a work in progress.

All systems are performing within their correct parameters, Alnold.

Thanks, Nebula. My journey is pretty much a work in progress also! I’ve heard rumours of a Paradise Planet, many lightyears away, and that is where we are heading. We have a phrase, it isn’t the destination but the journey itself that matters, so I intend to make the most of this whole journey. Whether I reach this paradise remains to be seen, but this vessel is equipped with the most amazing state of the art technology, so we can cross lightyears within a matter of seconds, so we may get pretty close. If we’re heading in the right direction, that is! Space is a big place. Nebula’s good, really good, but even she doesn’t know the locations of mythical planets in far away star systems.

Alnold, there is a debris cluster ahead. Dropping out of hyperspeed and raising the deflector shields. We should pass through the cluster in approximately fifteen minutes.

So here we are, just travelling through space in a borrowed spaceship. Not a lot tends to happen. Well, up to now…

Will nothing continue to happen?
Will this develop into a new series?
Wait until the next (not so) thrilling instalment (if there is one) to find out!

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Ground Control

The stars were barely visible from the Classified Space Station due to the light from the Sun appearing over the curve of the Earth.

“That is not the Sun.” the friendly on-board computer corrected.

“What is it?” I typed.

“Ground Control terraforming.” Computer replied. “The Sun is currently behind you.”

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Essence

She glides through the forest bringing an essence of Spring. The rhythm of her breath singing with the gentle rustling of leftover Autumn leaves beneath her feet. Spring leaves unfurl from their buds as she walks by, only to wrap themselves tightly once again when she moves on. She provides a burst of bright sunshine to wake the slumbering plants.

“Winter is almost over” she whispers.

She stops.

She knows she has been spotted.

She gently smiles. Slowly, she turns, fading as she does. Mother Nature knows when it is the right time to show herself. She will be back.

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One day in October

“You slept well. They prob’ly heard yer snores o’er No Man’s Land.”

“Ah needed it, mate. Ah were shattered. An’ me back’s still killin’ me.”

“Better that thun bullets though, eh?”

“Ah suppose.”

“’Ere, ‘ave some tea.”

“Ta!”

“I’m Vaughan. Vinny to me mates. Or Guardian Angel”

“Vaughan?!”

“I know. It’s a bit different, int’it?”

“Never ‘eard it afore. I’m Walter.”

“’Ow old are ye, Walter?”

“Nineteen.”

“There’s a lot your age ‘ere. I’m 35 and feel like everyone’s grandad!”

“Looks like the fog’s come in thick again.”

“Ne’er lifts down there, Walt. What with that and th’mud, and th’gunfire, and screamin’ and the rain, I bet you felt the trenches were like paradise.”

“Don’t think I’d go as far as that meself. But we ‘ave to get us rest where we can. ‘Opefully we’ll be ‘ome by Christmas, New Year at th’latest. 1917 I’ve ‘eard, is goin’ to be a good year, when this blasted war’s o’er.”

“At least you’re out of it now, Walter.”

“Eh?”

“Finish yer tea, and then I’ll walk you o’er to th’gates. There’re some folk waitin’ to tek you through.”

“Eh??”

“Don’t worry. Yer fine. It’s always confusin’ when you first cross over.”

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The Wolves

They called to the pack, the hunt was on. One of their number is missing, and a silver bullet lodged into the trunk of an old oak tree is their only clue. It may be Hallowe’en, the night where spirits fly free, but tonight the spirit of this pack unites.