Writing Prompts

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orion1836
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Re: Writing Prompts

Post by orion1836 »

novius wrote:"Fireblade's sleep-sending is ... distressing, to say the least. For us, ... and she just admitted it ... moreso for herself. While your ... non-presence ... in sanzai is strange to us, it may actually be of help. Typically I wouldn't ask that of a Loroi male, but ... would you agree to a switch in sleeping arrangements to bunk with her? Please note that I - both of us - ask this of you only for her calm of mind."
It will be a while before I can write again, but my only reaction to this was:

Program file alex.exe not found.
[A]bort, [R]etry, [F]ail?

C:\>

Jethreuel
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Re: Writing Prompts

Post by Jethreuel »

I apologize, I am nowhere near as talented as y'all are. But here goes.
Alex closed his eyes, and Tempo noticed him moving his fingers, like he was counting something off.
"Understood. I will agree to help. But there are also other some... Conditions that must be understood by everyone to prevent any more 'diplomatic incidents.'" Alex started counting off while looking directly at Fireblade. "First, while asleep, human bodies do sometimes react instinctually and biologically when next to a body of the opposite sex. Even though we are capable of going without mating encounters for extended periods of time without harm, and in the military we have enough discipline to not seek out mating encounters while concious, sleep is an entirely different matter. If my body starts becoming aroused, please do not take it as though I am trying to seduce or mate with you. If I start doing anything that makes you uncomfortable while I am asleep, gently shake my shoulder to wake me up. Please do Not kill me for something my body does while I am asleep."

"Second. Males sleeping with females are normally reserved for occasions where the male and female are pair-bonded. I want to make sure that both of us understand that this is not the reason or situation right now with you and me. What we are doing is strictly for your well-being and that there is no..." Alex momentarily struggled to find a comparable term for romantic in trade. "No personal or sexual interest, relationship, or intent involved. There are probably a few other things that we need to sort out, but I can't think of them at the moment."

"Those are understandable concerns for now, and Fireblade says that the conditions are agreeable to her and that she also will not kill you should any arousel response occur." Tempo spoke in behalf of Fireblade while Fireblade nodded in agreement.

With that Alex climbed into the bottom bunk. This was still going to be extremely awkward and nervewracking. Even thought the bunks were sized for Barsam, there was still not much space for two people on a bunk. He originally thought that the best way for both of them to fit would be for one to spoon the other, but the idea him spooning her felt like a recipe for disaster both for the amount of hair that would be in his face and the fear of him getting an erection while he slept, while the idea of her spooning him suddenly felt a little emasculating, since he was to be providing a support for her, and not her for him. At any rate, he preferred sleeping on his back anyway. He lay spread out and gestured for Fireblade to sleep beside him with her head resting on his shoulder. The others looked at him then each other.

"It just seems strange, normally when Loroi males sleep with females, it is the male who prefers to sleep in the arms of the female as it is us who protect the males. Although, our males are also much smaller than we are."

"But our goal right now is to help protect Fireblade from her nightmares, right?"

With that, Fireblade nodded in acceptance, and climbed in beside him laying on her side and awkwardly rested her head in his shoulder. Alex gingerly rested his arm across her back and over her side in kind of a hug. Her body armor pressing against him was a little uncomfortable, but also would likely help insure he did not wake up with any embarrassing erections later on. The vanilla candle smell was very nice however.

"Fireblade thanks you. We will leave for a bit to give her the chance to fall asleep." Alex fought a moment of panic rising in his throat. "Wait... You are leaving me alone with her?!" "She will become... Loud is how Beryl put it earlier, as she relaxes her mind. We will wait until she is asleep before coming back in." With that, the others left, with Alex staring straight up at the bunk above him. After a while it seemed as though Fireblade was beginning to relax in his arms, and when he risked a glance down, it looked like her eyes were closed, and she was breathing slowly and steadily. With a final glance upward, Alex himself closed his eyes. Hoping that he would get through this sleep without Fireblade maiming him.

