Alpha Centauri

Cleve gives a final glance down at the nearby remains of the creature who attacked me. “Definitely not my Bella,” he mutters as he leaves it behind to investigate the only new door. I hadn’t noticed her in here at all, but now we all see Bella hovering by the edge of the mural. It’s … Read more

Cleve steps past Marina, leading the way into the dark room beyond the door. She has a flashlight in one hand and some kind of sensor in the other, whereas he has his rifle. She doesn’t argue with Cleve about who gets to go in first. Although she was almost cocky prior to opening the … Read more

Cleve guides the rover through the opening at the lower end of the tilted Progenitor structure. There’s no door to close behind us, so when we get out of the rover, we’re dry but still exposed to the atmosphere. I feel the imbalance just as the others see it. Rolling in behind us is a … Read more

Although Bluebell is a little scared of the Progenitor ruins, she’s still willing to help us get there if that’s what I really want. Scared… and disturbed, as if something there isn’t right. Well, given that Marina’s friend might have been killed there, I’m inclined to agree it won’t be a great place. But we … Read more

“Any data on there that might be helpful?” Cleve asks Marina, nodding at the bioscanner she’s fiddling with. “It’s designed to scan a local native lifeform and give you readouts on interesting things like, well, I guess what we’re calling the resonance field now. We have a very primitive understanding of it,” she tells him. … Read more

On our second day of travel, we find the going harder as we get deeper into the jungle. Data Haven, for all that it’s on a bit of a plain, is in the foothills of the ridge between it and Morgan Industries. Our trip so far has been mainly downhill, which has been great for … Read more

One week after our anxious return to Data Haven, Cleve and I head out again, and this time Marina Citali accompanies us. With the harrying of Morgan’s Planetary Security Force left in the capable hands of Chloe’s and Tenoch’s teams, we drive eastward to where the Stepdaughters of Chiron are based. I give Marina the … Read more

Following that first gathering of the Council of Datajacks, there are many other small meetings, all geared toward formalizing the alliance with the Stepdaughters of Chiron. Cleve’s the one running these little sessions, but I’m present as his aide. He has conversations with each of Roze, Tenoch, Chloe, Astrid, and Shilp, as their schedules allow. … Read more

///“We’re going to leave a mark, you guys!” Arx says enthusiastically as they and the Jazz Hands robot lead the way up the hill to Miasma Pass. They are in a good mood, glad to be doing something active. And they’ve just had a hit of their FungX. Given how long they’re going to be … Read more

///The raids on the Planetary Security Force go surprisingly smoothly. Chloe finds a convenient bluff from which the team can watch the force begin to mobilize. Astrid reviews the troops, matching up what they see with what Cleve reported. She identifies the key supply vehicles they should hit and determines the targets’ schedules. The raiding … Read more

///The rover is packed when Cleve drives it away from Data Haven. Not as many wolf beetles as last time, but just as many people. And this time, two of them aren’t over-eager to share a single seat. “I’m in front,” Astrid declares. Her age and her self-confidence give her all the excuses she needs. … Read more