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orion1836
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Re: Writing Prompts

Post by orion1836 »

OK, I was not planning to continue this specific story thread, but y'all got me. Not the way I would have gone about it, but this is writing *prompts* after all. Let's see what I can do.
Alex was unquestionably nervous. As Fireblade's breathing slowed, his sped up to match his heart rate. It had not been that long since the Loroi next to him had tried to force her way into his mind to interrogate him. That had felt like a cattle prod between the eyes. Would her telepathic night terrors be like that? His supposed immunity hadn't saved him from a enough pain to cause a blackout before.

After a few minutes of nothing but slow, rhythmic breathing from Fireblade, he started to relax. His respite was short lived, though. Almost as if on cue, the Loroi stirred, and Alex felt the same sensation of an electrostatic shock as the last time she touched him. This time, though, it manifested on the skin of his hand where Fireblade held it. Looking down in panic, the human half expected to see some sort of light, but there was nothing other than an expanse of blue skin covering his own.

The sensation, thankfully, did not get any worse, though it didn't go away either. Small twitches from Fireblade drew Alex's attention. The Loroi's usually impassive face was troubled. Her brow furrowed as here eyes danced under their lids. The dreams had started.

He considered waking her, but realized that it would be counter productive; this would all just start again once she got back to sleep. No, he was here for the ride, regardless of where it took him. Bringing his right arm up over the back of Fireblade's shoulders, Alex did his best to give her the sort of comfort that had helped Beryl. The Loroi responded by joining her left hand, which she had looped behind his neck when he lay down, with her right, which was resting on his chest and covering his left hand. Clasping both together, she drew him closer in a sideways embrace. His soft flight suit provided no protection against the hard pinch of her armor, but Alex was not about to try to squirm into a better position, lest it wake her.

The static sensation doubled now that both Fireblade's hands covered his, but that was the extent of it.

In spite of his discomfort, Alex willed himself to relax. He had said he would help, and now he was in for the long haul. After a few minutes, even the static sensation began to dwindle into the background. Just as his eyes were starting to drift closed, a twitch sent Fireblade's armored knee into the side of his right thigh.

"Mmmph!" Alex barely stifled his cry of pain and surprise.

The Loroi's legs weren't the only thing moving. Fireblade alternately clenched and released her arms, struggling against some unseen foe. After a few seconds, she relaxed a bit, though her grip around his chest stayed firm, as she buried her face in his shoulder.

Alex let out a shuddering breath. This was going to be a long night.

*****

"Captain Jardin?"

Alex groaned.

"Captain Jardin? Are you alright?"

Blearily opening his eyes, Alex was greeted by the sight of a very awake and very chipper Beryl.

"Ugh." He felt as if he had survived nine rounds of boxing. "Did it work?"

She smiled. "More or less. We could still 'hear' her, so to speak, but the effects were far less than they would have been. It seems as if I was correct," Beryl continued, self-satisfaction evident in her voice. "Physical contact prompted her to send to the one she was connected to, only for her thoughts to go nowhere. You were like a ground to electricity!"

Alex only groaned wearily, letting his head fall to the pillow.

The Listel reached out, gently pushing the hair back from his forehead. "You seem the worse for wear, though. How are you feeling? Fireblade awoke some time ago, but you were so deeply asleep that we decided not to disturb you."

"I've been worse. It wasn't as bad as when she was trying to break into my head... THAT hurt. This was kind of like a static shock."

Beryl cocked her head to the side, looking at him intently. "I've never heard of such a thing." She took hold of his hand, closing her eyes in concentration.

Alex raised his head, confused as to what was going on.

She opened her eyes. "Did you feel anything?"

"No." He gave her hand a squeeze. "Nothing other than your hand. Am I supposed to?"

The Loroi's brow furrowed in thought. "I don't know. I was sending to you the same way Fireblade was. Perhaps it is the strength of her sanzai... it is strong enough for you to sense, but because of your difference in biology, your brain translates what it doesn't understand into a sensation that it does."

Alex shrugged. "Sure, let's go with that. I certainly don't have a better explanation." He withdrew his hands and rubbed his palms against his eyes. "Well, at least it mostly worked. How did Fireblade herself sleep?"

Beryl looked away for a moment, presumably asking the other Loroi. "She says she slept well, and thank you. She hopes you were not too discomfited. Also, she is in the galley with the others and would like to know if you want anything."

His stomach gave an uneasy rumble, half hungry, and half terrified of what fare might be available.

"Sure... if I'm lucky, it'll sit better with me than your food has. If not, well, at least it will put me out of my misery."

entity2636
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Re: Writing Prompts

Post by entity2636 »

Yeah, Fireblade looks like she desperately needs some shore leave, she probably hasn't had any for years... Maybe travel to Maia, get some R&R somewhere far away from the front, go see a therapist. Though it would probably take a direct order from a superior officer for her to take a vacation :D

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Zarya
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Re: Writing Prompts

Post by Zarya »

Not a writing prompt or anything, just a speculative ode to Talon and Spiral who are probably going to pull off a semi-controlled crash in the hangar of a battle station that is almost under siege .
Caught by the Gora Relay...


Immediately after Talon’s remark Spiral executed a series of commands, cutting off main propulsion and pivoting the Highland with 180°. The initial manoeuvre was hardly felt, yet visible by the rapidly moving scenery of stars outside. At the same time Tempo, Reed and Fireblade entered the flight deck and silently positioned themselves against the rear bulkhead. They sat down in a brace position on the floor folding their hands in the back of their necks, settling with their backs straight to the wall. Also Beryl started to reposition, clasping Alex’ arms around her waist. “Hold tight, the deceleration will be violent. This is the most secure place for both of us”. Alex responded by helping Beryl sit straighter on his lap with her back against his chest, embracing her waist and by locking his fingers. Beryl pressed her arms on top of his arms, placing her hands on his hands, clasping them slightly.

“Fourty three solons on main propulsion, brace yourselves now!”, shouted Talon.

The remainder of the Highland’s primary fuel reserve was pushed to the Highland’s engines, the deceleration pushing Beryl hard against him as it overwhelmed the inertial dampening. Breething immediately became difficult, Alex guessed that he experienced the equivalent of 7Gs, perhaps more, instinctively applying AGSM as taught in flight training. Passing out was not an option, but his vision started to blur out. Lights on the dash flashed up bright yellow, then red which in turn started blinking ominously as the airframe endured the stress. After slightly less than a minute the weight of Beryl and the momentum loss that had pushed both of them in the chair started to taper off, and this was immediately followed by metal clunking sounds accompanied by twirps coming from the flight controls. Part of the Highland’s dashboard suddenly darkened.

“Separation complete. Brace again!” Spiral called out.

Artificial gravity faltered for a moment and then felt less pronounced as if internal systems had switched to another power source. Then a series of violent whooshing sounds accompanied by additional jerks, pushed the occupants around.

‘Thrusters’, Alex realised, while still recovering from the previous manouvre.
This time the G-effect was noticeable, but not as bad as before.

Talon and Spiral were the only ones properly strapped-in. From a corner of his eye Alex could see that the Loroi in the back were firmly held in place by something. Although they didn’t have any support to hold on to they didn’t even slide during the forward or sideways jerks. Alex realised that Fireblade probably applied telekinesis to keep them steady against the wall. He even could feel that this force was extended to him and Beryl keeping them secure in the chair. Meanwhile the starfield outside appeared to move in a more or less deliberate pattern. Whatever was happening to the part of the Highland they were in, Talon was definitely piloting it.

“48 solons additional manoeuvres”, called out Talon. “Aiming for the Station.”
“Fuel for 40.” responded Spiral.

“I do it in 39!”
“Fine, just lose speed!”

As Alex parsed this, he started counting the time he heard the trusters firing. They reached about 20 heartbeats of continuous firing, when it stopped for a moment. ‘Less than 20 to spare’, he thought.

“18 solons”, said Spiral.

During the intermission Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin popped into his mind.
Running low on fuel while trying to land the LEM on the moon’s surface. Balancing on a flame with 120 seconds left, hovering over a crater by tilting forward only to spot a terrain littered by car sized boulders. Flown by the best pilot in the Earth-Moon system of that era it had ended well.

Beryl’s underarms pressed heavier and her hands tightened around his hands. Alex firmed his grip in return.
“If Talon flies like Neil Armstong, we’ll make it” he said in Beryl ear.
She moved her head slightly sideways, “I’ll ask you about Neil Armstrong later”.

“Attention Gora Relay, we’re coming in hot”.
“Affirmative, lose more relative velocity if you can”.

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orion1836
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Re: Writing Prompts

Post by orion1836 »

Zarya wrote:At the same time Tempo, Reed and Fireblade entered the flight deck and silently positioned themselves against the rear bulkhead.
RIP Cloud and the nameless third Marine in the back. :cry:

Seriously though, good job.

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Arioch
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Re: Writing Prompts

Post by Arioch »

orion1836 wrote:the nameless third Marine in the back
It's "Flint", btw.

Jethreuel
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Re: Writing Prompts

Post by Jethreuel »

Zarya can go back and edit his post to include them, right?

boldilocks
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Re: Writing Prompts

Post by boldilocks »

Arioch wrote:
orion1836 wrote:the nameless third Marine in the back
It's "Flint", btw.
And she just rode into town, trying to help a pilgrim get where he needs to go.

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orion1836
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Re: Writing Prompts

Post by orion1836 »

Arioch wrote:
orion1836 wrote:the nameless third Marine in the back
It's "Flint", btw.
tfw you realize Arioch reads this thread. :shock:

Also, it's a good thing you didn't make Alex's last name "Steel," otherwise there might have been some... sparks.


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Chekist_Felix
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Re: Writing Prompts

Post by Chekist_Felix »

orion1836 wrote:
Arioch wrote:
orion1836 wrote:the nameless third Marine in the back
It's "Flint", btw.
tfw you realize Arioch reads this thread. :shock:

Also, it's a good thing you didn't make Alex's last name "Steel," otherwise there might have been some... sparks.

Image
My literacy is cringe-fest... Apologies for what you're about to read.

novius
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Re: Writing Prompts

Post by novius »

Well, that wasn't just a plot bunny, but a veritable plot lion that harassed me since pg. 134...
"Torpedo launch detected"

The synthetic voice blared the alarm through the cockpit, waking Alex from his meditative state, thoughts running around in his head.

'Of all the Loroi, must it be the red-haired harridan in the back of the shuttle?'

'I'm not sure Beryl would like that...'

His thoughts turning back to the petite Listel Tozet in his lap he got acutely aware that she did close in on him even further, her right hand around his neck and her fingertips just below his ear, just shy of a full embrace. With her face being only inches apart from his, no one wouldn't describe the scene as quite intimate... both by Human and Loroi standards.

Another stray thought, that that burned vanilla scent is quite pleasant around her, flitted through his brain, followed by the one that she still looked to be in deep trance, completely oblivious to the outside world, and that they might better get into proper positions and strapped in in case Talon wants to make good on her promise to do some fancy flying.

'But, how to wake her up?', Alex thought. Even gently shaking her elicited no reaction, and giving her a light slap would be the very last thing he would ever do to a Loroi. Figuratively and maybe literally.

Lacking further options he sent a last hopeful thought to whatever deity is listening, that Beryl might overlook that breach of propriety (well, they are already way past the point of what is considered proper for Loroi, another part of his brain added), closed in the last few inches separating their faces and kissed her.

Right on her lips.

Of course, it wasn't the soul-crushing, universe-collapsing affair holonovels would like to portray it, but still a little more that just the brushing of his lips against hers. Of course, it was only to elicit a reaction, any reaction from Beryl, he thought, but he couldn't help but notice that, were the circumstances much different, he could very much come to like it, but perhaps he may have now blown any chances, though now it's important to stay alive and that needs her to be awake and alert...

Beryl's eyes flew open and Alex instinctively jerked back, his stream of thoughts coming to a sudden stop.

"Captain Jardin! What...", she started, only to be interrupted by Highland-7's computerized voice repeating the warning. "...Oh."

Alex already half expected to be and braced himself against being slapped the daylights out of him, but Beryl seemed way more puzzled than enraged, and she still made no move to get up and a seat of her own. She did remove her left hand from his neck though, but mainly to key in some commands on the console, adding some arcs fanning out from the enemy group closest to them on the display. The projected torpedo trajectories.

One of the arcs crossed the path the shuttle would take, with an ominous red marker at the intersection. As if to confirm Alex's assumption, the computer cut in: "Incoming projectile. Time to impact: 790 solons."

On meeting Beryl's eyes again, Alex noticed something. She tried to maintain her composure, putting up a brave front, but she was scared. 'She's a scientist, for all that counts', Alex reminded himself, 'her position is one of the furthest removed from actual fighting as it could be and still in a military outfit. Chances are this is the closest she ever got to actual fighting.'

"We're not going to die here", Alex tried to reassure her, and possibly himself, "Arrir Talon might get her wish to show off some fancy flying. I've clocked a good number of flight hours myself, and one standard maneuver we had to train is dodging incoming missiles." Alex conveniently didn't mention that his flight hours were mainly in a simulator and mostly covered atmospheric flight, but, well, Newton's laws of motion are the same everywhere, right?

Beryl took a breath and nodded, slowly calming down, exhaling. For now, there's nothing they could do - evading missiles can only be done effectively if these are too close to correct their heading - and watching the display would be akin to self-torture.

Never having taken her right hand from his left, she fully turned back to him, with the all too familiar expression of curiosity in her eyes.

"It is really odd to ask that in a moment like this ... but ... did you really just kiss me?"

Alex gulped. 'I would have preferred a bitchslap to my face, this is much worse', he thought, almost wishing that the torpedoes would come in range sooner to provide a distraction...

Krulle
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Re: Writing Prompts

Post by Krulle »

"Yes. Yes I did" Alex answered, with a slight hesitation in his voice. "You were not reacting to the warning of incoming missiles, nor to anything else. I needed to know you to be aware of the current situation. And this was the easiest for me to try without slapping you awake."

"Hmm." Her couriosity shown in her eyes. "I was... away. I cannot really describe what I felt. But it was peaceful. And your kiss pulled me away from that place."

"500 solons" the shuttle's voice added.

"Everyone, take a seat, strap yourself in. You heard the computer." came Arrir Talon's voice.

With this, Beryl pulled her hand from Alex' head and moved to the seat next to him and strapped herself in.

'Pity' Alex thought. 'At least she did not go to the passenger's compartment' and I get to see the action directly over the pilot's shoulder.'

Beryl quickly checked Alex' straps, and her pleasant vanilla-scent tickled his nose again.

"250 solons"

Beryl looked contemplatively at Alexander, and then asked "What was that red smudge in the black void?"

Alex, taken by surprise, looked out of the shuttle's windows and asked backed "Which red smudge?", happy for the moment the kiss was not the topic right now, but fearing that Beryl will lead the topic back to that moment.

Beryl grabbed his head, and turned it her way, and said "When I touched you, I... 'moved away'. The more I relaxed, the further I moved 'away'. I cannot really describe it, but for the first time in the life I can remember, I heard and felt no 'voices' of telepathy. I felt no sanzai. It was so... relaxing. So quiet... empty... So ... free.
And then I saw a small red smudge, which suddenly disappeared.
Thinking back, I feel like you must've played a role in that. Maybe willingly, maybe not. What were you thinking of when we touched? And what was that red smudge in the black void?
"
Vote for Outsider on TWC: Image
charred steppes, borders of territories: page 59,
jump-map of local stars: page 121, larger map in Loroi: page 118,
System view Leido Crossroads: page 123, after the battle page 195

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Onaiom
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Re: Writing Prompts

Post by Onaiom »

Beryl wrote:"It is really odd to ask that in a moment like this ... but ... did you really just kiss me?"
Alexl wrote:"Yes. Yes I did."
[Beryl will remember that.]

novius
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Re: Writing Prompts

Post by novius »

Onaiom wrote:
Beryl wrote:"It is really odd to ask that in a moment like this ... but ... did you really just kiss me?"
Alexl wrote:"Yes. Yes I did."
[Beryl will remember that.]
Of course she will. Eidetic memory, right? :)

But for now she has a different bone to chew on:
"You said to 'clear my mind', and I did", Alex responded, slightly smiling, because he read that piece about 'clearing the mind' in an old, old story about a kid going to a wacky school and an especially odious teacher saying that to him during some sort of meditation exercise... but the hell he would tell Beryl about that, she'd surely ask for a recount of that story... all seven books, indeed!

"There are some cultures and groups amongst my people that do practise meditation. To focus on the inward and shutting out all external influences. It is a special state of mind to reach."

Beryl blinked once, twice, her look a mixture of 'pleasantly surprised' and 'impressed'. "How curious. Are you sure your people don't have any sanzai? What you described is part of the first lessons every Loroi child has to learn. To shut out the minds of other Loroi around themselves."

"Wait, what? You're telling me that Loroi grow up with an open mind and have to learn to shield themselves?" Alex tacked on.

"Why, yes - I find it hard to believe that your people have such a good theoretical grasp on sanzai, and being completely blank to it? Though...", Beryl trailed off.

"Fireblade", Alex stated.

"What about her?"

"The presence you felt. You have picked up something from me. The darkness. The ... emptiness. And the 'red smudge' as you call it."

"What makes you so sure that it is her?" Beryl asked. Alex couldn't be sure but he thought he heard a tinge of disappointment in Beryl's voice.

"Remember me waking up from being mind-probed the very first time? No, silly question. Of course you remember. Eidetic memory, correct?"

Beryl winced, her posture slumping a bit in the straps of her seat. "Sometimes it's a curse. I'm truly sorry about what had been done to you, you..."

She trailed off when Alex lightly shook his head. "You're in a war, and suspicious of enemy trickery, and there's an alien which is a complete unknown to you. You... were in the right to be distrustful at first."

"That's kind of you to say that, but it still doesn't excuse the gross mishandling of a First Contact situation.... and you. But... why do you ask?"

"It was Fireblade who ... probed me, right? When I was on the verge of waking up, I saw a .... spark, for the lack of a better word, closing in on me. I was terrified - I don't know why, but I felt the urge to run away from it, or hide, or to push it away, and then I woke up, and the first thing I saw was Fireblade."

"You said something in English when you woke up. 'Get away from me', and that you were... hallucinating?" she asked, using the English word, "What does that word mean?"

Alex inwardly wondered a moment - yes, that might have been what he said, but he said that in English... she must have remembered his words phonetically and given the primer on the English language he had to give her she was now able to tanslate parts of it. "Seeing things that aren't there. Before, I was drifting through space running out of oxygen, next thing I knew I woke up, lying on my back, almost completely naked, terrified out of my mind and surrounded by a bunch of blue elves."

"Blue... what?", Beryl puzzled over that unfamiliar word. "Nevermind", Alex waved it off, already dreading to have to delve into Earth folklore to explain the last word. "Fireblade, right. The moment she and her ilk tried to mind-rape me in earnest, the last thing I saw before I lost my consciousness was her. I... actually got a picture of her, as much as I see you right before me, but with my eyes closed. And that was the same as I saw just before.... and you as well, I think."

Beryl listened with rapt attention. "You... saw her?"

"I'm not joking. There was the blackness, and about fifteen meters away from me, there was that single outline, all bright and shiny. I recognize that hairstyle everywhere now, I think. She was sitting, sort of sideways to my view, but to me it looked like she was about to turn into my direction."

"You are implying that she noticed you, somehow", Beryl half-asked, half-stated it.

"It definitely looks..."

"100 Solons." The computer cut in.

"Everyone hold on tight! I'll have to red-line the inertial dampeners!" Talon explaimed before making a sweeping motion across one of the controls in front of her, sending the shuttle in what felt to be like a steep dive.

An idle part of Alex's brain noticed that Beryl is holding on tight to something, namely his own hand. He wasn't sure if he should find the gesture endearing or not, since he felt that Loroi must have superior muscle strength, judging by how hard she was squeezing his hand.

Krulle
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Re: Writing Prompts

Post by Krulle »

The thing is, Beryl would remember the feeling on her lips anyway.
And it would definitely not be smart of Alexander to lie to her.
Especially when either pilot might've seen something...

Alex tried to squeeze back on Beryl's hand, to reassure her and to lure her to grip a tad less tight.
How hard will she squeeze, once the computer and Talon will actually start their evasive maneuvers?

Beryl turned to Alex again. "Tempo has a question for you. How widespread is this meditation among your people? And why do your people do that?"
Alex, taking up the chance to distract himself while the countdown to the hard maneuvers ticked down: "Somewhat widespread. It is a good exercise when in stress. To calm down. To forget the stress, make the mind just wander freely and forget about any worries and sorrows for a short while, which helps releasing the body tension coming with stress. It is present in nearly all cultures, in one form or the other, but not practiced by everyone."

"50 solons"

"We also have quite a range of meditation techniques. Quietness. Music. Certain medications, natural and chemical ones." Alex continued, just to block out any other thoughts.
And with that, the shuttle made a hard lurch, but the gravity Alexander felt immediately ebbed down again. The inertial dampers must've kicked in. But the station visible through the window moved faster and faster out of the middle.
Then a bright, greenish flash came over the screen, seemingly from the station towards the shuttle. The shuttle shuddered violently.
Alex felt a sharp pain in his hand.

Alex heard Spiral's voice: "Gora-Relay: we can confirm hit. The missile has been destroyed. But the explosion caused a leak in our tank, we are loosing fuel fast. We will decelerate as much as possible, but we cannot land purely on our own power anymore. Can you catch us?"

"We have also several techniques, but to learn to control the Sanzai, quietness works best. How does that work, using medications?" came Beryl's curious voice.

"Highland Seven, we will try to catch you, but you need to move out of the way. There are more missiles inbound, and they are using you as a shield to prevent us from firing at them. Fly past us, and we will catch up to you."

The pain finally reached Alex' brain: "Ouch! Beryl, could you please stop pressing so hard on my hand? I think you ..."
Beryl stopped pressurizing Alex hand, but did not let fully go. She pulled his hand and arm towards her, and looked at his hand.

"Did I hurt you? I thought shaking hands is common among Humans, I thought your hands would therefore be used to being gripped?"

"Yes, we are, but your grip is somewhat stronger than most Humans can exert. And especially the small finger is prone to being broken with us Humans. I think you might've hit a weak spot..."

The station was not visible on the screen anymore.

Beryl's hand shot away from Alexander, as if it was poisoned. In her face was slight disgust. 'Disgust at us being weak to have a broken bone so fast?' was Alex first thought. He pulled over his hand and examined it.

He felt the shuttle move slightly erratically, and wished for some painkillers.

"I am so sorry, Enzin Jardin." came Beryl's voice. "Shall we meditate again to 'release the body tension'?"

Then the engine died down, causing a weird feeling of inverted gravity in the shuttle, which shortly afterwards went away when the inertial dampers stopped.

"Gora-Relay: We are out of fuel and cannot move by ourselves anymore. Please inform us of the situation whenever you can and feel it might be helpful for us." came Spiral's voice.

Talon turned around and said "Well, now we are fully dependent on Gora Relay."

"Highland Seven: We are currently targeting the missiles and have started moving ourselves between you and the aggressor. Please wait."

Alex, somewhat disoriented from the multiple conversations around him, answered: "I don't think meditation will heal my body physically. I fear you do not have pain medication for me accessible?"

"We have emergency kits in the shuttle, but I fear the medication in it will not be agreeable for your biochemistry. And while we have some of the stuff we collected from your ship in the shuttle, we have stored all in the storage bay, where it is currently not accessible. Furthermore we cannot differentiate your markings to identify harmful and helpful stuff. And the situations so far have not given rise to an occasion to ask you to help us identifying what is what." came Beryl's answer. Although Alexander had the feeling, this was actually Tempo's answer, and just coming through Beryl's mouth.

Alex looked at his hand, which had a distinct reddish bulb on it. And the pain was throbbing slightly with his heart rhythm.

'Okay, let's go for distractions, then.' Alex thought, and looked at the tactical screen, which showed the station moving slowly closer to the shuttle, fending off small red dots moving fast towards the shuttle and the station. "Beryl, no meditation like we just did will not help. It frees my mind from outside stimula, but usually I cannot eliminate stimula from my body." He heard a seatbelt lock click. "And blending out outside stimula would focus my thoughts only more on the pain in my hand. I don't think it is broken, though. But a stiff drink to inebriate myself would do wonders for my anxiety right now."

He heard Talon's voice over the shuttle speakers: "Remain seated and keep the belts on. Expect bumpy maneuvers from the station as we get within the range of their inertial dampening field. The enemy is also still firing on us, expect closeby explosions. And our inertial dampers will not be working at full efficiency without fuel for our engines."

Suddenly, he felt Beryl leaning over, and she kissed him.
I feel like I somewhat went back and forth, and not really kept a line.... I just wrote this down as it came, during my "coffee break"....
I don't even fully know where I wanted to go, but then these writing prompts are intended to leave a cliffhanger so the next can continue.
Vote for Outsider on TWC: Image
charred steppes, borders of territories: page 59,
jump-map of local stars: page 121, larger map in Loroi: page 118,
System view Leido Crossroads: page 123, after the battle page 195

entity2636
Posts: 339
Joined: Fri Jan 12, 2018 11:53 am

Re: Writing Prompts

Post by entity2636 »

LOL Alex is such a pussy :lol: But then again, women with their tiny hands can indeed squeeze quite painfully :?

By the way, Loroi PDLs are pinkish red rather than green.

Krulle
Posts: 1413
Joined: Wed May 20, 2015 9:14 am

Re: Writing Prompts

Post by Krulle »

I left that as a prompt for Alex to wonder, if the Loroi have been upfront to him about Naam...

In these writing promots we can diverge from the canon storyline... :)
Vote for Outsider on TWC: Image
charred steppes, borders of territories: page 59,
jump-map of local stars: page 121, larger map in Loroi: page 118,
System view Leido Crossroads: page 123, after the battle page 195

User avatar
Zarya
Posts: 202
Joined: Mon Aug 15, 2016 2:32 am

Re: Writing Prompts

Post by Zarya »

"Hi, I'm clickyclick-27's brother. He reported [as it has happened that] you guys have been nasty to him at Naam. This will not stand. Time has [irrevocably] come to empty our missile tubes and unleash our vengeance on to you [as it has]. Touch the mandibles of your loved ones [as well as the sorry hindside of your abdomen] goodbye!"

Image

entity2636
Posts: 339
Joined: Fri Jan 12, 2018 11:53 am

Re: Writing Prompts

Post by entity2636 »

Krulle wrote:I left that as a prompt for Alex to wonder, if the Loroi have been upfront to him about Naam...

In these writing promots we can diverge from the canon storyline... :)
I see :) If he ever catches on to that, Tempo will have some explaining to do. Wonder how she'll wiggle out of that one ;)

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